The Official NFL Sunday Football Thread

[TheNegation]

I can ABSOLUTELY say that they aren't.

I mean, they're favored the last 5 years. I'm seeing a pattern...

Teams with solid d, that get pressure on Brady, typically do well against them. Need to have a defense. Need to have consistency at the run game (better this year, obviously).

Having Brady under center is great and all, but not every game is a shootout. Some are smack you in the mouth, hard hitting football games. What makes the Patriots almost a lock to get into the playoffs, is that the rest of the division is absolute garbage.

The reason Vegas favors the Patriots to win it all has a lot more to do with the fact that the public LOVES them. And so, the public LOVES to bet on them. Similar to the way the Lakers are still in the top 8 or so to win the NBA title. And the way the Yankees are always the favorite to win the World Series. More to do with public perception, and less to do with being the best.

Oh bullshyt.

They are favored because they are a good football team. The last 13 years they've made the playoffs 11 times. They've been to the Superbowl 5 times. Been the AFCCG 6 or 7 times. Have consistently been top 5 in offense for the past several seasons. They made it to the Superbowl with the worst defense in the league last year and they made it there almost entirely on the arm of Brady. Plus they have arguably the best coach in the league. The Patriots are always in the mix, always make the playoffs and consistently win. If you mean the public loves teams because they win, they why would they favor any other team, than the one who has probably more postseason wins and appearances over the last decade than any other team?

The Yankees have the biggest bankroll in professional sports. That's why they are favored. Their ability to buy really whoever they want and their ability to buy talent allows them to buy wins.

So really why would any other team or teams be favored to win over the winningest team?

[Addition]

patriots need to stop being cheap as far as FA and draft picks.

belichik and brady covers it up but they don't really have a talent rich team.

they have mostly solid affordable players, few special ones.

and brady has to be perfect or belichik gameplan perfect for them to win against talented teams.

Agreed.

Interesting to see what they do with Welker, i'm still on the fence whether they should get rid or not.

[bojangles1987]

The moment Talib started limping towards the sideline, I looked to my wife and said "We're in deep ****".

It just wasn't meant to be. You can't fight a Ray Lewis retirement.

[bojangles1987]

This is going to be the most physical Super Bowl of all time. Lots of helmet to helmet. Lots of hard hits. Both teams will give zero fuqs on gameday. Can't wait!!!!

It should be awesome. And you know Ray Lewis is going to be out of his mind. Sometimes teams are just on that roll that you can't fight, and I think the Ravens are that team.

I'm still rooting for San Francisco. It comes down to who I want to win their first ring, Moss or Reed, and I want it to be Moss.

[johnm is...]

Oh bullshyt.

They are favored because they are a good football team. The last 13 years they've made the playoffs 11 times. They've been to the Superbowl 5 times. Been the AFCCG 6 or 7 times. Have consistently been top 5 in offense for the past several seasons. They made it to the Superbowl with the worst defense in the league last year and they made it there almost entirely on the arm of Brady. Plus they have arguably the best coach in the league. The Patriots are always in the mix, always make the playoffs and consistently win. If you mean the public loves teams because they win, they why would they favor any other team, than the one who has probably more postseason wins and appearances over the last decade than any other team?

The Yankees have the biggest bankroll in professional sports. That's why they are favored. Their ability to buy really whoever they want and their ability to buy talent allows them to buy wins.

So really why would any other team or teams be favored to win over the winningest team?

You don't get favored to win Superbowls because you "almost" won the Superbowl. You DAMN sure don't get favored to win Superbowls because you couldn't even be competitive, at home, in the AFC Championship game. Absolutely nothing they've done this postseason suggests they are NEXT seasons favorite.

I'm not saying Brady isn't great. He obviously is. But, as is being proven, it takes more than Brady.

The reason they are favored is because they are popular. This is indisputable and there's really no reason to argue it. Vegas doesn't need to think about "who's best." They need to think about "how can we manipulate the line, to manipulate the public." That's a fact.

Payroll doesn't make the Yankees favorites. Popularity does.

Same way they inflate the lines on UNLV games, because the locals love to bet on the home team. Find the teams with the largest bandwagons, take away value from the line, watch bandwagoners still hammer the line because they know no better.

So the Pats will be favored again, next season, and they won't win again, next season. You can talk about what they've done in the past until your blue in the face. "What have you done for me lately." Last year is history. 13 years ago...it's history, too. You're only as good as your last game.

[johnm is...]

Thinking about it, and asking honestly.....have the Patriots even won a God damn thing since the NFL caught them getting their "special advantage?"

That's right, I dropped a "cheater cheater" on your Patriotic asses.

[WARQUEZ]

It just wasn't meant to be. You can't fight a Ray Lewis retirement.

Tell that to these men.





All the talk is about Ray Lewis winning the superbowl pssshhht, yeah okay.

[johnm is...]

LOL. Fuck Ray Lewis. Murdering, child abandoning, prick. And he's painted as some kind of fucking saint. Ray Lewis' "God" doesn't mind that he fathered 6 kids by 4 women, one of which he doesn't support. But his "God" is helping him win football games. On national television crying, being a straight up FRONT. He's a great football player, but he's a front.

And...Tony Gonzalez had a pretty cool story, too. Potentially his last season in the league, having never played in an conference championship game. Greatest TE ever to play wanting to go out on top...blah blah blah. That storyline came to an end. This one will, too.

[johnm is...]

double post

[TheNegation]

Thinking about it, and asking honestly.....have the Patriots even won a God damn thing since the NFL caught them getting their "special advantage?"

That's right, I dropped a "cheater cheater" on your Patriotic asses.

They've won 2 AFC Championships, had an undefeated regular season, Brady had arguably the best season by a QB ever, and they've won a *****load of games and only missed the postseason in 2008 when Brady was out.

But talking someone this stupid like 99% of the population, couldn't even tell me what spygate was, how insignificant it actually was and that it has nothing to do with an inability to win another Superbowl.

Spygate was a camera that was in an undesignated place on their sideline that taped a hand signal and prior to a memo being sent out every team in the league was doing this.

Taping a hand signal doesn't win you three Superbowls, or win you over 150 games and I'm sorry but to make the argument that they can't win a SB because of spygate, its' the argument of hater whose team probablycan't even get into the postseason.