The Gauntlet

[ivanvamp]

The Patriots began the year 2-2, ending that stretch by getting absolutely mauled in Kansas City.  The scavenger birds were circling.  Then they crushed Cincinnati.  Then they crushed Buffalo on the road.  Then they barely beat the Jets and went to 5-2.  
 
At that point, things were looking up, but they faced the gauntlet.  A stretch of 7 games against very tough opponents.
 
Opponent (their status going into the game)
vs Chi (3-4, but with an array of offensive weapons)
vs Den (6-1, top seed in the AFC, coming off four straight blowout wins)
at Ind (6-3, first place in the AFC South, coming off a blowout win over the Giants)
vs Det (7-4, first place in the NFC North)
at GB (8-3, first place in the NFC North)
at SD (8-4, winners of three straight)
vs Mia (currently 6-5, facing the Jets tonight)
 
That's 7 games against teams with a combined 44-24 record (at the moment; that will change after tonight).  Three games on the road.  Facing four teams that were, at the time NE played them, division leaders.  All but Chicago legitimate playoff contenders.  One is the current top seed in the NFC, the other was the top seed in the AFC at the time NE played them.
 
So far, they are five games into this gauntlet.  They are 4-1.  Huge, huge game this week against SD.  A win puts NE in very good shape heading into the last three division games to end the year.  A loss suddenly puts NE in a hole - probably a game behind Denver and, in fact, even behind SD, who would have the same record but who would then hold the tiebreaker over NE.  
 
Still, most people didn't think NE would be hard pressed to finish 5-2 during this stretch.  Some folks thought they'd go 3-4.  But 4-1 is pretty darned good so far against a slate of opponents that have a combined .648 winning percentage (at the time they would have played NE; except for Miami…TBD).  
 
In other words, they are running the gauntlet with flying colors.  So far.  Two more to go.
 
 

 

[rlsb]

They will not lose two in a row and will finish 13-3 because it is now the month that matters - until January that is.

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

Count me among those who see them winning out. Rivers throws at least 2 picks next week, 1 to Logan Ryan to make up for Adams treating him like a Ray Rice elevator companion. Revis on Allen, Browner/Collins on Gates. I like their chances to win big.

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

Count me among those who see them winning out. Rivers throws at least 2 picks next week, 1 to Logan Ryan to make up for Adams treating him like a Ray Rice elevator companion. Revis on Allen, Browner/Collins on Gates. I like their chances to win big.

 
I love making fun of battered women.
 
Well done!

 

[Otis Foster]

Count me among those who see them winning out. Rivers throws at least 2 picks next week, 1 to Logan Ryan to make up for Adams treating him like a Ray Rice elevator companion. Revis on Allen, Browner/Collins on Gates. I like their chances to win big.

 
Are you deliberately trying to be offensive, or just dumb? This qualifies on either count.

 

[ALiveH]

How dare you make an off-color joke in an internet football forum!  I'm throwing the PC flag!

 

[Otis Foster]

How dare you make an off-color joke in an internet football forum!  I'm throwing the PC flag!

 
If you don't know the difference between off-color and downright offensive, stay the f**k out of it.  The man whaled the shit out of her, Goodell fumbled the response, and you think it's funny?

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

Appreciate the defense AliveH but I can see how some may find it objectionable. I was trying to denigrate Ryan and Ray, so yeah I wiffed. Apologies.

 

[Reverend]

Appreciate the defense AliveH but I can see how some may find it objectionable. I was trying to denigrate Ryan and Ray, so yeah I wiffed. Apologies.

 
A reasoned and measured response to criticism.
 
Weird.

 

[Otis Foster]

Certainly accepted in the spirit in which offered.

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

Would have been better off with my original thought of a Faye Reagan/Logan Ryan joke given the name of the thread too

 

[slowstrung]

You shouldn't apologize at all. There have been countless "gone to the dogs" lines about the Eagles and Jets on SoSH over the last few years, and no one has cared. As if animal torture is a source of humor but your inane crack somehow gives everyone the vapors.

 

[Reverend]

You shouldn't apologize at all. There have been countless "gone to the dogs" lines about the Eagles and Jets on SoSH over the last few years, and no one has cared. As if animal torture is a source of humor but your inane crack somehow gives everyone the vapors.

 

 

[fairlee76]

 
A reasoned and measured response to criticism.
 
Weird.

No wonder he or she is only a lurker!

 

[DJnVa]

You shouldn't apologize at all. There have been countless "gone to the dogs" lines about the Eagles and Jets on SoSH over the last few years, and no one has cared. As if animal torture is a source of humor but your inane crack somehow gives everyone the vapors.

 
Read, don't talk: http://sonsofsamhorn.net/topic/83652-the-sexism-backlash/

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

well, this thread got more awkward for me than an elevator ride with solange, beyonce, jay-z, ray & janay, while listening to a chris brown song.
 
apologies to everyone.

 
Here's the deal.
 
This forum is visited by people outside of our little sewing circle. Regardless of how PC this stuff is, it's very easy to be found guilty by association when fucking morons like you are running rampant. I'm sure not all of TheGangGreen is bad, but when there are a few dozen idiots running around saying stupid shit - like you just did - it covers the board in a stink that you can't easily wash off.
 
Anyone that knows me - and there are a few of them here - knows that I tend to skirt the line on acceptable language and behavior, but I try to minimize it around here because of how it makes everyone else look.
 
In other words, be a fucking adult and try to put some thought behind your words. Not just is your shit unfunny, but you're making a joke out of a lot of people that spent years trying to turn BbtL into something more than a wasteland of dolts like you.
 
So fuck off.
 
Edit: This says nothing about the women (and men) that visit this forum who may have actually experienced domestic violence. I'm sure the, "toughen up, buttercup" will really put them in their place...

 

[Reverend]

Well put.
 
We have places for humor that will go pretty much as dark as anyone wants and often quite a bit darker. But certain kinds of posts are a kind of infection that lets loose some really awful crap.
 
A forum or even a whole message board can go to crap pretty easily and the crap ends up crowding out the quality football talk--we can have one or the other but not both. We like actually talking about football here, so if you could help us keep the crap out of here, it would be much appreciated.

 

[mulluysavage]

Judgement and name-calling, calling people stupid, idiots, dolts, and shaming people has a foul odor of its own to my nose. I hope that people who want to make the board a better place will take this into consideration too. In this case, the person apologized instead of escalating.

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

Judgement and name-calling, calling people stupid, idiots, dolts, and shaming people has a foul odor of its own to my nose. I hope that people who want to make the board a better place will take this into consideration too. In this case, the person apologized instead of escalating.

The fact that you can't tell the person who apologized (costanza) isn't the person Im talking to (alive) is telling.

Edit: Unless you think Alives sarcastic apology was real, in which case...really?

 

[RedOctober3829]

5-1 on The Gauntlet.  I thought the best they'd do would be 4-2.  Only loss was a one possession result in the hardest place to play in the NFL.

 

[nothumb]

5-1 on The Gauntlet.  I thought the best they'd do would be 4-2.  Only loss was a one possession result in the hardest place to play in the NFL.

 
Hardest place for the Patriots maybe. I'd rather be a road team in GB than the Fox, though it's close.

 

[Devizier]

The Clink ain't so easy either.

 

[ivanvamp]

Point being, a tremendous job by the Patriots to rip through the gauntlet like they have.

 

[Leather]

 

[mwonow]

Getting back to the point of the thread - as ivanvamp says, tremendous thus far. From here...
 
The Pats have pretty well wrapped up the division, but it becomes official (I think, anyway) if they win next week. Pats at home in a cap & a t-shirt game? Count me in!
One more loss would put the Pats behind Denver, but then Denver would need to win out, and they've got road games against SD and Cinci left
Two more losses would put the Pats behind Indy if Indy wins out, but the Pats aren't losing two from here.
 
Bottom line - the Pats have manned up against the best opponents the NFL offers. Home, road...teams with physical D-lines, teams with great QBs...and they're rocking and rolling, and even pretty healthy. If the good health continues, you've got to love what this means for the rest of the season, even if the last game ends up as a (neutral site) rematch with GB 

 

[Leather]

Their Defense should improve, if only marginally, with the return of Jones and having all of their guys (Siliga, Hightower, etc...) available for the playoffs. 
 
Crossing fingers.

 

[dcmissle]

This has been tremendously impressive, more than fans could reasonably expect.

 

[pokey_reese]

As of right now, the Patriots have played four of the other five teams who would be in the playoffs, and beaten all of them.  The last is Pittsburgh, and I think we could handle them at home.  You have to feel good about the matchups, but you also have to hope that the Broncos lose one more.  
 
I'm super impressed by how the Pats have fared during this stretch, but I think that a game against Den/Indy is likely to be much closer the second time around. 

 

[DJnVa]

Definitely--that's why that #1 seed is so important--NE would only have to go through only one of Denver or Indy (assuming form holds). Indy and Denver would have to go through each other and then NE.

 

[Stitch01]

Im not sure I care that much which of the non-Denver teams the might Pats play at home in round 2.  Might prefer Indy slightly to Baltimore.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Im not sure I care that much which of the non-Denver teams the might Pats play at home in round 2.  Might prefer Indy slightly to Baltimore.

 
Topic for another thread, but I do not want to play the Ravens. Pats still will be heavily favored, but Baltimore is the most serious non-Denver threat on the Road to Four. 

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

Topic for another thread, but I do not want to play the Ravens. Pats still will be heavily favored, but Baltimore is the most serious non-Denver threat on the Road to Four.

I can already hear Jerome Bogar...

"Pass interference, #39 defense. Ball will be placed at the 1 yard line."

 

[Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt]

Topic for another thread, but I do not want to play the Ravens. Pats still will be heavily favored, but Baltimore is the most serious non-Denver threat on the Road to Four.

History-wise, I understand how you feel, and they are, I guess, fairly well coached. But this is not your father's Ravens, their secondary is shot and Nata is gone for the duration, no? Or is he back for the playoffs? In any case, I find them less scary than you seem to, but agree - would still prefer Indy.

 

[dbn]

Part of me would love to see the Patriots beat the two AFC teams that I (currently) hate the most in the playoffs, BAL and DEN. 

 

[TomTerrific]

Careful what you wish for--I was dying to give Rex and the J-E-T-S another asskicking in Jan 2011, and we all know how that turned out.

The beauty of the Red Sox in 2004 is that they got to slay the dragons AND win the whole thing--that's rare. I'm fine with Denver (or Baltimore) falling on their faces before they meet us

 

[m0ckduck]

History-wise, I understand how you feel, and they are, I guess, fairly well coached. But this is not your father's Ravens, their secondary is shot and Nata is gone for the duration, no? Or is he back for the playoffs? In any case, I find them less scary than you seem to, but agree - would still prefer Indy.

 
Nata will be eligible for the playoffs. I don't have a link, but the announcers were talking about it during the Ravens-Dolphins game. 

 

[pedroia'sboys]

 
Nata will be eligible for the playoffs. I don't have a link, but the announcers were talking about it during the Ravens-Dolphins game. 

 
Colts are a fraud team, the only team that scares me a tad in the Divisional Round is the Ravens 4TH in Dvoa.

 

[Devizier]

As the Packers' narrow victory over the Falcons shows, you can't take any opponent for granted.

 

[soxfan121]

I hid a few posts for being off-topic. Any concerns, please PM me or one of the other mods. 
 
In general, please use the "report" button - lower right corner of every post - to let a mod know if something needs to be dealt with. Thanks.

 

[RedOctober3829]

In a divisional game, I'd love to see Cincinnati over anybody else.  I do not want to see Baltimore or Pittsburgh.

 

[rslm]

In a divisional game, I'd love to see Cincinnati over anybody else.  I do not want to see Baltimore or Pittsburgh.

Can't see them making it out of a Wild Card round game if they even make it there.

 

[DJnVa]

Based on this thread, we're scared of everyone except Cincy.