I've always maintained that, in this era in the NFL, no team is able to go undefeated. Looks like the New England Patriots are testing that theory.
The Pats, 8-0 heading into this week's game against the also undefeated Indianapolis Colts, are simply toying with teams right now. The defense is as dominant as ever, Tom Brady is in the zone of a lifetime and head coach Bill Belichick is not holding anything back in coaching ... and running up the score.
So will the Patriots go undefeated? I'm going to stick with my guns and say no, although this is the best NFL team I've ever seen. It also helps that they play in an incredibly weak conference, and are all but assured of a 6-0 conference record.
With that said, here's a breakdown of their remaining schedule with some thoughts at the end.
Nov. 3: New England at Indianapolis
Nov. 10: Bye
Nov. 18: New England at Buffalo
Nov. 25: Philadelphia at New England
Dec. 3: New England at Baltimore
Dec. 9: Pittsburgh at New England
Dec. 16: New York Jets at New England
Dec. 23: Miami at New England
Dec. 29: New England at New York Giants
The games in bold are, in my opinion, mortal locks that the Pats will win. And yes, I included the bye week.
I think New England will win at Indianapolis this week. So the biggest test remaining?
Actually, there are two. Dec. 3 at Baltimore and Dec. 9 at home against Pittsburgh.
The game against Baltimore stands out because the Ravens are one of the few teams in the league as physical as New England. That's a big Monday night game, too. If New England wins that game, then it has a short week to prepare for the Steelers, another physical team.
If New England somehow makes it to 15-0, which is certainly possible, what will Belichick do in Week 17? Will he play his starters the entire game, or will he rest them for the playoffs? With Dallas having a pretty good year, too, this game might decide the NFC East for the Giants, so they'll play their top guys all game.
There's just too many different scenarios for the Patriots to go undefeated. I don't think they'll do it. They will win the Super Bowl, though, and easily.
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2 comments:
Great call on the Colts/Pats game! Pressure will mount for the undefeated season!
You are right. And the hype machine will start rolling. There is nobody in the world - as an individual or entity - that produces more hype than ESPN. The ESPN machine will roll out statistical analysis, in-depth reporting (at least that's what they call it) and wild opinions on the Patriots. Remember when the network did "Is USC the best team of all time?" in the weeks leading up to USC's loss to Texas in the national title game? This will be bigger.
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