at this point, just hoping we get some run good for a bye, host like the Chargers in a home game, and then hope for the best in AFCCG

looking at the AFC it's not even a crazy path. we have a solid chance at bye

yeah, this isn't a slam dunk like the last 10 years or so, but we do have a decentish chance at nonzero SB equity come playoff time.

Jesus Christ, non-zero SB equity? Are you mad? We're making the playoffs and likely at least a three seed. Of course we have SB equity. What kind of football have you been watching all your life? Every playoff team has SB equity and it's for damn sure that every three sead or higher does. My God, you have to actually work to be that negative. It outdrawed actually Dan Shaughnessy?

So, looking at the Pats schedule, which is only the Steelers, and the Car schedule, how do you figure it's more likely that the Pats are not a favorite by that game, considering they're a favorite right now?

Goodie, in case you haven't noticed we're been losing quite a few important players to injury and murder.

Which means our SB equity has obviously gone down. But a decent chance at non-zero is just foolish. Am I confident? Of course not. But we obviously have more than a zero chance at a SB bowl. That's insanely obvious.

goodie, I'm pretty sure that was hyperbole

I think you're taking his post too literally. (Hmmm is that proper grammar?)

I think he's just happy we have a chance considering the almost unbelievable circumstances of this season.

All of a sudden, receiving corps looks really good with the addition of a healthy Gronk + Amendola and an emerging Dobson on top of letting Ridley out of the doghouse and the offense is pretty unstoppable again.

Vereen should be back next game too!

Much better. Hope the other injuries aren't that serious.

Just heard a Steelers fan whining about his team on the radio, punctuating his complaints with, "....and Brady didn't even play that good today, and he tore us apart..."

Didn't play that good? 400+ yds passing, 4 TDs, 55 points on the board, 600+ yds of offense...what does a guy have to do to get a compliment around here???

That radio call was just now, on my way home from work. While AT work, I had to listen to people tell me all day that Brady and the Patriots look lousy. Even now, I just pulled up the AP recap to get those numbers I just typed, and it includes the line (emphasis added by me), "The Patriots (7-2) go into their bye week with a two-game lead in the AFC East despite playing mediocre football for most of the first half of the season."

These guys have set the bar SO high, that if you're not going 16-0 and setting yardage and points records while doing it, then you're just mediocre or worse.

Sure, we're missing some players, but guess what? We sure as **** ain't missing any COACHES! And our coaches are winning more games than our players are, I promise you.

The 2013 Patriots have definitely not played mediocre football for most of the season. Their passing attack definitely has been, averaging around 206 yards per game before yesterday, behind the Dolphins and amongst the worst in the league. Good football running and on defense carried the Patriots to their 7-2 record, but when the average fan or media watch their games, all eyes are on Brady. Really they just needed to write, "despite Brady playing mediocre football" instead of saying the Patriots have. Whether that's fair or not to Brady.

I like to joke about clinching the AFC East in week 2 but it looks like we're almost there. 100 - a nonzero chance.

Football Outsiders (entering this week) had us as the 20th best offense in the league and the 6th best defense (and best special teams). overall, 13th in the league.

179 points scored, 144 points allowed.

not sure how you could look at the results from first 8 games and come away thinking the overall play had been much better than mediocre. a 2 point win over BUF, a 3 point home win vs the NYJ, a 3 point win over NO...yes we were 6-2 but a few plays away from under .500. we definitely had some luck in the W/L department. 5-3 probably what we 'deserved' (Pythag expectation with those PS / PA is exactly 5-3). and it's not like we've had a bunch of games against the NFL elite, on balance our schedule was easier than average

if you thought things would get better b/c Brady would eventually play much better, or getting a healthy Gronk / Amendola back would be a huge boost, ok - but that is a different story.

bottom line - given how we have played overall I'm quite satisfied to be 7-2.

What was it 6 of their opening day starting D lineup off the field due to injury by the end of that game? (Wilfork, Kelly, Mayo, Nink, Talib, Gregory)

Because mediocre means ordinary, average, middling, or not very good, this team is clearly above average. It might be a mediocre Patriots team, held to the .770+ career winning percentage of Brady or such.

well I said "not sure how you could think they had been much better than mediocre", iow, I'm allowing they had been slightly better than average. somewhere between the 10th and 15th best team? I quoted FO as having them as 13th which sounded about right based solely on 2013 results.

I do think the have much more potential to improve than all those teams though come playoff time, just b/c if Brady starts to play a lot better - which he likely does - the results get a lot better.

Offense looked really good yesterday, Gronk makes such a huge difference on third down and in the red zone and Dobson is turning into a player. Even on the back shoulders one he handcuffed at the beginning of the third quarter he read the play properly, which is a huge improvement over where he was six weeks ago. Add in a legit running back threat on third down and this will be a very good offense. Maybe not '10-'12 good, but good.

Now the defense...they are getting dangerously close to losing the war of attrition. Im not that worried about Gregory missing six weeks, but if Ninkovich is banged up that's bad. I think teams can have a ton of success going with spread formations to force the Patriots into a nickel and then running the ball. Pats have gone to some 5 down lineman looks in their base defense to counter the run and played Spikes more since they lost Wilfork/Kelly, both are trouble against spread offenses. Steelers did a really good job of that yesterday and I really am not sure how the Pats slow down Denver if they take that approach.

Id expect games the rest of the year to look more like the last two years with the offense trying to win shootouts.

I know there's obviously nothing that can be done but it's so friggin annoying that the D has had so many injuries. Now that the offense seems to be coming around, if they had the same D they did early in the year, this team would be a monster.

At this point though I'd like Talib to take as long as he wants so he's healthy for the playoffs. He's so important to this D.

Yeah, it doesnt really work that way, but I hear what you are saying. Secondary is the strength of the team when Talib is out there shutting down the other teams best guy. Defense still is going to be a notch above last years and waaaaay abover the '11 defense if if if no one else goes down. Ninkovich looks like he avoided a major injury, hopefully Dennard's injury is just bumps and bruises.

7-2 is really impressive given the cascade of injuries and incarcerations.

2nd half schedule is sneaky tough. @ Car, @Hou, @ Balt, vs Denver @ Mia all real challenges and even Browns and Bills arent total pushovers.

Not sure @Balt is going to be too tough. They're really not a very good football team.

But agreed it's certainly not a cake walk the rest of the way.

In Baltimore they're good.

What happened to Baltimore? Aren't they like SB champs or something? I know they've been an awful match-up for us lately.

It's pretty amazing the difference a healthy Gronk in the lineup makes. Offense looks completely different when he's in there. Great game obv, but what I most want to take away is a growing chemistry between Brady and the receivers and Brady throwing well downfield. He's been atrocious at this for a while and threw some of his best long passes in years in this game.

Need a healthy Talib and the rest of the defense going forward. Vereen is back in Week 11, he'll be a huge addition. I worry that this Panthers game is a trap, coming off the bye and their best game of the season, they go down to Carolina to play a very dangerous team with one of the best front 4s in the league, while thinking about Denver the week after. But we have two weeks to relax and heal, couldn't ask for much more.