Brady threw 32 passes in a row...

[blue on blue]

One of the reasons I can't take this "greatest football team ever" tripe seriously. There's just too much ballet and not enough football.

This is not meant to be a macho statement. I just don't enjoy watching whatever game they are playing. They are the greatest team ever at the game they play, but is it football?

[Bufftp]

Yes, unless the rules have changed latley. I may not their style-but it is still football. When a team stops Brady they will run more.

[realdealryan]

AND TEAMS STILL BITE ON THE PLAY PASS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry about the caps.

[El Guapo]

I have always been a Manning fan -- the Peyton variety, and advocated he is the best we've seen. However, Brady is showing us something that has never been seen. Total control, not only of himself, but also of each and every game. Hell, damn near every play. He is so friggin cool in the pocket, it scares me.

Don't get me wrong, I hate the Pats with a passion, but this guy is the real deal. Without him, that team is ****. He is the Patriots. Not Bill Bellicheat. Tom Brady is the genius behind this team. Bellicheat saw it in him, and for that I give him credit. But this coaching would not work without, dare I say it(?), the best QB we have ever seen? Shoot me down if you want, but Brady is the best in the game right now. Above Manning.

BTW, when he went over and talked smack to the "We will win" guy of Pitt, should that not have been unsportsman like conduct? I understand a corner and a receiver sparring verbally, but when a QB makes a point to single out a player he just waxed, isn't that taunting?

[JD]

It is most definitely taunting, but he is Tom Brady, a god amongst men. The NFL bows to the man of greatness in every aspect.

[Ickybaluky]

I don't think this is unique to the Patriots.

The bottom line is if you can pass the ball as efficiently as Brady is doing it, why not throw? Conventional wisdom is you have to run, but if you complete 70% of your passes and only throw 5 Ints all year you are dumb not to throw the ball. The alternative is pounding your head against a Pittsburgh front that doesn't give up much rushing yardage.

That is why they do it. Normally, you would worry about negative plays, but Brady does such a good job limiting those that passing the ball becomes a much better play. Granted, the weather could change that, but for the time being it is hard to criticize them for passing so much.

As for wanting to watch it, that is personal preference. However, that is a trend that probably will continue for the NFL, but in college in well.

[Owen DeBoard]

I have always been a Manning fan -- the Peyton variety, and advocated he is the best we've seen. However, Brady is showing us something that has never been seen. Total control, not only of himself, but also of each and every game. Hell, damn near every play. He is so friggin cool in the pocket, it scares me.

Don't get me wrong, I hate the Pats with a passion, but this guy is the real deal. Without him, that team is ****. He is the Patriots. Not Bill Bellicheat. Tom Brady is the genius behind this team. Bellicheat saw it in him, and for that I give him credit. But this coaching would not work without, dare I say it(?), the best QB we have ever seen? Shoot me down if you want, but Brady is the best in the game right now. Above Manning.

BTW, when he went over and talked smack to the "We will win" guy of Pitt, should that not have been unsportsman like conduct? I understand a corner and a receiver sparring verbally, but when a QB makes a point to single out a player he just waxed, isn't that taunting?
Your kidding right? The Pats team is **** without Brady. Come on guy look at the offensive line. They give him all day actually all week long to throw back there. You give any qb that much time to throw then they better be able to get the job done or they shouldnt be playin in this league. Also the wide receivers he has is just plain sick. You put the ball anywhere close to Moss and ten times out of ten he is going to catch it. All the yards after the catch Welker gets him on them short passes, any qb can do that. He also has a coach that is one of the best of all time if not thee best even though he likes to cheat. And last but not least he has the refs behind him just ask Terrel Suggs, Chris Mcallister, and the rest of the Baltimore Ravens. I will give him props though he is a pretty good qb, but would I say the best of all time no way. It is a team game. Not one guy makes a championship team.

[TheWingHead]

Your kidding right? The Pats team is **** without Brady. Come on guy look at the offensive line. They give him all day actually all week long to throw back there. You give any qb that much time to throw then they better be able to get the job done or they shouldnt be playin in this league. Also the wide receivers he has is just plain sick. You put the ball anywhere close to Moss and ten times out of ten he is going to catch it. All the yards after the catch Welker gets him on them short passes, any qb can do that. He also has a coach that is one of the best of all time if not thee best even though he likes to cheat. And last but not least he has the refs behind him just ask Terrel Suggs, Chris Mcallister, and the rest of the Baltimore Ravens. I will give him props though he is a pretty good qb, but would I say the best of all time no way. It is a team game. Not one guy makes a championship team.

Disagree. As much as I hate Brady and the Pats, Brady is that team.. Look at when Matt Cassell went in those few times.. With everyone else still in place he was throwing picks and getting sacked. If Brady goes down, then so does the team.

[Jan Reimers]

With their O line, receiving corps and Brady's skills, why would they ever run?

[Patrick76777]

The Colts are going to beat them in the playoffs and it's going to be the BEST EVER!

They’ll go 16-0, when the divisional match up and get beat by Indy in the Championship game.

This will create 50 years of argument over whether it was an undefeated season. But if course it won't be, because their final record will be 17-1. And again, it'll be the BEST EVER!

[colin]

imo nfl d's haven't figured to what to do yet.

so many plays i see brady yell the name of his WR, and that guy catches a little quick pass, nearly always in the slot.

the way they beat the rush is the slot pass with no progressions, it is straight to welker or whoever and that's that.

if a d can figure out how to disrupt that then they can beat the pats. pitts, balt, and indy did and all nearly won.

they way most d's think is to keep gguys in the middle and run to the checkdown guy once the progressions have been read through. the pats outsmart this by going straight to welker essentially using the rest of the WRs as decoys.

[Ickybaluky]

imo nfl d's haven't figured to what to do yet.

so many plays i see brady yell the name of his WR, and that guy catches a little quick pass, nearly always in the slot.

the way they beat the rush is the slot pass with no progressions, it is straight to welker or whoever and that's that.

if a d can figure out how to disrupt that then they can beat the pats. pitts, balt, and indy did and all nearly won.

they way most d's think is to keep gguys in the middle and run to the checkdown guy once the progressions have been read through. the pats outsmart this by going straight to welker essentially using the rest of the WRs as decoys.

The real interesting thing is you feel you have figured this out, but nobody in the NFL has yet. I would guess that it is a little more complex a picture than you are painting. Either that, or you need to start interviewing for DC positions in the league.

[justasportsfan]

The Colts are going to beat them in the playoffs

NO!!! THe bills are !!! Wohooo!!! :dance:

[Ingtar33]

actually the problem that teams face defending the pats is the coaching staff's lack of confidence in their own players.

the pats are a simple team to handle if you have...

1) a front 4 that can pressure brady without blitzing
2) big CBs who can jam the NE WR's at the line, and with enough skill to recover if they get beat cleanly.
3) safeties who won't bite on PA
4) a great nickleback who can man up Welker
5) a SS who can man up any one of their TE's


Sadly, while 10 years ago i could think of a few teams in the league who'd be able to manage this, this year... this decade, the number of teams able to play a physical bump and run game is pretty low.

Most coaching staffs know they don't have the men to pull it off, as few DBs play this style anymore, because most defenses have morphed into a version of the Tampa 2.

Look at the two teams who managed to slow down NE recently... Philly and Balt, both played them in a tight bump and run. And both could pressure without blitzing.

Look at INDY, they were able to pressure brady all game with a front four, and while they didn't play any bump and run, the pressure alone was enough to slow down the pats.

If the bills hadn't been so decimated with injuries, i could fault our D-coordinator for not playing more bump and run, but with the state of our D-backfield, i can't say i wouldn't hove done anything different.

It's not a mystery of what you need to do to beet the pats. it's just that too few teams have the personnel to manage to accomplish even a little of what would be needed to pull off the upset.

[Owen DeBoard]

Disagree. As much as I hate Brady and the Pats, Brady is that team.. Look at when Matt Cassell went in those few times.. With everyone else still in place he was throwing picks and getting sacked. If Brady goes down, then so does the team.
What few times did Matt Cassell go in?

[DynaPaul]

They pass so much I think they belong in the NBA... and Brady is a douche of the highest order.