Yail Bloor Wrote:
thrillhouse Wrote:
the thought that anyone is beating the patriots in foxboro is a little bit difficult for me to imagine. so too is the idea that the falcons could win a game played anywhere other than atlanta (e.g. cowboy stadium). i think bob and shiv have it about right.
I realize the Pats are better this year than last but let's not forget they got absolutely boat raced by Baltimore at Foxboro last year. I think that if any team can beat them there this year, it's the Steelers.
LooGAR is right though about my lack of true faith. "Long suffering" and "waiting for the other shoe to drop" are the basic makeup of my sports fan DNA.
As for the Falcons inability to play well in Cowboys stadium, I don't even know what that means in the context of the Super Bowl. It's not like they would be playing
the Cowboys. It's a vanilla crowd, it's inside, on turf, etc.
yes, a vanilla crowd indeed, which is a long way from the comforts of home. i don't want to disparage the falcons or any other team (save for the jets), but i am just unimpressed with the nfc on the whole. i see the falcons as about on par with the chiefs and i credit their home field advantage plus the weakness of the conference for the strength of their record. that is obviously at least partially a tribute to the quality of their fans, and something i wish the pats fans would take after a little more (the open ended stadium doesn't help).
and while the pats did lose to the ravens last year in foxboro, the team is different not only in terms of personnel, but also in terms of overall demeanor and philosophy. also they are back to running the football more and back to being flexible with their offensive game plan, looking more like the 2004 pats than the 2007 model. also mccourty hasn't gone unrecognized for his play, but just how much he has improved the secondary is going to surprise those of you who haven't seen the pats play much this year.
anything can happen of course, but looking at it objectively it's the pats and then the rest of the field. they handled every single one of the playoff teams they faced this year, and they faced most of them. look at what they did to the bears in chicago. the steelers game was over quick. beat the colts. smoked the packers (without rogers but still) and they beat the ravens long before they started playing their best football. plus they have put up 30+ in 9 straight games.
.gif)
