New England Patriots

[4/5]

On that first strip sack, that guy was in the neutral zone, right? Not that it would've spun the game or anything...

I went to bed early...now I wish I had stayed up for the Garoppolo show!

I turned the game on during replays of that play, but it sure looked like it.

[Coach]

Although I'm a Pats fan, part of me enjoys a good whipping like this. For two reasons:

1. The Mankins salary dump - while the move was in line with team's long-term strategy, I think this particular move was misguided, especially given all of the investments made in the defense this year. Eliminating your best player on an average/below average line was just plain stupid.

2. The Kraft/Belichick bashing will happen all week long on radio, TV, online, etc. Just like the Sox, the Pats are super image conscience - the PR is over the top at times and I imagine things being a bit uncomfortable right now for all of the 'beautiful people' involved with the organization.

The good news is that I took the Chiefs and the 3.5 pts last night, so, yeah

[Simple Torture]

Let's be serious, though--who's excited to watch this team play 3 games in 12 days???

[Alex]

i'm really looking forward to this bandwagon emptying

[Green Habit]

i'm really looking forward to this bandwagon emptying

They've been good for so long that it will take a while for that bandwagon to empty. Just look at the Cowboys: they've been perfectly mediocre for a generation and they still have a ton of fans.

[Self]

i'm really looking forward to this bandwagon emptying

They've been good for so long that it will take a while for that bandwagon to empty. Just look at the Cowboys: they've been perfectly mediocre for a generation and they still have a ton of fans.

We could use a drop-off, though. I had to pay over $1200 for 3 end-zone tickets to the Raiders game.

A section they'll be turning into a wine bar, by the way.

[Alex]

i'm really looking forward to this bandwagon emptying

They've been good for so long that it will take a while for that bandwagon to empty. Just look at the Cowboys: they've been perfectly mediocre for a generation and they still have a ton of fans.

that's because tony romo is cute

[Coach]

It's interesting because now that the "curse" is over (and two titles later), the Sox certainly saw a good amount of fair-weather local fans drop off the radar, but my gut tells me that national and international bandwagon fans are still out in full force. I'd expect the same with the Pats - perhaps more a local drop off in popularity.

[Simple Torture]

It's interesting because now that the "curse" is over (and two titles later), the Sox certainly saw a good amount of fair-weather local fans drop off the radar, but my gut tells me that national and international bandwagon fans are still out in full force. I'd expect the same with the Pats - perhaps more a local drop off in popularity.

It's crazy how quickly the Sox's championship faded away last year. I think that thanks to "Boston Strong," it was even less about the players than 2004 was. In 5 years, most people won't be able to name a 2013 Sox player besides Ortiz and Pedroia.

I talked about this in the NFL thread, and I think it holds true for the Pats too: thanks to football's ritualization (you get together with your friends, you do Fantasy, it only takes 3 hours per week to follow one team), I think the falloff will be slower if the Pats move into a rebuilding mode. However, if Brady has a sudden retirement--like, say, if he decides to hang it up at the end of this year--I think things will dip a lot faster.

[spike]

brady's done.

[Coach]

His contract is up soon, and he's indicated that he ain't taking a pay cut. While I never believed that Brady would end his career in New England, I always thought that he wouldn't leave for another few years, maybe that time is a bit sooner.

[Self]

Not looking forward to tonight, you guys.

[red calzolaio]

Not looking forward to tonight, you guys.

i'm looking forward to next Sunday!

[Self]

As you should be. Shit's about to get ugly.

[red calzolaio]

why did they cut Hopkins?

[Green Habit]

I'm conflicted as to who to root for here tonight. There's a good chance that the Bengals could now be the Broncos' biggest threat for the #1 AFC seed. Then again, the Pats started off an ugly 2-2 in 2003 and we know what happened there. Hmmm...

[Self]

This team is a long way from the 2003 one, Nick. Root accordingly.

[Green Habit]

This team is a long way from the 2003 one, Nick. Root accordingly.

I wish the posts from RM1 were still around--there was a lot of anti-Patriot shittalk, especially from the Bills fans after the 31-0 thumping. That was some crazy times. The Pats have a track record of turning things around and Bengals have a track record of choking in the playoffs.

[Green Habit]

Well, that sure looked like business as usual.

[Green Habit]

That ought to quiet the critics of the Mankins trade.