Pneumonic

They are all hypocrites of the highest order. It seems that if Riley had been "considered black" (like Incognito apparently is) then he could have made reference to the N word and not be considered to be a racist and a bigot. http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2013/11/richie-incognito-considered-black-in-dolphins-locker-room.html

Desperation perhaps?

Not sure why some think Martin is a kitty over this! Incognito threatened to kill Martin! It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it might not be in ones best interest to hang around a lunatic like Incognito if he's threatened to kill you.

Incognito sure appears to be an unstable, walking, time bomb. If he threatened Martin in any way I could see why Martin might fear for his well being and not want to be around the lunatic.

He's probably declining but, give him the weapons Manning has, for example, and he's the best in the game again.

I suppose your "other factors" is simply my "being equal, or close to equal" qualifier.

All else being equal, or close to being equal, SB wins is the tie-breaker for me. That's why I rank Montana as the best ever.

This team can't catch a break. Next 4 games are toughies. CINCI @ Miami @ Saints KC

The Pats have what amounts to a bye the next two weeks so might as well rest them both up in order to help heal what ails them.

So, had Mario Manningham not miraculously caught that ball that bounced off his head in SB XLVI we'd not be having this discussion. Wow, tough crowd

Also, keep in mind that Godell harshly fined the Pats not so much for the actual act of videotaping but because BB disobeyed his order to stop, at a time when Godell was just getting started in his role as judge and jury of the league. IIRC, BB's counter was that he misinterpreted what he felt were vague rules on the matter.

Indeed, it seems he is.

Opening day with a rabid home crowd helps but, in the end, the Pats are too much. Pats 38 Bills 20

Not to mention how big a pain the arse it would be to asterisk all of this leagues records and accomplishments dating back to day 1 due to "cheating"

The videotaping of opponents signals has been going on since Christ was a cowboy and isn't illegal. The Pats method of videotaping (ie close-up instead of afar) is what got them into trouble. In retrospect, I am sure BB wishes he had kept his video guy away from the action like all the other teams do.

I don't know how to put this any other way than to say: If the Pats stopped their winning ways after "cheating" then I might acknowledge that said cheating aided them in their wins, no matter the margin of victory. But, the sheer dominance that this team has demonstrated, post spygate, clearly indicates otherwise.

It's a pick your poison kinda decision. Die the slow, agonizing death or get it over with quickly. Brady will pick you apart and move the ball up and down the field all day long if given time to survey the field and pick his options. More often than not he finally gets his team into the endzone. This is the slow and agonizing routine. On the quick side of things. Brady's perhaps the best ever at quickly diagnosing defenses, pre and post, snap so confusing him with exotic blitzes really is a stretch, especially so if in a defense that he is intimately familiar with and has had success against, like Pettine's for example. Most of the time, Brady wins this chess battle up at the LOS .... moreso now these days as he's gotten even more experienced and has seen pretty much everything that any DC can throw at him. One poorly implemented, or mis-timed blitz, and the safeties are chasing Pats jersey into the EZ.. I think it's futile to engage in a battle of the mind with Brady. He's simply too experienced and good at this to win enough times. So, you have to beat him physically. For starters take away the run so play action can;t impact things. If that is successful then, probably the best way to do this is to overpower his OL in order to get to him while jamming his receiver at the LOS so that they cannot be where Brady expects them to be. This is especially crucial if you can place Brady under duress in hops that you can cause an errant throw or two, or three that results in a pick. The challenge however, is the Pats have an excellent, well coached and veteran OL which is generally up to the challenge of protecting Brady flawlessly. The Ginats NASCAR package has worked in the past as a way to get pressure on Brady but that NASCAR formation is very difficult for most teams to duplicate since so few have the requisite DL (stud pass rushing DE's in all 4 DL spots) to pull it off. And, even if it can be done, the current installment of the Pats rushing attack, is very likely good enough to pound it down the throats of those DE's, something they were unable to do to the Giants back in the day.

The biggest key in the game on that side of the ball, IMHO. If the Bills cannot stop the Pats run, without having to commit an extra guy in the box, then the Pats will simply spread them Bills out wide and take away any pass rush required to pressure Brady off his timing game in hopes of creating needed turnovers. The Bills unsettled safety situation is also a grave concern. Probably the best way to hurt the Pats passing game is to jam their wideouts up at the LOS in order to get them off their timing routes so that Brady can't hit them where he expects them to be. Without solid safety play, I'm not sure Pettine can afford to call many aggressive calls up at the LOS. If he does, then surely Brady will make them safeties pay, dearly.

If there is any belief still that the Pats "cheating" was the primary cause for their greatness, such belief should have waned by now due to the fact that since the Pats "stopped cheating" (let's call it their last SB win some 8 years ago), the Pats have: - Compiled a league best 98-30 W/L record in the regular season. - Set winning and performances records that are historical. - Appeared in 7 playoff games (and lost out on an 8th despite winning 11 games) - Orchestrated the only 16-0 season ever - Played in 4 AFFC games - Played in 2 SB games. If anyone is still excusing away the Pats stellar performance, due to cheating, then is it not expected that they get called out in some fashion? Is it not expected that such critics should have moved on by now and accepted the above facts that clearly show that the Pats really are an exceptional team and that any reference to their cheating ways of yesteryear is nothing more than simple envy and jealousy?

While it's true that their SB winning ways seemed to stop after their defense took a step down .... let's not lose sight of the fact that, during this same 8 year timeframe, no team has won more games than the Pats have. 98 wins versus just 30 losses actually. Further, they also have been to 2 additional SB's in this timeframe. The point being, though they haven't won a SB in 8 years, they have still been a superior team, despite not having a top defense.

Shula/Griese lost a SB and then won afterwards. Landry/Staubach did also So, this is not true..

While uncertainty exists amongst the Pats receiver ranks, the key is not so much the receivers being employed but rather the QB who tosses said receivers the ball. Brady has made JAG's into 1k yard receivers throughout his career. And many of them weren't nearly as talented as this bunch he now has at the helm.

With Brady at the helm they'll score points. Heck, they've scored no fewer than 34 PPG, for a total of 120 points, the last 3 times they played in Buffalo. The only uncertainty this time around is how well the new receivers they have brought in will perform in their new digs. On defense, while they have given up large chunks of yardage, this team has, traditionally under Belichick, always been VG on scoring defense. So, while teams seem to be able to move the ball on them when it comes to putting the ball into the endzone, the Pats defense tends to rise to the occasion. Furthermore, the Pats are the leagues best defense at creating turnovers.

It's all on the defense this game. They need to be able to stop the Pats rushing attack without committing extra defender in the box which will allow them to drop an extra defender back in coverage to help create the requisite turnovers required to pull off the upset.

It's just as likely that if you flipped HC/GM, and allowed Belichick to do his thing in Buffalo, that the W/L record may also be flipped. Separation of the HC/GM from the star players is almost impossible to do. Would Lombardi be who he is minus Starr and Taylor? How about Noll minus Bradshaw, Swann and Harris? Or, Walsh minus Montana and Rice? These guys are all joined at the dynasty hip. The "control" that BB has over that team stems from the fact that he also serves as GM, in addition to HC, and so is entrusted with addition personnel power. Few HC's are given that power. Nor should they. BB is an exception obviously.