Game #11 NE Patriots vs Atlanta Falcons Thursday 11/18/2021 8:20 PM NFL Network

[BigKen]

Patriots will have a short week, as will the Falcons.

Pats have the Browns and the Falcons are in Dallas against the Cowboys

Falcons are 4-4 with wins over the Jets, Dolphins, Saints, Giants
Losses against the Eagles, WFT, Bucs, Panthers.

My guess is that the Patriots will be 6-4 and the Falcons 4-5 come Thursday.

 

[Southieinnc]

Now Ken now you can start talking about Atlanta!

 

[Dude]

Now Ken now you can start talking about Atlanta!

On to next game. Who did we play today?

 

[Dude]

Patriots will have a short week, as will the Falcons.

Pats have the Browns and the Falcons are in Dallas against the Cowboys

Falcons are 4-4 with wins over the Jets, Dolphins, Saints, Giants
Losses against the Eagles, WFT, Bucs, Panthers.

My guess is that the Patriots will be 6-4 and the Falcons 4-5 come Thursday.

Math could be wrong, but I think the Patriots are already 6-4.

Edit: forget it. You need to write more clearly, @BigKen

 

[nefansince75]

Math could be wrong, but I think the Patriots are already 6-4.

Edit: forget it. You need to write more clearly, @BigKen

or you might want to check the time a posting was made

 

[Dude]

or you might want to check the time a posting was made

Good advice!

 

[Dude]

or you might want to check the time a posting was made

So how do feel about the team now?
Complete change of attitude IMO. They are playing ball now. What do you think?

 

[nefansince75]

So how do feel about the team now?
Complete change of attitude IMO. They are playing ball now. What do you think?

I've been fine with the team the whole time. Not all results can be summed down to wins and losses and to me they were playing well all year.

The key to judging something is choosing the correct standard. Choosing a Brady team with years of continuity just wasn't the right standard. Neither is last year's team, though that one reset the bar pretty low. At this point we're tracking pretty similar to Brady's first year, though I don't think the expectation should be that high... but it should be just as high as we saw it then... Which if I recall, we were starting to feel pretty good about that team.

 

[BigKen]

Falcons in Atlanta Thursday. Then the Patriots get 10 days off before facing the Titans at home and then go to Buffalo.

Then comes the BYE and basically a two week rest before the final four.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Falcons got their ashes hauled yesterday by the Cowboys 43-3.

Matt Ryan struggled and was 9/17 for 117 yard, 0 TD and 2 INT. Falcons WRs have been hurt and they don't have a run game. Patriots have to start strong and hard and keep their foot on the pedal until the game is out of control. Falcons are still bleeding from the OT SB loss to the Patriots, so BB has to make sure that no one takes them lightly.

 

[nefansince75]

Falcons in Atlanta Thursday. Then the Patriots get 10 days off before facing the Titans at home and then go to Buffalo.

Then comes the BYE and basically a two week rest before the final four.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Falcons got their ashes hauled yesterday by the Cowboys 43-3.

Matt Ryan struggled and was 9/17 for 117 yard, 0 TD and 2 INT. Falcons WRs have been hurt and they don't have a run game. Patriots have to start strong and hard and keep their foot on the pedal until the game is out of control. Falcons are still bleeding from the OT SB loss to the Patriots, so BB has to make sure that no one takes them lightly.

Atlanta is not still bleeding from the 2016 SB.... That team rolled over and died. Sure, Matt Ryan is still there but he's about the only one. This is a bad team plain and simple.

 

[YankeeRebel]

PATS 28

FALCONS 3

 

[BigKen]

Atlanta is not still bleeding from the 2016 SB.... That team rolled over and died. Sure, Matt Ryan is still there but he's about the only one. This is a bad team plain and simple.

Teams never forget. Players today may not have been there but by being with the team today, they have an odd association with the past.

None of the players on the patriots ever played against Manning and the Colts or the Broncos, but they get reminded of it and tend to sense the importance of what it meant at the time.

I didn't serve in WWII but my father in law (RIP Art) was a POW in Germany. I hate the f*ckin' Nazi's and everything they did. I wasn't born until 1950. He equally hate the VC and NVR and never stepped a foot in Southeast Asia. When I played football in high school, I'd never played against any other school until I was a freshman and hated 'em all for past games. Some of us are wired differently.

 

[nefansince75]

Teams never forget. Players today may not have been there but by being with the team today, they have an odd association with the past.

None of the players on the patriots ever played against Manning and the Colts or the Broncos, but they get reminded of it and tend to sense the importance of what it meant at the time.

I didn't serve in WWII but my father in law (RIP Art) was a POW in Germany. I hate the f*ckin' Nazi's and everything they did. I wasn't born until 1950. He equally hate the VC and NVR and never stepped a foot in Southeast Asia. When I played football in high school, I'd never played against any other school until I was a freshman and hated 'em all for past games. Some of us are wired differently.

But each example you give are situations with deep roots. The Atlanta vs Pats is essentially one game deep in which one team beat the other based on a coin flip. Sure there's the comeback, but that was merely a reverse of what happened in the opposite direction earlier in the game with a sprinkle of good fortune that went the Pats way.

 

[Southieinnc]

Falcons in Atlanta Thursday. Then the Patriots get 10 days off before facing the Titans at home and then go to Buffalo.

Then comes the BYE and basically a two week rest before the final four.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Falcons got their ashes hauled yesterday by the Cowboys 43-3.

Matt Ryan struggled and was 9/17 for 117 yard, 0 TD and 2 INT. Falcons WRs have been hurt and they don't have a run game. Patriots have to start strong and hard and keep their foot on the pedal until the game is out of control. Falcons are still bleeding from the OT SB loss to the Patriots, so BB has to make sure that no one takes them lightly.

I was in Atlanta yesterday. It wasn't pretty. Atlanta could not do anything right and I'm not exagerating.
Atlanta is not that bad of a team.
Watch out! This is a trap game!
I'm sure Belichick is going to be preaching hard and the veterans will be too.
Atlanta has the luxury to just throw that game out. Flush it!
I hope our team listens and keeps their foot on the gas!

 

[BigKen]

But each example you give are situations with deep roots. The Atlanta vs Pats is essentially one game deep in which one team beat the other based on a coin flip. Sure there's the comeback, but that was merely a reverse of what happened in the opposite direction earlier in the game with a sprinkle of good fortune that went the Pats way.

The point I'm trying to make is that teams that have always been rivals are still rivals and most of the originals are dead. Green Bay/Chicago, Green Bay/Detroit, Giants/Cowboys more recently, Colts/Pats, Pats/Jets, Pats/Chiefs. Once two teams have a premise, it's almost as if the present roster has grasped the intensity of it. The perfect game for a rivalry to be truly born is the Titans. Vrabel is a former Pat, the Pats have historically tethered the Titans and now the Titans and Pats will be playing a smash face game. Even better, in the end it could be for the playoff Bye and home field.

Think of it this way. If the Patriots beat the Titans in Nashville and both teams make it to the AFC Final, it could be played in Foxboro. You don't think that the game will not spill over for the next 10-12 years?? Regardless of who wins. Every rookie on both teams going forward will want nothing more than to face the other team and be a hometown hero.

Somehow, someway certain teams create an animosity for each other and somehow, someway, coaches find a way to inject it into player that have never been part of it.

 

[Southieinnc]

The point I'm trying to make is that teams that have always been rivals are still rivals and most of the originals are dead. Green Bay/Chicago, Green Bay/Detroit, Giants/Cowboys more recently, Colts/Pats, Pats/Jets, Pats/Chiefs. Once two teams have a premise, it's almost as if the present roster has grasped the intensity of it. The perfect game for a rivalry to be truly born is the Titans. Vrabel is a former Pat, the Pats have historically tethered the Titans and now the Titans and Pats will be playing a smash face game. Even better, in the end it could be for the playoff Bye and home field.

Think of it this way. If the Patriots beat the Titans in Nashville and both teams make it to the AFC Final, it could be played in Foxboro. You don't think that the game will not spill over for the next 10-12 years?? Regardless of who wins. Every rookie on both teams going forward will want nothing more than to face the other team and be a hometown hero.

Somehow, someway certain teams create an animosity for each other and somehow, someway, coaches find a way to inject it into player that have never been part of it.

Patriots have lost the 2 previous meetings against the Titans.
There already is some rivalry because Vrabel used to play for the Pats but also Vrabel is the only guy that I know of that could every give belichick hell in a disagreement. There have been several players that could banter with Bill butnoton the level of Vrabel.
They have a lot of respect for each other.

Beating the Titans would be a big win but we should worry about Atlanta 1st!

 

[nefansince75]

The point I'm trying to make is that teams that have always been rivals are still rivals and most of the originals are dead. Green Bay/Chicago, Green Bay/Detroit, Giants/Cowboys more recently, Colts/Pats, Pats/Jets, Pats/Chiefs. Once two teams have a premise, it's almost as if the present roster has grasped the intensity of it. The perfect game for a rivalry to be truly born is the Titans. Vrabel is a former Pat, the Pats have historically tethered the Titans and now the Titans and Pats will be playing a smash face game. Even better, in the end it could be for the playoff Bye and home field.

Think of it this way. If the Patriots beat the Titans in Nashville and both teams make it to the AFC Final, it could be played in Foxboro. You don't think that the game will not spill over for the next 10-12 years?? Regardless of who wins. Every rookie on both teams going forward will want nothing more than to face the other team and be a hometown hero.

Somehow, someway certain teams create an animosity for each other and somehow, someway, coaches find a way to inject it into player that have never been part of it.

And that's my point too... One Super Bowl encounter does not make a premise. The same applies to the Panthers and even the Eagles to a lesser extent since there's plenty of Boston to Philly rivalry, but not a drip in a bucket compared to Bruins/Flyers or Celts/Sixers.... but you changed topics from Atlanta to Tennessee.... I agree a rivalry could grow with Tennessee but Vrabel needs to keep them in contention for a couple years or they need something epic in the next couple of head to heads.

 

[BigKen]

topics

The topic was rivalry. Atlanta still hurts from the SB loss and like the Pats, they have the same owner. That and Atlanta doesn't have a rival in any sport except possibly baseball. The braves were originally in BOSTON.

 

[rmilia1]

We have pretty much alternated between playing well and playinh awful for the last 7 weeks. Defense has been hit or miss. Some games looking decent, others looking awful. Ditto for the offense.

You guys should win but we arent a bad team just higely inconsistent and whem bad Atlanta shows up theyre REALLY bad.

Ryan has had 3 awful games and 6 great games. Id expect him to play well. IF our "good" Atlanta shows up itll be close.

Best guess

Pats 27
Falcons 23

 

[Yankee Traveler]

If the Patriots beat the Titans in Nashville and both teams make it to the AFC Final, it could be played in Foxboro.

Only problem with that is Titans are traveling to Foxborough this year.

While I hope the Pats beat them, I almost kinda hope the Titans have homefield advantage for the playoffs so the Pats can come here and beat them again...and I can take the family to our first (and probably only) playoff game.