Losing streak for NE?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2004 6:18 am
My prediction is a NE losing streak starts with a loss this week to Seattle.
The Patriots have problems and they're about to be exposed over the next 5-6 weeks. The main reason for their downfall will be the NE rush D. Losing Ted Washington will catch up to them and cost them a few games. They tried to replace him with Traylor but he's a major downgrade at NT. Rookie Vince Wilfolk is now one of the keys to the NE season. He must step in and play often and stop the run.
So far they've only faced one top 10 rushing team(Colts at #10). The Colts ran all over them for 200+ and 4.8 a carry. The Colts should have won that game. They faced BUF and they ran all over NE as well. 5.3/carry for a struggling BUF rush O that averaged only 2.9 vs the rest of the NFL in 04. BUF had an excellent shot at the W in that game but Travis Henry fell apart late in the 4th while BUF was inside the NE red zone.
Overall, the NE rush D numbers are respectable but there's a simple reason for that. It's only been 4 games for NE and 2 of them were against MIA(the worst O and rush O in the NFL) and ARZ.
This week they have SEA. SEA probably has the #1 or #2 OL in football. They should be able to run all over NE. After that they'll play solid rushing teams over the next several weeks. In the next 7 weeks, they face 5 of the top 9 rush teams in the NFL. Over the next 9 teams they play 8 teams that are ranked in the top half of the league. BUF is the other teams and they already proved that they can run on NE.
They are 4-0 right now. Most of the guys on ESPN and the NFL Network think this team has a great shot at running the table. IMO, that's crazy. I don't think they have any shot at 16-0. I say there's a very good chance that NE losses 4-5 out of the next 7 games. At the end of the season, NE will be a lot closer to 9-7 than 16-0.
SEA will beat them this week. I might be crazy but I really think it could be the start of a losing streak for NE.
The Patriots have problems and they're about to be exposed over the next 5-6 weeks. The main reason for their downfall will be the NE rush D. Losing Ted Washington will catch up to them and cost them a few games. They tried to replace him with Traylor but he's a major downgrade at NT. Rookie Vince Wilfolk is now one of the keys to the NE season. He must step in and play often and stop the run.
So far they've only faced one top 10 rushing team(Colts at #10). The Colts ran all over them for 200+ and 4.8 a carry. The Colts should have won that game. They faced BUF and they ran all over NE as well. 5.3/carry for a struggling BUF rush O that averaged only 2.9 vs the rest of the NFL in 04. BUF had an excellent shot at the W in that game but Travis Henry fell apart late in the 4th while BUF was inside the NE red zone.
Overall, the NE rush D numbers are respectable but there's a simple reason for that. It's only been 4 games for NE and 2 of them were against MIA(the worst O and rush O in the NFL) and ARZ.
This week they have SEA. SEA probably has the #1 or #2 OL in football. They should be able to run all over NE. After that they'll play solid rushing teams over the next several weeks. In the next 7 weeks, they face 5 of the top 9 rush teams in the NFL. Over the next 9 teams they play 8 teams that are ranked in the top half of the league. BUF is the other teams and they already proved that they can run on NE.
They are 4-0 right now. Most of the guys on ESPN and the NFL Network think this team has a great shot at running the table. IMO, that's crazy. I don't think they have any shot at 16-0. I say there's a very good chance that NE losses 4-5 out of the next 7 games. At the end of the season, NE will be a lot closer to 9-7 than 16-0.
SEA will beat them this week. I might be crazy but I really think it could be the start of a losing streak for NE.