Boy do I WISH I could make it up there...on second thought, with a Saturday high temperature of 18F, probably 10 by gametime, no thanks.  I'll stay here and cry in my beer from the comfort and warmth of my own recliner.

You're right books. The last I heard, they're looking at 5-10 degrees by gametime. I might even get cold watching that!

As for the Patriots, they're quietly listening as Keith Bullock shoots his mouth off!

Patriots 17
Titans 7

thirsty


-- Modified on 1/7/2004 9:23:22 AM

Hey, Parched,I just have this feeling that the Pats are going to have a bad day. As for the weather, I moved to MB SC  from VT to escape the kind of stuff that's going to happen up there this weekend.
By the way if we can use the sobriquet Pats for the Patriots, maybe we can call the Titans (are you ready) the Tits.

That will be a good name for them after Saturday when the Patriots get through softening them up.

No disrespect to the Titans...they were the second best team in the NFC this year. The game will be decided by 10 points or less but I'm afraid the Titans are going home in "Wait til next year!" mode.

thirsty

"We started their streak, so I'm telling the fellows we might as well go up there and end it, you know? They're a good team and they haven't lost at home, so you can't take anything away from them. But it's playoff time. You have to call it like it is."

I didn't really think he was saying anything too bad there. Little credit where credit is due, and if I had any player who didn't have a similar attitude at this point in the year, I would want him kicked off the team bus head first.

Unbiased opinion:

1. Weather will stink (under 10F, 6-12MPH wind, but no precipitation).

2. Passing will be doable but some of the receivers may have a hard time holding on to that cold ball. Brady hasn't thrown an INT at home this year, but 12 total; McNair 7 total (+ 3 last week).

3. Running will probably be best but the ball will be easy to drop. Titans have a chip on their shoulder since Mike Cloud had 70 yds in the first meeting (and only 48 the other 15 games) so I would not expect the Pats to run very well, but I never expect Eddie to run very well either.

4. Needless to say, I expect turnovers and injuries to be the biggest factors by far. I respect Bellicheck, but I don't think his schemes (Off or Def) really scare the Titans yet and I am sure the Titans scheme doesn't scare NE (esp with Steve a little extra hurt and not scrambling as much).

5. Prediction: none but slightly favoring NE. Too many ways the ball could bounce. Literally. Should be close if both teams hold on to the ball and can keep players healthy.

Non-biased: I would try to hit Brady every chance I got...even taking a few late shots early just to let him know we were there. Don't think he rattles easily, but I would send a few message shots his way. Dangerous ground with a hurt QB on the other side of the field, but you have no chance if you let him sit back and pick receivers with no fear or trepidation.

Knock a few balls out of their hands, who knows what happens. May have to gamble on a few routes, dare the Pats Def to cover a few extra receivers by spreading 5 every time (not convinced of the coverage beyond the first two CBs), perhaps a few other "oddities", but I think this is winnable by my Titans.

Prediction: 27-24 Titans, higher scoring than most would think (hopefully not all by the Pats)

-- Modified on 1/8/2004 7:10:45 AM

I was actually referring to a qoute by Bullock after the first game, (paraphrasing) "We let a mediocre team run the ball down our throats!"

Spreading the field may be a big mistake. The Pats will use this as an opportunity to blitz more. Hitting Brady is easier said than done. He get rid of the ball so quickly. In Foxboro at this time of year, you have to play to the wind. Most teams will only throw when the have the wind at their backs. To some degree, the Patriots will play this way. I expect the Patriots to come out and try to stretch the field early regardless of the wind conditions.

The Titans have a distinct height advantage (WR v. DB). McNair will have to take what's there. George will be a non-factor. As usual with the Titans, it will be all up to McNair. He's going to have to come up much bigger than last week. Also, the Titans "D" will have to force turnovers. The team with the fewest turnovers will definitely win this game!

thirsty

P.S. Your score is way too high books. The Pats have given up ONE TD in the last 6 games at home!



-- Modified on 1/8/2004 7:54:39 AM

As I said: higher than expected. I don't expect either team defense to be overly effective...too many possibilities on Offense.  Let the Pats blitz, you just have to get the ball out of your hands quicker. And I expect EGeorge to get about 60-80 yards, nothing more.

less than 40 yds for George.

Whatever happens, the best team will win and the winner of this game will represent the AFC in the Superbowl! Don't tell me about the Colts, they just don't have enough "D" but Dungy may get them to the SB next year.

thirsty

Only team to scare me other than NE...who needs D if you can't hardly stop em from scoring?  Either Titans/Colts or Patriots/Colts will be a pretty good game.  

Er..um..aren't we forgetting about the fickle, wishy-washy, mediocre, lucky Chiefs?

Naaahh. They have no chance. If KC makes the SB, I am taking the NFC even if it is Carolina.

BTW - If Eddie only gets 30 yds on 20 carries (which he will get unless he gets injured), we're really gonna be in trouble.

As always the defense for NE will shine...
its simply going to be too cold for anything else. And folks when we say COLD we mean cold...ususllay we don't bitter bitter cold like this we have been having since tuesday.....
its a day for Defense.

I watched Tenessee last week, and no one can tell me that Baltimore's Defense or Offense is better than NE.

Looks like Mc Nair AND George are definitly below 100% and that can really hurt them...

Patriots have had a week off and should be at full strength...

look for Ted Washington to stuff Eddie George, he did not play in the first game...

Look for Pats defense to bump receivers at the line and get a few penalties on them if they are going for long balls early in the game....

Look for Tyrone Poole to play spoiler again....

YOu can not win a game if you are not scoring points...I have a feeling its only going to be Gary Anderson who MAY score points for the Titans....They HAD their Superbowl last week in Baltimore...

One thing is for SURE....it will be a game we as fans can not afford to miss......... I hate BYE WEEKS...its miserable not to be able to watch Pats.......

Lasy year I saw a provider during the regular season and Pats did not make the playoffs...this year, I am not seeing any provides UNTIL after they win the Superbowl ...then its celebration
time...  

Enjoy the game everybody.

High Fives to all Pats Fans on TER...Thirsty and the boys. .....

Interesting that everyone harps on the low number of points allowed by NE at home.  Remember that of the 68 pts given up by NE at home this year, 30 were by TEN - who put up 372 yards passing and 442 total (yeah, only 70 total).  And those other 7 home games for NE were against these teams (with YPG and Scoring rankings in parentheses):

Jets         (19, 23)
Giants       (20, 30)
Cleveland    (26, 29)
Dallas       (15, 21)
Miami        (24, 17)
Jacksonville (12, 26)
Buffalo      (30, 30)
---------------------
Titans       ( 8,  5)

More stats...
              TN       NE
Off Pts      27.2     21.8
Def Pts      20.3     14.9
Yards PG    343.8    314.9
YDS Allow   306.3    291.6

Watch out for EG, who always seems to play better in the playoffs (and against Cleveland) than the regular season. Also, I think he is a much better runner in cold weather for whatever reason. No, I don't think he will have 100 yards, but he doesn't have to. He only ran for 35 the first time and the Pats only won (deservedly) because of an interception and a 71 yard return by Johnson.

Believe it or not, I am not an EG fan. He would have been one of the first two players I fired if I won the lottery last year and bought the franchise...first would be offensive lineman Fred "False Start" Miller. And I don't really expect to win against a quality, rested team at home.

But I am not so impressed by NE on Friday that I would be scared to show up if I were TEN. As with any two equally matched teams, I still expect turnovers to decide things, as usual!

-- Modified on 1/9/2004 3:17:07 PM

I'm thinking more and more that turnovers will be the key to this game. It's already freezing here!  I went out today (9 degrees) and pushed my chair about a half mile. All I could think of one the way home was, "I can't believe that they're going to play football for 3+ hours in weather colder than this!

The first TD probably wins this game. Regardless of the wind direction, expect the Pats to come out throwing as they always do. Expect the Tits to come out running (unsuccessfully). Remember, in December and January, wind is a big factor in Foxboro (or Foxborough, if you prefer . This usually means that you only can throw the ball for 2 of 4 quarters. When the Pats played Miami at home a few weeks ago, the Pats were going against the wind in the 1st quarter. The Pats held the ball for about 8 minutes on the ground. I wouldn't be surprised if Antoine Smith has more yds than George.

With due respect books, the high scoring game you're expecting is a fantasy!

I'm sticking with 17-7 Pats (including a defensive TD).

thirsty

-- Modified on 1/9/2004 9:45:24 PM

I'm thinking that the Pats are so hungry for a SB ring that they will win by at least 2 TDs but the score will be about 20-6 Pats. There will be a lot of injuries, field too hard, and all the scoring will be in the 1st half. sine que non

Yards - Even (102-200-302, 95-202-297)
Points - lower than I thought
Turnovers - even at 1 each

Big difference - idiots who made 9 ill-timed penalties for the Titans, including the late intentional grounding.

Sloppy game, but congratulations to NE.

I will now return to my work.  The sports season is over until August.

I like your way of thinking books. When my team is done, the season is over. That's how I keep from watching too much sports.

Believe it or not, I was at a postponed Christmas party tonight so I didn't see the game as well as I would have liked. Luckily I TIVO'd it. I'll watch the game tomorrow and comment. At this point I will say the Titans should just how much skill and heart they have. They have nothing to be ashamed about. McNair is the true MVP! Ultimately, we will probably find that today's game was the Super Bowl!

Every Patriots game is different. The one common thread. They find a way to win!

thirsty