The New England Patriots. Oh, how I loathe the New England Patriots. I am a die hard Bills fan. Tom Brady and crew have inflicted so much personal pain upon me as far back as I can remember. My hatred for them runs deep.
That being said, they are one of the best teams in the NFL this year. This decade. All time. They head into Mile High Stadium as a 3 point favorite to the currently undefeated Broncos.
First things first, let's look at the QB's. Tom Brady has 108 completions to Orton's 69. Patriots have 99 first downs, Broncos have 74. That's an average of 6 more first downs per game. Orton does have 1 more TD pass, and no interceptions to Brady's 2. They both have a solid set of receivers, with the edge going to the Patriots. Gaffney and Marshall are good, but would you rather have them, or Moss and Welker? Throw the rest of the Pats WR's into that mix, and the Patriots have an armada of weapons. Particularly, Wes Welker is something special. He catches the uncatchable. He is faster than lightning. He is Brady's go to guy when things just don't look right.
On Defense: The Broncos are undefeated, yes. Let's look at who they have beaten. The Bengals on a miracle TD. The Browns. Who? The Raiders. Are they still a team? The Cowboys. Thanks to a 4th Quarter meltdown.
I am not impressed. These are not quality opponents in any regard. The Broncos put up 17 points last week to beat the Cowboys. The Patriots had to put up 27 to beat the Ravens. Who would you think has the better D, the Ravens or the Cowboys? The Ravens game was a battle, and the Patriots came out on top regardless. The Patriots also completely shut out the Falcons in the 2nd half. This is a Falcons team that has a very potent passing and rushing offense. No points. None. Also keep in mind that Wes Welker didn't play against the Jets (Pats only loss) and he didn't play against Atlanta. That's yards and points that simply didn't happen. He will only be even more ready to go after returning last week.
The Patriots have beaten what was a good Buffalo team in week 1 (albeit a fluke), they lost by 1 touchdown to the Jets without Welker, they dominated the very talented Falcons (once again without Welker) and they also handled the Ravens, who many say have a shot at the Super Bowl.
Coaches : Billy vs. Josh - Teacher vs. Student - will the student become the teacher? No, not on this Sunday.
Also worth mentioning is the NFL's new policy of doing everything they can to give Brady and the Patriots every chance/call/benefit of the doubt they can. The league wants to see this team succeed. The league wants this team back in the Super Bowl.
I will be making my biggest play of the year on PATRIOTS ML.
The juice isn't bad suprisingly, and this game has the potential to come down to a field goal to win it. And that's all I need the Patriots to do.
I might make a smaller play on the Patriots to cover the spread, but for me personally I'd rather pay a little more for a straight up win, rather than this coming down to the wire and getting screwed. Maybe it's not the best value, and maybe they lose outright.
I am not Nostradamus, but the Patriots do not lose these games.