VermontRaven

At this point, I'm not picky...I just want us to get in the tournament!

Let's throw the Cardinals in the mix too while we're at it. Dolphins may need to lose a couple for the wildcard!

I"m glad Watkins and Woods are playing for Buffalo against Pitt on Sunday! Really hope the Bills can pull that game off! Mike Rodak ESPN Staff Writer Rex Ryan confirms that WRs Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods should be "ready to roll" against Pittsburgh. Both are listed as questionable. Bad injury news for Bills though is that DT Kyle Williams might not play: Mike Rodak ESPN Staff Writer Rex Ryan says he is "concerned" that DT Kyle Williams cannot play Sunday after his back locked up last night. Ryan says Jerel Worthy and others will need to step up. Mike Rodak ESPN Staff Writer Bills DT Kyle Williams did not practice Friday because of a back injury. He is questionable for Sunday's game against Pittsburgh.

That's the Patriots logic for you.,,constantly trying to find a way to justify their cheating. Patriots have 0 integrity in my opinion.

This is a very big question. Clearly, I think the options are 1) He plays RG if the coaching staff feels he is the best option there (also depends on how line is playing...if we are rolling, we may ride Ducasse anyway to not break up the continuity. 2) He is top reserve for LT, RT, and LG...Even if this is the option, I will feel better. Right now, we are one play away from Hurst in the game.

Alex Lewis practicing today for first time in 4 weeks. Don't think he'll play vs. Pats, but very good sign moving forward.

That's what they've officially been punished for. Not to mention, Spygate was most likely much worse than was proven because there is HUGE evidence that the NFL covered up a lot of it. http://deadspin.com/bombshell-espn-report-the-patriots-were-huge-cheaters-1729286402 At least 5 teams have reported suspected foul play by the Patriots involving headsets http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/09/11/at-least-five-teams-have-suspected-patriots-of-headset-tampering/ Not to mention Peyton Manning, one of the smartest NFL quarterbacks...suspected the Patriots had the locker room bugged. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/08/peyton-mannning-patriots-bugged-the-visitors-locker-room-at-gillette-stadium I firmly believe the Patriots are the BIGGEST CHEATS in all of sports. This is why I'd rather lose to the Steelers than the Patriots. I can't stand the Steelers, but I respect them (at least a little) I have NOOOO respect for the Patriots and if Goodell and the NFL had a backbone, I think the Patriots would have been caught and punished many more times. Seattle may have the 12th man, but the Cheaters probably have about 20!

I agree with this. This is another reason I think it would be really nice to be able to hold on to Wagner. Then, Lewis could start at G, but could also be a quality backup option if either tackle went down...much easier to find a quality backup interior lineman (see Ducasse who was out of a job until we had injuries) than a quality backup tackle.

I'm not confident that Pitt will lose again. They COULD run the table. I think Buffalo and us are there only real challenges left. I think they beat Cincy and obviously Cleveland. So, it is POSSIBLE we lose to Pitt, but beat NE, Philly, and Cincy and go 10-6...which would give us a chance a a wildcard if Denver loses 2 more and Miami loses 1 more.

Thanks. Can't believe I did that!...must be the lack of sleep with a 2 yr. old and a 1 yr. old. Anyways, I edited my original post to avoid confusion.

Don't know anything about WR Griff Whalen, but the Pats just signed him to help fill the void left by Amendola being out. http://www.espn.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4798346/patriots-and-wr-griff-whalen-agree-on-a-1-year-contract

Or Taliaferro, who had zero impact even when he was healthy

Yeah, I am VERY disappointed with ESPN's playoff machine this year. That used to be my go to before I realized this year how many flaws it has.

I like the sounds of that! I have said before my "dream scenario" is us beating Pats and Eagles and Steelers losing to Bills and Bengals. Then, we have the division wrapped up before Christmas and a chance to end any playoff hopes for the Steelers on Christmas Day!

The ESPN playoff machine is wrong! WE win the Common Games tiebreak. I have lost all respect for ESPN's playoff machine over this. I have reported it to them, and they have done nothing to change it. Try nflplayoffpredictor.com Basically, there is no way we can lose a tiebreak to Pittsburgh. (barring any tied games--I haven't factored that in)

Dive in the nice warm water! Should be a chilly game! (hopefully in more ways than one for the Patriots)

For the Ravens playoff chances a Steelers loss to Bills = Steelers loss to Bengals. Examples: Steelers lose to Bills OR Bengals, Ravens beat Pats and Eagles. Ravens would only need to wiN @ Pitt OR @ Cincy because either way we hold tiebreak over Pitt.

If it looks like a troll, smells like a troll...and appears extremely arrogant...it's the master of all trolls...A Patriots fan! (Although he/she probably cheated to become master troll)

Here it is:

At this point, a BIlls loss vs. a Bengals loss by the Steelers are equally as helpful. In all scenarios, barring any tied games, we hold the tiebreaker over PItt. I broke this down in an earlier post.

Yeah, my guess is because the wildcard is factored in. I think it implies that if we beat the Pats, then lost to Steelers (but beat Eagles and Bengals..games in which I expect us to be slightly favored), then we'd be 10-6 and still have a decent shot at the wildcard. Lose this one and the Steelers game, and the wildcard is a lot less likely at 9-7

Practice update from Zrebiec:

yeah, there's a lot of those up here in Vermont...which is why I spend so much time on here...to get my football-talk fix

Now that's some poor scheduling!

http://www.espn.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/127072/games-that-will-shift-the-playoff-picture-week-14 Not a big fan of FPI or these statistics, but it shows there is a 31% swing in the chance the Ravens make playoffs with win vs. loss @ Patriots.