Do the Eagles really even have a chance?

[SeAhAwKeR4life]

Quite certainly the NFL would like to see another Patriots championship. I have a feeling if the Eagles threaten to win the game we'll see ticky-tack calls all going the Pats way. The NFL wants the Patriots to win and I don't put it past them to screw this as bad as they did handing XL to the Stealers. ukeface:

 

[XxXdragonXxX]

I didnt think they had a chance vs the Falcons or Vikings.

The Pats almost lost to Blake Bortles and have had a cupcake walk to the Superbowl...so Im not ruling anything out.

Also I dont get the whole NFL wants the Pats to win. Theyve come down hard on them in the past, and Gronk gets routinely mugged with no calls.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Quite certainly the NFL would like to see another Patriots championship. I have a feeling if the Eagles threaten to win the game we'll see ticky-tack calls all going the Pats way. The NFL wants the Patriots to win and I don't put it past them to screw this as bad as they did handing XL to the Stealers. ukeface:

Not sure what you mean by the "NFL"...............but my guess is no one, including the other owners, GM's or players want to see the Patriots win. Patriot fatigue is widespread, we're all tired of it.

And of course the Eagles have a chance. How you beat the Patriots is to hit Brady, and the Eagle's have one of the best front 7's in the league, and should be able to put together a scheme to get to Brady as much as possible.

 

[kidhawk]

Well, nobody gave the Giants a chance against the undefeated Patriots, but I still rooted for the Giants to end that streak and I'll root for the Eagles to beat the Patriots this time around as well.

 

[adeltaY]

Yeah I don't get how people think the game is rigged in the Pats favor. Comes across as pure saltiness.

Also, if the Seahawks can scheme to mitigate the Eagles pressure, then the Pats sure as hell can. Philly gonna have to come up with something new.

I think it'll be a shootout. Pederson's offense is very well designed and the Pats defensive talent isn't much to write home about. Could be an ass kicking if Foles regresses to his career mean.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Yeah I don't get how people think the game is rigged in the Pats favor. Comes across as pure saltiness..

Yes, it's saltiness, and there's now a long history of the Patriots winning over and over..........with some questionable calls.

But part of that is they play with such discipline mistake free clutch football, that yes most of the time there is a big disparity in penalties and mistakes. But that's a credit to Belichick, not some grand league conspiracy.

If deflategate showed us anything, it's that the "league" is VERY tired of the Patriots.

 

[mistaowen]

Key to beating the Pats is get pressure with 4 and don't take foot off the gas. Seahawks SB, Falcons SB, Jags AFC championship. All teams did this for 3/4 of the game but fell short when they gave Brady a chance. Eagles have a good defensive front and can run the ball. I think it should be a close game and wouldn't be surprised if it plays out similarly to the Jags game. Eagles come out hot, Pats adjust to fight back, late score wins it.

 

[BirdsCommaAngry]

Of course. It's just not a very good chance.

 

[chris98251]

Key to beating the Patriots is let them have the lead a few points into the half, then unleash the hounds and beat up Brady, Refs and NFL won't be as inclined to steer it as much for ratings.

 

[Osprey]

Key to beating the Patriots is let them have the lead a few points into the half, then unleash the hounds and beat up Brady, Refs and NFL won't be as inclined to steer it as much for ratings.

At the risk of seeing the smile on the dog...does this explain Pete's strategy of taking the first half of the game off? Was it really an approach to protect the team's psyche from the negative impact of knowing you're getting jobbed by the refs?

 

[chris98251]

Key to beating the Patriots is let them have the lead a few points into the half, then unleash the hounds and beat up Brady, Refs and NFL won't be as inclined to steer it as much for ratings.

At the risk of seeing the smile on the dog...does this explain Pete's strategy of taking the first half of the game off? Was it really an approach to protect the team's psyche from the negative impact of knowing you're getting jobbed by the refs?

Well Pete doesn't do it intentionally I don't think.

The idea is to take a lot of the adjustments the Pats make away at half time, if they have the lead they probably won't make many and won't have that urgency you see coming out of the gate in the second half.

 

[Sox-n-Hawks]

The key to beating the Pats in this game DON'T let it be a close game in the last quarter. Control the ball in the first half and hit Brady HARD on defense.

 

[Cyrus12]

Run the ball on the 1 yard line and they win....

 

[Uncle Si]

Run the ball on the 1 yard line and they win....

Feel better yet?

 

[Uncle Si]

Ive said it in a few threads...

im calling an Eagles win. I think their D line will put alot of pressure on Brady. they will control the run and the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. I think Foles will be the wild card but there is nothing in his recent performances to indicate he is not up to it.

 

[MrThortan]

Think they have a chance. Depends on if they can stop the 2nd half adjustments of the Pats. All it takes is one iffy pass interference call in a close game to change momentum though. Just takes one.

 

[adeltaY]

The key to beating the Pats in this game DON'T let it be a close game in the last quarter. Control the ball in the first half and hit Brady HARD on defense.

Strangely enough, the Seahawks are one of the few (if there are any other) teams that have kept it close with the Patriots and beat them. Got them down to the one yard line and lost in the SB, but we also pulled it out against them late in 2012 and actually held them from scoring when they got down to the one themselves last year. Pretty cool IMO.

 

[original poster]

I can't see anything other than a Patriots win IMO.

The game is a win/win IMO (or lose/lose dependant on your outlook). If the Patriots win, all those vile Eagle fans get what they deserve and if the Eagles win it shuts up the arrogant Patriots fan base.

Lets just hope its an entertaining one.

 

[xkj1985x]

Yeah I don't get how people think the game is rigged in the Pats favor. Comes across as pure saltiness.

Also, if the Seahawks can scheme to mitigate the Eagles pressure, then the Pats sure as hell can. Philly gonna have to come up with something new.

Can Brady run like Russ? Eagles put plenty of pressure on Russell but he was able to run around and they couldn't get to him. Brady isn't doing that.

Anyways, as it's been said...the key for the Eagles is getting pressure on Brady UP THE MIDDLE, never mind the edges. Edge pressure doesn't bother him too much since he's a master at stepping up in the pocket and delivering. It's when you come up the middle at him and put the pressure in his face is when he gets a little rattled.

Eagles obviously have Fletcher Cox/Timmy Jernigan coming up the middle so I like the Eagles chances to be able to do that.

The other thing I like for the Eagles here is the fact that Bill Belichick is a MASTER at taking away the one thing you do best on offense. So what is the one thing the Eagles do best on offense? There isn't one thing.

If he wants to take out Zach Ertz, fine. Then what about Alshon/Torrey/Nelson/Burton and the RBs? Belichick is great at that and teams that have one primary weapon (see Fournette two weeks ago) that spells some trouble.

The Eagles have such a balanced attack in all phases on offense, I'm curious to see what Bill tries to take away and how the Eagles counteract it.

Eagles 30
Patriots 27

 

[5_Golden_Rings]

Yeah I don't get how people think the game is rigged in the Pats favor. Comes across as pure saltiness..

Yes, it's saltiness, and there's now a long history of the Patriots winning over and over..........with some questionable calls.

But part of that is they play with such discipline mistake free clutch football, that yes most of the time there is a big disparity in penalties and mistakes. But that's a credit to Belichick, not some grand league conspiracy.

If deflategate showed us anything, it's that the "league" is VERY tired of the Patriots.

To play the devils advocate, it wouldn’t take a grand conspiracy. All it would take is a few key officials being Pats fans or friends with Pats players.