Well we all know the motivation for Pitt when they were handed a loss in their own stadium back in week 7 vs a back up QB. The coaches have film and will adjust accordingly.
Caliber of competition: I cant say I am to impressed with some of NE's home games. L.A/Jets/Texans/Balty..their defensive #'s may be a bit skewed.. Did you see the way Houstons defense was able to rattle Brady, INT's. and get at him. If Crock Oswallower didn't gaff it would have been a closer game, because the Texans defense was doing their job, but because the offense with their 13 pure ppg road offense couldn't produce points, it was only a matter of time until NE went for the juggler as the defense wore down.You cant give Brady and Co. opportunities off your miscues and expect to go in NE with an inept offense and even come close to winning. Texans were trash on the road all year, so NE's defense was basiclly playing a High school offense.
Pittsburgh is not the Texans, and NE is playing a much better and more experienced Superbowl caliber QB and defense than they found in Crock and his defense. ( leaps and bounds). Plus they have the magical duo Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell. My figures show Pitt at a +4.5 superior schedule in their last 4 game road series. That could be key as we know Pitt. is always solid as an underdog vs some of the top teams in the league . Im going to say Pitt. wins straight up. However, if something happens TO's etc..NE could win by FG..but Pittbulls get the cover. 3 pt game similar to what we have seen when Balty has come to town in the past...goes down to the wire either way
Well we all know the motivation for Pitt when they were handed a loss in their own stadium back in week 7 vs a back up QB. The coaches have film and will adjust accordingly.
Caliber of competition: I cant say I am to impressed with some of NE's home games. L.A/Jets/Texans/Balty..their defensive #'s may be a bit skewed.. Did you see the way Houstons defense was able to rattle Brady, INT's. and get at him. If Crock Oswallower didn't gaff it would have been a closer game, because the Texans defense was doing their job, but because the offense with their 13 pure ppg road offense couldn't produce points, it was only a matter of time until NE went for the juggler as the defense wore down.You cant give Brady and Co. opportunities off your miscues and expect to go in NE with an inept offense and even come close to winning. Texans were trash on the road all year, so NE's defense was basiclly playing a High school offense.
Pittsburgh is not the Texans, and NE is playing a much better and more experienced Superbowl caliber QB and defense than they found in Crock and his defense. ( leaps and bounds). Plus they have the magical duo Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell. My figures show Pitt at a +4.5 superior schedule in their last 4 game road series. That could be key as we know Pitt. is always solid as an underdog vs some of the top teams in the league . Im going to say Pitt. wins straight up. However, if something happens TO's etc..NE could win by FG..but Pittbulls get the cover. 3 pt game similar to what we have seen when Balty has come to town in the past...goes down to the wire either way
I think its close and steelers cover the 5.5 but pats win. it comes down to coaching, QB, and Defense. Pats are better in all three of those! I also didn't like how the 3 B's couldn't punch one in VS KC. I think Brady has a bounce back game and get the W. Watch for Marty B to have a big game too Pitt is terrible against TE. BOL TO ALL!!! GO PATS!!
I think its close and steelers cover the 5.5 but pats win. it comes down to coaching, QB, and Defense. Pats are better in all three of those! I also didn't like how the 3 B's couldn't punch one in VS KC. I think Brady has a bounce back game and get the W. Watch for Marty B to have a big game too Pitt is terrible against TE. BOL TO ALL!!! GO PATS!!
I think its close and steelers cover the 5.5 but pats win. it comes down to coaching, QB, and Defense. Pats are better in all three of those! I also didn't like how the 3 B's couldn't punch one in VS KC. I think Brady has a bounce back game and get the W. Watch for Marty B to have a big game too Pitt is terrible against TE. BOL TO ALL!!! GO PATS!!
Pitt ranked 13 vs TE which is one spot higher than NE at 14th
I think its close and steelers cover the 5.5 but pats win. it comes down to coaching, QB, and Defense. Pats are better in all three of those! I also didn't like how the 3 B's couldn't punch one in VS KC. I think Brady has a bounce back game and get the W. Watch for Marty B to have a big game too Pitt is terrible against TE. BOL TO ALL!!! GO PATS!!
Pitt ranked 13 vs TE which is one spot higher than NE at 14th
Pitt ranked 13 vs TE which is one spot higher than NE at 14th
I didn't say the Pats were good against TE, They typically struggle against TE. Also check Big Ben's record/stats on the road and Brad's stats vs Pitt. Going to be a battle! The Pats played terrible vs HOU but still put up 34 points. I most likely will not be betting this game.
Pitt ranked 13 vs TE which is one spot higher than NE at 14th
I didn't say the Pats were good against TE, They typically struggle against TE. Also check Big Ben's record/stats on the road and Brad's stats vs Pitt. Going to be a battle! The Pats played terrible vs HOU but still put up 34 points. I most likely will not be betting this game.
Pitt ranked 13 vs TE which is one spot higher than NE at 14th
Jesse James might have a big day Sunday, Belichick is known to take out opponent's strength. Double D on Antonio Brown and put eight men on the box to stop Le'Veon Bell, that might leave chances for Pittsburgh's TE.
Pitt ranked 13 vs TE which is one spot higher than NE at 14th
Jesse James might have a big day Sunday, Belichick is known to take out opponent's strength. Double D on Antonio Brown and put eight men on the box to stop Le'Veon Bell, that might leave chances for Pittsburgh's TE.
Jesse James might have a big day Sunday, Belichick is known to take out opponent's strength. Double D on Antonio Brown and put eight men on the box to stop Le'Veon Bell, that might leave chances for Pittsburgh's TE.
agree with you here! Bennett needs a big day for the Pats to win. It's the Patriots game to lose at home!
Jesse James might have a big day Sunday, Belichick is known to take out opponent's strength. Double D on Antonio Brown and put eight men on the box to stop Le'Veon Bell, that might leave chances for Pittsburgh's TE.
agree with you here! Bennett needs a big day for the Pats to win. It's the Patriots game to lose at home!
I normally never bet against Brady. He has won me so much money over the years. Last time I did he shredded the #1 Raven defense but I am leaning hard toward Pitt
I normally never bet against Brady. He has won me so much money over the years. Last time I did he shredded the #1 Raven defense but I am leaning hard toward Pitt
The Patriots are not the Chiefs, Pats win this one easy, by 12 at least.
Wow by 12! That is a bold statement, especially the way the Steelers D has been playing. Do you think Pitt is not going to get in the End Zone. Just because they didn't get in last week does not mean they won't get in this week.
The Patriots are not the Chiefs, Pats win this one easy, by 12 at least.
Wow by 12! That is a bold statement, especially the way the Steelers D has been playing. Do you think Pitt is not going to get in the End Zone. Just because they didn't get in last week does not mean they won't get in this week.
The Patriots are not the Chiefs, Pats win this one easy, by 12 at least.
Agreed!! KC scored 2 TDs against the 'vaunted' PITT defense.. NE will get AT LEAST double that... NE scored 30+ against the Houston D, even after being stymied in the first half... and Houston's D is far superior to the 'tin' curtain....
The Patriots are not the Chiefs, Pats win this one easy, by 12 at least.
Agreed!! KC scored 2 TDs against the 'vaunted' PITT defense.. NE will get AT LEAST double that... NE scored 30+ against the Houston D, even after being stymied in the first half... and Houston's D is far superior to the 'tin' curtain....
I was looking for some insight analysis but didn't see much. So I offer my 2-cents here. Please comment.
Tom Brady got roughed up last week = could be less sharp this week. The team seems tired as well. Pit game vs KC was very boring, all run, b/c Pit's lead and KC couldn't stop the run. Pit could have destroyed KC if it converted 50% of the FGs (6 FGs). I lost my Over bet. It still hurts.
This week Pit can't just run, kick FGs and beat NE. It must be smarter but I doubt Mike Tomlin is that smart. In some of the Pit games I saw in the regular season, Pit offense is very predictable, no imaginative at all.
On the contrary, NE is strong both sides of the ball. NE fundamental is to stop the run first, then find your weakness and put a no-name WR/TE/RB/FB as the go-to guy. Your defense must be extremely balance in all positions to stop NE's game plan.
NE special team is surprisingly good despite a few big mistakes lately. It is much better than Pit (footballoutsider.com).
In the regular season, PIT was always the favorite except against NE (Pit +7.5) and NE covered (27-16). NE easily defeated Bal and Cin while Pit had a lot problems with its division, even with Cle. Pit had problems scoring the past 5 games. This is not an easy fix. If you think it is fixable, then it tells you the ability of the head coach.
Pit only has a handful of talents: Big Ben, RB Bell, and WR Brown while NE is full of nobody-who-wants-to-be-somebody = very hard to design a defense game plan, especially you lost a few days traveling without practice.
I am surprised no one here talks about home field. Why the hell people fighting for home field if it doesn't give an advantage? How many teams won superbowl by going through Gillette stadium, two, three, may be?
The only bright spot for Pit is its defense which is comparable to Houston (see footballoutsider.com). The question is if the defense still has the juice to blitz Brady for 60 minutes. It can certainly slow down NE but Pit can't score either b/c NE can make first downs in multiple ways and eat up the clock. It has done it through out the season.
NE might have an off day or Pit might have some lucky bounce of the ball on Sunday. Who knows; but I'm not going to bet against the most dangerous QB in Vegas history. I'm expecting NE to show a few trick plays this week while Pit has none.
I was looking for some insight analysis but didn't see much. So I offer my 2-cents here. Please comment.
Tom Brady got roughed up last week = could be less sharp this week. The team seems tired as well. Pit game vs KC was very boring, all run, b/c Pit's lead and KC couldn't stop the run. Pit could have destroyed KC if it converted 50% of the FGs (6 FGs). I lost my Over bet. It still hurts.
This week Pit can't just run, kick FGs and beat NE. It must be smarter but I doubt Mike Tomlin is that smart. In some of the Pit games I saw in the regular season, Pit offense is very predictable, no imaginative at all.
On the contrary, NE is strong both sides of the ball. NE fundamental is to stop the run first, then find your weakness and put a no-name WR/TE/RB/FB as the go-to guy. Your defense must be extremely balance in all positions to stop NE's game plan.
NE special team is surprisingly good despite a few big mistakes lately. It is much better than Pit (footballoutsider.com).
In the regular season, PIT was always the favorite except against NE (Pit +7.5) and NE covered (27-16). NE easily defeated Bal and Cin while Pit had a lot problems with its division, even with Cle. Pit had problems scoring the past 5 games. This is not an easy fix. If you think it is fixable, then it tells you the ability of the head coach.
Pit only has a handful of talents: Big Ben, RB Bell, and WR Brown while NE is full of nobody-who-wants-to-be-somebody = very hard to design a defense game plan, especially you lost a few days traveling without practice.
I am surprised no one here talks about home field. Why the hell people fighting for home field if it doesn't give an advantage? How many teams won superbowl by going through Gillette stadium, two, three, may be?
The only bright spot for Pit is its defense which is comparable to Houston (see footballoutsider.com). The question is if the defense still has the juice to blitz Brady for 60 minutes. It can certainly slow down NE but Pit can't score either b/c NE can make first downs in multiple ways and eat up the clock. It has done it through out the season.
NE might have an off day or Pit might have some lucky bounce of the ball on Sunday. Who knows; but I'm not going to bet against the most dangerous QB in Vegas history. I'm expecting NE to show a few trick plays this week while Pit has none.
Excellent write-up by 'the Professor'.. let us not forget how much of an advantage the Pats have with BB vs that dolt Tomlin... Tomlin was life and death to beat the worst 'in-game' coach in the NFL (Reid)... Belichick will eat Tomlin alive... you mentioned a few trick plays.. i agree, but it wont even be 'necessary' to go far into the bag of tricks, because of the diversity of the Pats offense... each week someone new is the hero and you just never know who... cant wait to see how Tomlin attempts to defend that..
7 players will catch passes from Brady.. here's a prediction for you... the Pats will dink and dunk to multiple receivers just enough to suck the Pitt secondary into complacency... then BOOM, they'll go up top to Chris Hogan and the Steelers will be reeling..
I say that Belichick will elect to take away Leveon, and force Ben to beat them thru the air..
i find it amusing how John Q Public has now exalted the 3 Bs, a mere month or two after Pitt was BARELY (TWICE!) able to get by the powerful Cleveland Browns...
the hype train on PITT is WAY out of control... grab the Pats on the ML and laugh all the way to the bank
Excellent write-up by 'the Professor'.. let us not forget how much of an advantage the Pats have with BB vs that dolt Tomlin... Tomlin was life and death to beat the worst 'in-game' coach in the NFL (Reid)... Belichick will eat Tomlin alive... you mentioned a few trick plays.. i agree, but it wont even be 'necessary' to go far into the bag of tricks, because of the diversity of the Pats offense... each week someone new is the hero and you just never know who... cant wait to see how Tomlin attempts to defend that..
7 players will catch passes from Brady.. here's a prediction for you... the Pats will dink and dunk to multiple receivers just enough to suck the Pitt secondary into complacency... then BOOM, they'll go up top to Chris Hogan and the Steelers will be reeling..
I say that Belichick will elect to take away Leveon, and force Ben to beat them thru the air..
i find it amusing how John Q Public has now exalted the 3 Bs, a mere month or two after Pitt was BARELY (TWICE!) able to get by the powerful Cleveland Browns...
the hype train on PITT is WAY out of control... grab the Pats on the ML and laugh all the way to the bank
You do realize who sat week 17, right? And I wouldn't say a 24-9 win week 3 against Cleveland qualifies as "having problems."
Steelers were 5-1 in their division this year. (Same as NE)
Ben didn't play against NE in Pittsburgh.
I can't even wrap my head around the "only have some talent" comment ha. (Best WR/RB in NFL, & future HOF QB) smh
The coaching advantage obviously goes to NE, and I do think their defense is slightly underrated. With that being said, you don't think every coach/defensive coordinator in the league that's faced the steelers this season hasn't tried to stop or slow down Bell?!
Easier said than done. Their offensive line may be the most underrated in football.
The bottom line, NE is a six point favorite for a reason. However, I would argue that this may be the weakest Patriots team Brady's had in the postseason in his career. With no Gronk or clear cut number one weapon, Brady will need to bring his A game.
We all remember who else was a 6 pt favorite in the national championship game. Apples and oranges maybe, but a lot of people said there was no way the great Nick Saban could lose either.
Prior to their SB win against Seattle, it had been a decade since NE had won one. They can be beat.
You do realize who sat week 17, right? And I wouldn't say a 24-9 win week 3 against Cleveland qualifies as "having problems."
Steelers were 5-1 in their division this year. (Same as NE)
Ben didn't play against NE in Pittsburgh.
I can't even wrap my head around the "only have some talent" comment ha. (Best WR/RB in NFL, & future HOF QB) smh
The coaching advantage obviously goes to NE, and I do think their defense is slightly underrated. With that being said, you don't think every coach/defensive coordinator in the league that's faced the steelers this season hasn't tried to stop or slow down Bell?!
Easier said than done. Their offensive line may be the most underrated in football.
The bottom line, NE is a six point favorite for a reason. However, I would argue that this may be the weakest Patriots team Brady's had in the postseason in his career. With no Gronk or clear cut number one weapon, Brady will need to bring his A game.
We all remember who else was a 6 pt favorite in the national championship game. Apples and oranges maybe, but a lot of people said there was no way the great Nick Saban could lose either.
Prior to their SB win against Seattle, it had been a decade since NE had won one. They can be beat.
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