On Sunday the Patriots take on the Buffalo Bills at home for the final regular season game of the season. Although the Patriots secured a place in the post season with a drubbing of the Falcons last week, there is still an awful lot on the line. With a Patriots win and a Denver loss, the Patriots get the #1 seed which means a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the post season. Obviously, this is the situation which Patriot fans who don't live in the Denver vicinity are hoping for. With both games starting at 4:25, only the arm chair quarterbacks will be monitoring both games.
Although there is a possibility that the Patriots end up with the number one seed the real goal for tomorrow is to walk away with a bye which will give them an extra week off to nurse some injuries and guarantee a spot in the second round. If the Patriots win or tie tomorrow, they guarantee themselves an extra week off and maybe the chance to celebrate New Year's Eve for once. However, they can also get the two seed if both Cincinnati and Indianapolis lose or tie regardless of what they do. This is where the scoreboard watching comes into play. The Bengals and Colts both have the early games tomorrow, so the Patriots will pretty much know the results before they even take the field. Currently Belichick is saying that he won't be scoreboard watching, and I imagine that will hold true because of the circumstances which I explained above. Come fourth quarter, that strategy may change if we are a lock for the 2 seed and Denver has a a blowout at Oakland.
One of my favorite years to watch Belichick use the last game of the season to set up for the postseason had to be in 2006 when he let Doug Flutie drop kick an extra point against the Dolphins. Besides the fact that it was Doug Flutie and it was a drop kick, it was great because I was at a bar in Springfield, Missouri arguing with a guy about how the Patriots weren't really playing to win and he didn't believe me. Because playing your 3rd string quarterback (Matt Cassel) is how most teams generally try to win NFL games....
Although there is a possibility that the Patriots end up with the number one seed the real goal for tomorrow is to walk away with a bye which will give them an extra week off to nurse some injuries and guarantee a spot in the second round. If the Patriots win or tie tomorrow, they guarantee themselves an extra week off and maybe the chance to celebrate New Year's Eve for once. However, they can also get the two seed if both Cincinnati and Indianapolis lose or tie regardless of what they do. This is where the scoreboard watching comes into play. The Bengals and Colts both have the early games tomorrow, so the Patriots will pretty much know the results before they even take the field. Currently Belichick is saying that he won't be scoreboard watching, and I imagine that will hold true because of the circumstances which I explained above. Come fourth quarter, that strategy may change if we are a lock for the 2 seed and Denver has a a blowout at Oakland.
One of my favorite years to watch Belichick use the last game of the season to set up for the postseason had to be in 2006 when he let Doug Flutie drop kick an extra point against the Dolphins. Besides the fact that it was Doug Flutie and it was a drop kick, it was great because I was at a bar in Springfield, Missouri arguing with a guy about how the Patriots weren't really playing to win and he didn't believe me. Because playing your 3rd string quarterback (Matt Cassel) is how most teams generally try to win NFL games....
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