Let’s not kid ourselves. The New England Patriots ARE Tom Brady. They will lose at least 3 of the 4 games without him, and more than likely all four.
The bad news is that none of those four games are against Miami. Why couldn’t we play N.E. in weeks 1, 2, 3, or 4?
In Week One, the Patriots will lose to Pittsburgh. That means Pittsburgh will be 1-0 and already 1-0 in an AFC game. At the end of the year, that AFC record is hugely important.
Next up is Buffalo. This hurts even more than the Pittsburgh game. Buffalo will get a free win over New England sans Brady, a free AFC win, AND a free AFC-East win. All three of those factors hurt Miami.
After that is Jacksonville. If New England will win any of its non-Brady games, here’s where they do it. The Jaguars are a j.v. team at best, and New England may squeak one through.
After a bye, the Pats then play the Cowboys. This is the only good news for Miami, since a Dallas win will not hurt the Dolphins.
So if New England begins the year 1-3 or 0-4, isn’t that good news for Miami? No, not really. You have to concede that the Patriots will win the division. They always do. Last year they began 2-2 and then never looked back. 1-3 is not much different than 2-2.
Our best bet is a wild card, and the above scenario hurts our chances at making the wild card when the league gives a free victory to Pitt, Buffalo, and Jax.
If NE begins the year 0-4, there are 12 games left for Brady to play. Let’s say he goes 9-3. That means NE ends the year at 9-7 and wins the division. Buffalo could be 9-7 and lose the tie breakers. Miami will be about 8-8. The Jets should be around 7-9. Pittsburgh will be 9-7 and make the playoffs.
Without those free victories vs. non-Brady New England, the Bills and Steelers are 8-8 teams, and Miami has a chance.
Let’s hope I’m wrong…
As far as the GOOD NEWS? Well, there might be some good news. Brady and the cocky Patriots are egotistical enough where they might fight this. Brady might appeal via the players’ union, and it could go into court.
While all that is being sorted out, Brady could be allowed to play. He’ll eventually lose the appeal, in which case the 4-game suspension would come later in the season, rather than the first 4 games. Hopefully, his later suspension could come during one of the Dolphin games.
He can’t win the appeal. He looks 1,000 times more guilty today than yesterday, with the revelation that he destroyed his cell phone so that Roger Goodell wouldn’t find all those incriminating text messages.
Who does that!?
Maybe we’ll get lucky and Bradys upcoming lawsuit (you know it’s coming) will push the suspension further into the season.
Hey…. can’t complain with 4 games being upheld when guys like Leveon Bell are getting theirs cut in half…… I’m TIRED of hearing about Brady. The Pats will be weaker this year all around. Let’s just play the damn games and see what happens.
On a more important note….why did we resign Josh Freeman days after we cut him? I assume we got him for less this go around?
Bryan,
I’m pretty sure this is a just a move to get us through August. If Tannehill plays one or two series in the first pre-season game, and Matt Moore plays a quarter or two, we will still need someone to play an entire half of football at QB. We do NOT want Moore to get hurt, so giving him a a full quarter or two is even risky. Might as well throw some no-chancers out there.
Plus there’s practice. Receivers run hundreds of routes a day in practice, and you can’t burn out T-hill’s arm.
We also have McLeod Bethel-Thompson on the team, and I imagine that he and Freeman will see a lot of August game time, and one will be kept as the emergency QB,
And finally,God forbid T-hill pulls an ACL in August, at least Freeman will be on the roster already and can step up onto the active team. Thompson is not some rookie free agent nobody. it’s his third year in the NFL. His advantage is a much cheaper salary than Freeman
I’m with Bryan on this…..
let’s just play football. Isn’t that what NE always does regardless of all the noise? Let’s be honest we want a team that is good enough to play there game and be at the top no matter what else happens and if were 9-7 and out of the playoffs were not really that much better of a team then the last two years!
I certainly think he’s guilty but lets not fool ourselves. Brady can possibly win an appeal( all circumstantial evidence and great lawyers) and NE is still the favorite to win the division and advance even without him for 4 games. I wouldnt count them out the first 4 games maybe 2-2 and Belli can run circles around most teams.
Very true about Belli. I have an upcoming blog about how Belichick absolutely outsmarted Pete Carrol in the Super Bowl on that final drive. Granted, Pete Carrol made the worst call in NFL history and deserves 100% of the blame, but how did Bill Belichick contribute to that decision? A post is coming soon.
Joe Philbin got outsmarted last year by the likes of Jim Caldwell, who is among the dimmest bulbs in the NFL. Philbin vs, Belichick isn’t even fair.
Yup, Philbin vs, Belichick is a total mismatch as is Kraft, Belichick, and Brady vs Ross, Philbin, and Tannehill a bigger mismatch.
On another note they were saying on the radio that if the Federal Court deems that Roger Goodell outsteppped his powers by hearing Brady’s appeal they could throw it out on a technicality whether Brady is guilty or not.
We will win one game against the Pats like we have the past couple seasons. We will get 10 wins this season. Pats will lose 3 of first 4 plus 4 additional. We take AFC east and our D takes us to SB. Harvard looks smart. Dolfans are happy again.
From your mouth to God’s ears – we should be so lucky!
@Jeff
Da plane da plane! Welcome to Fantasy Island!
Anybody see the “new” retro uniforms? Wish we could wear them all season
Never EVER shoulda changed that 70s logo/helmet. The one now is bad. The previous one was just silly. The retro one from the 60s/70s is the best. The dolphin is upright and majestic, not a floundering cartoon character.
Sometimes owners (like Ross) change the logo just to increase jersey sales etc. Remember how much effort went into this logo thing? I wish he’d spend more time and effort trying to improve the team instead of logos, stadium issues, and celebrity partners. If you dont like this logo be patient as I imagine another one will be coming within a few years……just for the money.
” I wish he’d spend more time and effort trying to improve the team instead of logos, stadium issues, and celebrity partners.”
That was one of the founding principles when we started this site…Mr. Ross wastes too much time and money on things that do not help the Miami Dolphins.
I say NE goes 2-2 without Brady. They will beat Jacksonville and possibly Buffalo. No chance against Pittsburgh or Dallas.