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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Welcome to the Neno's Place!

Neno's Place Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality


Neno

I can be reached by phone or text 8am-7pm cst 972-768-9772 or, once joining the board I can be reached by a (PM) Private Message.

Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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    Patriots’ opponents: See you in the AFC Championship game

    jedi17
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    • Post n°1

    4 - Patriots’ opponents: See you in the AFC Championship game Empty Patriots’ opponents: See you in the AFC Championship game

    Post by jedi17 Fri 06 Jan 2017, 8:26 pm

    [size=32]Patriots’ opponents: See you in the AFC Championship game[/size]

    The New England Patriots clinched a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs this winter with their 35-14 win on the road in Miami on Sunday. As such, they join the Kansas City Chiefs on the sidelines this coming weekend watching the AFC Wild Card round on television.

    AROUND COVER32

    Power Rankings: Playoff addition






    With the seeding set, the #3 seed AFC North champion Pittsburgh Steelers host the #6 seed Miami Dolphins and the #4 seed AFC South champion Houston Texans host the #5 seed Oakland Raiders. 

    With a rematch of the Dolphins 30-15 win in Week 6, as the highest seed the Steelers will play Kansas City if they win. If Miami wins, they return to Foxboro to play the Patriots for a third time this season.

    Houston (possibly without promoted starter Tom Savage) takes the place of the Indianapolis Colts as the requisite cupcake from the AFC South. However, the Raiders–down to rookie third-string quarterback Connor Cook last week after an injury to back-up Matt McGloin (filling in for starter Derek Carr who broke his leg)–have gone from potential #1 seed to on the road in the first round.

    To simplify, the teams are broken into three categories: Likely to play next week (Houston or Oakland), unlikely to play next week (Miami), impossible to play before AFC Championship game (Kansas City and Pittsburgh):

    SEE YOU IN THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP: 

    Pittsburgh Steelers:

    The Steelers are habitually considered one of those teams “Nobody Wants to Play in January”–and for good reason. Ben Roethlisberger is an elite quarterback, running back Le’Veon Bell is a top-three running back in the NFL and Antonio Brown is hands-down the best wide receiver in the NFL (sorry all you A.J. Green, Odell Beckham Jr. and Julio Jones fans).

    What holds the Steelers back from being a top seed each year? First off, there is the annual Ben Roethlisberger injury. He is so big, so strong and so fearless that he puts himself in harm’s way to make plays. The other is the brutal divisional schedule. Playing Baltimore and Cincinnati (Cleveland not so much) twice a year is so much tougher than facing the Dolphins, Jets or Bills.

    That attrition from injury and tough losses in the division has the Steelers winning 10 or 11 games instead of 12 or 13 games and missing out on the bye week most years. More games are more wear-and-tear and more chances of an upset. 

    The Steelers will face a Miami team which beat them 30-15 earlier this season. The defense in Pittsburgh gave up over 200 yards rushing to Miami running back Jay Ajayi in what was clearly a hiccup. Since that game the Steelers had not given up over 140 yards on the ground in a game until the Week 17 “backup-palooza” against Cleveland.

    The loss of defensive end Cameron Heyward is a tough injury to overcome. Linebackers Lawrence Timmons and Ryan Shazier anchor a strong linebacker group. The Steelers have 38 sacks but ageless James Harrison leads the team with just five.  The secondary is solid but far from spectacular. 

    The Steelers will go as far as their big three on offense takes them. They lack weapons beyond their big three as Darrius Heyward-Bey, Sammie Coates and Eli Rogers are very inconsistent. The suspension of Martavis Bryant and injuries to Markus Wheaton and tight end Ladarius Green have hurt the consistency of the offense. 

    The Steelers are a tough team to beat, but fortunately New England cannot face them before the AFC Championship game and they will likely have to go through Kansas City. 

    Kansas City Chiefs:

    The Chiefs are the team most often mentioned as “The Team No One Wants to Play” in the playoffs. And why not? They have a ferocious defense, explosive weapons on offense and they are disciplined and well-coached. 

    The Chiefs’ defense is a bit overrated. Although seventh in scoring defense, they are 24th in yards allowed. Kansas City is 18th in passing yards allowed and 26th in rushing yards allowed. They make their living off of turnovers and are first in the NFL creating 33 turnovers in 2016.


    Kansas City has borrowed a page from some of the New England defenses of the past with their bend-but-don’t-break style and reliance on turnovers. The biggest issue for Kansas City’s defense is their drop-off with age and injuries. The pass rush has been keyed by Dee Ford as an outside pass rusher, but Justin Houston has been injured much of the season.

    With Houston (4.0 sacks) limited to five games, Ford (10.0 sacks) has been the only consistent pass rusher as Tamba Hali (3.5 sacks) has slowed considerably at age 33. The biggest injury was off-the-line linebacker Derrick Johnson who was having a spectacular season at age 34 before tearing his Achilles. 

    The secondary is anchored by safety Eric Berry (four interceptions) and cornerback Marcus Peters (six interceptions). On the defensive line, Dontari Poe is a huge run-stuffer and rookie Chris Jones is big, athletic and on his way to being a solid NFL player.

    On offense, Spencer Ware has been solid with Jamaal Charles on injured reserve again. Tyreek Hill adds much-needed explosiveness and is a threat to score anytime he touches the football. Travis Kelce is a receiving threat at tight end with 85 catches for 1,125 yards. 

    Quarterback Alex Smith is the quintessential game manager at quarterback. Smith, at age 32, still has mobility and makes very few mistakes. A return to health of wide receiver Jeremy Maclin would help the offense and young receiver Chris Conley is inconsistent.

    The Chiefs are dangerous as they have a number of skilled position players on both sides of the ball and Hill makes the special teams unit truly special. Having Kansas City coming into New England is a huge advantage for the Patriots as playing on the road takes away the huge home-field advantage the Chiefs and their loud and smart fan base which knows when and how to make noise to help their team.
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