Patriots vs. Eagles: Week 1, Sunday, November 17

[Teach]

“It’s (Going To Be) Hot as Hell in Phila-del---phia!” Oh, I’m not talking about the weather. Some of you may be remember the musical “1776.” The opening number was: “Sit Down, John” (John Adams).

The closer the time comes to the Week 11 matchup between the Patriots and Eagles, the more I lean in the direction of “The Birds.” Why? The Philly crowd is going to be absolutely-positively “bonkers”. If you don’t think that rubs off on the players, think again!

On top of that, the Vikings did the Eagles a huge favor by knocking off the Cowboys. Those two teams are now tied atop the NFC East (the Cowboys technically lead because they won a head-to-head matchup).

Yes, the Eagles can now decide their own fate. Their own destiny. Put another way, the Eagles don’t have to rely on anyone else for help. They just need to win. There is momentum. Impetus. And they do face the Cowboys again later in the season at “The Linc.”

Moreover, one of the oldest tried and true statements is: “Football games are won or lost in the trenches.” Advantage Philadelphia. Their offensive line can open up holes; their defense can stop the run (the pass may be another story). Yet, the defense can bring pressure on the quarterback.

Finally, there is, philosophically, a difference between idealism and realism. As a man who grew up in and lived in communities in and around Boston, I can see where my fellow-Bostonians may take umbrage (not to be confused with Cambridge) with my comments favoring the Eagles. There are those who may call it: “blaspheme.” So be it! Some here in the Bay State may go so far as to say: “Will someone shut that man up!” To that, I’ll say what John Adams said in the song: “Never!”

[lamboguy]

Originally Posted by Teach

“It’s (Going To Be) Hot as Hell in Phila-del---phia!” Oh, I’m not talking about the weather. Some of you may be remember the musical “1776.” The opening number was: “Sit Down, John” (John Adams).

The closer the time comes to the Week 11 matchup between the Patriots and Eagles, the more I lean in the direction of “The Birds.” Why? The Philly crowd is going to be absolutely-positively “bonkers”. If you don’t think that rubs off on the players, think again!

On top of that, the Vikings did the Eagles a huge favor by knocking off the Cowboys. Those two teams are now tied atop the NFC East (the Cowboys technically lead because they won a head-to-head matchup).

Yes, the Eagles can now decide their own fate. Their own destiny. Put another way, the Eagles don’t have to rely on anyone else for help. They just need to win. There is momentum. Impetus. And they do face the Cowboys again later in the season at “The Linc.”

Moreover, one of the oldest tried and true statements is: “Football games are won or lost in the trenches.” Advantage Philadelphia. Their offensive line can open up holes; their defense can stop the run (the pass may be another story). Yet, the defense can bring pressure on the quarterback.

Finally, there is, philosophically, a difference between idealism and realism. As a man who grew up in and lived in communities in and around Boston, I can see where my fellow-Bostonians may take umbrage (not to be confused with Cambridge) with my comments favoring the Eagles. There are those who may call it: “blaspheme.” So be it! Some here in the Bay State may go so far as to say: “Will someone shut that man up!” To that, I’ll say what John Adams said in the song: “Never!”

the NFC looks like they have the stronger teams this year.... The Eagles are a well coached team and will be prepared for this matchup.

no pick though

[Teach]

The last I saw the Patriots are “laying three and a hook.” The over/under is: “44 and a hook.” What that’s telling me is that despite all the hype that “The Hoodie,” a.k.a., Patriots coach Bill Belichick, does exceptionally well coming off bye weeks, there’s still a lot of “Philly Cheese-Steak” dough out there.

Further, I see this as like the “emperor’s new clothes.” How dare you find the Patriots “vulnerable”? “Oh, they’ll win,” the pundits will opine. “They most often do coming off a loss.” Yet, let me state my firm belief that this week’s Patriots’ game with the “Birds” will be not be a pleasant visit to the aviary, and I’m no ornithologist.

Yes, it takes “balls of steel,” but I believe in the saying, “No guts, no glory!” Oh, I wish I could bet “a dime,” but I don’t have that kinda “luchi,” nor, quite frankly, the gonads.

Under the heading: “Just the facts, Ma’am,” the Patriots have serious problems on the offensive line. Further, to whom is Tom Brady going to throw? To repeat a comment from a Boston sports talk-show: “Edelman, Edelman, Sanu, Sanu, Edelman… You get the picture. And don’t you think that Eagles head-coach Doug Pederson and his defense coordinator, Jim Schwartz, will be “hatching” (pardon the pun) plans to “stuff” these guys at the line-of-scrimmage. To paraphrase an old baseball bit about the Washington Senators: “First in war, first in peace and last in the American League.” Well, the Patriots are first in the AFC, first in team defense, and 22nd in yards per play.

Heretofore, thus far, the Patriots, against by and large, an array of also-ran teams, have turned, “magician-like,” defense into offensive points. Yet, I ask, “Is the ‘magician’ out of tricks?” However, in their favor, it cannot be ignored that the Patriots do rank first in the NFL with 27 takeaways.

At this juncture, I aver, “But Toto, we’re not in ‘The Big Apple’ anymore. We’ve recently visited the ‘Charm City,’ a.k.a., Baltimore, and that was anything but ‘charming’. Now, we venture to ‘The City of Brotherly Love’.” If the Patriots are lookin’ for love, well, when it comes to Philadelphia, “it’s in all the wrong places.” Those there who “bleed green” won’t throw trash, but they may throw some “shade”.

Finally, it may be chilly this coming Sunday at “The Linc”; yet, for Eagles’ fans it could turn out to be: “Hot as Hell in Phil-a-del…phia!”

[Secondbest]

The 3 1/2 is with the Philly home field of 3. So on a neutral field pats would be 6 1/2. At home Pat's would be 9 1/2. Whether or not that would be the case I don't know.

[Nitro]

I’ve been reading all of your comments Teach, but I personally don’t thing this Eagle/Patriot game is all that complicated.
I took a look at both teams schedules so far and what bothers me are the losses that the Eagles have had to Atlanta, Detroit, Minnesota and worst of all Dallas.
In the their last game they barely got by Chicago which has a limited Offense at best.
Unfortunately for the Eagles the Patriots are good on both sides of the ball.
I would rate the Patriots as at least a 6 point favorite despite playing away.
I see this game around 27-17 Pats.

[Teach]

Au contraire, Nitro.

The Patriots are not the team they were last year (They most definitely miss Rob Gronkowski). They’ve benefited from a “soft” first-half-of-the-season schedule. Whom have they beat? Yes, they defeated the Steelers, but that was at a time that when Pittsburgh was trying to get its act together. The other notable win was over the Bills who, in all likelihood, have reached their high-water mark.

Further, I wasn’t impressed with the Patriots win over the Browns. It wasn’t so much that the Patriots were that impressive, it was that the Browns self-destructed. Then came the Ravens. That game exposed a lot of Patriots’ weaknesses.

Moreover, the Eagles – no, they don’t have Lamar Jackson – are “built” similarly. They’ve got an impressive “lunch-pail” runner in Jordan Howard (he might have a field-day). If Howard rushes for anywhere near 100 yards, it’ll be game, set, match…Philadelphia. Plus you’ve got two solid tight ends in Ertz and Goedart. Then you add a solid open-field runner and pass-catcher, Miles Sanders. And if Carson Wentz does some running, it may be “Hasta la vista, baby,” at “The Linc”.

Finally, as you’ve detected from my posts, I believe the Patriots are vulnerable, tres vulnerable. The Eagles are capable of doing a lot of the same things to the Patriots as the Ravens did.

In conclusion: Tom Brady is a quick-release pocket-passer. Is 1.2 secs. to 1.5 secs going to be enough? Will his protection break down? I would add that Patriots are going to have their hands-full establishing the run-game. Sony Michel, in my opinion, is not the same back he was last year. Maybe he misses Devlin, or is it a weakened offensive line? The Eagles have their “eyes on the prize,” the NFC East title.

[Teach]

“And Windy has stormy eyes…” If you’re my contemporary, you may remember those opening lyrics from a 1967 song by a group called “The Association.” I’ll begin this Patriots vs.Eagles post by saying I ain’t no weatherman. The 5-day forecast for the Philadelphia area calls for a dry track, but windy conditions for Sunday’s Patriots-Eagles game. The “City of Brotherly Love” might be experiencing gusts of over 20 mph coming down straight from the north through downtown Philadelphia and into the “open end” of the North-South-configured Lincoln Financial Field.

At this juncture, I pose the question: “What two aspects of a football game are most affected by gusty winds?” In my view, both the kicking and the passing game. Of the two teams, I believe the Patriots are most negatively impacted by wind.

Let me state my case: The Patriots, in my opinion, are not going to be able to run against the Eagles. Thus, they will, out of necessity, have to take to the air. But gusty winds could have an adverse effect. And then there’s the kicking game. The Eagles have an excellent place-kicker in Jake Elliott. The Patriots have a former NFL “toe” named Nick Folk. Folk last kicked in 4 games for Tampa in 2017 (he made 6 FGs in 11 attempts), and later for the now defunct Arizona Hotshots before being signed by the Patriots. Advantage: Philadelphia.

In conclusion, I see the Eagles as evolving into a running team I think Eagles coach Doug Pederson will be pounding away at the Patriots’ defensive, i.e., Howard, Sanders, but also short passes to Ertz and Goedart. Pederson’s motto might just be: “Wear them down, wear them down. Control the football.” In other words, keep Tom Brady and the New England Patriots’ offense off the field.

Finally, “Everyone knows (or at least they’ll know by game-time) it’s Windy.”

[Nitro]

That’s all well and good as far as the wind gusts go.
However, I believe Tom Brady has perhaps seen any number of games with similar conditions. He’s also notorious for successfully executing the short pass.
The wind gusts may impact the game somewhat, but its not like its going to be blowing constantly at 20mph.
I’m glad the Eagles are facing another team with a strong passing Offense. They haven’t performed very well against teams with a similar Offense.
I also believe the Patriot Defense can handle the Eagle running attack. If Wentz goes to the air, I question his experience under windy conditions especially if he’s put under any sort of pressure. He certainly doesn't have the same release time as Brady.

[Secondbest]

Another FWIW Belichick is 45-21 after a loss. Don't be shocked to see the pats in some sort of 3-4 or have a fifth lineman to stop the run and let Wentz try to beat them thru the air.

[Teach]

I guess it's time. We've talked about this game long enough.

Week 11. Sunday, November 17, 2019. 4:25 p.m.

Prediction: PHILADELPHIA: 26, NEW ENGLAND: 17

[Secondbest]

New England. 28 -17

[lamboguy]

todays line

N.E. -5

total 44 1/2

[RunForTheRoses]

NE 469
Cover by:
+2.5
17
Final
10
1 2 3 4 T Odds
NE 0 9 8 0 17
PHI 3 7 0 0 10
470 PHI

[lamboguy]

the goddess of gambling has got the wrath

for those that count their money at the half

[barn32]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

the goddess of gambling has got the wrath for those that count their money at the half

Or: You study long, you study wrong.