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Originally Posted by 3 SS's
LOL just saw that, for the record, not once in Brady Belichick era did they ever lose 3 in the division...... and please tell me which of the teams in those other divisions the Pats struggle with...or even have a losing record to, so much that they couldn't win the division 5 or 6 times in a row?
Not saying they definitely would....but you seem pretty positive they wouldn't.
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I stand corrected, they have never gone 3-3. However, they've gone 4-2 a lot. Still, that's a lot of wins extra versus fewer losses.
As for the other divisions, its simple facts really. The AFC East has been crap since 2002. You've had one "decent" QB in that division not named Brady that's lasted more than maybe 2-3 years in that division in Tannehill. I'm not going to count Favre's one year run as the QB for the Jets, but ironically, that's one of the two times in the last 16 seasons the Patriots didn't win the division.
As for the other divisions, you would have Phillip Rivers, Peyton Manning, Big Ben, Alex Smith, Joe Flacco...etc etc etc.. which makes a massive difference. If you look at the playoff teams over the last 10 years....you see the AFC West and AFC North routinely putting in two teams. Pretty sure they even managed to get 3 in one or two years as well.
Imagine having to play the Steelers and the Ravens twice in the regular season...that's 4 games against teams that are routine playoff contenders. The Ravens have beaten the Patriots as many times in recent memory as the Patriots have beaten the Ravens. The Steelers and Patriots are more one-sided in favor of the Pats...but they've all mostly been hard-hitting close fought games... it just changes the way things are in the division.
And there has been no team, in recent memory, that has dominated a division like the Patriots has in the last 20 years. In fact, ever since the Buffalo Bills failed to win a SB, they've been a joke of a franchise. The Jets are always a team that underachieves....and the Dolphins haven't been anything since Marino retired.... so you don't think that playing crap teams has nothing to do with how things play out? Instead of going 13-3 and 14-2...imagine going 10-6....that drastically changes playoff runs...which in turn adds chances for injuries...