Official Patriots/Steelers AFC Title Game Thread

[Joemailman]

Fire alarm pulled at Steelers hotel at 3:40 A.M. That darn Belichick!

[Guiness]

Fire alarm pulled at Steelers hotel at 3:40 A.M. That darn Belichick!

It was (maybe somewhat poorly) planned - guy pulled the alarm, ran out and jumped into a waiting car. Police were able to find and arrest him.

[Joemailman]

If it's any consolation, Steelers aren't doing much better than the Packers.

[Rutnstrut]

Patriots are a great team, well coached and great players. Some of those players even being FA signings, but how can that be. The ONLY way is to draft and develop.

[King Friday]

To some extent, the fact that both the Steelers and Packers teams had the flu this week was an early indication of what was going to happen.

While having the flu isn't an excuse, there is no doubt that can impair the team's ability to concentrate on the upcoming game and prepare with every ounce of effort. When you add that to the fact the both the Steelers and Packers have been playing elimination games for well over a month now, it would appear that both teams just ran completely out of gas today.

[Rutnstrut]

To some extent, the fact that both the Steelers and Packers teams had the flu this week was an early indication of what was going to happen.

While having the flu isn't an excuse, there is no doubt that can impair the team's ability to concentrate on the upcoming game and prepare with every ounce of effort. When you add that to the fact the both the Steelers and Packers have been playing elimination games for well over a month now, it would appear that both teams just ran completely out of gas today.

There were Patriots players sick last week as well including Brady, so that shoots that theory to shit.

[Netmag]

There were Patriots players sick last week as well including Brady, so that shoots that theory to shit.

Any Atlanta players sick? If not, maybe we could still use it as an excuse.

[King Friday]

There were Patriots players sick last week as well including Brady, so that shoots that theory to shit.

Really...I didn't see any reports where 15-20 Patriots players had the flu. Care to supply a source?

A handful may have...I know I saw something on Brady having it...that is a far cry from 1/3 of the roster.

[Rutnstrut]

Really...I didn't see any reports where 15-20 Patriots players had the flu. Care to supply a source?

A handful may have...I know I saw something on Brady having it...that is a far cry from 1/3 of the roster.

You have a point there. The only team where the QB makes up a third or more of the roster is the Packers.

[denverYooper]

Patriots are a great team, well coached and great players. Some of those players even being FA signings, but how can that be. The ONLY way is to draft and develop.

It helps when you cheat.

[Netmag]

Guess I'll go for Atlanta then. I already can't stand the Patsies and there's no need to build their legacy more.

[pbmax]

The Steelers Defense is built to be beat by the Patriots. Like the Broncos running an old cover 2 zone back with Elway and the 49ers offense was designed to torch that defense.

Problem for the Steelers is that this has been obvious since 2004 or 5.

[Maxie the Taxi]

From news article:

“He [Chris Hogan] had a great week of practice,” receiver Julian Edelman said. “He’s been playing well all year. All those things kind of collided and he had that day. It was an unbelievable day for him. Anytime you’ve got guys making those plays, it’s going to be great for the offense. He deserves it. He’s been working his tail off.”

It helped that the Steelers played zone coverage for most of the game and relied on their defensive front – which failed, for the most part – to pressure Brady.

Sounds familiar.