So guys.....what's the narrative you guys rolling with???

[M.O.B.]

Chargers and Rivers 0-7 against Tom Brady doesn't lose at home
The patriots don't have enough weapons this year vs the chargers are the most complete team
Chargers away.....warm weather team playing in the cold vs Patriots rarely lose in cold weather
The patriots can't lose til you see them beat vs Chargers will find a way to lose.

Any other narratives I'm missing and who are you taking and why???

 

[Serbone]

The narrative I hear is that this Pats team is not like the Pats team we have seen and been accustomed to...
That Brady is visibly slow, a tad off.
That the Patriot D is below par compared to the past.
That NE has no impact players, other than Brady, no "stars".
This is the narrative all over this site and elsewhere.

 

[M.O.B.]

The narrative I hear is that this Pats team is not like the Pats team we have seen and been accustomed to...
That Brady is visibly slow, a tad off.
That the Patriot D is below par compared to the past.
That NE has no impact players, other than Brady, no "stars".
This is the narrative all over this site and elsewhere.

I know. I just want to see if anybody actually pays attention to how espn wants to sway the perception. This is a hard one. Who are you taking Serbone?

 

[Mr.robot]

Initially went with chargers.. but it’s pats or nothing lol. Who u got mob???

 

[Mjeecay]

Never doubt Brady.. no matter how old he is. He’s the best there is.

 

[NJBlood]

How do I not take the pats???

 

[theDonger]

The narrative I hear is that this Pats team is not like the Pats team we have seen and been accustomed to...
That Brady is slow.
That the Patriot D is no good.
That NE has no impact players.
This is the narrative all over this site and elsewhere.

I like the afternoon game much more than this one. Just some quick stats ala Massey ratings:

Strength of Schedule -> Chargers 6th, New England 30th advantage Chargers
Defense ---------------> Chargers 3rd, New England 10th advantage Chargers
Offense ----------------> Chargers 4th, New England 7th advantage Chargers

For me, there is plenty to like about the Chargers. It just feels like its Rivers' year to make it to the big game. Dominating running game (assuming Gordon is 100%) and an underrated defense imo.

However, I learned long ago it is not profitable to bet against Brady -- at home -- in the playoffs -- on days ending in 'Y'

Also that whole back-to-back-to-back road games thing is a bit scary.

Also, the patriots notoriously love to win by 3 points in the playoffs and don't give a shit about covering 4 or 4.5

 

[CATWINS]

Chargers traveling to East coast to Baltimore last week then back to West coast now back to East coast lots of travel time now playing against Brady at home not a a rookie named Jackson cold weather Patriots are built for the playoffs I can see a blowout Rivers throwing at least two picks maybe a pick six Patriots 31-17.

 

[Badgerresh]

Early felt like NE was the play but go through the current lineups and SD has many advantages in many areas.....

We are rightfully conditioned to believe NE and Brady have no chance of losing at home BUT SD brings a confident team that plays solid defense and has a game manager in itself in RIVERS, who is pretty damn solid....The former badger running back, seemingly healthy is pretty solid as well and will limit the opps for Tom and company while running the ball successfully and running the clock...

By no means is this an easy call, however, I see SD heading for KC next week and I also believe this is the changing of the guard!

Good luck whichever way you choose to play it!

 

[Willie99]

Patriots at home
Patriots in the post season
Patriots weather
Brady
Rivers, yes, another reason to take the Patriots. He's 38 and he has a history
Belichick
Travel
Gronk




PS: :homer:

 

[Serbone]

I know. I just want to see if anybody actually pays attention to how espn wants to sway the perception. This is a hard one. Who are you taking Serbone?

Put a small wager on the Pats.

• NE has coasted last 4-5 weeks except last game they got chance for bye, real Pats play today
• COLD WEATHER GAME helps Pats, a lot
• Pats 2 week layoff vs 3rd week on the road for LAC
• Belicheat with 2 weeks!!
• artificial turf
• Brady IMO will play well
• Gronk is not gonna save himself, this is IT!
• East coast start (yes I know Chargers have covered anyway... so far... this year)
• Pats OL is better than advertised, will be able to deal with Chargers D better than perception

STILL, Chargers are playing well, have a disruptive D, KC showed strength of AFCW yesterday, so I went small (vs regular or BIG)

GL!

 

[M.O.B.]

I just think the streak ends today for Brady. I look at New Patriots like the Spurs. When the Spurs fell to the Clippers....I lost a lost of $ but the Spurs had the pieces but got out talented. Only way I see Pats winning is if they play a flawless game and Belichick has a perfect scheme. There is something different about this Chargers team this year. Not the choking days. Similar to how people think KC was suppose to choke dued to stats. This is a different team this year. It takes a lot to win 7 road games. Got to take chargers. SU

 

[theDonger]

[*]Gronk is not gonna save himself, this is IT!

You could argue, like Romo just did on TV, that the additional time off for NE was a big help to Gronk's health.

 

[fadetheaction]

Agree-Brady is the best until he proves consistently that he is not.

 

[Serbone]

Again.
When these teams know they have made the playoffs, they do not go all out last 5 games or so, despite the chatter that they all are playing like hell to get a home field advantage blah blah.
The players are told that but do not really go all out until maybe the last game or two when they can understand.
Then the dweeb announcers say they are not playing that well, in a slump: KC, Saints, Rams, NE, Chargers, all had it made long ago. I think this applies more than usual this year, the combinations, the dynamics, I think a lot of teams had it made earlier than usual (not sure) and we see teams play well to get into the playoffs, and the now-bye teams coast and appear to be slipping. Today I did not go BIG with NE because IMO the Chargers were also in the "coasting" category, but for the reasons above I went with NE.

 

[2DIMES]

betting against brady at gillette stadium is a slow Death

 

[ShortBusDriver7]

wish I had read this before buying into all the analytics and strength of schedule

https://fansided.com/2019/01/10/chargers-patriots-preview-tom-brady-philip-rivers/

The Los Angeles Chargers have the chance to dethrone the defending AFC champions in the Divisional Round. But for the Chargers to beat the New England Patriots, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley must evolve his scheme to avoid familiar traps.

"What’s notable about this performance is that Bradley’s and defenses architected by Bradley have been similarly shredded on other occasions.

Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks featured Shane Vereen’s career-changing game as he racked up 11 receptions for 64 yards. White broke out with his 14 reception, 110-yard, one touchdown performance in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons.


Both of those Seahawks and Falcons defenses were either coached by Bradley or one of his disciples. Years after both of those games, Bradley’s defense still hemorrhages yards to running backs.


The Chargers allowed the second-most receiving yards in one season (973) to backs since 2008, according to Pro Football Focus via Kevin Duffy of the Boston Herald. They’re facing an offense that has the second-most receiving yards and touchdowns by backs in 2018, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.


Oddly enough, only the Chargers have more yards to their backs than the Patriots.


Every defense has its own weakness because of schematic and personnel limitations, but the Chargers shouldn’t enter this week allowing Brady to feast on open checkdowns. Without Josh Gordon in the picture, the Patriots’ receivers are much less threatening.


Bradley prefers to use King as a roaming presence in his zone-heavy scheme over man assignments, which is one reason I found it odd King earned All-Pro honors. He’s been very good in the role, but it’s not an especially valuable one within the defense.


Using King in man more against Julian Edelman and James against Rob Gronkowski doesn’t necessarily leave a better option than Phillips on the backs, which was exposed badly last year. A variation of these looks where King and a safety take the deteriorated Gronkowski, and James roams for leaking backs is a workable fix to what’s been a huge issue.




The Chargers should be daring Brady to look deep and test their best corner Casey Hayward. It not only plays into their strength as a defense to filter targets into crowded deep windows, but also buys time for their nasty pass-rush to reach the 41-year-old quarterback. Brady’s a legend, but he’s also looked more vulnerable than ever this season and is the worst quarterback left in the AFC based on the 2018-19 season.

Giving him easy underneath looks against their zones will bail him out. Bradley doesn’t have to reinvent his defense this week, but also threatens to ruin arguably the best Chargers team since their 2006 or 2009 iteration if he’s not more open to another slight evolution like he showed last week."-

how spot on is that

 

[2DIMES]

this game is over . we should be taLKING ABOUT THE NEXT