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The Patriots have raised expectations through the roof, now they have to meet them
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- The Patriots have raised expectations through the roof, now they have to meet them
When the Patriots come back from the bye week, they’re going to enter a world that’s different than the one they left.
At 11-2, the bar for them is permanently raised.
Coming into the season, making the playoffs as the last wild card would have been a dream run. Just playing relevant games after Thanksgiving would have made Mike Vrabel beloved. The dream for Drake Maye this soon was just becoming a top 10 quarterback.
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But all of that is now the floor beneath a much higher ceiling. The AFC East title is a given. Maye is a real MVP candidate. Vrabel should be the coach of the year. Winning at least one playoff game is almost expected. And in a year when the Chiefs are down and Bills are vulnerable, it’s not crazy to think the Patriots have a shot at reaching the Super Bowl.
The Buffalo game, next Sunday at Gillette, is coming in an ideal spot. It’s time for the Patriots to be tested in a game with some stakes to it. It’s time to face an opponent with tons on the line, who is not just motivated to win, but specifically wants to beat the Patriots.
A New England win would clinch the AFC East, ending a Bills streak that predates COVID. None of the players on that team wants to be the ones to let divisional dominance be wrested away.
The Patriots were unproven when they upset the Bills in Week 5. Buffalo won’t be surprised this time. Competing against a good team that’s already familiar with them is a test the Patriots need.
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The game won’t truly mirror a playoff game for New England, because even if they lose, they’re still all-but assured a playoff spot. But this is not another bowling pin set up to be knocked down.
Outtakes from a busy week ...
Jim Montgomery walked out of the theater during Pulp Fiction
Speaking of expectations, former Bruins coach Jim Montgomery explained that the perception of a team’s success or failure is tied directly to how people thought a team was going to do entering the year. But that turned into Montgomery’s movie reviews.
“There’s no question that I was better prepared to handle the lack of success this year than I was last year. And expectations drive a lot of that. Like last year, the expectations were (the Bruins) were going to be a playoff team. Didn’t work. So everybody has these high expectations.
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“It’s kind of like going to a movie. Like I remember going to “Usual Suspects,” no one told me it was a great movie. I left there floored," Montgomery said, getting animated at the memory. “I had to go watch it three more times, figure out who Keyser Soze was. But then I’ve gone to movies where people are like, ‘Oh, this movie is the best movie ever.’ And I leave halfway through.
“Pulp Fiction, I left halfway through because so many people said it was so great,” he said. “And I’m like, it’s 10 mini stories in one movie. It’s not the way my brain works. But that’s what happens in sports teams as well.”
Real Jeopardy! Clue
Sports clues from actual editions of America’s favorite quiz show. As always, mind the date
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CATEGORY: WE LOVE FOOTBALL ON TV- $400
Date: Sept. 28, 2005
This innovation premiered in the 1963 Army-Navy game & has been here ever since.
— Answer below
The Top 5
The Top 5 Quarterbacks who aren’t in the playoffs as of right now
4— Dak Prescott
2— Joe Burrow
Today in Boston Sports History
Dec. 5
1968 —Phil Esposito scored two goals for the Bruins in a 2-2 tie with the Montreal Canadiens. His younger brother Tony, who became a Hall of Famer in Chicago , was making his first NHL start in goal for the Habs.
Lightning round
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How is it possible that the Italian Olympic organizing committee can’t get the hockey rink right?
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The Colts could miss the playoffs. Seriously.
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I’m surprised the Bruins didn’t unveil their Stadium Series before Christmas.
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I don’t care who is hearing what rumors. There’s no way the Red Sox are going to give 32-year-old Kyle Schwarber a long enough contract to sign him.
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Rex Ryan would make a tremendous college football coach if he’d do it.
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It’s possible all four major Boston teams will make the postseason.
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It didn’t take long for America to not care about the NBA Cup.
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FIFA shouldn’t stop at Peace Prizes. Why not become a full-on Nobel rival?
Real Jeopardy! Question:
What is instant replay?
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Real Jeopardy! Question:
What is instant replay?
Finally...
Happy National Bathtub Party Day to those who celebrate.
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