Tommy went scorched earth on a caller for declaring Bill Belichick one of the worst head coaches ever 😳 @tommylugauer

If they are using the EXCUSE of spygate that’s ridiculous…many teams (including ourselves) tried it..Howard Mudd at Kansas City who later coached for Bill Polian and Tony Dungy gave us the idea..he was the best..we didn’t get anything and stopped but many teams gave it a try

The ovation for Belichick when he came out at Tom Brady’s Patriots HOF says it all. No matter how it ended here, he is New England’s coach and he will always be revered.

2001 AFC CHAMPIONSHIP January 27, 2002 #Patriots' First AFC Title of the Belichick-Brady Era The ten-point underdog #NEPats travel to Heinz Field and knock off the top-seeded #Steelers, 24-17. Troy Brown returns a punt for a touchdown, Drew Bledsoe replaces an injured Tom Brady and connects with David Patten for a score. Brown and Antwan Harris later combine for a 60-yard blocked field goal return touchdown. The Patriots intercept Kordell Stewart three times — twice in the final three minutes to preserve the upset victory.

THE MOST LIKELY WEAKNESS TO GET EVERY AFC PLAYOFF TEAM ELIMINATED (Filling out my bracket/thinking through the matchups, please chime in and disagree/correct me!) 1. Broncos ❌ Inconsistent offense. Nix has done well to avoid sacks and let the defense work (his 7.9% pressure-to-sack ratio per @FantasyPtsData is the best in the NFL) But they rank just 25th in dropback success rate (per RBSDM), lower than any playoff team save for the Steelers. Could definitely handle a team like the Texans or Steelers and be competitive with the whole AFC field, but I don't think they win a shootout against JAX, NE, or BUF. Bills are the Divisional opponent I'd be most afraid of. Best path for DEN is JAX/NE both winning and knocking each other out, then only having to beat one of them at home in the AFCCG. Could definitely happen. 2. Patriots ❌ Inexperience and running out of playmakers Maye is my MVP. McDaniels has far exceeded my expectations. Offense leads the league in EPA/play, defense is pretty solid aside from being gashed on the ground lately (though Milton Williams back should help). Aside from losing coinflip shootouts to teams like BUF or JAX (that any team could lose)... ...the most likely way I see the Pats losing is Stefon Diggs getting put on the Commissioner's exempt list (a possibility before the AFCCG), the run game failing to get going (whether because TreVeyon isn't on the field enough or because the interior blocking has struggled at several points), and then simply being out of answers against a defense like DEN, HOU, or even JAX. But this is a better-rounded team than I think people give them credit for, and I think the coin flip shootout loss scenario is more likely. Also helps that they can't face the Bills until the AFCCG. 3. Jaguars ❌ Pretty much just copy what I said for the Patriots. 8th in EPA/play since acquiring Jakobi Meyers. Trevor is playing amazingly, and Liam Coen is a genius. They're probably even better equipped than a team like the Pats to choke out teams like DEN/HOU and stifle opposing run games, but a bit more vulnerable to getting boat-raced through the air. 2nd-lowest explosive run rate allowed (2.7%), fewest rushing YPG allowed (85.6), defense ranks top-5 in EPA/play overall, still top-12 even if excluding turnovers. They’d probably be my Super Bowl pick if they had the 1 or 2 seed. The problem is that they play Josh Allen in Round 1, against whom anything can happen. Really like them the rest of the way if they win the coinflip this weekend (though there’s also a path where Allen’s playmakers bite him if Cook is contained on the ground, and the Jaguars win easily.) 4. Steelers ❌ Simply, the luck runs out. They rank 4th-best in turnover margin. But they’re the only playoff team in the AFC to rank in the bottom half of the league by EPA/play on both offense and defense. They’re 1-5 against playoff teams, with the only win coming off the back of 4 fumbles by the Patriots in Week 3. Could beat Houston in a slower game with fewer plays + more variance and a superior run game, but probably get humiliated sooner or later. 5. Texans ❌ Failing to keep pace with playoff offenses, especially as they don’t have the run game to play ball control against good teams. Bottom-3 in rushing success rate. C.J. Stroud has two wins this year in which the opposing offense put up 21 or more points, both coming against Riley Leonard and Geno Smith over the past three weeks in games far closer than they should have been. But this is a defense that could catch one of the several inexperienced playoff QBs in the field off guard. Simply, a slightly lesser version of the Broncos with a harder path. 6. Bills ❌ Getting choked out by a strong defense and run game. For all the mentions I’ve given them so far, I do think most teams in the field can beat the Bills. The worst statistical defense out of the serious AFC contenders. They’re one of only 5 teams in the NFL allowing a positive rushing EPA/play. Oddly, the Dolphins might have been the team to handle them the best with this game plan in Week 10. They also have recent losses to teams built like the Texans and Eagles, even with uninspiring run games. Allen can beat anybody, and the Bills are the most dangerous team to those I view as the best contenders on paper (Jaguars and Patriots). But the Jaguars are capable of beating them via shootout or the run, and likely traveling to DEN in Round 2 isn’t much easier. I lean toward an early exit, but the ceiling for a deep run is obvious. 7. Chargers ❌ The offensive line fails Justin Herbert again. The Chargers actually have the worst EPA/play on offense (9th-worst) of any AFC playoff team. Despite the 9th-fastest average time to throw (2.57 seconds), the Chargers allow pressure on 43.2% of their dropbacks (5th-most overall, 2nd-most of any playoff team). Probably playing a losing game in any shootout for this reason. They could upset the Patriots in a slower game, but then they’re drawing pretty dead against the Broncos, where they don’t have a clear advantage in any phase. Again, let me know if you think I'm wrong anywhere/overlooking something! If people like this, I will do the NFC tomorrow.

📊Fantasy Football Playoffs Strength of Schedule ▪️QB, RB, TE are also in this thread▪️ Outside WRs (left chart) and Slot WRs (right chart) 📌 Bookmark this post for the fantasy playoffs Amon-Ra St. Brown has the 4th BEST fantasy playoffs schedule among slot WRs Week 15: LAR (+2.3) ▪️LAR allows 2.3 MORE fantasy points to slot WRs than expected Week 16: PIT (+4.6) Week 17: MIN (-0.2)