Non-Dorky Poll: The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection

You may have thought you saw some other posts here earlier in the day. You didn't. Pay no attention to the vanishing posts about things I wasn't supposed to post about.

This means, though, that I don't have any content on the blog, other than a cranky note about an idiot radio host, so, ummmm....

OK, so, this past weekend, the New England Patriots narrowly beat the Philadelphia Eagles to get to 11-0. On Monday, the Miami Dolphins lost a miserable sloppy game to the Pittsburgh Steelers on a last-second field goal, to get to 0-11 on the season.

Which team, the Patriots or the Dolphins, is more likely to finish with an "unblemished" record?

Neither feat has been accomplished since the '70's, so it's possible that neither will do it. But if you had to pick one of the two, would you pick the Patriots to go 16-0, or the Dolphins to go 0-16?

Yes, this is lame. So were the vanishing posts, really, but they were slightly less lame because I had more time to think about them...

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I have to go with the Pats going all the way. It is easier to see them winning the rest of their games, and the Dolphins get to play the Jets...

It would be especially fun to see the '82 Dolphins crying and sobbing in front of their unopened champagne however. Then maybe we would not have to be subjected to Greasy, Kick and Czonka interviews ever again.

I would swear not all that long ago people were complaining about there being too much parity in the NFL....

I guessing that the Patriots have a better chance. Most teams can win on occasion. That said the Patriots do have to play the Giants and the Steelers who are both pretty good teams. They also play Miami before the end of the year, which could lead to the ultimate ironic ending.

I do hope Miami goes 0-16. That would be a nice symmetry to the 82 dolphins, and exactly 25 years later!

By Brad Holden (not verified) on 28 Nov 2007 #permalink

I'm going to go with the Dolphins. The Pats showed this past Sunday that they're completely mortal against a so-so Eagles team. I think it's more likely that they go 15-0 and then lose to the Giants than that the Dolphins win any of their remaining games.

Pats. They got a wake up last Sunday after believing their own press for weeks. They are coming back hungry.

Miami is doomed to fail at failing.

Regression to the mean and the vagaries of chance conspire against clean slates for both teams, but those effects affect both teams equally. The one random element that the Pats must contend with that the Fish don't is injuries, which can only hurt the former's chances.

Additionally, and this may seem obvious but still worth saying: it is much easier to lose games than to win them, even for the Patriots. To win a game, you have to get out there and outperform your opponent; to lose, you don't even have to get out of bed. No matter how much better a team is in comparison to their opponent, it is still easier to lose to that opponent by not even trying than to use superior talent to defeat them.

I'm still betting against both teams having at least one win and one loss on their records. But if someone were to have a zero, it will be the Fish.

I'd go with the Pats. They have more incentive (i.e., Super Bowl) to avoid screwing up than the Dolphins do to avoid failing to screw up.

That said, either feat would be more impressive than when they were last done in the 1970s. In those days the regular season was only 14 games long.

By Eric Lund (not verified) on 28 Nov 2007 #permalink

As a Giants fan, I have to say that I find the idea that the Giants might beat the Patriots in the last game of the season to be absolutely hilarious.

The Giants' secondary is absolutely horrible-- they can't cover anybody in the passing game. They can get away with having such a godawful secondary against teams with shaky pass protection, because Strahan and Umenyiora are such good pass rushers that they can put pressure on the quarterback and force some bad throws. Agaisnt teams with a good offensive line-- say, the Cowboys, Packers, and Vikings-- they get absolutely shredded, even by slightly suspect quarterbacks and receivers.

New England has the best offensive line in the business right now, and they have Tom Brady throwing to Randy Moss, Donte' Stallworth, and Wes Welker, all of whom are better than anybody the Vikings put on the field. If they come into the game at 15-0, the perfect season is theirs for the taking. They'll beat the Giants by thirty.

Actually, it might be fun to see both succeed. Then we'd get to see the old Miami record met in the same year that the new Miami met the other record.

Think it's related to global warming? :-)

The Pats play host to the Dolphins in their second to last game of the year. I'm rooting for them to spoil each others "unblemished" records.

The Pats play two good teams, two bad teams, and one ridiculously awful team, while Miami plays one terrifying juggernaut of a team, one meh team, and three bad ones. Given that, I'd say that the Pats have a much better chance of winning out than Miami does of losing out. Of course, Miami might end up playing like a cornered animal to aviod humiliation, while the Pats can coast and still lock up homefield advantage throughout the playoffs...

Nick: but there is no way that the Pats _will_ coast.

(Though a Pats fan, I am indifferent on the question of them going undefeated; perhaps I've drunk the Kool-Aid.)

I'd say both will be hard, but losing 16 is tougher. Maybe the Dolphins could trade for Eli and ensure the record :-)