With all the injuries the Pats have suffered I think Cincinati is the clear favorite in the AFC. At this point teams can just double/triple Gronk and then the Pats will have to rely on LaFell, Amendola to get yards. I'm not really a believer in Blount being able to take over a game behind a banged up line.
I do reserve the right to change my mind if Dalton comes out tonight and can't do anything because he has a panic attack during prime time games.
I reserve my right to be skeptical of Cincy until they show they can protect Dalton, and Dalton can maintain his composure, when things get tougher and tighter in the playoffs.
The Bengals certainly seem like the biggest threat to the Pats in the AFC, though even without Le'veon Bell it seems like the Steelers' offense might be explosive enough to put up a bunch of points against the Pats.
The Patriots injury woes (as it pertains to their long term success) is somewhat overblown. Vollmer, Cannon, and Collins will all be back, potentially as early as this week. With Vollmer and Cannon back at tackle and some mix of Stork, Andrews, Jackson, and Mason at the center and guards spots, the offensive line again becomes a strength of the team.
That in itself should make the loss of Lewis and Edelman look far less terrible than it looked this past week, when we had a guy from the practice squad playing LT and last year's starting center playing RT. That should not be underestimated. If you look at Brady's two fumbles and his near interception at the end, none of those things happen if the line that will be there at the end of the season is there. And if those things don't happen, the Patriots handily beat the Giants and there's no doom and gloom.
And also, if Julian Edelman's prognosis is 4-8 weeks, I find it pretty unfathomable he won't be ready for a playoff game that would be the weekend of January 16-17, which is 9 weeks away. The guy is a beast and I'm sure will be rehabbing like crazy.
