Yeah the pats on paper seem to be the best team in the AFC, but people probably said the same thing last year and the Pats struggled against the Ravens and lost against the Broncos so anything can happen.

I feel many are sleeping on the Chiefs. The fact that the Chiefs clinched the first round bye is absolutely crucial because Andy Reid is almost perfect against teams after his bye. Their defense is strong enough to counter the strong offensive teams in the AFC so winning that championship game is totally doable. This could be Andy Reid's year!!!

This years Patriots are a much better team then the 2010 team.  Plus they are a much better road team then that team since this years team was 8-0 on the road and the 2010 team lost its two games on the road.  That team was very unlucky since they faced the one team that beat them in the regular season in their first playoff game.  A very similar thing could happen this year if the Giants end up being the Cowboys first opponent in the playoffs.

...kind of irrelevant since the Pats have home field advantage.

Anyway, no, as a New England fan, I can assure you that the 2016 team is not substantially better than the 2010 team. In fact, you can make a reasonable argument that the 2016 regular season was not as good. The 2010 team played a harder schedule (7 games against playoff teams as opposed to this year's 4), and ended with the same record and a better point differential (+205 vs. +191). Brady's passing statistics this year are very similar to 2010's, particularly the touchdown to interception ratio (28:2 vs. 27:2) and quarterback rating (112 vs. 111).

2016's defense has looked much better, giving up 63 fewer points and allowing roughly 600 fewer yards, but they've also played fewer good offenses. The one thing that works in New England's favor is that the AFC playoff field is, overall, much weaker this year than in 2010. Still, if a team that New England beat 45-3 in the regular season can walk into Gillette Stadium in the playoffs and win, I'm not taking anything for granted.

Yeah but who has the front seven to do that with a decent enough backend to not get killed? The Denver Broncos, and maybe the Seattle Seahawks? Pressuring Brady doesn't matter if you have to blitz to do it and he has places to get rid of the ball. What Denver has done to Brady the last couple years is not possible for most other teams to duplicate, so other teams will have to rely more on outscoring them. Teams like Houston and KC might have great defenses, but not where it matters, and they don't have offenses to keep up. Pitt is probably the Patriots only real threat in the AFC, just because they can light up the score board. In the NFC Dallas, GB, Atlanta, Seattle, they can all score a lot too.

With home field advantage, NE has a pretty easy road to the SB. Man the AFC East sucks.

Pittsburgh vs Dallas for SB. Just watch.

Not so bad I guess. At least I kept up my ability to make the playoffs.

2012 - 3rd place - 166/90 - .648
2013 - 5th place - 163/93 - .637
2016 - 14th place - 156/100 - .609

Have to get back into top 5 in 2017.

(I didn't participate 2014/2016)

Nope both Green Bay and Atlanta can shred the Arlington's Cowgirls defense (especially the questionable secondary) for massive points.  Plus if the Giants make it they have the defense to shut them down for another victory for the third time.

AFC East is actually the third best division in the league this year, if you go by combined teams' records. Even if you take the first place teams' records out of the equation, it's still tied for third best. More than anything, New England has been the beneficiary of other team's injuries. The fact that we can't definitively say which quarterback will be starting for any of the teams they could play in the divisional round speaks volumes (which stands in stark contrast to the teams that Dallas could play, all of whom have Pro Bowl quarterbacks).

I'd take your opinion more seriously but you used the term "cowgirls" which immediately made me dismiss what you had to say.

Meh, the reality is the Arlington Cowboys are very beatable.  Just like the Golden State Warrior where in the previous NBA season the Cowboys are nowhere as good as their record.  The defense especially the secondary is not championship caliber level.