'Hater Nation' picks Patriots

Now, I am probably going to like any article entitled, 'Gomer Manning is a Piece of Crap,' in which the gents over at 'The Hater Nation' point out that Peyton Manning is the true score-runner-upper. But keep reading, because they also predict that the Superbowl will come down to Saints versus Patriots. This is not an impossible match-up and we will see what happens. But it's nice to see that we're still in contention near the half-way point of the season.

Indianapolis Colts' Schedule

Here it is:

Jacksonville
Miami
Arizona
Seattle
Tennessee
St. Louis
San Francisco
Houston
New England
Baltimore
Houston
Tennessee
Denver
Jacksonville
NY Jets
Buffalo

How many challenging games do you see there? The Pats, Broncos, and maybe Baltimore? Now I realize that they are in an easy division this year (with Tennessee and Jacksonville being messes), but apart from that, they are playing two of the three teams that are currently winless (and we are going into Week 8 here). In fact, they are playing one of those two teams twice, because it's Tennessee.

Before you say something crazy like, 'Oh yeah? The Pats have played two of the three winless teams too,' let me counter with the fact that we spent the first five weeks playing teams that were undefeated when we met them. Which the Colts have had to do never this year, apart from Week 1 when everyone is undefeated.

Now, I also know that we had the benefit of playing the NFC West last year, so we also had an easy schedule. But we were playing our back-up QB and I don't think we fully understood the full awfulness of the Rams until this year.

So I think - despite the fact that typing this is making my skin crawl - that they could possibly go undefeated. I don't want them to, because I want us to shut them down (and as ever many others who want in on that action), but I fear that they could pull it off. Unless....maybe Houston will step up? They almost beat the Colts last year, right up until one of those very Schaubisch moments when he throws an interception in the last few minutes.

Brandon Meriweather named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Brandon Meriweather has received the honor (or is it honour when you play in England?) of being this week's AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Tom has already won Offensive Player of the Week twice this year, but he's just Tom, so we expect that.

Meriweather had a very good game against the Bucs, with two interceptions in the first half, one returned for a TD. He's shown glimpses of this before, but it's nice that it seems to be coming together for him. Also, since he plays in the secondary, this marks a considerable improvement from last season (he's a safety, not a corner, but still, what a change from last year).

What I remember was last season, Belichick turned to him during one of their games and gave him a run-down of what to do. The next play, Meriweather went out and made an interception. It was great, and also great to see that he's continuing this level of play.

Oh, and in case there are any lingering doubts about the overhaul of the D, check out this stat:

Points allowed
3rd (14.0 per game)
Last week: 3rd (15.1 per game)

Bear in mind that the two teams ahead of us, Denver and Indianapolis, have played one less game, and that Indy has the most ridiculous easy schedule, like, EVER (no, I'm not whiny/bitter).

Who was worried about our defense again?

I've cracked Theo Epstein's Strategic Plan

So I've found a crucial pattern in this year's Red Sox leaders. See graphic. Note first letter of 87.5% of the guys there. Note that remaining 12.5% has an adjacent letter in the alphabet. Clearly we need more people whose names start with 'J.'

When I started thinking this through, though, I realized that maybe this was no co-incidence, since it seems that we have been accumulating numerous players whose name starts with 'J.' Think about it. Our entire outfield comprises of J-guys: JD Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jason Bay. We almost have an entire starting rotation made up of J-guys: Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Junichi Tazawa (what do you want to bet that Epstein gets Johan Santana in the off-season? Not very much, right, because now you see his plan!). Who do we keep putting in at shortstop? Jeb Lowry (even though I do not understand this since I think Alex Gonzalez has done very well....but now I've hit upon the answer). Of course, our closer is Jonathan Papelbon. Daniel Bard taking over that spot? Yeah, right!

This makes our trade of Justin Masterson all the more baffling. But I'm sure Theo has a plan to get him back.

Also, I hope that we aren't planning to re-sign Johnny Damon anytime soon.

Pats beat Bucs 35-7. Meh.

I mean, I'm not complaining or anything. It wasn't a bad game. But it wasn't a great game by any means. Sure, the Pats won 35-7, but it just didn't feel like they quite had it together. And I know, I should just be happy with the win. Maybe because there were some weaknesses that emerged against a pretty lousy team, I am now more worried.

Points that need addressing:

1) Brady didn't seem to have it again on the long passes. I had hoped, after last week, that this was no longer an issue.
2) Penalties. There were far too many.
3) Stopping the run. I felt we gave up too many yards. And sure, Cadillac Williams is a good RB, but we're facing the Dolphins next and they have a crazy run game that we need to stop (the Dolphins are - inexplicably - up 24-3 against the Saints right now. I thought last week was backward week).
4) The Bucs were getting around the O-line too easily at times. Tom had better movement in the pocket and dodged some hits. But still, more support might have been good.
5) Tom threw for two interceptions. One of them, the one in the end zone, he really should have known better.

Okay, as Coach will undoubtedly say in his press conference, there is a lot of work to be done. I just hope that they can correct some of these problems before facing Miami, because I fear that they can exploit several of these weaknesses.

(I know, I know, stop whining and enjoy the win).

Habs being Habs

I know, I don't usually acknowledge that hockey exists until post-NFL (by which I mean, when the Patriots are out). But I wanted to note that already the Habs are continuing in their tradition from last season of being streaky. Consider that the team had a 5-game losing skid, and have now won their past 3. Hopefully the season will be in reverse this year, though: we start streaky, then get good for the second half.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

I hope that he doesn't live to regret this comment, but here is Tom Brady on tomorrow's game against the Bucs:

'During a conference call with British reporters earlier this week, Brady provided this frightening scenario for the Bucs: "There's nothing I would rather do than go out there and have our best game of the year."

Apparently, he wasn't satisfied with what happened against Tennessee.'

Tom is never satisfied! He is a competitor! As Junior said, he probably is competitive while brushing his teeth (as photo with story bears witness to)!

Edelman breaks arm

Apparently at the end of the game Sunday, Julius Edelman broke his arm. This is clearly a problem because we just released Joey Galloway yesterday (which tells you how bad this is). However, Belichick seemed to hint in a press conference yesterday that they would fill the position from within. Could be a promotion from the practice squad. Stay tuned.

Julius Edelman is the one who does the semi-Wes Welker plays.

Patriots re-sign TBC

Well, that mystery is solved: TBC was re-signed this morning.

New question: why the hell is Sir Elton John the honorary captain for the Patriots this week? And shouldn't it be 'honourary'?

Fun on ESPN last night

And I am not being sarcastic.

One of my favorite parts came during the halftime show, when they showed results of a poll asking which QB was better on Sunday: Drew Brees or Tom Brady. The results? Forty-seven states voted for Drew Brees, and three for Tom Brady. I'll leave you to guess which three those were (Maine, Connecticut, and Vermont were the turncoats).

Also, I enjoyed Josh McDaniels' post-game interview, when he almost pulled a Belichick, but didn't quite have the monotone delivery. Keep working at it, kiddo.

Things are going down in Foxborough

1) Last night, the team announced that it had cut Tully Banta-Cain, which surprised the hell out of just about everyone. Tully Banta-Cain, besides having one of the best names in the league, was leading the team in sacks and had played relatively well. However, then everyone speculated that either Belichick was certifiable or perhaps TBC (as he is now known) would be re-signed soon. TBC confirmed that when he talked to a radio station yesterday (not that Belichick is certifiable, that he expects to be re-signed soon).

2) No one knows what the deal is with Adalius Thomas (also defense). He was a healthy scratch for Sunday's game, which was weird. He also missed several practices earlier this season for non-health issues, which I thought was weird at the time, but I forgot to post on that.

3) Today, the Patriots released Galloway, Michael Matthews, and Eric Alexander. Galloway is gone, no re-signing there. It appears that Matthews is also gone. Who knows with Alexander. There is still no word on the Thomas situation.

4) Rumors are flying about a potential trade for the Patriots. Maybe a WR to replace Galloway? One rumor is Deion Branch, because, let's face it, who doesn't love Deion Branch? I mean, one of my favorite things in playing my old Madden is that I can throw Brady to Branch for ridiculous yards. But that doesn't mean that he's still the same old guy (he's had injuries). Others speculate about Julius Peppers (DB for Carolina), a speculation that has been going on for quite a while and started last off-season. Trading deadline is today at 4pm.

Let's give them credit: they were not boring in the past few days.

Also, I am unbelievably grateful to be able to retire the 'Joey Galloway' tag. I had such high hopes. Just goes to show that not everyone can be fit into the Belichick system and win, you need quality players to execute on this level.

Crazy theory as to why Brady stayed in

Some wiseacres have already gone on the 'they ran up the score' rant, to which I respond that the total number of points actually can determine your playoff chances. So nyeah.

However, I want to address the 'Brady was left in too late' argument instead. Here's my crazy theory: the back-up QB Brian Hoyer (how many people could have named him yesterday?) was standing out in the snow, freezing, for the entire first half. So he's probably cold. Then they went into the warm locker room at halftime. They came back out, and he was still not ready to come in because when would he have warmed up? In a pinch situation, he could have been ready more quickly, but why not allow him the time to warm up properly? Instead, they put Brady in for the first drive since he was acclimatized, then put in Hoyer for the rest of the game after he had a chance to adapt.

But of course, for some, this was a vanity move by Brady, because his whole goal yesterday was to tie the all-time TD in one game record, then back off before he actually set a new high. Because that's practically the same thing, right?

Again, you can't beat the master

This week's Belichick of the Week goes to the man himself, again:

"I thought it was a real good effort by our team today all through the fourth quarter. I'm real proud of them. I thought we executed pretty well, made some big plays in both the running game and the passing game, from all of our defense, good solid all-around effort."

'Executed pretty well.' Not 'well' or 'very well.' Pretty well. Clearly there is still work to be done, according to Coach Belichick.

Best. Football. Weekend. Ever.

1) Clearly, Pats winning 59-0 over Tennessee was a highlight (I will never get sick of these).

2) Saints destroyed the Giants 48-27, and it was partially Eli's fault.

3) Bills came up with an overtime win against the Jets. That means the Jets are on a 3-game skid, and clearly suck.

4) Notre Dame lost on a goal line stand with seconds to go in the 4th quarter, missing 4 opportunities to score against rival USC (what does this have to do with me? It's petty and stupid, but I'm feeling very anti-Notre Dame these days).

5) Did I mention the Pats? Because they were FREAKING AWESOME.

Boston blog: Red Sox need to pull a Patriots D

The word right now in Boston (at least one version of it) is that massive change needs to happen for the team to stay competitive.

I think that this assessment is valid and that there do need to be some changes. While I don't want to point fingers at Francona, it is tempting because I felt like he had the wrong attitude into September. Things got very sloppy and that was exactly what I saw from most players in the series against the Angels. But then again, there was a real problem in production. So let's think that over...if I were Theo Epstein:

Staying: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Youk, Martinez, Gonzalez (you can unload a few of the other 82 shortstops we have in my opinion, Gonzalez stepped in and did a great job). I think we still have Drew too.

Go: Varitek (sniff), Bay looks like he will be gone, is Lowell done with his contract this year?

Can Varitek shift to coaching in some capacity?

Pitching: keep Lester, Buchholz, Beckett, Dice-K. Wakefield, although he had a great season and has contributed immensely, is not a reliable option considering his age. I would rather have him as the Red Sox equivalent of Junior Seau: someone who can come in later if we need him. Look for another starter just in case. Also, we do have Tazawa.

Bullpen: this gets tricky. I would keep Papelbon, I'm still not convinced Bard has it to be the closer (give it a season or two). Re-evaluate some of the middle relievers. Figure out what happened to Delcarmen and if that can be corrected. I'm not sure how I feel about the rest of them right now. Billy Wagner is probably done.

[Speaking of Junior Seau, apparently he is coming back with the Patriots. Already!]

Crazy ending in Miami

The Dolphins pulled it off against the Jets with a 31-27 win. They scored a touchdown in the last seconds of the game. Exciting! And so much for that vaunted Jets defense.

This is good on several levels. We are now tied with the Jets in the AFC East at 3-2. The other good thing is that the Jets lost. And clearly because it is an odd-numbered year, the Patriots will not lose to Miami.

Congratulations, Josh McDaniels

And no, that's not sarcasm...he won the Belichick of the Week in the post-game interview:

"It was a big win for the football team, a great team we played today. They were very well prepared and we knew that it would be a 60-minute game, or longer in this case.'

Another bright spot

Our red zone efficiency versus the Broncos was 100%! We were 2-2!

Now admittedly, it probably would have helped us immeasurably if we had reached the red zone more often, but still. That is improvement!

Who I'm not annoyed with

WE HAVE CORNERS!

Leigh Bodden led the team in tackles today. Second place went to Shawn Springs, also a corner.

Play Calling

Okay, we have a new offensive coordinator (of course, because our previous one beat us this afternoon). And I know that at times, we complained and griped about him. Too many fancy-pant plays. Not enough rushing. But he did get us the 18-1 season and kept the team going when we had Matt Cassel step in. I know that I complained too, and I stand by that.

But...

What on earth happened today? Why were we running with the clock tick-tocking away at the end of the 4th quarter? I mean sure, Denver has a good defense and Watson was off the field with an injury, but did we not have one single new play to throw out there that could confuse the Broncos? I mean, they figured out the 'pass to Welker' thing (even though not all of those passes were on). I will be forced to assume that Moss was covered for most of the game because he didn't show up much. But still, we should have tried to run it more in the 3rd, when we wanted to run out the clock, not in the fourth when we needed big plays?

Also, the only way for Moss and Brady to start connecting is practice, practice, practice. You may not remember when the Pats were merely scoring 34 points at the start of the 2007 season, but I do. And what I also remember is that Moss and Brady did not connect on every play. In fact, I'd give them about a 50% chance. Remember the last regular season game against the Giants? Brady passed long down the field, Moss missed. Next play, Brady did it again (it was his 50th TD) of the season on the exact same play and they did it. So let them try on some of those 2nd and whatevers.

Also, was Edelman even on the field in the second half? They didn't seem to throw to him. Try a double Wes Welker, I'll bet McDaniels wouldn't know what hit him.

Incidentally, Kevin Faulk (who has never been my favorite but did pretty well last year so I laid off on him) averaged - ready for it - 2 yards a carry (4 attempts, 8 yards). That is wretched.

Contrary to what you might believe from earlier posts, nobody gets any nickels

The Red Sox lost today, meaning that they are done for the season, losing in 3 straight games. My loyalties now fall to the Twins (beat the Yankees!) and failing that, the Angels (beat the Yankees!).

My no-win World Series would be the Yankees vs. the Phillies. Not as bad as a Manningbowl. But still not great.

Oh, and Papelbon was the one who blew it, which seems like a great description of our unpredictability and streakiness (in a bad way) this season. Even our (usually) dependable guys just didn't seem to have it.

What we learned this week

A lot!

1) Buffalo and Cleveland fought to a 6-3 conclusion in favor of the Browns. Both of these teams are officially disaster zones.

2) Brady needs to throw to people apart from only Welker (actually I was not happy with the second half game-calling at all, but I may save that for another post).

3) The Cowboys ain't what they used to be. Or what they should be. They almost lost to the winless Kansas City Chiefs. Kudos to the Chiefs, Cowboys....really?

4) Jacksonville may be the most unpredictable team out there. Last week they destroyed the Titans. This week they were smunched (yes, I invented a word) 41-0 by Seattle. This is not exactly a powerhouse team. Now, I understand when the Raiders get smunched 44-7 by the Giants, even though inwardly it may make me confused (Eli? Was he kidnapped and replaced with a clone who doesn't make stupid plays and throw interceptions?). But not Seattle destroying you. That's just wrong.

5) Matt Schaub has apparently still not learned that the way to win football games is to not (repeat, not) throw interceptions right near the end.

6) Josh McDaniels can look really evil when he's mad at special teams.

7) The Ravens are a team that gets penalized a lot, and not only when they play the Pats.

8) The Patriot tuques are the best (something else I just learned: if you Google 'Patriot tuque,' this blog is the second hit).

I think it's over

Mind you, if you had a nickel for every time I thought it was over....okay, you wouldn't have that much, but you would have more than a nickel.

I think the Red Sox are done. They are down by 2 games in a best-of-5, they are not looking great and they have hit 1 run in two games. Mind you, they are coming back to Fenway now, which could help. But their effort to date has been pretty lackluster, as it was for a lot of September. I said it before: the problem is that they are streaky. The hitters have been drastically up and down all season and it seems like everyone follows the trend. Baseball is a fascinating game since the season is so long and people will not play the same way throughout. However, I think that the last couple weeks of the season did not bode well - as many Red Sox fans feared - and now we are in a pinch.

I was watching the game on Gameday, but thought Beckett did well. And really, we should be able to generate more offense than 1 run for him. He may have 'unraveled' in the 7th, but allowing 4 runs is not exactly a complete meltdown.

Also, I don't think TBS wants us to win since they have that dramatic Adenhart commercial for the Angels and we have nothing (not that it wouldn't be great for the Angels to win in dedication to him. Or at least beat the Yankees should it come to that). But Joba Chamberlain has one, the Cardinals have one, the Angels have one...what about us? How about 'The Saga of J.D. Drew'? Or Alex Gonzalez seeks to make himself seem worthy? Or Francona recovers from food poisoning? Surely these are also compelling narratives.

It's like some weird game

One goes out, one comes in, etc....

Fred Taylor underwent surgery today for his ankle, which he injured in Sunday's game. This is unfortunate because he is currently our leading RB and has played quite well. This means that BenJarvus Ellis-Green now gets to play. So yeah, apparently we needed those 84 running backs.

Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy

Red Sox are going to have to pick it up if they want a chance in this series. There have been some sloppy defensive plays so far. I certainly feel that the SS and 3rd baseman should be able to throw to 1st without incident.

5-0 at the end of 7. They are definitely going to need to play better.

What is with the umpires?

I feel like the 1st base umpire must be a Ravens fan or something. That is two plays now where the Red Sox made the out but the runner was safe (also the same runner, Kendrick). Maybe baseball does need an instant replay?

I would have thrown the red flag on that one.

Stupid Yankees

The Yankees made the Twins wish that they had just lost on Tuesday night (crazy game!) by kicking their butts yesterday. The final score was something like 7-1, I am too lazy to look it up.

Philly and the Dodgers also won.

As someone who is cheering against the Yankees and Phillies, it was maybe not my day. But something deep inside me also wants the Yankees to win round one so that we can play them in round two....although the Yankees this year are a ridiculous powerhouse, so maybe that is a bad idea.

Red Sox play tonight. I fear I won't make it through the whole game because I have to be up too early tomorrow. Boo.

Wes Welker doing better

We can all sigh with relief that Wes Welker is doing better. Let's hope he doesn't have any problems (Moss wasn't at practice yesterday, but that was apparently not an injury scratch).

This was my favorite part from the Welker interview (if you didn't see it, Josh McDaniels was sporting the Belichick last weekend during the Denver game):

'How does Denver coach (and former Patriots offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels look in a hoodie compared to Patriots coach Bill Belichick?: "I don't know -- once there's an original, you can't stray from that. Me, personally, I kinda like to set the trend."

Asked if that's what he did Sunday when he was spotted with a plaid scally cap: "Exactly, a little edgy hat. Some people wouldn't be comfortable enough with themselves to do that."'

Ravens will not be fined, league sucks

So those Ravens who were complaining about the calls? The ones who would have been fined in a split second last season (see previous comments on 'fines,' particularly those from the Indianapolis Colts game last year)? They are not being fined this time around. That is total crap. The league needs a consistent policy here. And let's not forget, this is the same league that charged Wes Welker last year for making a snowman.

In case you're curious, here is the infamous Suggs hit. Did Brady signal for a penalty? Yes. What is a penalty? Yes! Dude was charging straight for his knee! He could have avoided the direct helmet going toward it, he wasn't being pushed by another player.

In an even stupider move by the league, Mike Wright (Patriots) did get fined for hitting the Ravens' QB on the helmet. Because that's consistent.

Reiss provided a nice analysis of who has been fined for what in regards to QB penalties. Baltimore is leading with 4 calls against, and the Patriots are second with 3. Because the refs are biased for us, obviously.

Argh. Whatever, it's time to let this go. Championship teams don't lose because of 'bad' calls, they win in spite of them.

How you know your team is in trouble: coach may be arrested for assult

Tom Cable, coach of the Raiders, may be arrested, some rumor mills are reporting.

Now, this already wasn't the Raiders season. But something tells me that having the coach arrested wouldn't help. Not to mention that I feel as though Goodell would frown upon such an action and probably bar him from coaching (at least if Goodell is at all consistent, he would).

I feel like Mangini and Oakland are destined someday. Who knows? That day could come sooner than I thought (he sure isn't going to be in Cleveland very long at this rate).

That's a fine

Ed Reed, of the Baltimore Ravens, sort of insinuated that the Patriots only won because they had calls go their way.

*sigh*

Sometimes calls go your way, sometimes they go the other way.

PS - Your catch downfield late in the 3rd should have been overturned. So quit whining.

PPS - I do agree that Brady got a freebie on the 'roughing the passer' one. But that is football. We had the same problems in the game against the Bills. Again, sometimes calls go your way, sometimes they go the other way.

PPPS - Dumb: when your coach complains enough to the referee to get a penalty, then keeps complaining.

PPPPS - No seriously, quit whining.

Fan commentary

This was posted by richard f on Yahoo following a summary of the Pats vs. Ravens:

'Nerds; Don't be mad because the three time world champion New England Patriots either spanked your team in the Super bowl, or beats your team on a regular basis. The Patriots are just better than your team. The Patriot fans are better than your team's fans, and the Patriot's owner is better than your team's owner. Just get over it. It will always be this way. Your Nerd rage fuels the Patriots.

Go Pats!'

Defense wins championships

Before anyone leaps on the 'Brady is washed up and done' wagon, let's recall that the Pats were playing one of the strongest defenses in the league today and still came up on top. They won 27-21. Now ideally, it would have been nice to do better, of course, particularly on the last drive. But we did enough to win.

And it's important to bear in mind that the reason we did enough to win is that the defense came up with a giant stop on the last drive, stopping the Ravens four times when they started at 1st and goal. We had the people in place ot make these crucial plays. This team is definitely our strongest in years - forget about 2007, that was precisely when we needed our defense to come up big and they didn't make the needed plays.

Also, Brandon Meriweather was fabulous today. He got one interception and almost came up with two more. Great job by the D all around.

Junior Seau has interview

Junior Seau is shilling his new show (which premieres in December?) and giving press interviews. He was asked if he would be returning to the Patriots this year, which would give him an almost Favre-esque status of three straight years coming out of retirement. His answer was sure, but later in the season, since he is a rusty old man.

However, the best answer he gave in the interview pertained to his answer when asked about Tom Brady losing his temper on the field last week:

"Tom always has the fire. He walks around, even when he probably brushes his teeth, and he's thinking of facing a challenge."

Tom Brady, plaque fighter par excellence.

Leodis McKelvin is not having a great year

Remember Leodis McKelvin? He was the guy who muffed the return in the game against the Patriots, putting the ball back in their hands and leading to the game-winning TD. Then his lawn was vandalized by angry Bills fans.

As it turns out, he broke his leg in Sunday's game against the Saints and has now been put on injury reserve. That is a bad season. Even worse than being traded to the Raiders. Poor guy.