Two words

Tully Banta-Cain.

He had to go out of today's game too with an injury. Note that when we was there, we were still getting pressure on Brees. Dude is our most valuable defensive player right now and it's not just because of his awesome name that I say this.

Current Belichick of the Week

I'm awarding it early seeing as he is not even done with the press conference yet:

'They were just the better team tonight. You had to see that, you were there.'

Bill is sad :( If I could, I would give him a hug.

Saints 38, Patriots 17

We got beat. And how. Our secondary was chewed up, we didn't put together much of anything on offense, and it was a general mess. Even Gostkowski missed a field goal, which is pretty abnormal (admittedly, it was from the 50, so it was challenging).

So time to assess. We are a half hour from December and I've had my epiphany moment, like I did last year after the Steelers game. Here is my assessment. I think that we can beat almost anyone in the AFC this year. We did almost beat the Colts. The only other surging team I really see right now are the Chargers (sorry, Tennessee, I think it's going to be too little, too late). And so, were it to come down to it, I think that we would have a shot.

At the same time, I think that the NFC may have everyone in the AFC beat this year. There are the Saints. There are also the Vikings, who have come out of nowhere with Favre to be a dominant team. If the Saints or Vikings played the Colts, I have a feeling the NFC team would win. And so -- and you can read it here right now -- I think this is an NFC year.

At the same time, I'm not ready to discount the Patriots quite yet. Sure, elements of the secondary are weak, but not a disaster like last year (I am not bringing back the 'We need corners' tag quite yet). I am reminded of Arizona's game against us last year when we blew them out and we turned it around. It's not over, of course, until it is over, so there is still time to go. But right now, it sure seems to be more of an NFC year than an AFC one.

Eli Manning's foot still bugging him

Yeah, and this is exactly why you shouldn't play when you have plantar fasciitis. It's a nasty foot injury. Rest and let it heal!

*sigh*

This data needs to be preserved

So I spent most of my day putting this together: it's the point differential, by quarter, of the Patriots since 2001. Don't even ask.

(Yes, I have other things I should be spending my time doing, and in fact, I am not allowed to leave the house until I finish one of them. Then I shall leave the house to watch the FSU/UF game with a friend; however, until I have finished my work, I am not allowed to go! No more football or football-related activities for at least 3 whole hours!).

2001
1st quarter: +24
2nd quarter: +93
3rd quarter: -6
4th quarter: +33
[OT: +9. three games]

2002
1st quarter: +8
2nd quarter: -21
3rd quarter: +22
4th quarter: +40
[OT: +6, two games]

2003
1st quarter: +45
2nd quarter: +32
3rd quarter: +20
4th quarter: +23

2004
1st quarter: +40
2nd quarter: +82
3rd quarter: +57
4th quarter: +33

2005
1st quarter: +35
2nd quarter: -18*
3rd quarter: +57
4th quarter: +4
*What's interesting here is that the numbers get better as the season goes on, so clearly this was an area of focus

2006
1st quarter: +53
2nd quarter: +61
3rd quarter: -1
4th quarter: +63

2007
1st quarter: +87
2nd quarter: +118 (!)
3rd quarter: +40
4th quarter: +73
I think that these numbers are skewed because if you have a 35-7 lead at the half, maybe you don't score so much in the 2nd half.

2008
1st quarter: +23
2nd quarter: +44
3rd quarter: +40
4th quarter: +6

2009 (ytd)
1st quarter: +44
2nd quarter: +73
3rd quarter: -2
4th quarter: +18
[OT: -3, 1 game]

Randy Moss delivers turkeys, good cheer, Belichickisms

Randy Moss went back to his home state of West Virginia to help out with distributing food on Thanksgiving. Notice the use of the Belichickism, 'It is what it is.' I know that Bill didn't coin that one, but it certainly shows up a lot in his press conferences.

And for the 80 billionth time, to all of the haters, maybe this will convince you that the Patriots are not 'classless'? Incidentally, I'm still pretty sure that classless is not a word.

Apparently, it runs in the family

Do you remember how Peyton often takes a defeatist attitude after losing in the playoffs? Seems like he taught brother Eli well. Here are Eli's comments after losing last night to the Broncos:

“We can deal with being 6-5, but we need to play better football.”

Well, you shouldn't deal with being 6-5. There is still a chance that they could make the playoffs, I guess, if they win their remaining games. But that seems unlikely. You shouldn't be dealing with it at all, you should be ready to go and start winning.

How much money are you earning again?

And the Belichick of the Week goes to...

I don't even know why I'm pretending to hand this out to anyone else anymore:

'But from a standpoint of production, what you produce, that’s what you’ve produced.'

Congratulations are in order to Coach Belichick, as usual. Here's the original.

We beat the Jets

My feelings on this game: meh.

It wasn't much of a game, but I'm glad that we won. Welker had a phenomenal day, catching 15 throws for 192 yards (!). Moss didn't have such a day, but did a great job keeping Revis covered. Remember crazy Revis? Yeah, he was still pretty good.

Mazz had the following anecdote in his column today:


'Slightly more than two years ago, when Welker first joined the Pats, Brady playfully described Welker as being like a "puppy’’ during training camp, Welker returning the huddle each time as if playing a game of fetch. The playful jabs have since come as regularly as the 12-yard receptions. Yesterday, Brady took note of Welker gesturing for the quarterback’s attention on what was a 43-yard pass play - ``He mailboxed his hand,’’ said the quarterback -- and didn’t miss the opportunity to deliver the ball to the Jets’ 3-yard line, setting up a touchdown that gave the Pats a 21-0 edge.

"It’s hard to see because he’s about 5-foot-7,’’ Brady cracked.'

My favorite response:

'mw383 wrote:

i mailbox my hand sometimes twice a day.'


Okay, I'm over this game. Time to play the 10-0 Saints.

Iraqi detainees taunt Wisconsin soldiers; Favre as ammo

Apparently, some plucky lads from Wisconsin who are serving in Iraq decided to deck out the camp in Packer colors. This opened the door, of course, for the detainees to start heckling them about Favre's desertion to the Vikings. I have many questions:

1) How do they know about that?
2) How much detail do they know about that?
3) Did the soldiers allow the detainees to see either of the Packers/Vikings games this season? Let's hope not.
4) Do they make Aaron Rogers jokes too?
5) How did they react when the Packers lost to the Buccaneers?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Running backs about to go all Voltron

Here is Reiss to explain:

'Maroney compares running backs to “Voltron” cartoon. Drawing a large media crowd at his locker, running back Laurence Maroney talked about the team’s running back corps returning to full health. He compared the situation to Voltron, the cartoon character in which five pieces connect together to form one large robot. Sammy Morris went through a full week of practice for the first time since injuring his knee Oct. 18, and Fred Taylor is apparently making progress in his recovery from ankle surgery on Oct. 8.'

Things actually look relatively promising from the injury standpoint. TBC was seen back today (he was taken out in the Colts' game with a rib/groin injury) and apparently, we may have some running back(s) this week. Here's hoping.

Belichick has run the gamut

Upon being asked in a press conference today whether he had ever cried, here was Belichick's response:

“I’ve coached 35 years, so I’ve probably covered most all the bases," Belichick said. "I think I swore once, too.”

So now we all agree: it was the right call

Article from Wetzel on Yahoo about how Bill was not only right, but that the play was complete. Also includes some of the statistical analysis that shows he made the right decision, even if it didn't turn up. And a 'Leave Bill Alone!' plea as well.

Okay, now I am moving on, I promise.

Greinke wins AL Cy Young Award

Nice to see that his fewer wins were taken into consideration. Greinke, of the Kansas City Royals, won the Cy Young Award, which he unquestionably deserved. As a starting pitcher, his ERA was 2.16 and while his record (16-8) was not particularly impressive, those losses were, for the most part, not accountable to him but to his team. Congratulations, and I'm glad no one fell for voting in a Yankee.

They are moving on

I have it *on authority* that the Patriots have moved on from Sunday, so I vow to do the same. In Bill I Trust. Still. Yes, I do have something bordering on unconditional love for this team, so I will overlook the times that they don't quite execute as well as I would like. They have still given me more joy and entertainment over the past years than anything else I can think of. And for that, my Pats, I love you still.

As you may recall (or not), the last time that the Pats lost two games in a row was in 2006 against the Colts and the Jets. That cannot happen this year. We need to stay strong through the rest of the season, lock up the playoff spot, and be able to focus on January early. So we need to stay on top of the division. So far, Miami has lost one divisional game, so we're okay in that department. But it behooves us to beat the Jets this weekend...okay, maybe not 'behooves,' but sure would make things easier down the stretch.

One of my friends unearthed this week's Belichick of the Week. As usual, no one can top the master:

Interviewer: "Did you disagree with that spot [on the Faulk catch]?"

Belichick: "It doesn’t really matter."

And he is right. Remember: you can't change penalties or injuries, so just let it go.

If the Jets call and offer you a coaching job, just say no

Apparently, Jets coaches (past and present) can't get anything right this week

1) Present coach Rex Ryan apparently cried in a meeting with his team, pleading with them to beat the Pats this week. Huh? Wasn't this the guy who urged them to beat each other up during training camp? Good management style there, Michael Scott.

2) Past coach Eric Mangini is apparently being investigated by the NFLPA for running practices that are too hard. Yeah. That's the 2000 Patriots, all right.

Good move on that 'going to ESPN to be a commentator,' Herm Edwards.

Upon further review

Here is the 4th down attempt from last night.

What this tells us:

[It was a first down]

This is how close this game really was. Sure, the 35-34 final score might hint at that. But the game essentially came down to this play right here. The Colts won by inches.

[In fact, not even inches, since it was a first down]

I mean, sure, maybe we stop them on the next drive. Maybe we could have stopped them if we'd punted. Maybe if Bruschi sacks Eli in SB 42, the Pats win. But this game? This game was about as close as it possibly could have been, and it really came down to this precise play.

[Which should have been given to the Pats, thereby rendering the final drive null and void]

In other words: leave Bill Belichick alone! You don't like his risky style, find another team to cheer for. He's shown that he knows what he's doing and while he's willing to take big chances, he often reaps big rewards. Yesterday was not one of those days.

[Although it actually really was a 1st down]

They say that time heals all wounds

I am actually starting to feel better about what happened yesterday. Still irked, but not quite as much. Perhaps my earlier assessment via Facebook that Belichick's decision was 'Manginiesque' is somewhat overstated. I mean, it was risky, and clearly it didn't work, but let's get some perspective. This wasn't the playoffs. And sure, we may have just lost home field advantage, but I'll worry about that more once we are in the playoffs and everything is settled.

That being said, I really wish that there had been a different call on that last (relevant) play. I feel as though we did the same thing three times in a row. No wonder the Colts were on to us.

To cite the classic press conference-isms, it's time to move forward and think about the Jets. And really, we simply must beat them.

It really doesn't even need to be said

4th and 2 at your own 28 yard line.














*sigh*

Mangini possibly on something

Apparently he feels that the Browns this season are not so far removed from the 2000 Patriots.

So many good quotes. Where to begin:

1) ravensos: 'i dont think mangini did very well in the analogies section of the SAT.'

2) bearsrule: 'The Patriots have good coaches, good players and a good front office. Other than those things, they are very similar.'

3) raiders177: 'They both have 53 man rosters.

...I can't think of anything else.'

I'll leave it at that.

Why is there so much football when there shouldn't be football?

There were two football games last night. Yes, I was surprised. I always forget that there could be Thursday games (except last year, when the Thursday night schedule I believe began with the Pats vs. the Jets...at any rate, that game I was aware of):

1) SF beats Chicago 10-6: I would say Chicago is down and out. McDaniels looks like a genius for unloading Culter, who threw 5 interceptions yesterday. Looks like Kyle Orton was definitely the way to go there.

Yahoo commentator Tony G has a few suggestions for the Bears:

'1. Get Jay cutler an eye exam.2 .make greg olsen a wide reciever.3. Get a real tight end that can block and protect the quarterback.4.Get the defence to play like they did tonight. 5.Get a front line that can block and creat opportunities for forte. 6.Lovie need to go coach a high school team. Where a dissapointment !!!'

2) USF gets schooled by Rutgers 31-0: that is an ouchie score and only the second time that USF has been shut out. Apparently also an error-ridden game. USF will get a bowl game because they are still 6-3 overall, but should be glad that they had so many gimme games at the start of the season. They may beat Miami, but who knows (since Miami has also been somewhat unpredictable this year).

On the sidelines

The NFL Network attached a mic to Bill Belichick during last weekend's Miami game and recorded the results. This is very cool!

Classy quotes from the Colts

Reggie Wayne on ugly victories:

"I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss every [expletive] time,” the Pro Bowl receiver said after Indy improved to 8-0. “I ain’t trippin’ at all, high standards or not. Hey, you’ve got high standards for the female you choose, too – but sometimes, you know, you just end up making a choice.”

That is a classy sentiment there, Reggie. Especially since you won by the skin of your teeth when the Texas kicker missed a 42-yard field goal (earlier in the game, he made a 56-yard one).

[Sorry about the font shift, blog did not like original quotation from Yahoo].

You thought I was kidding

Apparently, we haven't had enough of the 'J' shortstop:

'Before you ask the obvious question, here’s the answer: yes, the Red Sox were in on discussions for shortstop J.J. Hardy, who was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Minnesota Twins earlier today.'

This explains a great deal about our interest in Julio Lugo, as well.

And so it begins: Colts vs. Pats, Indy coverage

The IndyStar ran a story today about who is the better QB, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. How this is even a contest, I don't know (also, how Tom Brady is only getting 13% of the vote, I don't know, but just wait until crazed New England fans uncover this story). They included lots of pretty stats, which are given in the attached photo. Here is my favorite comment so far:

'I'd MUCH rather have Brady and I'm a Colts fan! Did you catch Peyton's scared act yesterday? Two times it showed me he wouldn't do the little extras that a multiple super bowl winning QB needs to do. So many times over the years he could scramble and get the extra yards we need, but he's scared to take a hit. He looks like a scared kid when someone is about to touch him. Cases in point in the game against Houston: 1) He throws an interception and has a chance to get in front of a player and at least slow him down, if not make the tackle. Payton does his best impression of a matador and jumps out of the way at the last second. That could have cost. Second point - key drive late in the game, Peyton is flushed out of the pocket and gets scared and goes down rather than cut the ball up field and get us the crucial 2 yards we needed tha could have salted away the game. There is a reason Manning has only one Super Bowl ring and Brady has multiples and you saw why yesterday.'

(14-3 record in the playoffs....that is insane)

There was one stat missing:

SUPERBOWL RINGS: Brady 3, Manning 1.

Also, I know I'm biased and all, but is Peyton looking especially ugly in that graphic?

Raheem Morris makes another idiotic statement

'Stats are for losers.' From his press conference. This might explain your 1-7 record.

Today was a good day for Maroney

Yes, he dances. Yes, he could get more yards. But today, he averaged 4.1 and that is just peachy keen. In fact, his average yards per carry is 4.3 on the season, which is certainly decent.

There were certainly some plays where I felt he could have gotten more (then you would watch those Miami RBs and want to cry from their ability to move the ball). But 4.1 is not bad. It is respectable. I'm still surprised that we only gave it to Faulk twice, though.

Next week: the Colts

Yes, it is time for that annual epic battle yet again. I feel like we always play the Colts -- sometimes twice -- and that somehow we always play them in Indianapolis (I can recall playing them in Foxborough in 2005 and getting destroyed, so maybe I just prefer to forget. However, that was also the game with the Deion Branch Contradance against the goalpost which I cannot believe has not been preserved on YouTube).

Us against the Colts since 2002, when they went to the AFC South, meaning that theoretically, we should play them only once every three years but never seem to:

2002: we did not play them

2003: we beat them in Indy, then beat them again in the playoffs in Foxborough

2004: we beat them in Foxborough, then beat them again in the playoffs in Foxborough

2005: we lost to them in Foxborough. It was painful.

2006: we lost to them in Foxborough. Also painful because the week before we had lost to Mangini's Jets (this is the last time that we lost two games in a row as of this posting). We then lost the most painful playoff game ever -- with the possible exception of the 2007 Superbowl -- when we blew the 24-3 lead we had at the half and lost to them 38-34 in the AFC Championship game. OH THE AGONY. Note that this was the game where our aging defense was already falling apart, a problem we failed to correct until (I hope) 2009.

2007: we beat them in Indy

2008: we lost to them in Indy. Again, painful, though nothing like those 2006 games.

So yes. Despite the fact that they are not in our division, we have played them an average of 1.5 times per year since 2003. Weird, isn't it?

And then there was none...

The Bucs won a game against Green Bay. Who would have guessed that? And a decisive win too with an interception for a TD in the last minute of play for a 38-28 victory. The Bucs were in their hawt throwback uniforms, so maybe they should stick with that creamsicle look. And with that, I can retire the 'Winless Bucs' tag.

Green Bay fans, I am sorry. That is a lousy two weeks. First you lose at home to Favre's Vikings, now this. But I have a tip for you: an offensive line would be of great benefit to the team as a whole, and Aaron Rogers in particular.

But you know what we do still have? Undefeated Colts. Today they eked out a victory against Houston with a missed field goal in the final seconds to win 20-17. How many times can this happen? How many times can things go their way in the last seconds? It's like they took the Patriots' 2007 mojo or something. I truly, truly hope that next week it will stop.

Incidentally, Carolina is currently up on the Saints 17-3. We did see the Saints come back big time against Miami a few weeks ago, so I'm not counting them out. But I am still surprised.

Randy Moss, I love you

The play that basically turned the whole game around.

What a thing of beauty. Beauty!

DUMB PENALTIES

We've not done well in the penalty department this year, especially considering that last year we were the least penalized team in the NFL. But today's game had just too many stupid penalties. Bodden cost us big-time; I feel like he got about 380 yards in penalties, although I'm sure that I exaggerate that number seeing as we actually took 5 penalties for 59 yards. However, they were pretty big ones, including the Bodden pass interference and the last-minute false start on Stephen Neal, who is a veteran (that might have been okay for one of the new guys...although not really).

Thinking back to last year, there was a pretty conspicuous penalty called against the Pats in when we played the Colts. Please do not let that happen again!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My fact checking just got a compliment from MIKE REISS.

I have no words!

Canadians like hockey. But maybe not as much as flu vaccinations

One of the weird sports stories today concerns a health clinic employee who let members of the Calgary Flames and their relatives to get flu vaccinations before the general public. To whit:

'Senior health officials in the Canadian province of Alberta said on Wednesday they had fired an unidentified worker for giving National Hockey League players preferential access to the H1N1 flu vaccine.

The controversy boiled over this week when it was revealed that players for the NHL's Calgary Flames and their families received shots on an exclusive basis one day before the province closed public flu clinics due to a shortage of the vaccine.

"Our policies on vaccine distribution are designed to ensure an equitable distribution of the vaccine to all Albertans," Alberta Health Services Chief Executive Stephen Duckett said in a statement.

"The special treatment for the Flames and their families is unacceptable to us and contrary to all of our existing protocols and processes. I apologize for this breach of our duty to Albertans."'

To me, a very Canadian story. Canadians are really into equality and get miffed when unfairness is perceived. However, my favorite line is undoubtedly the next one:

'Public outrage over the revelations showed that Canadians' love for a hockey team, even when it includes such franchise stars as forward Jarome Iginla and goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff, only goes so far during a pandemic.'

Um, yes. I think that public health does go before hockey, even in Canada.

Everyone Hates Mangini, pt. 2

Even more Mangini vitriol on Yahoo today. Although this column doesn't suggest that he was the Worst. Hire. Ever., it does question what the owner of the Browns, Randy Lerner, was thinking when he hired Mangini and let Mangini choose his own GM. Which is definitely fair enough.

I think I stand for many when I say that we were all wondering what Lerner was doing when he hired Mangini. We don't need to elaborate any further on that point.

Belichick vs. AFC East teams

In Tedy Bruschi's weekly interview on ESPN today, he included a rather fascinating statistic:

'Since Belichick came to New England, he is 40-12 against the AFC East, and eight of those losses have come against Miami.'

Okay, that's kind of crazy. And I'm not sure that it is quite right.

Now, let's consider when those were: 2008 (1), 2006 (1), 2005 (1), 2004 (1), 2002 (1), 2001 (1), 2000 (2).

2000 and 2003 we lost to the Bills (2003 in the opener after we cut Malloy and everyone thought Belichick had lost his mind). 2008 and 2009 we lost to the Jets. But we also lost twice to the Jets in 2000, then once in 2001, 2002, and in 2006 (I spit on you, loss to Mangini's Jets!), so that's a total of 7. So I think that total is more like some number of wins - 17 against the AFC East. Which is still pretty good, but not quite 40-12.

However, if we add them up as Belichick + Brady, then we do get a record that is better than 40-12 because that omits 2000 (4); of course, we also need to take out 2008 (2). So now we have 40-10. Which is a damned fine record, I must say (80% win rate). Sure, our division has been kind of lousy at times during the 2000s, but still, not bad --> adopting my Bill tone, there is still a lot of work to do, and of course we could do better.

Mangini hatred ramping up

So you might think you hate Mangini, but I will bet that you come nowhere close to this article. It doesn't just claim that Mangini is bad. It doesn't just question the logic of Cleveland hiring him. It puts forth the argument that Mangini is the worst hire in the entire history of the league. I mean, that is a bold claim!

In other Browns-related news, the GM that Mangini hired was fired yesterday.

Browns fans: just remember, the worse he is, the faster he leaves. I promise.

('BILL BELICHICK IS HIS OWN DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR' - classic).

My question gets chosen for the mailbag and Best Mailbag Answer Ever

Mike Reiss, now over at ESPN Boston, has a column each Tuesday in which he answers questions from the Patriots' rabid fan base. I need to preserve the fact that my question was chosen this week!

'Q: Playing Miami this week, of course, brings up the possibility of the Wildcat. Last year, we did terribly in our first game against it and pretty much contained it in the second. What surprises me this year is that it appears teams are still having problems containing it. I assumed that after having seen it for a season, defenses would be able to shut it down. Have the Dolphins made adjustments that are difficult to cope with this year? -- Zoë (Tampa, Fla.)

A: The Dolphins have modified some things, Zoë, building on the success of the Wildcat last season. One change has been running it more without a quarterback on the field. But I think the foundation of the Wildcat remains the same, and part of what makes it tough to stop is the talent of the players with the ball in their hands (e.g. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are dangerous), and the execution of a tough-to-master system. The Dolphins work hard at it, as it's a big part of their identity.'

Excitement! But not the best answer for this week, which was the final one:

'Q: Mike, what's going on in the NFL right now? For a league that touts its competitive balance there certainly are a lot of powerhouses and a lot of real stinkers. What do you attribute the disparity to? -- Stacy (Portland, Maine)

A: Stacy, let's end on this one. My first thought is that I'd attribute it to the high number of coaching changes, and with those changes have come some dramatic philosophical shifts that have led to major roster turnover. Teams like the Rams, Lions and Chiefs come to mind. I also think some of the head coaching hires seemed a bit curious (Browns, Buccaneers). That's probably only part of it, but it is where I would start.'

Tom hearts his arm

In a somewhat bizarre radio interview today, Tom Brady came up with the following quote: 'I really understand my arm.'

He was saying that this season he feels great when he is playing and hopes to keep it up until he is collecting social security (in other words, he wants to be Favral).

Don't get me wrong: I'm thrilled that Tom is thrilled. The quote just sounds weird.

And then there was one. . .

It's bye week for the Patriots. Boo!!! I hate bye week.

However, exciting things happened in other games today, including:

1) Miami beat the Jets again. This means that the Patriots stand alone at the top of the AFC East with a 5-2 record. Jets are now 4-4. Sweet!

1.5) What is kind of unfortunate, though, is that Miami is undefeated in the division. This gives the Pats just a wee bit more motivation to win, then. As you may recall, the reason we didn't make the playoffs last year was that our divisional record was worse than the Dolphins'.

2) Tennessee beat Jacksonville, so they are no longer winless. Also, they are clearly not the worst. football. team. ever. So let's all take a moment to savor that 59-0 win just a little bit more.

3) The Rams won too, beating the Lions. I forget the score. But at least the Rams will not be the 2009 equivalent of the 2008 Lions now (if that reference made any sense).

4) Giants lost their third straight. Heh. Eli is sure earning that ridiculously huge salary.

5) Some guy who used to be a Packer went back to Green Bay and played. Game was completely overhyped.

And the remaining winless team is (drumroll please): the Bucs!