The week in review

So including this blog, I'm currently keeping up with 3.  That's a lot.  This one may be neglected somewhat as a result.  However, here is a summary of the week:

1) The Pats lost.  Sucks!  But hey, it happens.

2) This:

It was almost worth losing to have this touchdown.  Seriously.  Randy.  LOVE  YOU!!!  And yep, that would be Revis getting completely beat.

3) Lots of work, things to do, etc....  However, we aren't in such bad company.  Looks like the Saints could go 1-1.  It's been a wacky start of the season.  The Bucs are 2-0.  Really?

4) Still love them.  Also there is an awesome ESPN commercial.  I'm hoping to find the link.

Today was a good day

Lots of goodness today.

1) Tony Romo just made one of the most idiotic plays I have ever seen.  Four seconds left in the half, he decides to try a lateral, it doesn't work because the player who catches it fumbles, Washington picks up the ball and scores a touchdown.  Commentators then go out of their way to call him stupid for this play, including a comment that his coach was purportedly 'furious.'  Good stuff.  Looks like we are off to another one of those seasons for the Cowboys.

2) Pats win!  Remember back when we started the season scoring 38 points a lot?  I remember that season, it was 2007.  That's the number of points that we scored today.

3) Randy Moss goes on a rant and tells the media to STFU.  Media response: to make this a far more ridiculous story than it actually was.  Here's what I have to say: pay the man his straight cash, homey.

4) Not only do the Colts lose, they lose because they allow 231 yards on the ground (!).  This is like the 2004 Colts or something.  Going to be a long season if they've regressed on defense.

Everything comes up Patriots

Life is good as a Pats fan today:

1) We won. On the road. And not one single running back dropped a ball!

2) The Jets lost. Now this makes me happy any week, but particularly now since one more loss and they are out of the playoff race.

3) The Dolphins lost. It was a particularly painful loss, no less, with Henne getting intercepted in OT. Again, that puts them another game away from the playoffs.

4) We only have to win one more game to advance to the playoffs.

5) Randy played a great game. I LOVE YOU RANDY MOSS!

(Tom and Wes...not so much. But don't worry. My love for both of you is unconditional).

Hopefully we don't blow it and some of the major injuries (especially Warren and Wilfork) are back next week.

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.

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?

'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.

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).

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.

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!

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).

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.

Much, much better

The Pats looked like the Pats again today. Although sadly they carried some traces of the 2008 Pats, in that their red zone conversion was not great. But much was good:

1) If that's Randy Moss with a back injury, then everything is going to be o-k. He played a great game, running for over 100 yards and coming up with the big plays when he needed to.

2) Tom's precision is coming back. Sure, there were some plays where he was off. But overall he kept things together.

3) The running game -- while not spectacular -- was still pretty good. Fred Taylor came through with some key plays, picking up big yards (105 total).

4) Overall, I thought the defense played very well, allowing only 10 points. This was without Wilhite, Mayo, and Wilfork, who went out during the game. Now I would prefer not to have to play the rest of the season without these guys, but considering who was left, I thought that they did a great job. Also, Gonzalez was allowed no big plays and our corners played like corners. Yay!

5) I believe we were penalized twice for 5 yards. Much better than the past two weeks and more in line with what we expect from the Belichick-run Patriots.

There is one player who I still have issues with, but I will save that for a separate post. Followers of this blog can probably take a wild stab as to who that is.

As usual, though, the sky has not fallen and all was not over last week. I wonder too if part of the problem was that last week, we had expected Welker to play and designed routes involving him. This week, his absence was less noticeable. Edelman, while no Wes Welker, came up with a few nice plays, one of which was rather Welkeresque.

I have another crazy theory

What about this?

Maybe the Jets meant to wait on using Sanchez yesterday? They could have waited, seen how the running game went, then changed strategies in the second half. By then, the Patriots would have already settled into their game strategy, then in the second half, the Jets could come out and BOO-YAH.

Much as they did.

Just another crazy theory.

Here's a crazy statistic

'Still, these are the Patriots, who have not lost a regular-season game with Brady at quarterback since Dec. 10, 2006.' -- from the AP article on tonight's game.

That was a long time ago!

If you guessed the Dolphins, you are correct. We lose to them once in even-numbered years. Think of it as our gimmick.

Insanity for the win!

Pats beat the Bills, 25-24. Yes. Really. Craziness ensued left, right, and center. There was even an attempt at multiple laterals to end the game. Yes. Really. Multiple laterals.

However, I have to say, even though it was closer than we probably thought it would be, there was ever so much that I loved about the Pats tonight. Sure, they started kind of slow and passes were not connecting at first. But that drive in the 4th to score the Ben Watson TD, my LORD that was like good old days. Only slightly cooler. Who am I kidding? It was a drive of beauty.

A few observations:

1) We do not need Mayo injured! I hope that whatever happened to him is not serious. He was walking on the sideline afterward, but then again, Tom Brady didn't take the damn cart last year and he needed season-ending knee surgery. It would be really helpful if, when players get seriously injured, they would take the cart. That way, we would know.

2) Tully Banta-Cain brought it. And then some. Welcome back, cool name dude.

3) Gruden is a moron when sportscasting.

4) WE HAVE CORNERS. I could have kissed Leigh Bodden for breaking up a play. I think that he has already broken up more than our corners combined last year.

5) Were we great tonight? No. We definitely have improvements to make. But I have to say that even with all of the defensive gaps, I think that there is some real potential here and that is fantastic. One thing that you cannot say about the defense: it was not sluggish. Compare that to the past two seasons. There is something just sad about how Junior Seau can come out of retirement and make a serious contribution. That was the sign last year that changes needed to be made, and In Bill I Trust. <-- of course, this is nothing against Junior, who is a freaking warrior.

6) I cannot say enough about those hurry-up drives. They were fab! Fab! Fab!

More to come, I am sure. Yay NFL!

Ochocinco single-footedly beats Patriots

In a weird turn of events, Chad 'Estaban' Ochocinco (as he is now calling himself) kicked for the extra point after the touchdown in the pre-season game against the Patriots. The Bengals went on to win 7-6 after a BAD turn-over on the last drive by the Pats.

You know what I like about pre-season? I don't really care that they lost. Tom Brady was taken out after the first quarter(-ish...I was paying more attention to the series-sweeping Red Sox tonight to be honest). At one point he was sacked, and apparently survived that ordeal. *phew*

First preseason Patriots game

Yeah, apparently I have become a person who watches preseason games. Via a medium that doesn't convey football well (the NFL Game Center on nfl.com). But yeah.

Anyway, Tom looked to be back to his dominant self in the first half, marching up and down the field like no one's business. And while he and Randy Moss had some problems co-ordinating, there was a 35-yard pass in there on the last drive. Sweet! The score was 21-6 at halftime. They have now put in Walter as QB to start the second half.

Also good: our red zone defense is holding them back, as in they have yet to score a touchdown at the start of the third quarter. This was an area of considerable weakness last season, so let's hope that we do better this year!

Tip to the Eagles: you're going to find it hard to win when you get 90 yards of penalties in one half.

In other news involving the Eagles, they have signed Michael Vick. He apparently can't play until he is reinstated in Week 6. Interesting. And kind of weird. Is he meant to be the back-up?

Now I am smiling like an idiot

But it's so true. From Reiss' mailbag today:

'I hope Patriots fans appreciate what they're seeing, because these are the golden years of the franchise. It's hard for me to imagine it will ever be like this again.'

*sigh*

Next year should be seriously awesome. Yay. Provided I can actually get to a game (thwarted again for opening weekend...I need to be in NE, the Pats will be in NE, but they play Monday night, when I need to be back here!).

The Patriot Way

Here' s a little insight into why the Pats are just such a good football team with an example that makes the Jets look bad. So you knew I was going to post it:

'There is a laundry list of players who get drafted higher than their college production dictates based upon their physical prowess. The New York Jets selected physical wunderkind Vernon Gholston with the sixth overall pick last year based more upon his freakish combination of size and speed than his inconsistent production at Ohio State. The Patriots, on the other hand, took Tennessee linebacker Jerod Mayo with the 10th pick. He was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Gholston was a non-factor.'

If they've named a whole approach to scouting after you, you know you're good.

The Game! Pats vs. Bills

Ever since I first looked at the 2008 NFL season (which was sometime back in, like, July or something), I noticed that the Pats were ending in Buffalo. I immediately got on the horn (okay, not really, my dad and Louise called) and said that we had to go to Buffalo to see the game. They responded enthusiastically, even though my father is not a Patriots fan. Crazy, I know --> he has been known to cheer covertly for the Red Sox, even once remarking that Manny needed to get a haircut.

So this morning bright and early (not too bright and early, a reasonable bright and early) we piled in the car and made a run for the border to go to Buffalo. Spirits were high, as was the wind. Many people joined us in the border crossing, probably partially due to football, but also partially due to the fact that I think this weekend is the Great Florida Migration, where grandparents, now sick of their children and children's children, hop back in the car and make the trek to the land of sun, high dew points, and shuffleboard. But I digress. The crossing went without incident, we found our way to the stadium with no problems, and parked in someone's yard for $15. There is a whole cottage industry of lawn parking around Ralph Wilson Stadium.

We tailgated, but in a healthy, vegetarian (they are, not me) way that included vegetables and hard-boiled eggs. Also, we chose to stand outside to tailgate, which was kind of dumb seeing as it was wicked windy and somewhat chilly.

Reiss reported that the wind was gusting between 35-55 mph, and I will believe it. The stadium is open, too, there is no place you can go to escape the cold, a design that seems kind of stupid because it's Buffalo, people.

Anyway, we had fun watching the kickers trying to kick into the wind (it didn't go well) during warm-ups, then watched what was kind of a slow first half where the Pats got one field goal. Buffalo missed one field goal. We then missed one field goal. Party time. It kind of cracked me up that the Bills fans seemed less interested in cheering for their team than they did in cheering against my team.

This is not to say that the Patriots were not well-represented in the crowd. Like most out of town sporting events, Patriot fans came from all over, wearing infinite jerseys, and cheering loud and proud for our Pats. Yet another reason that everyone hates us.

Excitement also included a fan running on the field (although he did not attack Junior Seau), the cheerleaders ('Buffalo Jills') dressed as Santas and probably freezing, and the Patriots, you know, winning a shut-out game 13-0. Yay! At which point we piled into the car, followed the heavy traffic, and came back home without incident. It was fabulous. And we were in perfect position to see the one and only touchdown.

For the first part of the game, Bill sported a puffy red number, which at some point he removed in favor of a blue jacket. I was just across the field and up a bunch of rows from the Patriots! Super, super exciting.