Pats have "biggest win in a long time" edging Ravens in OT

The Patriots' young defense stood up when it needed to and the offense overcame some inconsistency to do enough to win the game against a strong Baltimore team. Deion Branch played like he never left with 98 yards receiving and a TD. Branch looked like he didn't lose a step in his chemistry with Tom Brady. Aaron Hernandez also had some big plays but had two costly drops that almost cost the team the game in OT. The Patriots trailed 20-10 entering the fourth quarter but quickly scored on a 4 yard throw from Brady to Moss I mean Branch. The defense made some great plays after the young corners were picked on by the veteran receiving corps of Baltimore. After the game Vince Wilfork said "this was the best win for this team in a long time". This is a huge win for this team to vault them to 4-1 and into a first place tie with the Jets who beat Denver today also. Here are the winners and losers from today's game
Winners:
Deion Branch- 98 yards receiving, TD

Zoltan Mesko- Mesko had a huge 67 yard punt to swing the field position late in the game and had perfect holds in all three of the field goals including the game winner.

Danny Woodhead- had over 110 total yards in the game and is quickly stepping up to be the team's change of pace back.

Pat Chung, Jerod Mayo- defensive leaders kept the unit together all day and made some big plays to keep the offense in the game in the 4th Q and OT.

Losers:
Aaron Hernandez- had two costly drops that could have won the game much earlier into the OT

Secondary- McCourty, Meriweather and Arrington all down points throughout the day with penalties and getting beat on routes. They hung in their though to give the team the win in the end of the day.

Moss had an 'outburst' Monday Night...leads to trade

More details are coming in this Randy Moss trade as everyone in the world bashes the hooded one for getting so little for Moss. According to player sources, Moss had a heated outburst at QB coach and offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien at halftime of the Dolphins game this Monday. Today the Patriots officially traded Moss for a third round draft pick in the 2011 draft. Many fans are in outrage as the Pats traded away their only deep threat in Moss with team's top corners moving down to cover Wes Welker every down now. As both former Patriots Tedy Bruschi and Troy Brown said, this is better for the team. Moss was a cancer in the lockeroom. From talking about his contract after a win to this outburst he was not being a good leader on a young team. There is a reason he was not named captain this season as he was in the past. This move causes guys to step up and come together as a receiving corps and a team. The team should follow the mold of the 2001,2003,2004 teams that won superbowls. Think about the teams that won those titles and the receivers on those teams: Troy Brown, Deion Branch, David Givens, David Patten, Jermaine Wiggins and so on. There was no Larry Fitzgerald or Jerry Rice guys there. The Pats best chance for success is to win the game as a team in all three phases of the game. As on Monday night, that leads to success through a complete team effort. Yes, the defense will struggle but you are not going to win the SuperBowl in shootouts with everyone. This trade will make the offense less dynamic but I don't think that is a bad thing. Brady forced the ball to Moss sometimes. Now Brady will only go deep when it is actually open. Moss being a cancer just made this move happen. No one wants to trade away a HOF in Moss but this is a young team who needs to come together after this trade and play like a team. The cancers from last year's team are now gone (Adalius Thomas and Moss). The Patriots now have 8 picks in the first four rounds this year. They will not draft with all those spots but they have value now.
I wish Moss all the best in Minnesota with Wrangler Jean hick Brett Favre. He will be the primary target there like he wants to be. He comes back to Foxboro on Halloween which should be quite a game for the media to play up. The Patriots will benefit in the long run from this trade and come together closer as a team. So hopefully this sells you to drink the Kool-Aid with me. Trading Moss was a good move. I want teams to put their best receivers on Welker. Then Woodhead, Edelman,Tate, Hernandez, Gronkowski, and Price will be wide open running up the seam. Moss' deep threat will be missed but his personality and him as a distraction will not.

No disrespect to fellow blogger Tiger just bringing out another perspective to this trade from a Pats fan view.

Patriots release RB Javarris James! ...oh yeah and Moss is going back to the Vikes

.vs

Who is the bigger story?
The Patriots released RB Javarris James today from the practice squad! Ok end of blog entry. That is it. Oh wait...

Every fucking media outlet in the world is reporting Randy is getting traded to Minnesota if he works out an extension with the Vikes.This story has been getting major publicity on the national circuit all day long. It is a major move for a team coming off a 41-14 win on the road against a division opponent. Sadly, it makes too much sense from what we have seen from The Coach in the hood in the past. Days before 2003 opening day, releases Lawyer Milloy...Trades Deion Branch after he talks about his contract too much(2006)...Trades Richard Seymour entering the final year of his deal(2009). Belichick loves to deal veterans with expiring contracts which he deems to be getting good value. The Pats got first round picks for both player and expect the compensation to be the same if Moss is dealt.
It would be sad to see Randy go but it is time. It is either now or at the end of the year. He thinks the media hates him. He seems like a stoner out on the field sometimes. He was nothing more than a decoy Monday night dropping the only pass thrown at him. Moss has openly complained about his deal and has not done much on the field this season. He has three touchdowns but only 9 catches in four games which is not what the Patriots need out of him. I love Randy and his crazy man attitude but he has slowly become not much more than a decoy in this offense and I would deal him for a first round pick right now too. The timing is right. Going into a bye week in which you just got a special teams coach fired after scoring 21 points off of special teams and defense. Belichick will have explaining to do though. Moss may have been a decoy on most plays but teams respected that deep threat. Someone is going to need to pick up the slack there. Welker will miss Moss' prescence on the field if this deal goes through. So will Danny Woodhead, BJGE(Green-Ellis), Hernandez, and others. Brandon Tate or someone needs to step up as a deep threat for Tom Brady to stretch the field with and make defense respect it. Moss will be missed if he goes not only by the fans but the team and local weed dealers. Stay updated in the coming days to see if the deal goes through.

Surprise,Surprise Pats' defense and special teams win a game

Who would have thought that Tom Brady would have 153 yards passing and the rushing game would have 118 yards and the Pats would win 41-14? That is what happened tonight down in Miami. The special teams had two blocks by safety Pat Chung(one fg for a TD and one punt setting up another TD). The defense also had a interception returned for a touchdown by Chung with Rob Ninkovich adding two more picks. Brandon Tate began the second half with a bang with kickoff returned for a TD(for the second time this year). The defense that was attacked all week and predicted to get lit up by Brandon Marshall held its own for sure. The defense came up with a way to stop teams... Takeaways. The team had four picks and two blocked kicks wrecking havoc for Miami. Randy Moss had zero catches for the first time since '06(which killed my fantasy team) which is good and bad. Bad that Moss wasn't active in the game but good that this team is confident it can find ways to win going into the bye week. The offense was centered around Ben-Jarvus Green Ellis, Wes Welker, and Danny Woodhead. Yes that is correct. Jerod Mayo lead the team with 16 tackles per usual and Belichick actually smiled at the end of the game as the team showed the joy of proving everyone wrong and winning a road game. In his press conference, Brady was asked if the team had a chip on their shoulder and his response "yeah, we have lots of chips" basically confirmed that Belichick has this team right where he wants mentally. A motivated team now with two weeks off spells bad news for Baltimore who comes into Foxboro in a couple weeks. They also ended the Patriots' season last year so that should be a high energy game all around. Here are my winners and one loser from the game this week.

Winners:
Pat Chung- Two blocked kicks and a pick 6 is a pretty good week I would say
Rob Ninkovich- Two picks and a sack for the outside linebacker out of Purdue was a standout game for the second year Pat
Danny Woodhead/Ben-Jarvus Green Ellis- Both made plays all game long and provided a good majority of the offense tonight
Brandon Tate- kickoff return for a TD along with a couple nice catches for the second year man out of UNC as he continues to be a difference maker
Tom Brady- lead the team to a big road win and showed the fire you desire from your QB when he came out of the game with forty second left.

Losers:
Jake Ingram- the long snapper had a couple of shaky snaps to holder Zoltan Mesko on field goal attempts. It is his job to be a long snapper. Do your fucking job. OK that is it for my negativity.
Walt Coleman- the ref tried to blow the game in the first half with a holding call on Matt Light for a guy falling down and an awful pass interference call on McCourty.

Pats win in shootout with Buffalo

The Patriots' defense looked awful at times but the team found a way to win 38-30 over Buffalo at home today. QB Tom Brady threw for 252 yards and three TDs(two to Moss). Randy Moss lead the receving corps with two touchdowns while the two young tight ends also contributed. Aaron Hernandez had six catches for 65 yards while Rob Gronkowski had three catches for 43 yards and a TD. Benjarvus Green-Ellis lead the rushing attack with 98 yards on 16 carries. The team ran the ball for 200 yards which is a good sign of things to come for the offense.

The defense was a different story as they gave up 30 points to an awful Buffalo offense that had only put up 17 points in the first two weeks combined. The team made Ryan Fitzpatrick look like Peyton Manning out there today. He threw for 247 yards 2 TDs. He also threw two second-half picks to the Patriots safeties(Chung and Meriweather) that sealed the game for the Pats. Jerod Mayo had another solid game for the team. The secondary looked awful all around as the poor Buffalo offense had their way with them throughout the game.

Here are some winners/losers from today's game.
Winners:
1. Tom Brady-21/27 252 yards 3TDS. Brady was as sharp as he has been all season.
2. Aaron Hernandez- 6 catches for 65 yards and one rush for 12 yards made it seem like Hernadez will be the man to replace Kevin Faulk's production in the offense.
3. Randy Moss- two catches and two scores made it an extremely productive day for Moss who likes to score as many touchdowns as possible with doing as little work as possible.
4. Benjarvus Green-Ellis- 16 carries for 98 yards was extremely productive for the second year back out of Ole' Miss.

Losers
1.Zoltan Mesko- 37.7 YYP is not what the Pats are looking for out of the rookie punter.
2. Cornerbacks- Butler, Arrington, and McCourty were all exposed at different points in the game in coverage. Look for the Pats to continue to need to blitz and bring pressure to hide the young corners.
3. Kickoff coverage- You simply cannot give up touchdowns on special teams. Unacceptable.

The Pats play at Miami next Monday night which will be a true test where they stand within the division before the bye week.

Randy being Randy...

Randy Moss has had all types of negative attention on him in the last couple days since he complained about his contract the week leading up to the season opening against the Bengals. Then also did in his postgame conference. Moss tried to clear it up talking to sportcenter this morning. Moss just cannot say anything right in the public's eye right now which is why he should just stop talking to the media all together. Moss has been shown in the team's postgame video as the leader of the cheer and had all the guys laughing. The contract needs to just be put to rest. Moss has a history of being a "me-first" guy which is why Belichick sat him down yesterday and told him to chill it out. Don't expect many more press conference from Moss this season as the media continues to bash him. He simply is a man who cannot speak his feelings in a good time and place. He just says them when he feels them. The media needs to get off his dick and let the guy play the damn game. He is still one of the great deep threats in the game and opens up tons of room for the other receivers on the roster. As Moss also addressed in his interview this morning, he is concerned with the Jets and making up for his poor performance against Darrell Revis last year. Moss just wants to win deep down

Pats fill out practice sqaud,prepare for opener

The Pats have filled out their 8 man practice squad in the last couple days. They signed back linebacker Tyrone McKenzie and cornerbacks Tony Carter and Prince Miller while releasing tight end Jerod Maneri. This leaves the practice squad with no QB and only two out of the 61 players signed by the team.

The team also is close to signing franchise QB Tommy Brady to a four year extension according to ESPN insider Adam Schefter. The deal is supposedly worth four years and 72 to 80 million. Brady also hit on a number of subjects during his weekly call into WEEI
- He knows Randy Moss better than anyone and he will go out and do his job. He just understands that this game is a business.
- Brady will not watch Hard Knocks and hates how the Jets come across to the public. aka Brady is going to light them up in Week 2.

Also Chad Ochocinco had a conference call with the New England media and was very low key. He expressed his respect for Coach Belichick and refered to him as a close friend.

Also here are my predictions for the coming season as it starts tomorrow night with the Saints and Vikings in a repeat of last season's NFC Championship game.
*-indicates playoff teams
AFC East
1.* New England 11-5
2. *NY Jets 11-5
3.Miami Dolphins 9-7
4. Buffalo Bills 5-11

AFC North
1. *Baltimore Ravens 12-4
2. Cincinnati Bengals 9-7
3. Pittsburgh Steelers 7-9
4. Cleveland Browns 6-10

AFC South
1. *Indianapolis Colts 14-2
2. *Tenessee Titans 9-7
3. Houston Texans 8-8
4. Jacksonville Jaguars 6-10

AFC West(Garbage)
1. *San Diego Chargers 10-6
2. Denver Broncos 9-7
3. Kansas City Chiefs 8-8
4. Oakland Raiders 6-10

NFC East
1. *Dallas Cowboys 11-5
2. NY Giants 10-6
3. Philly Eagles 10-6
4. Washington Redskins 8-8

NFC North
1. *Green Bay Packers 13-3
2. *Minnesota Vikings 11-5
3. Chicago Bears 6-10
4. Detroit Lions 5-11

NFC South
1. *Atlanta Falcons 11-5
2. *New Orleans Saints 11-5
3. Carolina Panthers 8-8
4. Tampa Bay Bucs 6-10

NFC West(also garbage)
1. *San Francisco 49ers 11-5
2. Arizona Cardinals 7-9
3. Seattle Seahwaks 6-10
4. Saint Louis Rams 6-10

Game 4 breakdown ,53 man roster prediction

Game 4 of the preseason was one reserved mostly for bubble players as the deadline approaches to cut the roster down to 53 by 4 P.M. tomorrow and an 8 man practice squad being formed the day after. Rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski had another TD reception showing how crucial he could be in the red zone for Tom Brady this year. Here are some other key notes:

Winners:
1. Rob Ninkovich- Made a strong case for roster spot by being disruptive all game long
2. Rod Owens- Had a 67 yard catch in the third quarter which may help him sneak on the roster or the practice squad.
3. Tyrone McKenzie- was making plays all over the field and looks to be a key special teams player.

Losers:

1. Taylor Price- The rookie from Ohio hasn't showed much this preseason and that didn't change despite multiple opportunities in the finale.

2. Back-up lineman- Hoyer got roughed up last night as these guys seemed to be not pass protecting at all

Now it is my turn to try to make all the decisions for Belichick and see how close I actually get. If I get all 53 right and the 8 man practice squad it will be a miracle since no one can understand how the hooded one thinks.
53 Man Roster predictions

QB-3
1. Tom Brady
2. Brian Hoyer
3. Zac Robinson
RB-5
1. Fred Taylor
2. Laurence Maroney
3. Sammy Morris
4. Kevin Faulk
5. BenJarvus Green- Ellis
WR-7
1. Randy Moss
2. Wes Welker
3. Julian Edelman
4. Taylor Price
5. Brandon Tate
6. Matthew Slater
7. Sam Aiken
TE- 3
1. Alge Crumpler
2. Aaron Hernandez
3. Rob Gronkowski
OL-8
1. Matt Light
2.Sebastian Vollmer
3.Dan Koppen
4. Nick Kazcur
5. Stephen Neal
6.Dan Connolly
7.Mark Levoir
8. Ryan Wendell
DL-7
1. Vince Wilfork
2. Mike Wright
3. Gerard Warren
4.. Mike Wright
5. Myron Pryor
6. Ron Brace
7. Brandon Deadrick
LB-8
1. Tully Banta-Cain
2. Jerod Mayo
3. Rob Ninkovich
4. Derrick Burgess
5. Brandon Spikes
6. Jermaine Cunningham
7. Tyrone McKenzie
8. Pierre Woods
CBs- 5
1. Devin McCourty
2. Darius Butler
3. Jonathan Wilhite
4. Terrence Wheatley
5. Kyle Arrington
S- 4
1. Brandon Meriweather
2. Pat Chung
3. James Sanders
4. Brandon McGowan

K- Stephen Gostkowski
P- Zoltan Mesko

LS- 1
Jake Ingram

8 man practice squad
1. Rod Owens WR
2. Chris Taylor RB
3. Sergio Brown S
4. Eric Alexander LB
5. Buddy Farnham WR,S
6. Thomas Welch Ol,DL
7. Ted Larsen OL,DL
8. Marques Murrell OLB

Game #3 Recap (Delayed)

Sorry for the delay as moving back into school this weekend put a delay on this recap.

This was by far the worse the Pats have played. They got outplayed by the worse team in the NFL last year in all three phases of the game. There were few bright spots on this night as the coach was clearly disappointed with his teams' play. Here a few positives to take from the game though

1. Rob Gronkowski- Gronk showed why the team made his the 42nd overall pick with one touchdown and numerous athletic plays

2. Brady to Moss- The connection was still there as the duo connected on a 68 yard touchdown in the third quarter

3. Wes Welker- Continues to make strides coming back from a very serious knee injury

4. Brandon Tate- 97 yd kickoff return to start the game seals his spot on this team.

5. Alge Crumpler- Made a great catch in the second quarter and has become a leader on this team that lacked it last season.


Here is a few of the negatives(there are too many to count)

1. Roughing the passer penalties on TBC(Tully Banta-Cain) and Brandon Spikes- Both penalties kept drives alive for the Rams and are dumb penalties on a team that prides themselves on being smart.

2. Running backs- The running game did not exist as Sammy Morris lead the attack with 5 rushes for 12 yards. Not what you are looking for.

There is much more to hit on negative department but I will try to stay positive with this team as the look to bounce back against the Giants Thursday in New York in their final pre season game.

Look for a special teams special(part 3) and a 53 man roster prediction in the coming days....

Patriots Preview Part 2 of 3

This part two of a three part series covering the three phases of the 2010 Patriots. Today we will look at the defensive side of the ball. They look to get younger and more physical a year after they were often pushed around by teams than ran the ball(read Ravens in AFC Wild Card game).

Here is a look at my predictions for each position for the base 3-4 the Patriots will play this year.

Left DE: Ty Warren- Fighting a serious undisclosed injury to his hip early on in camp. If healthy look for a big year as he picks up the slack as a leader of the defensive line along with Wilfork.
NT: Vince Wilfork- After signing his new deal, Wilfork has no reasons to not continue to be one of the best nose tackles in the game.
Right DE: Gerard Warren- The former third overall pick by the Browns is a low risk high reward pick-up by the Pats. If he displays the talent that made him such a high pick, Warren could be the pass rush the team desperately needs. If not, look for Damione Lewis and Myron Pryor to replace him quickly.
OLB: Tully Banta-Cain- TBC already has been named the leader by his hooded coach. Throughout camp, Banta-Cain has been heard encouraging competition at the outside linebacker position as it needs a boost to provide a pass rush to make the defensive scheme effective.
MLB- Jerod Mayo- The 2008 AFC Rookie of the Year continues to grow and mature as he becomes a leader on defense. Look for him to have another Pro-Bowl season and get this defense back to the physical form of the Super Bowl winning teams.
MLB: Brandon Spikes- Spikes has been called an interesting player to coach by Belichick. That is a very good sign. If Belichick is interested, it means Spikes has been doing things that catch his eye. The days with Gary Guyton as your starting middle linebacker could be over. Still look for Guyton to see serious playing time as Spikes grows into an NFL linebacker.
OLB: Jermaine Cunningham- This is the weakest position on the defense. Rob Ninkovich was the starter at the beginning of camp but lost his job in practice to Cunningham who appeared to do nothing great. This is not a good sign for Ninkovich or the Patriots as they need to get some production through the position. Look for the Patriots to explore options here such as bringing in ex-Bill Aaron Schobel.
LCB:Darius Butler- Butler has been having a very good camp so far and looks to grow into a corner the Patriots can trust to leave alone against some very good receivers especially if they need to blitz to create pressure.
FS: Brandon McGowan- The UMaine product won the job in camp last year and has appeared to hold onto it over the younger James Sanders. Both will see significant playing time in the coming season.
SS: Brandon Meriweather- Meriweather continues to grow into the leader of the secondary as he is the longest tenured starter back there. He needs to continue to grow and turn into safety QBS shy away from due to his ball hawking ability aka turn into Ed Reed.
RCB: Leigh Bodden- Bodden looks to build off his team-leading 5 ints give the coaches more flexibility in their blitz packages.

Top Back-ups

DL: Damione Lewis, Mike Wright, Myron Pryor, Darryl Richard
LBS: Rob Ninkovich, Gary Guyton, Eric Alexander, Pierre Woods,Tyron McKenzie
DBS : Jonathan Wilhite, Terrence Wheatley,Pat Chung, James Sanders, Devin McCourty,Kyle Arrington

Big name might get cut: Ron Brace(failed physicals), Terrence Wheatley, Jonathan Wilhite

Sleepers to make team:Marques Murrell, Brandon Deadrick,Brett Lockett