Pats sign new kicker Graham,longsnapper Katula

The Patriots have signed kicker Shayne Graham and longsnapper Matt Katula for this weekend's game with the Steelers. Graham is replacing Stephen Gostkowski who is out two or more weeks with a quad injury. Katula is replacing second-year long snapper Jake Ingram(Hawaii) who just sucked this season. The guy has shorthopped five to ten long snaps on punts to rookie Zoltan Mesko who has had to play like Jason Varitek back there to get punts off. This move was a long time coming and one I thought should have been made two weeks ago. He also has been inconsistent on field goals making Mesko work to get the holds down. Katula played for the Baltimore Ravens from 2005-2009 and has signed a 2 year deal with the Pats.

Graham was in for a workout in October and high on the Pats' emergency list that they keep all season long. Graham has plenty of experience in Heinz Field as he kicked for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2003-2009 with a 85% in Pittsburgh. He also has a fuckin' sweet house look above so he must be a good kicker right?

UPDATE- Gostkowski was placed on IR later this week so your kicker for the remainder of the season is Graham.

Pats win opener in impressive fashion

The Patriots look like a well oiled machine today against the Cincinnati Bengals jumping out to a 24-0 lead and never looking back to cruise to a 38-24 win. The Patriots defense looked very good throughout the first half. They seemed to lighten up on the intensity in the second half allowing the Bengals to pick up yards and points but to take up time at the same time. The team scored points in all three phases of the game as linebacker Gary Guyton returned his first career interception 59 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. The second half also began with a bang as second year wide receiver Brandon Tate returned the kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. The team looked good throughout the game and the young secondary seems to be up to the challenge as they kept T.O. and OchoCinco in check throughout the first three quarters.

Here are my winners/losers for this Week 1 win(The Patriots seventh straight)

Winners:
1. Tom Brady- 25/35 258 yds 3 TDS Great day for Brady and the first offense
2. Wes Welker- 8 rec 64 yards 2 TDS
3. Young Secondary- Butler and McCourty kept T.O. and Ochocinco in check all day while Pat Chung lead the team in tackles with 16.
4. Jerod Mayo- Clearly was the leader of the defense and had 8 solo tackles

Losers:
1. Stephen Goskowski- Missed two field goals but both were 45+ yards so it is no reason to worry yet