Pats steamroll the Steelers...again

The Pats scored on their opening drive on a Tom Brady pass to rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski for the first of their three hookups for TDs on the night as the Pats beat the Steelers 39-26. The Patriots' defense, which got romped on by the Cleveland running attack last week, kept the Steelers in check only allowing 3 points through the first 3 quarters. They gave 23 points in the fourth but the game was never within one score. Brady(30-43, 350 yards, 3 TDs) lead the way for the offense and showed an extreme amount of passion throughout the game.

Brady(press conference) was caught on camera numerous times lighting up his teamates over mistakes that he felt could have been avoided. Rob Gronkowski bounced back from a bad game in Cleveland to break all types of rookie records with 3 TDs on 5 catches for 72 yards. Gronkowski put up big numbers at TE while fellow rookie Aaron Hernandez didn't see the field much due to the Steelers' physical type of defense. BenJarvus Green Ellis also contributed 87 yards on 18 carries and the Pats improved to an NFL best 7-2 on the year. Wes Welker(press conference) had a season high 89 yards on eight grabs while Deion Branch had 7 catches for 71 yards as Brady looked to get back to his favorite targets along with Gronkowski, the rookie TE from Arizona.

The defense also scored some points as James Sanders ran an INT back 32 yards for a score off of Big Ben Raplisberger. They were superb throughout the game lead by Jerod Mayo and Pat Chung. They were making plays all over the field and keeping the game in control throughout.

Belichick presser here

Here are this week's winners/losers for the Pats
Winners:
1. Tom Brady- enough said above
2. Rob Gronkowski- 3 TDs and 72 yards in a great bounce back game from the rookie
3. Devin McCourty- this rookie is already becoming a leader on the defense along with Chung,Mayo, and Wilfork and made some great plays in the secondary.

Losers:
1. Shayne Graham- He missed an extra point in the game which is inexcusable but also hit two field goals even if they weren't the prettiest things in the world.
2. Young women in the Pittsburgh area- Big Ben doesn't like to lose...watch out the next couple nights as he may "force" his way on you(read rape you).

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.

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....