Pats take care of business in Buffalo...clinch division,bye,home field, #1 seed

The Patriots defense caused seven turnovers by the Buffalo Bills on their way to a 34-3 win in Orchard Park,N.Y. The defense caused 4 fumbles and 3 interceptions by the Bills(4-11). The win was another complete team effort. Tom Brady set an NFL record 309 straight pass attempts without an INT which the broadcast team,lead by Solomon Wilcots, kept talking about once the game was out of hand. It was easy to see why these guys get the Buffalo game week after week. They just kept talking about this record,which is impressive but not something they needed to repeat over and over along with the MVP race. Brady or Vick could win the MVP... we get it. Back to the game though, Brady went 15-27 for 140 yards and 3 TDs(2 to rookie TE Rob Gronkowski). Danny Woodhead rushed for 93 yards(including a 29 yard TD run) and Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis rushed for 104 more to lead the New England rushing attack which totaled over 200 yards for the first time all season. Jerod Mayo lead the defense with a fumble recovery and numerous big hits causing many incompletions throughout the game. The three picks were by Pat Chung, Jarrod Page, and Dane Fletcher. This was all done with numerous regular contributors sitting out due to injury: Aaron Hernandez(hip), Mike Wright(concussion), Myron Pryor(back), Dan Connolly(concussion), Jermaine Cunningham(calf), and Brandon Deadrick(shoulder,flu).

The win was huge for this team as it locks up the division and the number one overall seed in the AFC East which gives the team a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The bye is huge for a team that has numerous injuries giving them two weeks to get healthy as next week's game at home means nothing against Miami. Look for a normal starting lineup next week as Belichick will want the team to stay fresh and sharp for the playoffs especially with a bye week after next week. The team is also undefeated at home this season and this win forces someone to come in and beat this team at home in order to knock the Patriots out of the playoffs. Here are the winners/losers from this week

Winners:
1. Tom Brady- 15-27, 140 yards and 3 TD's in another solid effort from the unquestionable leader of this team
2. Running game- Woodhead and Green-Ellis lead the rushing attack that does what it needs to do week in and week out for this team
3. Jerod Mayo- leads the defense that continues to get better. Was a difference maker throughout the game making big hit after big hit
4. Pat Chung- this second year safety is quickly becoming the leader of the secondary along with rookie corner Devin McCourty.

Losers:
1. Wes Welker- Never thought I would see the day with Welker in this category but he earned it today with three drops which cannot be afforded in the playoffs.

Pats beat Vikings 28-18, knock out Favre in 4th

The Pats started off the game rusty but hung in there until taking over late in the second half to improve to an NFL best 6-1 record with a ten point victory,28-18. The Pats hung tough despite a bad first half for the offense. They went into the half tied 7-7 thanks to a Danny Woodhead 3 yd run and a big goal line stand right before the half by Florida Gator draft picks Brandon Spikes and Jermaine Cunningham. Tom Brady got the offense on track in the second half and the defense contained Adrian Peterson while limiting the damage Favre could do. Favre left the game for good when he was hit by DT Myron Pryor with 7:26 left in the game. A phantom illegal contact penalty was called and lead to a Vikings touchdown to make it 21-18 with seven minutes left.

The game was won by the Patriots offensive line and running back BenJarvus Green Ellis who ran for 108 yards and 2TDS in the second half to seal the game for the Pats. Brady also hit Brandon Tate on a 65 yard touchdown pass on a broken play midway through the third to give the Pats a 14-10 lead they would not relinquish. Brady threw for 240 yards and a TD while former Pat Randy Moss had only one catch for 8 yards and was constantly double covered by a Patriots secondary that lined up against him tons in practice and knew how to take him out of the game.

Winners:
1. BenJarvus Green Ellis- 17 carries for 112 yards and 2TDS finished the game for the Pats
2. The offensive line- the pass protection was suspect at times but the run blocking and pass protection was very good in the second half
3. Alge Crumpler- The veteran captain TE made some key blocks and his leadership was felt throughout the game
4. Jerod Mayo- lead the team in tackles and was simply fantastic leading the defense
5. Myron Pryor- knocked Favre out of the game so he is a winner in my book. I don't care if he didn't do much else. He put 8 stitches in the hick's chin
6. The new foghorn noise at the stadium- You hear that thing? It is fucking fantastic. If a fog horn doesn't fire you up, nothing will

Losers:
- I can't find any as this really was an all around team effort and another win for the best team in the NFL.

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 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

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