Pats/Jets Preview

So I don't expect anyone to actually read this because everyone in the world is talking about this game and all the pre-game shit surrounding it. It ranges from feet to Tom Brady being a winner to counting Cromartie's kids. When it comes down to the game, there will be trash talking and stuff on the field I'm sure but there is a game to be won here. The Pats pounded the Jets 45-3 in Foxboro and the Jets made the Pats offense look rather ordinary in their 28-14 Week 2 win. Let's take a look at what I think is important about this game now shall we?

1. Can the thin Pats D-Line stop the run?
- The Pats are dealing with all types of injuries as potential starters Ron Brace(elbow),Mike Wright(concussion), and Ty Warren(hip) are out. Myron Pryor(back) is also doubtful
so that leaves Vince Wilfork, Gerard Warren, Kyle Love Brandon Deadrick, Eric Moore and Landon Cohen as main contributors.

2. Can the Jets D stop the Pats' young TE s and RB s?
- I think the answer here is no. I expect big games from Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski along with Woodhead and BJGE.

3. Will a big play in special teams give one team momentum early in the game?
-I worry about Brad Smith still even though he is hurt but B Tate or Dan Connolly give the Pats two viable kickoff return specialists to give the team a spark.

4. Will Brady pick on Cromartie all day?
- I have to admit "Cro" didn't look so good last week as Peyton went to his side early and often. He would have been the scapegoat had the Jets lost that game.

5. Who is going to be the guy to step up with a big play?
- This isn't going to be a big name necessarily. I expect a guy with a lesser role to step up and make a big play like causing a turnover and scoring or a big play on offense to swing the tide of the game in the second half.

Anyway down to my prediction...Pats win 28-17.


Buy some cool shirts.

Pats have major letdown...still win the game

This young Patriots team seemed like the rest of the season was going to be them stomping all over the rest of the NFL.We all know though that anything can happen on any given Sunday. One mental lapse and a team goes from one seed to six seed overall. The Patriots certainly did not play their best game ever last night. They did do enough to come away with a 31-27 win over Green Bay lead by third year(first start) QB Matt Flynn who at times looked like Johnny Unitas out there against the young defense. Tom Brady then only passed for 163 yards and without much of a consistent running attack, this game seemed lost. The Packer held the ball for over 30 minutes longer than the Patriots yet this team found a way to win the game. The big plays were a 36 yard INT returned by Kyle Arrington for a TD and a 71 yard kickoff return by offensive lineman Dan Connolly which is making highlights(see below) all over the country today. Those plays lead to 14 points and the defense came up big on the last drive with two key sacks by Dane Fletcher and Tully Banta-Cain(after a costly penalty that negated an interception that would have ended the game). Overall, no one played great or had a stand-out game but the team did enough to win once again. The Patriots now sit two games above the rest of the AFC and one win or a Jets loss from clinching home field through the playoffs which is huge for this team that is undefeated at home the last three years with Tom Brady as QB.

Winners:
1. Tom Brady- not a great game by any means but he managed the game and threaded the needle when he needed to move the chains.
2. Aaron Hernandez- two TD's and another solid performance by one of the rookie TE's.
3. Dan Connolly- The video below says it all but he left the game at the half for a concussion or from being so tired from this run...I am not quite sure.
4. Kyle Arrington- He responded nicely from getting beat on a Greg Jennings(click on it if you wanna laugh) touchdown to pick off the next slant he saw and have a great return on it for a TD.
5. Dane Fletcher- The rookie out of Montana State had a huge sack at the end of the game to seal the deal and is showing some good stuff with his improved playing time with Brandon Spikes out four games due to suspension.
6. Devin McCourty- plays through a rib injury to make some great plays including his first career sack.
7. Vince Wilfork- played a ton this week due to injuries to Ron Brace, Mike Wright, and Gerard Warren and made a huge impact on the game throughout.

Losers:
1. Rob Ninkovich- missed a tackle on John Kuhn that lead to a Packer third down TD in the third quarter and could have cost the Pats the game
2. Tully Banta-Cain- Yes, he had a sack late but the game should have never come down to that as he got called for a dumb illegal hands penalty that negated a Brandon Meriweather INT that would have sealed the game.
3. Brandon Meriweather- He knocked his own defender(McCourty) off the ball that lead to a James Jones TD in the first and his pick didn't end up counting so he is a loser this week.

Press Conferences: Tom Brady,Vince Wilfork, Bill Belichick, Danny Woodhead




-Rumblin, stumblin,bumblin

How do you like them apples Fatty? Pats trounce Jets 45-3

The Pats trounced the Jets tonight 45-3 down at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro in front of a national audience on ESPN. The Pats jumped out to an early 17-0 lead and never looked back. Mark Sanchez threw 3 picks while Tom Brady threw for 4 TDs while BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for two more to lead the way for the Pats. Danny Woodhead lead the receiving corps with 104 yards on 4 receptions. The Patriots improve to 10-2 and travel to Chicago(9-3) next week to take on the NFC North leading Bears. The Jets(9-3) host the Dolphins this coming week. The Pats played the best "60 minutes of the year" according to coach Belichick in his press conference. The Patriots certainly looked like the superior team in every aspect of the game tonight as the Patriots once again blew out an AFC rival on MNF as they beat Miami 42-14 earlier in the year. Brady won his 26th consecutive regular season home-game. The offensive line was great and this young defense stood strong when the Jets did get anything going offensively. Here are the winners losers from this week. No homo on the smiley face I just fuckin hate the Jets and won't stop smiling until next Sunday.
Winners
1. Tom Brady- 326 yards and 4 TDs is pretty good against one of the best defenses in the league right?
2. BenJarvus Green-Ellis- lead the team with 72 yards rushing and 2 TDs
3. Danny Woodhead- 4 catches for 104 yards and 2 rushes for 11 yards
4. Devin McCourty- another pick for the rookie CB out of Rutgers as he continues to grow into one of the best defensive backs in the league
5. Deion Branch- 3 catches for 64 yards and a TD for the Louisville product
6. Wes Welker- 8 catches for 70 yards and a TD as he continues to look better each week as he stil comes off that serious knee injury.

Losers
1. Fatty Rex Ryan- his team got demolished ten times than a box of twinkies in the Ryan household.
2. Mark Sanchez- 3 picks is just not good
3. The Jets- They suck

Pats silence Lions on Turkey Day 45-24

Tom Brady became the first QB to have a perfect passing rating in a game this season and the Pats bounced back from a sloppy first half to outscore the Lions 35-7 in the second half. Brady threw for 346 yards and 4 TDs including 2 to Deion Branch in the second half. BenJarvus Green-Ellis chipped in with 59 yards and 2 TDs of his own to make the defense respect the ground attack as well. The Lions jumped out to a 14-3 lead behind QB Shaun Hill(285 yards 1 TD, 2int) and Maurice Morris (55 yds and 2 TDS). The Pats worked their way back and took the lead for good on Branch's second TD this one 22 yards. The Pats just rolled from here as the rookie corner Devin McCourty picked off Shaun Hill twice and made some other great places. The Pats now have ten days off to prep for the New York Jets at Gillette on Monday December 6th. This game will be a showdown for the AFC East division lead with huge playoff implications. Here are the winners/losers for this week

Winners:
1. Tom Brady- Perfect passer rating pretty much says it all
2. Deion Branch- 3 catches for 113 yards and 2 TDS including a 79 yarder
3. Wes Welker -8 receptions for 90 yards and 2 more TDs.
4. BenJarvus Green-Ellis -60 yards rushing and 2 TDs on some tough running is exactly what the doctor ordered to slow the pass rush down.
5. Devin McCourty- 2 picks for the rookie out of Rutgers that changed the tide of the game for the Pats' defense
Losers
1. The Lions- Now have lost seven straight on Thanksgiving and have not won a road game in over two years.

The Patriots also signed RB Danny Woodhead to a contract extension through the 2012 season which gives Woodhead some long term security after working on a one year deal after being claimed off waivers from the Jets.

Pats' late pick seals victory over Crybaby Peyton's Colts

The game seemed to be shaping up like last year's Colts/Pats game where the Colts beat the Pats 35-34 after the infamous " Fourth and two play" that gave the Colts great field position and eventually lead to the win. This year had a different ending as Peyton threw his third interception of the game as Jermaine Cunningham hit him on the throw. James Sanders came down with the ball and the game was over(ruining any chances for any Adam Vinatieri heroics in Foxboro. The Patriots won 31-28.Brady threw for two touchdowns and Benjarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead each ran for one. Deion Branch had seven catches for 70 yards with Wes Welker having 5 receptions for 58 more yards and a TD catch. The defense stood tall when it needed to and held on for a great win that extends Brady's home game winning streak to 25 games. Even Darius Butler(yes Darius Butler) contributed once starting corner Kyle Arrington went down with a knee knjury in the first half. The Patriots keep pace with the Jets at 8-2 and now prepare for the Lions on a short week on Thanksgiving. Now here are the Winners/Losers for this week

Winners:
1. Wes Welker- played a Welker-esk game with five big catches for 58 yards and a TD.
2. James Sanders- Game winning interception was a huge play for the young safety
3. Tom Brady- Had another spirited effort and was caught on camera still yelling at the Colts and the ref even once the game was over
4. BJGE -97 yards rushing and one TD along with some tough running at the end of the game was a solid effort from the undrafted RB from Ole' Miss
5. Devin McCourty- Had a pick and some other great coverage throughout the night on Peyton's receivers
6. Jermaine Cunningham- pressured Manning into that final pick

Losers
1. Pat Chung- was not one of the second-year safety's better games as he was in coverage for two of the four TD passes by Manning
2. Peyton's sister tonight -if you see the Peyton press conference you will see that his sister/wife is going to have a long night tonight as he was so pissed. Might be my favorite win of the year so far.

Press conferences: Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Danny Woodhead

Pats get thumped by Cleveland 34-14

The Pats came out and from the opening kickoff looked flat and dead. This feeling did not change throughout the day in Cleveland as Peyton Hillis ran for 181 yards and 2 TDs and Colt McCoy made plays when he needed to as the Browns beat the Pats 34-14. Tom Brady was not sharp and often showed frustration with his receivers for running the wrong routes. Brady was mad early and often. He also faced a 10-0 deficit before he touched the ball as the Patriots fumbled an early kickoff giving Cleveland an early jump that they never gave up. The Patriots were confused on offense and just got outpowered on defense. Many of the younger players seemed like they though Cleveland would just roll over in front of the new highly touted Patriots team. This was not the case as the team was prepared at home coming off a bye week and a strong win over the Saints two weeks ago. Cleveland simply outplayed and outcoached New England in all three phases of the game. Also kicker Stephen Gostskowski left the game with a thigh injury and Wes Welker was forced to kick the second extra point for New England. This game gives all those Patriots fans a reality check who thought this team would have no more growing pains and just roll to the playoffs. The schedule gets no easier in coming weeks as the Patriots travel to Pittsburgh next week for the Sunday night game and host the Colts the week after. This team should have some intense practices this week as the coaching staff whips them into shape after an embarrassing loss.

Here are the winners/losers from this week
Winners:
1. Aaron Hernandez- one of the few receivers who didn't have any drops and added 2 TD catches to continue his strong rookie season.
2. Zoltan Mesko- Did good to get some punts off as Jake Ingram sucked once again as the long snapper and should be looking for work soon if he keeps this up.

Losers:
1. Jerod Mayo- Got beat in coverage numerous times by Peyton Hillis and simply is in charge of a defense that gave up 34 points to a bad Cleveland offense.
2. Rob Gronkoski- had numerous drops and fumbled another on the goal line right before the half. He had his worst game of the season when the team needed to step up. He was also responsible for the fumble of the opening kickoffs
3. Offensive line- gave up pressure on Brady all day and could not establish the run much at all.
4. Brandon Tate- had a few costly drops on balls between the numbers that killed some potential drives.


Bill Belichick's press conference here is what you would expect in a game like this.
Brady's press conference is here.

Crybaby Mankins to report to Patriots tomorrow

Adam Schefter just broke a story on ESPN that LG Logan Mankins will report to the Patriots tomorrow morning. Mankins has been holding out since refusing to sign his franchise tender at the beginning of the season. Mankins will report and sing his 3.2 million dollar tender. The amount of playing time he will see will remained to be seen. He will be eligible to play this Sunday in Cleveland.

Moss waived by Vikings?

According to a report by the NFL Network, Randy Moss has been waived by the Vikings a day after his five minute rant in his post game press conference about how much he loved playing in New England and that the Vikings coaching staff did not listen to his advice much leading up to the game against New England. Moss had only had 13 catches for 174 yards and 3 TDs since coming to the Vikings from New England for a third round draft pick. Some people were criticizing the Patriots for not getting more but the move could now look genius. The team could very easily choose to sign Moss back for a huge pay cut since he is not very attractive on the open market right now except to the Jets who are probably willing to sign him just to avoid facing him a third time in a season. It will be interesting if anyone steps and makes a claim as the Patriots will not. If he comes back to New England it would be once he cleared waivers and was a free agent. Even then, I don't think Belichick messes with the team's mojo that it has going right now. Moss would be a distraction and that is not what a 6-1 Patriots team needs right now.

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.

A win is a win...Pats hold on against Chargers

The Chargers turned the ball over four times in the first half and were held in check until the end of the fourth quarter. Despite all of this, the Chargers had a 50 yard FG attempt by kicker Kris Brown(not to be confused with the great-Rihanna beater Chris Brown) to send the game into OT with 1:30 left. This guy is very white but hit the right upright with the kick and the Patriots eeked out a 23-20 win for the second week in a row. The Patriots lead 23-6 at a point in the fourth quarter. This lead dwindled as Chargers QB Phillip Rivers(34-50 336yds, 1 TD 1INT) lead a drive that ended in a Chargers TD on a pass to the injured Antonio Gates. The Chargers then pulled off a gutsy on sides kick which they recovered at their own 40 yard line. They then took the ball down the field again and scored once again on a Mike Tolbert run to make it 23-20 with four minutes left. The Patriots' offense was unable to put them away and had a fourth and one at their own 49 yard line where a first down puts the game away for the team. Once again, coach Bill Belichick elected to go for it and once again they were stopped. This decision will be broken down all week long but I think Belichick makes it every time in this situation. His defense had been chewed up on two straight drives and he thought the best chance to win the game was to go for it. However, the argument can be mad that he had the confidence in the defense to hold the Chargers to a long field goal attempt if the offense failed. It was a gutsy call and one could say punting would have been more logical here but you play to win the game and Benjarvus Green-Ellis is an excellent short yardage back. In the end, the defense held the Chargers to a long field goal attempt which clanked off the right upright and lead to the Pats fifth win this season. It was not pretty at all but the Patriots did enough to take advantage of San Diego's mistakes to win the game and that is all that counts in the standings.

The Patriots return home next week for a re-match with Randy Moss(aka the pothead),Brett Favre(sponsor of Wrangler open fly jeans) and the Vikings which should have plenty of headlines besides the actual game. The offense looks to get back on track against a defense that is getting ripped apart by the Packers right now.


Winners/Losers
Winners:
1. The defense- They won this game for the team against a potent San Diego offense causing four turnovers in the first half and holding them at the end of the game.
2. Zoltan Mesko- his average punt yardage was only 38.3 but he scooped numerous Jake Ingram(see losers) snaps off the turf and got them off.
3. Stephen Gostkowski- the kicker hits 3/3 and that's all you can ask for as he also hit some great kicks on kickoffs.


Losers:
1. Jake Ingram- the second year long snapper from Hawaii could be looking for work this week after numerous shaky snaps on punts and field goal attempts.
2. Tom Brady- this is being critical of the all-pro but it falls on his shoulders when the offense doesn't move the ball which they didn't all that well today. Without the defense, the Pats lose.
3. the offensive line- Brady was sacked 4 times and hurried all game long making it difficult to generate much offense.

P.S. went 2 for 2 in my Money in the Bank this weekend so hopefully dad can pay for food in the house this week

Bill Belichick Press conference here.

Quack Quack's Money in the bank lock of the week

Ok so this is week two of my attempts to tell you who to bet on this weekend. I have to post it so I can take my blogging abilities out to Amherst to cover the hockey game tomorrow night. After my stellar 0-2 performance last week, who wouldn't want to put the house down on these two games? Sorry dad if you're broke now...

NCAA Football:
Michigan State @ Northwestern(+5)
The pick- Michigan State
- I don't care that they are on the road. Michigan State simply finds ways to win games and I expect a big win here and no let down after a big couple of wins in the last month. Spartans role to a 14 point win in this one.



NFL:
New England @ San Diego(-2.5)
The pick: New England
-I know San Diego is a tough place to play and win as the Patriots found in 2008 when they got romped 38-10 but this is a different team then those Patriots. This team is gaining that confidence and coming together as a team after a couple of tough wins over Miami and Baltimore. The Patriots will go on the road and embarrass this 2-4 San Diego team.

Say It Ain't So Randy

Hey everyone, I know its been awhile but I think this story deserves a post from me. As reported by redd, the Pats traded Randy away for a 3rd round pick in the draft. This also tells me that the Pats are in a re-building phase. I expected a lot from the Pats this year. I expected as a Jet fan to finish in the Wild Card and the Pats winning the division. I am not selling my team short or anything, I just will always persume the division to go to the Pats until either the combo of Angry Bill and Metro Brady separate or the Jets win a Super Bowl, yeah I dont see any of that happening in the near future. But this trade changes everything. The Go To man on passing downs will be Welker but now he has to do deal with the opposing teams #1 DB. Welker has been putting incredible numbers but that was b/c the Pats and the 'fins at the time both had deep threats that the #1 DB was going for the big play. I will predict his numbers to dip. I dont see any of the other receivers as promising enough to be the big play guy. Yes, I know Brady is a god among men but common on man, you just have Welker. I just think this was horrible trade for the Pats. Yes they did get value for an expiring contract to get younger but in that draft that they got the pick for they already had 7 pick in the 1st 4 rounds. I think the Pats organizations should have paid the man his money. He deserves all of it, every cent. Yes he has not won a ring since coming to New England but he still has 3-5 years left in the tank and in those number of years you can will a SB. Dumb trade.

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.

Patriots cut 20, place McGowan on IR, trade for 2 others

The Patriots cut 20 yesterday as follows:
WR Sam Aiken - Surprise move shows the team's youth movement on defense and special teams
LB Eric Alexander - Another victim of the youth movement as he showed little promise to help on defense
S Sergio Brown -PQ- Expect Brown to be back on the practice squad if he clears waivers today
LB Derrick Burgess - The big name cut of the day. Was obviously hurt by being late to camp and a bad performance in the final preseason game
OL George Bussey - Got destroyed in the final preseason game no surprise here.
TE Carson Butler - No surpise here the tight end position was full from the beginning of camp
RB Thomas Clayton -PSQ- Showed some promise but could not compete with Benjarvus Green-Ellis
WR Buddy Farnham -PSQ- showed ability to play offense and defense which should land him on the practice squad
WR Darnell Jenkins -PSQ- showed promise and could land on practice squad
OL Ted Larsen -PSQ- played both sides of the ball and could land on practice sqaud
TE Rob Myers - This guy just sucks
OL Rich Ohrnberger -Second year lineman from Penn State never developed as Belichick hoped
WR Rod Owens -PSQ- Owens showed promise and could land on the practice sqaud on a WR loaded team
QB Zac Robinson -PSQ- He really isn't good but most teams with two qbs will keep a third on the practice squad
RB Chris Taylor -had some good moments but not enough to take down a veteran
DB Ross Ventrone - Should be on and off the roster all year unless someone else picks him up
OL Thomas Welch -PSQ- another young lineman who you look to be sticking around in Foxboro
LB Thomas Williams -This guy blows
CB DeAngelo Willingham -PSQ- Could stick with the PSqaud for depth at corner
LB Pierre Woods- lead the team in special teams tackles last year but just couldn't contribute enough at linebacker to make the team.

I out a PSQ next to players I expect to come back on the practice squad if they clear waivers which happens at noon today. The Patriots also place S Brandon McGowan on IR and traded for safeties Jarrad Page and linebacker Tracy White.


Accuracy of my predictions: QB-2/2
RB-5/5
WR-6/6
TE-3/3
OL-8/8
DL-6/7- Did not see Kyle Love making this team right out of camp
OLB-4/4
MLB-3/6 -Struggled here as a i predicted more OLBs to make the team
CB-5/5
S-3/4-4/4- McGowan going on the IR ruins me here but the trade was impossible to predict

Specialists-3/3
Overall 48/53 aint bad.(91%)

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

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

Mankins wants to be traded

Pats all pro offensive lineman Logan Mankins has said in a phone interview that he wants to be traded. Mankins is a restricted free agent this off-season and has until 11:59 et tonight to sign his tender of 3.26 million. After that point, the Patriots can reduce the tender to 1.54 million if they wish to do so. I wouldn't expect them to do since Mankins is clearly already pretty pissed.

Mankins said in the interview ""At this point, I'm pretty frustrated, from everything that's happened and the way negotiations have gone,I want to be traded. I don't need to be here any more." Everyone can see Mankins' point of view here as he deserves to be paid for his play and has always been a model citizen in New England. There also has been reports that he wants a similar deal to Saint guard Jahri Evans.

Evans, a Pro Bowl guard, signed a seven-year, $56.7 million contract with the Saints in May, a deal with an average annual value of just over $8 million.

The Boston Globe reported that, according to a league source, the Patriots' last offer to Mankins was worth approximately $7 million per season.

After reading these facts, Mankins just seems idiotic. He went on in the interview to say the Patriots broke their word on him and are awful human beings. You 're talking about eight million dollars in a 60 million dollar contract as the difference. The Patriots don't just give away that money especially with Tom Brady and Randy Moss in the final year of their contracts.

Mankins needs to shut up and take the money or sign the tender. His talk to the media just diminishes his trade value. If he really wanted to be traded, he should have made those demands quietly to the Patriots. He has no value now. We all know how it will end. Mankins will sign for 7.5 million per season with a bonus in there to cover the rest. Mankins needs to stop acting like the Patriots stopped all negotiations with him and whining to the media. I was just waiting for the Ty Law " I gotta feed my family" line from him. Shutup and play or the Patriots will offer you the 1.54 million reduced tender and play someone else all year.

Update- The Patriots sliced their tender offer to 53% of the original value down to 1.54 million. According to the Boston Globe, Mankins has had an offer that would pay him 7 million dollars over 5 years on the table for a significant period of time. I was right. Mankins was offered a fair contract that I am sure he could have counter offered at and had the Patriots consider it. He is being a drama queen now. The Patriots won't budge off the 7 million number now that he has gone to the media.