Pats run train on Da Bears...clinch playoff spot

The Pats owned the Bears 36-7 in a driving snow storm in Chicago at the historic Soldier Field. The Pats jumped out to a 33-0 lead in the first half and held on for a win to clinch a playoff spot and improve to 11-2 overall this year. Tom Brady threw for 369 yards and 2 TDs while BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for 87 yards and the defense forced four turnovers to seal the win. This was another all around team effort as Wes Welker had over 100 yards receiving and Deion Branch contributed along with rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski. This was another team effort to give the Pats a two game lead for the number one overall seed in the AFC as they have a game on Pittsburgh and the tie-breaker due to their head-to-head win. Their win today along with the Jets 10-6 loss to Miami gives them a two game lead in the division with three to play. The Patriots will next play a strong Green Bay team coming into Foxboro next Sunday night. They did lose QB Aaron Rodgers today to a concussion to his status will be up in the air until he clears numerous tests by the doctors.
Winners:
1. Tom Brady- 369 yards passing, 2 TDs and no picks is a pretty good game if it wasn't in a snowstorm.
2. Deion Branch- 8 catches for 151 yards and a TD right as the first half expired put the last nail in the Bears' coffin.
3. Shayne Graham- 3 for 3 on field goals in a blizzard is pretty damn good for a mid-season pick-up.
4. Wes Welker- Welker continues to grow back into his old form and had his first 100 yard game today.
5. Bill Belichick- Easily the best team in football right now. This team is clicking on all cylinders right now lead by the best coach in the game.

Losers
1. Da Bears- They looked ho ho rendus today!

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 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.

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....