PatsBlog: A Patriots Blog

For some reason, last week against the Jets wasn’t a big exciting playoff game for me, I think I knew we were going to win.  Even though I still have all the confidence in this 13 -4 Patriots squad, it is a lot more exciting going to play a team that has a strong chance of ending our season.  This is the kind of game that could go down in history books as one of the best ever.  Both teams are playing their best football of the season.  The high flying Chargers have won ten in a row, and the Patriots are winners of seven of their last eight.

On defense, the Chargers have been very good, with the front seven leading the way.  On the d-line, 2nd year man Luis Castillo out of Northwestern is starting to tear defenses apart, giving credibility to the Chargers using their first round pick on him in 2005.  Jamal Williams has been a beast at defensive tackle, earning a pro bowl selection.  At outside linebacker, Shawne Merriman will be a problem, especially for Brady.  His pass rushing skills are insane, and it will be up to Matt Light and Nick Kazcur to slow him down.  But don’t underestimate veterans Randall Godfrey and Donnie Edwards, both are having fine seasons, and if they are left unchecked, they have the ability to terrorize us.

The Patriots will need to attack the Chargers through the air to win on Sunday.  The Chargers weakness on defense is their defensive backfield, led by cornerback Quentin Jammer.  Last week, Brady picked on Justin Miller, this week, he will have to pick on Drayton Florence or Antonio Cromartie.  If he does, expect receivers Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell to have big games again.  Don’t be surprised if the Patriots try throwing to Chad Jackson deep again this week.  Clock Killin’ Corey Dillon needs to be able to pound it between the tackles consistently.  If he gets going early, it will open up holes for Laurence “Kool-Aid Maroney.”

Greg’s Prediction: Patriots 34 Chargers 31 (Stephen Gostkowski game wining kick from 47 yards as time expires) 

Here it goes again.  The Patriots are the best, thats what we’ll be hearing all week.  Not that I don’t like that attention, but in my opinion, adversity is often good.

The Patriots came out yesterday, and made a statement.  It wasn’t too flashy, but we got the job done.  I knew we were winning from the tone of the opening drive.  We ran no-huddle, got significant yardage almost every play, culminating with a powerful Dillon touchdown run.  Even though the Jets took a brief 10-7 lead, I wasn’t worried.  And my faith held strong as the Patriots marched down field at the end of the half finishing with a 1 yard touchdown pass from Brady to tight end Daniel Graham.  The second half was also strong, role players Kevin Faulk and Jabar Gaffney played well, obviously, with Faulk scoring the TD.  The Asante Samuel pick at the end was further evidence that he was snubbed a Pro Bowl selection.

 Notes

-THE VINCE WILFORK PLAY WAS FREAKIN’ AWESOME!  I was at the game, and got to see him rumbling and tumbling down the field, even though the cameras didn’t catch it.

-Bill Belichick shoved aside a cameraman to get to Mangini to give him a big ole’ man hug.  Looks like Belichick made up with him… or really?

-Patriots haven’t lost a home playoff game since 1978 and Tom Brady’s record improved to 11-1 in the postseason.

New forum is up and running.  You don’t have to sign up for this one, but you probably should…

 Tell me which of the two forums you like more, and we will really get started on them soon.

These come from various sources across the web.  If you want to see the actual links, just leave a comment and I’ll post them.

 Asante Samuel Contract Talks Stalled - The Patriots haven’t been able to work out a contract extension with Asante Samuel as of yet.  Talks stalled midseason.  This is because of negotiation difficulties, but because both sides are focusing on the season.  But Asante admits himself that every week the cost to resign him is growing.  We have the cap room, I just don’t understand why we can’t get something done.

Patriots Coaches / Executives Leaving? - The Miami Dolphins are looking at Dean Pees as a replacement for Nick Saban as head coach.  They are also looking at bringing in Scott Pioli in the front office.  The Dolphins aren’t the only team interested in Pioli though, the desperate Giants will probably fire Tom Coughlin if they are knocked out of the playoffs today, even if they don’t, they may ask Pioli to take over GM roles.

Testaverde Not To Retire? - Testaverde answered “maybe” to if he was coming back to football next year.  Although he said his loyalty is with the Pats, he would eventually want to retire as a New York Jet.  But that could still mean he returns back to us as a third stringer again, he could plan to sign a one day contract to retire with the Jets afterward, sort of like Otis Smith did with us last year.

Belichick’s Contract Expiring? - This one has been out there for a while, but I never bothered posting it.  According to the contract extension Belichick signed a few years back(money info withheld), his contract would expire after the season.  However, last time he had an extension, they didn’t report it until months after, so he could already be resigned and we don’t know it.  But it does kind of get you a little bit nervous to hear a thing like this, Bill “Hoody” Belichick is a poster boy for our franchise now, and it’d be a shame to see him go.

Here is my final Patriots report card, reflecting back on the entire season…  I will get to the defense tomorrow.

 QB: A  It wasn’t Tom Brady’s best year in terms of statistics, but it was a very mistake free year.  He tied a carreer low with only 12 interceptions.  Although he was shaky to start the year (completion %), he turned it around as he began to grow with his reformed receiving corps.  Matt Cassel showed improved accuracy in his brief appearences… And who couldn’t love Vinny Testaverde throwing that TD pass at the end of the game against Tennessee?  Unbelievable, the man has thrown a TD pass in every year for 20 years, that record is older than around 1/3 the people of the world.

RB: A-  This year, the runningback duo of veteran Corey Dillon and rookie Laurence Maroney worked to perfection (unlike that of Antowain Smith and Kevin Faulk in 2003).  Clock Killin’ Corey Dillon averaged 4.1 yards a carry, surpassing preseason expectations, and meeting his personal standard of 12 touchdowns.  Laurence “Kool-Aid” Maroney showed a burst to the line like no other running back in Patriots history.  His big play ability reminded Patriots fan of a young Curtis Martin or Robert Edwards.  Kevin Faulk and Patrick Pass continued to contribute as receivers and occasional runners.  Heath Evans provided an unexpected boost at the fullback position, providing some key first downs and receptions late in the year.

WR/TE: B   Yeah, I admit this wasn’t the Patriots strongest area, but there were definately some bright spots.  Reche Caldwell developed into a nice threat, recording 2 100 yard games near the end of the season.  Long tenured Troy Brown also played well, recording another 40+ catch season.  Even though Doug Gabriel didn’t quite work out, the Patriots signed free agent Jabar Gaffney who came in and contributed early and well.  Even 2nd round pick Chad Jackson provided some bright spots for this team, and opened some eyes in the special teams area, and for his knack to keep fighting for extra yards.  The tight ends had a nice year as well, despite some key injuries.  Ben Watson was having a carreer year (forget the fumbles that is) until the leg injury, and should provide a spark in the postseason.  Veteran Daniel Graham was still a force, despite being injured most of the year, hauling in 21 catches.  Rookie David Thomas showed why he was a 3rd round pick, showing phenominal hands and uncoachable effort.

OL: B+  Wow, it was another stellar for this completely unheralded Patriots offensive line.  The only place I can see improvement is in the pass protection game, as Brady was often getting sacked and pressured.  Matt Light, Stephen Neal, Logan Mankins, and Daniel Koppen all really deserve pro bowls (especially Matt).  Rookie Ryan O’Callaghan had an impressive debut, before suffering injury, then Nick Kazcur stepped in and was productive.  Billy Yates, Ross Hochstein, and Gene Mruczkowski (yes… I had to look up the spelling on that) were also good rotation and fill-in men along the line.

I’ll start with the facts:

-He has not been present at the start of any practice

-He is listed as “missed portion” on the injury report

-He hasn’t talked to the media (Belichick probably doesn’t want him to)

-Matt Cassel is preparing as if he would get significant playing time

-Cassel has taken all of Brady’s snaps at practice

 From the looks of it, it seems to me that Brady won’t play the full game on Sunday.  However, according to backup Matt Cassel, ”he will play.”   If Brady doesn’t start, his 106 consecutive start streak will be broken.  Nevertheless, it seems we will be seeing significant playing time from second year quarterback Matt Cassel.  He’s the report on him:

-Fast, mobile, can scramble out of the pocket and make long runs

-Has a long, rocket arm, some have compared it to Tom Brady’s

-According to Belichick, has better understanding of offense, and has a more accurate arm than he did during his playing stint against the Dolphins in last years season finale

-This year: 5/7, 32 yards

-Last year: 13/24, 2 tds, 1 int

-Week 17 against Miami: 11/20 2td 0int 

Happy holidays to whatever you are celebrating this Holiday season!

Happy Chistmashanakwanzkah!!!

Enjoy your time with your family and I will be back in one week!

Finally, we got it done.

 The scoreboard doesn’t say so, but we really dominated this game, and didn’t let up at any point.  I’m glad we took  the division, hopefully we can translate this small winning streak into a 12-4 finish at Tennessee next week.

-That Brady injury was scary, even though he came right back.  Matt Cassel was probably hyped up for a minute though.  Watch Bill put Brady as questionable for this week against Tennessee.

-We chose a gameplan, and stuck to it.  We came out from the beginning and said we were going to use a give and take passing attack, and it worked to perfection.

-David Thomas has taken advantage of his playing time with Ben Watson injured.  His two longest, diving catches were some of the best catches I have seen.  With those kinds of hands, he could be sticking around for years to come.

-Sauerbrun looked ugly.  His last punt was decent however.

-How did Ty Warren get snubbed of a Pro Bowl birth?  He really deserved it, proving again that he is an all-star player with strong play today.

-Bam Childress came out with 2 catches for around 7 yards.  Kelvin Kight hauled in one on the opening play for 9.

-Gostkowski’s 49 yard miss was his first miss after making 11 straight.

-What was up with that 74 yard Maurice Jones-Drew touchdown run?

Well… The Patriots have a new punter…

 We signed 33 year old punter Todd Sauerbrun to an undisclosed deal

He’s not as good as Josh Miller, but he’s good enough to get the job done.  Tell me if I’m wrong, but he got traded to Denver before ‘05 because he was found taking steroids while with Carolina.  At least he’s not too old (like Sean Landeta who we also worked out), and he averaged 43.8 yards per punt last year.  Sauerbrun has made 3 pro-bowls, even though he is still in his prime, his carreer has spiraled downwards due to his steroid scandal while in Carolina. 

I think that’s him forcing a fumble on Ellis Hobbs in last year’s playoff game.  Yep… that was that idiot

Ken Walter on IR - Oh wow, another player to go onto injured reserve.  Walter injured his foot during the game on Sunday.  I saw the play, he had a crappy punt, frusturated, he sprinted down the field to help make the tackle.  I saw him get up and limp and I was nervous…

Patriots Work Out Landeta - Nothing to fear though, the Patriots worked out 1000 year old punter Sean Landeta.  At least he is pretty good.  No deal was signed though.  Landeta was most recently with the Giants before getting cut.  Maybe the Patriots will look at former Pat Tom Tupa, why not?  They’re both ancient…

Patriots Work Out 2 Quality Veteran Linebackers: The Patriots worked out linebackers Orlando Ruff and Sam Cowart.  Oh yeah, they’re ancient too :)  By the way, sorry to those readers out there that are actually older than these guys, they’re just ancient for their positions.  I am pretty intrigued by Cowart though, who was a stable on the Bills defense for years.

Pats Jipped On Pro Browl: If I told you that Tom Brady didn’t make the Pro Bowl, you probably wouldn’t believe me.  If I told you that the NFL leader in interceptions (Asante Samuel) didn’t make the Pro Bowl, you still probably wouldn’t believe me.  If I told you that the best defensive lineman (this year) didn’t make the probowl (Ty Warren), or his massive counterpart nose tackle (Vince Wilfork), you probably wouldn’t believe me.  If I told you the ever so deserving Mike Vrabel didn’t make the Pro Bowl, you probably would believe me, but he really deserves to go.  Finally, If I told you LARRY IZZO didn’t make the Pro Bowl, you really should not believe me.  Guess who made the Pro Bowl?  Richard Seymour, that’s it.  Maybe Asante or Warren will make it as a “need” player, but we really got jipped this year.