Thursday Morning Third Down Back

By Patty O'Tool The Patriots play their eleventh regular season game on the road against the New Orleans Saints on Monday November 30th at 8:30 PM.  Tom Brady - Can he get the delay of game penalties on the road under control?  That's been a glaring negative this season.  But still... Write him down for "Comeback Player of the Year".  Randy Moss - Last week was a Welker week.  They'll probably get the ball to Randy a bit more this week.  (On a personal note, I've lived in the same town as Randy for two years now.  And I still haven't bumped into him at Target yet.  What the hell?  I'm starting to suspect he doesn't spend much time here in the offseason...) Pat's O-line - The regulars are pretty banged up.  Brady is going to need some time.  The game might come down to how many starters we can get out there (and I'm counting Vollmer as a starter at this point... I'd much rather see him out there than Light.) Pat's Secondary...

Down Punt Team - Nice blocking there guys. Mark Sanchez - Ha ha!  (/Nelson) Up Wes Welker - Put him on the 2006 Patriots and we win that Super Bowl, too (Damn you, Reche Caldwell!) Vince Wilfork - He just owns the middle of the field.  It's really tough to find guys like that. Tully Banta-Cain - Sure he's "just a guy", but Belichick knows how to use him properly. Leigh Bodden - The secondary is a lot better this year. Mark LeVoir - He absolutely leveled a guy on a screen block.  Holy crap.  Any time you've got a lineman on a DB, bet on the lineman. Overall Record: 7 - 3. Uniform Record: Pat Patriot 3 - 1. Flying Elvis 4 - 2.

By Patty O'Tool The Patriots play their tenth regular season game at home against the New York Jets on Sunday November 22nd at 4:15 PM.  It gets dark at like 4:30 here now, so this will feel like a night game. I'm back.  I've been on the road the last two weeks.  Did I miss anything good? Here's what I'll be watching for this week: Jerod Mayo - He's awesome.  I like him. Randy Moss - Best receiver ever?  Best receiver ever. Sebastian Vollmer- He's been really, really good.  Matt Light should be nervous. Mark Sanchez - How does he like the hot dogs at Gillette?  How do they compare to Oakland's dogs? Rex Ryan - I'll be yelling "Boo effin' hoo" at the TV every time they cut to him (On a personal note, he looks just like my uncle Mark after a 3 day bender.  It's kinda scary.) I'll be honest, I'm a little concerned about the Jets this week... They're hungry... They're desper-  Nah, I'm just kiddin...

By Patty O'Tool Downs Again... No downs last week.  Unless you want to count me.  Because the bye-week sucks. Ups Brandon Meriweather - He's looking like a stud, isn't he?  They brought him along slowly.  He was a first round pick in '07.  And now it's all paying off.  Good stuff. Wes Welker - Consistently awesome.  We totally stole him from Miami. Tully Banta-Cain - Is he a role player?  Sure.  But the Patriots seem to know how to use him much better than San Francisco did. Myron Pryor - Did anyone else see #91 flying around out there?  He was all over the place. Overall Record: 5 - 2. Uniform Record: Pat Patriot 3 - 1. Flying Elvis 2 - 1.