Thursday Morning Third Down Back

The Patriots play their sixteenth and final regular season game on the road against Houston on Sunday January 3rd at Reliant Stadium. Convincing win last week.  Just in time to get my hopes up for the playoffs.  Are we healthy?  Are we a dominant team?  Are we a second-tier team?  I have no idea.  But I like our coach.  And I like our QB.  So I guess we'll take that and roll the dice. League rankings: Points scored - 7th.  Points allowed - 4th.  Huh... That sounds like a pretty good team actually.  I'm not saying they'll win it all, but they still could be dangerous. Do I like idea of having to go to San Diego AND Indy?  Absolutely not.  But neither one of them is unbeatable. Unfortunately, this game against the Texans this week barely matters.  Here's what I'll be watching for this week: Brian Hoyer -  Let's give Tom a break this week. Sammy Morris -  Heck of a week last week.  Let's see i...

Up Tom Brady Sammy Morris Brandon Meriweather Wes Welker Randy Moss Down The Mannings!  Sweet, sweet Manning tears.  I love it.

By Patty O'Tool The Patriots play their fifteenth regular season game at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday December 27th at 1:00 PM at Gillette Stadium.  A win here and we own the AFC East. Anyone else sad about football season being almost over already?  Where does the time go? Here's what I'll be watching for this week: Tom Brady - He's still hurting.  Shoulder, finger and ribs.  And I'm sure the cold isn't helping the knee.  This doesn't bode well for January. Ben Watson - Will we see him this week?  Maybe! Fred Taylor - He's been a great interview as team spokesman this year.  I hope he comes back next year.  What?  When are we going to see him on the field ?  He's supposed to PLAY, too?  Oh. Vince Wilfork - Speaking of "players I hope come back next year", if I'm Vince's agent (and I've been lobbying hard, but he doesn't seem to return my calls), I sit down at the negotiating table and show...

by Just a Guy on a Couch I'm just a guy on a couch but . . .  . . . if not for the complete ineptitude of the Buffalo Bills, the Pats lose this game.  Stupid offsides penalties, defensive pass interference, dropped passes by open receivers and a BIIIIIG offsides on the successful onsides kick.  . . . more poor tackling by the Patriots defense means a quick exit from the playoffs on the horizon.  I'm beginning to think these guys sweat mayonnaise or Vaseline or something.  . . . I know Buffalo ranks dead last in the NFL in run defense but still, it's nice to see Maroney running like he has.  Bad run D or not, he was putting a ton of effort into his runs.  . . . Mike Wright showed up to play today, and it's a good thing.  Sacks, QB pressures, and making tackles 15 yards down field.  . . . nice adjustment by Pees after Buffalo's first drive.  Having the defensive front out of their stances really seemed to be effective in forci...

By Patty O'Tool The Patriots play their fourteenth regular season game on the road against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday December 20th at 1:00 PM at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Brady is hurt.  The offense is struggling (that was one of the worst 10 point wins I can ever remember seeing last week).  The d-line is banged up (if Wilfork can't go this week, we're boned...  they're going to run all over us).  Not good times. Here's what I'll be watching for this week: Wes Welker - Easily the team MVP this year.  Note to Bill - please take him off punt returns.  He takes enough hits already. Laurence Maroney - Don't look know, but he's been somewhat productive the last few weeks.  Still...  For a guy his size, I'd like to see him actually break a tackle once in a while.  His yards after contact isn't good. Sebastian Vollmer - Last week they had him switching between left tackle and right tackle.  Eff that.  Stick him on the left si...

by Just a Guy on a Couch I'm just a guy on a couch but..... . . . I just finished watching the post-game festivities and why did Bill and Tom seem happy after that?  Once again, TONS of missed opportunities by both the defense (dropped int's at least twice) and the offense (please hold the ball.  it's rather important). . . . where has Randy Moss been?  I hate to sound like Mike Felger but seriously, where is this guy?  I had really been hesitant to feel like he's not in the game but, he's not in the game.  At all.  At least he added some spice and flair by adding the fumble to his expanding repertoire of ineptitude (not finishing routes, shoddy blocking, not watching the weather channel). . . . first Chad Henne and then who the hell was that again . . . uhhhh . . dude man?  Whatever the hell his name was, he backs up Jake DelHomme .  He's fucking terrible.  Can this team realistically pull out a win in a one-and-done playoff agina...

The Patriots play their thirteenth regular season game at home (!) against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday December 13th at 1:00 PM at Gillette Stadium. Oh man...  I picked a hell of a year to start a Patriots blog... I feel like I'm chronicling the Fall of the Roman Empire. The offense looks stale.  The defense went from "young and fast" to "inexperienced". And a big part of the problem is... (gulp)... Brady.  He looks too predictable out there at times.  Welker is making him better at this point. Here's what I think is going on:   - Some of the creativity is gone from the offense.  Bill O'Brien is no Josh McDaniels   - Nobody is stepping up after Welker and Moss.  Sam Aiken is nice special teamer / 4th or 5th receiver, but they could actually use a Gaffney or a Stallworth.   - Brady has got a baby on the way (UPDATE - he just had a boy).  Don't laugh.  He looked like crap last time he had a kid coming.  (To...

By Patty O'Tool The Patriots play their twelfth regular season game on the road against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday December 6th at 1:00 PM at Joe Robbie Stadium Pro Player Park Pro Player Stadium Dolphins Stadium Land Shark Stadium.  (Really?  "Land Shark Stadium"?) "Hey Bill... It’s... uh ... it’s Pat.  I need you to do me a huge favor.  Can you please... uh... take your name off your phone...?  My wife went through my phone and... uh... may be calling you." Has my love for Bill Belichick diminished?  No.  Not even a little.  But there are times when we've looked downright sloppy this season.  Monday night sucked.  Hard.  My apologies to my football buddies out of market who only get to watch the Pats when they're on nationally. But you know what?  It's going to be OK.  We're not nearly as bad as we looked last week.  They've got a pillowy soft schedule coming up.  They're going to go 12 - 4 (11 -...

Down Everyone. Bluh. Overall Record: 7 - 4. Uniform Record: Pat Patriot 3 - 1. Flying Elvis 4 - 3.