Thursday Morning Third Down Back

The Patriots play their third game of the season on the road at The Ralph on Sunday September 25th at 1:00 PM First up - It's the 10 year anniversary Mo Lewis taking out Drew Bledsoe.    *pauses for moment of silence*   Just think about how differently things might have gone if Brady never made it on the field that season.  Scary.  Don't get me wrong... I love Drew.  And I appreciate that without Parcells, Bledsoe and Kraft coming along when they did, the team was probably gone.  But we definitely don't go on that run with Drew under center.  And I think maybe twice in the last ten years I've yelled "GET RID OF THE BALL!" at the TV with Number 12 out there.  With Drew it was 3 - 4 times per quarter. Pats vs. Chargers.  It's probably for the best that Vince didn't make it to the end zone off the interception last week.  I probably would have broken my hand on the ceiling after jumping off the couch. Go, Vince, go!...

The Patriots play their first home game of the season at Gillette Stadium on Sunday September 18th at 4:15 PM. HOMEWORK CHECK:  Did everyone watch "Bill Belichick: A Football Life" last night?  Good.  Don't forget to watch part 2 next week. It's a little early, but let's take a look at the 2011 draft picks.  Here's five things I'll be watching for this week: 1) Nate Solder - I thought he played great on Monday night.  Beast-like, even.  I assumed this was going to be a "draft him now and play him later" kinda thing with this guy, but it looks like he's ready now.  2) Ras-I Dowling - I recently suggested "Ras-I" to my wife a possible baby name.  And surprisingly, she was against it. 3) Marcus Cannon - Don't expect to see him this year, but he should be great when he comes back from... *checks medical report* ... non-Hodgkin lymphoma.  Yikes.  Look for this guy NEXT year.  (These are the kinds of things you can do when ...

The Patriots play their first regular season game at Joe Robbie Stadium Pro Player Park Pro Player Stadium   Dolphins Stadium Land Shark Stadium Sun Life Stadium against the Miami Dolphins on Monday, September 12th at 7:00 PM. Just a reminder... The Dolphins could have had Drew Brees and chose Daunte Culpepper instead. *** long pause *** Bwah ha ha ha ha ha! That story kills me. I love 7:00 PM Monday Night Football.  All Monday night games should start this early (Suck it, West Coasties!). (Albert approves of the earlier Monday night start time) There's a whole bunch of new faces this year.  Let's start with the new guys.  Here's five things I'll be watching for this week: 1) Chad Ochocinco - I'll be honest with you... I'm not feeling great about what I've seen in the preseason so far.  He looked lost at times.  Could he end up thriving in this offense?  Maybe.  But I'm afraid this could be another Joey Gaolloway situation....