Skip to main content

Five Things to Watch This Week - Week 3

The Patriots play their third game of the year at Gillette Stadium against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, September 21 at 1:00 PM.

Better.  Much better.  I saw some signs of actual effort last week.  The idea of starting 0 - 2 was really starting to scare me, you guys.

Game balls to Chandler Jones and Stevan Ridley (and an honorable mention to Matt Cassel... who played a huge part in that win).


Have you seen this man?


Jimmy Power Rankings:

1) Stewart

2) McNulty

3) Hoffa

4) Garoppolo

5) Jazz


Here's five things I really liked about last week:

1) Julian Edelman - Edelman is off to a great start so far.  He's starting to become a big part of the offense.  I just get a little nervous every time I see him get hit hard.

2) Stephen Gostkowski - Gostkowski is really really really good.

3) The Offensive Line - Looks like they went with 6 offensive linemen at times last week.  If that's what it takes, I guess I'm OK with it.

4) Devin McCourty - Devin McCourty, Safety is MUCH better than Devin McCourty, Corner.

5) Interceptions - So many interceptions!  Can we play against Matt Cassel every week?


And here's two things I didn't like last week:

1) Brady looked like he had a little more time back there in Week 2.  HOWEVER... He's got to spread it around a little bit more.  He's still keying on Gronk and Edelman too much.  It's got to get better.  Plus he looks super cranky on the sideline lately.  Is he upset because they drafted another handsome quarterback?  Can somebody maybe take him out for an ice cream?

2) Penalties.  Lots and lots of penalties.  The bad kind, too.  Not the good kind.


Did Michael Hoomanawanui have a catch last week?

Yes!

Did Stevan Ridley fumble last week?

Nope.


My prediction: Pats 34, Raiders 14

*****

This week we have Fake Matt Patricia filling for Fake Bill Belichick.

Hello Carbon Based Lifeforms.  I hope this correspondence finds you well.

Let's take a look and see what's in Matty's Mailbag this week.


If you weren't a football coach, what do you think you'd be?
-- Steve (Hicksville, NY)

Well...  I'd probably be teaching high school.  Maybe math or science.  I've always enjoyed teaching.  But I think my absolute dream job would be to run a comic book store.  I could do inventory. Run the register. Set up the computer network.  That would be so great.


How would you describe your defensive philosophy?
-- Dave (in the car)

Obviously... Coach Bill sets the agenda and makes the big decisions.  Everything trickles down from him.

But personally... As a football coach, I try to model myself after Asimov's 3 laws of robotics.   "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm."  (just replace "robot" with "coach")


Have you been keeping up with the SW7 shooting rumors?
-- Eric (Cranston, RI)

I try to avoid spoilers in general.  I don't want to go in to a movie with any kind of preconceived notions.

Also, the crazy hours my job requires usually makes it pretty easy to block out the outside world.

But yeah... I'm getting a little excited.


Kirk or Picard?
-- Matt  (Boston, MA)

Riker.


Who do you like as a Commander these days?
-- Ray (Rakdos, MA)

I'm running Rafiq as a general in my latest EDH deck.  Should be good.

BUT... We'll see how it looks after Khans comes out.

Until next time...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Three Things to Watch This Week - Week 1

The first place New England Patriots play the Oakland   Los Angeles   Oakland  Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette on Sunday September 7th at 1:00 PM. Patriot first round pick tackle Will Campbell. Douglas Power Rankings: 1) Adams 2) DeMario 3) Michael  4) The Lincoln–Douglas debates 5) Illeana  After back to back 4 - 13 seasons, you are allowed to feel a little skeptical about this team. What do we, as Patriots fans, have to look forward to in 2025? Returning:  Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf is somehow still here. Last year, the two wide receivers he drafted in 2024 combined for 13 catches. And one of them is no longer with the team. I'm against it. Coach Mike Vrabel. His career record as a coach is 56–48. This was seen as a significant upgrade over what we had in place. Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels. He's back! Again! Not returning: Coach Jerod Mayo. It was both a bad situation AND he didn't do a great job with it. That's ba...

Five Things to Watch This Week - Week 1 (Game 1)

The Patriots play their first regular season game at LP Field against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday September 9th at 1:00 PM. So... Um... Yeah.  Let's not get too hung up on how last season ended... It's a new year.  Like Coach Belichick says... We're focusing on next week.  We're moving on. It's also an election year.  Republican or Democrat...  Liberal or Conservative...  Let's not lose sight of the one thing that unites us all...  That the Jets are horrible. Gronk seems to be enjoying the benefits of being famous. Let's dive right in! The Patriots signed both Gronkowski AND Hernandez to long term deals ( ed. note - phew ) in the off-season.   They also added extra Tight Ends Jake Ballard, Daniel Fells, Michael Hoomanawanui and Visanthe Shiancoe. At this rate, we'll soon be fielding the NFL's first ALL TIGHT END OFFENSE!  (It's the logical next step in the evolution of the game...) Josh McDaniels - Welcome back!  You...

2025 Three Things to Watch This Week - Week 2

The last place New England Patriots play the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday September 14th at 1:00 PM. They should have kept Jakobi. Joy Power Rankings 1) Anya Taylor 2) Formidable 3) of Cooking 4) Division 5) to the World I don't know what I was expecting for the first game under the new regime, but that wasn't it. Was there anything to feel good about last week? Here's what I've got off the top of my head. 1) Kayshon Boutte had a solid six catches for 103. That's nice! 2) Free agent signing Harold Landry had two and a half sacks in his Patriots debut. 3) Maybe we'll have a top five pick again next year. Also... lots of 1:00 PM games this season. Nice early bed times for everyone. Did the Patriots score 20 points? They did not! Days since the Patriots last score 30 points in a game: 1,063 days (I kid you not.) My prediction: Pats 9, Dolphins 37 *** Thursday Morning Third Down Back is pleased to welcome back special guest columnist Pinhead to shar...