Skip to main content

Three Things to Watch This Week - Divisional Playoff Round

The AFC #1 seed New England Patriots play Brock Osweiler Tom Savage Brock Osweiler and the Houston Texans at Gillette on Saturday January 14th at 8:15 PM.


This could be Vince's last game.  Shout out to the Big Man.

Are you excited for this game?  I'm excited for this game.

O'Brien Power Rankings

1) Miles

2) Richard

3) Conan

4) Bill

5) Chloe

Here's three things I'm looking forward to watching Saturday night:

1) LeGarrette Blount - Feels like a Blount force trauma game.  (Late editorial note: LeGarrette Blount (Illness) Misses Practice For Second Straight Day.  Yikes.  Scratch that.)

2) Offensive Line - The line had a heck of a good year.  Brady stayed clean.  The running backs had plenty of room.  Shout out to Dante Scarnecchia for coming out of retirement.

3) Dont'a Hightower - I think he's healthy again.  They've been moving him around more lately.  Watch where they have him line up before the play starts.  On the edge.  Off the line.  In the middle.


FREE AGENT WATCH: Has Malcolm Butler, Jamie Collins or Dont'a Hightower been resigned yet?  Not yet!

Did Malcolm Mitchell have a catch last week?  No.  He was hurt.  But he finished with 32 catches on the year.  Feels pretty good for a rookie on a team with that many weapons.  I'll take it.


My prediction: Pats 31, Texans 14


*****
Vincent Lamar Wilfork entered our world via a portal in the swamps of Florida on November 4th, 1981.  Drafted 21st overall in the 2004 draft.

He stands hundreds of meters tall and wide, with human-like arms and legs.  Unconfirmed reports claim there may also be a pair of great and magnificent wings on his back under his shoulder pads.

He is much faster than one would believe.  How could someone be so massive and yet so simultaneously nimble?

Sometimes known to eat a roasted emu between quarters.  It is said he changes gravity itself when he takes the field.

Both elder god and human flesh in one body, simply looking upon the man is enough to drive an offensive linemen to the very edge of his sanity.

Excels in taking on two or more blockers at once.  Running backs are advised to go around him rather than run at him.


"Notes on a Defensive Tackle", Howard Phillips Lovecraft, defensive scouting assistant, special to Thursday Morning Third Down Back

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

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...

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...