Thursday Morning Third Down Back

The New England Patriots play Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals at Gillette Stadium on Sunday November 28th 1:00 PM. Masks save lives. Dave Stewart Power Rankings: 1) Dave Stewart (Oakland Athletics) 2) Dave Stewart (Eurythmics)  I think they tried to slip an Ivan Fears picture in the Romeo Crennel / Bill Belichick picture montage last week. That's not cool CBS! Not a lot to get excited about in that loss. The defense looked lost. The Texans imposed their will. Remember what it was like to have a good Tight End? Or two? That must be nice. Deshaun Watson deserves to be on a better team. I don't want this Patriots team to make the playoffs. They'll get crushed. Also, they can't tackle. Cam seems to like throwing at people's feet ( Rex Ryan approves ). Somehow, he's better on long routes than short or medium passes... unless he's getting crushed in the backfield. I’m still baffled they didn’t try harder to upgrade the TE position this off-season. Imagine i...

The New England Patriots play Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on Sunday November 22nd at 1:00 PM. That was a good Big Boy win last Sunday night... ...in some of the worst weather I've ever seen professional sports played in. Yikes. Masks save lives. Fran Power Rankings: 1) Drescher 2) -k herbert 3) McDormand 4) -kenstein 5) Tarkenton 6) -cis Buxton 7) -çois Truffaut Here are three things I liked about last week's game against Baltimore: 1) Cam Newton. Good Cam was back last week. 2) Jakobi Meyers. Meyers can play. On a team that mostly runs the ball, he's the number one receiver at this point. And he can throw! 3) Damien Harris. I really like watching Damien Harris play. I find myself yelling at the TV much less than when Sony Michel is out there. He's the Rich Man’s Antowain Smith. Did the Patriots score a touchdown last week? Yes! My prediction: Patriots 17, Texans 12  ***** This week we have the somehow still employed Fake Matt Patricia filling ...

The New England Patriots play Sam Darnold  Joe Flacco and the New York Jets at Metlife Stadium on Monday November 9th at 8:15 PM. Masks save lives. I hoped Week 8 would be a Bounce Back Week (TM) . Instead, I am lowering my expectations even more. Maybe... 5 - 11? If they lose to the Jets this week, that has to be rock bottom. Here are some Netflix movies you might like to watch instead of watching the Patriots this week: 1) Fargo 2) Midnight Special 3) There Will Be Blood 4) The Lobster 5) Poltergeist Or maybe you could just go for a nice evening walk. Here are three four (!) areas of concern going into week 9: 1) Julian Edelman - Jules had surgery last week (a "precautionary knee procedure"). That might explain why he didn't look right all season. We won't be seeing him for a while. Hopefully, we see him again some day. If not, it's been a pleasure watching him play.  2) Cam Newton - It's amazing how quickly things went from "They should maybe offer hi...

The New England Patriots play Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers at Gillette Stadium on Sunday October 25th at 4:25 PM. Was the game versus the Broncos just an off week? Or are the wheels starting to come off? I know this hasn't been anything close to a normal season and they had had something like one practice in the 10 days prior to that game. But that was a bad loss to an inferior opponent. Painful to watch. Game balls for no one. Masks save lives. Wicker Power Rankings: 1) Man 2) furniture 3) John 4) -sham, Washington Here are three things that should be better this week. 1) Cam Newton. I expect a sharper game out of Cam this week. 2) Julian Edelman. Edelman was 2 for 2 for a 118 passer rating against the Broncos. Unfortunately he only had 2 receptions. 3) Young guys on defense. One of the few positives about so many veterans opting out this season has been the emergence of some possible future stars on defense. Ja'Whaun Bentley, Kyle Dugger, J.C. Jackson and Chase...

The New England Patriots play Drew Lock and the Denver Broncos at Gillette Stadium on Sunday October 11th Tuesday October 13th Sunday October 18th at 1:00 PM, Are we going to get a game this week? Should the whole NFL also be in the Orlando Bubble? That seemed to work OK for the NBA. They could have 16 games per week on the same field. I would happily volunteer to go to WDW for 4 months. I have good hands, but no burst off the line. Also, I know how to work the Magic Band system. I haven't addressed the Very Handsome Elephant no longer in the room yet. Might as well get to that now. Tom Brady is playing in Tampa now. And... it's fine. Really. It was time to move on. I wish him all the best. He's the best quarterback of all time. He can play wherever he wants. He wasn't going to stay here forever. It would be insane to complain about him after what he did here over the last two decades. BUT ALSO... He was a big old mopey poopy pants here all last season. Even when they...

 The New England Patriots play Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday October 4th at 4:25 PM Monday October 5th at 7:05 PM*. *lots of last minute changes this week, due to the somewhat unpredictable nature of life. Bill's Dog might have had a good draft. 13/10. Homes Power Rankings: 1) Ma- 2)  Wild  3) -chooled 4) for sale in your area 5) Better _____ and Gardens Here are three things I like so far this season: 1) The running game. I complained about Rex Burkhead last week, and I gotta say, the dude had the game of his life against Oakland  Vegas. Even Sony Michel had a great game. However, as my buddy Pittsburgh Joel put it, the Raiders "seriously suck at run defense." So I guess that's the other side of that coin. 2) The defense. Not great . They'll be tested this week, for sure. And definitely exploitable. But... halfway decent considering the amount of turnover this off season. 3) Cam Freakin' Newton. Watching Cam has be...

The New England Patriots play Derek Carr and the Oakland   Los Angeles Oakland Las Vegas Raiders at friendly Gillette Stadium on Sunday September 27th at 1:00 PM. One time I bagged work and went to the movies on a Tuesday afternoon. I was the only one in the whole theater. It was awesome. How much would it cost to do that for a football game? It wouldn't even have to be the whole stadium. Just sell me my own section. It looks like they have plenty of capacity at these games. There's no such thing as a good loss... But the loss to Seattle wasn't terrible . It came down to the final play for a road game I didn't think they had a chance to win. I'll take it. Kyle Dugger (35) looks like a stud on defense so far. I was afraid we'd have to retire "GOOD JOB, KYLE" with Kyle Van Noy leaving the team, but it looks like it lives on.  Way too much Rex Burkhead last week. "They come running just as fast as they can, 'cause every girl's crazy 'bo...

The New England Patriots play Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on Sunday September 20th at 8:20 PM. (* Apocalyptic weather permitting.) (** That start time is too late. I'm against it.) The greatest play in football history. Cam Power Rankings 1) Newton 2) dual overhead 3) Neely 4) -alot 5) -eo Three things I'll be watching for on Sunday: 1) Cam Newton - Cam Newton is a Big Dude. Week 1 of the Cam Newton Experience was pleasing. Radically different from the recent Patriots offense. Can he keep up this pace? I'd rather not see him take that many hits. I have concerns. You're 31, Cam! Go easy!  2) Running the ball - The first game flew by with all that rushing. Keep the clock moving. We're going to have a lot of 2 hour 45 minute games this year. More time for dog walkies! 3) JJ Taylor - JJ Taylor is fast! He averaged seven yards a carry last week! This is the kind of thing I would have liked a few preseason games to watch. More JJ! Did N...

The New England Patriots play Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Sunday September 13th at 1:00 PM. At least they're not playing in Miami in September. That always ends badly. There was no preseason this year. So I have even more questions than I normally would at this time of year. What will this season look like? Is there any chance there will actually be a 16 game season?  Are the Patriots going to be a running team? Do they have anyone that can catch? Will they sign a kicker by Sunday? Will there be crowds?  Will the teams know when to play defense without the crowd shouting "DE-FENSE"? (I've watched enough Tampa Bay Rays games over the years to not be weirded out by empty stadiums.) It'll be fun to find out. Harry Power Rankings: 1) Potter 2) Belafonte 3) S. Truman 4) Prince  5) Bailey 6) N'Keal  7) Caray Three things I'll be watching for on Sunday: 1) Cam Newton - I'm really, really hoping Cam has a bounce back year. An...