Thursday Morning Third Down Back

By Patty O'Tool The Patriots play their eleventh regular season game on the road against the New Orleans Saints on Monday November 30th at 8:30 PM.  Tom Brady - Can he get the delay of game penalties on the road under control?  That's been a glaring negative this season.  But still... Write him down for "Comeback Player of the Year".  Randy Moss - Last week was a Welker week.  They'll probably get the ball to Randy a bit more this week.  (On a personal note, I've lived in the same town as Randy for two years now.  And I still haven't bumped into him at Target yet.  What the hell?  I'm starting to suspect he doesn't spend much time here in the offseason...) Pat's O-line - The regulars are pretty banged up.  Brady is going to need some time.  The game might come down to how many starters we can get out there (and I'm counting Vollmer as a starter at this point... I'd much rather see him out there than Light.) Pat's Secondary...

Down Punt Team - Nice blocking there guys. Mark Sanchez - Ha ha!  (/Nelson) Up Wes Welker - Put him on the 2006 Patriots and we win that Super Bowl, too (Damn you, Reche Caldwell!) Vince Wilfork - He just owns the middle of the field.  It's really tough to find guys like that. Tully Banta-Cain - Sure he's "just a guy", but Belichick knows how to use him properly. Leigh Bodden - The secondary is a lot better this year. Mark LeVoir - He absolutely leveled a guy on a screen block.  Holy crap.  Any time you've got a lineman on a DB, bet on the lineman. Overall Record: 7 - 3. Uniform Record: Pat Patriot 3 - 1. Flying Elvis 4 - 2.

By Patty O'Tool The Patriots play their tenth regular season game at home against the New York Jets on Sunday November 22nd at 4:15 PM.  It gets dark at like 4:30 here now, so this will feel like a night game. I'm back.  I've been on the road the last two weeks.  Did I miss anything good? Here's what I'll be watching for this week: Jerod Mayo - He's awesome.  I like him. Randy Moss - Best receiver ever?  Best receiver ever. Sebastian Vollmer- He's been really, really good.  Matt Light should be nervous. Mark Sanchez - How does he like the hot dogs at Gillette?  How do they compare to Oakland's dogs? Rex Ryan - I'll be yelling "Boo effin' hoo" at the TV every time they cut to him (On a personal note, he looks just like my uncle Mark after a 3 day bender.  It's kinda scary.) I'll be honest, I'm a little concerned about the Jets this week... They're hungry... They're desper-  Nah, I'm just kiddin...

By Patty O'Tool Downs Again... No downs last week.  Unless you want to count me.  Because the bye-week sucks. Ups Brandon Meriweather - He's looking like a stud, isn't he?  They brought him along slowly.  He was a first round pick in '07.  And now it's all paying off.  Good stuff. Wes Welker - Consistently awesome.  We totally stole him from Miami. Tully Banta-Cain - Is he a role player?  Sure.  But the Patriots seem to know how to use him much better than San Francisco did. Myron Pryor - Did anyone else see #91 flying around out there?  He was all over the place. Overall Record: 5 - 2. Uniform Record: Pat Patriot 3 - 1. Flying Elvis 2 - 1.

By Patty O'Tool The Patriots play their seventh regular season game on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday October 25th at 1:00 PM. I think the game is in England or something. I can't really find any information to confirm . I will celebrate this tidbit by watching the game with a Guinness. (and at some point I'll get around to making my own fish and chips. But that just seems like a ton of work and is likely to make the house smell for a whole week. (Wanna sound British next time you're at a party? Just put "innit?" at the end of every sentence. Works every time.)) Tom Brady - My god, he looked good last week. Can he keep that up? No, of course not. But I'd expect to see at least 3 TDs this week. Adalius Thomas - Mr. Thomas, last week was your wakeup call. Want to be a Patriot next year? Start showing us something. The Field - The turf at Wembley Stadium should get a work out this week. Soccer players usually weigh 120 pounds...

By Patty O'Tool Downs Ummm... Nobody, really. Who is going to complain after a 59 - 0 ass whupin'? OK, fine then... Adalius Thomas. Ups Tom Brady - Brady to Moss was workin'. That flea flicker was downright orgasmic. Offensive Line - Brady looked pretty clean all day. Plenty of time back there. Plus Sebastian Vollmer looked good. Matt Light might be done after this year. Defense - Maybe younger and faster is a good thing. Kerry Collins looked JaMarcus Russell-esque out there going 2 of 14 for -7 yards. Ouch. Overall Record: 4 - 2. Uniform Record: Pat Patriot 2 - 1. Flying Elvis 2 - 1.

By Patty O'Tool The Patriots play their sixth regular season game at home against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday October 18th at 4:15 PM. 1) Tom Brady - I sense a little redemption coming this week. Plus he looks much more comfortable at home lately. 2) Junior Seau - We'll probably actually see him on the field this week. I set the over/under at 15 snaps, with a 2 late hit penalty teaser. 3) Randy Moss - He's due for a big week. I'll mark him down for 2 TDs. Did you see his INT at the end of the first half last week? The Moss is made of awesomeness. 4) Third WR - Oh, won't someone please emerge as the third option after Moss and Welker? Is Donte' Stallworth free? No? He isn't? Oh well. 5) Sammy Morris - He's as good a third WR as we've got right now. He should be on the field quite a bit on Sunday. My prediction: Pats 38, Titans 10.