Thursday Morning Third Down Back

The Patriots play their eleventh game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday November 27th at 4:15 PM. Sorry about the delay.  We were off having another kid.  So far the Patriots are 2 and 0 since Kid #2 got here.  He actually slept on my tummy while we watched the Pats - Jets game in the hospital.  THAT'S GREAT NAPPING. Jazz hands! Have you seen the schedule the rest of the year?  Oh man, that's soft.  Lots of lousy teams and backup quarterbacks.  We're going to win 12 or 13 games.  And, of course, none of it matters if we go one and out again in the playoffs.  *deep breath - composes self*  Moving on... He's five guys I'll watching closely this week: 1) Tom Brady - Brady has been getting off to sloooow starts the last few weeks.  He's looked great in the second half, but lousy at the beginning of these games.  I hope he's not hurt. 2) Rob Gronkowski - GRONK HANG ON TO...

The Patriots play their eighth (is that really how you spell "8th"?  Something doesn't look right...) game of the season against the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium on Sunday November 6th at 4:15 PM. Rough week last week, Guys.  After the game I put on my Belichick pajamas, crawled into bed and cried myself to sleep. I felt a little better when I woke up Monday morning.  We're still 5 and 2.  All is not lost. This doesn't look like a Super Bowl defense, but nobody else out there really scares me right now.  Nobody is running away with the AFC at this point.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that things are still wide open.  It's only November. I know, Bill.  I couldn't watch, either. Did Chad Ochocinco have a catch last week? NO.  There's been a number of disappointments on this team this year.  Here's five guys I'm hoping to see do something on the field this week: 1) Chad Ochocinco - My expectations were low whe...

The Patriots play their seventh game of the season against the Steelers at Heinz Field on Sunday October 30th at 4:15 PM. Impressive win over the Cowboys two weeks ago.  I didn't think they had a chance of pulling that one out. I also listed 5 guys (mmm... Five Guys ... ) who had a chance of picking off Romo in that game.  And the correct answer was... Kyle Arrington.  Nailed it. NEW FEATURE -- Did Chad Ochocinco have a catch last week? NO.   Chad Ochocinco with one of his many, many catches this season. Here's five things I'll be watching for this week: 1) Tom Brady - Brady has traditionally shredded the Pittsburgh defense.  They don't mix things up much.  If you do the same thing over and over again, #12 will kill you. 2) Rob Gronkowski - Even on the bye week, Gronk totally scored .  I've got him on my fantasy football team.  I should get points for that, no? 3) New England Pass Defense - Let's be optimists here and list them as...

The Patriots play their sixth game of the season against the Cowboys at Gillette Stadium on Sunday October 16th at 4:15 PM. First - I would be remiss without mentioning BenJarvus Green-Ellis.  He had a hell of a game last week. What's going on in this picture?  Why is Brady 11 feet tall? Second - Was the defense better last week?  Or were the Jets just lousy?  Either way, I'll take it.  Holding the Jets to 3 for 11 on third down?  Niiiice. Third - These 4:15 games are killing me.  My kid usually naps from 12:30 to 3:00-ish on the weekends.  If it's a 1:00 o'clock game, I can get 2/3rds of that game in without also having to tend to parenting duties.  By 4:15, he's up and wants to watch "Scooby Doo" and "Phineas and Ferb".  "Sorry Buddy... Daddy gets to watch his show right now." Here's five guys I think could pick off Tony Romo this week: 1) Devin McCourty - He's leading the team in tackles.  He looked somewhat bett...

The Patriots play their fifth game of the season against the Jets at Gillette Stadium on Sunday October 9th at 4:15 PM. I don't know how to put this, but...  the defense... is not good.  After all this talk about improved quarterback pressure, revamped defensive lines and 3 - 4 vs. 4 - 3, we still can't get off the field when we have to.  This doesn't have the look of a team that looks like it's built to go deep into the playoffs right now.  I keep reminding myself that it's early.  There's still time.  The only bright spot the last few weeks was the emergence of Stevan Ridley .  Hot damn, he's fast.  I can't ever remember the Pats having a burner like that in the backfield. Moving on to this week - I'm not as worried about the Jets as I was at the beginning of the year.  Sanchez seems to have taken a step back.  (Now watch him throw for 425 yards this week.  Ugh.) Cover up that ball. Let's take a look at the leaders of ...

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 ...