Thursday Morning Third Down Back

The Patriots play their fourteenth game of the year at Gillette Stadium against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday December 14th at 1:00 PM. This is it, guys.  The last stretch of games before the playoffs. Also... No more late night games.  Which is good for older fans like me.  Waking up on a Monday morning after a late game is awful .  Oh, how I love you, 1 PM games! Nice Big Boy win on the road last week.  Game balls to Julian Edelman and Jamie Collins.  That dude was everywhere last week. Agent Cooper says good win last week Here are five guys I'm excited to watch this week: 1) Tom Brady - Does anyone ever remember seeing Brady move around in the pocket as much as he has this year?  I'm not saying he's Randall Cunningham or anything like that.  But he's definitely gotten better at moving his feet.  That's not usually a skill you add at 37. 2 - 4) LeGarrette Blount / Jonas Gray / Shane Vereen - My sources tell me the Dolphins...

The Patriots play their thirteenth game of the year at Qualcomm Stadium against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday December 7th at 8:30 PM. Late Game, everyone.  Try to take a nap on Sunday afternoon if you can.  Unless you live on the West Coast.  I assume you people already sleep 12 hours a day. Gronk Richshaw I'm not saying I feel good about it...  There's no such thing as a good loss.  But that loss to Green Bay was at least acceptable .  Non-conference game.  Tough opponent.  On the road. If you told me the defense would hold the Packers to 26 points at home, I'd haven taken that and been happy with it. BUT... It took the offense way too long to get in gear.  Still not sure why we couldn't (or wouldn't) run the ball against Green Bay. Powers Rankings: 1) Austin 2) Boothe 3) Mighty Morphin 4) Super 5) Stefanie Here are five guys I'm hoping can play on Sunday: 1) Dont'a Hightower - Definitely not a bust. ...

The Patriots play their eleventh game of the year at Gillette Stadium against the Detroit Lions on Sunday November 23 at 1:00 PM. Thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Western New York. Mostly because they have to watch the Bills every week.  But also because of the weather. Game ball to Jonas Gray.  Obviously. Thursday plans Pie Power Rankings: 1) Apple Pie 2) Pecan Pie 3) Blueberry Pie 4) Crack Pie 5) Chocolate Cream Pie Honorable mention to the Tollhouse Cookie Pie thing they have at Gregg's in Providence.  I don't know if it's technically pie, but it sure is tasty. Here are five guys I'm looking forward to watching on Sunday: 1) Jonas Gray - I'm guessing we won't see quite as much Jonas Gray this week.  But wow... What a game. 2) Jamie Collins - Collins was all over the place last week. 3) Rob Gronkowski - Is he fun to watch or what?  I'm calling it now.  He's not just the best Patriots Tight End ever... ...

The Patriots play their tenth game of the year at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday November 16 at 8:30 PM. Welcome back!  Everybody rested and ready after the bye week?  All those little nagging injuries healing up?  Great!  Let's jump right into it. I thought they had a chance to beat the Broncos last game... But I never thought it would be a 22 point thrashing.  That was great to watch. Game Ball to Julian Edelman.  He's fast. Darrelle Power Rankings: 1) Revis That was a hell of a catch. Here's five guys on defense I'll be watching this week: 1) Dominique Easley - Easley was in and out of practice all week.  With Chandler Jones still on the shelf, now would be a good time for Easley to step up.  I'm guessing "lingering knee issues" aren't fun when you're 290 pounds... 2) Vince Wilfork - ...and coming back from a torn achilles at 325 ( 350?  360? ) must be even harder.  I'll admit... I was...

The Patriots play their ninth game of the year at Gillette Stadium against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, November 2 at 4:25 PM. Biggest game of the year?  Biggest game of the year. The Patriots have a chance this week.  I really think it comes down to how well the New England secondary plays. The Bears looked lost last week.  Are they really that bad?  Whoa. Lots of Game Balls to go around last week.  Oh... Let's say... LaFell, Gronk and Brady.  (Sure.  Why not?) Halloween Candy Power Rankings: 1) Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups 2) Kit Kat 3) Snickers 4) M&Ms (also... peanut > plain) 5) Twix ... 11,997) Candy Corn 11,998) Charleston Chew Here are five match-ups I'll be watching this week: 1) Peyton Manning vs. The Scoreboard Operator -  The scoreboard operator in Denver was making the crowd get all rowdy while Denver had the ball last week (gasp!) and Peyton was kinda a dick about it. 2) Peyton Manning vs. The...

The Patriots play their eighth game of the year at Gillette Stadium against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, October 26 at 1:00 PM. Well... That game was closer than it should have been.  But at least we didn't lose to the Jets last week.  Those loses really sting. Facts of Life Power Rankings: 5) Natalie 4) Blair 3) Tootie 2) Jo 1) Mrs. Garrett Here are five guys on defense I'll be watching this week: 1) Darrelle Revis - Hopefully he can make it to the game on time. 2) Akeem Ayers / Alan Branch /  Casey Walker / whoever else you want to pull in off the street - We're going to get run on.  It's not going to be pretty.  I've come to accept this. 3) Patrick Chung - Hasn't been a complete disaster this year.  Possibly even an upgrade over Steve Gregory. 4) Kyle Arrington - Somehow still on the team!  $4M a year seems like a lot for a guy who's probably your 4th or 5th corner.  But hey... It's not my money. 5) Vince Wilfork - T...

The Patriots play their seventh game of the year at Gillette Stadium against the New York Jets on Thursday, October 16 at 8:25 PM. Short week for Patriots this week.  Which means I've got to crank out a column on virtually no rest.  Exhausting. Costly win at Buffalo last week.   Jerod Mayo and Stevan Ridley are both out for the rest of the year. Brady is now 23 - 2 against the Bills for his career.  That is HOLY CRAP amazing. Patriots finally hit on the seemingly elusive DEEP BALL on Sunday.  43 yards to Tyms. Then Brady actually connected on the high five!  Double bonus! Here's five things I'll be watching for this week: 1) Brandon LaFell - Somebody other than Edelman showing up for the receiving corps!  And he has some size!  I like it. 2) Shane Vereen - Vereen will need to pick it up a bit with Ridley out. 3) Dont'a Hightower - It looked like his knee bent the wrong way two weeks back.  That probably hurt.  We need ...