Thursday Morning Third Down Back

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...

The defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots play Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on Saturday December 21st at 4:30 PM. It puts the lotion in the basket. The Bills are... (checks notes) ... actually pretty good this year? (I apologize for using that tired joke format... If it makes you feel any better, I've written the rest of this column with my head hanging in shame...) The Patriots offense is... not good. I'm not going to sugar coat it. The line is bad. The running game is bad. And... the quarterback hasn't played well in a while now. No more making excuses for TB12. Goose Power Rankings: 1) Talk to me _____ 2) Mother 3) Golden 4) Gossage 5) Canadian Here's three things I liked about last week: 1) JC Jackson - Hasn't gotten nearly enough credit for a really good season. 2) Stephon Gilmore - Has probably gotten the proper amount of credit for a really good season. 3) N’Keal Harry - N'Keal migh...