It's Wilson's Time

Eugene Wilson has been on the verge of being one of the best Safeties in the league over the last season and a half. Now it's his time to emerge from Rodney's shadow and show that he IS one of the best. Most of the Pats game planning is based around Rodney Harrison, now for the first time in his career Wilson will have the gamplan based on him. Eugene at the line of scrimmage, in cover 2, over the TE, and even blitzing. (He has 0 sacks in his career.) This is when we find out just how good Eugene Wilson can be.

An early return for BRUSCHI?
In today's Herald there is a story on Tedy Bruschi and how hard it has been for him to stand on the sidelines and watch. "Bruschi aches to play. That much is evident just by looking into his eyes. And while he's stated that he won't be returning until the 2006 season, don't be surprised if he at least pursues all avenues toward making a swifter return. Word is, in fact, Bruschi is back seeking doctors, aaparently hoping to gather enough information and datat to see if it might be in the realm of possibility to come back sooner than he had planned."

He's NOT on IR. He's on the PUP and can return after week 6.

"It's interesting then when asked yesterday about the possibilty of returning this season, Brushi offered a flat, 'No comment.' Bruschi's agent, Brad Blank, wouldn't comment."
_____________________________________________

In his first interview with the media since the injury, Rodney Harrison says, "I know I can come back from this."

Amos Zereoue (FROM?) will wear #31. Don't expect to see too much of him this weekend though.

Marquiis Hill walked trough the locker room yesterday without any obvious sign of injury and NO crutches. - A VERY good sign.

Tom Brady has played in 22 games decided by 6 points or less. He is 20-2.

(Amos Zeroue is from The University of West Virginia.)

Mid-Week Notes

The Patriots have made a bunch of roster moves over the last couple of days, here is the low-down as far as I can tell:

Released: Wesley Mallard LB & Andre Davis WR
(that means the 5th round pick they gave for Davis was a waste)

Injured Reserve: Rodney Harrison S
(He's out for the year, but there may be hope for Light who is not on IR)

Signed: Amos Zereoue RB & Mike Stone S
(Mruczkowski OL was re-signed to the practice squad)

The Zereoue signing was an indication that the injury o Faulk was pretty serious. Yesterday we learned that he will be out up to 8 weeks. Speaking of injuries, here is the Pats injury report for Sunday's game v. Chargers:


Kevin Faulk RB Out Foot

Matt Light T Out Leg

Tully Banta-Cain LB Questionable Knee

Randall Gay CB Questionable Ankle

Brandon Gorin T Questionable Thigh

Marquise Hill DE Questionable Ankle

James Sanders S Questionable Ankle

Duane Starks CB Questionable Thigh

Tyrone Poole CB Questionable Ankle

Chad Scott CB Questionable Shoulder

Tom Brady QB Probable Right Shoulder

Once again, the injuries to the secondary are a major concern, but maybe more so is the injury that no one talked about - Marquise Hill. It's hard to play the dominating 4-3 Defense without a sub on the D line. Hill provides quality depth at DL and his injury might force a 3-4 alignment this week unless the Pats want to play Mike Wright or Dan Klecko.

Here are some interesting numbers from Mike Reiss:
As if we weren't already convinced that Brady's the best

21 -- The number of receptions by Deion Branch through three games, second among all AFC receivers. Denver's Rod Smith is the AFC leader (22). Branch’s reception total is tied for fifth in the NFL.

31 -- Consecutive games played in which Deion Branch has recorded at least one reception.

78 -- The number of completions by Tom Brady through three games, leading the NFL. Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb ranks second with 77 completions.

948 -- The number of passing yards for Tom Brady through three games, ranking second in the NFL. McNabb leads all passers with 964 yards.

43 -- The number of passing first downs earned by Tom Brady through three games, ranking third in the NFL. St. Louis’ Marc Bulger and McNabb are tied for the lead with 45 first downs.

4 -- The number of rushing touchdowns by Corey Dillon through three games, ranking second in the AFC behind San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson (6 touchdowns). Dillon’s total is tied for third in the NFL with Chicago’s Thomas Jones and Carolina’s Stephen Davis, behind Tomlinson (6) and Seattle’s Shawn Alexander (5).

11.0 -- The average number of yards per punt return for Tim Dwight (9 returns, 99 yards), ranking second in the AFC. As a team, the Patriots averaged 5.8 yards per return in 2004.

1 -- The ranking of the Patriots’ pass offense among all AFC teams. New England has averaged 300.3 passing yards per game this season. The Patriots rank second in the NFL, trailing only the Philadelphia Eagles.

1 -- Tom Brady’s ranking among AFC passers in yards (948), completions (78) and passing attempts (123).

65 -- Consecutive games in which Tom Brady has started at quarterback.

57 -- Consecutive games in which Matt Light has started at left tackle, a streak in jeopardy after he suffered an injury in Sunday’s game.

34 -- Consecutive field goals made by Adam Vinatieri of 47 yards or fewer


If any of your friends are into Sport, tell'em you heard it here at the Pats Report!

That's More Like It!

The Patriots once again proved why they are the defending champs and the team to beat this year with their road victory in Pittsburgh. The Offense got the job done and the Defense was dominating. Pittsburgh was only 3-13 on 3rd down conversions, gained only 79 yards rushing, Rhoethlisberger was only 12 for 28 passing (there goes the perfect QB rating), had a grand total of 269 yards. And if you take away the 85 yard play, Pittsburgh gained less than 200!

This is how rediculous the QB rating system is. It is OBVIOUS to anyone who watched this week's game that Brady is by far the better QB. Not according to the QB rating system. Brady scored a 92.7 for Sunday and Roethlisberger a 93.7 - Meaningless statistic.

Tom Brady 12-12 in the fourth quarter on the road vs Blitzburgh, he's the best.

I'd like to have a moment of silence for the loss of Rodney Harrison. Rodney was a true leader, the epitome of what a football player should be and he will be missed. Word is that this injury will pretty much end his career. (torn ACL, MCL and PCL) His knee is worse than mine!

Matt Light MAY return late in the season, and the rookies did well filling in for him with the exception of the one play. However, Pitt did not have an entire week to gameplan to confuse the rookies with blitzes and schemes - San Diego does.

This weeks ESPN power rankings:

1 Colts (why?)
2 Patriots (why?)
3 Philly (they love mcnabb/owens)
4 Cincinnati (we'll see how long that lasts)
5 Pittsburgh (they deserve it!)

Maybe I WILL be able to post afterall!!!!!!!

Pre Game Stats, Notes, Picks

Here's this week's injury list:
PATS:Banta-Cain, Tully LB Questionable Knee Davis, Andre' WR Questionable Foot Gay, Randall CB Questionable Ankle Gorin, Brandon T Questionable Thigh Green, Jarvis DE Questionable Shoulder Johnson, Bethel WR Questionable Thigh Miller, Josh P Questionable Shoulder Neal, Steve G Questionable Back Poole, Tyrone CB Questionable Ankle Sanders, James S Questionable Ankle Scott, Chad CB Questionable Shoulder Starks, Duane CB Questionable Thigh Brady, Tom QB Probable

STEELERS:Bettis, Jerome RB Doubtful Calf McFadden, Bryant CB Questionable Calf Morey, Sean WR Questionable Hamstring Staley, Duce RB Questionable Knee Iwuoma, Chidi CB Probable Shoulder Roethlisberger, Ben QB Probable Back Townsend, Deshea CB Probable Foot

Corey Dillon has been asked if he's frustrated with the running game thusfar. His response was that he's too old to get frustrated and the media shouldn't look for him to erupt with anger over it any time soon.

The Pats had former Eagle CB Bobby Taylor in for a tryout this week but have not signed him.
On that note, it has been speculated that Troy Brown has been getting reps with the D this week because there are only 3 healthy CB's going into this week's game. Brown is just 6 catches shy of passing Ben Coates for 2nd all time on the Pats.

Congrats to Tom Brady who threw his 100th career TD in last weeks loss.

Pittsburgh leads the league in rushing attempts with 73, then Bengals & Bucs with 71 and 4th is the Chiefs at 70. the Pats are in the lower echelon in rush attempts with only 47.

The onus for this week will be on the D-Line to stop the run if the Pats are to have any chance at winning. I think that's a good thing because the D Line is the strength of this team.

ESPN's fan poll for who wins this week's game: Pitt 72% NE 28%
The ESPN 'experts' are just about 50/50 picking this weeks game.

The Pats will be trying to avoid their first back to back losses in 35 games.

The Steelers are favored by 3.5

I will NOT be playing Willie Parker on my fantasy team this week against the Pats.

I hope I'm wrong, but I see the Steelers winning this one 13-10.

The Perfect Roethlesberger?

The question was asked how Big Ben could have a perfect QB rating after completing 8 of 10 passing. Bear with me, here goes:

Take the completion % minus 30.
multiply by .05 to come up with 'A'

Take yds per attempt minus 3.
multiply by .25 to come up with 'B'

Take the touchdown %
multiply by .2 to come up with 'C'

Take 2.375 and subtract (interception % multiplied by .25)
to come up with 'D'

add A+B+C+D and divide by 6 then multiply by 100 and you'll find your answer.

It's that simple.

Mid-Week Notes

If anyone is still worried about the Pats and this week's game in particular, this blog is for you.

Over the last 2 seasons the Pats have lost 4 times. In the games immediately following a loss, they are 4-0. Brady had 10 TD's and only 1 interception in those games. As a team, here is what the Pats have done the week after the last four losses:
W 31-10 at Philadelphia
W 38-30 home vs Tennessee
W 40-22 at St Louis
W 23-7 at New York Jets

Pretty impressive, but if that's not enough evidence for you going into the Pittsburgh game here's one more thing: Ben Roethlesberger. The 'experts' are talking about how comfortable he looks in the pocket and that he's 15-0 as a starter in the regular season. He's 2-0 this year with a rediculous QB rating near perfect (152 or something like that). The REAL stats to look at are what he's had to do to win and that's hand the ball off. The Steelers have run 106 offensive plays in 2 games this season. They RAN 73 times and threw only 33 times. In the second half, Roethlesberger has thrown only 8 times in both games combined! Simply put, he hasn't been put in any type of situation to have to make a play to win. When the Pats put him in that situation in last years AFC championship game, he threw 3 picks. They must simply stop the Pittsburgh ground game to put the game in Big Ben's hands.


*Belichick uncharacteristically criticized the NFl during his press conference on Tuesday when
asked about his non-challenge at the goal line. Belichick said it would be nice if the league had
cameras on the goal line specifically for reviews of TD's. The replay is subject to whatever
camera angle the network has of the goal line, in most cases 1-2yards past of the goal line so when we all watched the replay, it was not at the same angle as the line judge, essentially making any review of the play difficult or inconclusive.

*ESPN's power rankings are out for week 3. Colts, Steelers, Eagles then Pats 4th. Carolina is
way down at #9. Go figure.

*Randall Gay was seen on crutches in the locker room on Tuesday. He was not putting ANY
weight on his ankle.

*After all the talk about the 3-4 or 4-3 defensive alignment, Belichick played several snaps in
what could be called a 3-3: 3 Dline, 3 LB's with Guss Scott in as the third safety with Rodney
Harrison up at the line of scrimmage. It will be very interesting to see how they attempt to
handle Pitt's running game.

* Onus on the O-Line. The Pats offensive line has been described as nervous, skittish and weak
by writers this week. It was pointed out that in addition to the false start penalties, they have
gotten absolutely NO push at the line of scrimmage. As a matter of fact, on most run plays
they have been pushed back 2-3 yards. No wonder Dillon looks like Antwan Smith. The O-Line
play will have to improve if the Pats are to win this week. Perhaps the Pats can come out in 4
or 5 reciever sets, spread out the D, pass the ball up and down the field and then sneak in a run
here or there. It worked 2 years ago against Pitt in the season opener.

The beginning of the end?

Come on now, the sky is NOT falling. This is NOT the beginning of the end of the Pats Dynasty. They had a stinker. It happens. YES it is frustrating as all hell to watch. Don't feel bad for the Pats, feel bad for their next opponenet, the Steelers. They will feel the wrath of the Patriots embarrasing loss.

Here is how one paper described Sunday's game:
"They were flagged six times for false starts. They committed three turnovers. They got gashed on special teams and were humiliated in the running game. Tom Brady wasn't good. The coaching staff was surprisingly hesitant with its replay challenges and tentative with its play-calling."

That pretty much sums it up, though I don't think the Defense has any blame to bear. Delhomme was under 50% passing, the Panthers averaged under 3 yards per carry and their only receiver had no scores. Brady was awful and Dillon looked like Antwan Smith. Even Branch, who didn't drop a ball all season last year, had 2 drops. Graham and Watson failed to get open where Conwell did a week ago, and whenthey did, Brady made inaccurate throws.

Some frightning stats for the season so far:

* The Patriots’ kickoff coverage ranks 22nd in the NFL, allowing opponents an average drive start of the 29 yard line (actual average 28.9).
* The Patriots rank last in the NFL in average yards per rushing attempt –- 2.38 yards per carry. The team is 29th in rushing yards per game –- 56 per outing.
* The Patriots rank 25th in the NFL in third-down efficiency on offense –- 10 for 30.

Carolina here we come...

The Carolina Panthers were picked by SI to win the superbowl this year. If they plan on living up to that standard, this becomes a must win. It would be nearly impossible to get to and win the superbowl after an 0-2 start. Both losses would also be home losses. As the Pats know, it IS possible to start 0-2 and win it all. I'm sure that Carolina will come out flying, clawing and scratching, cheating, holding, whatever it takes to avoid an 0-2 start. These teams already have a chip on their shoulder with the other. They are 2 of the more physical teams in the league, so Sunday's game should be the equivilent of two school yard bullies fighting to be king of the playground.

Expert picks, as you know, don't really mean much but it might make you feel more comfortable about the game to hear them. All of the ESPN analysts that have picked so far have picked the Pats. In their fan poll, 77% of voters pick the Pats. Many of the local media however, (Tom Curran and Pete Sheppard for example) have this one chalked up as a Patriots loss.


Strategy-wise, most feel that Belichick will look to shut down the Carolina running game and force Delhomme to pass. He really only has one weapon (Steve Smith) in the passing game and he has been known to throw some interceptions. It will be interesting to see if Belichick goes back (or sticks with) the 4-3 defense. (Traditional wisdom is that it is easier to stop the run in a 4-3.) However, Belichick may not have a choice and may be forced to use the 3-4 exclusively due to injury. Jarvis Green and Seymour money are both on the injured list as questionable. Green has had a non-contact, red jersey on during practices, but Seymour has been seen practicing. If one or both cannot play then Belichick might have to go with the 3-4.

One of my 'players to watch' will be on the field this week for Carolina, WR Keary Colbert.

The Patriots are favored by 2.5 points. They are 28-8-2 over the last two seasons against the spread. Don't bet against the Pats.

I pick the Pats to win this one by the same score as they did last week, 30-20.

Oh, and don't forget to start Watson and/or Graham for your fantasy team this week.

Mid-week Notes..

Thank Pioli for the depth he has accumulated at Cornerback. Evidently, Poole and Scott have not practiced yet this week with undisclosed injuries. That leaves Gay and Samuel to start and we may finally get to see Starks for the first time this week.


Watch for the Patriots to exploit these two Carolina weaknesses from week 1. First, rookie safety Thomas Davis who tried to cover TE Ernie Conwell. Conwell had 6 catches for 71yds. Conwell is not nearly the threat that Watson/Graham provide. Second, the Saints LT made the first start of his career last week. Watch for blitzes to come from Delhomme's blind side.


Rodney Bailey has signed with the Seattle Seahawks.

Troy Brown was seen on the Marshall sideline during their Saturday game.

Vince Wilfork's interception has been officially changed to a fumble recovery.

14 Patriots that started SB38 are expected to play Sunday
13 Panthers that started SB 38 are expected to play Sunday

Panthers DT Kris Jenkins tore his ACL in the opener and will miss his second straight season.

ESPN's week 2 power rankings came out and the Patriots remain #1 with the Colts #2.

Belichick, Dillon/Brady, Ty Poole?

As is usual with Belichick, he didn't give away anything during his 'day after the game' press conference. He did admit that they had been up all night looking at the film. He had praise for the Raiders saying that they are a good football team. He said that he's happy to have a win, thought the Pats did a good job with field position and was happy that they capitalized on Wilfork's interception.

His criticism came in regard to the special teams when he said that their are many high school teams that can snap and kick a ball without having it blocked.

Belichick also stayed true to form when talking about the next opponent, the Carolina Panthers. He said they were probably the best team in the NFC if not all of football in the second half of the season last year despite injuries. (they went 7-1) I'm sure the Panthers will be out to avenge their superbowl loss.

Much has been made about the Brady yelling at Dillon episode on the sidelines. There is no story here except that Brady is the best leader in football. Dillon was getting frustrated at the lack of running room so Brady essentially told him to suck it up and put it behind him because the team is going to need him. Brady and Dillon have each come out and said they get along fine and this is a non-issue.

Get ready for the most rediculous story line of the season this week: Ty Poole and Steve Smith in 'spitgate.' Steve Smith has bee telling anyone that will listen that Poole spit at him during the superbowl TWO YEARS AGO!!! I'm sure there will be a plethora of stories about it this week.

One down, 18 to go.

It's one win down and 18 to go on the Patiots quest for a perfect 19-0 season. No one in the organization will tell you that their goal is to go undefeated, but I will. 3 out of 4 superbowls in an era where the league tries as hard as it can to have 32 teams go 8-8 and still not considered the best team of all time. You've got to think that Belichick, Brady, Harrison and co have their sights on the ultimate goal, an undefeated season. To cap off a 4th superbowl in 5 years by going undefeated would solidify them as immortals in football history. They'll have trophy's named after them, they'll get to the hall of fame, they'll be able to tell their grandkids that they were the best that ever was. And they'll be no more nay-sayers. Just my opinion, but what else is there for them to accomplish, how else would they find motivation if not in a perfect season?

Not that they were perfect on Thursday night, but in true Patriot fashion they did enough to win. By the middle of the third quarter the nation new who was the better team, the Pats dominated. Here's the stats:

Brady was 24 of 38 for 306yds and 2 TD's

Dillon had 23 carries for only 63 yards.
Keep in mind that Oakland defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was an
assistant with the Pats as recently as 2 years ago. True to the
Belichick tradition, Ryan 'took away' one of the Pats weapons. They
overplayed the run with the thought that they were going to make
Brady beat them through the air.

Branch had 7 catches for 99yds and a TD
Troy Brown quietly had a nice game with 6 catches for 51yds.

On Defense, the game really turned around once the Pats switched from the 3-4 to the 4-3. Many wonder, with the obvious strength of this team being the D Line, why Belichick insists on using a 3-4 scheme. The play of the game had to be Wilfork's interception. Not only was it a great play, but the Pats also scored on the ensuing posession and that was the end of the Raiders. If I'd have told you that the team leader in interceptions after week one was going to be Wilfork, you'd have stopped reading this blog.

The Raiders were a feeble 4-13 on third down conversions. The Pats weren't much better, only converting on 6 of 16 3rd downs. That will have to improve at Carolina next week.

Some random game notes:

The win was Belichicks 100th as a head coach dating back to the Browns.

Warren Sapp on Tom Brady, "We've got to prerssure him and get him on the ground and try to get the ball. He's special. I'll give him that. He's special."

Brady's 300 yd performance marks only the 9th time in his career that he's gone over 300yds.

The Patriots are now 25-3 (.893) all-time at Gillette Stadium.

Vince Wilfork talks about his interception: “We had to get the quarterback off of his spot. Once I saw Jarvis make a few moves inside, the ball popped out as he tried to throw it and it was right over one of his offensive linemen’s should pads. So I had to reach over his shoulder pads and get it. My eyes got big. So big. I think that play gave our defense a boost. It especially gave me a boost.”

PK Sam has been signed to the practice squad.

Tomorrow I'll post some thoughts from Belichick's Monday press conference.

Life Beckons...

Sorry to disappoint blog readers, but I've had 'one of those days' and there will be no game preview today. I'm sure I'll have a lot to BLOG about after the game so please stay tuned.

NOTES

Tomorrow is finally gameday, I will post you a thorough preview then. For now here are some things I've seen or heard in the last 24 hours.

DONTATE?
I never want to mix my beliefs into this BLOG, however I think I can tie this together nicely. If you are like me, you'd like to give support to victims of hurricane Katrina. But I have a hard time donating to some of these charity corporations whose CEO's make the big bucks. For example, The Red Cross paid their top person $651,957 in 2004. The Patriots have started their own Katrina relief fund which can be found at
http://special.patriots.com/Offers/index.cfm?UUID=HurricaneKatrinaReliefFundDonations92
One hundred percent of the proceeds will go directly to non-profit organizations directly supporting hurricane relief efforts. Yeah, so some of it may end up in the hands of a CEO, but I'd rather give it through the Patriots and think that 100% went to help people.

INJURY REPORT
The injury report came out for tomorrow night's game vs. the Raiders. Surprise surprise, Tom Brady is on the injury list for the 17th straight regular season game due to the 'right shoulder' problem. He is listed as probable to go tomorrow night. I don't understand what Belichick is trying to accomplish by listing Brady as probable for every game. It's not like he's missed practice or game action. As a matte of fact Brady has said this is the best he's felt going into a season since his rookie year.

Sports Illustrated Picks the Super Bowl Winner
Peter King of SI has his NFL season picks in this weeks issue. Low and behold, he agrees with this humble blogger that the Patriots will defeat the Vikings in super bowl XL. The issue also gives the concensus picks of all of the SI writers. As a whole, they have Carolina over Indy to win it all. Idiots.
The fact that Indy has an EASY schedule leads most pundits to believe they'll have the best record in the AFC and finally host the Pats for the right to go to SB XL. SI thinks the Pats can't beat Indy at Indy and justifies their pick that way.

Who's call is it anyway?
Typically the Patriots have their middle line backer call the plays in the huddle and then call out all the adjustments at the line of scrimmage. Watch closely tomorrow and you'll see weak side linbacker Monty Beisel calling the plays in the huddle and Chad Brown making the adjustment calls. It's a way to ease them both into the system by sharing the responsibilities.

No Corner
We still have no idea who will be the starting cornerbacks for the season opener. Gay and Samuel were tops in the beginning of camp. Poole and Gay started the garbage game vs the Giants. Scott and Samuel started the only game this preseason that the Pats 'tried' to win, vs Green Bay. Starks hasn't seen much action and is 'questionable' for the opener. Consensus seems to be that Poole has been the best corner so far, so he'll probably start. Samuel is a very good cover guy against 'slot' recievers which would lead you to believe he won't start, but be the nickel. However, Gay had a yellow scout team jersey tucked in his locker which leads you to believe he was on the scout team rather than with the starters. Maybe it's all a ploy to prevent the Raiders from gameplanning Moss to go against a particular corner.

Mankins In
Logan Mankins will get the start at Left Gaurd in his first NFL game.

Harrison is in mid-season form
Rodney Harrison was asked about playing against Randy Moss. True to Patriot fashion, he lavished Moss with praise. Then true to Rodney, he said, "Nobody thinks we can do it (cover Moss)" That usually seems to be all the motivation he needs.

Offensive Players Ready for a Breakout Season.

Today we will look at some players that I believe or have read somewhere, will have a good offensive season for their perspective teams. I'm going to try to stay away from the obvious choices and try to stick with the sleepers. We'll go position by position and in no particular order.

Wide Receiver:

Laverneus Coles- He had his best season with the Jets and Chad Pennington. I see no
reason why their chemistry won't be back this year. Also, the Jets have a new,
verticle passing attack that should bode well for Coles. The only issue here is
Pennington's health.

Michael Jenkins- With the release of Peerless Price, he will be the #1 guy in Atlanta. As a
rookie last season he started slowly but finished strong. I find it hard to beleive that
Atlanta would have released Price if they weren't comfortable with Jenkins. He
was the go to guy for a very good Ohio St team two years ago and proved that he
can handle it. He's big, (6'6") so he'll be a red zone target.

Keary Colbert- He is also in his second year and coming out of college he was unheralded due
to the fact that he played #2 WR at USC behind Mike Williams. Colbert will play a
HUGE part in Carolina's offense with the departure of Muhammed to Chicago. This
kid can play and Carolina may not miss Muhammed because of him.

Tight End:

Dallas Clark- Marcus Pollard moved on to Detriot so he'll be th only legit threat at TE for
Peyton Manning and the Colts.

Chris Baker- WHO? Chris Baker. Not that I think the Jets are going to be good, but he's the
guy who has won the starting job at TE. The Jets offensive coordinator is Mike
Heimerdinger from the Titans. Ever heard of Frank Wycheck? Heimerdinger loves
to use his tight ends and Baker will benefit from it. How's THAT for a sleeper?

Jermaine Wiggins- Wiggins emerged as a real threat during the second half of the season last
year. Culpepper has faith in his abilities and isn't afraid to throw him the ball. I'm
pretty sure that there will be more balls to catch in Minnesota now that Moss is gone.

Running Back:

There is not a lot to choose from here. Everyone is aware of the Running backs in this league,
so there really shouldn't be any surprises. I'll try to pick a couple any way.

Chester Taylor- MAY have played himself into the lineup in front of Jamal Lewis this
preseason. If Lewis is any trouble, Taylor will get the nod and be a star.

Willie Parker- He is a true sleeper. With Staley and Bettis hurt this preseason, Parker beat
out the other backups with an astounding 10.2 yds per carry. He will start at least
the first two games of the regular season, so he'll have a chance to remain the starter.

LaMont Jordan- I think he's a pretty obvious pick, but regardless I always liked him with the
Jets and felt that, at times, he outplayed Curtis Martin. With the deep passing game
that Moss brings to Oakland, safeties can't cheat up so Jordan will see a lot of 6 and
7 man fronts and therefore lots of daylight.

Quarterback:

Michael Vick- Not that this is a sleeper by any means and it's not that I think that this is his break out year. I feel the need to mention him because this will be his make or break
season. Philadelphia showed the league how to defend Vick in the playoffs last
year. Every team has the game tape. Philly simply held the pocket and never tried
to sack Vick. There were NO running lanes for him to escape, making him a pocket
passer. That's what he's going to face ALL season long. If he doesn't prove that he
IS a pocket passer, it will be a very long, losing season for the Falcons. I don't believe
that he can do it, but for the good of the game I hope he will.

Curt Warner- Let's see, when the Rams were the greatest show on turf and the best team in
the league the QB was Warner. They had a trio of fast, gifted recievers. That had an
elusive back that could catch the ball out of the backfield. They had a verticle passing
game. Seems to me likeArizona has all that in place this year. With all those pieces
around him again, I'm predicting Pro Bowl.

Jake Delhomme- The running backs are healthy, Steve Smith is healthy and the emergence
of Keary Colbert should make for a career year for Delhomme.

Some rookies that I like:

JJ Arrington - 2nd round pick by the Cardinals out of Cal. He's the elusive, shifty back that can
catch the ball out of the backfield from Warner. He hasn't yet emerged as the full time back,
but keep an eye on him.

Ronnie Brown - His hold out and the fact that Miami is aweful won't help him, but he will be the
starter as soon as he learns the offense. I felt like he was by far the best back in the draft. If
not this season, in the near future he'll be one of the top 2-3 backs in the league.

Reggie Brown - The Eagles are very happy with thier speedster from Georgia. Let's face it,
they are extremely thin at WR and sooner than later Owens will be out with his groin again.
By the end of the season Brown might be McNabb's #1 receiver.

Braylon Edwards - OK I admit it, this pick may be skewed a little because I'm such a huge
Michigan fan. Trent Dilfer won a superbowl, he can still throw and he has no one else to
throw to in Cleveland. While Edwards may drop an occassional ball, he makes the bigtime,
game breaking catch.



Tell your fantasy league you heard it here!

Something Screwy

I don't like the fact that I know nothing about computers. I reviewed the settings for this blog and now, as you can see, it looks different. Is it better or worse?

My friend from www.thebruinsreport.blogspot.com is going to give me some tech help, so maybe you'll see some improvements. Any suggestions?

Pats make final cuts, sign 7 to practice squad.

The Patriots trimmed their roster down to 53 on Saturday. Here are the guys they cut, straight from patriots.com:

Linebacker Eric Alexander, defensive lineman Rodney Bailey, running back Kory Chapman, wideout Bam Childress, fullback Kyle Eckel, tight end Joel Jacobs, guard Victor Leyva, guard Gene Mruczkowski, tackle Jeff Roehl, wideout P.K. Sam, linebacker Grant Steen, defensive lineman Tom Sverchek, wideout David Terrell, linebacker Andre Torrey, safety Raymond Ventrone, tight end Jed Weaver and guard Billy Yates.

In my opinion, the only surprise here is Rodney Bailey. They gave up a draft pick when they signed him from Pittsburgh before last season and this off-season gave him a two year deal. I watched all of the preseason games and to me he was the best of the 'backups' on the D-line. But I don't get to watch game film and I'm not at the practices. I thought if ANY of the D-line would go it would have been Marquis Hill. He looked terrible with the exception of 2 plays. Congrats though to long shot rookie Mike Wright from Cincinnati. He did look pretty good at nose tackle, but no one gave him a legit chance to make it. (He's the #69 pictured above.)

Now, the rules of practice squad eligibility are a bit cloudy to me so I'll let you read them for yourself:
"...players are eligible for the practice squad when they do not have an accrued season of free agency credit or were on the 45-player active list for less than nine regular season games during their only accrued season(s). A player cannot participate on the practice squad for more than two seasons."

The Pats signed 7 guys to their practice squad, 6 from camp and one from the Redskins. Evidently, ANY team can sign ANY other team's practice squad players at ANY time in the season. The catch is that if another team claims a player he must be on the active game roster for the next 3 games. So the practice squad guys are essentially free agents. The six players retained by the Pats are Eric Alexander LB, Corey Chapman RB, Bam Childress WR, Ryan Krug G, Billy Yates G and Ray Ventrone S. It's interesting that PK Sam was left off in favor of Childress. The seventh player added is a LB released by the Redskins, Jared Newberry, a graduate of Stanford. He is 6'1" 234. He was 2nd on his team in tackles last season with 67. He is an acedemic all american and graduated a 3.39 GPA in Sociology. His best advice to youngsters? " Anything worthwhile is worth working hard for!" Looks to be a Belichick guy if I've ever seen one.

Teams are allowed to have 8 players on their practice squad so look for the Pats to add, most likely from another team.

I'm trying to keep tabs on Tedy Bruschi's status. It is curious to me that he is not on injured reserve, rather he is on the physically unable to perform list. That makes him eligible for a return this season in week 6. If it was a given that he was not playing THIS season, why not put him on IR? In a recent interview with Bob Kraft, Kraft slipped when asked about the health of Bruschi, saying that we'll see in the second half of the season. Inquiring minds want to know. Maybe Chris Collins was on to something this summer.

I've been reminded that I promised a 'sleepers' list from around the NFL after my fantasy draft. The draft is over and I'm working on the list, but these things take time and the NFL network, (which I highly rcommend).

Bruschi Eyes Return in '06

In an interview in the Boston Globe today, Bruschi says, "I'm definitely playing next year."

The article records the first interview the Bruschi's have granted since his stroke and I highly recommend reading it.

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2005/09/02/bruschi_plans_to_play_next_year/


Not much to say about last nights game except to re-iterate that I'm glad I'm not responsible for cuts.

Peerless Price was in town on Wednesday.

Look for a Raiders preview soon.

Well, I'M Baffled....

The Patriots today have taken Bethel Johnson off the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list. Now there are 4 WR competing for 1 or possibly 2 roster spots. Not only have they moved Bethel, but they also have contacted the agent for recently released Pearless Price. I'm just glad it's not my job to make the cuts.

The Colts have signed former Patriot safety Dexter Reid. The 'Cap Strapped' Colts are also about to agree to terms with Corey Simon, the PRO BOWL Defensive Lineman that was released by the Eagles because he was franchised and they couldn't come up with enough money to pay him. So much for Manning's contract being prohibitive.