Giants Game, Notes

It is difficult to assume that both the Patriots and Giants will play their starters for the entire game Saturday night.

If I'm Giants coach Tom Coughlin, I sit my major players. The Giants are playing a wild card game at Tampa Bay next weekend regardless of what happens this week. With guys like Jacobs and Buress banged up and Shockey already lost for the season, I would rest them. Use this week as the bye week in preparation for the more important playoff game. Playing a QB like Manning without his weapons may only ruin his confidence going into the playoffs. However, Coughlin is making it appear as if he's going to play his starters and try to win.

If I'm Belichick, I play Brady and Co long enough to secure the 16-0 regardless of records. I don't doubt though, that Belichick would love to see Brady break Manning's TD record.

That being said, it might not be a bad idea to at least get Brady out of the game early. He's the one player the Pats cannot win without. The Giants just happen to lead the league in sacks with 52 and they possess the 8th best Defense against the pass. Getting Brady out of the game healthy is MORE important than going 16-0. Could you imagine if Brady wins the game, breaks the TD record and gets hurt in the 4th quarter? Two weeks to prepare Matt Cassell and the running game for a playoff game....yikes. Let's get Brady safely to the bench Bill!

I think Brady and the starters play through the 3rd quarter (unless they've got a huge halftime lead) and break the scoring record (4 points to break), the TD pass record (2 to break) and the TD catch record (2 to break). I don't think the Giants starters will play more than the 1st quarter if at all, but Coughlin can't come out and say that he's going to roll over and let the Pats win.

Patriots 42
Giants 10


Must-See TV

In an unprecidented move, the NFL agreed to simulcasts of this weeks Pats game. For those of us in the Pats local market without NFL network, we can see the game on WCVB channel 5. In addition, the NFL announced that the game will also be simulaneously broadcast on CBS and NBC. Why? Because the Patriots have been the biggest draw in all of television this season. The top 5 shows in 2007 according to Nielson ratings were Patriots, Patriots, Patriots, Patriots and CSI season premiere took the 5th spot. In addition, the Pats Ravens game on ESPN was the most watched cable show in the history of cable TV.


San Fran's Pick

It's pretty much a given that San Francisco and therefore the Patriots will have the 8th overall pick in the 2008 draft. SF has 5 wins and is playing a depserate Browns team fighting for its playoff life. The 3 teams with 4 losses are in the same boat: Oakland plays SD, Baltimore plays Pitt. Pitt and SD are vying for the 3rd seed in the playoffs. KC is playing at the Jets, with both teams having nothing to play for and Larry Johnson shut down for the year. It's safe to assume that we'll have the 8th pick.

Which brings us to James Laurinaitis, Inside Linebacker from Ohio State. NFL Draft Countdown has him slated to go to the Pats with the 8th overall pick. He's a smart player with great intangables. He's 6'3" 244lbs and runs a 4.6 in the 40. As a sophomore he won the Nagusrski award as the nations best defensive player. He's finishing his Junior year and it is assumed that he's turning pro. In 25 starts for OSU he's got 218 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss, 9 sacks and 7 Int's. For those of you that follow Pro Wrestling, his dad is Joe Laurinaitis, aka "the Animal" from the legion of doom. Personally, I like the OSU students that wear T-shirts that read, "I've got a case of Laurinaitis". If you're curious, you can watch OSU v LSU in the national championship game on Monday Jan 7th at 8pm. My two cents is that it just makes too much sense to bring him to New England, I'd love to see him here!


Parcells Follow Up

It looks like Sott Pioli may not be on the Tuna's radar for player personnel director or GM or whatever title you want to give him. Parcells will most likely go after Jeff Ireland of the Cowboys. Ireland's contract is up at the end of the season and he and Parcells worked side by side to build the current Cowboys roster. Now if we could only get him to hire Joshy....



Here's to 16-0 and a Great 2008 for all of us!

My Return

Long time no post. I was out of the country last week for the Philly game, so I didn't get a good look at that one, but I did read up on it. Fortunately, (or unfortunately) I was back to witness the same thing this week against the lowly Ravens.


So what's up with this Pats team over the last two games anyway?

First, it's been a tough stretch since the bye week. A Sunday nighter in Buffalo, a physical battle against Philly again on Sunday night, then a Monday night war with Baltimore. Belichick admitted that his team is tired.

Second, two 'average at best' QB's played over their heads against the Pats.

Third, Two very physical teams with complicated blitz packages and very good secondary's gave their best games.

Fourth, my friend Joshy. In the last two games, the Pats have passed 92 times and run it only 30 times. Good balance Joshy. Worst of all, on most of those throws, there was never even the threat of a run (no RB or no play action). Haven't YOU been able to tell when they're going to run and when they're going to pass? Yet the Monday night guys are raving about how he's going to be a head coach someday because he's so good.

Fifth, poor play by the Pat's secondary. Bad angles on run plays, bad coverage, poor ball skills.


Ravens game

Were the Pats fortunate to escape with a win? Absolutely.
Were they given the game by the refs? Absolutely NOT.

So how can both the Pats AND the Ravens be upset about the officiating?
The simple fact is that the manhandling of the Pats by the Ravens was accomplished in part because the Ravens were breaking the rules. They were holding the Pats defenders and mugging Pat's receivers all game. That's why the Pats were so pissed off. The Ravens were steamed because the refs finally started throwing the flags. They had gotten away with it all game, why are they throwing flags at the end of the game?
It's the old adage that the refs can't call holding on EVERY play, so they let teams (in this case the Ravens) get away with it until the game is on the line. The shoe used to be on the other foot, remember the Pats manhandling Peyton's WR's in '03 and '04?

The Ravens game was the type of game we've grown accustomed to watching the Pats win. The fact of the matter is (AND YOU SHOULD APPRECIATE EVERY MINUTE THAT YOU WATCH HIM PLAY!) that Tom Brady is the best player in the history of football. Did he once show signs of panic or nervousness or confusion? No. He was poised, smart, and accurate no matter what was happening during the game. Kyle Boller threw a bad pick in the fourth, Brady drove the team for a win. Belichick made adjustments, Billick was busy blowing kisses to Rodney while his assistants were calling bad timeouts. It always adds up to a Pats win. As much as it looked like the Pats were going to lose from the very beginning of this game, you couldn't help but know that the Pats would find a way to win. It just that this time, it took a little luck too.


Colvin's Impact

Losing Colvin for the season is really going to hurt the Pats and it was painfully obvious on Monday. With Adalius outside replacing Colvin, Bruschi and Seau were the middle linebackers and that's where the Pats got gashed for huge yards. What's the difference? When a team runs the ball, the O lineman try to get to the linebackers by breaking through the D line. The D line, especially in the 3-4 and somewhat in the 4-3 are just supposed to get in the way of the Oline and let the LB's make the tackle. The LB's job is to take on that Olineman that breaks through and not let him break through, rather they must meet him at the line of scrimmage, thereby plugging the hole, giving the RB no place to run. Bruschi and Seau were unable to do that for most of Monday night's game. Instead the Raven's linemen were meeting them one to two yards deep, giving McGahee space to run through the hole and then make a cut behind the lineman's block of Seau or Bruschi. If you've got the game Tivo'd or DVR'd or taped, go back and watch Baltimore run, you'll see what I mean.

I don't know what the Pats are going to do to fix it. They tried the 4-3 early in the game and got torched by the run, then mixed the 3-4 in and still got torched. It wasn't until they called run blitzes with Rodney and or Sanders in th fourth quarter that they made stops and caused 3 and outs. The problem this week is that Rothlesberger and his WR's are too good to call run blitzes against. It will be interesting to see what the Pats do to fix their leaky D. Maybe the answer is to put Adalius back inside anyway, shifting either Brushi or Seau outside. Maybe the answer is in the 4-3, I don't know. Hopefully Belichick knows.


TOM'S TOP TEN TEAMS

1 Dallas
2 Indy
3 Pats
4 Pitt
5 GB
6 TB
7 SD
8 Jax
9 Seattle
10 Browns

You can't tell me the Pats would have beat Indy or Dallas last weekend. You can't tell me that the Pats would beat Indy or Dallas this weekend. I'm not even sure they're going to beat Pittsburgh. Are you?


San Fran's Pick

I'm not sure how the tie breaker's would work, but if the draft were this weekend, the Pats would be picking 3rd, 4th or 5th. With games against Minn, Cincy, TB and Cleveland, San Fran's probably not going to win again this season. More than' likely only Miami and or St Louis will be picking ahead of the Pats come April.

TOP TEN; Odds and Ends

TOM'S TOP TEN TEAMS

1 Patriots
2 Steelers
3 Cowboys
4 Packers
5 Colts
6 Chargers
7 Jaguars
8 Giants
9 Lions
10 Titans

Yes, it's true. The Steelers are the #2 team and will probably be the #2 seed in the AFC. They are the toughest test remaining on the Pats schedule. Pittsburgh's Defense is #1 overall, #1 against the Pass, #1 against the Run, #1 in points allowed. The offense is #5 overall, #1 running and #5 in points scored. We all know that Defense and the ability to run the ball wins championships. Don't forget that Roethlesberger is having a career year. The rest of the way the Steelers opponents have a combined record of 24 wins and 39 losses. Take away the 9-0 Patriots and Pitts opponents the rest of the way are 15-39. I can see them finishing at 13-3.

The Colts on the other hand, are in survival mode. The loss of Freeney for possibly the entire season is a huge blow to this team. Injuries have decimated them, but that's their own fault. If you want to pay your 4 best players nearly half of your salary cap space and you want to have a small, quick defense then people are going to get hurt and you're not going to have the depth to win. Deal with it. What did the Pats have, something like 41 different starters when they won the superbowl in 2004? Did anyone notice Manning was trying too hard to win on Sunday night's loss. Last year was Manning's worst statistically, because he managed games, threw the ball away, made dump offs. Now he's playing like he has to win the game himself and he's forcing the ball where it shouldn't be thrown. That formula has never won for him and it's only going to get worse while his supporting cast is hurt. The remaining opponents have a record of 29-34. I can also see them losing at least one more game and finishing at BEST 13-3. The tie braker currently belongs to Pittsburgh, who has the better AFC record. That puts the Colts in the playoffs as a 3rd seed. A scenario of their playoffs goes something like this: host a physical Jacksonville team in the wild card game, travel to Pittsburgh who's just had a bye week playing in the cold on grass against another very physical team and the best defense and if they win that one come to New England. Doesn't look good for Manning and Co. does it?



PAT'S MOVES

Watch for Chad Jackson to start to get some playing time at WR. They have also activated Eddie Jackson, CB and special teams whiz. This will severely limit Kelley Washington's time. But why would they use 2 roster spots for Jackson ( a WR who can't play special teams and Jackson ( a CB who only plays special teams) when you've got Washington who does both? The asnwer is easy, the Pats need to determine how good Jackson might be next season so they can make up their minds on Donte Stallworth's mammoth contract.
The clock is also ticking on Troy Brown, who must be activated or placed on IR or released by Nov 21st.


SAN FRAN'S PICK:

If the draft were tomorrow, the Pats would hold SF's pick, the #4 overall pick in the draft. WOW. More than likely the Pats would trade out of that high spot for something lower and another first rounder next season, but let me run with this for a minute. Some available players include Glenn Dorsey of LSU - a next defensive line stud and future replacement for Seymour Money; Kenny Phillips of Miami - a playmaking hard hitting safety who has been compared to Ed Reed and Sean Taylor (drafting the Safety allows Merriweather to play corner when Samuel leaves next year); Darren McFadden from Arkansas - if you don't know who McFadden is I feel sorry for you, let's just say he's Adrian Peterson all over again.

Watch for Friday's preview of the Bills game. Until then here's a stat for you to boast about:
The Pats have scored 46 TD's this year.
The Bills have scored 14 TD's this year.
The Bills are second in the division in TD's.

Cleveland Game, Top Ten

It's hard to decide if the Patriots performance on Sunday was good or bad. Was it good because they didn't play very well and were stil able to win by 17? (Take away the turnovers and the Browns would have been very close.) Was it bad because Cleveland is not a good team and the Pats got away with one. I'll give the Browns credit for coming in and playing with heart and also for having a good gameplan. It was tough watching Brady struggle just because Moss was double teamed on literally every play. You'd have to assume that's what teams will do, double Moss until Brady shows he's comfortable beating them with other receivers.

Obviously Brady did enough to win even if it was ugly. Morris was very good running the ball and Watson and Stallworth showed that they can win ball games despite Moss' production or lack thereof. Is it too early bring in a new punter?

On cleveland's side, I'd have to say I like Anderson's moxie Joe Thomas is a stud and Bralon Edwards is a star waiting to happen. However, I was thoroughly unimpressed by Winslow.


TOM'S TOP TEN TEAMS

1. Patriots
They'll have a chance to prove themselves at Dallas next week.

2. Colts
They could play me at RB and still win, their O-Line is that good.

3. Steelers
Total domination of one of the better NFC teams.

4. Cowboys
I've been trying to tell you that Romo's not as good as the hype. He
is good though.

5. Packers
Winning and LOSING on the arm of Favre.

6. Jaguars
A dominating D and a ball control O. Garrard has thrown ZERO int's.

7. Titans
A dominating D and a winner at QB.

8. Redskins
Have you heard this before? Dominating D, ball control O.

9. Seahawks
Will the real Seahawks please stand?

10. Bucaneers
I can't kick them out of the top 10 for losing at Indy.



San Fran's pick watch:
If the season ended today, the 49ers first round pick would be as high as #10. The Pats might be able to draft a replacement for Asante with a pick that high. Might.

Cincy ReCap, Notes, Top Ten

I don't know what other superlatives I can bestow on the Patriots. They are simply awesome. They are superior. They are smarter, more disciplined, more talented, better coached. They are head and shoulders above anyone else in the NFL. Not that Cincy was a good team, but the Pats just cruised to victory. Once again, it didn't feel like the Pats were playing that great, but there was just a sense that the game was never in doubt. And in the end the result was the same, a Pats blow out. Great performances by Brady, Moss, Morris, the O line and the entire defense. The D held Cincy's high octane offense to an unheard of 0 for 7 on 3rd down conversions. Wow. It was also nice to see Stallworth get some production. I don't think any more can be said.


Brady is on pace for 4,472 yds, 52 TD's and 8 int's.
Moss is on pace for 2,020 yds, 28 TD's

The Pats have the league's #1 Defense.
The Pats have the leagues #2 Offense.


Can you call it Karma?
The NFL has punished the Pats by taking away their first round pick in next years draft, a pick that will probably the last pick in the round anyway. The Patriots still have possession of San Francisco's first round pick. A pick that may have just become a top ten pick with the injury to starting QB Alex Smith. Reports out of SF are saying that MRI results on Smith's shoulder are worst than expected. Smith is seeking a second opinion. As it stands this moment, Smith is expected to miss at least the next 2 games and depending on the second opinion, maybe the entire season. While we don't wish any harm to Alex Smith, it would be pretty exciting to have a high first rounder.


TOM'S TOP TEN TEAMS

1 - Pats
Great D, Great O, solid special teams, superior coaching and superior talent.

2 - Colts
Watch for a Colts loss in the next 2 weeks, they are really banged up right now.

3 - Packers
Still doing it with D, but maybe they are relying too much on the Passing game.

4 - Cowboys
Beaten 4 teams with a combined 3 wins. Trap game this week for them in Buffalo.

5 - Steelers
I told you they'd lose when they played a team that can stop the run.

6 - Seattle
Looking strong on O, but even better on D.

7 - Tampa Bay
Another win, another great performance by the D. Too bad they lost Cadillac.

8 - Tennessee
Tenneseean is Tennebelieving. Watch Vince Young if you get the chance.

9 - Detroit
I don't know if I ever remember Detroit being 3-1.

10 - Carolina
Because I had to put someone 10th.


I'll be back again on Friday with your preview of Sunday's game against the surprising Browns. Until then, tell your friends you read it here!