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.

Cut Down Day part dieux

In compliance with the league's mandatory roster rules, the patriots cut 7 more players today to trim to 65 plus 6 european league excemptions. No real big surprises today, mostly no name guy and others you'd expect to see anyway. The list from the Patriots website is as follows:

Anderson, Jason WR
Gould, Robbie K
Krug, Ryan G
Morton, Chad RB
Pili, Ifo DL
Poteat, Hank CB
Thomas, Santonio DL

Anderson played well in the preseason and may very well end up elsewhere this season. Morton never got on the field and Poteat was just behind too many talented CB's. If they clear waivers they can be added to the 8 man practice squad.

As you heard here last week, most sources are saying the toughest competition will be for the final WR spot. The consensus NOW is Branch, Givens, Brown and Dwight are safe. Bethel Johnson is on the PUP and doesn't take up a roster spot. That leaves Andre Davis, PK Sam and David Terrell all vying for possibly ONE spot. Maybe they'll keep six, so only one of them would be cut. I THINK that Davis is a lock because Belichick wouldn't have thrown away a fifth round pick just to cut the guy. Not only will it be interesting to see who they cut, but also where they end up.

Tell your cousin PhiL you heard it here!

Patriots all Class

In a surprising move, the Patriots cut 3 players today, 24 hours prior to the deadline to trim to 73 players. The players, Rohan Davey QB, Cedric Cobbs RB, and Dexter Reid S, were cut early to try to find a chance to play somewhere else. They could have easily found suitors to trade Davey especially, but didn't want to dictate to him where he'd have to play. Belichick stated that he'd like Davey to go somewhere that is a fit for him, and that Davey will be a player in this league.

Cobbs and Reid were second year players both drafted in the 4th round last year. Reid was just outplayed by the other Safeties and Cobbs just couldn't get on the field to be evaluated.

The remaining cuts will be announced by 4pm tomorrow, but don't expect more 'name' players until the roster gets trimmed to 64.

For the first time since training camp began, Tedy Bruschi made an appearance at Gillette Stadium today. He worked in the weight room before visiting the locker room to say hello to his friends on the team and in the media.

That's More Like It

The New England Patriots showed that they are just about ready to defend their title with a resounding victory at Lambeau Field. This was the most Patriot-like performance we've seen thusfar this pre-season and it was long overdue.

So much for not being able to stop the run. Green ran 11 times for 23 yards and lost a fumble to McGinest when Wilfork slashed into the backfield and Chad Brown knocked the ball lose. As a team GB ran 29 times for only 96yds for a 3.2 average. I'll take that any day of the week against any team in the league. Conversely, the Pats and especially Dillon looked strong running the ball. Dillon carried 14 times for 70yds, 5 yards per carry and a touchdown. As a team the Pats carried 34 times for 155, a 4.6 average.

So much for 3rd down conversions being a problem. The Patriots were 8 for 17 while holding GB t0 6 for 16. More importantly, the first team offense scored on 5 of its 7 posessions and GB needed a fluke play on a punt to get anywhere near the end zone.

So much for being bad on special teams. Other than the fluke play on the punt that hit Ty Poole in the back, special teams were very good. They were able to make plays on returns and stuff GB. They averaged nearly 30 yds per kick return while holding GB to under 20. Another good play that won't show in the stat sheet was the play by Tim Dwight on a punt. While waiting for the punt to come down on his own 10 yd line, he waved for a fair catch and moved forward a couple of steps. The defenders bought the decoy and went towards him. The ball landed slightly behind and to the right of him and bounced into the end zone. GB never had a chance to down the ball because they got duped.

OK so there were a few penalties, but as the anouncers suggested, that happens in pre-season on special teams because guys realize that they are on the chopping block and they are trying to make something happen.

Ben Watson was the leading receiver with 6 catches for 49 yards. It looked like they really wanted to work him into the offense. Did you see him come in motion and wreck defensive lineman on running plays? He is a devastating blocker and I think they used him well without showing him off too much. Sooner or later his catches will be downfield and not just in the flat. I just think they don't want to give too much away.

Now we are merely days from the opening kick-off. Don't expect to see many starters on Thursday night. Do expect to see a lot of passing, Belichick has to find some way to sort out these wide receivers. The only way to do that is to air it out to these guys and see who will make plays.

Tell your friends you heard it here!

The Brady Bunch

I'm just looking at the wide receiver position and I'm baffled by the trade for Andre Davis. Yes, I loved watching him play at Virginia Tech with Mike Vick and I thought he was pretty damn good. Yes, the Pats had two 5th round picks and giving one up is not a huge deal. Where and when is he going to play and how does that affect who gets cut?

Branch is probably the only guy who definitely has a job. It would surprise me if they cut Brown, but if they decide to go younger and taller and they do cut him, I wouldn't be shocked. It's been hard to judge the likes of Terrell and PK Sam who have both only returned to practice this week. (Funny how they couldn't practice until another WR was added.) Bethel Johnson is still yet to see the practice field. Could they cut him and give up on the fastest guy on the team, a former 2nd round pick? How about this Anderson guy who has looked like the best receiver they have through 2 pre-season games, a long shot but you NEVER know. That brings me to David Givens and I'm just going to float this out there for you. He is one year away from unrestricted free agency and has a one year, $1.4 million contract. IF the Pats have had a hard time getting a long term deal done and IF he wants to test the free agent market, then I can see him getting traded so the Pats can at least get 'value' in return for his loss. The WR lineup would still include Branch, Terrell, Brown, Davis, Johnson, Sam, Dwight, Anderson. Bethel Johnson is currently on the PUP list and they might just keep him there until week 6 and then decide to cut, activate or place him on IR. Dwight has a 'cuttable' contract that won't hurt them cap-wise.

Next Tuesday is the first round of cuts and teams have to get to 65 players plus the NFL Europe players.

Running Scared?

As much as I enjoyed San Diego and the content of the seminar itself, it's good to be back home. I've tried to read as much as I could about the Pats that was written while I was gone. There seems to be this recurring theme that the Pats can't stop the run.

They have given up 150 yds/game for a 4.4 average so far this pre-season. Last season they gave up only 98 yds/game for a 3.8 average. When Belichick was confronted with with the problem stopping the run he got VERY defensive and told reporters not to look too much into the numbers. Still, for a superbowl team that has lost their coordinators, their starting MLB's and has a starting QB that has looked anything but sharp, they'll absolutely have to stop the run if they want any chance at repeating.

So why haven't they stopped the run so far? Rudy Johnson and Duece McAllister are not slouches. The new middle line backers are still picking up the system. The entire starting defensive line hasn't played together very much. Belichick is not game planning to stop the offense, rather he's just running defensive coverages. My conclusion is that they may give up more rushing yards than last year, but it won't be as bad as some people are making it out to be.

My true concern is their 3rd down play, or lack thereof. They are LAST in the league this pre-season in 3rd down conversions allowed. They've given up something like 70% of third down conversions, which is terrible. On the offensive side of the ball they're in the bottom five at converting 3rd downs. Watch for a marked improvement in this area during tonight's game at Lambeau Field, I'm sure it's been high on Belichick's list all week.

I hope to post one or two more times today as time permits.

Marquis Hill. From? (just warming up)

It's your turn....

OK, so I was just landing in San Diego when the Pats kicked off the 2nd half. Then, due to a delay with baggage and traffic, I got to see the final 5 minutes of the game. Now it is your turn to tell everyone and me, because I want to know what happen in the game, what you thought about it.