Skip to content

Posts from the ‘NFL 2006’ Category

May 28

2 Comments

Multi Points

Marquise Hill: 1982-2007 It’s a somber Memorial Day across the NFL and Patriot-nation. Marquise Hill, a third-year defensive end from LSU, drowned Sunday night on Lake Pontchartrain after a jet ski accident. Hill was a second-round pick of the Patriots in the 2004 draft, and was a rookie on the team that won its third Super Bowl in four years. He only played in a handful of games throughout his brief NFL career, but that was more of a testament to the depth and quality of New England’s defensive line. I don’t have any specific memories of him on or off the field but I know one thing: Marquise Hill was a Patriot for a reason. He was a Patriot because he was a hard worker and a good teammate. He was a Patriot because he had a winner’s mentality and a desire to become better. Marquise Hill was a man in a locker room where each man was valued as a necessary part of a greater entity. So even if we, as fans, were not aware of his impact, we need not look any further than the uniform he donned. Marquise Hill lived as a Patriot, and will be remembered as a Patriot.

(Note: Subsequent to publishing this on Monday I have done some reading about Hill and discovered he did a great deal of work helping his brethren in New Orleans rebuild their homes and city post-Katrina. This comes as no surprise but reinforces what a truly good man he was. He didn’t need camera crews and Patriots’ representatives documenting his deeds; he just did them because he was a caring and admirable individual. Marquise Hill will be missed by many.)

Now to segway into some playoff basketball…

Cavs-Pistons It’s evident that the Cavs could very well be up 3-0 on the Pistons. After Lebron’s questionable pass in Game 1 and mauling by Rip Hamilton in Game 2 resulted in consecutive 79-76 losses, King James needed to man up in Game 3. He rose to the occasion after proclaiming Game 3 the biggest of his life, scoring 32 points to go along with nine rebounds and nine assists. He also hit the two biggest shots of the game in crunch time. Most importantly, he finally had the look of a guy determined to find a way to win. My question is what took so long? Both games in Detroit were there for the taking. They were games hanging in the balance, waiting for the best player on the floor to take over and exert his will. Lebron was that player, except he didn’t show it.

Of course the Pistons are a championship team who know how to grind down opponents and finish games. But in nail biting postseason games the best player on the court should be able to dominate the last couple of minutes by himself. That’s how Dwyane Wade won a championship last spring; that’s how Michael Jordan won six titles in six tries in the mid-nineties. Maybe Lebron isn’t ready yet, maybe he’s too enamored with becoming a “global icon” and not the next great champion. Maybe he has to learn how to compose himself at the free throw line in the final minutes of huge games. Maybe he secretly knows the supporting cast around him is only sufficient enough to win ten or eleven playoff games, and not sixteen. Or maybe the stage is still too grand for him.

No matter what, the fact is that he is the best player in this series and has had the ball in his hands with chances to win each of the three games, with one victory to show for it. Detroit may well win the next two games in convincing fashion, and there will only be so much we can put on Lebron’s shoulders because the Pistons are the handily better team. But if the next two games play out like the first two did, we’ll definitely have learned more about Lebron than we would have if the Cavs drop Game 4 and Game 5 by double digits.

Spurs-Jazz The Jazz are playing with house money. The bad news is the money is only good in their house. The good news is Game 4 is in Salt Lake City. The Jazz are a perfect 7-0 at the Delta Center (actually it’s Energy Solutions Arena, but it was the Delta Center in the old days of Stockton/Malone and has been resuscitated this spring) this postseason. The Spurs have never won a playoff game in Utah in nine tries. And the fans there know it. They also know they are one of the rare crowds that can pick its team up and carry them by their jersey-collars. In the Stockton/Malone/Delta Center heyday the building rocked so loudly that it was difficult to be in the Salt Lake valley without hearing the buzz of the stadium. That familiar roar is back and driving the young-Jazz. A win tonight would guarantee one more game in the house that the pick and roll built. It would also send a clear message to the veteran-Spurs that while it’s not the Mailman delivering them playoff losses anymore, there is a kid named Deron Williams who will be postmarking big games for years to come.

Jan 26

4 Comments

Pats post-mortem points

It’s hard to imagine that, for the most part, Patriots and Red Sox fans are one and the same. Case and point: Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS. The Red Sox had surged ahead of the Yankees, 8-1 (their historic comeback clearly just a formality) in the fourth inning, yet not a soul throughout the Nation dared utter the words, World Series. However, on Sunday night in Indianapolis, with the Patriots holding a 21-3 lead and driving in the second quarter, New England fans near and far had collective visions of South Beach dancing in their heads.I was one of them. Talked to and text messaged my friends about more impending glory. Even declared out loud that the day the Patriots blew an 18-point lead in a playoff game would be the day I declared the end of the dynasty. And I sort of am. But not really. Just wait.

See that’s the difference between Patriots and Red Sox fans: two polar opposite psychological dynamics operating within the same fan-framework. In other words, we’re real screwed up, so cut us some slack.

Back to the original point. Ask any Sox fan if they’ll ever have to hinge great chunks of their personal and professional lives on a Red Sox playoff run. Ask them if life will ever be as good as it was during those eight nights of baseball in October, 2004. Answers will always be some variation of: Nope, Sox got the one, did it unprecedented, now my father/grandfather/son/pet can die having lived a fruitful existence. I’m saved.

While we obviously want to see the Sox succeed (and not get five-game swept by the Yankees), that familiar chill and snicker when recalling the ’04 playoffs will never cease to be. It is there in that Sox-psyche, forever embedded.

But it’s different with the Patriots. Much different. We saw this team rise from the ashes of NFL futility. A team that for over two decades didn’t even merit discussion on the Boston sports scene. The Patriots played home games 26 miles from the hub, could rarely be seen on TV, and had appeared in one thrashing of a Super Bowl in their history. With the Celtics and Bruins hanging banners in the 70s and 80s, and with the Red Sox losing in Shakespearean fashion, the Patriots were blander than white toast.

But after its acquisition by a savvy businessman with a passion and a plan, the New England franchise grew so fast and so decisively that suddenly it could only be compared with the all-time greats.

Which brings us to Sunday night. The Patriots, driving for a fourth-first half touchdown, saw their drive halted on an offensive pass interference call against Troy Brown. A possible 28-3 lead and assured 24-3 advantage was nixed by one play. But that didn’t really matter. If a lead in a playoff game against a great opponent has ever been airtight, it’s a Patriots lead. And we know that from past experience (17-3 in the 2001 AFC Championship at Pittsburgh; 17-3 in Super Bowl XXXVI against St. Louis; 21-3 in the 2004 AFC Championship at Pittsburgh).

In all those games the opponent made a strong push, but our defense never gave up a lead and Tom Brady did what was necessary to win. We had no reason to believe the Patriots would allow a new ending to be written. But hindsight’s 20-20.

And hindsight tells me the Patriots had to play three quarters of tough, playoff football against the Jets before traveling 3,000 miles to beat a team that was nine times better than they were on paper. (Well nine Pro Bowlers at least.) It was the proverbial “game they had no business winning but always win.”

The team then got hit by the flu-bug somewhere in between San Diego and Boston, and it accompanied them to Indy. It put Artrell Hawkins, the backup safety to the injured Rodney Harrison, out of the game. It rendered the steely Troy Brown eerily human (he ran a curl when he was supposed to run an out on the third down play that would’ve essentially sealed the game). Coupled with Rosevelt Colvin’s absence in the second half, along with Eric Alexander and Rashad Baker’s presence in crunch time, the Pats D was, for the first time, vulnerable. Not to mention uncharacteristically ragged and fatigued.

Yet we all feel that with another thirty seconds or so, Brady would have found a way to get the boys into the end zone, and onto Miami, because that’s what he does in January. But not this time. It took a perfect storm to drown the Patriots Sunday night. That is why I am not sticking to my comment from in the moment, that the dynasty is dead, because it isn’t. Unfortunately, this phase of it is. Guys like Tedy Bruschi, Corey Dillon, and Troy Brown all deserve to retire. Especially Bruschi.

I have a feeling we haven’t seen the end of some (maybe all) of that trio, but we certainly have seen their dominant days pass, and that is sad. That said, Brady is staring his prime square in the face. He has an offensive line that is young and cohesive, and most importantly, protects him. He has a budding running back that will emerge as one of the league’s best over the next few years. He has a young wide receiver with all the tools to become his next principal beneficiary, if he can only adopt the Patriot-ethic.

Defensively, the only area without question marks is up front, which is a good thing. With Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour, Ty Warren and Jarvis Green manning the trenches for the next three years, the Patriots will be remain a run-tough defense. They must find a way to get younger and faster at the linebacker position, a notion we’ve never had to embrace in the Bruschi-era. And if they can find a way to keep Asante Samuel opposite Ellis Hobbs, good luck to opposing quarterbacks. If not, there’s still the x-factor, the reason why the Patriots have gone through 500 defensive backs in the last four years and have four AFC East crowns and two rings to show for it.

Bill Belichick. True, after this January good ole Bill may not be recognized as the classiest coach in the league, but he’s still the undisputed best. In Bill we still trust. So too does the Kraft family.

And as I alluded to before, Robert Kraft is not only a class-A businessman, he’s also a passionate Patriots fan who…HATES…LOSING!!!

He gave the Jets a first round pick just to snag Belichick, so don’t be fooled into thinking he’s going to let him get away (translation: the Giants may get Asante, but as for the guru, dream on). And don’t underestimate the mutual dependence Belichick and Brady have on each other. They each saved the other’s career. So with Brady’s best years on the horizon, watch as the Krafts hammer out a new deal for Belichick, and ride what they’ve been patiently waiting to declare as the second wave of the Brady/Belichick Patriots-dynasty.

I said after the second Super Bowl that when history was truly ready to look at the Patriots, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick would each have five rings. With that tandem at the helm you’re going to be hard pressed to find a Patriots fan who doesn’t believe that they’ll win another two. And thus we have revealed the one inherent similarity, rooted somewhere within our vast sports-psyches, between Red Sox fans and Patriots fans. We, more than any other fan base, embody our athletes.

Manny, Pedro, and the Sox got their title, are content with life, and can ride off into the sunset as perpetual champs. Brady, on the other hand, has made it no secret that his most coveted ring is the next one.

On both accounts, we concur.

Jan 19

2 Comments

AFC/NFC Championship Points

On HBO’s championship edition of “Inside the NFL”, before Bob Costas had his panel (of Chris Collinsworth, Cris Carter, and Dan Marino) pick this weekend’s games, he presented a graphic. That graphic was a summation of Marino’s picks in playoff games involving the Patriots over the last five years. Of the 13 games New England has played, Dan picked against them seven times, including all three AFC Championships and two Super Bowls.

The kicker?

Marino is one of the few personalities in football who has actually had the Patriots’ back throughout their glorious run. The caveat being that his premier gig is alongside traditional Pats-haters, Boomer Esiason and Shannon Sharpe, on CBS football’s flagship show, “The NFL Today”. Since football analysts would prefer to be “not wrong” than “right on”, Marino’s HBO picks have essentially been cover picks. Which is to say his faith has never totally been with the Patriots, but hey, the guy’s gotta keep his day job, ya know?

LACES OUT DAN!!!!!!! (Just thought that quote would emphasize the brevity of Marino’s film career.)

In my opinion Marino is the most steadfast Patriots supporter among his TV colleagues, as well as throughout the national print media. So for the purposes of this column we’ll disregard Dan the businessman, because his CBS picks have clearly been more consistently from the heart.

Why is it that Marino’s heart frequently tells him the Patriots will prevail? A few reasons. First, he knows through painful firsthand experience that teams win championships. He was an outstanding quarterback on some very good Dolphins teams under Don Shula, but his corps were never the likes of Joe Montana’s 49ers (the Dolphins lost to San Francisco in Super Bowl XIX, 38-16) or even Jim Kelly’s Bills (Marino lost twice to Buffalo in the playoffs, 1990 and ’95). He’s also a product of the AFC East, which has been the NFL’s most hard-nosed, trench-football, defense-heavy division over the last two decades and change.

Historically, the warm weather Dolphins fade in December and January, when the Northeast becomes a bitterly cold and snowy mess. Marino himself would be the first to tell you that the elements had quite a bit to say about more than a few Dolphins seasons. So he understands the kind of toughness the Patriots embody.

The other principle reason Marino’s heart is usually with New England is Peyton Manning. Dan Marino is petrified that Peyton’s career will end up erasing his own. Manning has already trumped some of Marino’s trademark NFL records while becoming the new face of the league.

Peyton Manning is a statistician’s best friend, a publicist’s dream, and Dan Marino’s worst nightmare. But he hasn’t won a Super Bowl. And that, my friends, is the one thing keeping Marino from pulling a full-fledged Ray Finkle of his own.

While Peyton Manning is truly Marino’s arch nemesis, Tom Brady is his buddy for life. Brady won more Super Bowls in his first five years than Marino has in his last five Madden seasons. Never will Brady threaten any of Marino’s (hopefully) timeless records. He doesn’t in the least bit crave the spotlight. But, thankfully for Dan, Tom Brady beats Peyton Manning in the playoffs, and will continue to do so.

The Colts hype and exposure is so documented and ludicrous, I’m not even going to take time to address it. Instead I’ll stick with righting the pathetically and perennially wrong national media. In 2003 and ’04, it was the Peyton Manning is just too good to lose argument. This year it’s the well the Colts have really dominated the Patriots in the last two meetings, and those were at Foxborough case.

Okay, the 2005 meeting on Monday night at Gillette was the one game in this era of the Patriots that they entered with absolutely no shot of winning. Yes, they got dominated. They got dominated after a seven-game stretch to open a second consecutive defense of their crown that included four games against 2004 playoff teams, all on the road. It was deemed the hardest opening schedule in league history. Nuff said.

As for the November 5th game at Gillette this year, I need not emphasize the fact that the Patriots played their worst game of the season while the Colts played their most complete game ever against the Patriots. Tom Brady threw four picks yet probably would’ve tied the game at 27 on the Patriots final drive had Kevin Faulk not missed an easy pass at the Indy 32, forcing Brady’s fourth and final interception.

(If you want to see my thoughts from after that game go to the vault: http://ballgamespoints.blogspot.com/2006/11/pats-colts-points-of-shame-aright.html)

In short, the Colts did everything they could have hoped for to put themselves in a position to win that November game. Yet the game was undoubtedly decided by Brady’s implosion. Which begs two questions: 1) How likely are the Colts to twice play a perfect game against the Patriots? And 2) how likely is Brady to twice mess himself against the Colts defense? Early results are 1) highly unlikely and 2) over Brady’s dead body.

Patriots 29 Colts 23

NFC Championship

I picked against the Bears last week because of Rex Grossman, and he played well enough and the Bears won. Barely. Had Matt Hasselbeck not tripped on an attempted handoff to Shaun Alexander in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter it would’ve been the Seahawks traveling to New Orleans for the NFC Championship. Grossman played a deceiving game. The throws he made were long, authoritative, and game changing. But he was also pressured at times, and the old Rex came out, as he threw an interception and lost a crucial fumble.

The Saints offense is essentially a high-octane college offense run by a cool, effective professional. Their offense is college-like because of the versatility and athleticism of their skill players. On any given down Reggie Bush could be lined up in the backfield, as a wing, in the slot, or split wide. There’s always the threat of Deuce McAllister splitting defenses open with runs up the middle, but then again he could be split wide or offset himself.

The Bears are depleted on the defensive line after the loss of Tommie Harris. And no secondary is suited to account for the speed and versatility of the Saints passing game. Thus not only with New Orleans move the ball, but they will score with relative frequency. I don’t doubt that Grossman will once again connect on some big deep balls, but the Saints offense will keep applying the pressure, and Grossman will make a crucial mistake in the fourth quarter.

Saints 27 Bears 23



Jan 15

1 Comment

Pats-Chargers and Class

Class, like many overly thrown around terms in sports, is all relative. On this January 15th, 2007, the New England Patriots are a mean, classless crew of a**holes with an even meaner and class-lacking a**hole at their helm.

To the San Diego Chargers at least.

Back in New England, however, they are the same group of warriors (with some new working parts) that continue to rewrite football history. History, it is often said, is not without a sense of irony. It is human nature to reflect on the past, identifying moments that, for better or worse, inexorably impacted the future. Irony only enters the equation when that future is finally determined, and has been accordingly altered by some seemingly unrelated prior event.

Truly ironic instances tend to be humorous. But for those with big egos and short memories, irony also tends to be a dish best served cold, when prepared by the right chef.

Since history is the impetus of irony, travel back to October 2nd, 2005. The Patriots were two-time defending Super Bowl champions, owners of the longest home winning streak in league history, and battered. Rodney Harrison had torn all the ligaments in his left knee the week before in Pittsburgh, and Tedy Bruschi was still recovering from a stroke. Monty Beisel and Chad Brown were the starting inside linebackers.

The Chargers came into Foxborough, and beat the Patriots, 41-17. But that wasn’t all. They yapped. They disrespected the Patriots’ house. They showed very little class in victory. After the game Marty Schottenheimer made comments about the Patriots’ injuries coming full circle, and pondered how long the team could continue to be a force. It wasn’t so much a sign of disrespect than it was an observation. It was an observation that the traditionally even-tempered Tom Brady took exception to in the media the next week. Brady asserted that Schottenheimer had no right to make comments about his team, and with reason.

While Schottenheimer’s comments were not overtly disrespectful, they may have been the most concrete way for an incensed-Brady to respond to a few other occurrences at the end of that game. When the contest had concluded, with the Chargers scoring the final 24 points, the San Diego players took some time to “take in” the surroundings, and most likely had a few words for the angry and pugnacious Gillette-faithful. In addition, Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips was overheard saying, “That was an ass whupping!”

These are all instances of professionals not living up to their titles. Players are paid to play; coaches to coach. For the Chargers to walk onto the hallowed ground of Foxborough and knock off the champion Patriots was impressive. They earned that victory. But for a team that had only appeared in one Super Bowl (a 49-26 thumping at the hands of the 49ers) in over thirty five years of existence, to act the way they acted following that game was simply disrespectful. Disrespectful to the stadium they were competing in, to the three banners waving over them, and to the game they represent.

The Patriots have given new meaning to the concept of team as it applies to the most inherently team game in sport. They have illustrated that MVP’s and Pro Bowls mean squat when it comes to winning football games in January. And yes, from time to time, they fall. When they do, they fall to worthy adversaries. Adversaries that are usually ecstatic for having taken advantage of the opportunity to have played sixty minutes of better football than the Patriots.

After that Week 4 game last year, the Chargers didn’t respectfully bask in their accomplishment. Rather, they did their best to throw it back in the face of the Patriots, which itself became one of the few sour pieces of history embedded in the “Razor”.

Before we get to history turning into cruel irony for the Chargers, let us look at some other history, to better illustrate why San Diego will ultimately look back at that October 2nd with biting regret.

The Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers have been rivals ever since Bill Parcells was matching wits with Bill Cowher in the mid-90s. The rivalry became even more intense following the 2001 season when the Steelers were destined to meet the Rams in the Super Bowl, and Cowher made the grave mistake of overlooking the Patriots. Since that time, it seems nobody except the Steelers have had true reverence for the Patriots.

The Steelers and Pats have battled in the regular season; they’ve battled in two AFC Championships. The Patriots went into Pittsburgh in October, 2004 and had their NFL-record 21-game winning streak snapped. The Steelers, students of the past, barely acknowledged their own end of the game, opting instead to remark at the magnitude of the Patriots accomplishments. The Patriots, meanwhile, got back to business, regrouped, and marched back into the Steel City for the 2004 AFC Championship and ended the Steelers 15-game streak.

Point is, the Patriots have been respected by the Steelers, and reciprocated that respect. The tables were turned after the fateful outcome of the 2001 AFC Championship in Pittsburgh. Never again would the Steelers slight the Pats, and never again would the Patriots have that added incentive to make them eat their words.

The difference between the 2001 Steelers and the 2005/06 Chargers? History!!!!! The ’01 Steelers had no idea what they were getting into. They didn’t respect the Patriots because they had no reason to. They were the best, and the Patriots were that team kneeling in their way.

The San Diego team that came into Foxborough didn’t just disrespect a coach, a team or a fan base. They disrespected a dynasty. So with all that transpired between then and now, with the Chargers this year emerging clearly as the team to beat, I found myself chuckling after listening to everything I heard in the week leading up to this game.

Fate, it would seem, is not without a sense of irony. Another applicable phrase. From the events at Gillette last year, to Shawne Merriman going on TV last Sunday and disrespecting the Patriots, to trying to keep Pats fans out of Qualcomm, to Schottenheimer entertaining hoards of media to openly talk about his atrocious playoff record, I mean, geeez! Is it any wonder that the Chargers a) dropped passes, b) fumbled balls, and c) committed inexplicable penalties? Is it any wonder that Merriman was practically an afterthought? Or that Schottenheimer went for it on a 4th and 11 from the Patriots 30 yard line and had no general control over his players?

Who’s truly surprised that the Chargers lost this game? Was it fate? Maybe on the surface, but at its core it was just another case of a talented group of players losing to a mentally tougher, more experienced, and better coached team.

As for the whole “class” thing that LaDainian Tomlinson referenced, yep, sometimes irony is painfully blatant, especially when you don’t see it coming. But history always precipitates irony. The Chargers refused to look at the 2001 Steelers with a historical and self-evaluating perspective. They opted instead to act classless in an October matchup with New England, a giant that evidently (and within character) put its reactive mechanisms on snooze until the time was right. And as if that wasn’t enough, Merriman did that giant the service of pressing the alarm button just to make sure it woke up in time.

So while the reputable LaDainian Tomlinson wants to point to the Patriots’ lack of class in mocking Merriman’s sack-dance, maybe he should take a step back and look at that jig as an appropriate reciprocation of a winner’s bravado.

Because as we all know, fate and history are not without a sense of irony.

Jan 12

4 Comments

Pats Playoff Points and Picks

How short a memory the NFL has. Just five years ago the New England Patriots were an upstart group of pretenders. They were appearing in the AFC Championship only after the reception of an immaculate call reversal. They were heavy underdogs to a ‘vastly’ superior Steelers team. So superior the city of Pittsburgh had already minted Super Bowl tickets and head coach Bill Cowher was booking hotel reservations in New Orleans.The Patriots won that game, shocked the Rams in the Super Bowl, and became the most disrespected group of world champions in this media-deluged era of the NFL. They were written off as a one year wonder after winning just nine games and missing the playoffs following the 2002 season. They lost the first game of the 2003 season to the Buffalo Bills, 31-0, which led to the famous “They hate their coach” assessment by ESPN’s Tom Jackson. They lost two weeks later to the Washington Redskins, and not again for an entire calender year.

After that defeat against Washington the Patriots ran off the greatest stretch of football in the history of the NFL. They won 32 of 34 games, including 21 in a row. Back to back Superbowls. Second team in league history to win three out of four titles. The common thread? Disrespect. From the Steelers to the “Greatest Show on Turf”, from Jackson to Peyton Manning, the one constant throughout the streak was a systematic denial of the Pats excellence. It came in many forms, but the underlying factor was that nobody outside of New England ever believed in these guys. Vegas didn’t even come around until Super Bowl XXXIX against the Eagles.

The Patriots have always been a very observant, reactive team. They speak minimally in public. But they listen, and stew over what they hear. They’ve turned slights into poster board material, and poster board material into victories. Any hogwash they hear off the field gets cultivated into motivation on the field. Which leads me to the matchup in San Diego this weekend with the Chargers. The Bolts have been the best and most complete team in the league this year, led by the NFL MVP, LaDainian Tomlinson.

The Chargers have been the Super Bowl pick. And now that the draw is New England on Sunday, it appears that San Diego is beginning to stutter. Evidence is in the team restricting ticket sales to fans with credit card billing addresses in southern California. Translation: Patriots nation is vast, and far from sedentary. This is not only preposterous, but possibly illegal. Many Patriots fans who had the intention of making the 3,000 mile trek to San Diego were quite literally turned away because the Chargers feared losing their home field advantage.

What is lost in this ridiculousness is the fact that Qualcomm Stadium seats over 71,000 people, and not once have the Chargers filled it up this year (they averaged around 66,000 per home game). So by taking such action the team has essentially admitted that they fear the Pats fan-factor and would rather sacrifice revenue than threaten their home field advantage. Unfortunately for the Chargers, there are many New England transplants domiciled in SoCal. And they will be heard from.

If anything, the ticket-move was probably a poorly conceived acknowledgment of the Patriots-aura; a concerted effort to not make the task at hand more difficult than it already is. Certainly seems to have backfired.

While the Chargers as a team misstepped in overplaying the venue hand, Shawne Merriman certainly gaffed in the PR realm when he went live on CBS during the Pats-Jets game last week and asserted that the Jets were the better team and would probably win the game.

Merriman later attempted to cover himself by saying that his job as an analyst is different than his role as a football player. Not to the Patriots. PR is PR. A player is always representing his team. And you can be sure that the Patriots took note of this representation. Merriman is a beastly talent, but he is also young and immature. He’s been a marked man since his violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. But not through the eyes of the Patriots. Not until he made it personal.

Obviously one quote isn’t going to swing a game but I wouldn’t be surprised if the scout teamer who’s simulating Merriman this week was wearing that quote on his jersey just to remind Ben Watson, Daniel Graham and David Thomas that the guy they must block thinks very little of them.

It’s these little things that accrue over the week leading up to playoff games that always seem to happen to New England, while they stand pat, gameplan, and wait until Sundays to react. This week is no different, and as opposed to the Chargers gameplan, which is as simple as L+T, the Patriots will surprise a few people offensively come game time. Tom Brady has reached a comfort level with his receivers, mainly because they have finally learned to make the same reads as him. He’s been consistently throwing the deep out with crispness and precision, and Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell have benefited.

Because the passing game has been something of an entrepreneurial endeavor this season, the Pats have yet to open it all up. Sunday’s the time. Chad Jackson has spent countless hours rehabbing his hamstring, getting situational reps, and most importantly, learning the offense. Belichick has kept his progress under wraps, and Brady has even come close to alienating him at times. This is all a calculated effort on their behalf. Watch as Action Jackson hauls in the longest touchdown pass of the season for the Patriots this Sunday. And don’t be surprised to see him take a few handoffs. The time has come to battle speed with speed.

Another trademark aspect of the Patriots offense that they’ve gotten away from recently is the screen game. Last week Kevin Faulk took handoffs in a few situations when Eric Mangini was probably expecting a screen. This week the Patriots are going to bait the ferocious and speedy Chargers front seven with a variety of screens, utilizing Faulk and the tight ends. And if they were able to put a twist on that nifty quarterback throwback…

Screens, bombs, trick plays, the Patriots will do whatever they can to keep the Chargers defense queasy. As simplistic as the offense has been this year, it has been so merely as a conduit for a developing unit. Trust me, they’ve been practicing more than the 13 yard out and deep square in patterns. They just haven’t been ready (or willing) to introduce the craftier and more dangerous aspects of their passing game.

Until Sunday. In the words of Miami Sharks coach, Tony DaMata, the Pats offense is “goin nine nine nine”. New England will come out with superior schemes on both sides of the ball. Defensively, the Patriots front seven will remain committed to their assignments, allowing LT to hit the intended gap, thus giving him a consistent three to five yards per carry. Tomlinson is most deadly when a defensive front has blown up a hole, and he cuts back with unparalleled speed and grace. The Patriots will give him the initial yardage, gang tackle him and force the Chargers into second and sixes, putting the pressure on Schottenheimer and Phillip Rivers.

This will be a one possession affair in the fourth quarter. The interesting thing is that most who are picking the Chargers believe the Patriots will put up a fight, but ultimately fall. I’m sorry, but I’ll run with Bill Belichick over Marty Schottenheimer in a close game. Call me an opportunist. And when it comes down to that “one drive”, I’ll take Tom Brady any day of the week. Especially on Sunday.

Patriots 31 Chargers 26


Other Divisional Picks

Colts 20 Ravens 17 (Bob Sanders transforms the Indy defense into a viable unit that stymies the Ravens offense and Peyton Manning sighs at the relief of playing the underdog role for once.)

Seahawks 17 Bears 16 (Defense wins championships. Quarterbacks lose them. And when was the last time Chicago won a home playoff game?)

Saints 34 Eagles 24 (Reggie Bush can now be considered a sophomore and Drew Brees is just too good for the Eagles banged up secondary. Plus that whole Super Dome thing…)

Dec 11

5 Comments

Super Bowl Contenders

The NFL has arrived at its desired destination of parity via the intersection of imperfection. As opposed to the last three years, when the Steelers and Patriots (twice) won the Super Bowl because they were the closest thing to a perfect team, this season is different. There are a handful of very good teams, and a few quality teams. All are flawed. The AFC is easily the stronger conference, but for each AFC Super Bowl contender, I see an NFC counterpart, waiting to fulfill its parallel destiny. Without further hesitation, the contenders:Possible road warriors

Bengals (8-6) Last year this team lost its quarterback to a horrific knee injury in a playoff game they knew they could’ve won, then watched the hated Steelers go three cities to glory. This year the Bengals have a realistic chance of finishing with more arrests than wins. They’ve been embarrassed on and off the field. Their star receiver almost had a nervous breakdown on live television. Yet the Bengals, like their misdemeanor offenses, simply refuse to go away. It’s the way of things in football; withstanding adversity breeds optimism. Carson Palmer’s knee is recovered. Chad Johnson is back. The defense can stop the run again. And while the “Jungle” may not be playing host to any postseason games this January, who really wants a piece of the Bengals when it’s all on the line?

Giants (7-7) They beat Carolina, the one game they really needed in their quest to just get to January. Stumbled against the Eagles, but still control their own destiny. With another win or two the Giants will have earned the right to go on the road for good once the games become do or die. Like the Bengals, the G-Men have spent time on the dark side and fought their way back. They’ve put a four-game losing streak behind them. Michael Strahan, the one player the defense has to have, is very close to being back in the lineup. Eli Manning has cut down on his interceptions and increased his completion percentage. Strahan hasn’t intimidated any female reporters in the last two weeks. Plaxico Burress has shown some fire. Bottom line is that a healthy New York pass rush and a productive Eli Manning still represent the most balanced attack of any NFC team. These guys could certainly hush the crowd on the road in the playoffs.

Ho-hum field advantage

Colts (11-3) Because of Peyton Manning the Colts will always be a Super Bowl contender, and usually have home field advantage. Big deal. Every Manning-led Colts team has been plagued by a defense ultimately incapable of performing at a championship level. However, recent history would suggest that the Colts deficiencies on the defensive side of the ball have not represented their downfall. Instead it has been the superior implementation of schemes by the Patriots and Steelers that Manning, and the Colts, could not overcome. Not this year. The Indianapolis run defense is epically bad. It gave up nearly 400 yards of rushing offense to Jacksonville two weeks ago. I’d be interested to know how many high school teams gave up 400 yards on the ground this year. Before, the way to beat Peyton Manning was to confuse him through masked blitz and coverage packages. The object was to slow him down. Now it’s much simpler. Line up and run the ball down the throat of the Indy defense. Either Peyton finds another gear or the Colts get run right out of the playoffs.

Bears (12-2) When the Achilles heel of a team is its quarterback, that team is usually nowhere close to being considered championship-caliber. Rex Grossman has gone through his share of growing pains this season, but the Bears have kept winning and will have home field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs. Because of this, head coach Lovie Smith has refused to entertain any notions of yanking Grossman in favor of Brian Griese. Grossman clearly has the potential to become a franchise quarterback, but he also has the potential to single-handedly throw the Bears out of the playoffs. With the league’s most dominant defense, Chicago doesn’t need a quarterback to win games. It just needs one that won’t lose them.

Lurking

Seahawks (8-6) Toughest team to figure out. The Hawks treaded water while their two superstars were out, positioning themselves to make a run. Ran off wins against Green Bay and Denver with Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander back in the lineup. Then looked very ordinary against Arizona and San Francisco. Since reigning Super Bowl losers haven’t even been a part of playoff races this decade, Seattle clearly has an element of mystery factored into its chances. And don’t forget this is a Super Bowl team that added a Super Bowl MVP (Deion Branch). A wild card game at Qwest is a certainty, which means the Seahawks will at the very least be competing for a chance to return to the NFC Championship Game. If Hasselbeck, Alexander and the Seahawks defense all start clicking, Seattle will be more dangerous than mysterious.

Patriots (10-4) For all intents and purposes New England has been written off. The Patriots are like the bully that ruled the playground. And like all bullies, they got beat up once and became an afterthought in the minds of relevant parties. By getting knocked out once a bully loses his edge, that air of invincibility. But his nature doesn’t change. The outside world may no longer perceive him as an enforcer to be feared and revered. But inside him still burns that craving to hit someone in the mouth. The Patriots defense is a collective bunch of bullies governed by the most savvy bully in the game of football. They got knocked out once, and everyone forgot about them. They won’t go down again without being remembered.

For real?

Ravens (11-3) The Ravens defense is looking as scary as ever. (Yes, even scarier than the legendary 2000 Ravens, because Ray Lewis wasn’t yet an alleged felon.) I believe Steve McNair could lead Baltimore to the Super Bowl. But I also believe he could lose a limb in the first round of the playoffs and doom them for good. That said, I see more glaring matchup problems for the Ravens than other AFC contenders. If I were Brian Billick I would not want to see Tom Brady or Carson Palmer coming to town for a divisional game. The Patriots can match the Ravens defensively and the Bengals can simply outscore them. Avoid those foes and top of the AFC looks favorable to Baltimore.

Cowboys (9-5) Dallas is a confounding team. I had them pegged third-best in the NFC East, and their mediocre first half, coupled with TO’s overdose/suicide attempt, seemed to reinforce that notion. Then Donovan McNabb tore his ACL, TO was reborn (no pun intended), Tony Romo stepped in looking like Tom Brady ’01, the defense started stuffing the run, and suddenly the Cowboys were the team to beat in the NFC. Since then they’ve been pummeled at home by the Saints in a game that would’ve given them the second bye and suffered yet another TO “episode”. The NFL Playoffs are as much a test of momentum as they are of resolve and preparation. Because of Bill Parcells, Dallas will be a well-prepared playoff team. The rest is up to the boys.

The Favorite?

Saints (9-5) Hey N’awlins! What if I told you in August that the Tigers would be playing in the Sugar Bowl and the Saints would be hosting a divisional playoff game ten days later? Now is that something you might have been interested in!?! Alas, all signs point to the resurgent Super Dome playing host venue to two of the biggest games in both old and new history of this storied town. Why could New Orleans be booking tickets to Miami? Because they are led by the patron saint of lost causes himself, Drew Brees. He may not go by Saint Jude, but there has surely never been a more appropriate pairing of lost city and lost player. It’s New Orleans! The best quarterback in the NFC! The Saints! Hell, this is going to have to become its own column.

Chargers (12-2) The feeling around the league is that any team entertaining championship aspirations will have to go through San Diego. I agree, but must note that the Chargers are simply the least flawed of the contenders, as opposed to “the complete team”. With LaDainian Tomlinson, the formula for success is simplified. The Chargers are going to run the ball, and force defenses to stop one of the great backs of all-time. No paltry task for a foe. But, as good run defenses like Pittsburgh’s and Baltimore’s have proven, even LT can be contained. You can be sure that the Chargers will run into a team (be it Baltimore again, or New England) that will neutralize Tomlinson and put the onus on Phillip Rivers to carry San Diego. Frankly, I’m not convinced he can live up to the task. This is undoubtedly the team beat, but it’s far from unbeatable.

Nov 27

1 Comment

NFL Points: Week 12

Scratch that. Nothing about Week 12 was good. How ’bout the Good (God!), the Bad, and the Ugly?The Good (God!): Steam was literally pouring out of Tom Coughlin’s ears Monday during his weekly appearance on New York’s “Mike and the Mad Dog” show. After the Giants blew a 21-0 lead with 10:00 left yesterday at Tennessee, the (now) embattled New York head coach had to answer to a couple of talk radio’s most instigative personalities. Coughlin repeatedly sidestepped the hosts’ inquisitive efforts to get him to throw Plaxico Burress under the bus (late in the game the Giants star wideout quit on a pass intended for him that then got intercepted, and proceeded to miss the ensuing tackle, allowing the ball to be returned to midfield).

This was the kind of game that can tear a team apart from the inside out. Judging from the way Coughlin chewed out Mathias Kiwanuka after a missed-sack of Vince Young on a 4th and 10 that would’ve essentially sealed the game for the Giants, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see him verbally skewer Burress. Believe me, Burress merits such. But the coach is still the coach, and I applaud Coughlin for swallowing his tongue, and saving the theatrics for behind closed doors.

The reverberations from this game are being felt from Staten Island to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. No joking, there are bars that were forced to close for renovations subsequent to the damage incurred from Giants fans Sunday. However, Coughlin’s ability to stay in character might just have been the G-Men’s saving grace. Had he slipped, finger pointing and in-fighting would have dominated the Giants practices this week and doomed them for good. Instead Coughlin has opted to shut out the persistent New York football-media. This reasserts his power in a difficult time and represents a clear sign that he will be grabbing his team by the collective groin in practice starting Tuesday…

(Program reminder: DO NOT MISS Giants-Cowboys next Sunday.)

The Bad: Split the honors between Braylon Edwards of the Browns and Atlanta’s Michael Vick. Edwards screamed in the face and grabbed the jersey of his quarterback, Charlie Frye, after Frye threw an interception. Vick used a finger to make a point to his fans (except didn’t use his pointer finger) while exiting amid boos after the Falcons fourth straight loss. He then apologized profusely for the gesture. While flipping off a stadium of paying fans was surely a classless move on Vick’s part, he did the right thing and manned up to his err.

Edwards wasn’t so selfless. In fact he refused to apologize at all. The closest he came was saying, “All I did was show my passion for the game. It’s not like I fought somebody. It’s not like I gave the bird to someone in the stands.” So he shows his “passion for the game” by overtly denigrating his teammate? Then his “apology” is something along the lines of: well it’s not like I sucker punched my quarterback or pulled a Michael Vick, ya know? Class class class…

The Ugly: Yep, it was the Game of the Week and a possible Super Bowl preview, but nine turnovers and a host of suspect penalties later, the Bears and Patriots contest ultimately fit nicely into the mold of NFL-ugliness Sunday. With one side note of skill and beauty: Tom Brady’s juke of Brian Urlacher on the Patriots game-winning drive. It’s a play that must be seen to be believed, and is the most noteworthy run by Brady since he scampered into the endzone against the Raiders five years ago in the “Snow Bowl”.

(s**t-eatin grin slowly forming…)

As a Patriots fan thoroughly disappointed with most that transpired Sunday, on that positive note I’ll stop myself. And on the back end of this holiday weekend I’ll give thanks to the fact that the NFL season is more than 12 weeks long…

Nov 20

4 Comments

NFL Points: Week 11

Lots to talk about in this pre-Thanksgiving edition of the points…Make some room, everyone! The Colts have arrived at the gala of the defeated, albeit fashionably late. Nine wins into the 2006 campaign Peyton Manning submitted his most undistinguished effort of the season, and Indianapolis bowed to the Cowboys at Texas Stadium, 21-14. For the second straight year all the geezers from the ’72 Dolphins can work their annual champagne session into the carousals of the holiday season. Bottoms up Indy!

The Cowboys, meanwhile, can now start looking at the bigger picture, after finally putting a little space between components in the win-loss column. At 6-4, Dallas is in striking position with an elite defense and potent running game; a content and productive T.O., and a quarterback meriting the title of “leader”.

Tony Romo will be starting his first Thanksgiving-day game Thursday against Tampa Bay. After he and Bill Parcells beat the Bucs they will have an additional three days to prepare for a rematch with the Giants in New York. That game should mark the return of Michael Strahan, as well as informally crown the NFC East champion (especially since Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb is finished for the season with a torn ACL). Not to be missed…

Game of the week for the second consecutive Sunday involved the San Diego Chargers. How many times in NFL-history can a team say it came from 17 points down to win on the road and had a skill player score four touchdowns..in back to back games?? (I’m serious; I don’t know the answer, and can’t afford Elias) Either way, what LaDainian Tomlinson and the Chargers did last week in Cincinnati and last night in Denver is remarkable.

This is the best team in the league right now. San Diego is notorious for fading down the stretch, but this year its schedule is very manageable. If the Chargers are going to trip it won’t be until the middle of December when they face the trio of Denver, Kansas City and Seattle (the former two at home). In sum, this bodes well for San Diego’s pursuit of the second-bye in the AFC…

Hmm, speaking of the prospective second-bye reminds me what a big misstep the Patriots took in dropping to the Jets last week (read: winning hoards of divisional games represents the building blocks of any second-best team in the AFC). Simply put, in this conference you can’t lose more than one game in-division and have a odds-on shot at that elusive second-bye. That said, geez did New England put a physical hurting on the Packers (35-0) at Lambeau Field. They gave quarterback Aaron Rodgers a broken foot. And the only reason Rodgers was playing to begin with was because Tedy Bruschi damaged nerves in Brett Favre’s right elbow, forcing football’s truest iron man out of a game for only the fifth time in his career (he’s started 251 straight games).

It’s pretty clear the Patriots plainly refused to lose three games in a row, fine. But where was all that fire last week against the Jets? In the words of the translator representing “Santori Whiskey” in Lost in Translation, the Pats should have had a little “mow intensity” against the Jets, and a tad bit less against Green Bay. Here’s to hopin Favre starts number 252 next Monday night in Seattle…

Nov 13

9 Comments

NFL Points: Week 10

Ouch, G-Men. One Sunday night win away from the inside track to the NFC’s top seed in the playoffs. That was the case for the Giants last night at the Meadowlands. And until just a few ticks before halftime everything was going as planned for the New York football Giants.

After a (seemingly) stalled Bears drive in the final two minutes of the first half, which left Chicago looking at a gloomy 3rd and 22 from its own 28 yard line, New York called a timeout so Eli Manning could have a chance to add to the Giants already-10 point lead. Except someway, somehow Thomas Jones took a handoff and picked his way through the Giants defense for a cool 26 yards.

Suffice to say ya don’t see that every day.

Rex Grossman then capitalized by throwing a 29 yard touchdown pass to Mark Bradley just before halftime. Might as well have been a wrench, because the G-Men just weren’t the same after that. Sure, they climbed back in the game, drawing within four points at 24-20 early in the 4th quarter. But for some reason Tom Coughlin opted to attempt a 51 yard field goal into an unsettled Jersey night. Jay Feely managed to kick the ball about 49 yards at best before it declined, end over end, right into the arms of Devin Hester.

A sufficient acting job (Hester feigned like he was taking a knee) and 108 yards later Hester had delivered the proverbial dagger to the G-Men on this Sunday soir. Then again, the Giants did not deserve to win the game. Turnovers, combined with poor coaching and special teams should not add up to victory in today’s NFL.

That said, the Giants need not panic. They do need to get healthy, though. While they could’ve beaten the Bears without Amani Toomer, Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, and Sam Madison, they surely won’t have realistic Super Bowl aspirations without getting some of these guys back. While outside linebacker LaVar Arrington and Toomer are finished for the season with Achilles and ACL injuries, the news is not so grim for the others. Umenyiora and Madison are being evaluated on a week to week basis, while Strahan should be back by the beginning of December at the latest.

There’s no doubt in my mind that a healthier, more poised Giants team will go into Chicago in January and win the NFC Championship. Yes, I believe the Bears are overrated.

(Yes I’m calling the Giants to go to the Super Bowl.)

As for the other New York team…

Well all the Jets did on Sunday was march into Foxborough and beat the Patriots straight up. New England had not lost back to back games since December, 2002 (when, incidentally, the Jets beat them).

If you’re wondering what I’m implying by stating that the Jets beat the Pats “straight up”, it is to say they outplayed them in almost every facet of the game: they turned the ball over less, converted more third downs, had a shifty and devious defensive scheme that successfully frustrated Tom Brady, and handled the crappy Foxborough weather better than the Pats.

That’s beating the Patriots straight up. As opposed to what the Colts did last week. Because there is a difference. (Like the difference between going into a gun fight with a knife and taking a pistol, aiming it directly at your foot, and pulling the trigger.)

So here we are, with a bona fide race for the AFC East crown. Courtesy of a well-deserved, gritty Jets victory over New England. The good news for the Jets is their schedule is whispering 10 wins. Bad news for the Jets is the Patriots schedule is comparably easy. And the Patriots just lost twice in a row for the first time in a handful of years.

But, the Patriots, like the Giants, have injuries to address. Rodney Harrison is the most dire, as his absence can be sustained for the near future but not ultimately. For some perspective: since Harrison’s arrival in 2003 the Patriots are 42-6 with two Super Bowls when he’s the starting strong safety; they are 9-8, including a playoff loss, without him. Nuff said.

Fortunately, as opposed to last year when Harrison tore every ligament they have an name for in his knee, his current broken scapula should heal in time for him to be back to full strength by the playoffs (and likely before). So, like the Giants, barring any more physical setbacks, the Patriots will be the team to beat in January…

(Yes, I’m obviously the first calling a Pats-Giants Superbowl.)

Nov 6

5 Comments

Pats-Colts Points of Shame

Aright everybody, let’s say it together. Atrocious. Yep, that pretty much sums up the Patriots performance on Sunday night against the Colts.If anything can be taken from this utter embarrassment that doubled as a football game, it is this: once again the Patriots have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that no matter who the foe (see: Miami, Denver, and now, Indianapolis), when the Pats fall it is completely a result of their own doing. Trace it back to the beginning of the 2003 season. The fistful of games they’ve lost (thirteen to be exact) they’ve really, for lack of a better phrase, dropped the ball (or in Tom Brady’s case, repeatedly thrown it to the opposition).

Last night was one of those instances. They turned the ball over five times; committed eight penalties. They consistently gave Peyton Manning the football inside their own territory. They lost their cool at times; had no focus; no semblance of a tempo, no implementation of the game plan they had constructed and honed throughout the week. They pretty much had no chance of winning the football game.

Yet there Tom Brady was, a nifty three picks in pocket, ball in hand, driving down the field with ample time and composure to re-knot this heavyweight yuck-fest and send the game into overtime. Then Kevin Faulk decided to phone into the Pats drop-the-ball-athon, and the line went dead on Week 9 for New England.

On what should have been a seven-yard reception to the Colts 32, the usually unflappable Faulk instead botched the catch, and as if in a tip drill, redirected the ball right into the hands of Cato June. Game, set, match.

(Humiliation.)

In lieu of their usual tape session today, I suggest the entire Patriots team and coaching staff go and see the Borat movie. Not because it is going to make them laugh their tails right off and forget about this pitiful performance. No, rather because it will show them that (alas!) it is in fact possible for a bigger egg to be laid than the one they produced last night. (If you’re scratching your head right now you should join Belichick and Brady at the Dedham Mall cinema.)

But seriously, there’s one question that burns in my dome after this game: just how good are the Colts? Consider this: Peyton Manning threw for over 300 yards and a couple of touchdowns. Marvin Harrison was Marvin Harrison. The Colts defense a) kept the Patriots offense off the field and b) had its second best player, Bob Sanders, play for the first time since week two. Sanders finished with 11 tackles and was in on every run play at the line of scrimmage.

Hmmm, seems to me like the Colts did implement their game plan; did have some semblance of focus and tempo. They were, more or less, the Colts. So why did they have to wait for Kevin Faulk to formally stamp their second consecutive 8-0 start?

Here’s why: THEY’RE NOT THAT EFFING GOOD!!!!!!!!

Bill Belichick is a man of schemes. And while he’ll never articulate such, he knows in the grand scheme all this game determined was venue of the AFC Championship. Nothing more. Granted, it would be nice to have the number one seed in the AFC, especially in light of the way our beloved most-clutch-kicker-ever performed in his return home (the one true negative in the Colts performance).

But playoff seeding aside, this game won’t have any lasting impact. The Patriots are still going to be playing football next Sunday when the Jets come to town. To be honest, I feel like this meltdown was actually well timed. The Patriots, fresh off a statement-game on Monday night in Minnesota, might have had a little too much swagger, least for this point in the season.

New England isn’t used to early season dominance as they’ve only once before started a campaign 6-1 (2004). The Patriots are a team that gets better as the season progresses; through adjustments, hard work, and intellect the Pats prepare schemes week by week to topple opponents. And in that undisclosed grand scheme, they prepare for what they know will be a 19 game season.

The Colts, on the other hand, are quite accustomed to winning in large helpings before Thanksgiving. Peyton Manning has not lost a game before Turkey Day since October 31, 2003. But then again, he’s also never won his last game. Brady has won his last game three times in the past five years.

Congrats Peyton, you devoured a very subpar Patriots-entree. Hope you’re ready for the main course come January.

« Older Entries