I'll admit it, I've been smitten with Moss for a while now. That catch over his shoulder on the sidelines against Buffalo wasn't the best play I have ever seen, but it was unstoppable. The only two chances a corner outside of Denver has against that play are safety help bracketing Moss or trying to tangle up your legs with his and make it look like an accident, taking the shorter penalty.
If Buffalo put a safety over the top I think he still would have caught it, but they at least could have pushed him out of bounds in the redzone. However, If they move the safety over the top, I think our underneath receivers get loose and start torturing the linebackers.
Obviously, we haven't had a weapon like Brady to Moss in my life, and the closest we came was probably Irving Fryar or Terry Glenn. Both of those guys make Moss look like a well behaved player. Terry spent his first season breaking the rookie reception record. Then he spent the next year in Kraft's office trying to get his new head coach fired. Fryar famously was stabbed with a steak knife through his million dollar first over-all pick hand by his wife.
Moss has had his share of off-field trouble, but in the last two years the only rap on him was that he was lazy. I know it's too early to say Moss is over these problems. Maybe we still are in the "Honeymoon" phase with Moss, but if he can stay on the field and if he can stay focused we only really need on year of him trying.
I also love how the offense runs Maroney first, then finishes up with the Bruiser in Sammy Morris. After a running down Maroney and trying to defend against Brady for three quarters and then get hit in the chest by Morris. That would turn almost anyone in the league into a drag down tackler.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Matt Light is not that good and other notes.
Matt Light got beat by some pretty good players and the media attributes it to many things. When he got beat by Jason Taylor, the media said the Dolphins had stolen our signals. When he got beat by Merriman, people said it was because Merriman was awesome. Shawne Merriman, Jason Taylor and Dwight Freeney are all huge problems who shorten the amount of time Brady has to pass. They all have the ability to kick our offensive linemen's collective ass.
The biggest worry right now is that Jason Taylor is looking to play for a ring and a trade. Dwight Freeney and Jason Taylor on the same team would shorten Brady's pass window significantly.
Vote "no" on Taylor to Colts.
The biggest worry right now is that Jason Taylor is looking to play for a ring and a trade. Dwight Freeney and Jason Taylor on the same team would shorten Brady's pass window significantly.
Vote "no" on Taylor to Colts.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Spy Games
Great. Now we have to deal with the jackals coming around to cackle at the Patriots for stepping in doo-doo. Watching the offensive line play and seeing the defense slap the Jets around like that makes me think we have peaked as a franchise. Every position is pretty covered with a player who can execute. We can play without our best defensive player and our (almost hall of famer) safety Rodney Harrison and still beat the tar out of a play-off team.
Right at the peak of it, as soon as we bring in a couple of freaks to make us much better than last year, we walk out in out brand new shoes and step in doo-doo. Belichick and Mangini have been pulling this stuff on each other since the Mangenius was hired away. Anyone remember Belichick accusing the Jets of tampering with WR Branch? Belichick was trying to get the Jets draft pick taken away, as the Jets did when Kraft stole Belichick.
Still and all, I will watch every game this season, hoping Moss breaks all sorts of records. Few people care to remember, but before Bledsoe and Parcells got to town, we were two easy division wins for the Bills, Dolphins and Jets. I would prefer to have an evil genius coaching a talented team rather than be a Falcons fan right now. But maybe that's just me.
Right at the peak of it, as soon as we bring in a couple of freaks to make us much better than last year, we walk out in out brand new shoes and step in doo-doo. Belichick and Mangini have been pulling this stuff on each other since the Mangenius was hired away. Anyone remember Belichick accusing the Jets of tampering with WR Branch? Belichick was trying to get the Jets draft pick taken away, as the Jets did when Kraft stole Belichick.
Still and all, I will watch every game this season, hoping Moss breaks all sorts of records. Few people care to remember, but before Bledsoe and Parcells got to town, we were two easy division wins for the Bills, Dolphins and Jets. I would prefer to have an evil genius coaching a talented team rather than be a Falcons fan right now. But maybe that's just me.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Notes to teams that cast stones.
We got caught. Go ahead and pile on. LT, you infer the Pats cheat, cheat, cheat all the time. I never said out loud what I'm about to type, but I think there may be two incidents for the Pats this year to catch up with the Castillo/ Merriman steroid cases.
Terrell Davis, you say that Pats cheated, therefore they should give up two post season berths. Just like what happened when the Broncos got caught cheating and had to forfeit those two Super Bowls. Wait a second, the Broncos didn't actually have to give up anything but two first round picks, wait, it was only two third round picks. Circumventing the salary cap cost Kevin Garnett most of his prime, it only cost the Broncos two third round picks. The Broncos would have drafted a running back of questionable character anyway who probably would be sitting in jail.
I'm not saying everyone in the NFL cheats. You would have to show me the video evidence of Wayne Fontes cheating (or Pete Carroll). I am saying that the biggest loudmouths should begin by looking the mirror.
One huge problem with this is the Patriots came out of nowhere over five years ago and became the media darling. I have never been able to see so much coverage given to one sports region. Even as the calls of East Coast media bias were dying down, the coverage of North East sports continued to spiral upward.
The Sox and Yanks had an epic battle and every series seems huge between these teams. The Yankees and Sox have continued to by the best talent around the world. News stories dominate ESPN for days at a time that have come out of New England.
Over the past few years we have celebrated three Lombardi Trophies, one huge world series, the Celtics getting a new big three, and so many deals, the national media never left. The region welcomed: Randy Moss, Kevin Garnett,, Schilling, etc. All of whom should make the hall of fame in there respective sports. Other deals that keep us on the front page of other cities: Beckett, Dice-K, Dante Stallworth, aborting a trade the involved Manny and A-Rod, Ray Allen, etc. All of whom would be twice as good at their jobs than most other cities have.
Now we live under the media scrutiny that comes with bringing in so many celebrity athletes. America has over-gorged on our news stories, they want us to go away. We have become the arch-villains who have run the neighborhood too long. Now it is time for the backlash.
I hope America learns to love my teams again, but if not at least I can look at almost any sports publication in America and read something about my home town team. I like that much more than not having a prayer at the championship every year, and that's how it used to be. In case no one else remembers, Massachusetts didn't always have athletes this dominant, and it may be a long time before it happens again.
You can spend the rest of the year debating how big videotaping a coach is, but I'm going to dreaming of championships. The penalty is for the commissioner to decide and the team to overcome.
Terrell Davis, you say that Pats cheated, therefore they should give up two post season berths. Just like what happened when the Broncos got caught cheating and had to forfeit those two Super Bowls. Wait a second, the Broncos didn't actually have to give up anything but two first round picks, wait, it was only two third round picks. Circumventing the salary cap cost Kevin Garnett most of his prime, it only cost the Broncos two third round picks. The Broncos would have drafted a running back of questionable character anyway who probably would be sitting in jail.
I'm not saying everyone in the NFL cheats. You would have to show me the video evidence of Wayne Fontes cheating (or Pete Carroll). I am saying that the biggest loudmouths should begin by looking the mirror.
One huge problem with this is the Patriots came out of nowhere over five years ago and became the media darling. I have never been able to see so much coverage given to one sports region. Even as the calls of East Coast media bias were dying down, the coverage of North East sports continued to spiral upward.
The Sox and Yanks had an epic battle and every series seems huge between these teams. The Yankees and Sox have continued to by the best talent around the world. News stories dominate ESPN for days at a time that have come out of New England.
Over the past few years we have celebrated three Lombardi Trophies, one huge world series, the Celtics getting a new big three, and so many deals, the national media never left. The region welcomed: Randy Moss, Kevin Garnett,, Schilling, etc. All of whom should make the hall of fame in there respective sports. Other deals that keep us on the front page of other cities: Beckett, Dice-K, Dante Stallworth, aborting a trade the involved Manny and A-Rod, Ray Allen, etc. All of whom would be twice as good at their jobs than most other cities have.
Now we live under the media scrutiny that comes with bringing in so many celebrity athletes. America has over-gorged on our news stories, they want us to go away. We have become the arch-villains who have run the neighborhood too long. Now it is time for the backlash.
I hope America learns to love my teams again, but if not at least I can look at almost any sports publication in America and read something about my home town team. I like that much more than not having a prayer at the championship every year, and that's how it used to be. In case no one else remembers, Massachusetts didn't always have athletes this dominant, and it may be a long time before it happens again.
You can spend the rest of the year debating how big videotaping a coach is, but I'm going to dreaming of championships. The penalty is for the commissioner to decide and the team to overcome.
Monday, September 10, 2007
NFL Sunday 7/9/7
J-E-T-S didn't look like a playoff team when Randy Moss got involved. It was a cruel joke to send the rookie out to single up Moss, but it was understandable after he outran three members of the Jets secondary to the spot and ran in on the bomb from Brady. Mangini must have known he didn't have the pieces to cover Moss, so he left that rookie out there as a punishment for reporting late to camp.
Randy played a foot taller and a ten mph faster than any defender he was matched up against. Moss's catch was a great contrast to see that clown Berrian of the Bears cut his route short and leave fantasy disaster Rex Grossman high and dry on his bomb into double coverage. If you didn't catch the Chargers vs Bears game, Berrian stopped sprinting and walked the last seven steps of his route as the ball was in the air and didn't even try to break up the interception.
As happy as I am about Randy, Stallworth produced nothing statistically. He did throw some good blocks, but my fantasy team didn't get points. Speaking of blocks, Ben Watson held up the point of attack and Ellis Hobbs ran around the Jets kicking team for a 108 yard kick return. The longest return in history now belongs to the Patriots, which goes a long way towards assuaging my anger over Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl MVP Desmond Howard holding the Super Bowl record for return yards. My friend Ferocious worked subsequent Super Bowls for the NFL and I think if he had worked that game, he would have had Howard Nancy Kerriganed after the first big return.
Adrian Peterson of the Vikings looked a lot like a big version of Marshall Faulk. Not exactly big news, because he played like Faulk in college and I think he would have been the number one pick if he were healthy. Then again, I was convinced Reggie Bush would be the number one pick last year and Calvin Johnson would be the number one pick this year.
Randy played a foot taller and a ten mph faster than any defender he was matched up against. Moss's catch was a great contrast to see that clown Berrian of the Bears cut his route short and leave fantasy disaster Rex Grossman high and dry on his bomb into double coverage. If you didn't catch the Chargers vs Bears game, Berrian stopped sprinting and walked the last seven steps of his route as the ball was in the air and didn't even try to break up the interception.
As happy as I am about Randy, Stallworth produced nothing statistically. He did throw some good blocks, but my fantasy team didn't get points. Speaking of blocks, Ben Watson held up the point of attack and Ellis Hobbs ran around the Jets kicking team for a 108 yard kick return. The longest return in history now belongs to the Patriots, which goes a long way towards assuaging my anger over Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl MVP Desmond Howard holding the Super Bowl record for return yards. My friend Ferocious worked subsequent Super Bowls for the NFL and I think if he had worked that game, he would have had Howard Nancy Kerriganed after the first big return.
Adrian Peterson of the Vikings looked a lot like a big version of Marshall Faulk. Not exactly big news, because he played like Faulk in college and I think he would have been the number one pick if he were healthy. Then again, I was convinced Reggie Bush would be the number one pick last year and Calvin Johnson would be the number one pick this year.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Dice-K Madness
-Why the hell did Tito leave Dice K in?
Ferocious
Tito left Dice K in because the bases were full, there were two outs, and Dice K seems physically fine. Dice K can get a guy to pop into something or ground into a play at the closest base. We bought a Japanese national treasure, or that's persona we have read so much about.
If Dice K gets an out, we can send him back out for a couple of batters while warming up the pen.
Bill Russell played defense with the idea that you make the other team try to score with a low percentage play. When it works out for the low percentage odds (Aaron Boone) it really stings. I expect Dice K to be able to get outs, and if he's not hurt, he's still in the game until he embarrasses himself (grand slam). The low percentage play bit us in the Sox again and triggers the old fears for a second.
The problem is that the Dice K we have may not be the Dice K we all read about during the off season. Maybe he isn't Pedro in his prime great. Maybe he's very, very good and exceptionally durable. An ERA around four was what got The Rocket sent to Toronto. The ERA of four and the attitude you would expect from a guy with half the ERA.
Dice K hasn't brought the prima donna attitude so he'll get a couple of seasons to adjust to the American nuances before Boy Wonder GM ships him out of town and hopefully out of division if that's the case. I think he has a few adjustments to make and he'll be pitching in the All-Star game for years to come. He has all the pitches and his rep is outstanding.
Ferocious
Tito left Dice K in because the bases were full, there were two outs, and Dice K seems physically fine. Dice K can get a guy to pop into something or ground into a play at the closest base. We bought a Japanese national treasure, or that's persona we have read so much about.
If Dice K gets an out, we can send him back out for a couple of batters while warming up the pen.
Bill Russell played defense with the idea that you make the other team try to score with a low percentage play. When it works out for the low percentage odds (Aaron Boone) it really stings. I expect Dice K to be able to get outs, and if he's not hurt, he's still in the game until he embarrasses himself (grand slam). The low percentage play bit us in the Sox again and triggers the old fears for a second.
The problem is that the Dice K we have may not be the Dice K we all read about during the off season. Maybe he isn't Pedro in his prime great. Maybe he's very, very good and exceptionally durable. An ERA around four was what got The Rocket sent to Toronto. The ERA of four and the attitude you would expect from a guy with half the ERA.
Dice K hasn't brought the prima donna attitude so he'll get a couple of seasons to adjust to the American nuances before Boy Wonder GM ships him out of town and hopefully out of division if that's the case. I think he has a few adjustments to make and he'll be pitching in the All-Star game for years to come. He has all the pitches and his rep is outstanding.
P-A-T-S: Pats! Pats! Pats!
Season starts tomorrow against the AFC team that plays in the Ghetto-lands. We lost two of our best defenders and have a running back coming of surgery. We have an entirely new starting line-up at wide-out, and we lost one of the great second tier tight-ends to the Broncos in Daniel Graham.
At this point, most teams would be picked to get beaten by a resurgent Jets team. What does it mean when we're in an era of parity and the Pats can play short-handed and still be expected to trounce a play-off team who signed a big name running back?
Everytime a former Pro-Bowler would get released, I used to wish the Patriots would run out and sign the guy. Now, we have no room left for former Pro-Bowlers. The entire defense is locked up with players who excel at running the defensive scheme. We have complimented Bruschi and Vrabel with Colvin and Thomas and gotten younger and faster at LB. We have a GREAT young D-line. Ellis Hobbs is exciting to watch and no one played a better cornerback than Samuel last year.
The offensive remain intact and seems healthy for the first time in years. We have one of the top five athletic tight ends in Ben Watson, and a veteran to play blocking tight end.
Then again, we could always use a proven veteran at back-up QB, preferably someone between the ages of Vinny Testaverde and Matt Cassell. And we probably want a better feature back than Sammy Morris in case Maroney goes down again.
I would love to see Priest Holmes in Patriot blue as insurance, and before you dismiss this idea, realize we have Randy Moss, Junior Seau, and Rodney Harrison who were all recently among the best at their positions, and all of them found a way on the Patriots roster. The former Chargers have fit right in and contributed, and we are all very optimistic about Randy.
My prediction: Look for the Pats throw deep early in order to open up the running and underneath passing game. If the score stays close, watch for a couple of running back screens in the second half. Pats by 14, only because Mangini understands the Patriots philosophy and he will have some surprise wrinkles on defense that may produce a costly turn-over early.
Score: Pats 35 Jets 21.
At this point, most teams would be picked to get beaten by a resurgent Jets team. What does it mean when we're in an era of parity and the Pats can play short-handed and still be expected to trounce a play-off team who signed a big name running back?
Everytime a former Pro-Bowler would get released, I used to wish the Patriots would run out and sign the guy. Now, we have no room left for former Pro-Bowlers. The entire defense is locked up with players who excel at running the defensive scheme. We have complimented Bruschi and Vrabel with Colvin and Thomas and gotten younger and faster at LB. We have a GREAT young D-line. Ellis Hobbs is exciting to watch and no one played a better cornerback than Samuel last year.
The offensive remain intact and seems healthy for the first time in years. We have one of the top five athletic tight ends in Ben Watson, and a veteran to play blocking tight end.
Then again, we could always use a proven veteran at back-up QB, preferably someone between the ages of Vinny Testaverde and Matt Cassell. And we probably want a better feature back than Sammy Morris in case Maroney goes down again.
I would love to see Priest Holmes in Patriot blue as insurance, and before you dismiss this idea, realize we have Randy Moss, Junior Seau, and Rodney Harrison who were all recently among the best at their positions, and all of them found a way on the Patriots roster. The former Chargers have fit right in and contributed, and we are all very optimistic about Randy.
My prediction: Look for the Pats throw deep early in order to open up the running and underneath passing game. If the score stays close, watch for a couple of running back screens in the second half. Pats by 14, only because Mangini understands the Patriots philosophy and he will have some surprise wrinkles on defense that may produce a costly turn-over early.
Score: Pats 35 Jets 21.
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