More injuries to the Broncos lineup. Selvin Young may not see another game in a couple of weeks due to his groin strain, he will be the fourth tailback on the roster to go out on injury.
But it looks like Shannahan might be getting a little proactive, if not somewhat retroactive. The most recent attempt to patch up the team is the signing of Tatum Bell. Hopefully his familiarity with the system and obvious skills will not only bolster the team's offense, but make us forget that we traded him to Detroit with George Foster for Dre Bly. You can't win em all, but there's nothing wrong with getting 2/3 of the deal on your side of the table a year later.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Broncos Machinery Wearing
Yes, it has been a disgustingly long time since we've put up a blog, but many things have happened since the preseason, on and off the field.
It is unfortunate, but with my move back to Colorado the Bronco's lucky streak seems to be breaking. We're out both Bailey brothers and DJ Williams. This wouldn't be terrible unless there were no other notable players on the defensive side of the field. Maybe it would be helpful to have John Lynch around to tie things back up, eh?
Offensively there's a lack of... well, much of anything. Rookie Eddie Royal still looks like a good on the field, as does Marshall, but aside from these two there's not much going for the offense. 14 miserable rushing yards against Miami. I mean, Miami?
Perhaps the only consoling thought, and much to the shame of the other teams, is that the Broncs are still on the top of the AFC West.
-Rox
It is unfortunate, but with my move back to Colorado the Bronco's lucky streak seems to be breaking. We're out both Bailey brothers and DJ Williams. This wouldn't be terrible unless there were no other notable players on the defensive side of the field. Maybe it would be helpful to have John Lynch around to tie things back up, eh?
Offensively there's a lack of... well, much of anything. Rookie Eddie Royal still looks like a good on the field, as does Marshall, but aside from these two there's not much going for the offense. 14 miserable rushing yards against Miami. I mean, Miami?
Perhaps the only consoling thought, and much to the shame of the other teams, is that the Broncs are still on the top of the AFC West.
-Rox
Friday, August 22, 2008
Sox live-blogs Preseason game #3, needs a better hobby
There's such a malaise around the Red Sox right now, that whenever I try to write about them, it just hurts too much to continues. Thankfully, we have the third (and arguably most important) preseason game, and I'll be here bringing you the action at 7:30 P.M.
General Thoughts
The 3rd exhibition game is key, because 4 days from now (August 26th) we have the first roster cut-down date, where the roster gets pruned from 80 men to 75. Then, after the 4th preseason game you have the massive layoffs on August 30th (75 men to 53).
This all matters because time is getting short for the fringe guys to make an impression. The 3rd-6th wide receiver spots are really up for grabs, and there is a straight-up melee for spots on the depth chart at linebacker. Hell, we haven't even figured out who'll START, because there's a good chance Junior Seau could get a phone call, what with Victor Hobson failing to impress, and Jerod Mayo being a rookie in a Bill Belichick defense. If a guy wants to stick, the time to step up is now.
Even if they fall short of the New England roster, that's not the biggest indictment in the world. I mean, this IS a team that went 18-0 on it's way to the Super Bowl; that's got to be an indication of the level of skill on the team. Even if a guy like C.J. Jones or Johnathan Stupar has a remote chance of making this team, he could still impress any number of personnel departments around the league.
This game isn't just important to the fringe guys and rookies, but the veterans and stars too. They have to stay healthy and prove they can do their job. Belichick isn't afraid to give the best guy the job, regardless of experience, so there's little incentive to sit out, except to prevent injury. It's a fine line to walk, but I bet we'll see the first-team for the majority of the first half.
Guys to watch:
Gary Guyton and Vince Redd, rookie OLBs - The Patriots are notorious for drafting linebackers in the low rounds or signing them after the draft, and then developing them into decent players (see: Eric Alexander, Tully Banta-Cain, Matt Chathman, Corey Mays, and Pierre Woods). In that vein, these guys are exactly what the coaches are looking for.
Thanks to his speed, Guyton has been a presence on special teams, and a pleasant revelation in the base defense. He's currently 3rd on the team in tackles with 7 (6 solo) and has shown a special "suddenness" when it comes to rushing the passer. He's not the typical size for a New England outside linebacker (6'2" 245 lbs) but he runs a blazing 4.47 40-yard dash.
In comparison, the first wide receiver drafted this year, Donnie Avery (out of Houston to the St. Louis Rams), runs a 4.43 40-yard dash. The next, Devin Thomas (out of Michigan State to the Washington Redskins) ran it in 4.40 seconds. The next, Jordy Nelson (out of Kansas State to the Green Bay Packers) ran it in 4.51 seconds. I could keep going, but it boils down to this: Guyton is faster than 3 of the top 10 drafter wide receivers, and within .05 (5 hundredths) of a second of 3 more. This has been a mighty fierce tangent, but what it goes to show is that college production might not be the only indication of what a defensive player can do on the next level.*
* It's the other way around on the offensive side of the ball, where guy who had nice college careers get overlooked by scouts because they don't have incredible measureables. Troy Smith is my best example of a guy who had an amazing college career (Heisman Trophy winner, went to a National Title game) who had his professional prospects discounted from the very beginning. Now, he's essentially won the starting job for the Baltimore Ravens, ahead of the longer tenured, former first-round pick Kyle Boller, and rookie phenom Joe Flacco. My next bet for neglected college superstar turned productive pro would be Mike Hart, the runningback out of Michigan.
Redd hasn't quite produced at the level Guyton has, but his measurables are more than enough to impress. At 6'5" 263 lbs. he still runs a 4.58 40-yard dash, still great for a linebacker. Late in the game against Tampa, he had an impressive sack where he overpowered the blocker at the line of scrimmage AND used his incredible speed to close on the quarterback.
Matthew Slater, rookie WR/S/KR - Slater does a little bit of everything, but as of yet, a lot of nothing. He's got some incredible physical gifts, and he's been impressive in practice, but he hasn't brought the same spark to his kick-returns in the games. He's had small cameos on offense and defense in the games, grabbing 3 catches for 19 yards (I seem to recall a drop, but don't hold me to it), he sports a 24.3 yard return average, and he has looked good on special teams coverage, but roster room is tight as it is, and he'll have to show a little more than that to justify a spot.
Raymond "Bubba" Ventrone, 3rd year S/WR - Ventrone had been a safety dating back to his sophomore year in high school, but apparently the Patriots saw something even he didn't, and so starting in training camp he's been working at receiver as well. He's a decent back-up safety and had a decent chance to stick around on that premise, but he's shown promise at wideout, nabbing 4 catches for 48 yards, second on the team. If he can keep developing into a decent player he could prove to be a valuble two-way asset. With the way the Patriots use 4 and 5 wide sets, the drafting of Slater, the emergence of Kelley Washington on special teams, and the hybridization of Ventrone could be an attempt to build depth at the receiver position without having to sacrifice more spots to dedicated receivers.
John Lynch, veteran (ancient) S - He's all but assured of a roster spot, but it'll be interesting to see how he plays and how the Patriots can use him. It's become common knowledge that he's lost a few steps, but I've got it in my mind that the demise of his coverage ability might be premature. I don't want to count out an athlete like him until I see it.
Tom Brady, All-Pro QB - Having sat out game 1, and been a late, late scratch for game 2, I just want to see him play.
Oh, I'm sure he could show up 5 minutes before the season opener and throw for 350 yards and 4 touchdowns, but I just want to watch him. DAMN he's good. That said, he absolutely has to stay healthy, and this roughshod offensive line may not permit that.
Pregame
-The "studio crew" is actually on a stage next to the field, but they do a good job anyway, highlighting the offensive line's struggles, discussing roster logistics, and accurately assessing the Tom Brady situation (He's NOT playing). I don't know why, but it seems like the local announcers are always MUCH better on football than their baseball counterparts.
-Maybe because it's just an easier game to understand, from the base level to the top, or maybe because it's more intuitive. Still, it's amazing to hear the talk radio drones at WFAN and WEEI, or the announcers at ESPN or any of the reigonal sports networks butcher the game of baseball, while WCVB Channel 5 and FSN New England can talk about football at a decent intellectual level.
-Mike Lynch of WCVB is the sideline guy, while national announcers Don Criqui and Randy Cross have the call (Criqui on play-by-play and Cross on color).
First Quarter
-Gostowski looks good again on the kickoff, putting it 3 yards deep into the endzone and off-center. Shawn Crable does a good job getting downfield and making the tackle at the Eagles 17.
-The Eagles get a cheap first down, thanks to the incomprable (not in a good way) Ellis Hobbs. Hobbs had his back turned, running downfield the whole time, even as Antwan Spann came over to clean up the mess.
-Ah yes, the first Rodney Harrison "illegal contact" penalty of the season. Is he a dirty player or not? I don't know, but offensive players use that reputation to draw calls, that I know for sure.
-Brian Westbrook takes a dive up the middle, and no one can touch him as he breaks through and bounces outside for 11 yards before Hobbs pushes him out. He ends up taking the next two plays, a 5 yard push off0tackle and a 19 yard screen pass to the right, effortlessly dodging the Blue-And-Silver human missiles flying around him. Westbrook is considered one better RB's in the league and he's STILL underrated. He gets called a scat-back, and a two-way threat, referring to his speed, agility, and receiving prowess, but I disagree. He's just a THREAT, in all capitals. He's been slightly fragile, and he's never been a statistically dominant present, but I had to pick a team to play one drive for a billion dollars, I might pick him over LaDainian Tomlinson. He's that good, and that consistent.
-After driving downfield, mostly behind Westbrook, they kick a 24 yard field goal.
General Thoughts
The 3rd exhibition game is key, because 4 days from now (August 26th) we have the first roster cut-down date, where the roster gets pruned from 80 men to 75. Then, after the 4th preseason game you have the massive layoffs on August 30th (75 men to 53).
This all matters because time is getting short for the fringe guys to make an impression. The 3rd-6th wide receiver spots are really up for grabs, and there is a straight-up melee for spots on the depth chart at linebacker. Hell, we haven't even figured out who'll START, because there's a good chance Junior Seau could get a phone call, what with Victor Hobson failing to impress, and Jerod Mayo being a rookie in a Bill Belichick defense. If a guy wants to stick, the time to step up is now.
Even if they fall short of the New England roster, that's not the biggest indictment in the world. I mean, this IS a team that went 18-0 on it's way to the Super Bowl; that's got to be an indication of the level of skill on the team. Even if a guy like C.J. Jones or Johnathan Stupar has a remote chance of making this team, he could still impress any number of personnel departments around the league.
This game isn't just important to the fringe guys and rookies, but the veterans and stars too. They have to stay healthy and prove they can do their job. Belichick isn't afraid to give the best guy the job, regardless of experience, so there's little incentive to sit out, except to prevent injury. It's a fine line to walk, but I bet we'll see the first-team for the majority of the first half.
Guys to watch:
Gary Guyton and Vince Redd, rookie OLBs - The Patriots are notorious for drafting linebackers in the low rounds or signing them after the draft, and then developing them into decent players (see: Eric Alexander, Tully Banta-Cain, Matt Chathman, Corey Mays, and Pierre Woods). In that vein, these guys are exactly what the coaches are looking for.
Thanks to his speed, Guyton has been a presence on special teams, and a pleasant revelation in the base defense. He's currently 3rd on the team in tackles with 7 (6 solo) and has shown a special "suddenness" when it comes to rushing the passer. He's not the typical size for a New England outside linebacker (6'2" 245 lbs) but he runs a blazing 4.47 40-yard dash.
In comparison, the first wide receiver drafted this year, Donnie Avery (out of Houston to the St. Louis Rams), runs a 4.43 40-yard dash. The next, Devin Thomas (out of Michigan State to the Washington Redskins) ran it in 4.40 seconds. The next, Jordy Nelson (out of Kansas State to the Green Bay Packers) ran it in 4.51 seconds. I could keep going, but it boils down to this: Guyton is faster than 3 of the top 10 drafter wide receivers, and within .05 (5 hundredths) of a second of 3 more. This has been a mighty fierce tangent, but what it goes to show is that college production might not be the only indication of what a defensive player can do on the next level.*
* It's the other way around on the offensive side of the ball, where guy who had nice college careers get overlooked by scouts because they don't have incredible measureables. Troy Smith is my best example of a guy who had an amazing college career (Heisman Trophy winner, went to a National Title game) who had his professional prospects discounted from the very beginning. Now, he's essentially won the starting job for the Baltimore Ravens, ahead of the longer tenured, former first-round pick Kyle Boller, and rookie phenom Joe Flacco. My next bet for neglected college superstar turned productive pro would be Mike Hart, the runningback out of Michigan.
Redd hasn't quite produced at the level Guyton has, but his measurables are more than enough to impress. At 6'5" 263 lbs. he still runs a 4.58 40-yard dash, still great for a linebacker. Late in the game against Tampa, he had an impressive sack where he overpowered the blocker at the line of scrimmage AND used his incredible speed to close on the quarterback.
Matthew Slater, rookie WR/S/KR - Slater does a little bit of everything, but as of yet, a lot of nothing. He's got some incredible physical gifts, and he's been impressive in practice, but he hasn't brought the same spark to his kick-returns in the games. He's had small cameos on offense and defense in the games, grabbing 3 catches for 19 yards (I seem to recall a drop, but don't hold me to it), he sports a 24.3 yard return average, and he has looked good on special teams coverage, but roster room is tight as it is, and he'll have to show a little more than that to justify a spot.
Raymond "Bubba" Ventrone, 3rd year S/WR - Ventrone had been a safety dating back to his sophomore year in high school, but apparently the Patriots saw something even he didn't, and so starting in training camp he's been working at receiver as well. He's a decent back-up safety and had a decent chance to stick around on that premise, but he's shown promise at wideout, nabbing 4 catches for 48 yards, second on the team. If he can keep developing into a decent player he could prove to be a valuble two-way asset. With the way the Patriots use 4 and 5 wide sets, the drafting of Slater, the emergence of Kelley Washington on special teams, and the hybridization of Ventrone could be an attempt to build depth at the receiver position without having to sacrifice more spots to dedicated receivers.
John Lynch, veteran (ancient) S - He's all but assured of a roster spot, but it'll be interesting to see how he plays and how the Patriots can use him. It's become common knowledge that he's lost a few steps, but I've got it in my mind that the demise of his coverage ability might be premature. I don't want to count out an athlete like him until I see it.
Tom Brady, All-Pro QB - Having sat out game 1, and been a late, late scratch for game 2, I just want to see him play.
Oh, I'm sure he could show up 5 minutes before the season opener and throw for 350 yards and 4 touchdowns, but I just want to watch him. DAMN he's good. That said, he absolutely has to stay healthy, and this roughshod offensive line may not permit that.
Pregame
-The "studio crew" is actually on a stage next to the field, but they do a good job anyway, highlighting the offensive line's struggles, discussing roster logistics, and accurately assessing the Tom Brady situation (He's NOT playing). I don't know why, but it seems like the local announcers are always MUCH better on football than their baseball counterparts.
-Maybe because it's just an easier game to understand, from the base level to the top, or maybe because it's more intuitive. Still, it's amazing to hear the talk radio drones at WFAN and WEEI, or the announcers at ESPN or any of the reigonal sports networks butcher the game of baseball, while WCVB Channel 5 and FSN New England can talk about football at a decent intellectual level.
-Mike Lynch of WCVB is the sideline guy, while national announcers Don Criqui and Randy Cross have the call (Criqui on play-by-play and Cross on color).
First Quarter
-Gostowski looks good again on the kickoff, putting it 3 yards deep into the endzone and off-center. Shawn Crable does a good job getting downfield and making the tackle at the Eagles 17.
-The Eagles get a cheap first down, thanks to the incomprable (not in a good way) Ellis Hobbs. Hobbs had his back turned, running downfield the whole time, even as Antwan Spann came over to clean up the mess.
-Ah yes, the first Rodney Harrison "illegal contact" penalty of the season. Is he a dirty player or not? I don't know, but offensive players use that reputation to draw calls, that I know for sure.
-Brian Westbrook takes a dive up the middle, and no one can touch him as he breaks through and bounces outside for 11 yards before Hobbs pushes him out. He ends up taking the next two plays, a 5 yard push off0tackle and a 19 yard screen pass to the right, effortlessly dodging the Blue-And-Silver human missiles flying around him. Westbrook is considered one better RB's in the league and he's STILL underrated. He gets called a scat-back, and a two-way threat, referring to his speed, agility, and receiving prowess, but I disagree. He's just a THREAT, in all capitals. He's been slightly fragile, and he's never been a statistically dominant present, but I had to pick a team to play one drive for a billion dollars, I might pick him over LaDainian Tomlinson. He's that good, and that consistent.
-After driving downfield, mostly behind Westbrook, they kick a 24 yard field goal.
Philadelphia scores, 3-0 Eagles with 8:21 remaining in the First
-On the first play from scrimmage, Randy Moss tries to take a naked screen from Matt Cassel upfield, but gets absolutely drilled by Asante Samuel for a loss of 5.
-On the next play after a nice 8 yard completion up the sideline to TE David Thomas, Cassel sees a hole in the middle of the defense and takes off. With how bad he's been, it's easy to forget why we were so enamoured with him in the first place. He simply outran a lot of guys, before being brought down from behind 22 yards later.
-Maroney takes two consecutive handoffs between the tackles. On the first he fights he way through traffic for 3 yards, but on the second the O-Line gets beat BAD, letting 3 defenders through on a run blitz. As soon as Maroney had the ball, they were right there.
-On 3rd down, the underneath receivers are covered so Cassel looks to Moss on a long post, but throws it at his feet. There was some pressure on that, but that's the kind of throw Brady makes.
-After the punt, the Eagles run a play the NFC East will get tired of really quickly: a quick slant to DeSean Jackson. Jackson had a step on the horrendous Ellis Hobbs the whole way, and managed to go 13 yards before Hobbs could drag him down.
-Vrabel and Bruschi show why they've cashed their checks for so long in this league, and beat their guys to get to Donovan McNabb. Vrabel got around his man on the outside and Bruschi found a gap on the inside. They may be aging, but I'm still impressed with their level of play. Vrabel was one of the top pass rushers in the league last year, and Bruschi can still sniff out runs, cover RB's and TE's over the middle, and track down ball-carryers.
-Wow, I'm convinced that the NFL gets more exciting with every new generation of players. Eagles rookie DeSean Jackson receives the Chris Hanson punt, and runs it back 42 yards to the Patriots 19 yard line, where he is met by Jerod Mayo who absolutely LEVELS the receiver out of Cal. I mean, Jackson got stopped on a dime and lifted off his feet. The impact was so vicious that Mayo bounced away, and James Sanders had to finish off the tackle. I don't even care that it was against the Patriots, that was exciting to watch.
-And wow again. The Eagles were penalized twice on that last play, but the egregious one was Quinton Demps. He pushed coverage man Kelley Washington to the ground, and held on to him, pushing him down over and over again. I don't know what the deal is, but that was malicious.
-On the next play after a nice 8 yard completion up the sideline to TE David Thomas, Cassel sees a hole in the middle of the defense and takes off. With how bad he's been, it's easy to forget why we were so enamoured with him in the first place. He simply outran a lot of guys, before being brought down from behind 22 yards later.
-Maroney takes two consecutive handoffs between the tackles. On the first he fights he way through traffic for 3 yards, but on the second the O-Line gets beat BAD, letting 3 defenders through on a run blitz. As soon as Maroney had the ball, they were right there.
-On 3rd down, the underneath receivers are covered so Cassel looks to Moss on a long post, but throws it at his feet. There was some pressure on that, but that's the kind of throw Brady makes.
-After the punt, the Eagles run a play the NFC East will get tired of really quickly: a quick slant to DeSean Jackson. Jackson had a step on the horrendous Ellis Hobbs the whole way, and managed to go 13 yards before Hobbs could drag him down.
-Vrabel and Bruschi show why they've cashed their checks for so long in this league, and beat their guys to get to Donovan McNabb. Vrabel got around his man on the outside and Bruschi found a gap on the inside. They may be aging, but I'm still impressed with their level of play. Vrabel was one of the top pass rushers in the league last year, and Bruschi can still sniff out runs, cover RB's and TE's over the middle, and track down ball-carryers.
-Wow, I'm convinced that the NFL gets more exciting with every new generation of players. Eagles rookie DeSean Jackson receives the Chris Hanson punt, and runs it back 42 yards to the Patriots 19 yard line, where he is met by Jerod Mayo who absolutely LEVELS the receiver out of Cal. I mean, Jackson got stopped on a dime and lifted off his feet. The impact was so vicious that Mayo bounced away, and James Sanders had to finish off the tackle. I don't even care that it was against the Patriots, that was exciting to watch.
-And wow again. The Eagles were penalized twice on that last play, but the egregious one was Quinton Demps. He pushed coverage man Kelley Washington to the ground, and held on to him, pushing him down over and over again. I don't know what the deal is, but that was malicious.
Second Quarter
-John Lynch lines up like all the writers and analysts thought he would, as sort of a safety/linebacker tweener, which makes sense. He supposedly doesn't quite have the coverage ability he once did, but he's a solid tackler, a heavy hitter, and a smart enough guy to diagnose the play. He was also signed to the roster after Tank Williams went down for the year, and that was the same role he was supposed to have.
-Lynch makes nice plays on conecutive plays: filling the middle on a dive, and making a nice solo tackle on Westbrook in space.
-Even though they've been able to pass on the Patriots iffy secondary, Philadelphia seems content to run the ball up the middle on 4 consecutive plays. The aforementioned 2 plays involving Lynch, and then a dive stopped by Vince Wilfork and a nice play by Pierre Woods, who stayed at home and got back-up Correll Buckhalter when he cut back.
-And there you go, DeSean Jackson and Donovan McNabb fool veteran corner Fernando Bryant for a 23 yard gain up the right side. It looked like Bryant turned and froze for a second thanks to a play or pump fake, but Jackson had a few steps on him anyway.
-Mike Vrabel gets beat downfield by TE L.J. Smith. That play must have been a surprise to New England, because one of the reasons for all the young linebackers has been Vrabels struggles in coverage. He's alright on short route, but if a TE or RB can stretch the field at all, he's toast. I specifically remember two years ago against the Chargers, he got beat for long touchdowns to LaDanian Tomlinson on simple swing routes, not once but twice.
-McNabb slings a touchdown to Jason Avant in the middle of the endzone, wide open. I don't know who was in coverage, but Spann closed on him well enough. If it wasn't his man, well then good on him, but if it was his man...
Philadelphia scores, 10-0 Eagles with 9:42 remaining in the second
-John Lynch lines up like all the writers and analysts thought he would, as sort of a safety/linebacker tweener, which makes sense. He supposedly doesn't quite have the coverage ability he once did, but he's a solid tackler, a heavy hitter, and a smart enough guy to diagnose the play. He was also signed to the roster after Tank Williams went down for the year, and that was the same role he was supposed to have.
-Lynch makes nice plays on conecutive plays: filling the middle on a dive, and making a nice solo tackle on Westbrook in space.
-Even though they've been able to pass on the Patriots iffy secondary, Philadelphia seems content to run the ball up the middle on 4 consecutive plays. The aforementioned 2 plays involving Lynch, and then a dive stopped by Vince Wilfork and a nice play by Pierre Woods, who stayed at home and got back-up Correll Buckhalter when he cut back.
-And there you go, DeSean Jackson and Donovan McNabb fool veteran corner Fernando Bryant for a 23 yard gain up the right side. It looked like Bryant turned and froze for a second thanks to a play or pump fake, but Jackson had a few steps on him anyway.
-Mike Vrabel gets beat downfield by TE L.J. Smith. That play must have been a surprise to New England, because one of the reasons for all the young linebackers has been Vrabels struggles in coverage. He's alright on short route, but if a TE or RB can stretch the field at all, he's toast. I specifically remember two years ago against the Chargers, he got beat for long touchdowns to LaDanian Tomlinson on simple swing routes, not once but twice.
-McNabb slings a touchdown to Jason Avant in the middle of the endzone, wide open. I don't know who was in coverage, but Spann closed on him well enough. If it wasn't his man, well then good on him, but if it was his man...
Philadelphia scores, 10-0 Eagles with 9:42 remaining in the second
-The Pats are killing themselves. After ending up at 3rd-and-10, Cassel completes a short pass to TE Ben Watson who runs 12 yards for the first down, but a penalty is called on backup tackle Wesley Britt, who was forced into the starting role due to injuries. The play is negated, and THEN a 10 yard holding penalty is assessed. On the resulting 3rd-and-20, Cassel sees no one open but Kevin Faulk underneath. Four yards on 3rd-and-20 just doesn't cut it.
-DeSean Jackson is looking real good, as he nabbs another 8 yard gain. He's got 3 for 44 at this point, but he's looked open on every play, no matter who's on him.
-L.J. Smith wiggles behind Tedy Brushi and gets open for 21 yards. This looks like a repeat of the Superbowl last year, and the AFC Championship game against the Colts the year before. Old, slow linebackers getting beat.
-If DeSean Jackson keeps this up, he might just be able to turn those Philly fans frowns upside down. He grabs a short pass on the left side and dodges man after man, maneuvering in traffic to bring the ball 23 yards down to the New England 7.
-Wacky, wacky play here. Hank Baskett catches a pass on the sideline a few yards short of the goal line, and dives for the endzone, but the ball comes loose and goes out of bounds through the endzone, resulting in a turnover, giving New England the ball.
-Starting at the Patriots 20 after the touchback, Matt Cassel goes downtown to Randy Moss on the first play, and the Eagles defensive backs nearly piss themselves. Safety Sean Considine and ex-Patriots Pro-Bowl CB Asante Samuel literally jump on Mosses back, resulting in a 47 yard penalty.
-Kevin Faulk gets stuffed in the backfield for a loss of 4. In on the tackle is Dan Klecko, who started his career in New England as a nose tackle. He spent a year or two with Indy, and I lost track of him. A real nice guy and team player. He's also incredibly comical at 5'11" and 275 lbs, like a human bowling ball.
-Cassel looks much better this week, and maybe that's because he hasn't been afraid to throw to his runningbacks and tight-ends. David Thomas snags a short pass over the middle and runs after the catch for 20 yards. Thomas is looking good after two injury plagued years. He was probably a sure thing to make the roster anyway, but if he can play well enough, he might allow the Patriots to get away with keeping only 2 tight-ends on the active roster.
-Ugh, Cassel gets sacked for no gain when he tries to take off running. Just because you CAN doesn't mean that you SHOULD.
-Moss seemingly catches a 7 yard pass for a first down, but he was in motion at the snap resulting in a penalty.
-Cassel misses Chad Jackson, forcing the Pats to settle for a 35 yard Stephen Gostownski field goal.
-DeSean Jackson is looking real good, as he nabbs another 8 yard gain. He's got 3 for 44 at this point, but he's looked open on every play, no matter who's on him.
-L.J. Smith wiggles behind Tedy Brushi and gets open for 21 yards. This looks like a repeat of the Superbowl last year, and the AFC Championship game against the Colts the year before. Old, slow linebackers getting beat.
-If DeSean Jackson keeps this up, he might just be able to turn those Philly fans frowns upside down. He grabs a short pass on the left side and dodges man after man, maneuvering in traffic to bring the ball 23 yards down to the New England 7.
-Wacky, wacky play here. Hank Baskett catches a pass on the sideline a few yards short of the goal line, and dives for the endzone, but the ball comes loose and goes out of bounds through the endzone, resulting in a turnover, giving New England the ball.
-Starting at the Patriots 20 after the touchback, Matt Cassel goes downtown to Randy Moss on the first play, and the Eagles defensive backs nearly piss themselves. Safety Sean Considine and ex-Patriots Pro-Bowl CB Asante Samuel literally jump on Mosses back, resulting in a 47 yard penalty.
-Kevin Faulk gets stuffed in the backfield for a loss of 4. In on the tackle is Dan Klecko, who started his career in New England as a nose tackle. He spent a year or two with Indy, and I lost track of him. A real nice guy and team player. He's also incredibly comical at 5'11" and 275 lbs, like a human bowling ball.
-Cassel looks much better this week, and maybe that's because he hasn't been afraid to throw to his runningbacks and tight-ends. David Thomas snags a short pass over the middle and runs after the catch for 20 yards. Thomas is looking good after two injury plagued years. He was probably a sure thing to make the roster anyway, but if he can play well enough, he might allow the Patriots to get away with keeping only 2 tight-ends on the active roster.
-Ugh, Cassel gets sacked for no gain when he tries to take off running. Just because you CAN doesn't mean that you SHOULD.
-Moss seemingly catches a 7 yard pass for a first down, but he was in motion at the snap resulting in a penalty.
-Cassel misses Chad Jackson, forcing the Pats to settle for a 35 yard Stephen Gostownski field goal.
New England scores, 10-3 Eagles with 1:52 left in the half
-Randy Cross states, "Almost two minutes left, with a veteran quarterback, that's too much time." He's right, but Donovan McNabb has very little to do with it. Quinton Demps takes the ensuing kickoff to the right side, blowing past kicker Stephen Gostowski and beating John Lynch, who was pursuing from the weak side, in a footrace to take it 101 yards in the opposite direction.
-Matthew Slater receives the kick for New England, and he must have read my blurb on him in the "Guys To Watch" section. He dashes up the middle for 29 yards.
-And a fat lot of good it did him, as Cassel takes a 9 yard sack on first down, essentially dooming the drive. Trent Cole flat out beat Wesley Britt. There's no other way to put it, he was out-powered and out-run. Where have you gone, Matt Light? A nation turns it's lonely eyes to you, ooh-ooh-ohh.
-Cassell gets a 6 yard pass out to Randy Moss, but he's swarmed before he can go anywhere.
-Cassel misses Faulk over the middle, and there goes our chance to build some momentum
-Holy fucking shit. I, for one, welcome our new DeSean Jackson overlords.
Philadelphia scores, 17-3 Eagles with 1:35 left in the half
-Belichick must be furious; if there's one thing he hates more than giving up scores on special teams, it's giving up STUPID scores on special teams. Actually, looking at it like that, aren't any points given up on special teams intrinsically stupid?-Matthew Slater receives the kick for New England, and he must have read my blurb on him in the "Guys To Watch" section. He dashes up the middle for 29 yards.
-And a fat lot of good it did him, as Cassel takes a 9 yard sack on first down, essentially dooming the drive. Trent Cole flat out beat Wesley Britt. There's no other way to put it, he was out-powered and out-run. Where have you gone, Matt Light? A nation turns it's lonely eyes to you, ooh-ooh-ohh.
-Cassell gets a 6 yard pass out to Randy Moss, but he's swarmed before he can go anywhere.
-Cassel misses Faulk over the middle, and there goes our chance to build some momentum
-Holy fucking shit. I, for one, welcome our new DeSean Jackson overlords.
Philadelphia scores, 24-3 Eagles with 0:00 remaining in the half
-Jackson receives the punt to the left of the left hashmark, and finds a seam up the middle, taking the punt back 76 yards.
-Punter Chris Hanson gets reamed out on the sideline by special teams coach Brad Seely. Hanson snaps back, and Seely calls Bill Belichick over who picks up where Seely leaves off. I can't help but think the normally steady Hanson messed that up somehow. Maybe he was supposed to kick it out of bounds, or simply away from Jackson.
-If it was supposed to be away from Jackson, well, he did run a long way to catch it. Maybe it just wasn't far enough.
Halftime
-What is there really to say, I'm going to take a break and stay calm untill the 3rd quarter starts.
-Alright, I'll say this. The Patriots continue to get killed in time-of-possesion. I'm too lazy to do the math, but I assure you, it's ugly. They can't run it and they can't pass it. If you can't move the chains, the defense is going to get tired awful fast.
Third Quarter
-Matt Slater has his man pants on today, as he comes thisclose to taking the kickoff to the house. He turned on the jets to hit a seam up the middle, and barely got tripped up by a diving defender.
-Cassel finally seems to be getting some time, as he completes two passes, sandwiched around a 4 yard Laurence Maroney run. First a 4 yard dink to Jabar Gaffney, and then a 10 yard out to fullback Heath Evans.
-Evans is an important cog in this offense. Fullbacks are becoming an endangered species, but he is a punishing blocker, a powerful short yardage runner, and an underrated receiver. He does all the right things, from a position where no one expects it.
-New England strings together 3 three straight 3-yard plays: Sammy Morris to the left, pass completion to Jabar Gaffney to the right, and Morris to the left again, setting up a 4th-and-1.
-The hand-off goes to Morris, who hits the off-tackle hole and bursts ahead for 11 yards. That's nice to see from New England, the ability to convert on a crucial 4th down.
-There it goes. A couple of penalties, and an incompletion doom the drive, and then on a 3rd-and-18 the line lets Cassel down. He gets absolutely hammered, and he had no chance to do anything about it.
-Hanson punts it down to the Eagles 4 yard line. The drive started promising, but it left a sour taste in my mouth at the end. Two penalties from veteran linemen (Mankins and Kaczur) and a blown blocking assignment makes me think that it may have been Brady making them look good, as opposed to vice-versa.
-Kevin Kolb is into the game now for the Eagles, and he is tearing up the New England secondary. He completes passes of 15, 12,12 22, 9, and 3 yards as a part of a 12 play Philly drive.
-Kolb goes 6-9 for 73 yards, and Tony Hunt rushes for 9 on 3 carries, but they were all powerful runs up the middle. The Pats are looking haggard.
-David Akers closes it out as the drive stalls after two consecutive Kolb incompletions. His kick is good from 24 yards.
-Punter Chris Hanson gets reamed out on the sideline by special teams coach Brad Seely. Hanson snaps back, and Seely calls Bill Belichick over who picks up where Seely leaves off. I can't help but think the normally steady Hanson messed that up somehow. Maybe he was supposed to kick it out of bounds, or simply away from Jackson.
-If it was supposed to be away from Jackson, well, he did run a long way to catch it. Maybe it just wasn't far enough.
Halftime
-What is there really to say, I'm going to take a break and stay calm untill the 3rd quarter starts.
-Alright, I'll say this. The Patriots continue to get killed in time-of-possesion. I'm too lazy to do the math, but I assure you, it's ugly. They can't run it and they can't pass it. If you can't move the chains, the defense is going to get tired awful fast.
Third Quarter
-Matt Slater has his man pants on today, as he comes thisclose to taking the kickoff to the house. He turned on the jets to hit a seam up the middle, and barely got tripped up by a diving defender.
-Cassel finally seems to be getting some time, as he completes two passes, sandwiched around a 4 yard Laurence Maroney run. First a 4 yard dink to Jabar Gaffney, and then a 10 yard out to fullback Heath Evans.
-Evans is an important cog in this offense. Fullbacks are becoming an endangered species, but he is a punishing blocker, a powerful short yardage runner, and an underrated receiver. He does all the right things, from a position where no one expects it.
-New England strings together 3 three straight 3-yard plays: Sammy Morris to the left, pass completion to Jabar Gaffney to the right, and Morris to the left again, setting up a 4th-and-1.
-The hand-off goes to Morris, who hits the off-tackle hole and bursts ahead for 11 yards. That's nice to see from New England, the ability to convert on a crucial 4th down.
-There it goes. A couple of penalties, and an incompletion doom the drive, and then on a 3rd-and-18 the line lets Cassel down. He gets absolutely hammered, and he had no chance to do anything about it.
-Hanson punts it down to the Eagles 4 yard line. The drive started promising, but it left a sour taste in my mouth at the end. Two penalties from veteran linemen (Mankins and Kaczur) and a blown blocking assignment makes me think that it may have been Brady making them look good, as opposed to vice-versa.
-Kevin Kolb is into the game now for the Eagles, and he is tearing up the New England secondary. He completes passes of 15, 12,12 22, 9, and 3 yards as a part of a 12 play Philly drive.
-Kolb goes 6-9 for 73 yards, and Tony Hunt rushes for 9 on 3 carries, but they were all powerful runs up the middle. The Pats are looking haggard.
-David Akers closes it out as the drive stalls after two consecutive Kolb incompletions. His kick is good from 24 yards.
Philadelphia scores, 27-3 Eagles with 4:12 remaining in the 3rd
-Slater has another 29 yard return. It's a compliment when I say that he made that lengthy return look almost boring.
-Matt Gutierrez is in at QB for New England, and while I feel good that an 2nd year veteran who was an undrafted rookie is getting a real chance to show himself off, I feel bad that he's probably going to die at the hands of the ravenous Philly defenders.
-Gutierrez is already distancing himself from Cassel, as he completes a beautiful 24 yard pass to C.J. Jones on the right sideline. Sean Considine had some really good coverage, but he put it over the top of the Eagles safety and dropped it right onto Jones.
-BenJarvus Green-Ellis is getting his number called for some in-line carries, but he's not making much of it. Two yards over the left side and a loss of 3 in the middle.
-Gutierrez drastically overthrows rookie tight-end Jonathan Stupar, but it turns out Stupar pushed off the defender, which makes it 2nd-and-23.
-I may have to reasses my sympathetic assessment of Cassel, as Goots is getting it done. He first completes an 8 yard pass to Kelley Washington, and then on 3rd-and-15 he slings it out to Chad Jackson, who ran an incredibly nice route, for 16 yard and the first down.
-Green-Ellis gets stuffed again for a loss of 2, and that closes out the 4th quarter.
Fourth Quarter
-Heath Evans comes up huge. He had an 8 yard catch earlier, between two Green-Ellis runs, and he tallies another here. He slips loose of the coverage, catches the ball, and runs away from the defenders for some extra yardage.
-Ray "Bubba" Ventrone shows his face, and comes up with a catch on a play that looks almost exactly like the one before. Ventrone came out of the WR spot instead of the backfield, but he still ended up running a long in routetowards the right sideline, getting down the the Philly 1-yard line.
-Chad Jackson shows off those physical gifts that made him a 2nd round pick. He ran a corner route, and Goots threw a jump ball to his outside shoulder. Jackson looked absolutely Moss-esque as he jumped up and reached behind his back to snare the touchdown.
-Matt Gutierrez is in at QB for New England, and while I feel good that an 2nd year veteran who was an undrafted rookie is getting a real chance to show himself off, I feel bad that he's probably going to die at the hands of the ravenous Philly defenders.
-Gutierrez is already distancing himself from Cassel, as he completes a beautiful 24 yard pass to C.J. Jones on the right sideline. Sean Considine had some really good coverage, but he put it over the top of the Eagles safety and dropped it right onto Jones.
-BenJarvus Green-Ellis is getting his number called for some in-line carries, but he's not making much of it. Two yards over the left side and a loss of 3 in the middle.
-Gutierrez drastically overthrows rookie tight-end Jonathan Stupar, but it turns out Stupar pushed off the defender, which makes it 2nd-and-23.
-I may have to reasses my sympathetic assessment of Cassel, as Goots is getting it done. He first completes an 8 yard pass to Kelley Washington, and then on 3rd-and-15 he slings it out to Chad Jackson, who ran an incredibly nice route, for 16 yard and the first down.
-Green-Ellis gets stuffed again for a loss of 2, and that closes out the 4th quarter.
Fourth Quarter
-Heath Evans comes up huge. He had an 8 yard catch earlier, between two Green-Ellis runs, and he tallies another here. He slips loose of the coverage, catches the ball, and runs away from the defenders for some extra yardage.
-Ray "Bubba" Ventrone shows his face, and comes up with a catch on a play that looks almost exactly like the one before. Ventrone came out of the WR spot instead of the backfield, but he still ended up running a long in routetowards the right sideline, getting down the the Philly 1-yard line.
-Chad Jackson shows off those physical gifts that made him a 2nd round pick. He ran a corner route, and Goots threw a jump ball to his outside shoulder. Jackson looked absolutely Moss-esque as he jumped up and reached behind his back to snare the touchdown.
New England scores, 27-10 Eagles with 13:53 remaining in the 4th
-The Patriots seem to have battoned down their deep coverage, leaving Kevin Kolb with just short routes to look to. It all comes at a price though, as their allowing some guy named Ryan Moats to run for some decent yardage. He runs for 4 and 5 yards, and inbetween those two runs Kolb completes two passes for 11 yards.
-Kolb manages to drive out to the 43 before a penalty stalls the workman like drive. The longest plays were a trio of 7 yard passes, and Sav Rocca punts it away.
-The Patriots take over on their own 3, and try the time-honored, gutless strategy of running the ball from your own goal line. Green-Ellis doesn't pick up any yardage.
-Goots completes a short dump off to Ray Ventrone on the left side, and Bubba takes off for 21 yards to give the Patriots some room to work with. Maybe the New England coaches found something Ventrones coaches in high school and at Villanova missed.
-BenJarvus Green-Ellis gets around the left end for 9 yards. I don't just like this guy because of his name, I like him because he's like a human pinball, He doesn't look that thick, but he runs with surprising power, and he looks like constatly pulsating with energy.
-Gutierrez goes deep down the right side to Chad Jackson, but the Philadelphia defender was draped all over him, resulting in a 25 yard defensive pass interference call.
-Aftan an incompletion, and a costly Ray Ventrone pass interference penalty the Patriots face 2nd-and-20. Gutierrez does his best, getting the ball out to Ventrone for 8 yards and scrambling for 5, but on 4rd-and-7 and going for it, he's sacked for a loss of 7. It seems like anytime the going gets tough, the offensive line turns into a sieve.
-The Patriots defense stiffens after they punt the ball away, and force their first 3-and-out of the night. Linebacker Vince Red came off the edge to stuff Ryan Moats for a loss of 1, and then a false start penalty makes it 2nd-and16. Moats then gets to the outside for 12 yards, where he's forced out by Matthew Slater, now playing defense. After a 3rd-and-4 incompletion there's a really interesting punt play. Rocca kicks the ball out of bounds at the New England 9, but the play is called back automatically due to an illegal formation, and this time Rocca punts it 52 yards, and out of bounds, pinning the Pats at their own 1.
-Goots is still in, and still dealing the heat. Rookie TE Tyson DeVree had been cut by the Patriots earlier in the summer, but brought back after Marcus Pollard was cut, and he really makes a statement on this play. He gets open deep, and hauls in a 32 yard pass to bail the Patriots out of their own endzone.
-Goots misses Ventrone over the middle, but comes back to hit Green-Ellis for 18 yards up the left side. He is really showing Cassel up.
-An incomplete to Jonathan Stupar brings us to the two minute warning. Immediately afterwards, he takes another step towards saving C.J. Jones' career by dropping in a beautiful 37 yard pass right on the sideline. Viva la Gutierrez!!!
-Unfortunately they foul up the next two plays with an incompletion and a 5 yard penalty on a Chad Jackson false start.
-Ventrone continues to wear the man pants, snaring a 9 yard pass over the right hash. I honestly never saw this coming. When I heard he was taking reps at receiver, I said, "Oh, how cute, he'll do ANYTHING to stay in the NFL." Now, he may actually be the best choice for a number 2 receiver.
-Okay, maybe that was hyperbole, since most of those yard have come against scrubs, and we've barely seen Gaffney, and I'm assuming Welker stays in the slot.
-Kolb manages to drive out to the 43 before a penalty stalls the workman like drive. The longest plays were a trio of 7 yard passes, and Sav Rocca punts it away.
-The Patriots take over on their own 3, and try the time-honored, gutless strategy of running the ball from your own goal line. Green-Ellis doesn't pick up any yardage.
-Goots completes a short dump off to Ray Ventrone on the left side, and Bubba takes off for 21 yards to give the Patriots some room to work with. Maybe the New England coaches found something Ventrones coaches in high school and at Villanova missed.
-BenJarvus Green-Ellis gets around the left end for 9 yards. I don't just like this guy because of his name, I like him because he's like a human pinball, He doesn't look that thick, but he runs with surprising power, and he looks like constatly pulsating with energy.
-Gutierrez goes deep down the right side to Chad Jackson, but the Philadelphia defender was draped all over him, resulting in a 25 yard defensive pass interference call.
-Aftan an incompletion, and a costly Ray Ventrone pass interference penalty the Patriots face 2nd-and-20. Gutierrez does his best, getting the ball out to Ventrone for 8 yards and scrambling for 5, but on 4rd-and-7 and going for it, he's sacked for a loss of 7. It seems like anytime the going gets tough, the offensive line turns into a sieve.
-The Patriots defense stiffens after they punt the ball away, and force their first 3-and-out of the night. Linebacker Vince Red came off the edge to stuff Ryan Moats for a loss of 1, and then a false start penalty makes it 2nd-and16. Moats then gets to the outside for 12 yards, where he's forced out by Matthew Slater, now playing defense. After a 3rd-and-4 incompletion there's a really interesting punt play. Rocca kicks the ball out of bounds at the New England 9, but the play is called back automatically due to an illegal formation, and this time Rocca punts it 52 yards, and out of bounds, pinning the Pats at their own 1.
-Goots is still in, and still dealing the heat. Rookie TE Tyson DeVree had been cut by the Patriots earlier in the summer, but brought back after Marcus Pollard was cut, and he really makes a statement on this play. He gets open deep, and hauls in a 32 yard pass to bail the Patriots out of their own endzone.
-Goots misses Ventrone over the middle, but comes back to hit Green-Ellis for 18 yards up the left side. He is really showing Cassel up.
-An incomplete to Jonathan Stupar brings us to the two minute warning. Immediately afterwards, he takes another step towards saving C.J. Jones' career by dropping in a beautiful 37 yard pass right on the sideline. Viva la Gutierrez!!!
-Unfortunately they foul up the next two plays with an incompletion and a 5 yard penalty on a Chad Jackson false start.
-Ventrone continues to wear the man pants, snaring a 9 yard pass over the right hash. I honestly never saw this coming. When I heard he was taking reps at receiver, I said, "Oh, how cute, he'll do ANYTHING to stay in the NFL." Now, he may actually be the best choice for a number 2 receiver.
-Okay, maybe that was hyperbole, since most of those yard have come against scrubs, and we've barely seen Gaffney, and I'm assuming Welker stays in the slot.
-I was down on C.J. Jones too, after his comedy of errors late in the game against Baltimore, but he may actually be carving out a space for himself on this team. He get wide open in the endzone, and hauls in the fastball for the Patriots second touchdown of the game.
New England scores, 27-17 Eagles with 00:46 left in the game
-With 46 seconds left in the game, they hand the ball to Ryan Moats three times to bleed off the clock, but he's unable to pick up any real yardage and the Patriots burn their 3 time outs in an effort to get one or two plays.
-Second round draft pick, CB Terrence Wheatley is back to receive the punt. He's got an incredible top gear, but we don't get to see it as he mangles the reception, and has to dive on it.
-Rather than see any more of the shenanigans, Belichick has Goots take a knee and that ends it.
-Second round draft pick, CB Terrence Wheatley is back to receive the punt. He's got an incredible top gear, but we don't get to see it as he mangles the reception, and has to dive on it.
-Rather than see any more of the shenanigans, Belichick has Goots take a knee and that ends it.
The Philadephia Eagles defeat the New England Patriots, 27-17
Postgame Thoughts
-That may be the final nail in Matt Cassel's coffin. Through 40 minutes of the game he stunk up the place, but with around 4 minutes left in the 3rd, Matt Gutierrez came and in turned things around. He passed for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns, going 14-20. Cassel went 8-14 and managed just 60 yards.
-I have a few possible explanations: Tthe first team offensive line is racked with injuries, which allowed the first team Philly defense to dominate them. That could be true, but Cassel also had Randy Moss, Ben Watson, Laurence Maroney, and all the first team skill players. Even if the offensive line is banged up, shouldn't he have been able to manage SOMETHING. It's also reasonable to think that after Philly took a big lead thanks to the consecutive kickoff returns for touchdowns, they may have skipped a few steps down the depth chart, allowing some of their lesser seen players to play.
-Whatever the reason, Gutierrez sparked and Cassel's name was mud, especially evident from his repeated booing at the hands of the sold out Gillette Stadium Crowd.
-Ray Ventrone and C.J. Jones were the main beneficiaries of the Matt Gutierrez Bandwagon. Ventrone grabbed 4 balls for 49 yards, and looked like a real wide receiver. Like seriously, I would've never know that he's played safety for the last 8 years or so. He showed great hands, good awareness, and the necessary athleticism to play the position. Jones, meanwhile went from goat to great, catching 3 passes for 70 yards. At this point, he has to have surpassed Chad Jackson on the depth chart, and to be honest, Jabar Gaffney hasn't done much either. Jones has shown nice speed, terrific hands, and great situational awareness, being able to time up his steps to grab some balls tight to the sideline and stay inbounds. Jones now leads the Patriots with 7 catches for 120 yards (17.1 YPC), and Ventrone is second with 97 yards on 8 catches (12.1 YPC).
-Do the Patriots even HAVE runningbacks anymore? Faulk, Green-Ellis, Morris, and Maroney split 16 carries among them, gaining just 44 yards for a 2.75 YPA average. Morris was the only one who resembled effectiveness in any way, going 5 for 24 (4.8 YPA). LaMont Jordan was conspicuously nowhere to be seen.
-No one really looked good on defense today. John Lynch showed that he wasn't completely calcified, Terrence Wheatley showed that he can make tackles after allowing the catch, and the line showed that it can positively disappear when they face an offensive unit with some bite. The linebackers got burned in coverage, and the secondary wasn't much better. The only thing I can say in their defense is that the offense let them down by not amassing any time of possesion until late in the game. The Patriots only had the ball for 10:42 in the first half before holding the ball for basically the same amount (10:55) in the 3rd quarter. The end result looked respectable, 31:53-28:07 in favor of the Eagles, but a 19:18-10:42 line in the first half was enough to wear the defense down.
-What can we take from this? Gosh, not much. Our receiving situation is far more muddled, in a good way, what with Ventrone and Jones pushing for spots. Our secondary and offensive line are banged-up and largely inneffective. The Patriots haven't drafted an offensive lineman early in the draft since Mankins in '05. I think it could be due to the rising cost of offensive lineman, and if that's true, New England's economic concerns could put a damper on the season.
That'll do it for me, I'll be back soon with some baseball-related content.
-Sox
-That may be the final nail in Matt Cassel's coffin. Through 40 minutes of the game he stunk up the place, but with around 4 minutes left in the 3rd, Matt Gutierrez came and in turned things around. He passed for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns, going 14-20. Cassel went 8-14 and managed just 60 yards.
-I have a few possible explanations: Tthe first team offensive line is racked with injuries, which allowed the first team Philly defense to dominate them. That could be true, but Cassel also had Randy Moss, Ben Watson, Laurence Maroney, and all the first team skill players. Even if the offensive line is banged up, shouldn't he have been able to manage SOMETHING. It's also reasonable to think that after Philly took a big lead thanks to the consecutive kickoff returns for touchdowns, they may have skipped a few steps down the depth chart, allowing some of their lesser seen players to play.
-Whatever the reason, Gutierrez sparked and Cassel's name was mud, especially evident from his repeated booing at the hands of the sold out Gillette Stadium Crowd.
-Ray Ventrone and C.J. Jones were the main beneficiaries of the Matt Gutierrez Bandwagon. Ventrone grabbed 4 balls for 49 yards, and looked like a real wide receiver. Like seriously, I would've never know that he's played safety for the last 8 years or so. He showed great hands, good awareness, and the necessary athleticism to play the position. Jones, meanwhile went from goat to great, catching 3 passes for 70 yards. At this point, he has to have surpassed Chad Jackson on the depth chart, and to be honest, Jabar Gaffney hasn't done much either. Jones has shown nice speed, terrific hands, and great situational awareness, being able to time up his steps to grab some balls tight to the sideline and stay inbounds. Jones now leads the Patriots with 7 catches for 120 yards (17.1 YPC), and Ventrone is second with 97 yards on 8 catches (12.1 YPC).
-Do the Patriots even HAVE runningbacks anymore? Faulk, Green-Ellis, Morris, and Maroney split 16 carries among them, gaining just 44 yards for a 2.75 YPA average. Morris was the only one who resembled effectiveness in any way, going 5 for 24 (4.8 YPA). LaMont Jordan was conspicuously nowhere to be seen.
-No one really looked good on defense today. John Lynch showed that he wasn't completely calcified, Terrence Wheatley showed that he can make tackles after allowing the catch, and the line showed that it can positively disappear when they face an offensive unit with some bite. The linebackers got burned in coverage, and the secondary wasn't much better. The only thing I can say in their defense is that the offense let them down by not amassing any time of possesion until late in the game. The Patriots only had the ball for 10:42 in the first half before holding the ball for basically the same amount (10:55) in the 3rd quarter. The end result looked respectable, 31:53-28:07 in favor of the Eagles, but a 19:18-10:42 line in the first half was enough to wear the defense down.
-What can we take from this? Gosh, not much. Our receiving situation is far more muddled, in a good way, what with Ventrone and Jones pushing for spots. Our secondary and offensive line are banged-up and largely inneffective. The Patriots haven't drafted an offensive lineman early in the draft since Mankins in '05. I think it could be due to the rising cost of offensive lineman, and if that's true, New England's economic concerns could put a damper on the season.
That'll do it for me, I'll be back soon with some baseball-related content.
-Sox
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Sox and Rox joint live-blog, Patriots preseason game
Rox and I are here in my living room, after a long, hard Sunday of video games, Internet tomfoolery, and steak sandwiches, to bring you the best live-blog of this Patriots game in the Tri-State area.
Pregame
Literally nothing, they cut in with maybe 2 or 3 minutes of chatter about Tom Brady not playing, showed a clip of Brett Farve playing for the Jets, and then went to ad before the opening kickoff. Somewhere, off-camera, the Patriots won the toss, and deferred to the second half.
Since we're in the designated local region, CBS4 is carrying the NFL Network feed.
First Quarter
The opening kick goes as a far catch, as Stephen Gostowski has really been pounding the ball in the preseason.
Antonio Bryant breaks a short pass out to the edge for a gain of 15 before he's pushed out by the still-shitty Ellis Hobbs.
It’s too bad Jeff Garcia won’t be playing tonight. It might have added a little extra spice to the game to see a guy with some major CFL experience on the field. -Rox
The Bucs are eating up some yardage with short completions. The Patriots coverage looks a little porous, but they're just getting warmed up.
Jerod Mayo just made a nice tackle on the elusive Warrick Dunn after a short catch. Mayo did a good of closing in on him after being in a deeper zone coverage.
Jeff Garcia is picking on Ellis Hobbs, and I can't blame him. Hobbs is still instinctively dropping 7 yards after the snap, and praying for a safety to come.
I always love to see a helmet roll on the field. It either means that someone took a huge hit, or an athlete is just too conceited to actually buckle up his chin strap. Go Buccaneers!-Rox
The defensive line just got a nice push and stuffed Ernest Graham behind the line. That kind of pressure is going to make or break this defensive unit over the course of the season.
I can't believe I'm watching a Pats/Bucs game and John Lynch was not only mentioned, but is actually on the field. I feel slightly sick. It's like watching Romo play for Oakland, I loved the man, but no more.-Rox
Warrick Dunn is really looking good. He's been one of the leagues most underrated players over his career, in my opinion. He just took a dive up the middle for 10 yards. Eleven years, 10,181 rushing yards, 4,009 receiving yards, and 62 touchdowns, plus 3 Pro-Bowls.
The Patriots are getting killed by Brian Griese on quick slats and hitch routes. The Bucs have driven down to the goal line, and Earnest Graham drives it in from a yard out. Earnest Graham has replaced Mike Alstott as John Grudens goal-line binky/touchdown vulture. Dunn may be a great back, but Graham will probably get at least 8 touchdowns this year, and if Tampa Bay really rolls, he could get into double-digits.
Tom Brady won't be playing today; he stayed behind in Foxboro with a sore foot. Shitty-Balls Matt Cassel gets the start.
I don't know about Sox, but I'm really keeping an eye out for Eugene Wilson to make a big hit, it's always interesting to see how a team's former player will react to a new environment. But wait, interception. Maybe next series. -Rox
After two runs up the gut, the announcers predict play-action on the next play, and apparently so did Tampa linebacker Barret Ruud. Cassel fakes the ball and then looks to the post. Ruud was lurking in a soft zone underneath and read the ball perfectly, drifting back and leaping to snatch it out of mid-air.
Whoa, slow your horses. There was a review on the play, and apparently Ruud dropped the ball, making in incomplete. Scott Hanson punts it away.
Not to knock the NFL Network, but all these advertising breaks just don't have the same luster as watching Fox. The Touchdown Robot really adds some class to the gridiron.-Rox
On back to back plays, Richard Seymour makes a tackle and bats a pass down at the line. He's really looking healthy, and if he can stay that way... Look out NFL.
Jerod Mayo flashes some of the ability that has Pats fans agog, coming from the backside of the play to make a take on a short swing pass. He's really going to bring a element of speed to the Patriots Front-7 that we haven't seen in a long time.
Chad Jackson is back to return the Tampa Bay punt, and Maurice Stoval knocks him away before he even has the chance to touch the ball, giving New England the ball on their 40.
Maroney takes the hand-off up the middle and squirts out for 10 yards. He always looks like he's falling forward. Always.
After that nice run, he gets stuffed in the back-field twice in a row. Please Josh McDaniels, let him run to the outside. He's not Ladanian Tomlinson, those inside runs are not going for 15 yards a pop, at least not yet.
Matt Cassel slings the ball out to Wes Welker on a swing pass out of a 4 receiver set, and he slips a couple of tacklers to dart ahead for 16 yards. He's called tough and gritty because he's white, but if he was black we'd rave on and on about his "natural talent." Any insider will tell you that football is racist as an institution, in a lot of little ways.
Second Quarter
At this point I'm convinced that Welker is open on every single play. He nabs a short gain a little inside of the left hashmark, and just runs away from the defenders.
Watching commercials during the football season can be incredibly frustrating (Think Chevy; "This is our country") or incredibly tangential. Speaking of which: Madden 09, going to be a good game. Anyone seen ads for a NFL 2K9 game? Nope, thats because 2K Sports stopped their NFL line after EA bought the exclusive rights from the NFL to use team and player names. A class action suit is currently running through the court system over an alleged Monopoly held by the Madden franchise. Maybe they have a point.-Rox
Kevin Faulk fumbles the ball after a 5 yard gain, and the Buccaneers recover. Early on in his career, he had a severe case of fumble-itis, but in recent years he'd appeared to have been cured. Still, every time he lets the leather hit the turf, it bring up the stuggles of his younger days. As far as chronic fumblers go, I'm of the mind that they can regress rapidly.
Watching commercials during the football season can be incredibly frustrating (Think Chevy; "This is our country") or incredibly tangental. Speaking of which: Madden 09, going to be a good game. Anyone seen ads for a NFL 2K9 game? Nope, thats because 2K Sports stopped their NFL line after EA bought the exclusive rights from the NFL to use team and player names. A class action suit is currently running through the court system over an alleged Monopoly held by the Madden franchise. Maybe they have a point.-Rox
Oh wow, the Jerod Mayo hype-mobile just hit a pothole. After Antonio Bryant makes a nice reception downfield, he lays a nasty stiff arm on the rookie out of Tennesse. I mean, hand-meets-helmet, helmet-meets-turf.
"The buccaneers were pirates who attacked Spanish, French, and Dutch shipping in the Caribbean Islands during the late 17th century."-Wikipedia via Rox
Vrabel appears to be playing out in space more than he has in recent years. Most observers will agree that Vrabel has lost a step in coverage, but coming off of a monster sack year (12.5) he could be well utilized as a decoy in zone-blitzes or other stunt packages.
Luke McCown is hitting his spots, finding the holes in the New England secondary, driving down to the 24 yard-line, before he finally misses a few, overshooting all-World scumbag Jerramy Stevens in the endzone, and they have to settle for a 34 yard Matt Bryant fieldgoal.
Many critics from the continent say that America lacks cultural history. But one need not dig deeper than the names of our NFL franchises to discover a plethora of valuable information. And I quote again from Wikipedia: "The term buccaneer derives from the Arawak word buccan, a wooden frame for smoking the meat of sea cows, hence the French word boucan and the name boucanier for French hunters who used such frames to smoke meat from feral cattle and pigs on Hispaniola." And right now Bill Belichick's herd of sea cows is indeed being smoked on the boucan.-Rox
Tampa Bay is really burning up a lot of clock. It seems like they've had the ball the entire game. Funnily enough, Yahoo! Sports credits an "I. Jones" on the Patriots with 5 tackles. There is no I. Jones, unless he's reserve wideout C.J. Joneses alternate personality.
Wow, the Tampa ref's must not give a damn about block in the back calls, after about three on that return a flag was finally thrown.-Rox
With only seven carries Bennett of the Bucs has pumped out 57 yards for a 8.1 average. May he thank his O-Line for the garage door sized holes.-Rox
The announcers hear an audible from down on the field, and correctly interpret it as a 3-step drop to a swing pass, meant to take advantage of the apparent Patriots blitz. Good job by the color man.
Now down inside the 20, Luke McCown finds Michael Bennett underneath, wide open, and he dives down inside the 5.
McCown play-action fakes to the inside, and then flips it out to fullback Byron Storer who slipped outside to the flats, and jogs into the endzone untouched. The guy may have just scored, but he still possess the most awkward name of anyone on the field.
John Lynch and Wes Welker could be brothers. It's really uncanny how much they look alike. If Lynch can fufill the role he was brought in
Randy Moss makes his first reception of the game on a 10 yard dart up the sideline. I 'm surprised he's in the game at this point, with less than a minute in the second, but I guess they really want to try and score before the half.
After he hits Kevin Faulk on a crossing route underneath the coverage, he completes a 20 yard line-drive out to Moss. It was a pretty bad pass by the book, but anything in Randy Mosses direction can be considered catchable.
After a time-out, that reception puts the Pats on the Tampa Bay 43, and Belichick calls out the fieldgoal team.
Wow. Gostowski just put one up from 53 yards out, and that might have been good from 70. High, strong, and right down the middle.
Halftime
My dad just called about seeing some biker gangs motorcycling through the snow in the high Rockies swinging chains. I see some rather disturbingly similar trends appearing in the Tampa offense in relation to the Pats. The Bucs are leading New England in points, first downs, yards passing, and yards rushing.-Rox
Affirming my previous statement, Tampa Bay has the clear advantage in Time Of Possession with 20 minutes and 8 seconds minutes to 9 minutes and 52 seconds for New England. The Patriots have run 20 plays compared to 37 for the Bucs, and two 3-and-outs.
Brian Griese appears to be achieving decent success with the short pass with more completions but smaller yardage than McCown. Maybe he'll be able to stick with the Buccaneers for longer than a single season. Who knows, the once believed-to-be-replacement for John Elway may finally find a home in Tampa Bay and begin some kind of professional rythm. Or he could continue to bounce around the league and fade into the undistinguished "might have been" category of quarterbacks. There's just no telling what the future of this once-Bronco, once-Dolphin, once-Bear and twice-Buccaneer.-Rox
Third Quarter
Matt Slater is in for the return for New England, and takes the fair catch. Offensive lineman Billy Yates goes down on the play. It might not seem like much, but he's right there as a top backup at the guard spot, and with the line in as tough of shape and thin of depth as it is, that's worrying.
Depth-chart scuba-diving center Dan Connolly and Matt Cassel somehow manage to mangle the snap, allowing defensive back Sabby Piscitelli to scoop up the ball and dash 24 yards to the endzone.
Pregame
Literally nothing, they cut in with maybe 2 or 3 minutes of chatter about Tom Brady not playing, showed a clip of Brett Farve playing for the Jets, and then went to ad before the opening kickoff. Somewhere, off-camera, the Patriots won the toss, and deferred to the second half.
Since we're in the designated local region, CBS4 is carrying the NFL Network feed.
First Quarter
The opening kick goes as a far catch, as Stephen Gostowski has really been pounding the ball in the preseason.
Antonio Bryant breaks a short pass out to the edge for a gain of 15 before he's pushed out by the still-shitty Ellis Hobbs.
It’s too bad Jeff Garcia won’t be playing tonight. It might have added a little extra spice to the game to see a guy with some major CFL experience on the field. -Rox
The Bucs are eating up some yardage with short completions. The Patriots coverage looks a little porous, but they're just getting warmed up.
Jerod Mayo just made a nice tackle on the elusive Warrick Dunn after a short catch. Mayo did a good of closing in on him after being in a deeper zone coverage.
Jeff Garcia is picking on Ellis Hobbs, and I can't blame him. Hobbs is still instinctively dropping 7 yards after the snap, and praying for a safety to come.
I always love to see a helmet roll on the field. It either means that someone took a huge hit, or an athlete is just too conceited to actually buckle up his chin strap. Go Buccaneers!-Rox
The defensive line just got a nice push and stuffed Ernest Graham behind the line. That kind of pressure is going to make or break this defensive unit over the course of the season.
I can't believe I'm watching a Pats/Bucs game and John Lynch was not only mentioned, but is actually on the field. I feel slightly sick. It's like watching Romo play for Oakland, I loved the man, but no more.-Rox
Warrick Dunn is really looking good. He's been one of the leagues most underrated players over his career, in my opinion. He just took a dive up the middle for 10 yards. Eleven years, 10,181 rushing yards, 4,009 receiving yards, and 62 touchdowns, plus 3 Pro-Bowls.
The Patriots are getting killed by Brian Griese on quick slats and hitch routes. The Bucs have driven down to the goal line, and Earnest Graham drives it in from a yard out. Earnest Graham has replaced Mike Alstott as John Grudens goal-line binky/touchdown vulture. Dunn may be a great back, but Graham will probably get at least 8 touchdowns this year, and if Tampa Bay really rolls, he could get into double-digits.
Buccaneers score, 7-0 Tampa Bay with 5:22 remaining in the 1st
Tom Brady won't be playing today; he stayed behind in Foxboro with a sore foot. Shitty-Balls Matt Cassel gets the start.
I don't know about Sox, but I'm really keeping an eye out for Eugene Wilson to make a big hit, it's always interesting to see how a team's former player will react to a new environment. But wait, interception. Maybe next series. -Rox
After two runs up the gut, the announcers predict play-action on the next play, and apparently so did Tampa linebacker Barret Ruud. Cassel fakes the ball and then looks to the post. Ruud was lurking in a soft zone underneath and read the ball perfectly, drifting back and leaping to snatch it out of mid-air.
Whoa, slow your horses. There was a review on the play, and apparently Ruud dropped the ball, making in incomplete. Scott Hanson punts it away.
Not to knock the NFL Network, but all these advertising breaks just don't have the same luster as watching Fox. The Touchdown Robot really adds some class to the gridiron.-Rox
On back to back plays, Richard Seymour makes a tackle and bats a pass down at the line. He's really looking healthy, and if he can stay that way... Look out NFL.
Jerod Mayo flashes some of the ability that has Pats fans agog, coming from the backside of the play to make a take on a short swing pass. He's really going to bring a element of speed to the Patriots Front-7 that we haven't seen in a long time.
Chad Jackson is back to return the Tampa Bay punt, and Maurice Stoval knocks him away before he even has the chance to touch the ball, giving New England the ball on their 40.
Maroney takes the hand-off up the middle and squirts out for 10 yards. He always looks like he's falling forward. Always.
After that nice run, he gets stuffed in the back-field twice in a row. Please Josh McDaniels, let him run to the outside. He's not Ladanian Tomlinson, those inside runs are not going for 15 yards a pop, at least not yet.
Matt Cassel slings the ball out to Wes Welker on a swing pass out of a 4 receiver set, and he slips a couple of tacklers to dart ahead for 16 yards. He's called tough and gritty because he's white, but if he was black we'd rave on and on about his "natural talent." Any insider will tell you that football is racist as an institution, in a lot of little ways.
Second Quarter
At this point I'm convinced that Welker is open on every single play. He nabs a short gain a little inside of the left hashmark, and just runs away from the defenders.
Watching commercials during the football season can be incredibly frustrating (Think Chevy; "This is our country") or incredibly tangential. Speaking of which: Madden 09, going to be a good game. Anyone seen ads for a NFL 2K9 game? Nope, thats because 2K Sports stopped their NFL line after EA bought the exclusive rights from the NFL to use team and player names. A class action suit is currently running through the court system over an alleged Monopoly held by the Madden franchise. Maybe they have a point.-Rox
Kevin Faulk fumbles the ball after a 5 yard gain, and the Buccaneers recover. Early on in his career, he had a severe case of fumble-itis, but in recent years he'd appeared to have been cured. Still, every time he lets the leather hit the turf, it bring up the stuggles of his younger days. As far as chronic fumblers go, I'm of the mind that they can regress rapidly.
Watching commercials during the football season can be incredibly frustrating (Think Chevy; "This is our country") or incredibly tangental. Speaking of which: Madden 09, going to be a good game. Anyone seen ads for a NFL 2K9 game? Nope, thats because 2K Sports stopped their NFL line after EA bought the exclusive rights from the NFL to use team and player names. A class action suit is currently running through the court system over an alleged Monopoly held by the Madden franchise. Maybe they have a point.-Rox
Oh wow, the Jerod Mayo hype-mobile just hit a pothole. After Antonio Bryant makes a nice reception downfield, he lays a nasty stiff arm on the rookie out of Tennesse. I mean, hand-meets-helmet, helmet-meets-turf.
"The buccaneers were pirates who attacked Spanish, French, and Dutch shipping in the Caribbean Islands during the late 17th century."-Wikipedia via Rox
Vrabel appears to be playing out in space more than he has in recent years. Most observers will agree that Vrabel has lost a step in coverage, but coming off of a monster sack year (12.5) he could be well utilized as a decoy in zone-blitzes or other stunt packages.
Luke McCown is hitting his spots, finding the holes in the New England secondary, driving down to the 24 yard-line, before he finally misses a few, overshooting all-World scumbag Jerramy Stevens in the endzone, and they have to settle for a 34 yard Matt Bryant fieldgoal.
Buccaneers score, 10-0 Tampa Bay with 7:25 left in the second
Many critics from the continent say that America lacks cultural history. But one need not dig deeper than the names of our NFL franchises to discover a plethora of valuable information. And I quote again from Wikipedia: "The term buccaneer derives from the Arawak word buccan, a wooden frame for smoking the meat of sea cows, hence the French word boucan and the name boucanier for French hunters who used such frames to smoke meat from feral cattle and pigs on Hispaniola." And right now Bill Belichick's herd of sea cows is indeed being smoked on the boucan.-Rox
Tampa Bay is really burning up a lot of clock. It seems like they've had the ball the entire game. Funnily enough, Yahoo! Sports credits an "I. Jones" on the Patriots with 5 tackles. There is no I. Jones, unless he's reserve wideout C.J. Joneses alternate personality.
Wow, the Tampa ref's must not give a damn about block in the back calls, after about three on that return a flag was finally thrown.-Rox
With only seven carries Bennett of the Bucs has pumped out 57 yards for a 8.1 average. May he thank his O-Line for the garage door sized holes.-Rox
The announcers hear an audible from down on the field, and correctly interpret it as a 3-step drop to a swing pass, meant to take advantage of the apparent Patriots blitz. Good job by the color man.
Now down inside the 20, Luke McCown finds Michael Bennett underneath, wide open, and he dives down inside the 5.
McCown play-action fakes to the inside, and then flips it out to fullback Byron Storer who slipped outside to the flats, and jogs into the endzone untouched. The guy may have just scored, but he still possess the most awkward name of anyone on the field.
Tampa Bay scores, 17-3 Tampa Bay with 1:13 remaining in the 2nd
John Lynch and Wes Welker could be brothers. It's really uncanny how much they look alike. If Lynch can fufill the role he was brought in
Randy Moss makes his first reception of the game on a 10 yard dart up the sideline. I 'm surprised he's in the game at this point, with less than a minute in the second, but I guess they really want to try and score before the half.
After he hits Kevin Faulk on a crossing route underneath the coverage, he completes a 20 yard line-drive out to Moss. It was a pretty bad pass by the book, but anything in Randy Mosses direction can be considered catchable.
After a time-out, that reception puts the Pats on the Tampa Bay 43, and Belichick calls out the fieldgoal team.
Wow. Gostowski just put one up from 53 yards out, and that might have been good from 70. High, strong, and right down the middle.
New England scores, 17-3 Buccaneers with 00:00 left in the 2nd
Halftime
My dad just called about seeing some biker gangs motorcycling through the snow in the high Rockies swinging chains. I see some rather disturbingly similar trends appearing in the Tampa offense in relation to the Pats. The Bucs are leading New England in points, first downs, yards passing, and yards rushing.-Rox
Affirming my previous statement, Tampa Bay has the clear advantage in Time Of Possession with 20 minutes and 8 seconds minutes to 9 minutes and 52 seconds for New England. The Patriots have run 20 plays compared to 37 for the Bucs, and two 3-and-outs.
Brian Griese appears to be achieving decent success with the short pass with more completions but smaller yardage than McCown. Maybe he'll be able to stick with the Buccaneers for longer than a single season. Who knows, the once believed-to-be-replacement for John Elway may finally find a home in Tampa Bay and begin some kind of professional rythm. Or he could continue to bounce around the league and fade into the undistinguished "might have been" category of quarterbacks. There's just no telling what the future of this once-Bronco, once-Dolphin, once-Bear and twice-Buccaneer.-Rox
Third Quarter
Matt Slater is in for the return for New England, and takes the fair catch. Offensive lineman Billy Yates goes down on the play. It might not seem like much, but he's right there as a top backup at the guard spot, and with the line in as tough of shape and thin of depth as it is, that's worrying.
Depth-chart scuba-diving center Dan Connolly and Matt Cassel somehow manage to mangle the snap, allowing defensive back Sabby Piscitelli to scoop up the ball and dash 24 yards to the endzone.
Tampa Bay scores, 24-3 Tampa Bay with 14:44 remaining in the 3rd
The Patriots are redefining the term "Comedy of Errors." On the ensuing series after their fumble fiasco, Cassel is victimized by a pair of drops to help ensure another 3-and-out.
Rox and Sox Player Report: Sabby Piscitelli. Sabs played football for Oregon State as a Strong Safety and finished up his senior year as defensive captain. A Buccaneer 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft, he posted a respectable 4.4 second 40 yard dash and a 375 bench press at the NFL Combine.-Rox
He's also white. An effective white defensive back. I for one, welcome our new Caucasian overlords. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
The Patsies finally man up and force a 3-and-out, stuffing some short passes and edging Antonio Bryant out of bounds on a 3rd down pass up the sideline.
Cassel is out of the game. He got a nice long look, and didn't do terrible. No one really stepped up around him, but he still wasn't anywhere near good. Kevin McConnell comes in, and on his first play drops back deeps, and rolls out, and out, and out. He holds onto the ball seemingly forever until he finally lets go and completes it to Elbert Mack... who plays his home games in Florida. Luckily the I-N-T was right along the sideline.
"Swallow your pride and throw it away, swallow your pride and throw it away..." The announcer's mantra while watching the replay of that killer interception. But no matter how many times he chants, O'Connell can't take that pass back.-Rox
The Patriots are really falling apart. They're getting stiff armed, out run, and run over. Tampa bay has driven down inside the New England 5.
I would love to be the 165 lb. cameraman who has to handle the "Huddle Cam," running out onto the field with men who wouldn't think twice about smashing you for being in the way and stressing the time clock.-Rox
The Buccaneers committed a penalty running out of a 3 tight-end set on the 2, forcing them to go back out to the 10. That may work in their favor, seeing as they've been merely good with the running game, as opposed to their stellar passing game. It'll give them more room to play with.
The Patriots manage to hold the Bucs to 5 yards on a run up the gut, an incomplete pass off the hands of the receiver in the endzone, and a pass batted down at the line by Titus Adams. They settle for another Matt Bryant field goal.
Rox and Sox Player Report: Sabby Piscitelli. Sabs played football for Oregon State as a Strong Safety and finished up his senior year as defensive captain. A Buccaneer 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft, he posted a respectable 4.4 second 40 yard dash and a 375 bench press at the NFL Combine.-Rox
He's also white. An effective white defensive back. I for one, welcome our new Caucasian overlords. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
The Patsies finally man up and force a 3-and-out, stuffing some short passes and edging Antonio Bryant out of bounds on a 3rd down pass up the sideline.
Cassel is out of the game. He got a nice long look, and didn't do terrible. No one really stepped up around him, but he still wasn't anywhere near good. Kevin McConnell comes in, and on his first play drops back deeps, and rolls out, and out, and out. He holds onto the ball seemingly forever until he finally lets go and completes it to Elbert Mack... who plays his home games in Florida. Luckily the I-N-T was right along the sideline.
"Swallow your pride and throw it away, swallow your pride and throw it away..." The announcer's mantra while watching the replay of that killer interception. But no matter how many times he chants, O'Connell can't take that pass back.-Rox
The Patriots are really falling apart. They're getting stiff armed, out run, and run over. Tampa bay has driven down inside the New England 5.
I would love to be the 165 lb. cameraman who has to handle the "Huddle Cam," running out onto the field with men who wouldn't think twice about smashing you for being in the way and stressing the time clock.-Rox
The Buccaneers committed a penalty running out of a 3 tight-end set on the 2, forcing them to go back out to the 10. That may work in their favor, seeing as they've been merely good with the running game, as opposed to their stellar passing game. It'll give them more room to play with.
The Patriots manage to hold the Bucs to 5 yards on a run up the gut, an incomplete pass off the hands of the receiver in the endzone, and a pass batted down at the line by Titus Adams. They settle for another Matt Bryant field goal.
Tampa Bay scores, 27-3 Buccaneers with 7:38 remaining in the 3rd
The Patriots now face a 24 point deficit, one has to wonder what is effecting them most. Brady's absence? Pre-season cobwebs? Or is it just that Tampa seems to be hitting harder and focusing harder? Sometimes statistics just can't tell the whole story.-Rox
I think that in this case, the statistics do a pretty good job.
McConnell is still in, and it's not pretty, just like your mom. He's wild, tossing two straight incomplete passes to C.J. Jones. On the second he went to Jones over the middle, almost leading him into a monster hit. If he had caught that ball, all that would've been left of C.J. Jones would've been his impressive dreadlocks.
Now that the teams have completely switched over to their back-ups, the Patriots defense has really stiffed, forcing a second straight 3-and-out.
The Patriots seem to be trying to get the pressure off of their Quarterbacks, but it's not particularly working. O'Connell got some decent protection on the last play, but instead of trying to pass the ball, he looked to take off running, and was brought down at the line. That's a pretty common mistake for a young QB. With time, he should learn to bring the speed on his reads u
The on-air personalities rip Cassel a pretty good one on his performance should Tom Brady become injured. "I'd be worried to see what would happen to this New England Offense. He's the least mature player on this team; I mean he's played the least football.-Rox
Spurlock dances away his chances for a more than average return.-Rox
Fourth Quarter
It seems as if Rox and I have accidentally emulated the structure of your standard broadcast. I seem to be doing more of the play-by-play stuff, while he's taken on more of a color role. Just an interesting meta note.
The REAL announcers wonder if the Patriots secondary is banged up, what with Matthew Slater in at safety. I politely disagree: he's listed as a wide receiver, he mostly sticks to special teams, but he played defensive back in college. He's capable of doing pretty much whatever he's asked to do. I think they just want to give him some live-game action.
Shawn Crable leads the team sack on Simms as he dances over defenders only to hit the oh-so-sweet turf. The Make My Day law need not apply. -Rox
Tampa Bay linebacker Geno Hayes lays the leather on rookie tight-end Jonathan Stupar, knocking the ball out of his hands right as he was clamping down on the pigskin.
Rox and Sox Player Report: Geno Hayes. Fresh out of the fifth round of the 2008 draft makes his debut with the Buccaneers. At only 20 he could become a staple in the Tampa-2 system given ample time and space to develop. While with the Seminoles he was noted as being an exceptional hitter.-Rox
He's also known for being as dumb as he ferocious.
The Patriots are showing signs of life. Undrafted rookie BenJarvus Green-Ellis is gutting out some tough yardage inside, and Kevin O'Connell is looking much more poised. On back-to-back plays he completes an 11-yard hitch to Chad Jackson (on a very nicely run route) and a beautiful skinny post to C.J. Jones that brings the Pats down to the 3 yard-line. Heath Evans bulls his way into the endzone for the Patriots first touchdown of the game.
I think that in this case, the statistics do a pretty good job.
McConnell is still in, and it's not pretty, just like your mom. He's wild, tossing two straight incomplete passes to C.J. Jones. On the second he went to Jones over the middle, almost leading him into a monster hit. If he had caught that ball, all that would've been left of C.J. Jones would've been his impressive dreadlocks.
Now that the teams have completely switched over to their back-ups, the Patriots defense has really stiffed, forcing a second straight 3-and-out.
The Patriots seem to be trying to get the pressure off of their Quarterbacks, but it's not particularly working. O'Connell got some decent protection on the last play, but instead of trying to pass the ball, he looked to take off running, and was brought down at the line. That's a pretty common mistake for a young QB. With time, he should learn to bring the speed on his reads u
The on-air personalities rip Cassel a pretty good one on his performance should Tom Brady become injured. "I'd be worried to see what would happen to this New England Offense. He's the least mature player on this team; I mean he's played the least football.-Rox
Spurlock dances away his chances for a more than average return.-Rox
Fourth Quarter
It seems as if Rox and I have accidentally emulated the structure of your standard broadcast. I seem to be doing more of the play-by-play stuff, while he's taken on more of a color role. Just an interesting meta note.
The REAL announcers wonder if the Patriots secondary is banged up, what with Matthew Slater in at safety. I politely disagree: he's listed as a wide receiver, he mostly sticks to special teams, but he played defensive back in college. He's capable of doing pretty much whatever he's asked to do. I think they just want to give him some live-game action.
Shawn Crable leads the team sack on Simms as he dances over defenders only to hit the oh-so-sweet turf. The Make My Day law need not apply. -Rox
Tampa Bay linebacker Geno Hayes lays the leather on rookie tight-end Jonathan Stupar, knocking the ball out of his hands right as he was clamping down on the pigskin.
Rox and Sox Player Report: Geno Hayes. Fresh out of the fifth round of the 2008 draft makes his debut with the Buccaneers. At only 20 he could become a staple in the Tampa-2 system given ample time and space to develop. While with the Seminoles he was noted as being an exceptional hitter.-Rox
He's also known for being as dumb as he ferocious.
The Patriots are showing signs of life. Undrafted rookie BenJarvus Green-Ellis is gutting out some tough yardage inside, and Kevin O'Connell is looking much more poised. On back-to-back plays he completes an 11-yard hitch to Chad Jackson (on a very nicely run route) and a beautiful skinny post to C.J. Jones that brings the Pats down to the 3 yard-line. Heath Evans bulls his way into the endzone for the Patriots first touchdown of the game.
New England scores, 27-10 Tampa Bay with 10:20 left in the 4th
After a Kenneth Darby run, and a quarterback scramble, Vince Redd blows through the Buccaneer offensive line on 3rd down and brings rookie QB Josh Johnson down to force another 3-and-out. Redd is a rookie free-agent out of Liberty, but he's really impressed a lot of the coaching staff with his athleticism and grasp of the defense. It's a long shot that he makes the roster, but I hope he does. He's a sure-fire practice squad candidate if he doesn't make the team.
On 3rd-and-10 O'Connell completes the 7 yard crosser to CB/S/WR Ray "Bubba" Ventrone. One of the things you always hear coaches say is "Don't run a 9 yard route on 3rd-and-10." That's pretty close to what happened here. I like Bubba, but he's raw.
O'Connell covers for his buddy by completing a nice nice 5 yard touch pass to Chad Jackson. A lot of people have made comments about his seeming inability to learn the playbook, but he's looking good out there. Most of his catches have been on well-run, nicely-felt routes.
After the punt, I realize that the last New England drive was a lot less effective than it felt. 18 yards in 8 plays, 5 of them incomplete passes. I know there's a lot of pressure to see what these young QB's can do, but it'd be nice to seem them doing it in situations where they're not passing on every down.
Yahoo Sports' current New England top performer is Heath Evans with 1 Rush, 1 Yard and 1 Touchdown.-Rox
He's also the proud owner of one ass-whupping at the hands of Florida State village idiot, Geno Hayes.
The Buccaneers milk the clock on their last drive, moving down to the New England 19 before gracefully taking a knee.
On 3rd-and-10 O'Connell completes the 7 yard crosser to CB/S/WR Ray "Bubba" Ventrone. One of the things you always hear coaches say is "Don't run a 9 yard route on 3rd-and-10." That's pretty close to what happened here. I like Bubba, but he's raw.
O'Connell covers for his buddy by completing a nice nice 5 yard touch pass to Chad Jackson. A lot of people have made comments about his seeming inability to learn the playbook, but he's looking good out there. Most of his catches have been on well-run, nicely-felt routes.
After the punt, I realize that the last New England drive was a lot less effective than it felt. 18 yards in 8 plays, 5 of them incomplete passes. I know there's a lot of pressure to see what these young QB's can do, but it'd be nice to seem them doing it in situations where they're not passing on every down.
Yahoo Sports' current New England top performer is Heath Evans with 1 Rush, 1 Yard and 1 Touchdown.-Rox
He's also the proud owner of one ass-whupping at the hands of Florida State village idiot, Geno Hayes.The Buccaneers milk the clock on their last drive, moving down to the New England 19 before gracefully taking a knee.
Final score, 27-10 Tampa Bay
Postgame Notes
This was a really short game, finishing up at around 2 hours and 45 minutes.
It's hard to read much into the game. Laurence Maroney didn't run effectively (15 yards on 7 carries) and no one else ran for more than 10, or had more than 5 carries. As a team they totaled 56 yards on 22 caries, for an average of 2.5 per carry.
The QB's weren't very good, going for 118 yards on 25 attempts at a 48% completion percentage O'Connell and Cassel were both about the same today. O'Connell did throw the one pick, but to my eyes, he appeared to perform better.
Overall, the protection was slightly better than against the Ravens, but it still doesn't inspire much confidence. I'll leave it to Rox to lead us out.
Well, the game closes out at 27-10 in favor of Tampa. What this game came down to was first stringers not playing in the exhibition and the Buccaneers superior morale. The Pats were not hitting nearly as hard as the Buccaneers, and the increase in physicality is just what the team needed to make up for their lack-of-luster performance in the QB slot. Oh well, it's pre-season and who cares. New England has plenty of time to pull itself together and pray that Brady remains healthy.-Rox
-Sox and Rox
It's hard to read much into the game. Laurence Maroney didn't run effectively (15 yards on 7 carries) and no one else ran for more than 10, or had more than 5 carries. As a team they totaled 56 yards on 22 caries, for an average of 2.5 per carry.
The QB's weren't very good, going for 118 yards on 25 attempts at a 48% completion percentage O'Connell and Cassel were both about the same today. O'Connell did throw the one pick, but to my eyes, he appeared to perform better.
Overall, the protection was slightly better than against the Ravens, but it still doesn't inspire much confidence. I'll leave it to Rox to lead us out.
Well, the game closes out at 27-10 in favor of Tampa. What this game came down to was first stringers not playing in the exhibition and the Buccaneers superior morale. The Pats were not hitting nearly as hard as the Buccaneers, and the increase in physicality is just what the team needed to make up for their lack-of-luster performance in the QB slot. Oh well, it's pre-season and who cares. New England has plenty of time to pull itself together and pray that Brady remains healthy.-Rox
-Sox and Rox
It could've been worse, considering he IS a switch-hitter
For years, he's been there: a rock behind the dish, a presence at the plate, and a leader in the clubhouse. Whenever the reporters have needed a quote, he's been willing to talk, and thanks to his chiseled good looks (and muscular thighs) he's been popular with the ladies of Red Sox Nation. Still, despite all of this, there's a rising anti-Jason Varitek sentiment among Red Sox fans.
It's not just his performance at the plate. Certainly you could rattle off his atrocious .213/.304/.338 line, cite the abominable 68 OPS+, or even be astounded that he's been allowed to do all of this over 328 at-bats (and rising).
You could be wary of his defense, which has previously been stellar. He's only throwing out 24.6% of would-be basestealers (15 out of 61), and there have been 4 errors, 2 passed balls, and 19 wild pitches under his command. Obviously not ALL of those wild pitches are his fault, but official scorers are easily swayed by a guys reputation and they're far more willing to penalize the pitcher than the defense. I do have to admit that I think his game-calling skills are almost unequaled. For years pitchers have raved about his preparation and keen mind, most famously his close friend Derek Lowe, who after pitching a perfect game claimed that he never shook off a Varitek pitch-call once.
The media has always been quick to give El Capitán a free pass, bemoaning the lack of offense at the catcher position throughout the Big Leagues, and praising his effective defense and leadership skills. Despite all his struggles, pretty much every outlet has assured it's viewers/listeners/readers that the Red Sox have to re-sign him, and with Scott Boras as his agent that's going to be no easy feat; he's not going to want to take a pay cut from his current $9 million per season.
As if his declining physical skills weren't enough, there comes the news of his pending divorce from his wife of 12 years, Karen, with whom he has 3 daughters (8, 6, and 3 years old), and there are some suspicious details coming out of the woodwork. Seacoast Patriot tells the story of a sketchy Dennis and Callahan broadcast, with Michael Felger and Greg Dickerson filling in. A caller, "Dick," asked how much they thought Varitek's affair with NESN sideline reporter Heidi Watney was affecting his game. Seacoast Patriot was listening to the online stream which isn't hooked up to a lot of radio-production equipment, mainly the "delay/dump" feature, which puts the broadcast on a time-delay, usually 10 seconds, and allows the producer to silence the the last 10 seconds of the broadcast and avoid profanity or other inappropriateness. After "Dick" asked his question, Felger asks the producer, "Chach, did you get that," which the producer affirms (indicating that Chach "dumped" the question), and then follows with by saying, "Well there you go internet listeners, a nugget for just your ears."
That reeks of homerism right there. I can understand not wanting to slander Varitek, a long time Red Sock and seemingly all-around great guy, but instead of censoring the caller why not ream him out on air and take him to task, instead of dodging the issue at hand. Why not set him straight? Why not defend the Captains honor... Unless... it's... true? Media-types are privy to all sorts of juicy gossip that never makes it out of the locker room, and by Felger's reaction, it seems like everyone knows about this one. A lot of respect gets extended to players concerning their personal lives, but a case like this is enough to make you wish someone would call the guy out, if it's true.
If it's true, well, a wise man once told me, "Baseball players are regular guys, with more money. They can throw, hit, and catch a ball better than we can, but it doesn't change them other than that." Many ballplayers drink too much, do drugs, and yes, cheat on their wives. They have girls in every port, and a steady supply of agents, clubhouse guys, and yes-men to condone and cover for that behavior. My biggest problem with all of this is his kids, if it's real. Lots of guys cheat, but seriously, 8, 6, and 3 year old daughters? How is Mommy supposed to explain that Daddy just stopped loving her, and started loving the blonde bimbo 10 years younger than her?
I doubt we'll ever hear the definite truth come out, and maybe, for those 3 girls, that's for the best.
-Sox
HT: The Boston Globe for breaking the story, Central Maine Sports Blog for coming up with the "Heidi Watney theory", and big fucking kudos to
It's not just his performance at the plate. Certainly you could rattle off his atrocious .213/.304/.338 line, cite the abominable 68 OPS+, or even be astounded that he's been allowed to do all of this over 328 at-bats (and rising).
You could be wary of his defense, which has previously been stellar. He's only throwing out 24.6% of would-be basestealers (15 out of 61), and there have been 4 errors, 2 passed balls, and 19 wild pitches under his command. Obviously not ALL of those wild pitches are his fault, but official scorers are easily swayed by a guys reputation and they're far more willing to penalize the pitcher than the defense. I do have to admit that I think his game-calling skills are almost unequaled. For years pitchers have raved about his preparation and keen mind, most famously his close friend Derek Lowe, who after pitching a perfect game claimed that he never shook off a Varitek pitch-call once.
The media has always been quick to give El Capitán a free pass, bemoaning the lack of offense at the catcher position throughout the Big Leagues, and praising his effective defense and leadership skills. Despite all his struggles, pretty much every outlet has assured it's viewers/listeners/readers that the Red Sox have to re-sign him, and with Scott Boras as his agent that's going to be no easy feat; he's not going to want to take a pay cut from his current $9 million per season.
As if his declining physical skills weren't enough, there comes the news of his pending divorce from his wife of 12 years, Karen, with whom he has 3 daughters (8, 6, and 3 years old), and there are some suspicious details coming out of the woodwork. Seacoast Patriot tells the story of a sketchy Dennis and Callahan broadcast, with Michael Felger and Greg Dickerson filling in. A caller, "Dick," asked how much they thought Varitek's affair with NESN sideline reporter Heidi Watney was affecting his game. Seacoast Patriot was listening to the online stream which isn't hooked up to a lot of radio-production equipment, mainly the "delay/dump" feature, which puts the broadcast on a time-delay, usually 10 seconds, and allows the producer to silence the the last 10 seconds of the broadcast and avoid profanity or other inappropriateness. After "Dick" asked his question, Felger asks the producer, "Chach, did you get that," which the producer affirms (indicating that Chach "dumped" the question), and then follows with by saying, "Well there you go internet listeners, a nugget for just your ears."
That reeks of homerism right there. I can understand not wanting to slander Varitek, a long time Red Sock and seemingly all-around great guy, but instead of censoring the caller why not ream him out on air and take him to task, instead of dodging the issue at hand. Why not set him straight? Why not defend the Captains honor... Unless... it's... true? Media-types are privy to all sorts of juicy gossip that never makes it out of the locker room, and by Felger's reaction, it seems like everyone knows about this one. A lot of respect gets extended to players concerning their personal lives, but a case like this is enough to make you wish someone would call the guy out, if it's true.
If it's true, well, a wise man once told me, "Baseball players are regular guys, with more money. They can throw, hit, and catch a ball better than we can, but it doesn't change them other than that." Many ballplayers drink too much, do drugs, and yes, cheat on their wives. They have girls in every port, and a steady supply of agents, clubhouse guys, and yes-men to condone and cover for that behavior. My biggest problem with all of this is his kids, if it's real. Lots of guys cheat, but seriously, 8, 6, and 3 year old daughters? How is Mommy supposed to explain that Daddy just stopped loving her, and started loving the blonde bimbo 10 years younger than her?
I doubt we'll ever hear the definite truth come out, and maybe, for those 3 girls, that's for the best.
-Sox
HT: The Boston Globe for breaking the story, Central Maine Sports Blog for coming up with the "Heidi Watney theory", and big fucking kudos to
Saturday, August 16, 2008
New England Patriots Season Preview Part 2: The Defense
I know the name of the blog implies a focus on baseball, but Rox and I both love football like a fat kid loves cake, so I'll be bringing you a series highlighting the Patriots' team and the road they'll have to travel to get to Superbowl XLIII. I'll be breaking the players down by position, doing my best to identify who'll make the roster, and what their roles will be. Without further ado, your 2008-2009 New England Patriots.
Notes: I'll be making reckless predictions on who's making the team, and what their season stats will look like. We'll definitely check back during and after the season to see how I stack up.
Notes: I'll be making reckless predictions on who's making the team, and what their season stats will look like. We'll definitely check back during and after the season to see how I stack up.
DEFENSE
Defensive Line
For all of the praise heaped on other positional groupings, the defensive line still might be the best of them all. Playing in the trenches in the 3-4 is no easy task; you're asked to fill space, play gaps, and take on double-teams virtually every single play, while your buddies playing in the 4-3 are padding their stats. If they have one weakness, it's their lack of a consistent pass rush, but the play of the unit is still superlative.
Nose Tackle
Vince Wilfork is the unquestioned starter here, coming off of his first Pro-Bowl selection. Playing nose tackle can best be described as being a fire hydrant at a dog show, but Wilfork handles it all with ease. He's strong enough to deal with the constant double-teaming and surprisingly nimble, allowing him to get outside on sweeps, tosses, and screens. He's even been able to generate an impressive pash-rush presence from his position in the middle. A lot has been made of his decision to lose weight over the last few seasons for health reasons and he's certainly slimmed his figure down. Big Vince is kindly listed at 6'2" 325 lbs, but if he's a pound under 350, color me surprised.
Mike Wright, the 4th year pro out of Cincinnati, is the top backup in the middle. At 6'4" 295 lbs, he's built more like an outside player, but he's strong, versatile, and athletic enough to play NT, DT, DE, and special teams. His is a remarkable story, coming in as an undrafted rookie and playing his way onto a team coming off of a Super Bowl victory, and he's gotten better with every year in the league.
Kenny Smith is a serviceable veteran who signed with the Pats last season, but was cut before the first game and spent the rest of the year out of football. Steve Fifta and Titus Adams are both fringe roster guys, spending time on practice squads and offseason rosters. There's a chance one of them, probably Adams, could make the Practice Squad, but they're mostly just warm bodies to plug in during camp.
Defensive End
The defensive end position in the 3-4 actually plays more like a 4-3 tackle, but for the sake of simplicity in terminology, I'll use the Patriots designation of end. Richard Seymour is the star here, with 5 Pro-Bowls, and 3 All-Pro selections, but none since 2006. Nagging injuries and the typical wear and tear seemingly caught up with Big Dick. A lot of observers have been quick to count the guy out, but all signs indicate that Seymour had a productive winter rehabbing and is good to go. It's easy to forget what a transcendent athlete this guys is. At 6'6", 310 lbs he's strong enough to go toe-to-toe with an O-lineman (or two) in he needs to drive inside, but if he gets a favorable match-up on the outside he can turn the corner and beat the blockers up the field. He's a 4-down player, and if he can stay on the field for at least 70% of the teams defensive plays, I'll say that the Patriots can be a Top-10 defense. He's that good.
While his counterpart on the other side may not have the same renown, he's certainly deserving of more than his fair share of praise. Ty Warren came into the league with some glaring weaknesses in his game, a first round pick almost on talent alone, and he's worked tirelessly to get better. At the beginning of his career he was a 2-down player, coming off the field in obvious passing situations, but in the last few years he's really blossomed. Always a brusing run-stopper, he's learned to overcome the constant double-teams and rush the passer effectively. Warren's ability to set the edge on outside runs, and sniff out between-the-tackles plays are crucial in that they allow defensive coordinator Dean Pees to gamble more with the linebackers. Although he rarely receives the same praise as his contemporaries, many football insiders have been calling for him to receiver Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors.
Backing up both Seymour and Warren is Jarvis Green. Green is the one who suffers most from the Patriots 3-4 scheme, as he could be starting for probably 15 or more of the other teams in the league. Still, the 7th year veteran is the consumate teammate, relishing in his role as a super-sub and the top pinch-hitter when New England needs to generate a pass rush. Green can play the run well enough, but he's an explosive speed rusher, often used on 3rd downs or when the Patriots feel like he gives them an advantageous match-up. If Warren or Seymour were to go down, Green is capable of stepping into the starting role and playing well enough to keep the Patriots afloat.
Santonio Thomas and Le Kevin Smith are the back-ups at this position. Thomas is now in his 4th year with the team after going undrafted out of Miami, spending '05 and '06 on the practice squad and '07 on the active roster, while Smith was a 6th rounder back in '06 out of Nebraska. They both have the weight (~305 lbs) and versatility to play anywhere across the line, and they're adequate step-ins, but I wouldn't trust either of them with serious playing time just yet. Smith has seen more game time and plays on more special teams, but they've both been in the system for a while, giving them the edge over some of the other fringe guys.
Expectations
Health providing, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that this unit could be the best in the league. Realistically, I'd put them at 3 or 4, behind the Vikings, Giants, and maybe Baltimore, but that's still awful good company to be in.
Sleepers
There's really nowhere to hide in this positional grouping, but I think Ty Warren could be due for another break-out year. Just seeing him makes me think he could re-up the bar.
Under-The-Radar Contributor
My pet player here is Mike Wright. The guy has great size, uncommon strength, and surprising athleticism. He's another guy I think could surprise a lot of people, especially after being hurt much of last year.
Worrisome Thoughts
Can Seymour regain his 2003-2005 form, and can they all avoid injury?
Depth Chart
NT
*Vince Wilfork
Mike Wright
Kenny Smith
Titus Adams
Steve Fifta
DE
Richard Seymour
Ty Warren
Jarvis Green
Le Kevin Smith
Santonio Thomas
Key: Italics = rookie, *asterisk = starter,strikethrough = cut
This is a versatile unit, and a deep one. I'd say Thomas, Kenny Smith, Adams, and Fifta all get cut, partly because they don't have the experience Belichick craves, and partly because none of them are very good. Fifta or Adams could stick around on the Practice Squad due to their relative youth, and Smith/Thomas will probably be cut and resigned a few times this season due to match-ups/injuries.
With the strength and depth of the unit, I wouldn't be surprised to see the coaching staff mix in some 4-man fronts if they feel like they can get a favorable match-up, or if there's a rash of injuries at linebacker. If that happens, you'd probably see Wilfork and Seymour at DT, while Warren and Green play DE.
Bottom Line
Young (all 29 or less), experienced, and good. Nothing to worry about here.
Grade
Nose Tackle
Vince Wilfork is the unquestioned starter here, coming off of his first Pro-Bowl selection. Playing nose tackle can best be described as being a fire hydrant at a dog show, but Wilfork handles it all with ease. He's strong enough to deal with the constant double-teaming and surprisingly nimble, allowing him to get outside on sweeps, tosses, and screens. He's even been able to generate an impressive pash-rush presence from his position in the middle. A lot has been made of his decision to lose weight over the last few seasons for health reasons and he's certainly slimmed his figure down. Big Vince is kindly listed at 6'2" 325 lbs, but if he's a pound under 350, color me surprised.
Mike Wright, the 4th year pro out of Cincinnati, is the top backup in the middle. At 6'4" 295 lbs, he's built more like an outside player, but he's strong, versatile, and athletic enough to play NT, DT, DE, and special teams. His is a remarkable story, coming in as an undrafted rookie and playing his way onto a team coming off of a Super Bowl victory, and he's gotten better with every year in the league.
Kenny Smith is a serviceable veteran who signed with the Pats last season, but was cut before the first game and spent the rest of the year out of football. Steve Fifta and Titus Adams are both fringe roster guys, spending time on practice squads and offseason rosters. There's a chance one of them, probably Adams, could make the Practice Squad, but they're mostly just warm bodies to plug in during camp.
Defensive End
The defensive end position in the 3-4 actually plays more like a 4-3 tackle, but for the sake of simplicity in terminology, I'll use the Patriots designation of end. Richard Seymour is the star here, with 5 Pro-Bowls, and 3 All-Pro selections, but none since 2006. Nagging injuries and the typical wear and tear seemingly caught up with Big Dick. A lot of observers have been quick to count the guy out, but all signs indicate that Seymour had a productive winter rehabbing and is good to go. It's easy to forget what a transcendent athlete this guys is. At 6'6", 310 lbs he's strong enough to go toe-to-toe with an O-lineman (or two) in he needs to drive inside, but if he gets a favorable match-up on the outside he can turn the corner and beat the blockers up the field. He's a 4-down player, and if he can stay on the field for at least 70% of the teams defensive plays, I'll say that the Patriots can be a Top-10 defense. He's that good.
While his counterpart on the other side may not have the same renown, he's certainly deserving of more than his fair share of praise. Ty Warren came into the league with some glaring weaknesses in his game, a first round pick almost on talent alone, and he's worked tirelessly to get better. At the beginning of his career he was a 2-down player, coming off the field in obvious passing situations, but in the last few years he's really blossomed. Always a brusing run-stopper, he's learned to overcome the constant double-teams and rush the passer effectively. Warren's ability to set the edge on outside runs, and sniff out between-the-tackles plays are crucial in that they allow defensive coordinator Dean Pees to gamble more with the linebackers. Although he rarely receives the same praise as his contemporaries, many football insiders have been calling for him to receiver Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors.
Backing up both Seymour and Warren is Jarvis Green. Green is the one who suffers most from the Patriots 3-4 scheme, as he could be starting for probably 15 or more of the other teams in the league. Still, the 7th year veteran is the consumate teammate, relishing in his role as a super-sub and the top pinch-hitter when New England needs to generate a pass rush. Green can play the run well enough, but he's an explosive speed rusher, often used on 3rd downs or when the Patriots feel like he gives them an advantageous match-up. If Warren or Seymour were to go down, Green is capable of stepping into the starting role and playing well enough to keep the Patriots afloat.
Santonio Thomas and Le Kevin Smith are the back-ups at this position. Thomas is now in his 4th year with the team after going undrafted out of Miami, spending '05 and '06 on the practice squad and '07 on the active roster, while Smith was a 6th rounder back in '06 out of Nebraska. They both have the weight (~305 lbs) and versatility to play anywhere across the line, and they're adequate step-ins, but I wouldn't trust either of them with serious playing time just yet. Smith has seen more game time and plays on more special teams, but they've both been in the system for a while, giving them the edge over some of the other fringe guys.
Expectations
Health providing, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that this unit could be the best in the league. Realistically, I'd put them at 3 or 4, behind the Vikings, Giants, and maybe Baltimore, but that's still awful good company to be in.
Sleepers
There's really nowhere to hide in this positional grouping, but I think Ty Warren could be due for another break-out year. Just seeing him makes me think he could re-up the bar.
Under-The-Radar Contributor
My pet player here is Mike Wright. The guy has great size, uncommon strength, and surprising athleticism. He's another guy I think could surprise a lot of people, especially after being hurt much of last year.
Worrisome Thoughts
Can Seymour regain his 2003-2005 form, and can they all avoid injury?
Depth Chart
NT
*Vince Wilfork
Mike Wright
Titus Adams
Steve Fifta
DE
Richard Seymour
Ty Warren
Jarvis Green
Le Kevin Smith
Key: Italics = rookie, *asterisk = starter,
This is a versatile unit, and a deep one. I'd say Thomas, Kenny Smith, Adams, and Fifta all get cut, partly because they don't have the experience Belichick craves, and partly because none of them are very good. Fifta or Adams could stick around on the Practice Squad due to their relative youth, and Smith/Thomas will probably be cut and resigned a few times this season due to match-ups/injuries.
With the strength and depth of the unit, I wouldn't be surprised to see the coaching staff mix in some 4-man fronts if they feel like they can get a favorable match-up, or if there's a rash of injuries at linebacker. If that happens, you'd probably see Wilfork and Seymour at DT, while Warren and Green play DE.
Bottom Line
Young (all 29 or less), experienced, and good. Nothing to worry about here.
Grade
Linebacker
This positional grouping is one of those touchy subjects that everyone in Patriots Nation, from Hartford to Augusta, loves to talk about. Every year, we clamor for Belichick, Pioli, and Co. to draft the latest stud linebacker coming out of college, and every year they've instead simply added veteran re-treads and low round rookies, but it's always worked out. At least, that is, until this year, when New England spent 1st and 3rd round picks on linebackers (as well as a 6th rounder).
Inside Linebacker
No one knows for sure why Belichick shys away from young backers, but it's likely because the Patriots run a 3-4 with a famously complex defensive scheme. The 3-4 requires your inside linebackers to be strong and sturdy enough to take on interior lineman and fight through traffic for the tackle AND drop back into coverage against tight ends and running backs. In addition, the "Mike" or strong-side inside linebacker is responsible for calling the defensive plays, as well as any audibles (generally Tedy Bruschi). The Mike is usually more responsible for playing the run, while the "Will," or weak-side inside linebacker ends up in coverage more often, but for the defense to be effective, these guys have to be interchangeable.
Tedy Bruschi is the unquestioned starter at Mike, as he has been for almost a decade. He's still passable in coverage after all these years, but his strength lies in sniffing out the run. He's tough enough to tangle with guards and centers and still find the gap and get to the ball carrier. He's never been a sack machine, largely due to the way the Patriots use him, but he can be a pressure presence in the middle when he's asked to be. More important than his well above-average performance is his leadership. He brings authority to the field with him and commands the respect of every man on the team. He's so fucking tough, he suffered a stroke after the 2004 Super Bowl, and managed to play in 9 games the next season (and well at that). Hear that, his own BRAIN tried to kill him, and he overcame it. Tell me you wouldn't follow that guy into hell and back.
Who will man the spot next to him, meanwhile, isn't quite so clear. Jerod Mayo was drafted in the first round, clearly for no other reason than to start here, but sooner or later is the question. In the pre-season games he's shown remarkable speed, incredible strength, and a jaw-dropping ability to deliver a blow. He's got a marked propensity for being around the ball, and his ability to fight through the scrum in the middle is further along than I thought it would be. If there's a knock on the guy, it's that he's missed a few tackles he should've otherwise made. What's really indicative of Mayo's future is that the perpetual question of, "Can he learn the play book?" has been conspicuously absent.
Also in the mix to start is Victor Hobson. Hobson was signed from the New York Jets, who also ran a 3-4, where he played OLB. Here, he's being asked to play inside, and he seems to be capable enough. He's fairly strong, and pretty fast, and has always been a team-first guy. That said, he hasn't gotten a lot of playing time. There's always the chance that he has some kind of nagging injury, but there are whispers that he's been far, far too slow in picking up the playbook. He's even admitted as much, if heavily veiled, to reporters. I'd say he'd be a good backup, but he hasn't been on the field to prove anything, and at this point I think there's an outside chance he misses out on making the squad.
Eric Alexander, Larry Izzo, and Bo Ruud round out the inside staff. Eric Alexander's biggest came to fame is that he came out of nowhere to start the 2006-2007 AFC Championship game against the Colts, where Dallas Clark and Domanic Rhoades famously ran the Patriots inside linebackers ragged. I can see where Belichick was going, he's not great against the run if it's coming right at him, but he's fast and agile enough to cover most anyone over the middle, as well as track down any outside runs. He'll make the team because of his worthwhile value in Nickel, Dime, and other assorted packages geared against the passing game. Alexander is also an asset on special teams, which brings us to stalwart Larry Izzo.
Izzo is one of those guys that virtually any team in the NFL would make room for on their roster because of his special teams prowess. At 5'10" 228 lbs, he's not a good fit in anything resembling a base defense, although he's a solid contributor in passing and goal-line situations due to his speed and ability to track down players in space, but make no mistake, he's on this team because he gets geeked up and charges straight down the throat of the opponents kick return wedge, or goes out a levels a guy in an attempt to spring a big return. He's also incredibly well-respected around the clubhouse, having been elected a team captain; a definite leadership presence.
I hate to talk down on Bo Ruud, but the next time I notice him in a game, I'll let you know. He's supposedly a good sideline-to-sideline guy with some position flexibility. His older brother Barrett is a pretty good player for the Buccaneers, so he might have a chance to stick somewhere, but it's not likely to be here.
One "Plan-B" style option that remains is Junior Seau. After his two year deal with the Patriots expired, he's stayed out of the spotlight; probably surfing and running his restaurant out in San Diego. Still, I have no doubt that he's staying in prime shape, because if there's any sort of injury problem I expect that he'd get the first call, and I think he'd accept. He's still a wild-man, heat-seeking-missile type against the run, which can be a good and bad thing, but he's still almost unparallelled when it comes to covering the NFL's fastest tight-ends and running backs, be in over the middle or downfield. That alone will keep him at the back of the coaching staff's mind.
Outside Linebacker
The outside positions are where 3-4's often run into the most trouble. Most college and pro players play in the 4-3, where the outside rushers are defensive ends with a hand on the ground. These DE's often have trouble adjusting to a 3-4, largely because they're often called on to cover running backs, tight ends, and the occasional wide receiver, often out in space if the player splits out. Despite their coverage responsibilities, they have to be large and strong to contend with the offensive tackles they'll be matched up against. The Patriots have two outside postions, the "Sam" and "Jack." The "Sam" is the strong-side outside player, whereas the "Jack" is the weak-side outside player. The positions are functionally identical in the pro-game, simply designating the responsibility of the player in a given scheme depending on how the offense lines up. The Patriots, as with most teams, do not generally switch their players side of the field in response to the offensive scheme. They prefer to have their left-side players stay on the left, and simply adopt new rules, and vice-versa.
Adalius Thomas and Mike Vrabel are both deeply entrenched at the left and right outside spots, respectably. Both are incredibly capable pass rushers. Vrabel came in at 6th in the league (3rd in the AFC) with 12.5 sacks, while Adalius Thomas tallied 6.5 of his own. Thomas numbers are a bit deceiving, in that he began the season as a starter at the weak-side inside position, and racked up 3.5 of those sacks over the last 5 weeks of the season, once Roosevelt Colvin went down for the year with an injury.
Thomas is primarily a speed rusher, while Vrabel brings more of a power look, but they're both capable of switching it up to confuse, confound, and otherwise bewilder opposing blockers. Of the two, Thomas is the more accomplished cover man, capable of lining up against wide receivers in the slot and covering pretty much any tight end or running back. Vrabel used to be more capable in coverage, but at this point in his career he's best left to zone coverage over the middle. He's got a nasty habit of getting beat on swing routes to the sideline, but really, that's all nit-picking. These two linebackers form a fearsome duo that no offensive line should relish facing down.
Inside Linebacker
No one knows for sure why Belichick shys away from young backers, but it's likely because the Patriots run a 3-4 with a famously complex defensive scheme. The 3-4 requires your inside linebackers to be strong and sturdy enough to take on interior lineman and fight through traffic for the tackle AND drop back into coverage against tight ends and running backs. In addition, the "Mike" or strong-side inside linebacker is responsible for calling the defensive plays, as well as any audibles (generally Tedy Bruschi). The Mike is usually more responsible for playing the run, while the "Will," or weak-side inside linebacker ends up in coverage more often, but for the defense to be effective, these guys have to be interchangeable.
Tedy Bruschi is the unquestioned starter at Mike, as he has been for almost a decade. He's still passable in coverage after all these years, but his strength lies in sniffing out the run. He's tough enough to tangle with guards and centers and still find the gap and get to the ball carrier. He's never been a sack machine, largely due to the way the Patriots use him, but he can be a pressure presence in the middle when he's asked to be. More important than his well above-average performance is his leadership. He brings authority to the field with him and commands the respect of every man on the team. He's so fucking tough, he suffered a stroke after the 2004 Super Bowl, and managed to play in 9 games the next season (and well at that). Hear that, his own BRAIN tried to kill him, and he overcame it. Tell me you wouldn't follow that guy into hell and back.
Who will man the spot next to him, meanwhile, isn't quite so clear. Jerod Mayo was drafted in the first round, clearly for no other reason than to start here, but sooner or later is the question. In the pre-season games he's shown remarkable speed, incredible strength, and a jaw-dropping ability to deliver a blow. He's got a marked propensity for being around the ball, and his ability to fight through the scrum in the middle is further along than I thought it would be. If there's a knock on the guy, it's that he's missed a few tackles he should've otherwise made. What's really indicative of Mayo's future is that the perpetual question of, "Can he learn the play book?" has been conspicuously absent.
Also in the mix to start is Victor Hobson. Hobson was signed from the New York Jets, who also ran a 3-4, where he played OLB. Here, he's being asked to play inside, and he seems to be capable enough. He's fairly strong, and pretty fast, and has always been a team-first guy. That said, he hasn't gotten a lot of playing time. There's always the chance that he has some kind of nagging injury, but there are whispers that he's been far, far too slow in picking up the playbook. He's even admitted as much, if heavily veiled, to reporters. I'd say he'd be a good backup, but he hasn't been on the field to prove anything, and at this point I think there's an outside chance he misses out on making the squad.
Eric Alexander, Larry Izzo, and Bo Ruud round out the inside staff. Eric Alexander's biggest came to fame is that he came out of nowhere to start the 2006-2007 AFC Championship game against the Colts, where Dallas Clark and Domanic Rhoades famously ran the Patriots inside linebackers ragged. I can see where Belichick was going, he's not great against the run if it's coming right at him, but he's fast and agile enough to cover most anyone over the middle, as well as track down any outside runs. He'll make the team because of his worthwhile value in Nickel, Dime, and other assorted packages geared against the passing game. Alexander is also an asset on special teams, which brings us to stalwart Larry Izzo.
Izzo is one of those guys that virtually any team in the NFL would make room for on their roster because of his special teams prowess. At 5'10" 228 lbs, he's not a good fit in anything resembling a base defense, although he's a solid contributor in passing and goal-line situations due to his speed and ability to track down players in space, but make no mistake, he's on this team because he gets geeked up and charges straight down the throat of the opponents kick return wedge, or goes out a levels a guy in an attempt to spring a big return. He's also incredibly well-respected around the clubhouse, having been elected a team captain; a definite leadership presence.
I hate to talk down on Bo Ruud, but the next time I notice him in a game, I'll let you know. He's supposedly a good sideline-to-sideline guy with some position flexibility. His older brother Barrett is a pretty good player for the Buccaneers, so he might have a chance to stick somewhere, but it's not likely to be here.
One "Plan-B" style option that remains is Junior Seau. After his two year deal with the Patriots expired, he's stayed out of the spotlight; probably surfing and running his restaurant out in San Diego. Still, I have no doubt that he's staying in prime shape, because if there's any sort of injury problem I expect that he'd get the first call, and I think he'd accept. He's still a wild-man, heat-seeking-missile type against the run, which can be a good and bad thing, but he's still almost unparallelled when it comes to covering the NFL's fastest tight-ends and running backs, be in over the middle or downfield. That alone will keep him at the back of the coaching staff's mind.
Outside Linebacker
The outside positions are where 3-4's often run into the most trouble. Most college and pro players play in the 4-3, where the outside rushers are defensive ends with a hand on the ground. These DE's often have trouble adjusting to a 3-4, largely because they're often called on to cover running backs, tight ends, and the occasional wide receiver, often out in space if the player splits out. Despite their coverage responsibilities, they have to be large and strong to contend with the offensive tackles they'll be matched up against. The Patriots have two outside postions, the "Sam" and "Jack." The "Sam" is the strong-side outside player, whereas the "Jack" is the weak-side outside player. The positions are functionally identical in the pro-game, simply designating the responsibility of the player in a given scheme depending on how the offense lines up. The Patriots, as with most teams, do not generally switch their players side of the field in response to the offensive scheme. They prefer to have their left-side players stay on the left, and simply adopt new rules, and vice-versa.
Adalius Thomas and Mike Vrabel are both deeply entrenched at the left and right outside spots, respectably. Both are incredibly capable pass rushers. Vrabel came in at 6th in the league (3rd in the AFC) with 12.5 sacks, while Adalius Thomas tallied 6.5 of his own. Thomas numbers are a bit deceiving, in that he began the season as a starter at the weak-side inside position, and racked up 3.5 of those sacks over the last 5 weeks of the season, once Roosevelt Colvin went down for the year with an injury.
Thomas is primarily a speed rusher, while Vrabel brings more of a power look, but they're both capable of switching it up to confuse, confound, and otherwise bewilder opposing blockers. Of the two, Thomas is the more accomplished cover man, capable of lining up against wide receivers in the slot and covering pretty much any tight end or running back. Vrabel used to be more capable in coverage, but at this point in his career he's best left to zone coverage over the middle. He's got a nasty habit of getting beat on swing routes to the sideline, but really, that's all nit-picking. These two linebackers form a fearsome duo that no offensive line should relish facing down.
The top two back-ups on the outside are pair of ex-Michigan Wolverines with a combined 3 years of experience. Surprisingly, that doesn't strike fear into my heart. Pierre Woods was signed as a rookie free-agent 2 years ago, and he's far better at football than any man with the name "Pierre" has the right to be. At 6'5" 250 lbs, he's got the prototypical size that the Patriots look for, and he's wicked strong, scary strong. He doesn't have a high top-end speed, but he makes up for it by being a very sure tackler, and a smart, heady player. Rookie third rounder Shawn Crable is also 6'5", but I sincerely doubt he's at his listed weight of 250 pounds. I think 230 is more accurate, but that's guessing on the high side. He's lanky, with long, skinny legs, and it shows as his best asset is his ability to get to the passer fast. He's still a project when it comes to coverage, but his explosiveness both laterally and vertically will prove to be useful in 3rd down situations, at the very least.
The last two men on the depth chart are both guys with a chance to make the Patriots roster in one way or another. Both are rookie free-agents, Vince Redd out of Division 1-AA Liberty, and Gary Guyton out of Georgia Tech. Redd is an incredible physical speciman, at 6'6" 260 lbs, with a very good 4.54 40-yard dash, and while Guyton may not "wow" you at 6'3" 242 lbs, he runs the 40 in 4.47 seconds (the fastest of any linebacker at the NFL Combine, and faster than a lot of receivers). They've both proved adept at rushing the passer, and Guyton has made a huge impact on special teams. Redd probably has the edge when it comes to playing in the base defense, due to his size, but Guyton has been equally impressive in pass-rushing/defending packages as well as special teams.
Expectations
Much is expected of this unit, and I think they'll probably live up to all but the loftiest expectations. Hell, they could live up to those. They've all got such differing skill sets, that I'd expect Belichick will be able to limit the shortcomings of individual players. I wouldn't be surprised to see 35-40 sacks total out of this group, all the while playing the run well, and the pass well enough.
Sleepers
It's hard to call a first round pick a sleeper, but I think Jerod Mayo could be an Pro-Bowler if he gets the starts, and stays healthy. Think this year's Patrick Willis, as in an energetic sideline-to-sideline player who can play the run well, and the pass both upfield and downfield.
As far as a real sleeper, I'll go with Shawn Crable, who I think could chip in with 4 or 5 sacks if he gets some playing time.
Under-The-Radar Contributor
They're all pretty high profile guys, at least in the eyes of Patriots fans, but I'll go with the beloved Tedy Bruschi. He's never been the best linebacker in the league, or his conference, and he may never have even been straight up dominant, but he's been a good player for a long time, and as he gets closer and closer to the end of the line, I'm appreciating him more than ever.
Worrisome Thoughts
Health is a concern for the veterans, and experience is a concern for the young guys. If one group goes down, the other will suffer. My biggest concern would be losing Adalius Thomas or Mike Vrabel, as their pass rushing presence is invaluable and likely irreplaceable.
Depth Chart
ILB
*Tedy Bruschi
*Jerod Mayo
Eric Alexander
Larry Izzo
OLB
*Mike Vrabel
*Adalius Thomas
Pierre Woods
Shawn Crable
Gary Guyton
Key: Italics = rookie, *asterisk = starter,
The only easy cut I could find here is Bo Ruud, who just hasn't shown enough. All the others have some very special thing they could bring to the unit. At first I figured Hobson would stick to the roster because he's owed a little more money and he's a proven veteran, but he's shown next to nothing and I think the Patriots have more pressing needs at other positions. Plus, with Seau lying in the grass, we can afford to a be a little short on the active roster. The final cut came down to Redd vs. Guyton, and while I really like both guys, neither is likely to spend much time in the base defense, and so Guyton won out thanks to his special teams play. The team could go the other way, but no matter what, anyone who gets cut from this unit is a practice squad candidate. Ruud could make it through waivers, but Redd and Guyton are less likely, although Redd probably stands the best chance to make it back to the Pats, if released.
Bottom Line
This is very, very good unit, probably stonger on the outside but still solid across the middle. There's a lot of experience, and a lot of youth, making this an insanely fun unit to watch.
Grade
A-
Defensive Back
Ugh, where to begin. For as beloved as the linebacker position is in New England, the secondary is equally revilled. For years Ty Law and Lawyer Milloy were a force to be reckoned with, but since their departure we've yet to see anything resembling an elite secondary. The Patriots require their defensive backs to be strong against the run, to a man. They also look for the ability to blitz from anywhere on the field, be it from safety, the slot, or split out. When it comes to particular coverage, New England likes to mix it up a lot, employing a lot of zone, especially on shorter routes. They don't do a lot of press coverage, in fact it's often just the opposite. I see more 5-7 yard cushions off the line-of-scrimmage than I do corners getting up in guys faces.
Safety
This is decidedly the more steady position this year. Rodney Harrison returns for another year of cracking skulls over the middle, and getting beaten deep. I kid, I kid... but not that much. He's capable of short-to-mid level coverage, but on the third level, he's a decent liability and he's not the quickest guy to get to the perimeter. Despite his shortcomings there, I'm sure the sound of his footsteps still strike fear in the heart of NFL receivers.
James Sanders has been a nice surprise for the Patriots. In his 4th season after being a 4th round pick out of Fresno State, he's developed into an above average starter for the Pats. Stepping in for Eugene Wilson who couldn't stay healthy (and therefore couldn't stay a Patriots), he's essentially a well-rounded version of Rodney Harrison. He's a hard-hitter, but he's not a real problem when it comes to getting deep. One of his true strengths is his deceiving closing speed. Once the ball is in the air, he's very quick to get in the right place, and he gets out to the edge well on passes or runs up the sideline.
Brandon Meriweather was last years first round pick, and he's pretty much the solution to Sanders and Harrison's difficulties downfield. He's a swift, agile guy who's great at getting and sticking to his man, especially downfield. He's a bit raw, his hands are made of stone, and he's a bit of a flaky tackler, but he's the perfect 1-B option for the Patriots secondary.
(Edit: I don't feel bad about swapping Lynch for Tank Williams here, they're basically the same player)
John Lynch is a late addition to the roster, signing after Tank Williams went down against the Ravens with a knee injury. He'll fulfill essentially the same role as his incredibly named predecessor, as safety/linebacker hybrid. He'll probably get a lot of PT on early downs against teams who're more likely to run the ball, as well as in that 3-3-5 set the Patriots love. The question with Lynch is going to be his cover ability, which has appeared worse and worse during each year in recent memory. Still, if Belichick and Co. can limit the passing situations he's exposed to, he could be a real asset.
Antwain Spann, Mark Dillard, and Ray Ventrone are the last three safetys on the roster, and I give two of them a chance to make it. Spann is a tick above average in coverage, which makes sense because he started his career at corner before taking most of his reps at safety this summer. He's not likely to see the field when the Patriots are expecting the run, just because they already have a bunch of DBs who are good at defending the run. He probably sticks around because he's pretty good on specials teams, both as a gunner and a returner.
Ray "Bubba" Ventrone is one of my pet players on this years team. He's been around the Pats for a few years as an undrafted free-agent out of Villanova, mostly seeing practice squad time until last year. He's listed at safety, because that's what he's played his whole career, but the Patriots are working him out at wide receiver as well. It might seem odd, but he's shown some real promise. He has a nice burst off the line and he's got good hands, but he's still a raw project. Still, having a guy who's a capable back-up at both receiver AND safety is a very nice proposition. Guys at the bottom of the roster don't see the field that much, but you need them for the sheer sake of depth. If Ventrone can fulfill that role as both 11th defensive back and 7 receiver he stands a good chance to stick around.
Mark Dillard is a rookie free-agent out of Louisiana Tech, and I don't know anything about him. That's actually sort of odd, since he's apparently made a fair number of tackles according to NFL.com, but I can honestly say I've heard his name called during a game once. I'm pretty sure it was for decent coverage on a punt or kickoff, but I'm not sure so take it as you will. He stands pretty much no chance to make this roster, but I'll go out and say he's a great candidate for the practice squad, mainly because he's apparently had some half-way decent production in garbage time.
Cornerback
Asante Samuel provided a few years of very good, ball-hawking, fast-closing coverage, but other than that, no one has really been anything more than average at corner in recent memory. Ellis Hobbs is the only returning man on the depth chart,* and you all know how I feel about Ellis Hobbs.
*Mike Richardson spent the year on IR, so he was technically on the team, but I'm not going to count a guy who didn't play a single down during the regular season.
He's incapable of covering short routes, mainly because he's so afraid of getting beaten deep that he backpedals 5 or so yards at the snap of the ball, before even seeing what route his receiver is going to run. He's not a sure tackler, and I'd say his hands are made of stone, but I think a boulder could come up with more picks than he does. I will acquiesce to the fact that the Patriots do use him a lot in zone coverage, often making him look bad, when really it's one of his teammates fault. Still, that doesn't change the fact that it's still often HIS fault, due to his poor judgement and all-around terribleness. At this point, I'd rather have a gambling cornerback who gets beat because he sells out, than a gun-shy cornerback who gets beat because he's unwilling to take the simple risk of tight man-on-man coverage (something almost every corner who plays the game is willing to at least try).
Now that the haterade has been poured out for Hobbs, let me say that I'd absoultely love him if he turned it all around and developed into a lock-down, or even pretty good, cornerback, because then, at least, we'd have one good corner. This off-season New England went back to it's time honored strategy of signing a bunch of old, average-ish corners and hoping that grit, hustle, determination, and a little pure luck generates a passable secondary.
Fernando Bryant is currently listed as the starter opposite Hobbs, and he appears to be the safest bet, having started all but one of the 110 games in his 9 year career. Lewis Sanders is behind him, and he seems to be a decent option for the Patriots otherwise undersize seconday, at 6'1" 210 lbs. Jason Webster rounds out the veteran trio, and he appears to be a slightly better turnover option for the secondary with 11 interceptions in his career, compared to 12 combined for Bryant and Sanders.
One thing all of these guys have in common is that they've all missed significant time. Bryant has missed 26 of 64 games over the last 4 years (average of 6.5 a season) and Webster has missed 30 over the same span (7.5 a season), but more disturbingly 23 of 32 games over the past two seasons, including all but one game last year. Sanders has the slight advantage over the other two in this area, having only missed 13 games over the past 4 years (3.25 a season), but he's never been a full time starting option. While these guys may not inspire the greatest of confidence, I expect we'll see more of a "secondary by comittee" approach, which could help counteract their collective cornerback old age (Bryant is 31, Sanders and Webster are 30).
In addition to the three old soldiers, the Patriots brought in 2 cornerbacks via the draft. This was an incredibly deep year for corners coming out of college, which meant Terrence Wheatley of Colorado was still available at pick #62. He may not have had the name recognition of some of the other high-round corners, but most experts feel he was unfairly overlooked because of injury concerns. He's 5'9" 178 lbs, which is a bit small for a corner, he could stand to put on 10 or 15 pounds, but he tied for 5th in his position at the NFL Combine with a 4.37 40-yard dash. Analysts have a hard time finding negatives in his game. He's a smart player with great acceleration, top-speed, and closing ability, and he's a decent tackler despite being slightly underweight. He was a shutdown corner in college, and he's been alright in camp so far. He's also a talented kick returner.
Jonathan Wilhite from Auburn was chosen in the 4th round, and he's decidedly less critically acclaimed. The analysts say he has good physical tools, 4.38 40-yard dash, good leaping ability, nice closing speed, but that his problems may lie above the neck and below his cap. The biggest knocks on him are his poor recognition and anticipation skills. He doesn't have the feel to be effective in man coverage, but he also doesn't have the instincts to play well in zone coverage. It all sounds pretty damning, but he hasn't been absolutely terrible with the Patriots. He's shown a lot of guts on special teams, and his measurables should keep him around, at least for this year.
Safety
This is decidedly the more steady position this year. Rodney Harrison returns for another year of cracking skulls over the middle, and getting beaten deep. I kid, I kid... but not that much. He's capable of short-to-mid level coverage, but on the third level, he's a decent liability and he's not the quickest guy to get to the perimeter. Despite his shortcomings there, I'm sure the sound of his footsteps still strike fear in the heart of NFL receivers.
James Sanders has been a nice surprise for the Patriots. In his 4th season after being a 4th round pick out of Fresno State, he's developed into an above average starter for the Pats. Stepping in for Eugene Wilson who couldn't stay healthy (and therefore couldn't stay a Patriots), he's essentially a well-rounded version of Rodney Harrison. He's a hard-hitter, but he's not a real problem when it comes to getting deep. One of his true strengths is his deceiving closing speed. Once the ball is in the air, he's very quick to get in the right place, and he gets out to the edge well on passes or runs up the sideline.
Brandon Meriweather was last years first round pick, and he's pretty much the solution to Sanders and Harrison's difficulties downfield. He's a swift, agile guy who's great at getting and sticking to his man, especially downfield. He's a bit raw, his hands are made of stone, and he's a bit of a flaky tackler, but he's the perfect 1-B option for the Patriots secondary.
(Edit: I don't feel bad about swapping Lynch for Tank Williams here, they're basically the same player)
John Lynch is a late addition to the roster, signing after Tank Williams went down against the Ravens with a knee injury. He'll fulfill essentially the same role as his incredibly named predecessor, as safety/linebacker hybrid. He'll probably get a lot of PT on early downs against teams who're more likely to run the ball, as well as in that 3-3-5 set the Patriots love. The question with Lynch is going to be his cover ability, which has appeared worse and worse during each year in recent memory. Still, if Belichick and Co. can limit the passing situations he's exposed to, he could be a real asset.
Antwain Spann, Mark Dillard, and Ray Ventrone are the last three safetys on the roster, and I give two of them a chance to make it. Spann is a tick above average in coverage, which makes sense because he started his career at corner before taking most of his reps at safety this summer. He's not likely to see the field when the Patriots are expecting the run, just because they already have a bunch of DBs who are good at defending the run. He probably sticks around because he's pretty good on specials teams, both as a gunner and a returner.
Ray "Bubba" Ventrone is one of my pet players on this years team. He's been around the Pats for a few years as an undrafted free-agent out of Villanova, mostly seeing practice squad time until last year. He's listed at safety, because that's what he's played his whole career, but the Patriots are working him out at wide receiver as well. It might seem odd, but he's shown some real promise. He has a nice burst off the line and he's got good hands, but he's still a raw project. Still, having a guy who's a capable back-up at both receiver AND safety is a very nice proposition. Guys at the bottom of the roster don't see the field that much, but you need them for the sheer sake of depth. If Ventrone can fulfill that role as both 11th defensive back and 7 receiver he stands a good chance to stick around.
Mark Dillard is a rookie free-agent out of Louisiana Tech, and I don't know anything about him. That's actually sort of odd, since he's apparently made a fair number of tackles according to NFL.com, but I can honestly say I've heard his name called during a game once. I'm pretty sure it was for decent coverage on a punt or kickoff, but I'm not sure so take it as you will. He stands pretty much no chance to make this roster, but I'll go out and say he's a great candidate for the practice squad, mainly because he's apparently had some half-way decent production in garbage time.
Cornerback
Asante Samuel provided a few years of very good, ball-hawking, fast-closing coverage, but other than that, no one has really been anything more than average at corner in recent memory. Ellis Hobbs is the only returning man on the depth chart,* and you all know how I feel about Ellis Hobbs.
*Mike Richardson spent the year on IR, so he was technically on the team, but I'm not going to count a guy who didn't play a single down during the regular season.
He's incapable of covering short routes, mainly because he's so afraid of getting beaten deep that he backpedals 5 or so yards at the snap of the ball, before even seeing what route his receiver is going to run. He's not a sure tackler, and I'd say his hands are made of stone, but I think a boulder could come up with more picks than he does. I will acquiesce to the fact that the Patriots do use him a lot in zone coverage, often making him look bad, when really it's one of his teammates fault. Still, that doesn't change the fact that it's still often HIS fault, due to his poor judgement and all-around terribleness. At this point, I'd rather have a gambling cornerback who gets beat because he sells out, than a gun-shy cornerback who gets beat because he's unwilling to take the simple risk of tight man-on-man coverage (something almost every corner who plays the game is willing to at least try).
Now that the haterade has been poured out for Hobbs, let me say that I'd absoultely love him if he turned it all around and developed into a lock-down, or even pretty good, cornerback, because then, at least, we'd have one good corner. This off-season New England went back to it's time honored strategy of signing a bunch of old, average-ish corners and hoping that grit, hustle, determination, and a little pure luck generates a passable secondary.
Fernando Bryant is currently listed as the starter opposite Hobbs, and he appears to be the safest bet, having started all but one of the 110 games in his 9 year career. Lewis Sanders is behind him, and he seems to be a decent option for the Patriots otherwise undersize seconday, at 6'1" 210 lbs. Jason Webster rounds out the veteran trio, and he appears to be a slightly better turnover option for the secondary with 11 interceptions in his career, compared to 12 combined for Bryant and Sanders.
One thing all of these guys have in common is that they've all missed significant time. Bryant has missed 26 of 64 games over the last 4 years (average of 6.5 a season) and Webster has missed 30 over the same span (7.5 a season), but more disturbingly 23 of 32 games over the past two seasons, including all but one game last year. Sanders has the slight advantage over the other two in this area, having only missed 13 games over the past 4 years (3.25 a season), but he's never been a full time starting option. While these guys may not inspire the greatest of confidence, I expect we'll see more of a "secondary by comittee" approach, which could help counteract their collective cornerback old age (Bryant is 31, Sanders and Webster are 30).
In addition to the three old soldiers, the Patriots brought in 2 cornerbacks via the draft. This was an incredibly deep year for corners coming out of college, which meant Terrence Wheatley of Colorado was still available at pick #62. He may not have had the name recognition of some of the other high-round corners, but most experts feel he was unfairly overlooked because of injury concerns. He's 5'9" 178 lbs, which is a bit small for a corner, he could stand to put on 10 or 15 pounds, but he tied for 5th in his position at the NFL Combine with a 4.37 40-yard dash. Analysts have a hard time finding negatives in his game. He's a smart player with great acceleration, top-speed, and closing ability, and he's a decent tackler despite being slightly underweight. He was a shutdown corner in college, and he's been alright in camp so far. He's also a talented kick returner.
Jonathan Wilhite from Auburn was chosen in the 4th round, and he's decidedly less critically acclaimed. The analysts say he has good physical tools, 4.38 40-yard dash, good leaping ability, nice closing speed, but that his problems may lie above the neck and below his cap. The biggest knocks on him are his poor recognition and anticipation skills. He doesn't have the feel to be effective in man coverage, but he also doesn't have the instincts to play well in zone coverage. It all sounds pretty damning, but he hasn't been absolutely terrible with the Patriots. He's shown a lot of guts on special teams, and his measurables should keep him around, at least for this year.
There are two three guys on the roster, Mike Richardson, Jeff Shoate, and Ade Jimoh. Richardson was signed as a rookie free-agent out of Notre Dame last year, but went to the Injured Reserve list during the preseason. He's not super fast, and he can get beat in man coverage, but he's smart and plays well in zone. Shoate and Jimoh are mostly just live bodies to fill in the gaps caused by Hobbs being nicked up, and the typical wear and tear on the secondary during training camp. I'm sure they're nice guys, but they won't be nice guys here in New England.
Expectations
I expect that Rodney Harrison will be fined once or twice for vicious hits, get called dirty by the media. If he was white, he'd be called tough, gritty, gutsy, and old-school. Too bad football is the most racist of sports, but that's a story for another day. I also expect that Ellis Hobbs will continue to supply opposing wide receivers with 7 yard cushions and permit them to catch game-breaking touchdowns at will. I expect injuries, like always, and I expect a general feeling of malaise every time a quarterback lets go of the ball.
Seriously, this unit will probably play well against the run, but I don't foresee this being effective against the pass. Average is probably the best we can hope for.
Sleepers
I've said it before, it's hard to call high-round picks sleepers, but Terrence Wheatley could very well end up a starter by the end of the year. He's incredibly gifted, and surprisingly polished.
Under-The-Radar Contributor
James Sanders doesn't get a lot of credit, but he's developed into an incredibly solid all-around starter. He's capable against the pass and doesn't give anything up against the run. Rodney Harrison may get all the love (/hate), but if Brandon Meriweather makes the push for a starting job, he would be taking Harrisons job, not Sanders.
Worrisome Thoughts
Health is a bigger concern here than anywhere else but quarterback. The depth is so thin here, that if just two starters got hurt, we'd be looking at a crisis.
Other than injury, my other biggest concern is just the sheer sucktitude at cornerback.
Depth Chart
S
*Rodney Harrison
*James Sanders
Brandon Meriweather
John Lynch
Antwain Spann
Ray Ventrone
CB
*Ellis Hobbs
*Fernando Bryant
Terrence Wheatley
Lewis Sanders
Jonathan Wilhite
Jeff Shoate
Ade Jimoh
Key: Italics = rookie, *asterisk = starter,
The keepers are pretty clear cut, and the JAGs are pretty evident, but there is some question in the middle ground. I'd say Spann, Ventrone, Richardson, and Wilhite are all on the bubble. Wilhite probably gets by, since he's a rookie and hasn't had time to show much either way, and Ventrone makes it based on his versatility. That would seemingly leave Spann and Richardson on the chopping block, but Spann has looked REALLY good during the preseason, and with the overall weakness of the secondary, I'd say that probably means they'll carry an extra defensive back. Richardson gets the axe, but probably makes the practice squad, along with Dillard.
Bottom Line
Ugh, not good. Undeniably the weakest positional grouping on the roster. They'll play well against the run, but they're going to be victimized by the better passing teams, most of whom they thankfully avoid.*
*I think San Diego, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Pittsburg, Seattle, and Arizona all fall into this category. St. Louis, Indy, Pittsburg, and Seattle all have superlative quarterbacks, and San Diego and Arizona have a lot of receiving talent. These teams could give the Pats some real trouble.
Grade
C-
Special Teams
I know the 3rd part of the game deserves a full breakdown, but it's just too convoluted, and totally dependent on who gets cut. I'll just explain it real quick.
Stephen Gostowski, Kicker
He's got a strong leg on both kick-offs and field goals, and he's pretty accurate, although he has the maddening habit of coming ohsoclose to the uprights. There's not a lot of difference between elite and average when it comes to kickers, and I think that unless you have a guy like Bironas or Vinatieri, it's all pretty much the same. He'll be just fine.
Scott Hanson, Punter
He doesn't have the strongest leg, but he's very accurate which makes him a good fit with the Patriots. The New England offense will, more often than not, put Hanson in position to pin the opposing team close to their goal line, rather than rely on him to open up yardage. Of course, I'd prefer if Hanson's 2008 went like last season, when he was only used 5 times in the first 4 games, and 44 times total (the least of any full-time punter).
Lonnie Paxton, Long Snapper
Dude has the best job in the NFL. He's capable of delivering the ball to the holder on time and accurately, and for it he makes way more money than you or I likely. He's won 3 Super Bowls, and gotten to pal around with professional football players for 9 years. Good on him.
-Sox
Note: You may have noticed, if you actually care, that if you count up the number of players who I predict to make the active roster I name 54 people. The active roster is, in actuality, 53. You know what, I'm making a ton of guesses WAY in advance, give me this one little break. That 1 spot accounts for someone who might go on the PUP squad, or IR right before the season.
I know the 3rd part of the game deserves a full breakdown, but it's just too convoluted, and totally dependent on who gets cut. I'll just explain it real quick.
Stephen Gostowski, Kicker
He's got a strong leg on both kick-offs and field goals, and he's pretty accurate, although he has the maddening habit of coming ohsoclose to the uprights. There's not a lot of difference between elite and average when it comes to kickers, and I think that unless you have a guy like Bironas or Vinatieri, it's all pretty much the same. He'll be just fine.
Scott Hanson, Punter
He doesn't have the strongest leg, but he's very accurate which makes him a good fit with the Patriots. The New England offense will, more often than not, put Hanson in position to pin the opposing team close to their goal line, rather than rely on him to open up yardage. Of course, I'd prefer if Hanson's 2008 went like last season, when he was only used 5 times in the first 4 games, and 44 times total (the least of any full-time punter).
Lonnie Paxton, Long Snapper
Dude has the best job in the NFL. He's capable of delivering the ball to the holder on time and accurately, and for it he makes way more money than you or I likely. He's won 3 Super Bowls, and gotten to pal around with professional football players for 9 years. Good on him.
-Sox
Note: You may have noticed, if you actually care, that if you count up the number of players who I predict to make the active roster I name 54 people. The active roster is, in actuality, 53. You know what, I'm making a ton of guesses WAY in advance, give me this one little break. That 1 spot accounts for someone who might go on the PUP squad, or IR right before the season.
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