Mike Dussault's New England Patriots fan blog

It's still only June, not even five months since Rex Ryan was hired as the newest head coach of the New York Jets, and he's already been stirring up drama in the AFC East.

First came Bart Scott, the Inside Linebacker Ryan brought with him from Baltimore, proclaiming the Jets to have a  new "swagger-licious" attitude. Practices were now fun and vocal, a swift departure from how things were run under Eric Mangini. After just a few OTA practices, the Jets already had a new confidence under Ryan.

Then came Ryan stating he  wasn't there to kiss Bill Belichick's rings, a statement that the even-keeled Patriots beat writer Mike Reiss  found to be in a disrespectful tone.

Miami's Channing Crowder took on Ryan's comments that the Jets would contend for a Super Bowl, saying Ryan was  "going absolutely nuts".

Continue reading "Patriots Have Reason to Fear Rex Ryan's Defense"

This might be my first ever non-Patriots related blog posting but I've been kicking around these thoughts for a while and it's time to share them with the world.

I started blogging about the Patriots in late 2007 when the WGA writer's strike effectively left me with a paying job but nothing to do. I found an ad for this website on Craigslist, and the mention of making any money at all to do something like write about my beloved team sounded like at least a fun way to pass the time.

I also started writing at Bleacher Report, where my work got more hits but didn't make the penny or two a day I made here on the blog. It was never about the money anyway, it was about writing and showing a perspective on sports not often here... that of the fan.

I've had some good days on the blog and over at Bleacher Report. I had a couple articles featured on Fox Sports. I had another article that got over 5000 hits. I even had a video I made featured on the front page of Cold Hard Football Facts. Blogging on the Patriots has been pretty rewarding for a hobby, even though I've made a grand total of $23.67 after a year and a half of Google Adsensing.

Continue reading "Oversaturation of the Sports Blogosphere"

It would be easy to say that Tom Brady going down in Week One was the defining moment of the 2008 New England Patriots.

Sure, in many ways it was, but with Brady going down just twelve minutes into 2008 there was still a full season of football to be played. So, ultimately the 2008 Patriots were not defined by a lack of Tom Brady, they were defined by not being able to beat any of the elite teams they faced.

You never truly know that mistakes that will come back to haunt you when they happen. Some people may point to Jabar Gaffney's dropped touchdown pass or David Thomas' Unnecessary Roughness penalty against the Colts that cost the Pats at least a shot at overtime, and potentially a win, but there was another play that I believe was truly the difference in the 2008 Patriots season.

Continue reading "The Play that Cost the 2008 Patriots the Playoffs"

Rex Ryan was on WFAN yesterday and served up a bevy of quotes directed at Bill Belichick and the Pats, including a cryptic mention of a "message" that had already been sent to their AFC East foe.

While some Pats fans are amazed by the audacity of a first-year head coach making comments like this in June, we love it. Frankly there are not enough head coaches out there willing to put it out there like Rex Ryan does. Would I want the head coach of my own team doing this? Definitely not.

But without rivalries, sports are monumentally less interesting. There was always something special about when the Pats faced the Mangini Jets, and now there will be something special about when they face the Rex Jets. I'm bored with coaches like Tony Sparano and Dick Jauron, respectable coaches who do, or at least try to do, their talking on the field. Sure, I still enjoy the Pats' rivalry with their teams... well rivalry might be the wrong word for what the Pats have had with the Bills this decade, but the Dolphins have always given the Pats a good game (2007 not included).

Continue reading "Thank You, Rex Ryan"

Rodney Harrison made his presence felt on the New England Patriots in just his second day of training camp in 2003.

While doing "light contact drills" Harrison  laid out star Patriots receiver Troy Brown. Brown fired the ball at the former-Chargers safety and the two almost came to blows.

Anyone who knows the easy-going Troy Brown can attest to how uncommon a display of emotion that would be for him. And anyone who's watched Rodney Harrison play a down of football can attest to how common a hit like that is for him.

Harrison had that effect on players throughout his career.

"We knew what he was about," said Patriot cornerback Ty Law of the incident, "but after that, we really knew what he was about."

With Harrison's retirement from the NFL on Wednesday, he leaves behind a legacy of hard, and sometimes just a wee bit late, hits and clutch plays on the biggest stages.

Continue reading "Love Him or Hate Him, You're Going to Miss Rodney Harrison"

Found this today, and if it doesn't get you pumped for 2009 then you're not a Pats fan.

Of course, don't forget about this one either...

Continue reading "A Tom Brady Video"

While checking out highlights of the newest members of the New England Patriots on Youtube I stumbled across this video below. I can't tell what the funniest part of this is... the over the top Glory soundtrack music, the stiff as a board interviewer, or the silly faces Edleman is making. This is unintentional comedy at it's finest. At least the highlights of Edelman are pretty good.

Continue reading "Patriots' Rookie Julian Edleman YouTube Video"

Continue reading "New England Patriots Rookie Eyeball Test"

Reports have surfaced today that the New England Patriots have reached out to Jason Taylor again about joining the team. While we agree with Michael Lombardi that a pass rusher is about all the Pats are missing for another Super Bowl run, we're just not sold on Taylor being the answer.

Yes, he's three years removed from being the Defensive Player of the Year. Well, Mike Vrabel is just two years removed from having 12.5 sacks and he brought far more versatility than Taylor would. Vrabel could've brought more to the table in 2009 than Taylor can.

As Lombardi points out, even if they got Taylor they'd still pursue another pass rusher (Julius Peppers? I don't know who else is available and better than whoat New England already has), so if that's the case why even pursue Taylor at all? Could he be anything more than a 3rd down pass rusher? Sure, he still might be able to get after the quarterback, and the pass rush was non-existent after Adalius Thomas went down last year, but wouldn't that money be better spent going after a player like Peppers?

Continue reading "Thoughts on Jason Taylor and the New England Patriots Flirtation"

In weeks and months leading up the NFL draft a fan is overwhelmed with the possibilities of who their team might add. Everywhere you look there are prospects who would be exciting additions to the team, however once the draft is over you're left with a handful of draftees, a few of whom may be exciting, but the majority of whom are considered boring depth-adding projects.

The Pats are no different, even with 12 new members of the team added over draft weekend. Sure I'm excited about Patrick Chung, he was one of my favorite prospects leading up to the draft. And Darius Butler makes the third rookie CB in the last two years to join the team, hopefully he can make some plays.

Other than those two guys we probably won't see much out of the rest at least until 2010. Of course, that's still a good thing. Alot of teams won't see anything out of their draftees at all. At least with Belichick making the picks you trust a couple of them will contribute somewhere down the line.

Continue reading "New England Patriots Post-Draft Depression Thoughts & Observations"