Welp, it's two days before the Super Bowl and what a shocking coincidence that Spygate is back in the news. Isn't that just amazing? Arlen Specter kicked it off this morning by requesting NFL Commish Roger Goodell to explain why the confiscated tapes were destroyed, though he claims he intially made the request just before the New England Patriots played the Philadelphia Eagles this season (another coincidence?) but the NFL didn't respond.  So here it is today in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/sports/football/01nfl.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin

Finally Roger Goodell came out in his press conference today and directly answered questions about Spygate and what he had to say is not good if you're a Patriot-hater and convinced the Pats Super Bowls are tainted. He said that there were about six video tapes coming from late in the 2006 season and 2007 preseason (um, not the super bowl seasons FYI), all showing the same kind of stuff as the tape that Jay Glazer of FOX managed to get of the New York Jets game. Here are some other interesting quotes from the commish:

Continue reading "Spygate's Back... and Patriots Haters Won't Like What the Commish Has to Say"

From USA Today:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/sportsscope/2008/02/live-goodells-a.html

Pushed again on Spygate question. Why did they do it? Ask the Patriots, Goodell says. He cites the leaked tape of one of the Jets coaches. "It's not exciting." In one of the tapes, a coach was waving at the camera indicating he knew it was happening, Goodell says.

"It had a limited effect, if any effect on the outcome of any game," he says.

How far back did the tapes go? Some of the Spygate tapes went back to preseason 2007 and late season 2006. Also, he found notes that went further back that indicated there were more tapes that may have come from sources against the rules, but it was inconclusive.

------------

Continue reading "Couple more notes on Goodell's Press Conference"

Part of me thought that Commissioner Goodell coming out today and answering a bunch of direct questions about "Spygate" would do something to cool off the conspiracy theorists. But alas it has not. I shouldn't be surprised. It is in our roots to want to take down the guy on top. It just so happens that my favorite team is on top right now and thus Spygate will never die. The facts are out there and the New England Patriots received a significant punishment, fans can believe what they want to.
I had assumed that the tapes went back to the start of the Belichick era in New England, but they actually only went back to late in the 2006 season. I guess there were notes collected as well that went further back that were destroyed as well, Goodell didn't elaborate on those but seemed satisfied that they had all been accounted for. He stated unequivically that none of the Super Bowls were in question. I can live with that. The fact that a Jets coach waves directly to camera on one of the tapes says a lot. There was no secret that this was going on and that had to limit how much help stealing signals actually could be. 

Continue reading "Patriots Fans Embrace the Hate!"

First things first.. Congratulations to the New York Giants! They absolutely deserve full credit for knocking off the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. The Giants defenders were all over Tom Brady all day, Eli Manning came through in the clutch and they pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history.

As a Patriots fans this is the worst loss I've ever had to endure. I turned off the TV last night as the game ended and haven't watched a single second since. Not sure what Eli looks like holding the MVP trophy nor any of the Giants hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and I like it that way. What is most shocking to me is that the Patriots came out so incredibly flat. It didn't look like they were playing with any emotion. Were they just burned out from the year long pressure of an undefeated season? Even Tom Brady looked lethargic out there. I'm not sure if his ankle was bothering him or not but clearly having Justin Tuck up your butt all game can't help that.

Continue reading "Upsets are What Make Sports Great"

Yes I'll admit it, the 2007 New England Patriots season has to qualify as the most disappointing in team history. Back when the Pats stunk you couldn't really be disappointed, you had to expect them to end the season with a loss. I don't think the loss to the Green Bay Packers in 1996 was more than a blip on my Boston Sports Misery Index. We were just happy to not get blown out like we did against the Chicago Bears ten years earlier. But after three Super Bowls your expectations change. Especially when you're playing a team that you've already beaten in the regular season. So yes, this 2007 season goes down as a disappointment in terms of the ultimate goal of winning the Super Bowl. But what positives can we take as we start to pick up the pieces and refocus on 2008?

Continue reading "Always Look on the Bright Side (of the most disappointing season in Patriots history)"

I can't believe the amount of hate that has been thrown at Bill Belichick all week. Yes the New England Patriots were outcoached by the New York Giants but give the guy a break for leaving the field one second early. Is this really even news? Everyone knows that the field at a Super Bowl quickly becomes a circus after the game is over (well maybe New York Jets fans don't but I think even they can probably imagine it). He just wanted to get out of there. I'm amazed that people are really concerned about this and it's really just a shame that it's stuff like this that gets counted as controversy against the Hoodied one.

Belichick is concerned with one thing: winning football games. He makes no apologies about that. The media wants every NFL coach to be Dick Vermeil. Emotional, verbose, a father to his players, not afraid to tear up when the moment strikes him. Sorry folks, this isn't Bill Belichick. He knows that the media can be a disease to putting together a winning football team. They take rumours and speculation and use them to divide professional sports teams. They take quotes out of context ("I play when I want to play") to serve the stories they want to write. So Belichick cuts them off at the knees by limiting any information that is disseminated to them. In David Halberstam's Education of a Coach he describes how much time and thought Belichick puts into his press conferences. He anticipates what he will be asked and knows exactly how to put a stop to any attempt to create controversy. He makes the media's job extremely difficult and thus they take any opportunity possible to return the favor.

Continue reading "Belichick's an Eccentric Genius, What Do You Want From Him?"

A week later I emerge from the darkness. I think I've made peace with the New England Patriots fate in 2007. It was a great season that came just short of being the greatest of all time. I can live with that. The Pats gave us more great wins than anyone else this season, just not the greatest. So it's time to reload. Here's the biggest questions for the off-season.
1. Linebackers and Secondary - The biggest weakness is shoring up the defense. This is the second year in a row that the Pats D has fallen apart at the worst possible moment.
- Kiss Asante Samuel goodbye. I think it's a long shot the team is willing to give him what he wants.- Will Bruschi, Seau, Harrison decide to hang them up? Seau is the strongest possibility. Regardless the Pats could use some youth at the position. Eric Alexander had a solid year on special teams but gave no indication that the Pats think he's a future starter.- Will Randall Gay resign? He was the nickel-back for the Pats for his first healthy season since his rookie year. He was picked on by Eli Manning, but he's still a starter with multiple years experience with the Pats. The New York Jets (who else?) could take a shot at him.

Continue reading "The Big 3 Questions of the New England Patriots Off-Season"

Yes it's still two and a half months until the NFL entry draft but it's never too early for the mock drafts to start popping up all over the internets. Below are the three most common prospects that the "experts" have the New England Patriots selecting with the 7th overall pick, keep any eye on them next week at the Scouting Combine...

Mike Jenkins, CB, South Florida

Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvs6pZtcW2w

 Not everyone is sold on Jenkins being a first rounder but he's deceptive and has good size and speed for the NFL. He has some versatility with playing safety as well, he's projected by some to be moved there at the next level.

Continue reading "Consensus Mock Draft Favorites for the Pats 7th Overall Pick"

As much as it pains me to post anything that rehashes the New England Patriots - New York Giants Super Bowl (which I'm almost over) this article was a really interesting read and actually made me feel better for some reason. I never really thought either of Brady's two attempted bombs to end the game were even close but apparently one of them was. I think I was already fighting the urge to vomit seeing the season come to such an amazingly disappointing end. But as I've said before all the credit in the world goes to the Giants. They truly proved on any given Sunday any team can win.

http://www.eagletribune.com/pusports/local_story_044005441.html?keyword=topstory

Today Roger Goodell and Arlen "Comcast is my daddy" Specter are meeting to rehash Spygate for the millionth time. News is also coming out today that say Bill Belichick came clean that he had been taping defensive signals since he started coaching with the Pats. Supposedly this came out in October? This is news to me and rarely does any significant Pats news escape me. So why is this coming out now? I guess we'll find out why after today's meeting of the minds. But seriously, I am so happy that by next year all this Spygate crapola will (hopefully) be behind us. And by behind us I don't mean for a second that every fan of every other team will hold it against us. That's fine by me, I just don't need any more "new information" popping up again regarding the whole situation.

Continue reading "Great Article on How the Giants Beat the Pats and other musings..."

So today NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell and Senator Arlen Specter met to discuss the New England Patriots "Spygate" episode and if Goodell handled the controversy properly. The headlines tonight uniformly read "Goodell has no regrets over destroying tapes." So where does that leave this whole stupid, dragged-out episode that ruined the Super Bowl before it even started for Patriots fans? Pretty much exactly where we were in September after Goodell levied the fines on Bill Belichick and the Patriots and took away their first-round pick. That was in September, yes nearly six months ago and we're still talking about it.

John Tomase (or Judas Tomase as he's known to Pats fans these days) of the Boston Herald broke a story the day before the Super Bowl against the New York Giants that an anonymous source said the Pats taped the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before Super Bowl 36. Many assumed that this anonymous source was in fact former Pats video guy Matt Walsh, who had been telling reporters for months that he had much greater scoop on other Pats shenanigans. Reportedly Walsh would not come forward for fear of the Pats suing him into oblivion. He hinted he may or may not have video proof and that's about the last we heard from him.

Continue reading "SpyGate 2: Can We See Some Evidence or Actual Proof?"

I'm going to make a promise to myself that this will be the last time I post anything on SpyGate until some kind of actual new evidence comes forth. As far as the NFL,  Commissioner Goodell and at least the Pittsburgh Steelers are concerned the issue is dead. Here's what the Steelers had to say about the taping of their defensive signals in 2004 (which Arlen Specter is still OUTRAGED at):

 "We consider the tapes of our coaching staff during our games against the New England Patriots to be a non-issue. In our opinion, they had no impact on the results of those games. The Steelers fully support the manner in which Commissioner Goodell handled the situation and the discipline that he levied against those who violated league rules. We are confident that the Commissioner has taken appropriate action in his investigation of this matter, and will do so again if new information arises which requires further investigation and or discipline."

Continue reading "NFL: Spygate is Dead, Arlen Specter: I Want to Make Roger Goodell Look Dumb"

Well, that didn't take long. I promised myself not to post again on Spygate just this morning and now late Friday night word comes out that the AGP (Assistant Golf Pro) has tapes in his possesion. We've heard warnings that they're not only embarrassing to the New England Patriots but also to the NFL itself. Who knows what that means. 
Right now the AGPs lawyer is trying to get a better deal out of the NFL. The NFL says they are offering indemnity, but in reality, if the NFL doesn't like what AGP has to say they can say he's lying and charge him with perjury. That's what the AGP wants to avoid that's why he probably wants blanket immunity. The leaking of the fact that he has tapes is likely meant to force the NFL's hand. So now what are the likely scenarios?

Continue reading "So the Assistant Golf Pro's Got Himself Some Tapes..."

Well I think this is something all us New England Patriots fans have been waiting for... Bill Belichick to finally address all madness that has been going on about Spygate ever since two days before the Super Bowl against the New York Giants. It's no coincidence that Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe got the story. The Boston Herald, home of Judas Tomase, the paper that has an "unnamed source" that claims the Pats taped the Super Bowl runthru, last updated their Pats page with an Alge Crumpler story. 
There's some juicy stuff about why the Assistant Golf Pro was fired, how the hoodied one misinterpreted the rule, if he's ever taped a walkthru, and how much use were the tapes that they were using. Anyway here's the link, good to see the Pats aren't taking this lying down any more....

Continue reading "The Patriots Strike Back! Belichick and Pioli end their silence on SpyGate"

The Patriots notified Donte Stallworth and Kelley Washington that they are not going to be picking up their multi-year extension options. The Pats may be trying to get them to sign new, less expensive deals but this could also be a sign that they are confident in resigning Randy Moss. It could also point to the developmental progress of Chad Jackson. Many fans see the WR roster for 2008 to look like this:
MossWelkerGaffneyChad Jackson(Bam Childress - a guy that has been on the Pats practice squad for multiple years and seems to bring a lot of multiple position value, C.J. Jones - just finshed year two on the practice squad)
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see "Nico" Stallworth back and Washington was a special teams stand out. But should they not return the Pats still have a formidable collection of weapons at the position. 

Continue reading "Some Actual Non-Spygate Patriots News: Stallworth and Washington not picked up..."

Cold, Hard Football Facts reminds us today not to forget this article from the New York Times about the Patriots being spied on:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE4DB153DF931A35751C0A9649C8B63

Where was the outrage about cheating back in early 2002? Anyway, it will be interesting to see if this comes up again as more and more of this Spygate stuff comes up.

Continue reading "Let's Not Forget NFL Officials Saw Someone Spying on the Patriots Practice Before SB XXXVI"

While it's easy to get caught up in the Assistant Golf Pro and his tapes, Arlen Specter and his Comcast connections, and all the other madness that has surrounded SpyGate we can't lose sight of one simple fact: It's all Eric Mangini's fault. Has there ever been a case of a former assistant being a more ungrateful bastard to his mentor than Mangini has been to Bill Belichick? When looking to pay back a former boss who got you where you are today, having him dragged thru the mud and his place in history tarnished is not the best way to do it.

Many people have forgotten that the New York Jets were caught taping the Pats in their 2006 playoff game. From Newsday:

Continue reading "Remember to Thank Eric Mangini and the New York Jets For All of This"

I came across this site in my travels around the internets looking for all things Patriots. This guy compiles numerous mock drafts into a database and shows who everyone has the Patriots picking. This will be a useful tool with the combine starting up the end of this week.

http://www.199overall.com/?q=node/2

 And if you don't know what the 199overall means you're not a Pats fan.

Continue reading "Great Mock Draft Site for Pats Fans"

The Competition Committee met today and Spygate was a major point of discussion. Looks like everyone came out satisfied with how the league handled the situation. The Colts' Bill Polian, often one to complain about the Patriots, commented:

“From my perspective, that was a thorough, fair, efficient process with lots of integrity,” he said. “I think it’s fair to say we [as a committee] were satisfied with the explanation, satisfied with what was done, and at least I am anyway. It’s behind us. It’s time to move forward.”

Clearly the NFL owners are lining up behind Commissioner Goodell and his handling of the situation. Now it's up to the media to follow their lead. Now all that remains is finding out what the Assistant Golf Pro has to say. As pointed out in an earlier post it will most likely be what the AGP has to SAY that is will be most damaging, if it's damaging at all. Otherwise he could just rely on what's on the supposed video tape and not have to worry about being indemnified. So now, we wait for the AGP to write the final chapter of the Spygate opus. Per reports yesterday we shouldn't have long to wait.

Continue reading "Add Bill Polian to the List of Those Saying Spygate is Over"

Here's an interesting article about how hard it is to evaluate cornerbacks and how they'll be able to make the transition to the NFL. With many mock drafts predicting the Patriots picking up a replacement for Asante Samuel, this article makes it seem like there's a strong possibility they will not do it with their first pick (7th overall).

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/23262398/site/21683474/

Continue reading "Cornerbacks and the Combine"

Though predicting what Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli will do with the 7th overall pick is harder that predicting Britney Spears' next meltdown there are a number of prospects that Mock Drafts consistently have the Patriots taking. Based on www.199overall.com below are the guys that at least three mock drafts have the Patriots selecting. Their stockwill rise and fall after this weekend so I will plan on checking back in on all of them to report how they did and if the Pats are more or less likely to take them based on their combine performance.

Aqib Talib      Cornerback       Kansas

Continue reading "Potential Patriots Draft Prospects to Watch at This Weekends NFL Combine"

The deadline for teams to place the franchise tag on players passed yesterday afternoon, and despite what many believed (including myself) the Patriots did not franchise Randy Moss. Some believe that the Pats may already have a verbal agreement in place with Moss that will be announced as soon as they are allowed to next Friday, February 29th at midnight. The NFL does not allow player contracts to be reworked twice in one season and the Pats already jiggered with Moss' once when he signed on last April. This is somewhat of a risky move as it will allow teams to at least contact Moss with an offer. Should someone offer ridiculous money to Moss he could take it and the Pats would be left empy handed. Some commentators like John Clayton of ESPN don't think it's worth the risk to not franchise Moss and leave the door at least a crack open for him to exit without any kind of compensation for the Patriots.

Continue reading "Pats Don't Franchise Randy Moss"

Alright, I'm over it. It really sucked how it ended but I think I can finally look back and say what a friggin journey it was being a Patriots fan in 2007. It was amazing watching how Tom Brady and Randy Moss clicked from the first moment. I will look forward to seeing all the highlight film catches forever. Every member of the team seemed to step up at some point and make a play. There was some real magic. I almost had a heart attack in at least five games. Every single game just got bigger and bigger. But they lost something after they beat the Bills. Teams might've caught on to what they were doing and because they all seemed to find ways to shut down the offense that had been unstoppable until that point. Pittsburgh was a huge win (and I was there). As the season wore on and th

Continue reading "2007 New England Patriots: Perspective"

There's two pretty clear needs for the Patriots - Cornerback and Middle Linebacker. A lot of fans out there think that we need young OLB to rush the passer but the fact of the matter is that as long as Rosevelt Colvin comes back healthy next year our pass rush will be fine. They desperately need help in the middle. Vernon Gholston is not going to beat out Rosey or Vrabel next year and those guys still have at least a couple more solid years in them. 

At cornerback I'm convinced that someone is going give Asante Samuel a lot of money and he's going to take it. The Pats haven't even had negotiations with last years nickelback and soon-to-be free agent Randall "Blue" Gay. So as of now (of course before free agency and the draft) we got Ellis Hobbs, perhaps a converted Brandon Meriweather, vet Chad Scott who's coming off an IR-lost season, and Mike Richardson (a rookie who got hurt in training camp in 2007) at cornerback. There are going to be additions at the position and this years draft has as many as 4-5 first round studs who would fit the Pats nicely.

Continue reading "Lots of solids CBs could tempt Pats to trade down..."

Flowers Moving Up the Draft Charts 

This weekend another cornerback who I've failed to talk much about in previous postings has been shooting up a lot of people draft charts... Brandon Flowers of Virginia Tech (shown below decleating someone). Upon further review I'm really starting to like this guy. Just check out these video highlights of Flowers. He's not the biggest guy in the world but he's by far the most aggresive cornerback I've seen of all the CB prospects this year. Flowers is currently Mike Mayock's number one ranked CB and the more I see of him the more I like him. Keep an eye on him tomorrow to see how he stacks up in the measurables against the rest of the CB class.

Continue reading "The Monday Patriots Huddle"

The most common scenario for the Patriots in April's draft in my mind is them trading down and picking up one of the many talented cornerbacks. Here's today's results from the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.

1. Dominique Rogers-Cromartie:     4.33
2. Leodis McKelvin:                        4.38
3. Mike Jenkins:                            4.38
4. Aqib Talib:                                4.48

Continue reading "Combine 40 times for Cornerbacks"

There have been reports the past couple days that the Jets have given the okay to Jonathan Vilma to work out a trade to any NFL team... except the Patriots. This is funny because if Vilma couldn't hack it at ILB in the Jets 3-4 he's probably not going to be able to hack it in the Pats 3-4. Oh, the Pats actually have coaches who know how to utilize talented players and put them in position to be succesful? Is that why the Jets are worried? It's okay, we'll just let you tamper with our players like Branch and now Samuel and still beat you on Sundays. Besides do we really need Vilma to make plays like the picture below?

Continue reading "We Don't Want Vilma Anyways..."

Per reports from WEEI in Boston the Patriots have just cut OLB Rosevelt Colvin. This isn't a surprise, see below, but it does add yet another need to the Patriots defense that already had a bunch of them. I'm holding out hope Rosey could be resigned but I'm not that optimistic...

Continue reading "BREAKING NEWS: Pats Cut Rosevelt Colvin"

The Patriots pass rush was significantly less intimidating once Rosevelt Colvin was lost for the season in 2007. His absence seemed to have an effect on Mike Vrabel as well as his production in the sack department dropped dramatically without 59 lining up opposite of him. Rosey had his share of big plays over the past few years (2006 interception against San Diego Chargers, 2007 game-sealing interception against the Colts) but he also had his share of injuries. He's 31 years old and was due a buttload of money this season and clearly the Pats did not think he was worth it.

Was the reasoning behind cutting him more than just about money? The Pats are already paper thin at the linebacker position - arguably the most important cog in Bill Belichick's 3-4 machine. Right now the only starters that are signed for next year is Adalius Thomas and Mike Vrabel and there are rumors that Bruschi will retire. Not to mention Junior Seau is even older than him. Will 2008 mark a changing of the guard for the Patriots linebacker corps? That remains to be seen. Colvin could still resign, Brushci and Seau could reup for one more year and we're back with what we had in 2007.

Continue reading "Colvin Analysis"

Free Agency starts this coming Friday at 12:01am and if it's anything like last year (which it very well could be with the amount of cap space the Patriots have) it will be a whirlwind weekend. Last year Adalius Thomas was rumored to already be signed, sealed and delivered to the San Francisco 49ers when news broke that the Patriots would be big players in free agency. The Pats signed Thomas by noon the next day. That was just the start - Kyle Brady, Donte' Stallworth, Kelley Washington soon followed. What we learned is that the Pats keep quiet about their intentions and it serves to their advantage.

So now, with Rosevelt Colvin cut, Tedy Bruschi/Junior Seau contemplating retirement, and Asante Samuel searching for a new pimp pad in either the Tampa Bay or New Orleans areas who out there might the Pats be targeting this year? Well the hot name out on the internets today is the Arizona Cardinals Calvin Pace. Pace played OLB in the Cards 3-4, so he has the experience the Patriots look for. There are also rumors that the Pats could move him to the Inside, a spot that they need to get younger. Pace is 6-4 and 270 pounds, clearly big enough to take on guards like the Pats require of their Inside Linebackers. He might be expensive and there might be a few other teams after him (San Francisco 49ers, another 3-4 team being one of them) but the Patriots certainly have a lot to offer any free agent who isn't looking to set records with his salary.

Continue reading "Potential Patriots Free Agent Pick Up: Calvin Pace"

By the time we all wake up tomorrow morning a significant number of NFL players will have new teams. The New England Patriots' Asante Samuel is one of them. Last year the Pats made some major splashes right off the bat and it wouldn't be a surprise to see them do the same thing this year. That's what is so fun about being a Patriots fan, you never have a clue what they are going to do. They could sign Lance Briggs tomorrow, a move that no one has once mentioned as a possibility, and it wouldn't surprise me. They could not sign a single free agent, watch Randy Moss and Donte' Stallworth sign elsewhere and again, I wouldn't be surprised.

Continue reading "Free Agency Fun Begins at Midnight Tonight"

Per Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe New England Patriots ILB Tedy Bruschi will return for the 2008 season. Bru is the heart and soul of the Pats D and though he may have lost a step he can still get it done. This is great news for Patriots fans!

Update - John Clayton of ESPN reports it's a multi-year deal.

Continue reading "Tedy Bruschi Coming Back for 2008"

It's been a lot quieter on the New England Patriots Free Agency signing front than I thought it would be by now. Per team President Jonathan Kraft the Pats have about $22 Million in cap space so clearly they got the room to sign some quality players, they've just been tight lipped about what they're doing so far.

Pats fans are nervous that Randy Moss has not been resigned. Most of us believe he already had a deal in place and it would be announced after Free Agency started at midnight last night. But alas there's been no announcement and his agent has refused to comment. So all we can do now is wait and see. It's very possible something could be done by the end of the day. Stay tuned...

Continue reading "Patriots Resign Lonie Paxton, Kelley Washington... No Word on Moss"