I can't recall the last time a Patriots loss, especially to the Colts, actually didn't hurt that much.

Sure, I'm disappointed in Jabar Gaffney for dropping what would've been the go-ahead touchdown, and I'm mad that Dave Thomas's penalty basically lost the game for them, and of course this wasn't Belichick's finest coaching game but overall...I'm doing okay today.

In the past, a loss to the Colts stung and gnawed at me for the entire week (unless it was 2006 when in ate at me for six months), my disdain for Peyton Manning growing with each Sportscenter lowlight of his mongoloid forehead.

But this time home field advantage in the playoffs wasn't on the line. Another chapter of the Manning vs. Brady legacy was not written. And both Patriots and Colts fans know that New England could've, and probably should've won that game, with Matt Cassel behind center, an undrafted rookie running the ball, and no Rodney Harrison or Laurence Maroney, while the Colts had every one of their stars.

Continue reading "Patriots-Colts: Notes on a Win for the LOSers"

Though Bills fan Matt Schaefer and Patriots fan Mike Dussault are mortal enemies on the Sundays when their teams clash, they put down their fan-allegiances this week to have a calm and hopefully insightful email discussion about this weekends key AFC East showdown. The results are below and luckily things remained civil….

  Mike: Alright Matt, the Pats, Bills and Jets are all tied at the top of the AFC East and Miami is just a game back. Your Bills have lost two division games in a row, and, after a strong start where some had them Super Bow-bound, have fallen back to earth. What's going on with you guys the last couple weeks?

Matt: The Bills have been playing terrible ball.  The team is going through some injuries (DE Aaron Schobel, CB Terrence McGee who was BURNED all game against freaking Ted Ginn, and now starting saftey Donte Whitner who is a leader on that defense just to name a few) but they are playing awful no matter who is in there.  The offensive line has been terrible and Trent Edwards has come back down to earth.  The rookie that has meant the most to the Bills has been Derek Fine who saw his first real action this week (WR James Hardy and CB Leodis McKelvin haven't even touched the field much and when they do they don't make an impact).  I dunno who was picking the Bills to make the Super Bowl but after starting off 4-0, they are now in a 1-3 stretch and need to turn things around.  

Continue reading "New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills: Emailing with the Enemy"

The Patriots are now halfway through the 2008 season, aka The Year Without Brady, and resident Pats writers Chris Radez, Ryan Burns, William Berry and Mike Dussault held an email roundtable to discuss the season thus far. Matt Cassel is now 5-3 as a starter, with his contract expiring this year and rumors of Tom Brady's rehab not going quite as smoothly as we'd like, what do you think the Pats should do with Cassel? Do you think Cassel is a starting caliber NFL quarterback at this point? 

CR - Matt has done a good job of "driving the bus", in Brady's absence. He seems to be getting more comfortable with the offense, and I do think that he is a starting caliber NFL quarterback. However, I'm not comfortable with his ability to bring his team back from behind. He seems to get easily flustered, and throws errant passes that don't come near their targets. When Matt is under less pressure, his throws look good... but when the game is on the line, his arm stops working. This is something that could change as he continues to get comfortable, but I wouldn't bet the bank on it.

Continue reading "New England Patriots 2008 Mid-Point Roundtable Discussion"

From BostonSportz.com:

 A week from right now we’ll know a whole lot about who exactly the 2008 Patriots are. With two division games in five days it's time for the Patriots to show what they’ve got.

They came within a dropped pass and a penalty from beating a desperate Colts team on their home turf. Many pundits still have the Pats ranked over the Colts in their Power Rankings despite the loss.

It's pretty clear that the Patriots have been playing solid football the last three weeks. They may not be the explosive team of 2007 but they have looked far better than their performance in San Diego led us to believe.

The Bills started off the season on fire but have slowly fallen back to earth by losing three of their last four. They’ve also been hit again hard by the injury bug losing top safety Donte Whitner and pass rush nightmare Aaron Schobel. But this is still a dangerous team and who are faced with falling to 0-3 in the division. They will play desperate.

Continue reading "5 Keyz: Patriots vs. Bills"

Jets Community Leader Angel Navedo and Patriots Community Leader Mike Dussault had another email conversation this week to discuss Thursday’s battle for sole possession of first place in the AFC East. Their fanalysis and insights into what it will take for their respective teams to pull out the win and take a major step toward the playoffs below…

 

MD - Alright Angel, both our teams took care of business on Sunday, setting up a battle on Thursday night that will go a long way toward determining who wins the AFC East. 

But first, I have to say I am pretty disappointed in your Jets for running up the score on the hapless Rams. Why couldn't you guys just let them stay close like we did? If the Pats learned anything from 2007, it's that it's really classless to run up the score—and karma comes back to bite you. So I hope you're happy with yourself for doing that to the poor Rams.

Continue reading "Patriots-Jets: Emailing with the Enemy, Part Deux"

From BostonSportz.com: 

You had to know that round two of the Patriots-Jets would be an immensely bigger game than when they first met in Week Two. Both teams had new quarterbacks and were still in a state of figuring out what they had. But now both are hitting on all cylinders making this Thursday's clash all the more intriguing.

This game will go a long way toward defining the 2008 versions of both teams. If the Pats win it will be another huge nail in Fredo Mangini’s coffin as the Jets head coach. If the Jets win it will look like all their bold moves of the off-season will have paid off and put them one step closer to the AFC East title. Either way, it’s sure to be a classic battle between two good teams. The Keyz for the Pats…

1. Gotta Get to Favre: Losing Adalius Thomas was a huge blow this week, even bigger than the loss of Rodney Harrison, and the lack of his pass rush presence could be a huge factor on Thursday. The Pats will have to get pressure on Favre somehow. Whether it’s Richard Seymour bowling over D’Brickshaw Ferguson, or Mike Vrabel looking like 2007 Mike Vrabel, putting the heat on Favre is key to forcing him into his signature ill advised throws. If Favre has time he will burn the Pats secondary.

Continue reading "5 Keyz: Patriots vs. Jets"

It’s been a while since the Patriots have faced a regular season game as big as this weekend’s rematch in Miami. And it's been even longer since the Pats were tied in the division... for SECOND.

We all remember what happened the first time these two teams met, which can be summed up in two words: “Wildcat” and “booing”. If you had a third word to add it would have to be “embarrassment” because the Pats were blown off their home turf in week three. So now the Patriots are facing what is basically a “must-win” game in a place where they're 10-32 all-time.

Both the 2001 and 2004 Super Bowl winning Pats teams lost in Miami. The 2003 team needed overtime to dispatch of a 4-1 Dolphin team.

The point is that no matter how good or bad these teams appear on paper, Miami always plays New England hard when they're playing in Florida.Both teams badly need this game to keep their playoff hopes alive so expect a cage fight. So we should be in for a great football game.

Continue reading "5 Keyz: New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins"

It was a must-win for the Patriots and thank Belichick we have Matt Cassel. Holy crap, I never thought I'd type those words but welcome to 2008. It still doesn't make me miss Tom Brady any less.

So by now you know that Cassel posted back-to-back 400 passing yard games and is now among rare company that excludes even Brady. Those that were calling for Cassel's head after the first Dolphin debacle are now left trying to explain how they were behind Cassel all along. Suddenly the 2008 Pats offense looks like the peaking 2007 offense.

And it's a good thing because yet again the Patriots pass defense was shredded. Is it me or are the 2008 Patriots the anti-Ravens? All O, no D. When you're excited for a third-down stop you know how low your expectations have fallen for the defense.

Continue reading "Patriots-Dolphins: Notes on the Taming of the Wildcat"

When the 2008 NFL schedule came out in April and Tom Brady still his left ACL intact, the thought of the Patriots going 16-0 for a second consecutive season did not seem out of the question.

On paper, the Pats had the easiest schedule in the NFL. Which seemed like a cruel joke after the way they laid waste to their 2007 opponents.

Of course that all changed when Bernard Pollard bent like Brady's leg like pretzel and Matt Cassel was thrust into the starting quarterback spotlight to the horror of Pats fans everywhere.

Cassel's improvement has been greater than even the most ardent Patriot supporters could have predicted, but despite his solid play the Pats have still lost four games and the dreams of back-to-back undefeated regular seasons have faded into a distant memory. A memory that was tainted by a Super Bowl loss anyway.

Continue reading "Patriots Must Beat The Steelers If They Want To Be Contenders"