I sit here 30 minutes removed from a 38-17 debacle in New Orleans and I toss out a question that surely will be debated this week ..."Are the Saints really that good?" or "Is the Pats defense really that bad?"? I lean heavily towards the former as opposed to the latter. Ladies and Gentlemen - The New Orleans Saints are good.
The Saints have weapons galore - Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Jeremy Shockey, Robert Meachem, etc. To think they were missing key members of their air attack - Reggie Bush and Lance Moore. One thing America should realize now (if they had not yet already) is that Drew Brees is an elite quarterback. The guy is deadly accurate, extremely smart, and possesses the competitiveness and fire you love to see in your field general. Whenever someone discusses top tier NFL quarterbacks, Drew Brees must be included along with Brady and Manning.
On the flip side, however, the New England Patriots defense was terrible tonight. I can't remember a Pats defense giving up so many huge plays. They simply had no answer for the Saints offense led by Brees and Sean Payton. Their inexperience and youth in the secondary was on display, specificially on the 75-yard TD to Devery Henderson in the second quarter where there was a clear miscommunication.
Is the Pats defense really that bad? No, of course not. They were just made to look terrible by an excellent football team. The Patriots are still a very good team. Don't be surprised if we see a rematch of this game in a little over 2 months down in Miami. If there is, I guarantee the performance will be different.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Post Thanksgiving Tidbits
As I sit here waiting for my tryptophan daze to wear off, here are some post turkey day tidbits that are bouncing around in my brain ...
- Congrats to the Billerica High football team. As a former town resident (first 24 years of my existence), I am happy to see them make the Eastern Mass playoffs. Good luck against Everett on December 1st and hopefully beyond.
- It's time to stop trotting out the Lions every Thanksgiving day. How about we play 4 games on Thanksgiving with 8 new teams every year and rotate 'em! That would allow every team to play on turkey day every 4 years.
- Tiger Woods ...seriously? You crash just outside your house ...and your wife uses one of your clubs to get you out? SERIOUSLY?
- It's the calm before the proverbial storm in baseball free agency. Still waiting for that first big trade and/or free agent signing ...ZZZZZZZZ ....
- Speaking of MLB free agency - if Scott Boras was never born, do you think a top tier free agent would actually sign before Christmas! Stop the dog and pony and lets get things rolling ...
- I hope the Red Sox do NOT trade for Miguel Cabrera. He's the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in a baseball uniform waiting to happen. Granted he's a great hitter, but he's due to bust out (of his pants).
- If the Red Sox trade Clay Buchholz and/or Daniel Bard this offseason, it had better be for either Felix Hernandez or Roy Halladay. Pitching, pitching, pitching!!
- Did the Yankees really win the World Series?
- Tuukka Rask!! Remind me again why he does not play every day?
- Oh yes, that's right ...Tim Thomas. Was there a worse deal than the one the Bruins gave Tim Thomas? 4 years at the age of 36 with a budding 22 year old stud ready to take the pipes away? Sounds like a move Harry Sinden would have made ...
- Vince Young - where you been?
- Is it just me or the fact the Celtics starting point guard, Rajon Rondo, can't hit a free throw if his life depended on it is an absolute joke?
- Rasheed Wallace - love the signing, but don't love the bombs away mentality thus far.
- As of 11/27, my projected AFC playoff seedings: 1) Colts 2) Pats 3) Chargers 4) Steelers 5) Bengals 6) Broncos
- As of 11/27, my projected NFC playoff seedings: 1) Vikings 2) Saints 3) Cardinals 4) Cowboys 5) Eagles 6) Falcons
- Jason Bay or Matt Holiday? I say go with Bay ...
- Why do radio stations start playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving? Are stations being taken over by the same early planners who put out Christmas paraphenalia prior to Halloween?
- Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood - wow, wow, all I can say is wow.
- I hope the Laurence Maroney from the last 2 weeks (Colts and Jets) is the real Laurence Maroney and not the stiff from the past 3 years who continuously ran right into his offensive lineman's asses and fell down.
- I am secure enough in my manhood to say that I love Wes Welker.
- Ditto Tom Brady.
- If someone offered the Red Sox a dozen clean baseballs, do you think they would exchange David Ortiz? Where have you gone Big Papi?
Thanksgiving 2009 is now officially over. Hope you had a great one! Bring on the Christmas season ....
- Congrats to the Billerica High football team. As a former town resident (first 24 years of my existence), I am happy to see them make the Eastern Mass playoffs. Good luck against Everett on December 1st and hopefully beyond.
- It's time to stop trotting out the Lions every Thanksgiving day. How about we play 4 games on Thanksgiving with 8 new teams every year and rotate 'em! That would allow every team to play on turkey day every 4 years.
- Tiger Woods ...seriously? You crash just outside your house ...and your wife uses one of your clubs to get you out? SERIOUSLY?
- It's the calm before the proverbial storm in baseball free agency. Still waiting for that first big trade and/or free agent signing ...ZZZZZZZZ ....
- Speaking of MLB free agency - if Scott Boras was never born, do you think a top tier free agent would actually sign before Christmas! Stop the dog and pony and lets get things rolling ...
- I hope the Red Sox do NOT trade for Miguel Cabrera. He's the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in a baseball uniform waiting to happen. Granted he's a great hitter, but he's due to bust out (of his pants).
- If the Red Sox trade Clay Buchholz and/or Daniel Bard this offseason, it had better be for either Felix Hernandez or Roy Halladay. Pitching, pitching, pitching!!
- Did the Yankees really win the World Series?
- Tuukka Rask!! Remind me again why he does not play every day?
- Oh yes, that's right ...Tim Thomas. Was there a worse deal than the one the Bruins gave Tim Thomas? 4 years at the age of 36 with a budding 22 year old stud ready to take the pipes away? Sounds like a move Harry Sinden would have made ...
- Vince Young - where you been?
- Is it just me or the fact the Celtics starting point guard, Rajon Rondo, can't hit a free throw if his life depended on it is an absolute joke?
- Rasheed Wallace - love the signing, but don't love the bombs away mentality thus far.
- As of 11/27, my projected AFC playoff seedings: 1) Colts 2) Pats 3) Chargers 4) Steelers 5) Bengals 6) Broncos
- As of 11/27, my projected NFC playoff seedings: 1) Vikings 2) Saints 3) Cardinals 4) Cowboys 5) Eagles 6) Falcons
- Jason Bay or Matt Holiday? I say go with Bay ...
- Why do radio stations start playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving? Are stations being taken over by the same early planners who put out Christmas paraphenalia prior to Halloween?
- Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood - wow, wow, all I can say is wow.
- I hope the Laurence Maroney from the last 2 weeks (Colts and Jets) is the real Laurence Maroney and not the stiff from the past 3 years who continuously ran right into his offensive lineman's asses and fell down.
- I am secure enough in my manhood to say that I love Wes Welker.
- Ditto Tom Brady.
- If someone offered the Red Sox a dozen clean baseballs, do you think they would exchange David Ortiz? Where have you gone Big Papi?
Thanksgiving 2009 is now officially over. Hope you had a great one! Bring on the Christmas season ....
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving ...
As a Boston sports fan, let's face the facts - we have it good! There is alot to be thankful for ....here are my top 5 ...
1) Bill Belichick - he's the modern day Vince Lombardi. As a coach, he has 3 rings, 4 conference titles, 9 division titles, a .620 winning percentage (.708 with the Pats), and a playoff winning percentage of .789 (.824 with the Pats). What else is there to say? Perhaps that he's the best dressed coach of all-time.
2) Tom Brady - remember Joe Montana? He's alive and well in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Brady has 3 Super Bowl rings (should be 4, if not for a few members of the Pats defense ...another story for another day). He has 2 Super Bowl MVPs. He's the leader of the greatest football franchise of this decade. His intangibles are off the charts - his toughness, his smarts, etc. He has it all. Need I say more.
3) Theo Epstein - once considered Boy Wonder when he first took over the GM duties from Dan Duquette. He has led the Red Sox to 2 World Series Titles and the playoffs 6 of the last 7 years. He has rebuilt a farm system that has produced the likes of Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, and Daniel Bard. The pipeline to the big leagues has become a turnstile with some great arms and athletes down in the minors. In a few years, you'll be hearing Casey Kelly, Lars Anderson, and Ryan Westmoreland to name a few.
4) Wes Welker/Randy Moss - best tandem of receivers in the NFL. I'm sure they are top of Brady's Christmas list each year. Welker has caught a staggering 7.5 passes a game since coming here for a 2nd and 7th round picks to start 2007. Moss set an NFL record with 23 TD catches in 2007 and if he sticks around with Brady he's likely to give the TD record of Jerry Rice a chase (Rice has 208 total/197 receiving while Moss had 140/136 coming into 2009).
5) Danny Ainge/Kevin Garnett - lets face it, the Celtics had been irrelevant up until Ainge made the bold move of trading for Kevin Garnett (as well as Ray Allen). This single-handlely transformed the dormat Celts into title contenders. EVERYTHING changed. Garnett's passion and desire led the Celtics to their first world championship since 1986. I give Danny Ainge the credit for orchestrating the moves necessary to make this all happen.
*Honorable mention - I'll sneak the Bruins in here to show the full Boston love (for all you soccer fans, sorry I'm not putting the Revolution here - I just can't do it). I give a gobble-gobble thanks today out to Peter Chiarelli, the GM of the Bruins. He has put together a young, exciting, hard-working team that has hockey fans around here with championship hopes and dream. Milan Lucic, Tuukka Rask, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci et al are a few of the young players that will lead this team in years to come. Now if they could only get rid of Montgomery Burns who sits on his mountain of cash up in his Buffalo office.
On this Thanksgiving, 2009, I sit back and think about just how good I have it as a sports fan. There is no better place to live than Boston. We have successful, hard-working teams that are passionate about bringing nothing but championships to the fans of New England. It could be worse ... imagine being a Cubs fan or a simply a fan of any middle of the road team who you know has ZERO chance of winning before they even drop the first puck or throw the first pitch. Boston fans - be thankful! I know I am. Happy Thanksgiving!
1) Bill Belichick - he's the modern day Vince Lombardi. As a coach, he has 3 rings, 4 conference titles, 9 division titles, a .620 winning percentage (.708 with the Pats), and a playoff winning percentage of .789 (.824 with the Pats). What else is there to say? Perhaps that he's the best dressed coach of all-time.
2) Tom Brady - remember Joe Montana? He's alive and well in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Brady has 3 Super Bowl rings (should be 4, if not for a few members of the Pats defense ...another story for another day). He has 2 Super Bowl MVPs. He's the leader of the greatest football franchise of this decade. His intangibles are off the charts - his toughness, his smarts, etc. He has it all. Need I say more.
3) Theo Epstein - once considered Boy Wonder when he first took over the GM duties from Dan Duquette. He has led the Red Sox to 2 World Series Titles and the playoffs 6 of the last 7 years. He has rebuilt a farm system that has produced the likes of Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, and Daniel Bard. The pipeline to the big leagues has become a turnstile with some great arms and athletes down in the minors. In a few years, you'll be hearing Casey Kelly, Lars Anderson, and Ryan Westmoreland to name a few.
4) Wes Welker/Randy Moss - best tandem of receivers in the NFL. I'm sure they are top of Brady's Christmas list each year. Welker has caught a staggering 7.5 passes a game since coming here for a 2nd and 7th round picks to start 2007. Moss set an NFL record with 23 TD catches in 2007 and if he sticks around with Brady he's likely to give the TD record of Jerry Rice a chase (Rice has 208 total/197 receiving while Moss had 140/136 coming into 2009).
5) Danny Ainge/Kevin Garnett - lets face it, the Celtics had been irrelevant up until Ainge made the bold move of trading for Kevin Garnett (as well as Ray Allen). This single-handlely transformed the dormat Celts into title contenders. EVERYTHING changed. Garnett's passion and desire led the Celtics to their first world championship since 1986. I give Danny Ainge the credit for orchestrating the moves necessary to make this all happen.
*Honorable mention - I'll sneak the Bruins in here to show the full Boston love (for all you soccer fans, sorry I'm not putting the Revolution here - I just can't do it). I give a gobble-gobble thanks today out to Peter Chiarelli, the GM of the Bruins. He has put together a young, exciting, hard-working team that has hockey fans around here with championship hopes and dream. Milan Lucic, Tuukka Rask, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci et al are a few of the young players that will lead this team in years to come. Now if they could only get rid of Montgomery Burns who sits on his mountain of cash up in his Buffalo office.
On this Thanksgiving, 2009, I sit back and think about just how good I have it as a sports fan. There is no better place to live than Boston. We have successful, hard-working teams that are passionate about bringing nothing but championships to the fans of New England. It could be worse ... imagine being a Cubs fan or a simply a fan of any middle of the road team who you know has ZERO chance of winning before they even drop the first puck or throw the first pitch. Boston fans - be thankful! I know I am. Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
4th and 2 ...
This topic has been chewed up and spit out amongst everyone from national sportswriters to local newscasters to neighborhood friends. I, for one, have had enough of the second guessing that has come easy for those who appear eager to jump all over Bill Belichick. My how quickly we forget the successes of Patriots past. I guess we really do live in a "what have you done for me lately" sports world. 4th and 2 has apparantly jumped into the same negative context as (GULP) Bill Buckner and Bucky "Bleapin" Dent.
Let me state this as clear as I can - I loved the call. I know I am in the minority. This goes well beyond the standard "In Bill We Trust" mantra - and trust me, I'm a card carrying member of that club. As an avid sports fan, you tend to see patterns and trends developing in front of your eyes. On Sunday night, there were two things developing -- first, the Pats defense appeared to be gased (remember they were already without Ty Warren on the D-Line and also had lost Tully Banta-Cain during the game) and second, Peyton Manning appeared to be in a rhythm. Not a good combination ...and Bill knew it. Don't you remember the last time a Tom Brady led team went into Indianapolis and held a big league?? He could see it happening all over again.
So we come to the decision and why I love the call. You have the games best QB. You have the games best WR tandem. You have an offense that can pick up 2 yards in their sleep. You have a defense that is gased. Most importantly, you have an opposing QB who was going to take the ball down the field no matter where you gave him the ball -- whether it be at the Pats 28 or the Colts 28. So the decision was made to win the game right then and there.
Lets forget the pundits who state "he disrespected his defense" ..."if I were a member of the defense, I'd feel a lack of respect". PLEASE! If anyone out there does not believe Bill puts his team in the best position to win every week, then you clearly are insane (perhaps you just do in fact have it in for him). He makes all these decisions weeks, if not months, in advance. He's the most prepared coach in the league. I can guarantee you that this specific instance was talked about and prepared for prior to the game. If this same situation comes up again down the road, I believe he would not hesitate to make the same call.
I'll state it again - I loved the call. If that makes me a pom-pom waving, card carrying member of all-things Patriots fan club, then I'll wave away. I have trust in the coach and have trust in his team to execute. Sometimes, just because they make an aggressive call it does not mean you have to find the nearest bridge to jump off of! In Bill I Trust ...he does whatever is necessary to allow his team the best chance at winning week in and week out. Would you rather have Bob Kraft fire Bill and re-hire Rod Rust? I'm sure he's available ...
Let me state this as clear as I can - I loved the call. I know I am in the minority. This goes well beyond the standard "In Bill We Trust" mantra - and trust me, I'm a card carrying member of that club. As an avid sports fan, you tend to see patterns and trends developing in front of your eyes. On Sunday night, there were two things developing -- first, the Pats defense appeared to be gased (remember they were already without Ty Warren on the D-Line and also had lost Tully Banta-Cain during the game) and second, Peyton Manning appeared to be in a rhythm. Not a good combination ...and Bill knew it. Don't you remember the last time a Tom Brady led team went into Indianapolis and held a big league?? He could see it happening all over again.
So we come to the decision and why I love the call. You have the games best QB. You have the games best WR tandem. You have an offense that can pick up 2 yards in their sleep. You have a defense that is gased. Most importantly, you have an opposing QB who was going to take the ball down the field no matter where you gave him the ball -- whether it be at the Pats 28 or the Colts 28. So the decision was made to win the game right then and there.
Lets forget the pundits who state "he disrespected his defense" ..."if I were a member of the defense, I'd feel a lack of respect". PLEASE! If anyone out there does not believe Bill puts his team in the best position to win every week, then you clearly are insane (perhaps you just do in fact have it in for him). He makes all these decisions weeks, if not months, in advance. He's the most prepared coach in the league. I can guarantee you that this specific instance was talked about and prepared for prior to the game. If this same situation comes up again down the road, I believe he would not hesitate to make the same call.
I'll state it again - I loved the call. If that makes me a pom-pom waving, card carrying member of all-things Patriots fan club, then I'll wave away. I have trust in the coach and have trust in his team to execute. Sometimes, just because they make an aggressive call it does not mean you have to find the nearest bridge to jump off of! In Bill I Trust ...he does whatever is necessary to allow his team the best chance at winning week in and week out. Would you rather have Bob Kraft fire Bill and re-hire Rod Rust? I'm sure he's available ...
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