Week 17 vs. Bills and Beyond: Thoughts about playoffs, and beyond

It was rainy, it was cold, it was windy, and it was miserable, but MAN OH MANNNN did I have some fun! Folks, the weather was complete crap! It was sooooo bad. I'm a horrible Pats fan, I only stayed til Half Time and had to go. I was with my mom who uses a cain, cousin, and her fiancee and they too were not enjoying the bad weather. We weren't under anything, and we surely didn't dress appropriately. It was a good game, but I don't think we were in the mood for pneumonia. I managed to stay the whole Pats/Niners game last year, and I thought that was bad. This was worse. WAY worse. I had a great time though! I'll link pictures down the road.

So this is where we stand at 12-4. A team that no one was really giving hope to. NO one thought we'd be 12-4, and NO is giving us hope for the Super Bowl. Now I don't care about what people think. It just makes me laugh that these NFL "experts" know what they're talking about but wrong a good majority of the time.

Did the Patriots hand out the game ball for the game last night?  

They sure did. Blount really deserved it or in the words of Masshole Sports

My buddy Joel B told me from the very beginning that this guy was a good pick up. I'm not gonna lie, if you've been reading my blogs then you'd know that I wasn't sold at all with Blount. You couldn't even pay me to like him. A RB with Hernandez size taking kick returns? Not at all. He's proven himself, and when a photo surfaces of Belichick giving Blount the game ball, that speaks volumes. Aqib Talib is even proud of his friend from Tampa Bay. Read more about it here CSNNE Talib and Blount.

So this is what the first round of the playoffs looks like for the AFC. The Patriots next game has already been announced for Saturday January 11th, at 8:15pm. The Patriots will play the highest seed out of the two AFC Wild Card Round this coming weekend which means we will not be playing San Diego at all. Personally I see Colts coming to Foxboro. I think the Chargers can beat the Bengals, and Denver as well. 

Regardless of who we play, I think we're a tough enough team to face them. I think the Patriots are playing some good football.

I this picture shows how much fun these guys are having. They're fighting hard, and winning football games. I know they're not impressing anyone outside of their fan box, but they don't care. We don'e care either. We're proud of our damn team. These guys have showed so much heart when they play. This is a tough team, and we're not going down without a fight. We've beat some great teams, and lost to some weak teams, but overall the 12-4 record without our stars shows what kind of talent this team possesses. Bring on whoever, the Pats will be ready.

GO PATS!!!

Oh...right...


Dear Terrell Suggs,

Enjoy the Pro Bowl.

Hate,
Pats fans.

Week 16 @Baltimore

I was looking for the proper NFL made AFC East champs banner but I think they were tired of making those for us so I chose the best, and most proper banner for this blog courtesy of Masshole Sports.

I also would like to show you this.

Haters gonna hate.

I was ready to thank the Buffalo Bills for beating the Miami Dolphins today, but apparently we didn't need it. I wanted to see if Suggs had anything to say about the game today before I posted but so far, so quiet. Good, the big mouth a**hole can keep his ugly mouth shut. I know there were a lot of calls going in the Pats favor today, but those calls were well called. Regardless, we destroyed them, and that feels good. I hate the Ravens, I really do. I hate Terrell Suggs the most, and I apologize for not sticking with my routine blog post because this win was one of those wins where I felt like a million bucks afterwards.

If I were Belichick I'd give the game ball to the defense. They took advantage of Joe Flacco's lack of mobility, and just made him their bitch. With all the banged up players, the rookies from Rutgers: Harmon, and Ryan really stepped up their game. Majority of the guys were okay except for McCourty. I know he left the game with a concussion, and I hope he doesn't play next week. He should take a break especially with there being a very good chance of us getting a first round bye. It would give our banged up players some time to heal.

The offense was held up during the second half but came through when it needed to. Legarrette Blount is probably our number one back as of right now with Vereen's leg, and Ridley sliding in as the back up. Both are a good, and it's definitely a potent running back duo when healthy. 

Overall I'm proud of my boys. Every single fan should be. They went from a scary loss to the Dolphins to just coming out and destroying a team that was getting hot. 

For F--k's sake can someone please high five Tom Brady? He's so desperate when it comes to getting a high five from his teammates. I'm starting to think he's schizophrenic.

So next week I'll be at my yearly Patriots game. I usually go to one every single year, and I was lucky enough to get tickets for the Pats/Bills game. All of the good games had sold out before I even got to purchase them haha. I can't wait to go. I love going to Fresh Catch Inc. in Mansfield Massachusetts, and I love going to Wahlburgers. My cousin and her fiance are coming with me (he's a Bills fan), so it should be a good time. 

I want to wish all of my readers who celebrate Christmas, a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I hope you all get some awesome gifts, and get to spend some quality time with your loved ones. 

Week 15 @ Dolphins

Yesterday was a tough pill to swallow. We were not the better team, and we just couldn’t execute when we needed to. We didn’t lose because we didn't have Gronk, not because of ref calls, not because of anything than a straight up butt kicking. There were two missed plays that could’ve been given us the win. The first one was when Gostkowski missed a kick that’s usually a piece of cake for him. The other was the dropped pass by Amendola. Now many would say that we needed Gronk in that red zone area but truthfully it shouldn’t have come down to that. Gostkowski should’ve made that field goal, and then we’d have the win by two because all he would have to do was make that kick and we’re good to.

Unfortunately it’s not the case now, and this is New England’s playoff scenario going into Week 16.

AFC

NEW ENGLAND

Can clinch AFC East title with:

1) Win/tie

2) Miami loss/tie

Can clinch first-round bye with:

1) Win + Cincinnati loss/tie + Indianapolis loss/tie

Can clinch playoff berth with:

1) Baltimore loss/tie this week or next week

Courtesy of CBS Sports

It’s tough to think about a situation where New England doesn’t make the playoffs. I mean unfortunately it’s a very real situation after last yesterday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins. We could still lose the AFC East. Miami is only two games behind us and looking at their schedule (Bills, Jets) they need to win out, and very well could do so. Miami has to go into Buffalo, and their last game is a home game against the Jets.

The Patriots have a tough game next Sunday evening in Baltimore. We all know how poorly the Pats play against a team like the Ravens, and that’s not good especially when we really need this game. Flacco usually puts up huge numbers against us. A good thing is that their secondary isn’t as powerful without Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard. Their D Line and Line backing crew is a different story. Dumervil, and Suggs can be a huge problem for our O Line especially with Solder receiving his 4^th concussion against Miami, he might not be a go for Sunday.

I don’t think the Pats played a bad game yesterday. It just wasn’t enough. I think we showed that we can still score points with a depleted offense, and that if somehow we can all manage to stay healthy for a season, we’d be a great team! That’s a no brainer though. Hopefully Thompkins, and Dobson are back next week. If that were the case then we’d have a lot of options to choose from as far WR’s go. Amendola, Edelman, and Boyce are all playing really well. I’d keep Dobson and Thompkins on the outside while Edelman, and Amendola on the inside. I’d switch out Thompkins for Boyce every now and then. We need Dobson though. We need some height on the outside.

Let’s face it Pats fans, this is a new territory for us. We’re usually guaranteed a playoff spot by this time of year but it’s just not that simple. This is what our team’s been doing to us all year long, and that’s keeping us on our feet. This is how I like it though. When our team can prove we can still fight with all of the losses our roster has taken whether injury, new teams, or…well jail haha, It shows that we’re fighting to the end. The Pats are going to need to light the fire under their asses for the game on Sunday because we need to win.

I have faith in my team, you better have it too.

GO PATS!!!

References:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24376949/early-week-16-scenarios

Week 14 vs. Browns

So it’s official. Rob Gronkowski is yet again done for another season. Reports are he tore his ACL and if you never thought Gronkowski was injury prone, you can now label him as so.  I wish he pulled his groin so I could call him GROINkowski…okay that’s not funny. Now my question is was this intentional?

Look here.

It's hard to believe that players intentionally try to injure other players, but Ward looked like he went straight for the knee though which makes you wonder. He clearly had room to run a bit further and tackle him by the waste, but instead he chose to go straight for the bare knee. Despite what the truth is, Gronk is now out for the year. Hooman, Develin, and Mulligan will have to carry the load for the TE's. Mulligan can play some ball, and I wouldn't be surprised if he has at least 5 touchdowns with the last 3 games coming up. With Collie back, and Dobson coming back, we'll hopefully get some kind of production going. 

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to watch all of the Patriots game. I was at a family birthday party for my cousin's son, and I was sharing my Sunday Ticket with my cousins so it was back and fourth. Jason Campbell was looking good from what I saw, I also noticed Brady threw 50+ times. Edelman had a few drops this game that could've been bombs.

The Questionable Call:

Watch the tiny gif here in the article

So after watching it closely I don't think it's a pass interference but that's only because I watched the gif about 20 times. I can totally see how it may have looked like a pass interference because for a split second it looked like McFadden was grabbing Boyce's jersey which any ref will call a pass interference if there's a hand that looks like it's pulling a shoulder. I think that call will go no matter what game or stadium you're in because that's just how blind some refs are. Forget the team, forget the players, it just happens. These calls happen, and will continue to happen. It's hypocritical of me to like the calls when they're in favor of my team, and hate them when they're against it but this was questionable at best. 

We'll take the win, but it's gonna be a tough couple of games coming up. I don't like playing the Dolphins because they have the potential to to beat us. The same thing goes with the Ravens and Bills. We need to keep playing hard. I can't give up on my team because Gronk is out. No fan can. Keep faith people. If those guys are busting their ass on the field every week and not giving up then the fans should be right there with them cheering them on til the last second. 

Week 13 @ Houston

Another tough game for the Patriots today in Houston. Going into the 1pm game the Texans opponents were only averaging 172 yds per game. Tom Brady threw for 365 yards that game with 2 TD's to Vereen and Gronk. Once again Edelman had a phenomenal game catching 9 passes for 101 yards. Our offense came together when it needed to. Brady threw to 8 different receivers this game with Vereen and Blount carrying the running load. It wasn't the greatest performance we've seen but it was enough. That's two games in a row where Edelman has been a major contributor to our offense. I remember Tom E. Curran said something along the lines of " Edelman to see reduced role in second half ." Good one Mr. Curran. In fact he's been one of our top producers on offense.

There were only two penalties the whole game. Both of them were against the Texans. Probably a conspiracy...

Stevan Ridley enjoyed the game watching from the sidelines as he was a healthy inactive. I for one agree with this to an extent. I think Ridley is our best back right now, and this was kind of a scary play by Bill. Last time Ridley was inactive we lost to a tough Bengal defense. Today looked like it was heading in that direction. I know Kevin Faulk is going to work with him on the fumbling and that's surely someone I know who can help in his effort to step up. There are 5 games in the regular season left (Browns, Fins, Ravens, and Bills) and we need to win all of them if we want to a first round bye in the playoffs. We can't have Ridley fumbling in the postseason. 

Another thing we can't have in the post season is this defense. I mean come on! We let up less yards than the Texans did today but it was almost like we didn't even try. I know once Dennard and Gregory come back, we'll be a bit more stable in the secondary. They're practicing right now, but they were ruled out for today's game. One of our biggest issues is stopping the run. We NEED to stop the run. We're letting backs run all over us. As I said before, that can't happen in the playoffs.

As far as injuries go with the rest of the team I'm hoping Thompkins is okay after hurting his hip. I'm hoping Dobson comes back because he was really starting to make an impact for our team. Gregory and Dennard should be back sometime soon. Hoping it's by the Baltimore game because that games going to be huge for us. Flacco's had a hay day in his career against our secondary, and I'd like to see that go away.  

Welcome Back Wes! Broncos @ Patriots Week 12

BRADY vs. MANNING XLXLLVVIIVI…. NO. It was the 53 man roster of the New England Patriots vs. the 53 man roster of the Denver Broncos with two elite, legendary, hall of fame, super bowl champion, MVP quarterbacks running both teams. As expected this game surely did not disappoint ANYONE watching. There were ups and downs for both teams that surely need to be fixed, and everyone playing in that game did not leave feeling 100%, I can guarantee that.

What the hell happened in the first half with the Patriots? It seemed like we had the ball for so long, and we just kept turning it over. I think the cameras showed Peyton Manning, and Demariyus Thomas playing Connect 4 on the sidelines. We just couldn’t catch a break! It was to the point where I was starting to accept that maybe this wasn’t our game. Denver’s defense came out ready to play, and they did. Until the Denver defense started getting injured, we were doing nothing. I’m sure we took advantage of that just like the Broncos took advantage of our horrible running defense this game. Moreno was 200+. That’s not good for us at all.

Why we limited Kenbrell Thompkins in the first half is beyond me. I didn’t see Dobson out there much either. Ridley and Blount got the doghouse after their crucial fumbles. Ridley has fumbled two weeks in a row now, and both fumbles were very costly early on in both games. Bolden, and Vereen took the workload after both failed. I don’t know what the hell is up with Ridley and his fumbling. It’s been a major problem in his career. It reminds me of Tiki Barber and all of his fumbles. Perhaps he has to change his style of running much like Tiki did in which we all know led to his late career success.

Brady and his bunch of receivers looked awesome. Edelman who was supposed to be forgotten (according to Yahoo Sports) with Amendola, and Gronk coming back showed to be the dominant receiver in the game. Vereen had some great catches as well, as GRONK. Brady was just being Brady. I seriously question the availability of both rookie receivers, and what Belichick’s been doing with them. It’s clear that Thompkins is a perfect fit for this offense, and it’s clear that Dobson was catching on to the system. Perhaps he didn’t like the matchups for either receiver for this game? I don’t know, what they do exactly, but I’d like to see them play more. I’d also like to see Boyce play more.

Our defense (not the run game) was awesome. I think Talib had a big game because we didn’t hear Thomas’ name called for most of the game. I think Jamie Collins had a coming out party (no pun). He was all over the field, and it was good to see him play productive. We need to stop the run though. I’m starting to wonder why we traded for Sopoaga because he’s not really helping us out. I understand we needed more speed in the game on defense, and it showed, but it paid off. We did well. I don’t think another team will run that much on us though, I believe that may have been an open option to have Peyton run it, instead of throw it. I agree with that. Congrats on yet ANOTHER pick by Logan Ryan the rookie from Rutgers. He’s a smart player, and I’m glad he’s a Patriot.

Overtime was crazy. Choosing to kick and taking the wind was just another strange move by Bill Belichick. In Bill we trust. WE WON!

Manning lost to Indy

Welker lost to New England

Coincidence? Maybe, but I don’t think it mattered.

  Today all I’m hearing about is how Peyton couldn’t play in the weather conditions which is mind boggling because he plays in one of the coldest states in the country. I’m pretty sure it gets cold in Denver too, right? There’s 100 reasons and excuses as to why Peyton and the Broncos lost, but no one has the balls enough to admit that the Patriots were the better team in the 5 quarters that were played. They’re expecting a wintery mix for the Super Bowl in New Jersey. How will Peyton handle that if the Broncos make it? That’s perfect conditions for the Pats though.

If we don’t give up those turnovers, I don’t think this game would’ve gone to over time.

Week 11 @ Carolina

So close! The Pats lost this game to a great Carolina defense, and an explosive Cam Newton. Regardless of that last call there were so many things the Pats could’ve done to stay in the game. Other than the fumbles, and the penalties at the wrong times, I can’t say I’m disappointed with this team. We got beat fair and square against a team that was better than us that night.

The run game looked good. We had more rushing yards combined with each back, and the power running looked to maintain ground. Blount looked awesome. Ridley looked better in the second half after being sent to the doghouse for fumbling at a crucial point in the first half.  Shane Vereen looked awesome also. I’m glad we have a dynamic player like him back on our offense.

I thought Brady looked good tonight too spreading the ball around.  I think he targeted like 7 or 8 people tonight. That’s classic Tom Brady for ya! I Aside from the pick in the end zone on the final play, I think he played pretty decently.

The WR’s played well too. I don’t understand why Thompkins isn’t used more in the game. Clearly he can be a game changer, but I guess that’s just how the Pats do things. Edelman’s been completely silent the past month or so. Dobson seems to be getting it and that’s a step in the right direction for this offense.

Defensively we didn’t do horrible. I’ve seen the defense play worse haha. We only let up 300 yards, and about 299 of that was Cam Newton rushing the ball. Not really, but he might as well have. The defense being banged up is starting to show. With Dennard out, and Talib out again who knows what can happen Sunday night against Denver.

Even though it was a loss for us it doesn’t feel like a bad loss. We’re 7-3 and we’re 2 games ahead of an up and down Jets team, and the Dolphins. I think the Fins show more of a threat than the Jets at the moment, but there’s still a lot of ball left to be played.  The Panthers didn’t crush us, and we were able to score on probably the best defense in the game right now. 

Next Sunday night we got the high-powered offense that is the Denver Broncos. In what could be an emotional return for Welker, and Pats fans. All emotions need to be pushed aside because despite the great records these teams have; they need to win this game. Brady has Manning’s number at 9-4 but that’s completely irrelevant when it comes to them playing the actual game. The only way they can control each other’s game is by controlling the clock, and the amount of time each QB spends on the field.  It should be a good game.