Complete Domination.

Wow. 42-14? Really? There is much more to say after watching that complete and total domination that occurred at Gillette Stadium last night. But here are some thoughts I gathered after watching the Pats mop the floor with the Texans to the tune of a 42-14 ass kicking.

(I went a little above and beyond this week with my stats and analysis just for the sheer fact that I can't get enough of what this team shows us every single week. There's a lot of numbers and stats listed below so if you don't think you can handle it or you think your head may explode please exit the page now. Just warning you.) 

• Either the Patriots are far and away the best team in the NFL, or the Texans were vastly overrated. I think it’s a little of both.

• The 2012 Pats are far and away the most proficient offense in the NFL. To prove this I’ll give you some stats with the Pats numbers and then the next closest team in the league.

Now the "Real" Season Starts

As far as I’m concerned, everything the Patriots have worked for the past 4 months has lead up to these next 2 games. Since the schedule came out last year, every Pats fan saw games vs. the Texans and 49ers, back to back, at home, and on prime time TV . The Pats will play tomorrow on Monday Night Football against the 11-1 Texans, who possess the best record in the NFL.

NHL Lockout

Alright so this is my first time writing for RealSports247, I’ll give you a brief introduction to the author. My name is Brandon (yes, the same guy who had his fantasy team compared by Kyle and yes, he is in the playoffs while I’m on the outside looking in), anyway I’ve been friends with Kyle since high school. That’s about all any of you really need to know and even that might be too much of an explanation because really at the end of the day whoever reads this doesn’t give a fuck.

Patriots vs. Colts/Jets Post Game Analysis

I know I haven’t written anything in a while here, I’ve had a big case of writers block/being too lazy to actually sit down and put some words to paper. But in the last 2 weeks a lot has happened with the Patriots. The 59-24 win over the Colts was the first game we actually saw the defense take over and turn the game around for us. With the score tied early on, new addition Aqib Talib intercepted an Andrew Luck pass and returned it for a TD. This play completely changed the whole complexion of the game and from then on Luck looked like a confused rookie QB and the Patriots continued to pull away on the scoreboard. For the first time this year the secondary actually looked like they knew what the fuck was going on and I give Talib a lot of the credit for that.

Who should win the AL MVP?

The battle for AL MVP is an interesting topic. On one hand you have Mike Trout, a 21 year old rookie center fielder who was called up from the minors in May and went on to have an unbelievable season. Trout batted .306 with 35 homers, 99 RBIs, 209 hits, 149 runs and 53 stolen bases. Those number are mind-boggling for anyone, let alone a rookie. Oh, and Trout was also the best center fielder in the game (somehow Adam Jones won the Gold Glove). He made countless spectacular plays and robbed several home runs as well. He is the prototypical 5 tool player and when his career is over in some 20 years, he will probably go down in history as one of the all-time greats. 

On the other hand you have Miguel Cabrera, a 29 year old third baseman who became the first player  in 45 years to win the Triple Crown. Carl Yastrzemski was the last player to do it in 1967 with the Red Sox "Impossible Dream Team". Cabrera's stats were staggering as he batted .330 with 44 homers and 139 RBIs. Although Cabrera doesn't play the field nearly as well as Trout, the fact that he attained a record that hadn't been broken in 45 years is enough to give him the edge. In any normal season Trout would run away with the MVP but Cabrera unbelievable feat is something that cannot be overlooked. Think about the all-time greats who have played in the last 45 years and have been unable to win the Triple Crown. It is really just unbelievable and I'm just happy I got to see it happen in my lifetime. 

Prediction:

AL MVP - Miguel Cabrera

So now what do the Red Sox do?

So now what do we do? As of right now the Boston Red Sox are far and away the worst team in the AL East. It’s not even close and the gap grew a hell of a lot wider on Wednesday when the Blue Jays acquired Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson and basically everyone else on the Miami Marlin who was making decent money.  And all the Blue Jays were forced to give up was SS Yunel Escobar and a few decent prospects. Word has it that Red Sox GM Ben Cherington was in on this trade and decided to stay put instead of pulling the trigger on a trade that would have solved a whole bunch of holes in the Red Sox roster. Right now the Red Sox need a left fielder, right fielder, shortstop, first baseman and starting pitching. Yea I know they have Jose Iglesias who can play shortstop but if you’re happy with him starting there for 162 games then you’re basically admitting the team is going to suck. He cannot hit major league pitching; in fact he couldn’t even hit AAA pitching last year. Yes he’s a wizard with the glove but with this current lineup they can’t afford to have a guy struggling to hit above the Mendoza line for the whole season.

Please Evaluate These Fantasy Football Teams and Vote for the Better Team.

I usually don’t talk about Fantasy Football here for several reasons, one being no one really cares if it doesn’t relate to their own team and two being that my team sucks. Today I was talking to my friend Brandon and was we were talking about how both of our teams have a 2-7 record and I said my team is finally coming together and if I win out for the rest of the season I can make the playoffs. He then said “explain to me why your team is any better than mine is”. So Brandon, this is why my team is exponentially better than your rag-tag group of underachieving players.

Quarterbacks:

Kyle’s Team: Matthew Stafford (Starting), Philip Rivers (Backup)

Brandon’s Team: Drew Brees (Starting), No Backup

First off, not having a backup QB is idiotic in itself. If Brees goes down with an injury, comes down with sickness Sunday morning or any other reason why he could possibly not start he’s screwed. Sure you can go and pick up Blaine Gabbert or Matt Cassel but in terms of depth, my team is better and I’m prepared for any type of curveball that’s thrown at me.

In terms of starting QB I will give him the slight edge. Brees has amassed 240 points while Stafford has 190 thus far. But, Stafford struggled mightily the first half of the season and in the last 2 weeks has started to turn it around. Looking ahead Stafford has 2 games remaining with Green Bay and has Minnesota, and Indianapolis on the schedule, all teams that allow huge fantasy numbers to QBs. Brees on the other hand has games against San Francisco, New York Giants and Atlanta, all of whom have defenses in the top half of the NFL in passing yards against. So looking ahead for the rest of the year Stafford has a much easier schedule and is projected to have a lot more fantasy points than Brees.

Advantage: Draw (Brees may be better but Stafford will have better 2^nd half stats)

Running Backs:

Kyle’s Team:  Frank Gore, Mikel LeShoure, Issac Redman, Marcus Thigpen, Ben Tate, Jonathan Dwyer

Brandon’s Team: Matt Forte, Fred Jackson, Chris Rainey, David Wilson, Danny Woodhead

So our league has some ridiculous rules when it comes to return yards for special teams so keep that in mind as you analyze these rosters. To put it simply, you’re better off having a special teams guy on your roster than a running back or wide receiver in many cases because if a guy has 150 return yards he gets you 30+ points while a RB with 100 yards and a TD will get you 20-25 points.

When you compare Gore and Forte they are pretty much even. Both the 49ers and the Bears are good teams with tough defenses and they both rely on the run. Gore has amassed 99 points this year while Forte has gotten 93 points. Looking ahead though the 49ers, who are known primarily for running the ball, should continue to give Gore the majority of the carries as the season progresses. Also Gore is known as a back who gets stronger as the season progresses. The Bears on the other hand with Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall have started throwing the ball more this season than in the past and that in turn has cut down on the amount of touches Forte gets during the game.

Mikel LeShoure has become the go-to back in Detroit and even after missing the first 2 games of 2012, still has amassed 68 points. Fred Jackson is no doubt a good back but he is also very injury prone and is also splitting the carries in Buffalo with CJ Spiller. Thus far this season Jackson has amassed only 43 points. On the basis of secondary running back there is no doubt I have the decided advantage.

On the bench Redmen and Dwyer both add depth for me as Pittsburgh has always been known as a team who plays smash-mouth run first football. Last week Redman got me 21 points against the G-men. My superior knowledge of the game enabled me to pick him up off the free agent wire only days before his impactful game. Thigpen is one of those guys you probably have never heard of because he’s a 3^rd string RB but he also returns kicks for the Dolphins and he inexplicitly has amassed 85 points in 2012. (I told you our league has crazy rules for special teams players.) My last RB on the bench is Ben Tate, a guy who is currently injured but when healthy, he could start at RB for the majority of NFL teams.

Brandon’s backs on the bench consist of Rainey, Wilson and Woodhead. Woodhead (51 points) is a guy I would love to have on my bench as he can get you points on rushing yards, receiving yards and return yards. He definitely adds depth to his bench. Wilson is a guy who has had an impact on the Giants and has amassed 100 points in 2012 but he has gained the majority of these points in 3 games early on in the season and now that Ahmad Bradshaw is back from injury, Wilson doesn’t figure to get many touches in the coming weeks. Rainey (90 points) is another one of those return specialists. Comparing all the running backs on the bench I think it’s very apparent that my team has much more depth and the fact that my players (minus Tate) all see the field and make an impact every week, it’s easy to see my RBs on the bench are better.

Advantage: Kyle

Wide Receivers

Kyle’s Team: Demaryius Thomas, Danny Amendola, Josh Cribbs, Dexter McCluster, Brandon Banks

Brandon’s Team: Dez Bryant, Hakeem Nicks, Torrey Smith, Jacoby Jones, Kevin Walter

This is probably the one category I absolutely dominate Brandon in the most. Demaryius Thomas (115 points) has been one of the best wide outs in the NFL this season and he has only gotten better as the season has progressed. The Denver schedule the rest of the year is one of the easiest in the NFL and as the offense continues to learn the Peyton Manning offense, who knows how much better Thomas will get. Danny Amendola (71 points) was leading the NFL in receptions and yards before his injury in week 5, but he now returns to the Rams fully healthy and there is no reason to think he won’t continue his dominance against NFC defenses the rest of the year. Josh Cribbs is the ultimate return specialist and has amassed 165 points in 2012. Even though he has only 54 receiving yards, his 1090 return yards makes him one of the top players in the whole NFL to own in our fantasy league. Only Doug Martin and Randall Cobb rank ahead of him in fantasy points for non-QB players.  My WRs on the bench (McCluster and Banks) are both return specialists and have amassed 77 points combined, but the thing about return guys is that one week they could have 2 points and the next they could have 42, it all depends on how many return opportunities they have.

Brandon’s main wideouts are Dez Bryant and Hakeem Knicks, 2 guys who you always think will have huge seasons when you draft them in September, only to disappoint you during the season. Yes they are both talented and should get you 15+ points consistently, yet for some reason they don’t. Bryant (65 points) has 2 games where he has had double digit points and Nicks (63 points) has done nothing so far this season besides his week 2 performance against Tampa Bay when he had 44 points. That leaves him 19 points in the other 8 games. Real dependable.  Torrey Smith has amassed 82 points so far in 2012, but the majority of his production occurred in the first several weeks of the season before the Ravens lost all their players on defense. They have struggled mightily ever since then and so has Smith’s production. .  For some reason Brandon continues to keep Jacoby Jones on the bench even though he has gotten him 114 points and is a threat with both receiving and return yards. He should be starting in place of Nicks no question about it. Kevin Walter is a nice bench wide out and has gotten 47 points this year. Brandon has decent but unpredictable core of wide receivers and when compared to my starting wideouts and my bench guys, there is no question my WR core is better.

Advantage: Kyle (No question)

Tight Ends

Kyle’s Team: Tony Gonzalez

Brandon’s Team: Scott Chandler, Dallas Clark

Gonzalez (74 points) has continued his unreal production into this season and with Atlanta’s (8-0) powerful offensive attack he has become one of Matt Ryan’s go-to targets. Even though Gonzalez is 36 years old, he still ranks 5^th in the NFL in fantasy points for tight ends.

For some reason Brandon decided to go with 2 tight ends and only 1 quarterback, but that’s his idiotic problem. Scott Chandler (51 points) is a nice player but he, I and everyone else knows that you cannot count on him to get you significant points every week like Gonzalez can get you. Dallas Clark (25 points) was a great player and was almost unstoppable…in 2009. Wake up Brandon, its 2012 and 19 catches for 194 yards doesn’t really get it done. I don’t even need to go on any more, once again my tight end is much better than his.

Advantage: Kyle

Kicker

Kyle’s Team: Jason Hanson

Brandon’s Team: Sebastian Janikowski, Shayne Graham

Yes you are reading this correctly, he has 2 kickers on his team. As well as 2 tight ends. And only 1 quarterback.  His 2 kickers have 76 and 71 points respectively, mine has 81 points. The Lions score more often than both of those teams so he’s almost guaranteed to have more points every week. Yet again I have the advantage.

Advantage: Kyle

Defense

Kyle’s Team: Tampa Bay, St. Louis

Brandon’s Team: Indianapolis, Green Bay

Tampa ranks 29^th in overall yards against, St. Louis ranks 13^th. Indianapolis is 19^th, Green Bay is 12^th.

Tampa ranks 3^rd in total turnovers forced, St. Louis 15^th. Green Bay is 8^th, Indianapolis is 19^th.

I’m just going to say my defense is better because they cause more turnovers and more sacks which gets you more points.

Advantage: Kyle

On the main page of my blog please vote in the survey on the right hand side to choose who you think has the better team and help us solve this discussion.

You have to choose any quarterback to lead your team to victory. Who do you choose?

Ok so over the last few weeks there has been an interesting theoretical question being asked on all the Boston Sports radio stations. If you had to win one game, on a neutral field, having equal defenses, which quarterback do you choose? Logically the “contestants” are always the same:

• Tom Brady

Career Achievements:

3 Super Bowls, 2 Super Bowl MVPs, 2 NFL MVPs, 7 Pro Bowls, 5 AFC Championships

2012-2012 Season Stats:

2408 yards, 65.3% Completion %, 16 TD, 3 Int., 100.6 QB Rating

• Eli Manning

Career Achievements:

2 Super Bowls, 2 Super Bowl MVPs, 2 Pro Bowls, 2 NFC Championships

2012-2012 Season Stats:

2426 yards, 61% Completion %, 12 TD, 9 Int., 85.5 QB Rating

Week 9 NFL Picks

Week 8 Record:

7-6

Overall Record:

16-9

Week 9 Picks:

Denver Broncos @ Cincinnati Bengals

Prediction: Broncos

Baltimore Ravens @ Cleveland Browns

Prediction: Ravens

Arizona Cardinals @ Green Bay Packers

Prediction: Packers

Chicago Bears @ Tennessee Titans

Prediction: Bears

Miami Dolphins @ Indianapolis Colts

Prediction: Colts

Carolina Panthers @ Washington Redskins

Prediction: Panthers

Detroit Lions @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Prediction: Lions

Buffalo Bills @ Houston Texans

Prediction: Texans

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Oakland Raiders

Prediction: Raiders

Minnesota Vikings @ Seattle Seahawks

Prediction: Vikings

Pittsburgh Steelers @ New York Giants

Prediction: Giants

Dallas Cowboys @ Atlanta Falcons (SNF)

Prediction: Cowboys (Upset Special)

Philadelphia Eagles @ New Orleans Saints (MNF)

Prediction: Eagles

Patriots 45 - Rams 7 Postgame Analysis

As the 1^st quarter began of Sunday’s game between the Patriots and Rams began, Pats fans along with myself started thinking “here we go again”. Sam Bradford had just completed a 50 yard TD pass to Chris Givens on the 5^th play of the game and it seemed like this game would follow the familiar path that the previous 2 games had with the Patriots playing horrible defense against an average opponent. That thought soon left our minds very quickly as the next 6 possessions for each team ended like this:

• Tom Brady 19 yard TD pass to Brandon Lloyd – Pats 7 – Rams 7
• Rams Punt
• Shane Vereen 1 yard TD run – Pats 14 – Rams 7
• Rams Punt
• Tom Brady 7 yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski – Pats 21 – Rams 7
• Rams Missed Field Goal
• Stevan Ridley 1 yard TD run – Pats 28 – Rams 7
• Rams have the ball when the 1^st half ends. Patriots receive the ball to start the 2^nd half.
• Tom Brady 9 yard TD pass to Brandon Lloyd – Pats 35 – Rams 7
• Rams Punt
• Steven Gostkowski 26 yard FG – Patriots 38 – Rams 7

And just like that, on 6 consecutive possessions, 5 of which ended in touchdowns, the Patriots had reminded us of how dangerous they can be. This was what we expected last week against the lowly New York Jets, who by the way lost 30-9 to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Although the defense started off poorly giving up that 50 yards TD pass, they rebounded quite nicely limiting the Rams offense to only 81 total yards from the time they gave up that TD to the beginning of the 4^th quarter when the Patriots held a 45-7 lead. (The Rams then gained 166 yards in the final quarter but by that time, the game was all but over.) 

Week 8 NFL Picks

Week 7 Record:

9-3

Week 8 Picks:

Carolina Panther @ Chicago Bears

Prediction: Bears

San Diego Chargers @ Cleveland Browns

Prediction: Chargers

Seattle Seahawks @ Detroit Lions

Prediction: Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Green Bay Packers

Prediction: Packers

Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans

Prediction: Colts

New England Patriots @ St. Louis Rams (Game in London)

Prediction: Patriots

Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets

Prediction: Jets

Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles

Prediction: Eagles

Washington Redskins @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Prediction: Redskins

Oakland Raiders @ Kansas City Chiefs

Prediction: Chiefs

New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys

Prediction: Giants

New Orleans Saints @ Denver Broncos (Sunday Night)

Prediction: Saints

San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals (Monday Night)

Prediction: 49ers

Week 8: Patriots vs. Rams Preview

­As the NFL heads into week 8 of its regular season, the New England Patriots and the St. Louis Rams boarded planes and headed across the Atlantic Ocean for the unusual destination of this week's matchup,  London, England. This is the second time in the last 4 years the Patriots have played at the world famous Wembley Stadium, home of the English National Football (aka Soccer) Team. This week the Patriots have understandably had a much different schedule than normal. On Friday the team the team held a public practice in London’s Hyde Park. One player who was missing from that practice was TE Aaron Hernandez who had a setback in his recovery from a high ankle sprain earlier in the week and did not make the trip to London. With the bye week coming after Sunday’s game I think it was the right choice not to play Hernandez since only rest will help him at this point. Another player who desperately needs the upcoming bye week is TE Rob Gronkowski. Although Gronk has not missed any games this season due to injury, he has been dealing with a hip injury that has severely diminished his production on the field. This team needs the rest badly as numerous players besides Gronk have played through injury thus far and I think a week of rest will help them tremendously when they play the Bills in week 10 and for the rest of the season.

John Farrell hired as new Red Sox Manager

Well, the first thing the Red Sox desperately needed to accomplish this off season has been executed. The Bobby Valentine experiment/disaster is over and now John Farrell has taken the reigns as the 45^th manager of the Boston Red Sox. Farrell is exactly what this team needs and having to give up only Mike Aviles is a trade I would make without even blinking. Farrell was the Red Sox pitching coach for 4 successful years from 2007-2010. During that time, guys like Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz pitched like all-stars and both threw no-hitters during his tenure. Since he has left we have all seen how much the pitching staff has struggled and how none of the pitching coaches could fix the problem. Out of all the players Farrell has helped, Lester is definitely at the top of the list. When asked about his thoughts on Farrell becoming the new manager Lester responded, “I think it’s a good thing, He helped mold me into the pitcher I am, the player I am. My work ethic, the work I do between starts, he really helped mold all of that.” Lester also added, “It will be good to have a familiar face and know what to expect coming into spring training. Last year we didn't know what to expect. I know John, and I’m excited to get back working with him.’’ Lester is coming off his worst season of his career after going 9-14 with a 4.82 ERA.

Are the 2012 Patriots the new 2011 Red Sox?

Being a Boston professional sports fan is not an easy thing. For years, franchises from Boston have paraded out teams that “should” be the best in their respective leagues only to have them be disappointments and fail to live up to expectations. The most recent and vivid example of this would have to be the 2011 Boston Red Sox. In the past we have seen the Patriots (ex: 2007, 2010, 2011), Red Sox (2003 and countless years before that) who have had successful seasons only to disappoint us fans in the postseason.

Now the question I’m trying to answer here is: Are the 2012 Patriots the equivalent of the 2011 Red Sox? Both were/are teams that were built to win world championships. Both teams were predicted to steamroll the competition during the regular season and compete but succeed ultimately in the playoffs. Both rosters were chock-full of all-pros and all-stars. The Red Sox had players like David Ortiz, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Clay Buccholz, Jonathon Papelbon and a great manager in Tito Francona. This seasons Patriots team has players like Tom Brady, Aaron Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski, Brandon Lloyd, Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork, Jerrod Mayo and a legendary coach in Bill Belichick.

Based on just personnel both teams were sure bets to win it all. But as we saw with the 2011 Red Sox, personnel isn’t everything. The team needs to gel together because even if you have 20 all-stars, if they don’t come together and become a team, they won’t produce and won't win. The 2011 Red Sox were baseballs best team from May-August and on September 3 had a 99.6% chance of making the playoffs. They then proceeded to go 7-20 the rest of the way and lost both the division and wild card leads and missed the playoffs in the biggest regular season collapse in baseball history.

This year the Patriots had statistically the easiest schedule in the NFL. After coming up 4 points shy in the Super Bowl vs. the Giants (again) the team went out and added Brandon Lloyd at wide receiver, Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower on defense and Josh McDaniels at offensive coordinator. The team had improved itself in several areas and was predicted to be much better than last year. Well, the only improvement the Patriots could possibly make from last year would be to win the Super Bowl this year so the stakes were definitely set high.

After watching yesterday’s game vs. the Jets, I’m starting to think this team may end up resembling the 2011 Red Sox by the end of the year instead of NFL Champions. First off, there is no doubt that Tom Brady is aging and it is showing in his production on the field. Now to set this straight, I’m not saying this team’s poor performance thus far is all Brady’s fault cause it’s not. He’s still elite and one of the top 5 quarterbacks in the NFL. That being said, he has definitely shown signs of aging this season. He used to be unstoppable in the 4^th quarter of games and was always able to lead the Patriots to victory when he was given a lead, especially a double digit lead. But the last 2 weeks the Patriots have blown double digit leads in the 4^th quarter for the first time in team history. And both of those games were against teams with sub-par offenses. Brady has been inaccurate on passes that in previous years he would have completed with ease. He along with the rest of the offense has been invisible in the 4^th quarter recently as in the past 2 games they have been outscored 36-6 in the 4^th.  

The defense however is on a completely different level. Never again will I say an opposing quarterback, even QBs that completely suck, will struggle against the Pats defense because it’s just not true. It doesn’t matter if it’s Peyton Manning or Mark Sanchez, all this defense does is give up 20+ yard pass plays for days and 300+ passing yards every week. Mark Sanchez, who had a completion percentage of 49% coming into this week, completed 28 of 41 passes for 328 yards and a completion percentage of 68%. It’s just sickening watching this secondary every week. Once again this week they were called for multiple defensive holding and pass interference penalties. They actually got lucky on the 1 interception Sanchez threw as Jeremy Kerley had completely blown past Alfonzo Dennard and was wide open in the end zone when Sanchez badly underthrew him. In the 4^th quarter when Devin McCourty fumbled the kickoff (and almost made me go into instant cardiac arrest) the Jets recovered the ball deep in Patriots territory with a chance to take the lead. That’s when once again the defense caught a huge break when rookie wide receiver Stephen Hill dropped a pass that would have given the Jets a first down, and a chance to run the clock all the down and kick a game winning field goal. 

One small note about that play and all the defensive play calls in general especially in the 4^th quarter: I understand the bend but not break approach, especially when you don’t have the personnel to match up with opposing wide receivers, but their defense on Sunday looked like the prevent defense a team plays on a last second Hail-Mary.  They had their safeties playing 20 yards behind every receiver and since the corners were playing a zone defense, every Jets receiver was open by 10+ yards on what seemed like every play. It’s obvious they’re playing zone to prevent the deep balls that have constantly hurt them but I don’t think these corners are smart or capable enough to play this zone defense. Just have them play man-to-man defense so at least you force Sanchez to make an accurate pass. Have the safeties play zone still to prevent the deep balls but seriously I cannot deal with this any longer. The middle of the field was so fucking wide open yesterday it looked like they were playing with no cornerbacks and only 2 safeties back there. It was embarrassing and as long as they continue to suck, it will create more pressure on the offense to score on every drive since no lead is safe with this team. The one positive note that I can say about this defense is that they continue to come up with turnovers at important times. Rob Ninkovich, who played a really solid game, made a great play on the Jets first play of overtime when he tackled Shonn Greene for a loss and then on 3^rd down was able to sack Sanchez, strip the ball from him, and recover the ball to end the game.

I hate even thinking that this Patriots team could possibly resemble the 2011 Red Sox when we look back on the 2012 season but if the team continues to play terribly against sub-par opponents and just ok against good teams, we will not be celebrating our 4^th Super Bowl Championship in February. Instead we’ll be at home watching some other team represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. This team has the talent, there’s no doubt about that, but they need to start playing as a team on offense and especially on defense. The offense will continue to put this team in contention to win every week, but the defense needs to figure out what the fuck is wrong and they need to figure it out quick.

Did I mention the Patriots won yesterday? Maybe Brady was right when he said in an interview today that we have been spoiled by the Patriots recent success. Winning isn’t easy in this league and a 45-3 victory counts just as much as a 29-26 OT victory does. There is still no better feeling than beating the Jets and watching Rex Ryan eat his words. As many issues as the Patriots have (and the list is getting pretty long), the Jets have more issues and yesterday proved it.  

PS – I have a 9-2 week 7 record going into the Monday Night game. I am available for hire for anyone who’s looking for professional analysis before they make their weekend picks. Just kidding, but not really.

Week 7 NFL Predictions

Heading into week 7 of the NFL season, there are many teams looking to separate from the pack and many teams looking to turn their seasons around in the right direction. The Patriots, Jets and everyone else in the AFC East are obviously looking to separate themselves as all 4 teams stand at 3-3. Teams like the Packers and Steelers are looking to build on strong efforts in recent weeks in an attempt to chase the division leaders for 1^st place. There are many intriguing match-ups in week 7 and this is how I see the games playing out:

Boston Celtics 2012-13 Season Preview

Last June, as the Boston Celtics walked off the court after losing a heartbreaking 7 game series to the highly favored Miami Heat, the future of the team and their star players was very uncertain. The team had a very surprising playoff run and was able to take the Heat to game 7, after defeating the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers in rounds 1 and 2. The team showed a tremendous amount of heart or “grit and balls” according to KG, but they were old and it showed against the Heat as they flat out ran out of gas in game 7. Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were both headed to free agency, Paul Pierce was suffering from an assortment of injuries, and Rajon Rondo at times looked like he was out there by himself.

Week 7: Patriots vs. Jets Preview

It happens twice a year, possibly 3 times if there is a playoff matchup, but there’s no doubt that Jets week is always entertaining for Pat’s fans. Without any doubt you will always hear Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan give the Pats some sort of bulletin board type material through his press conference and this week was no different.  Rexy sat down with the media in New Jersey on Monday and proceeded to say “Are they more vulnerable? I don't know. They've lost three games, that's probably more than they normally lose in a season.” He then announced "I want them to know, and they know that I think we're going to beat them.” Bingo! He just can’t help himself. He repeatedly gives the Patriots added incentive to beat his team’s ass and that’s usually how it ends up.

Seahawks 24 - Patriots 23 Postgame Analysis

Ok, I guess part of this gig is when you make predictions to the world and then turn out to be 1000% wrong is admitting it, so here I go…I was completely wrong. I didn’t think the Seahawk offense could even stay in the same zip code as the Patriots offense. But then 4:05 PM came around and every single thing I thought that couldn’t and wouldn’t happen, happened. It was a total team breakdown. And not just the 4^th quarter like some people are saying, this happened from the 2^nd quarter till the clock hit 0:00. First off, what the fuck happened at the end of the 1^st half? The Patriots caused a turnover when the Seahawks punter basically shit himself and fumbled the ball with 0:40 to go and the Pats recovered at the 24 yard line. Brady then threw a quick pass to Welker for 15 yards. Then the Patriots for whatever reason waited 15 seconds before they called their second timeout of the half. They could have called a timeout and saved that extra 15 seconds or they could have rushed to the ball and spiked it and saved the timeout. Instead they wasted both time on the clock and a time out. And as everyone knows, the drive then stalled and on 3^rd down with 8 seconds to go, instead of kicking a field goal and taking the 3 points, something you always assume a team does on the road, they tried to score a touchdown. That’s fine and at the time I thought that was a good call, but the play they ran was basically a series of short slants and NO ONE was even in the end zone when Brady threw the ball away with 1 second remaining. The problem was there was no one within 10 yards of the ball when it touched the ground and Brady was called for intentional grounding and by rule, a 10 second runoff was added to the clock. The half was over and the Pats had blown a golden opportunity to add to their 17-10 lead. And obviously “hindsight is 20/20” but I’m thinking that 3 extra points probably would have helped when the game ended.

Is ESPN and the rest of the nation serious with this idea that the Seattle "12th Man" is going to stop Tom Brady?

I guess I should have mentioned this in my Pats vs. Seahawks preview but I really didn’t think it was that important. But for the past 3 days all I hear on WEEI or ESPN or any other sports media station is how the Seattle crowd is going to disrupt Tom Brady and the Patriots offense and basically that’s why this game is going to be as close as Vegas is predicting (4 point spread). All I have to say to that idea is…are you fucking kidding me??

Week: 6 - Patriots vs. Seahawks Preview

This weekend the Patriots will travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks in one of the most challenging stadiums for opposing teams to play in. The last 2 weeks the Patriots offense had been the best in the NFL and this week they will face a tough challenge with the Seattle defense. The Seahawks defense has be great thus far allowing only 12, 19 and 12 points in the last 3 weeks. They rank 5^th in opponent passing yards and 3^rd against the run. They held the Packers potent offense to only 12 points in week 3 in a game that will be remembered for the botched call at the end of the game by the replacement officials. They have not allowed a touchdown in the past 6 quarters and so far this season they have recorded 16 sacks and 9 fumbles. Their secondary is one of the biggest in the league with strong safety Kam Chancellor at 6’3” and 232 pounds, corner Richard Sherman at 6’3” and 195 pounds, and corner Brandon Browner measuring 6’4” and 221 pounds. Together these guys and a strong defensive line have devastated opposing offenses and have led the Seahawks to a surprising 3-2 record in the challenging NFC West.

How do the Patriots handle the return of Aaron Hernandez?

Let’s go back to week 1 when Rob Gronkowski, Brandon Lloyd, and Aaron Hernandez were the starting receivers for the Patriots vs the Titans. Wes Welker saw only part-time action and collected 3 catches for 14 yards. The Patriots won 34-13, but the next week everyone was asking what happened to Wes Welker? Was he sitting because of his summer antics during his contract dispute? Was he sitting because the Patriots were trying to trade him? Or was it because he had simply been replaced in the Patriots’ offense by up-and-coming Aaron Hernandez? As I correctly predicted, it was the latter reason. Then ironically on the first series of week 2 against the Cardinals Hernandez went down with what was thought to be a serious ankle injury (apparently it wasn’t as bad as they thought since he only missed 3 weeks instead of the predicted 6-8 weeks). Since that injury all Wes Welker has done is catch 35 passes for 470 yards. Just to clarify that’s an average of about 9 catches a game for 118 yards! Unbelievable statistics for a regular NFL wide out but almost expected numbers for Welker since he has excelled so much in the past that our expectations are through the roof for him. None the less he has been straight awesome the past 4 weeks and at times has helped carry the Patriots offense. He has been Brady’s main target and has been, I my opinion, the Patriots MVP so far this season.

Patriots 31 - Broncos 21

Victoryyy!!! Bravo! The rest of the NFL better take notice because the New England Patriots are back, and looking stronger than ever. I discussed this with several of my friends today and I really think that this is the strongest and most balanced Patriots team ever. Even better than the 2007 team that went 16-0 during the regular season. Their passing attack is just as dangerous as in 2007, but now they have an effective running attack as well. Their defense is still playing the “bend but not break” type of defense but they have been able to force turnovers in key situations, something the team failed to do in the past few seasons. The defense is also full of young, athletic guys who will only continue to improve. Yea they allowed the Broncos to make a comeback late in the game but yet again the defense came up huge when they needed to and forced Willis McGahee to fumble inside the redzone with a few minutes to go in the 4th quarter.

Brady vs. Manning - Chapter: 13: Pre-game notes

It's almost game time. This is an absolutely huge game for this Patriots team. They can make a statement this week with a good performance that announces to the rest of the AFC that they're a team to be reckon with. Mankins is back, Hightower is out. I think Mankins will have a better impact then Hightower anyways since the rest of the linebacking core seems solid. I think running the ball will be a huge key for a Patriots win today. The weather is shitty. Rainy, windy, just the type of weather Brady excels in and they type Manning fails under. This game should be fun. A classic Brady vs. Manning match-up. Arguably the 2 top QB's of all time. Brady leads the rivalry 8-4. This team needs this win to get on a roll. A win today versus a good Broncos team and a legendary QB will help this defense gain so much confidence.  think it goes back and forth for the first 3 quarters, high scoring, and whoever comes up with the big play on defense in the 4th will come out victorious. Lets goooo!

P.S. - Get to Manning and he will turn it over. Do that and the Pat's win.

How to fix the Red Sox.

Looking back on this terrible, awful and embarrassing 2012 season of the Boston Red Sox, there’s several things that jump out at you as problems that immediately need to be fixed before this team will be successful. One of those problems has already been rectified with the firing of Bobby Valentine. Now the team needs to move on and try and solve the other issues so that next year they can be in the hunt to make the playoffs.

• Find a manager who can handle the stress and pressure of Boston. 
• Obviously Bobby V wasn't the right choice. He would get annoyed very easily during interviews and that led to his relationship with the media to become strained. The team needs to hire someone who can handle the press as well as Terry Francona did. Obviously everyone is predicting John Farrell will be the 46^th manager of the Boston Red Sox but what if Toronto doesn't let him go? In that case I think they need to bring someone in who has a track record of being able to communicate well with the players, especially young players. This team is young at many positions and the new skipper needs to be able to be patient with them. Something that Bobby V was terrible at. For example, after an inning where rookie Will Middlebrooks made 2 costly errors, Bobby yelled over to him “Good inning Will!” when Middlebrooks was coming to the dugout. What a fucking asshole Bobby V was.

• The next manager also needs to be able to have the respect of his players. Bobby V was hated before he even set foot in the clubhouse this year. That was just a recipe for disaster. Apparently John Farrell is a pretty intimidating guy who’s not afraid to bitch out a player for not giving a full effort or for skipping a workout. That’s exactly what this team needs and I think bringing in Farrell could change the culture of the clubhouse which is desperately needed.

• Obtain some good, solid starting pitchers. 
• The past 3 years this team has been on a downward spiral when it comes to starting pitching. You see the connection? The team has missed the playoffs the last 3 years, and they have had 3 years of bad pitching. I understand there’s only a few actual “number 1’s” in the league right now but something needs to be done. Lester and Buchholz have underperformed the last 2 seasons. Lester has always said John Farrell was one of his favorite pitching coaches ever so hopefully if Farrell comes to Boston to manage he can straighten out Lester and bring him back to the level he was at in 2010 when he was 19-9 and posted a 3.25 ERA. 

• After seeing what the Orioles did this year, I believe that the Red Sox could build a rotation by picking up two #4 of #5 type starters. Lester, Buchholz, Dubront (who impressed me this year) and then add two end of the rotation starters and I think they will be set to compete.

• Figure out the David Ortiz situation and react accordingly. 
• If they decide to go to arbitration with him, or if they somehow come to an agreement and he remains in Boston, they need to get another big bat to put in front of him in the batting order. Although Ortiz had a pretty decent year before he got injured, many teams could have chosen to pitch around him. And especially now that Gonzalez is gone there’s really no reason for anyone to throw him a good pitch. 

• If they decide to keep him I believe the Red Sox management is declaring that they think they could still compete for a championship next year. Why would they bring back an aging DH for $14m+ a year if they were rebuilding in 2013. It makes no sense so I think the decision with Ortiz could tell us a lot about what direction this team is heading in. 

• If they keep him it’s imperative to get a bat to protect David so he has the opportunity to hit. I’m not sure the Red Sox will go back to their old ways and try and sign Josh Hamilton for $120m+ of 5 or 6 years (although I would love to see him in a Red Sox uniform). I have heard several rumors about guys like Mike Napoli who could provide Ortiz protection, can play 1^st base and can be signed without breaking the bank.

No doubt about it, it’s a tough time to be a Red Sox fan. But, I think if they can find a manager who can handle this team and the pressure of playing in Boston, a few starters to fill out the rotation and another power hitter I really think they can compete. I mean I just watched an Orioles team with a bunch of mediocre players beat the Texas Rangers in the playoffs. Anything is possible in the MLB these days. Make a few changes within the lineup and change the club house culture and I think we’re set to compete like we have for the past decade.  

One year after the collapse

2011- The Red Sox were entering the last game of the regular season with a chance to make up for their historically bad September if they could only beat the Baltimore Orioles. As it turns out, it was one of the most gut-wrenching nights of my life. Of course the Orioles came back to win in extra innings, but that wasn't the worst part. As it turns out Tampa Bay, who was chasing the Red Sox for the last playoff spot, was losing 7-0 to the Yankees late in the game. Then the impossible happened. The Rays then made a furious comeback and Evan Longoria hit a walk off home run to send the Rays into the AL Playoffs, and send the reeling Red Sox home. The Sox had successfully completed the biggest collapse in the history of baseball as they had blown a 9 game September lead in the Wild Card Race. The team finished the month of September with a 7-20 record.