Patriots-Jets Preview

Now that I've had a few days to recover from last week's loss of Tom Brady, my thoughts are a little clearer and I've analyzed this team from every angle possible. I've also drank lots and lots of the Bill Belichick Cool Aid (I prefer the green Cool Aid to the red Cool Aid). Are the Patriots as good as they were last week with Brady leading the way? Absolutely not. Are they still an elite team with a serious shot at getting back to the Super Bowl? I say yes. I know, call me crazy, but I still say yes.

Let's keep in mind that this team is still loaded on offense with Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, Benjamin Watson and a group of running backs that includes Laurence Maroney, Lamont Jordan, Kevin Faulk and about ten other guys. Are they still shaky on the defensive side of the ball? Yes, they have some work to do but they're younger than they were last year and have more speed than they had last year, as well. I'd look for them to be in the top eight teams defensively. And just for the record, I don't recall Brady playing defense so his injury has nothing to do with how the defense plays.

Now, let's talk offense. What would you say if Matt Cassel comes in and has a season where he completes 56 percent of his passes, which is about 300 completions on 530 attemps or approximately 20 of 35 per game? I'd take it. What if Cassel throws 23 touchdowns and has 20 interceptions for a quarterback rating around 74? I'd still take it. Now let's throw in a few fumbles on his part, say seven for the remaining 15 games. What would you think? Well, those are the EXACT numbers that Eli Freaking Manning put up last year. And yes, I just threw up. If Matt Cassel puts up numbers anywhere near those numbers, than the NFL may as well start engraving the players' names into the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Granted, I don't think that Cassel will be throwing it 35 times a week but look for him to have workmanlike days similar to the Chiefs game where he was 13-18 for 152 yards and a TD.

Here's the thing about Brady's injury- Matt Cassel doesn't need to come in and be Brady. He just needs to be an effective clock manager, throw to Moss and Welker, read the defensive schemes to make adjustments at the line, and keep the mistakes to a minimum. Look, I know that Brady threw 50 touchdowns last year but half of those came when the Patriots were already blowing teams out.

The biggest pressure is going to be on the running backs and, specifically, Maroney. This would be the perfect time for him to stop running into his own guys and just use his explosive speed to get into the open field. And I think he will. We saw it towards the end of last year so look for him to be more involved offensively in the weeks ahead. And on the days when Maroney can't help carry the team, look for Jordan to come in and grind it out with his smash mouth running style.

As for this week's game against the Jets, I don't think a whole lot has changed. Remember last year after the Patriots got caught cheating and the San Diego Chargers were coming to town licking their chops just waiting to jump on a team that looked devastated? Yeah, the Chargers somehow bungled that into a 38-14 loss. That game was won for Bill Belicheat and I have no doubt that the Patriots are going to come out on Sunday and absolutely dominate the Jets.

And let's not forget that the Patriots have the ultimate no-respect guy on the planet in Rodney HGHarrison. Even when the Patriots went 16-0 last year, HGHarrison was still crying about not being respected. What do you think HGHarrison is going to do when he sees that the Patriot have gone from being the Super Bowl favorite to be ranked 12th in Super Bowl odds? And what do you think he's going to do when he sees the Bernard Pollard fan club shirts? This team and Belichick use the smallest slight against them in their favor every week.

We should also remember that it was just about a month ago that Brett Favre came out of retirement, joined a new team, admitted he hadn't worked out in six months and then stepped into the limelight as the Jets new quarterback. And just for the record, I never doubted that he was retired. Big deal that the Jets beat the Dolphins last week. They were 1-15 last year. I still think that the Patriots' improved defense is going to find a way to get to Favre and make him wish he stayed retired.

Between the emotion of winning for Brady and the emotion of not letting the Jets beat them, I'm going back to the score of the second game of last year. Patriots 38-14, even though I'm still not convinced the Jets can score 14 points.

Week 2 NFL Picks

Now you all know why I don't bet on these games. Last week I was 7-9 so take these picks for what they're worth, which apparently isn't very much. As always, winning team is in CAPS.

Sunday, September 14
Tennessee at CINCINNATI
Tennessee is just awful, with or without Vince Young. Although, I don't think Cincinnati is much better.

GREEN BAY at Detroit
How bad does Detroit have to get for Matt Millen to be fired?

Oakland at KANSAS CITY
Can I pick a tie here? Seriously, both these teams suck. I guess I'll continue with my rule of picking the home team when in doubt.

NY Giants at ST. LOUIS
I'm keeping my word from last week and not picking the Giants to win a game this year. Although, I have no confidence that St. Louis could beat a Pop Warner team right now.

Indianapolis at MINNESOTA
Indianapolis falls to 0-2 and we see the return of the Peyton Manning Horse Face. I'm excited!

NEW ORLEANS at Washington
I think that Washington is over rated this year. Although, I think that New Orleans is over rated, too.

Chicago at CAROLINA
Nice win by Chicago in Indy last weekend. Unfortunately, the real Kyle Orton is playing for the Bears this weekend.

Buffalo at JACKSONVILLE
I like Buffalo this year but I don't think they can topple the Jaguars on their own field.

SAN FRANCISCO at Seattle
Seattle is holding a contest with the winner getting to play wide receiver in this weekend's game.

ATLANTA at Tampa Bay
Matt Ryan leads the Falcons to two straight wins. Michael Vick continues weeping in a dark penitentiary.

Baltimore at HOUSTON
No particular reason here. I'm not even applying my when in doubt pick the home team rule. It was a completely arbitrary pick.

NEW ENGLAND at NY Jets
I'm going with New England in this game and it has nothing to do with me being a complete homer. I'm also picking them big. More to come in a special Saturday edition of Running Up The Score.

Miami at ARIZONA
Kurt Warner looked like the Kurt Warner of old last weekend.

San Diego at DENVER
I'm sticking with my prediction that San Diego misses the playoffs. Denver might be good this year with an experienced Jay Cutler leading the way.

PITTSBURGH at Cleveland
Pittsburgh in a rout. Seriously, Cleveland is in big trouble this year.

Monday, September 15
PHILADELPHIA at Dallas
Tony Romo and the Cowgirls tend to shrink in the spotlight. Look for that to continue on MNF.

I Think I May Have Been Brain Washed

In the last forty eight hours since Tom Brady collapsed on the field, I've somehow gone from the Patriots being 1-15 this year to them going 11-5. At first, I didn't think a torn ACL was that big of a deal and that Tom Brady would be back after the week four bye. At the latest, I thought he'd be back for the Colts game in week nine. How long does a torn ACL take to heal anyway? But apparently even Brady is human and will miss the rest of the year (I just threw up in my mouth).

So, yes, I officially drank the Cool-Aid that Bill Belichick passes out during practice and am brainwashed into thinking that Matt Cassel is going to go from being the ultimate clip board holder to leading this team back to the Super Bowl even though Cassel hasn't started a game at quarterback since before his high school prom.

Somehow I believe that this is all just part of Belicheat's plan to level the playing field around the NFL. He looks around the league and figures that they have a pancake schedule this year so let's give Tom Brady a year off to hang with Gisele. Remember last year how the Patriots were simply crushing their opponents early on by scores of 52-7 at halftime? Well, now Belicheck wants to show that he can win the close games, too, and do it without Brady. Gotta love a guy up for a big challenge.

So in comes Matt Cassel to save the day, just like Tom Brady did when Drew Bledsoe went down in 2001. I have no doubt that Cassel will be breaking Brady's TD record this year. In fact, I'd be shocked if he isn't already dating some super model. Remember- he's been learning from Brady the last four years.

And for all of the people out there who want to quote Belicheat's record without Brady, which is 42-58, I say it has no relevance whatsoever. Seriously, have you seen the team he was handed in Cleveland? That team stunk and he took them from being a perennial loser to a playoff team. And once that team bolted for Baltimore, it took years for them to be any good again. Same thing when Belichick took over the Patriots- the team was a mess because of what Bobby Grier and Pete 'jacked and pumped' Carroll did with the draft and free agents.

So how are the Patriots going to go 11-5 without Tom Brady. Well, as Mayor Menino would say, "They'll do it with teamwork." Here's what I think:

Kansas City Chiefs W 17-10
@ New York Jets W (Belicheat would rather get caught cheating again than lose this game) 2-0
Miami Dolphins W 3-0
Week 4 Bye Week
@ San Francisco 49ers W 4-0
@ San Diego Chargers W (we own the Chargers) 5-0
vs. Denver Broncos L (Monday night in Foxboro) 5-1
vs. St. Louis Rams W 6-1
@ Indianapolis Colts L 6-2
Buffalo Bills W 7-2
vs. New York Jets W 8-2
@ Miami Dolphins L 8 - 3
vs. Pittsburgh L 8 - 4
@ Seattle Seahawks W 9 - 4
@ Oakland Raiders W 10 - 4
vs. Arizona Cardinals W 11 - 4
@ Buffalo Bills L (starters rest after Patriots clinch a first round bye) 11 - 5

I have no doubt that Belichick probably threw up when he saw Brady go down but I love the fact that he never even went over to check on Brady. It may as well have been the 53rd man on the team being helped off the field for all Belichick cared. And that's the message he sends to the entire team- no one player is any more important than another. If that means using Cassel in an efficient manner that utilizes a lot of short drop passes and screen plays while grounding it out with their running game, so be it. All I know is that this team is still Super Bowl bound.

See, I told you I drank the Cool Aid. In Belichick we trust.

Pats-Chiefs Preview

Now that the preseason is out of the way, the Patriots can get down to business. And just like the Patriots, I'll get right down to business with this preview: I don't care that the Patriots went 0-4 this preseason, which is exactly how I would feel if they were to go 4-0 in the preseason. It means nothing, especially when you have people like Matt Cassel taking snaps as the starting quarterback. Cassel is on this team for one reason and one reason only: he's really good at holding a clip board.

The Patriots' opponent will be none other than the Kansas City Chiefs, who were just awful last year. They ended up 4-12 and finished the year on a nine game losing streak. But the real story is that Herm Edwards is, unbelievably, still their coach and that's never a good thing. When the Chiefs come to town with Edwards as their head coach, they should automatically be disqualified. He reminds me of the dead guy in Weekend at Bernie's with the way he handles game adjustments and play calling. No team with him as the head coach is coming here to beat the (almost) defending Super Bowl Champions. Have I told you I hate the New York Giants? In fact, I hate the San Francisco Giants, too, just because they're also Giants. If my daughter's soccer team is called the Giants this year, I'm holding a protest until it's changed and the shirts are incinerated.

From what I can tell, the Patriots will start the year off by unveling the Perfect Season 19-0 banner at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. Oops, I think it's actually a 16-0 banner but what's the difference, right? Can we watch the tape again and see if they really lost the Super Bowl. Actually, no, I don't think I want to watch the tape again. By the way, unless you're hanging Super Bowl banners, I don't want to hear about 16-0 banners. That's just lame.

Anyway, when the offense for the Patriots steps onto the field on Sunday, number 12 will be there. I don't care what people are saying about Tom Brady's foot/ankle injury. In fact, I have a hard time believing that he's even injured. Somehow, I think Brady's "injury" was Bill Belicheat's sneaky way of getting the Chiefs to feel like they had a chance in this game, which they don't. Let's remember that this is the same Brady who has been listed on the injury report with a shoulder injury for the last four years and yet, has never missed a game or received any treatment for that "injury" either.

The Patriots opened as 14 point favorites in Vegas when it was still questionable if Brady would start. That line has gone up to 16 1/2. Even Vegas doesn't believe Brady is injured.

As for Brady, this reminds me of last season when everone was so concerned about Randy Moss because he missed all of the preseason. Yeah, how'd that work out for him? How about having 98 catches for 1,493 yards and a record setting 23 touchdowns. Not bad for a guy who didn't play in the preseason.

So I don't expect the "injury" to Brady to be a concern going forward. Besides, everyone knows that the only thing that can harm Superman is kryponite and I'm pretty sure there's not much of that stuff around anymore. But the thought does bring up an interesting point. What if Brady does go down with a real injury at some point during the season? I think we could say hello to the 2008 Miami Dolphins, holders of the 1-15 record. For a coach who prepares as much as Belichick does and who is always looking for an edge in every possible category (even if it means cheating), it seems kind of scary that our backup quarterback is Matt Cassel. As for Brady, I have a feeling that he's been practicing his deep routes with Gisele all offseason so I can see him easily going 23-30, 275 yards, 3 touchdowns and that's before he even sets foot on the field.

I do have my concerns on the defensive side for the Patriots, though. Rodney HGHarrison is back again, as is Tedy Bruschi. I thought maybe the Patriots would cut ties with both of them at the end of last year so let's hope they each have another year in the tank. If not, it will still be fun watching HGHarrison trying to get away with late hits. But my real concern on the defensive side is Richard Seymour, who seems to have fallen off the face of the earth in the last year. Either he's hurt or he completely sucks because he's been a nonfactor for too long.

As for the offense, it appears that Belichick is going for the seven man backfield by brining in every available running back. I think the stacked backfield will be good because at some point Laurence Maroney's going to get hurt running into one of his own guys and we need a Lamont Jordan to step in and show him how to be a power back. I think we can expect lots of screen passes out of this offense to help take the pressure off of Moss and Brady and let's not forget about their three tight ends that will start the season on the roster.

While this weekend represents the kickoff of another NFL season, let's not forget that it also represents Bob Kraft returning to show us his unlimited collection of blue shirts with white collars. And if that doesn't get you fired up for football season than nothinig will.

Final score: Patriots 38-10.







And in honor of Herm Edwards, here's one of the oddest conversations I've ever seen. Can you ever imagine Belicheat saying anything like this?

Week 1 NFL Picks

My two month vacation has ended just in time for the start of another NFL season, which kicks off this Thursday night with the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants (I just threw up a little in my mouth) taking on the Washington Redskins. The first weekend of NFL games concludes with two Monday Night Football games on Monday night (obviously).

If I had tons of money to wager, these would be my picks. And just like last year, the winning team is in CAPS.

Thursday, September 4
WASHINGTON at NY Giants
You can pencil it in right now: I won't pick the Giants to win a game all year*.

Sunday, September 7
Detroit at ATLANTA
Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan leads Atlanta to the win. Somewhere in a dark penitentiary, Michael Vick weeps.

Seattle at BUFFALO
I'm taking Buffalo here for the simple fact that I don't think Seattle is even bringing a wide receiver to the game due to injuries.

JACKSONVILLE at Tennessee
I have a feeling that Vince Young may not be the starting QB for Tennessee for very much longer. I also have a feeling that's not necessarily a bad thing.

NY Jets at MIAMI
Chad Pennington outduels Brett Favre for the win. Those are definitely words I never thought I'd write.

Kansas City at NEW ENGLAND
More to come on Friday.

TAMPA BAY at New Orleans
Tampa Bay uses its rotation of six starting QBs to knock off New Orleans.

St. Louis at PHILADELPHIA
St. Louise pretty much stunk last year. I don't see much changing this year.

Houston at PITTSBURGH
When in doubt, pick the home team.

CINCINNATI at Baltimore
Each of these teams has a 53 man roster, for a combined 106 players. Of those 106 players, 67 have criminal records. I just made that stat up but I bet you totally believed it because it's probably not too far from the truth.

CAROLINA at San Diego
Lots of people are picking San Diego as an early favorite for this year's AFC Super Bowl representative. I'd be shocked if they made the playoffs this year*.

Arizona at SAN FRANCISCO
It's never a good sign when Kurt Warner is your starting QB.

DALLAS at Cleveland
Look for Cleveland to resume its tradition of having lousy football teams this year.

Chicago at INDIANAPOLIS
I was prepared to pick whoever was playing against the Colts just because I hate them but then I figured that Jim Sorgi could probably lead the Colts to a W over Chicago even if Peyton Manning doesn't play.

Monday, September 8
MINNESOTA at Green Bay
Green Bay fans are going to find out quickly how bad Aaron Rodgers is. And yes, I said how bad because I don't think Rodgers will be able to succeed in Green Bay*.

Denver at OAKLAND
You know how when two teams meet early in the season and people say stupid things like, "Both of these teams are so good that this could be a playoff preview, folks." Yeah, this isn't one of those games.

* I reserve the right to change my mind.

Blame It On The Rain

Gotta love Jonathan Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen (even though he's kind of shaky on his best night). During a recent rain delay at Fenway Park, they posted a video of Papelbon and Delcarmen lip syncing to a lip synced version of Blame It On The Rain by Milli Vanilli. I'm starting to think that Papelbon isn't acting when he does crazy stuff like this- he might just be insane. At least Papelbon shows that he can cover a wide variety of music between the Drop Kick Murphy's and Milli Vanilli.

Fire Up The Duck Boats Again

Can anyone beat us at anything? Seriously, the Red Sox have the best record in the American League despite having a ton of injuries and playing like a AAA team all year. They're also the defending World Series Champions. The Celtics just capped off one of the most historic turn arounds in sports history to capture their first NBA Title in 22 years and the Patriots were the first NFL team to ever start a season 18-0. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it didn't turn out so good in the end but at least I'm now admitting that they lost the Super Bowl. Are we really sure that happened?

Anyway, now comes word that a Chicopee, MA man has won the 2008 National Rock Paper Scissors League Championship. Sean Sears, 23, threw a rock to demolish his opponent's scissors to win the $50,000 first prize and a chance to compete in the inaugural International Rock Paper Scissors Federation Championship to be held in Beijing, China, during the Summer Olympics. There, he will compete against champions from Canada, Guam, Hong Kong and Ireland for the title of the world's best Rock Paper Scissors player. Is there any doubt he'll dominate on the world stage? Didn't think so.

And to top things off, I just learned that a 10 year old kid from Longmeadow, MA was crowned the World Champion Cup Stacker. Steven Purugganan's quick hand movements amazed onlookers at the 2008 World Sport Stacking Championships, setting two world records at the tournament.

And don't even tell me you've never heard of National Rock Paper Scissors League Championship or the World Sport Stacking Championships. Does ESPN cover quality programming like this?

And I totally expect Boston runner to dominate the Boston Marathon next year, or at least have a local finish in the top 1000.

Regardless, it’s just one World Championship after another in the City of Champions. What don’t we rule at? If anyone deserves a parade, it's these guys.