New England Patriots: Need Wes Welker and Tom Brady to Win Against the Ravens?

The devastating loss of Wes Welker and the injuries that Brady is playing with could spell the early departure of the Patriots from the playoffs.

Wes Welker has suffered ligament tears that didn’t just end his season but honestly it’s an injury that could end his career. Injury reports have also been issued indicating that Tom Brady is playing with not only broken ribs but also a broken index finger on his passing hand.

The argument goes that because Wes Welker is out then it is a simple defensive task of double covering Randy Moss to reduce the Patriots offense to a tortoise pace.
Let’s think about that for a moment. Who’s left on the offense that could give a defense fits.

There is a surprising Welker like rookie by the name of Jullian Edelman, and another new name, Sam Aiken not to mention the tight end Benjamin Watson for receiving chores.
There is also a running back crew that has Sammy Morris, Fred Taylor, Lawrence Maroney, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and good ole stand-by Kevin Faulk.

I’ll agree that in that group there isn’t a single standout superstar running back stud but the Pats are averaging 120 yards rushing per game. That’s not even mentioning receiving yards or yards after catch when these backs are the receiver.
That’s a lot of offensive tools that have been discounted without consideration of their talents.

Making the assumption that Tom Brady will continue playing despite his injuries, the loss of Welker and double team of Randy Moss provides Tom with the incentive of more effective ball distribution amongst the remaining players.
In years previous Brady was known for spreading the wealth. He’s been a bit stingy with those balls of late as it’s always easier to focus on a sure thing. That’s what Welker and Moss provided him with a, safety net.

I’m going to throw out one more name: Brian Hoyer.  He’s young, he’s a rookie and he has shown to be a pretty good back up quarterback. Despite his fumble in the backfield giving up a defensive touchdown in his first snap of the Patriots game against the Houston Texans it’s my contention that fumble could have happened to fully half of all starting quarterbacks in the league today.
Simply, it was a bad offensive call.

I understand that Hoyer is a rookie but it wouldn’t be the first time in NFL history to see a back up QB take his team deep into the playoffs. It’s been argued that the Patriots have a quarterback system that would allow even the most mediocre quarterback to succeed.

Could Hoyer be our Cinderella if Brady can’t go? He could be the rookie who’s to dumb to know that he’s not supposed to win.

Despite that thought Hoyer probably won’t get the chance unless Tom gets rocked early and often. Apparently he’s been playing hurt all season, he’s not going to just hand the ball to Hoyer and beg Bill Belichick to pull him out of the game.

For this upcoming Wildcard weekend playoff game it’s not the offense that I’m worried about it’s the defense that needs a backbone.
We expect some big defensive players to return for this first playoff game and I’m hoping that Vince Wilfork, Jarvis Green and Ty Warren all make it back out on to the field to help solidify the front line.

Yes the Patriots can win without Wes Welker and yes they could win without Tom Terrific but if the defense doesn’t show up…the postseason will be as good as over.

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Bill Belichick Doesn’t Care What You Think or Say

The question jumps into your brain, “What was he thinking?”  It’s what I’m thinking when Bill Belichick’s Patriots fail to get the needed yardage on fourth down.

 

Why is he always going for it on fourth down?

 

That is an easy question with a huge response that you would never get Bill to fully verbalize. And why should he?

 

Bill has his allegiances squarely laid out, and the media is not on his favored list. He answers to his franchise and the owner, Robert Craft. He answers to the team and his coaching staff. He would probably answer to his family if they dared ask the same questions we do.

 

Robert Craft trusts his head coach enough to have penned a contract that keeps him through at least 2013. If Bill says to Robert, “I’d go for it again on fourth in that situation,” the odds would be even money that Mr. Craft would reply, “You go, Bill!”

 

We’re talking about a coach who brought to New England six AFC East titles and three Super Bowl wins. A coach who has garnered two AP NFL Coach of the Year nods since he’s been with the Patriots.

 

From the owner’s box, the view for Robert Craft shows him that the seats are full week in and week out. The New England faithful show up even in the foulest of weather and in the middle of winter.

 

Sure, it would be nice to win every game, but a full stadium is a win for the owner. As long as the fans show up, there will be an unshakable faith in his head coach.

 

The coaching staff and the players know that as much as Bill can show them their mistakes through film review, they also know that Bill will man up on his own coaching miscues. Being a student of the game himself, he is also a consummate teacher.

 

Then the question is, are they astute enough to learn the lesson Bill has to offer?

 

One only has to look at the number of former assistant coaches that have moved on from under Belichick’s wing to see that what he has to teach is valued by other organizations.

 

It’s not surprising that in most cases, many of those that were hired away by other teams only represent a shadow of the man himself.

 

If you’ve watched him answer questions from sports reporters in the after game press conferences, you know he’s not giving them anything. Or is he?

 

At this point in his coaching career, Bill refuses to give the media any sound bites that can be misconstrued or misquoted. He learned his lesson while he was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

 

If you give the media too much of yourself, they will only use it against you. It’s only by NFL league commitment that he does these press conferences at all.

 

If you watched, you probably heard the question asked, “If you had to do it over, would you have gone for it on fourth down?” Bill Belichick’s answer is, of course, “I’d go for it again on fourth in that situation.”

 

It’s the situation that dictates that he takes the chance.

 

Belichick has a history of going for it on fourth more than any other active NFL head coach. He also owns the highest success percentage for fourth down attempts.

 

Truth be told, I’ve caught myself urging him on from my living room during a game. I’ve pumped my fist and roared approval when they have made it.

 

Just because it doesn’t work out for him a couple of times it doesn’t mean that he is going to change his spots. Just because I question it or because someone on television voices his thoughts on the decision doesn’t mean Belichick is going to listen or even care.

 

Bill Belichick answers only to those that he has to. And seriously, most of us aren’t on the list.

 

Glenn Card is a contributor blogger for Boston Sports Then and Now

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The King is Dead, Long Live the Patriots

The Kings of the AFC East are alive and well, the rumor of their demise has been largely fabricated. I speak of none other than the New England Patriots.

We were only five games into the 2009 season and many pundits were writing a far too premature obituary for the perennial powerhouse. It is a favorite past time for many, trying to predict the downfall of the Pats.

Here’s the funny thing though. As much as I have read about the failings and weaknesses of this 2009 team, the betting line usually holds the Patriots up as the victor in most match-ups.

It seems the bookies learned early on what the common NFL broadcasters, journalist never comprehended early in this decade. Never let the line go too far to bet against the Pats.

Now that we are half way through the season and the Patriots are firmly in control of the AFC East again, where have all the doubters gone?

Where’s the guy from last year that said the defense was too old?

Where’s the broadcaster who earlier this year said the Pats had lost all their team leadership?

What about the writer that stated that Tom Brady didn’t deserve his elite status?

Fine I’ll give them some food for fodder. The last two teams they played are teams that they should have beaten.

Oh that’s right, that’s not what they were saying about the Patriots just before the games were played. It would be a little hypocritical to reverse their statements after the fact now wouldn’t it?

No, instead we got to read about how the Patriots were running up the score on poor defenseless teams once again. Poor Titans couldn’t defend against me, a 40+ year old asthmatic, and my equally debilitated in-laws if we were playing in our annual turkey day flag football game.

The week after that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t play much better. But because we were playing in the other England’s Wembley stadium, the Patriots decidedly didn’t embarrass their opponents so severely.

Even still the Patriots traveled home without a single player being knighted. It would have seemed unseemly for the Queen to bestow such an honor on the scurrilous players of this team; though in her heart even she knows who the team to beat is.

After a bye week rest my team returns to the field this week against a division rival, the Dolphins, which has turned its season around and could give the Patriots some fits. Although, I feel that the wildcat offense will be far less effective now that the Patriots have seen it a few times.

The Patriots don’t look beyond their current opponent but this game will be more of a tune up for a couple of tougher non-divisional games against the Colts and Saints that the Patriots will face soon enough.

As the Patriots have not been playing, the detractors have been somewhat quiet and I’ve enjoyed the respite myself. Do not worry though as the critics will be out and about moments after this week’s game has ended.

We will hear again how “the King is dead, the King is dead!”, but more than likely we will hear “The King is ruthless!”

For me, it will read the same, “Long live the Patriots!”

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Whose Patriots Team Is It, Brady or Belichick’s?

Considering everything that was being said about the Patriots coming into this game against the Ravens, I think the Patriots gave us some answers.

The Patriots answered a lot of questions.

Can they play tough against a good and acknowledged probable playoff team? They passed the test and looked good doing it.

Did they surpass any offensive records doing it? No, they didn’t have to.

What we did find out is that the special team is special and they came up big once again. On offense they showed that they still know how to move the ball up and down the field.

What we also learned is that a score is a about points. Nobody likes to settle for a field goal, but hey, that’s how many of the prior Patriots games were won before the 2007 season.

What the Patriots really showed is that they are a very good overall football team.

The head coach, Bill Belichick, put the rest of the league on notice. This is not a one-dimensional team. This team is just not all about an explosive aerial offense.

Bill has quietly let all pundits speak only of Brady’s struggles with the passing game. He has ducked the questions about the massive turn over of the defense where many of the perennial fixtures were, traded, retired or let go.

Despite all the changes, there was always a big focus on how Brady was doing with his return to duty. This is where everyone got it wrong.

Brady is important, always will be to the Patriots team, but he is not the end all of the 2009 Patriots team.

Bill’s team had become too dependent on the quarterback position these last few years. This became evident last year when Brady was injured and was lost for the season.

Last year many of the tools were in place for a back-up QB and it allowed for a decent offense. It’s the defense that needed retooling.

The day always comes where despite all the tools available you, sometimes you just don’t have the right one. When that day comes, you either have to make do and bust a knuckle or go out and get the right tool.

I think Bill got his knuckles busted up a bit last year, and he decided that’s not going to happen again; he needed better, and more, tools.

Bill didn’t go back to basics; he upgraded the basics that already existed. Bill made it happen this year. The defense was the winner against the Ravens.

I’ll be the first to say that I want my team to score so many points that I don’t have to worry about the opposing teams capability to score. But there is some comfort in seeing a defense that can keep the game close in case the offense is having a bad day.

Mr. Belichick knows what his offense is capable of just look at the confidence he has shown by going on fourth down conversions. He is just beginning to get a feel for what his new defense is capable of.

Tom Brady is the quarterback of the New England Patriots, but the Patriots are the personification of the man who really leads them, Bill Belichick.

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My Patriots Team Will Stomp Yours Any Given Sunday

I was going to write a politically correct NFL team-by-team analysis. I was going to try to be unbiased and point to the benefits and flaws of each team.

I didn’t get very far.

It was only natural that I would, as an unapologetic homer, start with my team, the New England Patriots. After I looked at the Pats’ roster and reviewed the preseason games, I looked around the rest of the league. I couldn’t find it in my heart to waste my time trying to think of something nice to say about any other team.

Long ago, my mother told me “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” With that sage advice, I have no choice but to speak about the Patriots’ team and taunt the rest.

There are only a handful of teams that have the offensive potential somewhat close to the Patriots. I’ll give you all a hint of what you can expect from the Pats offense.

Watch out for the long ball, the short throw, the screen, and the throws to the flats. That is the Tom Brady effect with multiple and numerous targets.

Yes, I know, your team will try to pressure the quarterback. Look, if Brady is not marching the ball down the field with his arm, then watch out for up-the-middle, in-your-face runs. Or the off-tackle runs and the end runs, all from multiple looks from multiple runners.

How does your team scheme for a player? Which player would they scheme for? How will your team defend everything?

You’re going to be whining about the Pats running up the score…in the second quarter.

I’ll even go on to say even if everyone on the offensive squad went out onto the field with one arm tied behind their backs, your team will still have to play from behind.

Even if your team was able to build a 21-point lead on the Patriots, are you sure that will be enough to win the day? I’m convinced that it won’t be.

Of course, finding no fault with our offense, your natural course will be to question the validity of the defense. Come on, you’re talking about a team guided by a defensive genius.

Honestly, the Patriots defense is going to be serviceable. Yes, there’s been a changing of the guard.

The Pats traded Mike Vrabel away and then our beloved Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi retired. We all hung our heads, but only for a moment.

When Bruschi announced his retirement, I can only imagine that perhaps he looked around the locker room at the defensive crowd that the Pats have amassed this year and decided that he was leaving his team in pretty good hands.

The defense will not have to be in the league’s top 10. It only has to be decent in the beginning, with steady improvement through the season.

Yes, I know other teams have the Manning brothers and Donovan McNabb and Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger. I’m not saying that those guys aren’t really good quarterbacks; they are.

Notice I did say something nice.

It’s just when you are getting flushed and chased from sideline to sideline, by bovine huge defensemen and speedy quick linebackers and safeties, it’s hard to hit the other moving targets to make those 14 points that you need just to catch back up.

I’m the kind of guy that wears his heart on his sleeve, and I will be more than willing to take it on the chin if I am proven wrong.

Pick a Sunday, any Sunday—hell, make it any Monday too—and the Patriots are going to stomp your team.

Give Me the Sanctuary of the NFL

It’s been a tough NFL offseason for me. From the time the Super Bowl ended then through the free agency announcements and NFL draft I’ve been waiting and anticipating the beginning of the regular season games.

Due to the many mandatory furlough days I have been required to take this summer I have had much time to reflect on this offseason as I lay on the beach.

You see I have a small get away cottage on the Rhode Island coast.

It’s always been a sanctuary for me. A place separated from my work-week grind; a place where everything else is forgotten. No television and no phone service are allowed; I thought it was a good idea long ago.

It’s not a grand place; it’s just a beach shack really. But for 20 years now it’s been my Shangri-La.

Usually it’s only a place to change into our swim suits, cook and eat our meals and eventually lay our heads down for sleep in anticipation of the next sunny day.

I’ve spent a lot of time down here at the beach this year because of those said furlough days I mentioned.

It has not been the same this year. There’s been to much foul weather and not enough sun.

I’ve spent far too much time in-doors in this little shack. The 16 foot by 20 foot dimensions only allow for personal space of two feet around your immediate proximity when the whole family is down.

Normally it’s not a problem as on the good days everyone is either on the deck or already down on the beach where your personal space is really as large as you can imagine it.

Well, as I said the weather, for the most part, hasn’t been conducive to outdoor living.

It’s a family affair when we travel to the beach shack. But with the weather this year as you might imagine with the whole family cooped up in the cottage you start to get on each others nerves.

For the most part I get along with my mother-in-law but leave me sharing the same space with her for more than an hour or two and the verbal sniping starts. Once we get going our tones turn chilly and our mannerisms become combative.

It will get to the point where the rest of the family will demand that we both go to neutral corners of the room to prevent an unsanctioned UFC match between us. I’m dying to put her into a sleeper hold.

I love my kids but when you are this close to them on an hourly basis you really start wonder where you went wrong as a parent.

The boy, he’s normally away at college but of course he returns home after classes are done and that means he becomes a piece of useless furniture around the house. He’s like the chair that takes up way too much space and nobody can sit in, the one you can’t throw away because of sentimental reasons.

The girl as well returns from college wanting to share stories of college escapades that no father I know of would want to associate with their little girl. I finally told her write it all down and put the stories in a book form. Buy a large postal envelope and seal the book inside.

Mail it to me in about 20 years and then, maybe, I’ll be able to read through it without losing my mind.

Bless my wife for keeping me from going ballistic on them all. She understands me.

She’ll try to distract me by asking questions about the latest NFL trade talks or are there any rookie hold outs because contract agreements aren’t signed. Not that she even know what those questions mean.

She knows that it is in her best interest to talk me down and prevent the family scandal of having my picture plastered in the local news papers. She must have visions of headlines reading “Sports Starved Father Goes Berserk on Local Beach.”

Thank the NFL sports gods that summer is nearly over. The kids are back to college and the mother-in-law is back in the old folks home where she belongs.

I can get back to a real life; a life where I am not constantly looking for a break in the clouds so that I can step outside; a life that doesn’t include frozen drinks with cute pink umbrellas.

Fall is nearly here. The NFL training camp and preseason is nearly complete.

I can pack up and lock the door on this little cottage once more. I’ll be saying “good riddance” as I brush the beach sand from feet.

The hell with the beach, give me my NFL schedule and the television clicker.

Now that’s relaxation.

The New England Patriots Are the Team to Beat, Again

I’ve lived long enough to hear the words “Team to Beat” far too often. This time, again, everyone is saying it about my team, the New England Patriots.

I’ve been a fan of the Patriots long enough to hear the phrases associated with the Pats morph several times. I used to hear “Losers” then finally I heard “Playoff Hopefuls.”

I was actually happy when the Patriots rose to the level of “Playoff Bound.” My chosen team had arrived.

I haven’t suffered like the life-long fans from this area. I’m a transplant and I’ll bring my fan-hood wherever I go and bestow it upon the teams of my choosing.

Before now, the teams that I chose were always perennial losers. So for me, who suffered more, me or the teams that I chose?

To finally pick and support a team that went from the cellar to the penthouse was better spent money than if I had supported a psychiatrist the whole time instead.

I can imagine how those costly psych sessions would have gone.

Doc:

So you think that you bring a losing mentality to every team you support?

GC:

I was an Atlanta Falcon fan back in the ’60s and early ’70s.

Doc:

I’m a football fan and I remember that there were some outstanding dynasties that were the “Teams to Beat,” like the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins. The Falcons couldn’t hope to compare to them back then.

It would be unreasonable to consider yourself as the catalysts for their poor play.

GC:

Sure Doc, but what about the Atlanta Braves? I was a fan of theirs too. It seemed like they could never string together any wins either.

Doc:

It wasn’t you.

GC:

Well how about when I moved to San Diego and started rooting for the Chargers and the Padres in 1980.

Doc:

As I remember the Chargers had winning seasons early on in the ’80s.

GC:

Yeah but that went away as soon as I moved there.

Doc:

It wasn’t you.

 

My point being is you can convince yourself of anything if nothing ever changes for you.

The change for me came when they started saying the Patriots are the “Team to Beat.”

I walk a little taller. I sit a little straighter.

My bald patch is filing in. My teeth are whiter.

A winning attitude is everything.

Basically, I’m writing to all those fans of the other teams out there that are not the “Team to Beat.”

I only have one thing to tell you.

It’s not you.

The New England Patriots Are the Team to Beat, Again

I’ve lived long enough to hear the words “Team to Beat” far too often. This time, again, everyone is saying it about my team, the New England Patriots.

I’ve been a fan of the Patriots long enough to hear the phrases associated with the Pats morph several times. I used to hear “Losers” then finally I heard “Playoff Hopefuls.”

I was actually happy when the Patriots rose to the level of “Playoff Bound.” My chosen team had arrived.

I haven’t suffered like the life-long fans from this area. I’m a transplant and I’ll bring my fan-hood wherever I go and bestow it upon the teams of my choosing.

Before now, the teams that I chose were always perennial losers. So for me, who suffered more, me or the teams that I chose?

To finally pick and support a team that went from the cellar to the penthouse was better spent money than if I had supported a psychiatrist the whole time instead.

I can imagine how those costly psych sessions would have gone.

Doc:

So you think that you bring a losing mentality to every team you support?

GC:

I was an Atlanta Falcon fan back in the ’60s and early ’70s.

Doc:

I’m a football fan and I remember that there were some outstanding dynasties that were the “Teams to Beat,” like the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins. The Falcons couldn’t hope to compare to them back then.

It would be unreasonable to consider yourself as the catalysts for their poor play.

GC:

Sure Doc, but what about the Atlanta Braves? I was a fan of theirs too. It seemed like they could never string together any wins either.

Doc:

It wasn’t you.

GC:

Well how about when I moved to San Diego and started rooting for the Chargers and the Padres in 1980.

Doc:

As I remember the Chargers had winning seasons early on in the ’80s.

GC:

Yeah but that went away as soon as I moved there.

Doc:

It wasn’t you.

 

My point being is you can convince yourself of anything if nothing ever changes for you.

The change for me came when they started saying the Patriots are the “Team to Beat.”

I walk a little taller. I sit a little straighter.

My bald patch is filing in. My teeth are whiter.

A winning attitude is everything.

Basically, I’m writing to all those fans of the other teams out there that are not the “Team to Beat.”

I only have one thing to tell you.

It’s not you.

Let the Battle to Become a CBSSports.com NFL Correspondent Commence

 

That’s it. The gloves are off.

I’m not writing for rankings anymore. I’m not writing for laughs.

I’m on a mission.

Bleacher Report has announced that a vetting process is in place for 32 CBSSports.com NFL correspondents for each football team.

I’ve read the Job Description. I’ve submitted my application.

I am the next CBSSports.com correspondent from Bleacher Report.

Then I read the Assignments.

OK, so maybe I’m not the next one but someone will be.

If you haven’t checked it out yet then simply click the big,  Apply now” link at the top of the page.

The window that pops up walks you through the job description, the application and the assignment articles that will lead up to a decision.

I know a few fans/writers here that should give this a go. You wanted a chance to write for a living; opportunity does not knock any louder than this.

It’s a seven-month commitment to cover your NFL team of choice and get paid for it. Fandom doesn’t get any better than that.

Unfortunately, I can not commit for the time frame spelled out and I shall miss out on this opportunity.

So instead of competing for a position I am looking forward to the quality of work that will be submitted and which I’ll be reading on B/R in the near future.

So those of you who dare, sharpen your pencils and may the best fans win.

 

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