The Patriots Report: Week 8

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After praising the Patriots defense and hailing the BYE week as a point where Bill Belichick would finally patch things up and turn the Patriots into a Juggernaut, the Pittsburgh Steelers came and shoved everything I said into the same vortex that Donovan Mcnabb's career went to.  Seriously, it was painful watching 'Ben' pick apart the Patriots secondary like he was Joe Montana in his prime.  You would think that after the fourth straight catch by Heath Miller someone on the Patriots sideline would suggest they stop blitzing and allowing a zillion passing lanes.  I cannot stress how abysmal the Patriots were on Sunday, even their offence was sluggish, managing a meager 17 points for the game.  Before I continue it should be acknowledged that the Steelers played a hell of a game and literally kicked the Patriots ass, they handled their business like a contender should (and after the smack-down they laid, I have them and the Ravens as the primary AFC contenders).

So what the hell is wrong with the Patriots defense?  They are missing three starters, but this is no excuse because they used to thrive in situations like this, remember the days Troy Brown would cover the opposing teams best receiver?  Back then it didn't matter who played defense they were great for some reason, not so much anymore.  Poor drafting? A very big factor, their only decent draft pick in recent years has been Patrick Chung, Belichick has to accept some of the blame here, there is no excuse for picking so poorly in four consecutive drafts.  Lastly, some of the blame has to go on the players.  If you are playing a professional sport that you love, you should hold yourself accountable and do whatever it takes to be better.  So far this season, the Patriots defenders have not improved and if they don't the L's will pile up faster than everyone thinks.  At this rate, the Patriots will qualify for the playoffs as a wild-card and get demolished by Pittsburgh or Baltimore whenever they got to them.  The really sad thing about this is that the Patriots are still probably the third best team in the AFC, they picked an absolutely terrible year to suck defensively, if they were even decent I would have them penciled in to the Super Bowl.

Since there really isn't much more to say about the Patriots, a few quick hits from other parts of the NFL:

49ers: Do you realize that they still play the NFC west five times?!  They could easily finish the season 13-3 and get a first round Bye and a guaranteed home game in the playoffs.  Whether or not they can do anything with Alex Smith at Quarterback remains to be seen.

Ravens:  This season they have played some inspiring defense, they were setting some incredible records until they allowed Arizona to score 27 points against them.  Just throwing it out there, I don't think they will allow that much for the rest of the year.

Eagles: Finally played like the team everyone expected them to be, and even sweeter for them is that they are one (you read that correctly) game out of the playoffs.  An 11-5 finish isn't out of the question if they play every game like they did against the Cowboys.  

Titans: Chris Johnson has disappeared off the face of the earth

Giants: Playing the Patriots next week for the first time sense the '18-1' game, if Belichick doesn't throw his best and most secret game plan at them to try and humiliate them then I think his pulse should be checked.

Throwback Thursdays #4

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Breaker High. One of the three amazing "late-night" (and by that I mean from 8-10 pm, it was a different time back in grade 3. These days I'd kill to go to bed before 1 am) shows that were on YTV back in the day (the other two being RadioActive and Student Bodies). Looking back, the plot of this show made no sense. A school on a cruise ship that travels the world (if this was a real thing, how high the tuition would be? at least 100 grand a year?) and goes from Chile to Turkey in between episodes? It made no difference though as most of my weeknights ended with me watching the gang and their adventures. This was a great show back in the 90's and in my opinion is better than every single show on TV now that is tailored for similar audiences. Also, Ryan Gosling starred in this show playing the exact opposite role of the one he played in Drive. Back then if I had to pick one actor who I thought was going to make it big, it would have definitely been the guys who played Alex and Max. I didn't even have to Google that. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing but to avoid thinking about it, here are this week's songs.

Luka:

Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg - Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang

One, two, three, and to the fo'. This line starts one of the best rap songs of all time. If you're a rap fan and don't like this song then you're not a rap fan. Off of Dre's classic album, The Chronic, 'G' Thang is a fairly simple and easy-listening song that hasn't gotten even a little bit old or played out since 1993. Another thing I think that's being forgotten  but shouldn't be (and this is caused by Snoop as well, did you really have to do a verse for Katy Perry?), is how great Snoop used to be. Listening to this or any other old Snoop song makes you realize how easy Snoop made rapping seem. Just great to listen to. This song is also what I would play if I was ever driving through a west coast hood (if this did happen, i would be feverishly dialing 911, not listening to music but still). The video is also great to watch and is exactly what I expect each West coast party to look like.

N*Sync - Bye Bye Bye

If I had to pick one song to describe the boy band craze of the 90's, this would be it. The simplistic lyrics, catchy beat, over-the-top video, and an insanely fun to sing hook all capture the good (or bad) characteristics of the 90's boy bands. This was the lead single from the ridiculously successful album No Strings Attached which sold 2.4 million records in the first week (I had this album, Space Cowboy was the shit)! This still holds the record for most records sold in the opening week. Haters gonna hate but this song is good to listen to and once played no one's having a bad time.

Superbowl Saints

Tweet Last week, Daki and Luka both sent me texts being like, “Damn Drew Brees played like crap today.” How in the world someone can claim that throwing for over 380 yards is a bad day is beyond me, but throwing 3 picks is clearly not the best game(even if 2 weren’t his fault). However, this week the Saints played the Colts in primetime and ran a clinic.

Whenever the commentators talk about Brees, the recurring word is “leadership.” Sure Drew Brees probably has the best accuracy in the league, but other than that, his skill set is not anything spectacular. The thing that separates Brees as one of the top 3 QBs in the league is the way he leads his team. Even with his head coach upstairs in a press box and the assistant head coach calling the plays, Drew seems to always be in command, changing plays at the line and keeping everybody focused on the gameplan. I could talk about Brees all day, but i’ll stop and just leave you with his stat line: 31/35 for 325 yards and 5 touchdowns...and the Saints decided to stop using him in the 3rd quarter.

There were a few other players on offense that showed they deserve to be in the Pro Bowl this year. Firstly, what is wrong with the San Diego Chargers? They develop a person into a force to be reckoned with, then simply let them go. A few years back, Marty Schottenheimer coached the Chargers to a league best 14-2 record. They lost a very close game to the Patriots in the playoffs, so SD decided that the most logical thing to do was to fire him as head coach. They also had this one running back that was pretty decent: LT. Once his contract expired, the future hall of famer had to beg to have his contract renewed. The Chargers gave him a 1 year contract and decided that he had too much left in the tank and that he could still contribute, so they decided to let him go. Darren Sproles is the most recent Chargers talented castoff, and I’m amazed that the Saints got him. Sproles is one of the most versatile players in the league and is a matchup nightmare for defences. Also, weighing in at about 180 lbs, he plays every game like he has something to prove. He’s averaging 7.4 yards/carry, 7.3 yards/catch, has 5 total TDs and can make anything happen on special teams. This week he had 12 carries for 88 yards (7.3 yard average) with 1 rushing TD and 1 receiving TD. Stay classy San Diego.

Anyone who has followed the Saints knows that since about 2006, they’ve had some talented receivers. Between Meachem, Colston, Henderson, and Moore, you never really know where the ball is going but you can be sure that someone’s going to make your defence look stupid. However, the new kid that everyone is raving about is Jimmy Graham. I watched Graham play a game at the U and must admit that I was sceptical when the Saints drafted him in the third round. In the game, he had 2 chances for HUGE 3rd down completions that he could have potentially turned to TDs, but watched them both hit him in the hands and turn into drops. The season that Jimmy Graham is having should be fully accredited to head coach Sean Payton. Graham brought the size and freakish athleticism, and Payton moulded him into the beast that he is turning into. Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth were pretty much having a Graham d***-sucking contest in the commentators booth last Sunday. Collinsworth went so far as to say that by the time Jimmy is retired, he’ll pass Tony Gonzalez as the best tight end of all time....ITS HIS SECOND SEASON!?!? Either way, this kid is someone to watch for. His current stats on the season are ridiculous: 45 catches for 674 yards and 5 TDs.

The only part of last Sundays game that had me a little bit worried was the defence. I’m a huge fan of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and his blitz-happy, bend-but-dont-break style of coaching. However, for his defences to be successful, they have to be creating turnovers. The Saints D has been pretty average this season but average won’t be enough to win a superbowl. They only picked off Curtis Painter once last week, but hopefully they’re settling in like all other teams and will start racking in the turnovers.
Overall, it was a great week for the New Orleans Saints. They showed that they’re a top 3 team in the NFL and look to have another huge weekend against the lowly St. Louis Rams.



Last week I highlighted 3 things I was going to be looking for in Week 7 and I’d like to quickly cover them.

TIM TEBOW BABY. GODS GIFT TO THIS EARTH! Did you see the way he sucked for 57 minutes and didn’t even put his team in position to get a freakin fieldgoal!! Then he led a miraculous comeback against the superbowl contending Miami Dolphins. The truth is, once Tebow stepped up and started playing mediocre, his team (which is far more talented than the Fins) did most of the work. His line paved the way and the coaches called the plays to wreck Miami, but no one will ever talk about the other 52 players on the team. Tebow played like crap for all but 3 minutes of the game, but history will remember it as him leading a glorious comeback against a fierce competitor. BS

The Oakland Raiders are beyond screwed. They were absolutely embarrassed by the Chiefs this past week and didn’t even deserve to put up a single point. Kyle Boller started the game and posted a dismal 22.3 quarterback rating. Hue Jackson decided that it was time to give Palmer a shot, only a few days after he joined the team. Palmer showed that you dont just come out of retirement and shit on the NFL by posting an even worse QBR of 17.3....yikes. The future of the Raiders is in serious jeopardy. It scares me that my hopes for the Silver and Black lie with Terrelle Pryor.

Defences are finally back on track. This week featured 2 pillow fights (Browns 6-3 Seahawks and Jags 13-7 Ravens) and there weren’t as many offensive players taking over games by themselves. Granted, players like DeMarco Murray and Arian Foster demolished their competition this week, but that’s just the way the NFL works. I’m happy we’re back to the ways of some games turning into shootouts and others turning into toilet bowls.

The Eagles: Week 7

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I'm back. After a midterm/assignment week that was about as much fun as a shower at Shawshank, I am back and ready to talk some Philadelphia Eagles football!! (the exclamation marks are there because when are you not excited to say FOOTBALL!!) So what exactly have the Eagles done in my 3 week writing absence? They've gone 1-2 in that time while playing some insanely sloppy (think Deena and Snooki) football in their two losses while in their one win, which happened last weekend, Philly managed to make Rex Grossman look like... well Rex Grossman. This ushered in the John Beck era in Washington (have fun with that Redskins fans) and left me strangely optimistic (we beat the divisional champs at home, I don't care that their starting QB was so bad that fans started chanting for his backup who hadn't played a game since 2007. I can be excited, the season's been tough so far.). The Eagles of course had a bye weekend this week so on the one Sunday in the past 3 weeks that I had to relax and enjoy the NFL, my favourite team wasn't on the field (further proving I have angered the scheduling gods in some way).

If you're an Eagles fan i think you have to be cautiously excited for the rest of the season. Even with our record being a terrible 2-4, we are a couple of bounces here and there from winning at least 2 more of those games. In just the last 2 losses, the first being against the Niners (This loss makes way more sense 3 weeks later. San Francisco is very good, they have a great defense, great special teams, a sneaky good offense and a coach who prides himself in giving overzealous somewhat douchey but always entertaining post-game handshakes), Philadelphia could have won if rookie kicker Alex Henery had made one of his two very make-able fourth quarter field goals. The second loss against the Bills showed how unlucky Philly has been in the early part of the season. I'm pretty sure one of Vick's interceptions in that game hit every single person in Ralph Wilson stadium before falling into the hands of a Buffalo Bills player (just about).