Patriots-Colts Preview

The New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts have one of the biggest rivalries of NFL history, and the team’s usual quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are normally at the very head of the competition. This year’s Pats-Colts matchup is strangely different than most years (especially with the loss of Brady,) but that doesn’t mean Sunday’s Week 9 game featuring these two powerhouses will be anything less than exciting.

In a season where records don’t necessarily account for everything, the 5-2 Patriots will take on the 3-4 Colts at Indianapolis’ new Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. At this point in the season, New England is trying to stay atop the AFC East dog pile while Indianapolis just tries to stay alive. In favor of the Colts, safety Bob Sanders will return for Sunday’s game, and running back Joseph Addai could see play time again as well after a two-game hiatus after suffering a hamstring strain. On the other side, the Patriots’ winning record so far boosts the team’s confidence, and now that Matt Cassel has shown consistency and improvement this horse team could be in trouble once again on their home turf. Stay tuned for results from Lucas Oil Stadium!

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 31, 2008 - Post a comment

Close Call for Wilfork

New England Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork has a less-than-stellar reputation in the NFL for playing dirty, and now he’s up at the chopping block once more. Wilfork has been a key defensive player in run-stopping and on the pass defense, but the 6’2”, 325 Pro Bowler sometimes goes overboard in his turf assaults. On Tuesday, Wilfork had to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell concerning an elbow to the head of Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler after Week 7’s matchup of the two teams. The defensive lineman was summoned to the stand after the Broncos claimed that the game tape showed Wilfork making an elbow swing at Cutler’s helmet.

While Wilfork escaped a suspension following the hit, he will likely receive a hefty fine for the action. Part of why the Patriots tackle got in trouble with the NFL following this seemingly-minor infraction is due to his track record, as he racked up a total of $35,000 in fines last season for four different incidents. These include a hit on Buffalo quarterback J.P. Losman and Dallas tight end Jason Witten, and also two incidents with facemasks as Wilfork stuck a finger inside New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs’ facemask in one game during the season, earning yet another fine for grabbing the facemask of San Diego’s Michael Turner. While he’s not denying the penalties last season, Wilfork has been spending this season trying to clean up his image.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 30, 2008 - Post a comment

Rams Claim Patriots Got Break with Penalties Sunday

Was it just that devastating 23-16 loss on Sunday or are the St. Louis Rams always sore losers? From the looks of things, it could be both. Days after losing to the Patriots in Week 8 of the NFL, head coach Jim Haslett and the Rams declared that the referees calling Sunday’s matchup let New England off easy, not calling some penalties that Haslett thought should have been called. After analyzing game tapes, the Rams claim they plan on sending in footage of the game to the NFL office, citing what calls they think should have been enforced on the Patriots’ side.

This state of action came after realizing the Patriots had not been assessed any penalty yards in Sunday’s game while the Rams were penalized 12 times. Among other calls that St. Louis thinks should have gone the other way are a facemask on Rams quarterback Marc Bulger, a late hit on Bulger and an out-of-bounds hit on Rams cornerback Fakhir Brown. While the game is said and done and protesting the calls won’t help turn around St. Louis’ loss, Haslett said he’s still sending in the tape to “let them know you know.”

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 29, 2008 - Post a comment

Patriots Defense on the Rise

With all the NFL’s attention lately on the Patriots offense and especially on Matt Cassel, New England’s defense has seemingly been left out to dry. Sunday’s win against the St. Louis Rams, however, put the spectacular Patriots defense back on the scene as the big D held the Rams to minimal yardage and, ultimately, a 23-16 victory over St. Louis.

New England’s defense abused Rams quarterback Marc Bulger during much of the matchup on Sunday, and leading the pack for the Patriots were the powerful combination of Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, Tedy Bruschi and Adalius Thomas. Warren, a sixth year veteran for the Patriots, got his first sack of the season as he took down Bulger in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, also coming in with four tackles while Thomas added two more sacks and seven tackles. Seymour also sacked Bulger once and had seven tackles, while Bruschi posted up a game-high 11 tackles. At the end of the day, the Patriots D held Bulger to 301 yards, his four sacks accounting for 33 yards in losses. Toughening up, this New England defense showed the Rams they weren’t messing around, and now the Patriots hope to take this attitude straight to the Lucas Oil Stadium where the team will take on Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 28, 2008 - Post a comment

Patriots Take Fourth-Quarter Win over Rams

The well was running dry for New England and their injured group of running backs in yesterday’s Week 8 matchup against the St. Louis Rams, but even with three benched RBs the Patriots managed to maneuver around the Rams, managing a 23-16 win over St. Louis after a fourth-quarter boost. Kevin Faulk sealed the deal in Sunday’s Pats-Rams game, catching a 15-yard touchdown pass from Matt Cassel while securing a win with 3:13 left in the game, and Deltha O’Neal aggravated the Rams’ chance at a comeback by intercepting a St. Louis pass with 1:08 remaining in the game.

The Patriots were on fire yesterday and brought some of that New England pride back into Gillette Stadium, increasing the team’s record to 5-2 on the season with the win over St. Louis. Matt Cassel once again showed signs of improvement, finishing 21-of-33 passing for 267 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Faulk was a key player in yesterday’s game, also, as were Randy Moss and BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who all added to the Patriots’ strong performance against the Rams. The Patriots ultimately sent the Rams packing after O’Neal’s interception, looking to Week 9 as the Patriots take on the struggling Indianapolis Colts next week.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 27, 2008 - Post a comment

Patriots-Rams Preview

The increasingly-injured New England Patriots (4-2) will take on the revitalized St. Louis Rams (2-4) in a completely unpredictable Week 8 game of the NFL this week, and this matchup has already promised to be anything but boring. The Rams were off to a slow season at first this year, starting off 0-4 until then-head coach Scott Linehan was fired before the bye week, leaving St. Louis to hire Jim Haslett to take his place. Under Haslett, the Rams have turned around their losing streak, picking up steam and unexpectedly beating two of the NFC East’s strongest teams (Washington and Dallas.)

The Patriots, on the other hand, have had a season full of ups and downs, but last week’s impressive victory over Denver showed that Matt Cassel does have what it takes to be a contending NFL quarterback. New England’s win over Denver sent the message loud and clear to the rest of the NFL that the Patriots aren’t going down without a fight, and along with superstars Sammy Morris and Randy Moss, this New England team is still the AFC team to beat.

Last time they met (in 2004,) the Patriots beat the Rams 40-22. Will the Patriots repeat their victorious performance? Stay tuned to find out!

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 24, 2008 - Post a comment

Infected Knee Injuries Becoming an NFL Fad

Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy acknowledged last week that his star quarterback Peyton Manning had a second surgery more than two months ago following his original left knee surgery to fix an infected bursa sac. This summer, Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver Joe Jurevicius also had a second procedure to clean out his knee after surgery. Now, seemingly following in suit, New England quarterback Tom Brady confirmed on his official website this week that he recently underwent a second surgery to rid of an infection that developed in his knee after his original surgery on October 6. Brady made a statement on his website that said, “We were proactive with the infection and the doctors went in for a second procedure this past Wednesday to clean and to test the wound. The results of the tests have all been positive and we are very thankful. I am excited to begin rehabbing my knee and will continue preparing for 2009.”

Seeing how Manning and Jurevicius have bounced back from their double surgeries, Brady’s second operation seems to be less serious than it sounds. The Patriots’ standout quarterback is expected to be back and in full recovery for next season.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 23, 2008 - Post a comment

Possibly the End of Rodney Harrison

Despite an overwhelming victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday, it was a sad day on the field at Gillette Stadium for Rodney Harrison fans who sat and watched the 15-year veteran point to his teammates and wave to the crowd in one grandiose exit as he got carted off the field after the last play of the third quarter. The two-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion left the game with a disappointing thigh injury after tearing the quadriceps muscle when chasing Denver quarterback Jay Cutler, and his assessment on the injury isn’t what the Patriots hoped for.

Though coach Bill Belichick gave no updates on his injury in a conference yesterday, he said after Sunday’s game that Harrison’s injury didn’t look great. The 35-year-old safety Rodney Harrison is in the last year of his contract with New England, and this thigh injury may very well be the career ender to his football years. This thigh injury is certainly devastating but not so surprising. Last season, Harrison was placed on the team’s injury report with a thigh problem before the Patriots’ playoff games, and although he played in both the AFC championship game and the Super Bowl, the aggravated injury left him questionable for both games.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 22, 2008 - Post a comment

Patriots Stomp Broncos

Judging from the way Matt Cassel was playing last night, no one could have guessed that newspaper articles last week suggested the New England Patriots find a new quarterback. Haters got silenced as Cassel’s confidence grew yesterday, coming out of the Monday Night Football game after going 18-of-24 passing for 185 yards and three touchdowns. New England was back on its A game last night, soundly thumping a grieving Denver team 41-7 at Gillette Stadium.

Cassel played the best game of his career last night, but he wasn’t the only standout on the New England offense. Running back Sammy Morris posted up 138 yards running (a career high) and one touchdown before leaving with an injury, and No. 81 (wide receiver Randy Moss) led the receiving end with two touchdown receptions. The Patriots’ defense didn’t look too shabby, either, as safeties Brandon Meriweather and James Sanders combined with the rest of the mighty New England defense to pick five takeaways off the Broncos in yesterday’s game, abusing Denver QB Jay Cutler on their way to a decisive victory. Denver’s five turnovers cost them immensely (especially compared to New England’s zero,) and the Pats-Broncos matchup ultimately resulted in a giant boost of confidence for Patriots.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 21, 2008 - Post a comment

Pats-Broncos Preview

The 3-2 Patriots face the 4-2 Broncos tonight in some of that exciting Monday night football action, and New England is ready to move on past the woes of Qualcomm Stadium, where they suffered a 30-10 loss against San Diego last week. Returning to Gillette Stadium to take on the Denver Broncos, the Patriots are fired up for this Week 7 matchup, and they’ve got a lot of ground to make up for.

Statistically speaking, the Broncos have won 16 of the last 19 games played against the Patriots (including playoff games), with a 9-3 record under coach Mike Shanahan. The teams are more evenly matched this year than in many years in the past, however, and the Patriots are out to seek revenge for their last Pats-Broncos meeting in 2006, when Javon Walker’s two touchdowns led the Broncos to a 17-7 win over the Patriots.

Some wildcards in tonight’s game include the unsure status of Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley, who suffered his 10th career concussion last week and has yet to be cleared for this evening’s game. Also, Denver running back Selvin Young has been nursing a groin injury and therefore diverting attention and playing time to Michael Pittman, who is likely to start again tonight. Stay tuned for results!

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on October 20, 2008 - Post a comment


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