Mayo Wins Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Jerod Mayo has come a long way since his days playing football at Tennessee, and the New England Patriots linebacker has recently been awarded the recognition he has undoubtedly earned throughout this hectic NFL season. Mayo was chosen as the Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year for this season, and even if his beloved team didn’t make the playoffs this year, the rookie linebacker still has plenty to smile about.

Mayo was selected as Defensive Rookie of the Year in an almost unanimous decision, garnering 49 of 50 votes from the sports writers and broadcasters selecting the top player in the league. This recognition did not come as a surprise, as the linebacker has performed extremely well this season, starting every game and even being named the NFL Rookie of the Month this past October after he led the Patriots with 24 tackles in four games. Mayo came onboard the New England team in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, selected out of Tennessee as the 10th overall draft pick of the year. He is the sixth straight linebacker to win the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

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

Patriots End Regular Season with Win but Out of Playoffs

The New England Patriots soundly thumped the Buffalo Bills 13-0 in Sunday’s Week 17 matchup to end the regular season of the NFL, but even the huge victory was not enough to keep the Pats alive for the playoffs. Under entirely odd circumstances, the Patriots saw their 11-5 season ending short of the playoffs, heading back to Foxborough from Buffalo to regroup and pack up until next year. This season has been quite the rollercoaster of ups and downs for New England ever since Week 1 when star quarterback Tom Brady went down with a knee injury, and Bill Belichick and the Patriots have shown their perseverance more than anything in continuing to be a fighting force in the league despite key players with injuries (such as Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi.)

While the Patriots just barely got beat out of the playoffs by the Miami Dolphins, they could have seen playoff time had they not lost to Indianapolis in a very close 18-15 game or the New York Jets 34-31 in overtime. It seems as if everything happened very marginally and in the blink of an eye for the Patriots this season, and now the team will sit in heavy anticipation in what’s to come next season and whether it will be Tom Brady or Matt Cassel leading the team next year.

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

Patriots-Cardinals Preview

Bounding into the final stretch of the regular season, the 9-5 New England Patriots host the 8-6 Arizona Cardinals this weekend at Foxborough, and this strong New England team will attempt to hold Arizona at an 0-6 record on the East Coast. Although Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner has had a stellar year so far, his team has been lagging lately, leaving the inevitable question of who will win this Sunday’s Patriots-Cardinals matchup.

A look at past New England-Arizona games shows the Patriots winning the last four consecutive games the two teams have played, and this particular matchup is one that is perhaps more crucial for the Patriots to win than the Cardinals. The Pats are still in a full-fledged battle with both the Jets and the Dolphins for the AFC East title, so Matt Cassel and his team will need to perform extremely well to get one step further to the playoffs. Arizona, on the other hand, has already clinched the NFC West title.  When it comes to New England and the playoffs, the Patriots need the Jets and the Dolphins to lose one of their final two games for New England to win the division, while they could also win a wildcard spot if they win two of their final games and Baltimore loses one of its final two. Stay tuned for this end-of-the-regular-season excitement!

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on December 19, 2008 - Post a comment

Hobbs Named Player of the Week

Patriots kick returner Ellis Hobbs had a magnificent game last week against the Oakland Raiders, and the fast-moving all-star has gotten recognition for his crucial plays in Week 15 by being named this week’s AFC Special Teams Player of the Week from the NFL. In the Patriots-Raiders matchup last week, Hobbs had three kickoff returns for 126 yards, averaging 24 yards per return, and he also made a huge play in the second quarter of the game by making a 95-yard return for a touchdown, trumping Oakland’s Justin Miller, who had just seconds before returned a kickoff for a 91-yard touchdown. The kickoff return for a touchdown was Ellis Hobbs’ first of the season and third of his career, putting him in a tie for the franchise record (with Raymond Clayborn.)

Hobbs, in his fourth season in the league, now ranks third in the NFL and second in the AFC with a 28.8-yard kick return average. The Niagara Falls, New York native came straight to the Patriots from Iowa State four years ago, and he has been a crucial part of the Patriots’ special teams this season.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on December 18, 2008 - Post a comment

Welker and Gostkowski Join Pro Bowl Team

The Pro Bowl might be missing Tom Brady in the AFC lineup this year, but the New England Patriots are in no short supply of all-star players fit for this postseason action. Handpicked from the hundreds of phenomenal players in the league, the 2009 Pro Bowl players were announced yesterday, and Patriots Wes Welker and Stephen Gostkowski were the only two players from New England to be welcomed aboard the Pro Bowl team. Wide receiver Welker and kicker Gostkowski will play their first career Pro Bowl game on February 8 in Honolulu at Aloha Stadium, and their selection onto the AFC Pro Bowl team is well-deserved for both.

Welker is the fifth Patriot receiver to earn Pro Bowl honors since the 1970 AFL-NFL merge, joining the ranks of Randy Moss (2007), Troy Brown (2001), Terry Glenn (1999) and Stanley Morgan (1979/80, 2986/87). Gostkowski is the fourth Patriots kicker to earn the same Pro Bowl honors, joining Adam Vinatieri (2002, 2004), Tony Franklin (1986) and John Smith (1980). While both Welker and Gostkowski are undoubtedly deserving of their Pro Bowl honors, the elephant in the room is receiver Randy Moss, who was not chosen as part of the all-star team. Moss’ stats have not been up to par lately, and he will not be joining his teammates Welker and Gostkowski in Hawaii this winter.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on December 17, 2008 - Post a comment

Pro Bowl Possibilities

Ladies and gentlemen, the New England Patriots! The 2008 Pro Bowl selections will be made and announced this afternoon at 4 p.m. on the NFL network, and speculation is abuzz surrounding which players and teams will represent the AFC or NFC in this year’s much-anticipated Pro Bowl game. The New England Patriots have substantially switched up their lineup this year, but many expect to see several Patriots on the AFC Pro Bowl team, anyway.

Last year, the New England Patriots sent eight players to the Pro Bowl, with Tom Brady and Randy Moss both opting out of the game after suffering ankle injuries in the Super Bowl against the New York Giants. Other Patriots Asante Samuel (cornerback), Mike Vrabel (linebacker), Vince Wilfork (nose tackle), Dan Koppen (center), Logan Mankins (guard) and Matt Light (left tackle) all played in the 2008 Pro Bowl, representing the Patriots and the team’s depth. This year, the Patriots might not be so lucky as to have eight players chosen for the Pro Bowl, but the team could still make a strong appearance for the AFC. Wide receivers Randy Moss and Wes Welker are among the top contenders for the Pro Bowl, as are kicker Stephen Gostkowski, nose tackle Vince Wilfork and guard Logan Mankins. Stay tuned to see who makes it to the 2009 Pro Bowl!

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on December 16, 2008 - Post a comment

Patriots Thump Raiders, Keep Playoff Dreams Alive

Matt Cassel led the New England Patriots to yet another monumental win yesterday in Week 14 of the NFL’s regular season, throwing a career-high four touchdowns in helping the Patriots take a 49-26 lead over the Oakland Raiders and take one step closer to the playoffs. Sammy Morris, LaMont Jordan, Randy Moss and Ellis Hobbs were all key players of yesterday’s game, leading New England into a favorable position for the playoffs as they head back East this week.

New England dominated yesterday’s Patriots-Raiders game from the beginning, tacking up 21 first downs in the first half of the game while the Raiders had just five in the same stretch of time. Randy Moss’ two touchdowns added up with one each from Sammy Morris, LaMont Jordan, Wes Welker and Kevin Faulk, but the most remarkable touchdown of the day goes to Ellis Hobbs, who returned a kickoff for 95 yards and a touchdown following the kickoff return for a touchdown by the Raiders’ Justin Miller.

The Patriots’ win over the Raiders keeps New England in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East with the Dolphins and the Jets, who also won their Week 14 games.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on December 15, 2008 - Post a comment

Cassel Likely to Play Sunday

Matt Cassel has thrown for 3,052 yards with 14 touchdowns this season, and the New England quarterback is expected to tack on even more yardage in this Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders, despite losing his father earlier this week. Cassel’s status for Sunday’s matchup in Oakland was questionable all week as the former USC footballer left the team and missed practice Wednesday to be with his family in Los Angeles, making funeral plans for his father.

The Patriots’ quarterback was back in action yesterday after missing a day of practice, rejoining his teammates at San Jose State University, where the team has been holding practices all week. Cassel spent Wednesday with his family making arrangements for his father, whose body was found Tuesday night in a mobile home in San Bernardino. He was 57 years old. The funeral will take place next Tuesday, on New England’s day off practice, in Mission Hills (north of Los Angeles.)

Now that plans are made and the healing process begins, Cassel is likely to play in Sunday’s game against the Raiders, though neither Bill Belichick nor Cassel have made any announcements regarding the quarterback playing in Sunday’s Patriots-Raiders matchup.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on December 12, 2008 - Post a comment

Uncertainty Still Looms for New England

With the death of Matt Cassel’s father Greg looming above Cassel and the New England Patriots, everything has changed in the wake of Sunday’s Patriots-Raiders matchup in Oakland. As Sunday draws closer and closer, uncertainty is still the name of the game as New England tries to draw up a new game plan in case Cassel does not return to the team in time for the game, yet the one thing that is certain is that life goes on, and life is bigger than football.

Matt Cassel is stuck in limbo in a tough position, as this year’s hectic NFL schedule does not leave the quarterback much time for grieving his father’s death, yet if he were to return, Cassel would not be the first NFL quarterback to return to a game in Oakland following the death of a family member. The situation is eerily familiar to the 2003 Green Bay-Oakland game, when Brett Favre bounced back and threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-7 win one day after his father passed away. That 2003 win helped lead the Packers to a division championship, and should Cassel return and play in Sunday’s game, chances are history could repeat itself, this time with the Patriots instead of the Packers. Because Sunday’s game is so important (the Patriots could forfeit a tiebreaker with the Colts or the Ravens for the wild-card race in the playoffs if they lose to the Raiders,) all of New England is holdings its breath as all eyes are once again on Matt Cassel.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on December 11, 2008 - Post a comment

One More Heartbreak for Cassel

The status of Matt Cassel in this week’s West Coast practices is once again iffy, as the New England Patriot and stellar quarterback received less than rosy news yesterday – his father, Hollywood script writer Greg Cassel, passed away this week. The Patriots are in Oakland this week for practices in between last week’s game against Seattle and this week’s game against the Raiders, but Cassel may be taking this West Coast opportunity to spend time with grieving family.

Greg Cassel was a screenwriter-turned-horse trainer, and Matt grew up in California in both Northridge and San Bernardino. His parents divorced when he was 14, and Matt grew up alongside brothers Jack and Justin and sister Amanda. The Patriots had yesterday off practice, and there is currently no word on how this will affect the rest of the week for New England’s newest standout quarterback, but as of now Cassel is expected to play in Sunday’s game against the Raiders. If Cassel is out for this week’s game, QBs Kevin O’Connell or Matt Guitierrez will likely start in his place. Our condolences go out to you, Mr. Cassel.

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Permalink - Posted in Uncategorized on December 10, 2008 - Post a comment


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