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We believe that Bill Belichick is a genius and Tom Brady is his prophet. We believe in team over self and results over stats. We believe you can blame your lack of execution on a video camera if it helps you sleep better at night. We believe there is no shame in 18-1, only pride. We are Patriots fans. We are Foxboro Blog.
Schedule
Record: 10-7
Regular Season
9/14 vs. BUF - W 25-24
9/20 @ NYJ - L 9-16
9/27 vs. ATL - W 26-10
10/4 vs. BAL - W 27-21
10/11 @ DEN - L 17-20 OT
10/18 vs. TEN - W 59-0
10/25 @ TB - W 35-7
11/8 vs. MIA - W 27-17
11/15 @ IND - L 34-35
11/22 vs. NYJ - W 34-14
11/30 @ NO - L 17-38
12/6 @ MIA - L 21-22
12/13 vs. CAR - W 20-10
12/20 @ BUF - W 17-10
12/27 vs. JAX W 35-7
1/3 @ HOU L 34-27
Wild Card Round
1/10 vs. BAL L 14-33
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Foxboro Blog - New England Patriots News and Articles
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Written by Derek Hanson
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Tuesday, 15 December 2009 19:34 |
With five members of last week's Top 12 taking a hit in the loss column this week, there's bound to be some interesting shake-ups in the rankings. However, the top teams are continuing to hold serve week after week, making things pretty stable in the 1-4 slots. What does this mean for the inconsistent Patriots? Well, besides the fact that they're going to be stuck in the middle of the rankings for the rest of the year, it also means that, come January, they're going to be forced to go on the road a face a team that isn't going to self-implode. If the Pats can somehow turn this season around, it won't be because everyone else lied down for them. Unlike last season, whoever takes the Super Bowl this year is going to have to earn it.
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Written by Derek Hanson
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Tuesday, 15 December 2009 02:29 |
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If you write a review of the most boring game of the season a day late, will anybody read it? Maybe not, but I'll write one any way. After all, as mundane as the Patriots victory over Carolina may have been, there was still some interesting subplots that developed. I'll avoid focusing too much on the X's and O's and concentrate more on some of the important themes I noticed during the course of the game.
Game Ball: This one goes to Wes Welker, without question. For a while, I was considering handing the game ball to (gasp!) Laurence Maroney, but then Welker blew the game wide open in the second half en route to his 6th double-digit receiving game of the season. Forget about all the yards and the movement of the chains that Welker created, perhaps his biggest impact on Sunday was the energy that he injected into the game. On a dreary afternoon where neither team appeared interested in winning, Welker provided the jolt of enthusiasm that woke up the indifferent Patriots. For that reason, Welker gets the nod for the game ball. He was instrumental in making sure the Patriots didn't apathetically toss this game away.
Mixing it Up: I mentioned in my game preview that the Patriots needed to get away from their two-man game with Welker and Moss and start allowing the tight ends to be involved. Looks like Bill Belichick has been reading this blog, as Ben Watson had three receptions, including the Pats' only touchdown grab. I also mentioned the importance of establishing a running game. Sure enough, New England's 185 rushing yards was their second highest total of the season, trailing only their 59-0 drubbing of the Titans. When the Patriots are able to keep their opponents off-guard, they're at their most dangerous. If they're going to go anywhere in this post-season, they'll need to employ the strengths of their total offensive package, not just their top two receivers.
At a Loss for Moss: I don't think for a second that Randy Moss "quit" on his team as so many members of the media are implying. Randy certainly had an awful game and was clearly responsible for one turnover (his fumble) and possibly guilty for another (Brady's interception where Moss didn't follow through on his route). Still, to equate a bad performance with quitting is taking a fairly large liberty. Could Randy's lack of preparation from being sent home on Wednesday have played a role in his lack of production on Sunday? That's certainly another way to look at it. However, if you consider Randy's track record as a Patriot, he certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt. Even the best player has a bad day. Nobody said Tom Brady was mailing it in on some of his four-interception games. Moss certainly didn't make me happy on Sunday, but he didn't deserve the chorus of boos that the Foxboro faithful unleashed upon him. Seriously, people. That's just asking for trouble.
Rewind: Last year, at 7-5, the Patriots faced an underwhelming Seahawks team in Week 14. Similar to this season, there was a bit of a logjam atop the AFC East and New England desperately needed to knock off their inferior opponent. The Patriots came out flat and I saw their season begin to slip away as Seattle jumped out to a significant lead. Finally, the Pats turned it on in the second half, and the momentum carried through to the end of the '08 season. By the time Week 17 rolled around, the Patriots looked like legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Unfortunately, as we all know, they never got their shot at the playoffs. This year, if New England can learn to channel the ghosts of seasons past and use this comeback victory over Carolina as a springboard, they will get the shot they were denied last year. I've said all season long that this team has the talent to hoist the Lombardi, if they can just learn to play the right way. Here's hoping that the versatile offense they displayed and the strong second half that they dominated are signs of things to come.
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Written by Derek Hanson
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Friday, 11 December 2009 15:50 |
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The Patriots have lost three of their last four games for the fist time since 2002. The media is having a field day declaring that the team's reign atop the NFL is officially over. Adding fuel to the fire, reports surfaced that Bill Belichick sent four players home for being minutes late to a team meeting on Wednesday, and then one of those players, Adalius Thomas, made some questionable comments to the media about Belichick the next day. Tom Brady, already with an injured shoulder and finger, now has a new injury to his ribs. Before the season started, I viewed this final stretch of New England's regular season as the "boring" part of the schedule. Carolina, @ Buffalo, Jacksonville, @ Houston. I assumed that Miami and New York would be far in the rearview mirror as the Patriots sat with 10 wins or more. Turns out I was wrong. The last four weeks of this 2009 season may be the most compelling of all, unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons.
As mild as the lateness incident with Thomas, Moss, Burgess, and Guyton may be, it's still the most drama to come out of New England's locker room this decade. The fact that it comes on the heels of some brutal losses where the team has either blown large leads or looked completely lost, only adds to the concern that all is not well in New England. The Patriots are notorious for keeping their mouths shut, focusing on the game at hand, and not killing themselves with mistakes in close contests. So far, twelve games into the season, these Patriots appear to be on the path to becoming the very antithesis of what this team used to represent. There's been far to many "me-first" moments, costly errors, and dumb decisions. Based on Tom Brady's take, there's also a fair amount of complacency and work-ethic issues in the locker room. From where I sit, I can't help but wonder if the Patriots have changed from a mindset where every game is a 60 minute battle, to one where they expect to roll over everyone simply because it's the way it was in 2007.
When the Patriots were at their apex, they weren't blowing out teams by 40. They were winning close games by three or less. They fought for every yard, played smart, and seized the moment when opportunities arised. They took advantage of the teams who were playing like this 2009 version, loaded with talent, but completely unfocused and overconfident. These next four games will either destroy this team or bring them together. Things simply can't continue the way they currently are. If there isn't a major change, these trends that have been emerging will come to a ugly head and New England will find itself in the same boat as the fallen Steelers. However, if they decide to follow Belichick's lead - come early, stay late, care just that little bit more - we could see this squad turn into the special team we've all been expecting since the summer.
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Written by Derek Hanson
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Wednesday, 09 December 2009 14:43 |
Well, now's the time for the Patriots to do something that counts. The Colts on Sunday night, the revenge game vs. the Jets, Monday Night Football in New Orleans, and then a trip down to Miami where they can officially capture the division crown. If the Patriots win those four games, believe me, everyone will take notice. Those are the types of games that the 2003 and 2004 Patriots would have won. Those are also the types of critical games that this team lost last year and in 2002 when they failed to make the playoffs. If the Patriots are the pretenders that everyone seems to think they are, they're find a dumb way to lose to Indy or New Orleans, and they'll allow the Jets and the Dolphins to stay alive.
Those words I wrote a mere four weeks ago in my Mid-Season Report sum up the Patriots pretty well, don't they? "Pretenders". I never fell into the trap of thinking that this 2009 version of the team had really anything to do with the ones that captured those Super Bowls earlier in the decade. I knew fully well that Tom Brady, Matt Light, and Kevin Faulk were the only men remaining on the roster who remember toppling the Rams in the Super Dome. The other fifty players have just been living under the protection of that legacy. "The Patriots never blow fourth quarter leads!" "The Patriots are always at their best in the biggest of games!" "The Patriots never lose two games in a row!" Really? Because last time I checked, half the players in the Patriots locker room weren't even around for the Super Bowl against the Giants two years ago, let alone the three New England actually won. "Always" and "Never" don't ring very true when you're dealing with about 25 games worth of material. So, no, I never expected the Patriots to be able to pull off the heroics of Bruschi, and Vrabel, and Seymour, and Harrison, and Willie Mac and stop the Colts four straight times on 1st and Goal from the 1 yard line. What I did expect, however, was that this team wouldn't blow 17 point 4th quarter leads, that they wouldn't embarrass themselves against the best team in the league on Monday Night Football, and that they'd be able to go on the road against an inferior team and clinch the division.
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Written by Derek Hanson
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Tuesday, 08 December 2009 22:40 |
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The Top 12 was supposed to be a celebration of the Patriots' dominance, instead, it's become a weekly reminder that this team just keeps finding new ways to lose. How much longer until the Pats fall off the map completely? I'm thinking loss this week to the Panthers would probably do it. But then again, if that happens, they'll have much, much more to worry about than their standings in my arbitrary NFL rankings. With five of last week's Top 12 losing in Week 13, there's going to be a fair amount of shifting going on, as well as some new faces popping up on our panel. Without further ado, here's the Top 12....
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Written by Derek Hanson
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Sunday, 06 December 2009 19:26 |
 That's pretty much how I looked for the last nine minutes of the Dolphins game. It was nearly psychic, the way I envisioned the Patriots unraveling to throw away their fifth straight road game. I kept telling my wife, "Here we go again!" "What are they doing?" "They're going to blow this one!" Then again, the way this team folded was so eerily similar to their performances against New York, Denver, and Indianapolis, that you would have needed to be blind to not see it coming. I waited a while to gain a level head and cool off before I sat down to write this article. About five minutes after the game would've probably written a tirade for the ages. Instead, I've managed to regain some of my senses, lull myself into comfort with the fact that our final four games are against Carolina, at Buffalo, Jacksonville, and at Houston. On the other hand, Miami has a notably tougher road ahead with at Jacksonville, at Tennessee, Houston, and Pittsburgh. Also, unlike last year, 10-6 should certainly get you a Wild Card slot. The Patriots had already killed their chances at good playoff positioning. This loss just lowered the coffin. Barring a massive meltdown, there will be post-season football for the Patriots. The real question is whether it even matters...
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Written by Derek Hanson
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Saturday, 05 December 2009 18:35 |
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There's nothing better than the weekend after a horrible loss. You can finally get the bad taste out of your mouth, turn the momentum upwards, and find some redemption. One win can can change a whole lot. If the Patriots can find a way to walk out of Miami with a convincing victory, they'll be 8-4, have the division all but wrapped up, and suddenly last week's embarrassment becomes the abberation, not the rule. They can begin to set their sights on playoff positioning as their remaining four more games are against mediocre-at-best teams. They can focus on getting healthy and making adjustments for what's going to be a very difficult playoff run. You give Bill Belichick four solid weeks to prepare, and I like the Patriots' chances. But first, the Patriots need to take care of business in Miami, and if you know New England's history, that's easier said than done.
1st Down: Dynamic Duo. If there's one thing that continues to eat at me following the Saints game, it's not the blown coverages on defense. I feel fairly confident that we won't again see the mental meltdown of Jonathan Wilhite and Brandon Merriweather letting a receiver run past them uncontested. What does give me some pause is the way the Saints were able to shut down both Randy Moss and Wes Welker by a series of double teams. If the Patriots aren't effective on the ground and Miami starts throwing heavy pressure on both Welker and Moss, it's going to be up to New England's 3rd receiver to be able to make plays in single coverage. Can the team rely on Sam Aiken to do this? That's a scary thought.
This is a copy-cat league so you know that Miami will absolutely be deploying some of the Saints schemes. On the flip side, Belichick's had a week to prepare for it and should have a few tricks up his sleeve to exploit it. Football is a game of checks and balances. You only have 11 men on the field at a given time, so if you're throwing four at Wes and Randy, there's going to be holes somewhere. In the air game, it's going to be mostly up to Aiken, but look for Kevin Faulk, Maroney, and Ben Watson to throw some wrinkles into the game plan as well. The Patriots have gotten exteremly one-dimensional over the course of this season. Tomorrow's game could be the one where we finally see a return to the Patriots' patented method of spreading the ball around.
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Written by Derek Hanson
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Wednesday, 02 December 2009 16:41 |
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Another big game for the Patriots, another big disappointment. I've been ragging on the Colts and Vikings for not beating anyone of substance, and it's time to come to grips with the fact that, honestly, the Patriots haven't beaten many good teams either. Sure, Baltimore was scorching hot back in Week 4, and the Falcons were much better in Week 3 than they are now, but by and large, the Patriots have spent their season roughing up the bottom-feeders and getting smacked around by the big boys. Out of the seven teams they've beaten, none hold a record better than 6-5. On the flip side, the combined record of the four opponents they've fallen to, at the time of their defeat, is a staggering 25-0.
Right now the Patriots are an enigma wrapped in a mystery. Here's what we know: they're undefeated in New England and in the original England. They're 0-4 in road games in America. They've played seven of their eleven games against undefeated competition and won three of them. The other four games against teams with at least one loss, were pretty lop-sided victories. I honestly don't know what to make of this team any more. They're shutting teams out 59-0 one week, and getting burned for 75 yard TD passes the next. All I know is that after Monday's pathetic performance, they're due for a tumble in the our rankings.
Click on "Read More" to view this week's edition of our Top 12 Rankings...
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Written by Derek Hanson
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Tuesday, 01 December 2009 15:17 |
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Eight plays for 20 yards or more. Do I need to say anything more than that in this recap?
Probably not. The Patriots' performance last night against New Orleans has to rank among the all-time worst in the Belichick/Brady era. I don't want to fall into the trap of claiming that the event that "just happened" is the most extreme example we've ever seen, but I'm hard pressed to come up with a more embarrassing loss off the top of my head. The Pats got roughed up a few times against San Diego and Indy in 2005 when they had a horrible run of injuries. Those were bad, but again, the team was pretty banged up. Miami's Wildcat game comes to mind as does the turnover-fest later in the year against Pittsburgh. Matt Cassel was was the quarterback of those games, though.
Last night, the Patriots were relatively healthy and the Saints were battered. It was the Patriots who had important playoff positioning on the line. It was the Patriots who desperately needed a validating win on the road. It was the Patriots who had the legendary coach and quarterback. And it was the Patriots who looked like a pathetic bunch of amateurs as the Saints stampeded over them en route to their 11th straight victory. It was a humiliating display to say the least. I don't ever remember Brady getting pulled in the 4th quarter because it was the Patriots who had been blown out. When I saw Brian Hoyer march out of the field, I turned the TV off. I couldn't watch it any longer.
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Written by Greg Ezell
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Monday, 30 November 2009 09:54 |
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For those who don't know me, I am the head writer over at Something's Bruin which is primarily dedicated to the Boston Bruins and various hockey talk. Although my main love is hockey, I grew up watching and playing football (in both high school and college) so when Derek asked me to write a weekly article about football, I jumped all over it. The issue here is, for those that do know me know I am not a Patriots fan.
Actually, I despise the Patriots and I may be the only person in Boston who does. So my idea for this blog is something I like to call "From the eyes of the enemy" where I will write about their upcoming opponent.
Unless you've been living under a rock lately, the Patriots will head down to New Orleans to face the undefeated New Orleans Saints.
From the Eyes of the Enemy
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
The New Orleans Saints come into tonight's match-up against the New England Patriots with a record of 10-0. With that being said, the Saints (especially around these Boston parts) has been largely disrespected because:
1. They play in the NFC
2. People go to the old adage "They haven't beaten anybody".
Well those two points are absolutely terrible. Let's look at the first point:which I feel is always something AFC fans say because they have teams like Indianapolis and New England to rely on.
They play in the NFC
Instead of looking at the NFC as a whole, lets look at the NFC South where the Saints play the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay stinks, so lets throw them out of the window before we move on. Before the season began, many people thought that Carolina and Atlanta would challenge New Orleans for the best team in the NFC South, but New Orleans disposed both of them pretty handedly (35-27 vs Atlanta and 30-20 vs. Carolina, both games at home).
The Saints are 3-0 in the NFC South and still have 3 more games, which they should win. The NFC also has teams like the Minnesota Vikings (10-1), Dallas Cowboys (8-3) and a couple of teams at 7-4 who could take down most AFC teams (Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles).
So lets look at point #2:
People go to the old adage "They haven't beaten anybody".
I always felt that this is the biggest piece of crap line used by fans to justify how one team will beat another. Last season, the Patriots had the easiest strength of schedule with their opponents having a win percentage of .387 and a 99-157 record, however no one ever stated "they haven't beaten anyone" week in and week out of the 2008 season.
In week 6, the Saints welcomed a 5-0 New York Giants team to the Superdome and embarrassed them to the tune of 48-27. The score is not indicative to the type of play that the Saints played against the Giants. It was a pure beat down.
Need more proof?
The Saints welcomed Atlanta in week 8 and the Falcons were 4-2 and a hot team in the NFL. The Saints pounced on Matt Ryan early and torched the Falcons defense for 21 points in the 2nd quarter.
OFFENSE
The Saints have the best offense in the NFL and are in the top 5 in most of the important categories like yards per game (1st), passing yards per game (4th), rushing yards per game (4th) and points per game (1st). The Saints average 5 touchdowns a game!
Everyone knows about Drew Brees (2,746 yards, 22 TDs, 9 INTs) and his receiving corps of Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and Jeremy Shockey (just to name a few), but how many people outside of fantasy footballers know about Pierre Thomas?
Thomas signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent rookie in April of 2007. In 2007, Thomas wasn't able to show what he could do when given a shot, but in 2008 he shined in the Saints backfield, rushing for 625 yards and 9 touchdown on 129 carries. Thomas is an effective runner, especially downhill and has a great compliment of backs in Mike Bell and Reggie Bush (if Bush plays tonight).
The Patriots defense will have a tough time covering all of their receivers, especially speedsters like Henderson and Moore. I think Jeremy Shockey will benefit the most because he can outrun the Patriots' linebackers.
DEFENSE
The New Orleans defense is much improved from last season, though they don't pose the threat that teams like Pittsburgh and Baltimore do. The defense is 15th in total yard allowed, 16th in passing yards allowed, 20th in rushing yards allowed, 15th in sacks but are 2nd in interceptions. The bright spot for the Saints defense is Darren Sharper, who is tied for 2nd in the NFL with interceptions (7), 3 of which he has returned for touchdowns.
Much like the New England defense, the Saints defense will have trouble locking down Randy Moss and Wes Welker, especially because they are two different types of receivers. Welker is a speedy, underneath receiver while Moss can stretch (and will) stretch the field.
For the Saints to disrupt this Patriot offense, they will need to get after Tom Brady, plain and simple. The defense can not sit back in a cover scheme because the Patriot receivers will eat it alive; I've seen it week in and week out. The Saints will have to bring "heat" (blitz) Brady from various spots, linebackers, conerbacks, safetys and disguise the defense well enough that the coverage will provide "coverage sacks".
No team will be able to fully disrupt the Patriots offense (sans New York Jets in week 2), but the Saints will need to contain it.
Look for this one to be a shootout, folks. I hope you enjoyed my first "From the Eyes of the Enemy segment", I promise it will get better as I go along. Next week, look for our next FTEOTE featuring the Miami Dolphins. |
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