By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
In the New England Patriots’ Week 8 showdown against the Minnesota Vikings, all eyes will be on Randy Moss, who makes his return to Gillette Stadium after being traded in Week 5.
Will he want to make his old team regret not giving him a contract extension and trading him? Will he outperform his replacement, Deion Branch? How will the young secondary, who has struggled this season, cover him?
While the Patriots will have to focus on their defense this week, specifically their pass defense, the man they will be most focused on is quarterback Brett Favre.
Yes, Favre has been in a boot all week and everyone has questioned whether he will play. Do you really buy it though? Favre loves the attention, loves having people talking about him and what he’s going to do, so he stirs up the controversy.
Much like his “retirement”, don’t believe Favre won’t be on the field until the whistle has blown and he isn’t in uniform. There is a reason he has a 291 consecutive games played streak (315 including playoffs).
Bill Belichick said the team would plan for Favre playing.
However, while the talk of him playing or not is questionable, what [...]
Who gives a shit? He didn’t do shit last night did he? Does anyone else think this ad sucks ass? I don’t want Lebron James to be anyone, except maybe less of a cocky asshole. Just play, jesus.
By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
After this weekend’s NFL games and a slew of hard hits, the NFL and the media is ablaze.
Thanks to Brandon Meriweather, Dunta Robinson and Jerome Harrison the NFL is changing their policy again. Effective starting this week, offenders of “devastating hits” and “head shots” will be suspended.
Many people have thrown their opinion into the ring, and it seemed liked everyone working at ESPN was brought on television today to talk about it. Many were upset. Matt Millen went on to say, “It’s the game. It’s the way the game is played.”
I’m sorry Mr. Millen, but the way Brandon Meriweather played and how Eric Smith played in 2008 is not how football is meant to be played.
Football is a violent sport, and I love hard hits as much as anyone. And some of the montages of hits ESPN showed on air today, especially during their “Outside the Lines” episode today, were perfectly legal. Just hard-knocks football.
But there were definitely hits that were uncalled for.
The helmet should not be used as a weapon. The head is not a battering ram. To see someone launch himself into an opponent like a torpedo, going head first, is unacceptable, not [...]
By: Dan Podheiser, YawkeyTalkies Assistant Editor
If one win could ever solidify a football team as a contender, the Patriots’ 23-20 overtime victory over the Ravens on Sunday was just that.
New England came back from being down 10 points in the fourth quarter to tie the game and beat Baltimore in extra time. It was a complete team effort, and the defense surprisingly played tremendously late in the game.
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of how the Patriots fared Sunday afternoon.
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady had his worst game of the season with just a 69.5 QB rating. He averaged just 6.6 yards per pass attempt, while completing 61 percent (27-for-44) of his passes. He threw two interceptions, which could have been costly. Brady wasn’t great on Sunday — but hey, the Ravens’ defense isn’t too shabby. I won’t praise “Tom Terrific” for playing poorly just because the Pats won the game, but he didn’t completely throw away his team’s chances; and for that, I won’t knock him too hard.
Grade: B
Runningbacks
You knew the Pats were going to spread the ball around without Randy Moss in the mix — but who knew that meant in the running game, too? Six New England players ran the ball 26 [...]
By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Yes, the most die-hard of New England Patriots fans, over the years, have put their entire trust in Bill Belichick and do not question him.
But they aren’t in the majority.
Last year the Pats got beat down in the first round of the NFL Playoffs by the Baltimore Ravens, leaving many to comment that the dynasty was dead. Many opined that Bill Belichick was a control freak when he took over the defensive coordinator position, along with the offensive coordinator position, rather than hiring people to those spots. And all hell broke loose when Randy Moss, arguably a future Hall of Famer, was traded away for the bargain price of a third-round draft pick.
Belichick must be laughing right now.
Avenge the playoff loss as best as they possibly could? Check. Win without Randy Moss? Check. Win using his preferred style of offense, spreading the ball around? Check.
New England’s 23-20 win over Baltimore has some people trumpeting them as one of the top teams in the NFL.
Deion Branch, the man the Pats traded for after dumping Moss seemingly going back in time in both offensive philosophy and personnel, caught a game-high nine passes for a team-high 98 yards, [...]
By: Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The pain of the Celtics Game 7 loss to the Lakers will never truly go away for Team Green but with the new season right around the corner it’s time to turn the page. For the most part the whole gang is back with a few new characters joining the fray. Shaq is the “Big Shamrock” and Jermaine O’Neal is also in town to shore up the frontline with Kendrick Perkins out for a while with a knee injury. And old friend Delonte West is back for another go around with Boston. The season begins two weeks from tomorrow night so here’s a look at 10 games to watch on the Celtics schedule.
October 26 vs. Miami Heat
Has there even been a more highly anticipated opener? The new look Miami Heat is the story of this NBA season. Can LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh’s bold alignment lead to a dominant championship run? Or will it crash and burn on South Beach? The Celtics are the defending Eastern Conference Champs so they stand in the way of the Heat’s quest. This will be extremely entertaining and a great way to start the 2010-2011 season.
November 5 [...]
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