By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Bill Belichick may be a drafting wiz, but he’s had his blunders too. As the yin and yang symbolizes there is always a good with the bad. Last week we gave you the good, this week the bad. So, while the good on the Patriots during Belichick’s rain have outweighed the bad, there were still some bad picks and I’ve identified the five worst. This list will start with the fifth worse pick, and countdown to the one that was just a complete disappointment. Lets hope Belichick does better this year, so next SuperBowl Sunday won’t suck as much.
5. Kevin O’Connell, QB. Drafted: 2008, third round, number 94 overall.
Since drafting Tom Brady the Patriots have selected four other quarterbacks: Rohan Davey, Kliff Kingsbury, Matt Cassell, and O’Connell.
Drafted out of San Diego State, he had the highest draft position out of any quarterback taken by Belichick, and the highest quarterback drafted since Drew Bledsoe was taken first overall in the 1993 draft. He spent one season there, appearing in two games and throwing six passes. Then in the 2009 preseason, after he threw two interceptions in a preseason game he was waived.
Why spend such a high pick [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
New England Patriots fans were faced with a harsh reality at the hands of a crushing defeat to the Baltimore Ravens: their team just wasn’t good enough.
Sure they had their moments of brilliance during the season, but they also frequently looked far from the team that was a three-time Super Bowl champion this decade, or even the team that went 11-5 without Tom Brady playing an entire game.
And please, don’t even try to say that if Wes Welker played that last game he would’ve made a difference between winning and losing.
That’s why this offseason fans should expect a lot of changes in New England.
The glaring weaknesses the Patriots have are on defense. Watching Ray Rice shred through the Pats in the first minute of the AFC Wild Card round should’ve made that fact evident.
The first thing the team needs to take care of is hiring a new defensive coordinator.
Dean Pees, who has held the position the past four years, is stepping down.
Bill Belichick has hired in-house for that position the past two times it was open, so it’s possible that he would do so again. Defensive line coach Pepper Johnson, a ten-year member of [...]

By: Scott Jackson, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
What a long, winding road the Patriots went down this season.  It started off on a high note, with a point comeback against the Bills on Monday Night Football (I was there with fellow YawkeyTalkies writer Dan Massar), and ended in the 33-14 beatdown by Baltimore on Sunday (I wasn’t there, fortunately).
Quarterbacks:
Statistically, this was Tom Brady’s second best season.  He finished with 28 touchdowns, 4398 yards, a 65.7% completion percentage, and 13 interceptions, good for a QB rating of 96.2.  But there was something missing this year, performance in the clutch.  Entering this year, he had 29 fourth-quarter comebacks/game-winning drives in seven seasons (including postseason games).  This season, he had only the aforementioned one against Buffalo.  Granted, seven of the Patriots wins came by more than a touchdown, but Brady seemed to falter a bit in the clutch on the road against Miami, Indianapolis, and Denver.  Or, I’m just spoiled after seeing him engineer two last minute comebacks in the Superbowl in his first three seasons.
My Grade: B
Runningbacks:
A season both good (Laurence Maroney’s nine rushing touchdowns) and bad (his four fumbles, three of which were in the red zone).  Overall, the corps averaged 120 yards [...]

By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
Not that we were THAT worried.
But we can breathe easier knowing this year is better than last. The Patriots clinched the AFC East after absolutely dominating the Jaguars, and earned themselves a spot in playoffs. And it’s looking like they’ll be at a decent seed too.
After weeks of performances that didn’t reach the expectations of Patriots fans, the Pats finally showed up in shoes from season’s past. Brady, throwing as many interceptions as touchdowns lately, threw for four td’s, and Moss, recently criticized for not giving his all on the field, was on the end of three of those, shutting up the media and Carolina defensemen. The Pat’s easily took their clinching victory, beating Jacksonville 35-7.
Sammy Morris and Chris Baker scored the other two, and the Pats picked off two interceptions in the game, one on the Pats five-yard line. The only really awful moment of play was just minutes into the first quarter when Maroney fumbled (his 4th of the year) on Jacksonville’s one-yard line.
Even more exciting today was that the Giants lost to CAROLINA 41-9. Not only did they lose to one of the leagues worst, but they got absolutely slaughtered, and probably lost [...]

By: Scott Jackson, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The Patriots got back to their winning ways against the Panthers. The Pats downed the Cats 20-10, snapping a two game cold streak.
Quarterback:
Not a bad week for Tom Brady. His second son was born, and he got a much needed win. His numbers weren’t bad, throwing for 192 yards and a touchdown, while completing just over half his attempts. Not Joe Montana numbers, but not JaMarcus Russell numbers either.
My Grade: C
Runningbacks:
Great game for the corps. Ran wild over the Cats, for 187 total yards. Kevin Faulk scored the game’s tying touchdown, and Laurence Maroney managed to keep hold of the ball all game. Sammy Morris did fumble, but also did a great job run blocking.
My Grade: A
Receivers/Tight Ends:
Wes Welker grabbed ten passes for 105 yards. At this point his name should start popping up in MVP talk, but it won’t. Randy Moss was nearly shut-out, but that was a result more of Carolina’s scheme than a lack of effort on Moss’s part. The tight ends shined in this one. Ben Watson caught three passes, and made an excellent catch for the go-ahead touchdown. My [...]

By: Scott Jackson, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Times may be tough for the Patriots.  But at least they’re not the Steelers.  The defending champs likely won’t make they playoffs after dropping four straight, including losses to Oakland and Kansas City.  Always look on the bright side of life.
Quarterbacks:
Tom Terrific had two touchdowns and 277 before morphing into Tom Terrible, throwing two interceptions down the stretch.  His stats would’ve been better had Sam Aiken been able to hold onto two deep throws.  But that’s the risk you run when throwing to Sam Aiken.
My grade: C

Running backs:
Laurence Maroney averaged 3.2 yards per attempt on 13 carries.  Designated short yardage back Sammy Morris couldn’t deliver on fourth and one.  As I’ve said on my radio show, the Pats inability to run the ball when teams expect the run (aka New England has the lead and tries to run out the clock) is the team’s Achilles heel (more like Achilles leg it’s so obvious).  So yes, you fantasy owners can gloat when Maroney scores early, but his inneptitude late is costing the team.
My grade:  D
Wide Receivers:
Some good plays from this group early, including a 58 yard score (Moss) and an 81 yard score (Aiken).  Things went [...]

By: Scott Jackson, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
What a poor game for the Patriots.  If you look up the definition on blown-out, you’ll probably see Monday’s game as an example.  The team hadn’t played this bad in the bayou since Super Bowl XX, when the Bears downed the Pats 46-10.
Quarterbacks:
Tom Brady struggled mightily in this one.  Terrible Tom threw two interceptions.  The first was an excusable throw while being flushed from the pocket.  The second was a desperation heave with needing points badly.  On the plus side, Brian Hoyer didn’t look too bad.
My grade: D+

Runningbacks:
Sure. Laurence Maroney scored two touchdowns (clinching a victory in fantasy football for fellow columnist Dan Massar).  But he also coughed up the ball again (though in his defense he forced a fumble to take the ball back).  Sammy Morris was a near non-factor in his return.  Kevin Faulk made some plays in the passing game, as usual.
My grade: C-
Receivers/Tight Ends:
The Saints defensive back corp was whittled down for this one because of injuries.  You wouldn’t have known this watching the game, as Randy Moss and Wes Welker were both effectively covered all game.  It’s never good when Sam Aiken is your leading receiver.  The tight ends were [...]