The Daily Blog 9/19
The Patriots were certainly brilliant on Sunday night, but they did something that has finally set them apart from recent years. They put the dagger in the heart of a team that was showing signs of potentially getting back into the game.
In the final quarter of play New England held the ball for over 10-minutes, marching 91-yards on 15 plays, with the knockout blow coming as they punched it in on San Diego to put them back up by 24 points. At that point there were under four minutes left in the game, and the Chargers were demoralized.
Needless to say, game over.
They say the good teams take care of business against what are supposed to be “weaker teams”. After beating a very good Chargers team, the big test will be whether or not they can continue their dominance over a Buffalo Bills team that was at the wrong end in time of possession, losing 26-3 to the Steelers on Sunday. Granted nearly half of that point total came after the Bills defense held the Steelers to four field goals in the first half, but the more interesting point was the fact Pittsburgh held the ball for over 20-minutes in the first two quarters. It carried over into the second half where they were scored on during two out of the first three possessions in the second half, and spent nearly 40 minutes of the game on the field.
“The first half was brutal,” defensive end Chris Kelsay told the Buffalo News. “We all played hard, but I think we had a lot of guys who were tired. A lot of that was we were on the field for so long. You’re going to have games like that, but that’s when you really have to step it up, pick up your play and get the offense the ball back because really if [opposing offenses] have the ball it’s our job to get it back to our offense. We didn’t do a very good job of that.”
They were tired, and it definitely showed when they couldn’t get off the field on third down. Pittsburgh converted 11 of 16 of those opportunities, and punted just once the entire game.
If you’re a Patriots fan you have to like their chances, although you could also consider this a “trap game”. It will be interesting to see if they don’t “play down” to their level of competition and take control early on. I have to believe that this team is at a different level than we’ve ever seen them at. Let’s be honest, anything less than a big victory over a Bills team, whose offense is woefully atrocious, would be a disappointment. You would have to think after watching the way New England’s offense played against the Chargers, it appears that Buffalo’s defense may be in for another tough time this weekend.
To make matters worse for Buffalo, they haven’t exactly gotten much out of their offense. The word in Buffalo is that quarterback J.P. Losman and the rest of the Bills offense hasn’t been too thrilled offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild, accusing him of being “too conservative”. But so far the media in Buffalo is putting the blame squarely on the shoulders of Losman, who has reportedly been erratic and also has yet to throw a touchdown pass this season. There are also some that feel his performance against the Patriots could also fuel controversy for backup Trent Edwards. A big surprise…another QB controversy in Buffalo.
Needless to say Sunday’s game will have it’s own intrigue. I guess the more important point is that it’s nice to finally be able to start focusing on football again.
Random Thought
Diet Pepsi Max Is Pretty Good
I tried Diet Pepsi Max Saturday night while I was working a midnight shift at work. It was pretty good and did the trick, and didn’t taste that much different than regular diet pepsi. I have to say I kind of laughed the first time I saw the commercial for it. Romo’s reaction after Wilson gave him the play was pretty funny, although I can’t stand Jerry Jones and think Dallas would be in tough shape if he ever put himself in charge of calling the plays.
It got me to buy it, so whatever.
The Daily Blog 9/13
A shorter entry today, due to the fact it’s been a long couple of days. As a matter of fact, I have to say Sunday’s game against the Jets feels like it was weeks ago.
I’ll admit it, this has been an exhausting couple of days dealing with the fallout of the saga that unfolded surrounding the sign stealing accusations. There’s been no chance to enjoy the victory as a fan and talk about how good Randy Moss and the offense looked, or how good the defense performed. Should you start talking about either one, without fail sooner or later you here the word:
“Cheaters.”
It’s a word that isn’t going to go away anytime soon. Like it or not this incident, regardless of how large or small anyone feels it may be, has become bigger than anyone could have expected. I mean let’s face it, fans can typically find common ground when it comes to their own team, but even now there is quite a divide between fans when the discussion comes to the degree of the severity or the significance of this incident.
I’ve reached the point where my opinion is this: I was a catcher in high school and always had to be aware of a team potentially figuring out what pitches I was calling. The second you see anything that makes you believe the other team is communicating that they’re aware of what’s coming, it was my job to change them up to keep them off balance. It was certainly the prerogative of the runner on base to make the attempt to figure out what I was doing, but it was also my job to be aware of anything suspicious and react.
But let me say this. If I found out that the coaches were calling in the signals to the batter from the dugout because there was a camera in center field watching my fingers to give the batter an advantage, I’d have been pretty angry. There are those who may wonder how big of an effect it would have or how big of an advantage it really would be. But think about it, all it takes is one pitch, a batter knowing a fastball was coming in, even to just get a single to get on base. So what if the guy who drove him in didn’t know the signs because I changed it up? If we lose 2-1, it would prove that it’s not how many times it gave them an edge, it’s about the one time it did make a difference. That’s what makes it wrong.
I’ll be honest, I don’t care if my coach decided to do it against our opponents. It would still aggravate me if I got beat because of a tactic that was against the rules. Your time in sports is short, and you may only get a few seasons to play. In the pros it’s sometimes just a matter of games for some players. But losing for any other reason other than being outplayed is one that most people would have a tough time dealing with.
Doing anything that is obviously illegal, while calling it a “misinterpretation of the rules”, is just wrong. I’m not going to be one who calls for Belichick’s head, or harps on this issue searching for an apology that’s never going to come. We know that Bill “is who he is”. We know that we’re not going to hear much of anything from him after the statement comes following whatever punishment the team receives. He’s obviously a proven winner, but now there will always be someone who wonders if those wins came for the wrong reason. Unfortunately he’s put the team, the organization, and its fans in a new situation of being looked down upon from every single opposing football team and their fans. They went from one of the classiest organizations in football, to one that will be scrutinized for years to come because of this.
Don’t kid yourselves. Wait until you see every road game this year. It’s going to be ugly, and good luck to Patriots fans heading off for a road game to watch their team. You’re probably going to need it.
As for the penalty, this is going to be interesting because according to all reports commissioner Roger Goodell is going to be looking to set a precedent for an incident that we really haven’t seen before, and he’s obviously getting pressure from the rest of the teams in the league to come down hard on this football team. Let’s face it, breaking the law off the field is one thing, we’ve obviously seen that in the NFL before and we’re familiar with how those incidents are handled. But breaking rules on the field for a form of cheating is something we aren’t familiar with. Yes, I’m aware that no official ruling has been made yet, but we all know one is coming. Most reports are saying that the decision may come on Friday when the Patriots are apparently supposed to present their side of the story. I guess my feeling is that it’s just really too bad that this incident has made it where that date has really become the more significant day of this week instead of the upcoming football game.
Needless to say like most fans I’ll be glad when this is no longer the main topic of discussion. And it can’t happen soon enough.
SITE NEWS: They’re Piling Up
Registrations as I said in yesterday’s entry have been restricted and require moderation approval. Fans from other teams who are obviously looking to cause trouble based on their usernames continue to come in fast and furious. I guess unless myself and the moderators decide that we need more pain and aggravation in our lives, here are a few new usernames that will be sitting and “awaiting” approval: Pats_Cheat, arrogance, and belicheat.
The Daily Blog 9/12
Things are continuing to heat up as the New England Patriots find themselves in the center of the national spotlight after a source told ESPN that the the League is saying that the Patriots violated the rules following their review of the tape from the camera confiscated during Sunday’s win over the New York Jets.
This is turning into quite a fiasco, and is only set to get uglier. According to the NFL Network’s Adam Schefter, Patriots coach Bill Belichick will likely be summoned to the league office very soon to meet with commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss the matter. Schefter said Tuesday night that the meeting will occur “sooner rather than later”. According to the ESPN report the league is also reviewing a possible violation into the number of radio frequencies the Patriots were using during Sunday’s game. They also reportedly did not have a satisfactory explanation when they were questioned about possible irregularities in their communication setup during the game.
With all this evidence mounting against them the bad news seems to be from all accounts that Goodell may be looking to make an example out of the Patriots, and discourage what many feel is a practice league-wide of teams doing similar things to obtain a competitive advantage. Unfortunately for New England they just seem to be the first to get caught, and it looks like they will be the ones who suffer the consequences, while the rest of the teams quietly end whatever tactics they were doing.
Now everyone hates a winner if your team isn’t one, and according to Schefter the reactions from around the league are pretty ugly. Teams are now looking back at previous contests, and there are apparently many other “smoking guns” to back up these allegations. There is also reportedly a sentiment that depending on how long this has been going on, the Patriots’ actions may have cost teams games, which could have cost them division championships or playoff appearances, which have ultimately cost people jobs. Needless to say it appears there are plenty of other coaches lining up to make their case against Belichick and company.
Schefter also reported that the penalty may now include fines, loss of draft picks, and suspensions, and possibly even all three together. This is Goodell’s chance to make a name in his brief tenure as commissioner, and the sentiment now seems to be that the punishments announced in the coming days may be pretty ugly. Needless to say it will likely be a while before this one goes away.
GOOD NEWS FROM BUFFALO
Throughout all the turmoil on TV and radio in New England it was nice to get some good news Tuesday night after ESPN reported that Buffalo Bills special teamer Kevin Everett may walk again. Everett reportedly suffered a “catastrophic” spinal injury while making a tackle against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, with the initial prognosis looking very bleak. Now things are looking up, and our best wishes go out to Everett and his family.
SITE INFO – FALLOUT FROM “CAMERAGATE”
It will be a short blog entry as Tuesday was a long day for myself and our terrific moderators. All of us spent most of the day dealing with the influx of fans coming in from other messageboards to obviously voice their pleasure in seeing this whole debacle unfold. We removed over 30 problem posters, well over 100 individual posts, merged approximately 30 or so threads, and hit record traffic numbers on the day. There were over 1600 people viewing the forum this evening, and we also ended up having also temporarily restricted new registrations. All new applications will require a screening by me before being activated, so please be patient or contact me by using the contact form located on the front page of PatsFans.com
I’ll leave you with this: Three members waiting to be approved are “SignalThief”, “Tom-Gaydeee”, and “C_H_E_A_T_S”. I don’t think you’ll see them in the forum anytime soon.
The Daily Blog 9/11
There never seems to be a shortage of drama these days in Foxboro, and if having Rodney Harrison suspended recently for admitting to using a banned substance (HGH) wasn’t bad enough, the team is apparently potentially being investigated again for “cheating”.
In what is a developing story, the New England Patriots are reportedly being investigated for stealing signs by using a sideline camera, recording the signs as they were being sent in by the New York Jets’ defensive coordinators. While this accusation has been made before, this time it appears to be gaining some legitimacy.
According to published reports a man who was said that a Patriots employee was escorted off the field on Sunday, with NFL security confiscating his video camera and its tape. Chris Mortenson of ESPN also reported that this is the same employee who was taken off the field during a Nov. 19th matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau field which was apparently a similar incident last season.
The camera and that tape are now on their way to the league office to be reviewed by the competition committee.
This is something that would defy logic, considering how intelligent head coach Bill Belichick has always appeared to be. The first thing I did after reading this was to look for reports of it happening prior to last season, preferably around the time during which Mangini was still part of the Patriots coaching staff. I would have thought that Belichick would have known a former coach may have obviously been aware of this practice, since you would assume this information would have been shared with coaches so that they could use this information. Upon looking further John Tomase of the Boston Herald pointed out that last year former wide receivers coach Brian Daboll (now with the Jets as a QB’s coach) was on staff.
I mean come on, Belichick is a smart guy. It would be tough to believe he would have done it without realizing he’d get ratted out. But his reaction on WEEI Monday afternoon raised an eyebrow with me. Said Belichick, “It’s a league thing. Whatever the deal is, which I don’t even know the details of it, a lot of it, we’ll comply [with the league].” I would think that if this accusation held no merit, he would have vehemently denied it, which makes you wonder if it is indeed true.
Most of the television “experts” seem to be laughing it off, saying that even if it’s true it’s probably didn’t give them that much of an advantage. Many laugh at the possibility of “espionage”, rolling their eyes and downplaying such an incident. However, should New England be found guilty, it could involve a stiff penalty from the league which reportedly could include the loss of a draft pick. While that would be a tough penalty, having to deal with the fallout of another controversial incident involving some form of cheating would be a difficult pill to swallow as a fan. The next couple of days will be interesting, and here’s hoping there’s nothing on that tape to confirm these allegations.
JETS FANS HAVE NO CLASS
After running this site as long as we have, we’ve obviously gotten pretty use to seeing the amount of idiots from other teams who tend to darken the doorstep of our messageboard from time to time. Typically this trend is the minority and not the majority, but Sunday’s travesty against Chad Pennington just made me lose complete respect for Jets fans. While trying to get his team back into the game, Pennington hobbled off the field after injuring his ankle against New England. We then watched the entire Jets faithful cheer Kellen Clemens onto the field.
I just shook my head.
How they can do that to a guy who came right back in on the next series and led his team to a scoring drive, not to mention the fact that he threw two touchdown passes and misfired on only 5 attempts on Sunday, just defies logic. Any intelligent fan could see that it was New York’s defense that cost them the game, not Pennington. Apparently either everyone in that stadium was a Patriots fan cheering the fact Pennington got knocked out, or they’re all complete idiots. I’m going with the latter.
MONDAY NIGHT OBSERVATION
I watched the last few minutes of the match-up between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens Monday night, and I have to say that it’s amazing how quickly a potential QB controversy can begin and end in a matter of minutes.
While apparently suffering a groin injury during the team’s last offensive series, Ravens quarterback Steve McNair took himself out with his team down 27-20 with less than four minutes left in the game. Kyle Boller came in to try and finish out the contest, and watched victory along with a potential to earn a case to start evaporate in a matter of minutes.
It all started when Boller marched them down the field and threw a touchdown pass on 4th down to Todd Heap in the back of the endzone which would have tied the game. Unfortunately it was called back on an offensive pass interference penalty. Replays showed that the call was obviously wrong and if anything it was a defensive pass interference penalty. Nevertheless the penalty obviously stood.
After being backed up 10-yards Boller attempted yet another pass, and this time defensive pass intereference was called, giving them 1st and goal at the 6-yard line. But two plays later Boller was intercepted after calling on Heap again, but the tight end couldn’t hold on and it ended up in the hands of the Bengals defense.
From hero back to zero in a matter of minutes….pretty unreal.
SITE NEWS – GROGAN’S GRADE; CHRISTOPHER PRICE’S BLOG
Former Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan is back for yet another season with “Grogan’s Grade”, a weekly feature breaking down each contest. The first one for this season ran this morning, breaking down Sunday’s win over New York. If you haven’t seen it, make sure you check it out.
The same goes for Christopher Price, who has graciously joined us again this season with a blog here at PatsFans.com. Price continues to provide terrific insight and information from inside Gillette Stadium, and we’re excited to have him with us. His blog is a must read for Patriots fans and something you should add to your daily list of things to check out.