patfanken

...and other thoughts for this Sunday.

1. First my own: I am now PISSED at the fact the Pats kept Gutierrez a lost that roster spot. Here's why. HE IS NOT THE QB OF THE FUTURE, any more than Matt Cassel is. The fact is that Tom Brady is our QB of the future...and that's a good thing. OUR QB of the future is still playing in college...or HS. Tom Brady is going to be our QB for the next 5 years... AT LEAST, by that time both Matt Cassel and Gutierrez will be playing for OTHER teams since their rookie contracts will have long past elapsed forcing either a trade or release. For that reason, even if Gutierrez was going to be picked up by another team if waived, he was NEVER going to be a significant player here in NE. A guy like Rogers would have been MUCH more likely to play a significant role on a future Pats roster. Personally I think we outsmarted ourselves......unless.....

....Unless the Pats plan on releasing Matt in a week or so AFTER rosters in the rest of the league are more set in stone, and the likelyhood of Guttierez being added to another team's 53 man roster is decidely decreased. THEN the Pats can make that call to Dante Wesley to get his butt back to the team. In fact I'm willing to bet that when the cut him they told him not to pack his bag or get out of his lease. Just a thought.

2. The Pats are obviously the flavor of the month in the NFL so far. They are the media darlings for good or ill, the focal point of discussions. AND when that is the case you seem to get people either OVERLY trying to tear you down, or build you up.

So within a week the Pats have gone from "team invincible", to that team with a lot of holes. Randy Moss has gone from the guy that put us over the top, to the guy who might get cut. Rodney Harrison has gone from respected leader and character guy, to a performance enhancing cheat. THe Pats DL has gone from the best in the league to one with is sizable hole in it.

So what are we all to make of it. Well first we should enjoy the attention, and then...take it with a grain of salt. There is only ONE indespensible player on the Pats and he's just doing fine (AND the only reason we say he indispensible is because we have never had to play without him. Who knows what we'd find out if it really happened).

As Pat fans we should know that the loss of a good player(s) hurts, but is mitigated by the team as a whole. This team can absorb the loss of a lot of players and still be capable of beating ANY team they face. Think about it, despite the losses of Harrison and Seymour, this Sunday the Pats will have more and better players available than at ANY time last season.

I choose to think that we are capable of going 5-1 over the next 6 games an when that happens we will have a fresher and healther Seymour and Harrison for the stretch run. In fact ANYTHING 4-2 or better means the Pats would have survived the toughest stretch of their schedule and would look forward to a much better team for the last 2 thirds of the season.

3. This Harrison supsension has gotten me thinking. Its not that I'm complaining about the suspention. A rule is a rule. I'm just thinking about the bigger picture. I'm wonder why using HGH to promote healing is any different than using electronic stimulus or cortizone shots.

Now I'm against the use of drugs that would artificially improve a players speed or strength, but in Rodney's instance, I'm led to believe that wasn't the case. So I guess I'm saying...in the future...shouldn't the NFL allow HGH to be used, under a doctor's supervion, as a healing agent (especially in the off season)

Again, this isn't a defense against what happened to Rodney, but rather to initiate a discussion of what constitutes cheating. Or in other words, its not just an issue of the drug, but HOW it is being used. And if its not being used to promote an unfair advantage, why not use it.

I am aware that using HGH for healing purposes, might open a bag worms and lead to potential abuse of the rule, but I think its still worth looking into. Again the key is whether its being used artificially to enhance a players abilities, or more specifically increase strength and speed.

Again, just another issue to discuss.

4. Filed under....and just when you think YOU have it bad, the Cimini blow up occurs in NY and you find out that despite all our complaints, we have it pretty good in NE, at least compared to what other fans have to put up with.

BTW- despite his apologies, the guy should be at least suspended for a time and taken off the football beat. From what I can gather on JI, this isn't an isolated incident. He consistantly puts out poorly written, inaccurate columns. He is lazy and clearly doesn't take the time to research things that are put into his column. Quoting BB as bad mouthing an opposing player is so incredibly out of character for Bill, that he should have KNOW it wasn't true. Plus given the fact that it would have taken about 10 minutes to get and read the ACTUAL comments in King's SI story, only confirms the media puke's laziness.

5. I still like our chances next Sunday....a lot. I just don't see how the Jets OL is going to hold out against the Pats DL/LBs, even without Seymour. In the same respect I don't see how the Jets DL will hold out against the Pats OL in 2 areas. I don't see the Jets shutting down our running game, though I think they will do a decent job. The Pats won't run wild over them, rather it will be an effective enough running game to set up the run.

Conversely I just don't see where the Jets pass rush is going to come rom. Aside from Bryon Thomas the Jets don't have another consistant threat. AND we all know, if Tom Brady has enough time, there are too many options out there for him not to have a huge game, even though he's not really going to be in sync with his WRs until December.

The bottom line is that while this won't be a blow out, by any means, if the TO's are relatively even, the Pats should win in a workmanlike manner

6. For those of you who are unduly concerned about the recent mishaps the Pats have endured the last few days, I would ask to recall that the Pats have gone to 4 superbowls after starting 2-3, 0-2, 1-3, and 2-2 (85, 96, 01, 03). This is a team that will get better as the year goes along, and could very well be a juggernaught when December comes around.

PatriotsRiot93

Thanks for the reminder!!

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amazinPats

Another great post from patfanken who tends to think before he posts.

JoeSixPat

1. I'm not going to waste time being concerned about who our 3rd string QB is... last year we didn't even have a 3rd string QB at this time of year. I'll trust BB's talent judgement on this one.

2. I don't worry about what the media thinks - ever... not since I was informed in 2003 that all the Patriots "hated" BB.

3. Rodney cheated - and would have not have admitted a thing had he not been caught. But anyone feeling overly righteous about that should know that likely other Patriots, past and present, as well as numerous guys on other teams are cheating the same way. There's little we can do about it.

4. Having lived through the Hugh Millen, Scott Secules generation of Patriots football, I NEVER take this dynasty for granted.

5. I like our chances to win EVERY week.

6. The only reason I see for concern are Seymour, Harrison, and until they prove it on the field, the continued need for a deep threat. If you told me in the offseason that we'd start the season without Harrison and Seymour for 4 and 6 weeks respectively, I'd have reason for concern.

And until the Pats PROVE they have a deep threat, I expect Defenses are going to continue to stack the line as they did so effectively last season.

Wotan_the_Wanderer

Yes, someone else who gets it. I think HGH suffers from a bad rap because people who abuse steroids often also take HGH, but there are clinical studies out there that state HGH does not increase strength for the user. One gains a modest, almost negligible gain in lean muscle mass, but that gain has no correlation to an increase in strength. One could make the arguement that a HGH user recovers faster and as such can work out longer, harder and more frequently, thus offering an strength and conditioning advantage to the user versus the non-user, but it's really not a performance booster like steroids.

Also, just to rule out any futher flames, I too want to make it clear this is not an excuse for Rodney having broken the existing rule. He broke the rule and the suspension was justified.

Lastly, I posted excerpts of this article in a previous thread a couple days ago. This ESPN article, if nothing else, raises questions and prompts the reader to reexamine the issue outside the realm of polemics.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print...291&type=story

Jimke

The Pats aren't looking for Tom Brady's replacement. They are seeking a possible replacement for Matt Cassel if he walks after next year. I think that it is good judgment to start training someone now instead of wasting another year.

mgteich

If Cassell "walks", we will use the 1st rounder we get to trade for or draft a backup QB.

KoolAidDrinker

I too am optimistic, in spite of the early "turmoil" with Rodney and Richard.

This is a tough schedule especially early on. But I have high hopes that Brady and this vastly more talented receiver corps can get rolling quickly.

As the season progresses, I think this team will be VERY hard to beat.

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Brady'sButtBoy

It is not just a small joy in life to know my team has a chance to beat anyone on any given Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Saturday...you get the picture. But I think having two of our very best defensive players (two of the best in entire NFL) will make it harder to succeed - how could it not?

Rodney's suspension costs us one game, minimum. I sure hope it's not the SD game because losing that game might cost us home field advantage. Sanders will have to play the game of his life for the Pats to survive SD unless TB and Co. go nutty and score 40 points.

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patsox23

As much as some of us would prefer Justin Rogers to be taking the spot that you say Gutierrez took, Ken, that spot was available for Rogers even with Gutierrez on the 53. So I'm not sure that's as direct an either/or hypothetical as your post insinuates or, at least, calls for.