By Bill Barnwell, Football Outsiders – special to BSMW Patriots Game Day
Last week’s column, looking at reception-crazy running backs, noted that teams that used “playmaker” running backs who led their teams in both rushing attempts and receptions won fewer games than the average team. Now, this would seemingly make the Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints, [...]

by Scott Benson
The New England Patriots took an utterly convincing step towards the NFL playoffs tonight with a thoroughly dominant 31-7 road win over the upstart Minnesota Vikings.
If the playoffs were seeded today (sorry Bruce) the Patriots would be the AFC’s second seed, behind only the undefeated Indianapolis Colts, and again would possess a [...]

by Scott Benson
I’m just wondering if the Disney Company will manage to squeeze in at least a few plays from scrimmage tonight during the weekly Monday Night Informercial for the company’s diverse line of entertainment products.
*****
Look, I understand that the Minnesota Vikings have gotten their act together faster than anyone expected. I [...]

by Scott Benson
I hate Monday Night Football.
Conceptually, I embrace it. I like that even after 10 or 11 hours of marathon broadcasting every Sunday (who else but the NFL gets away with this?), our football weekend isn’t quiiiiiiiiiiiite over yet – there’s still another game tomorrow night! I find that comforting, in an odd [...]

By Bill Barnwell, Football Outsiders – special to BSMW Patriots Game Day
This week sends the Patriots to the one of this season’s surprise packages in the 4-2 Minnesota Vikings. Well, surprising to me at least — I picked the Vikings as the team most likely to have the 2007 #1 overall selection in the Football [...]

A very good performance by the Patriots last Sunday, overall, in their trip to Buffalo. A look back at the film reveals it wasn’t quite the blowout, at least in the first half, competitively as the score suggests. But, nevertheless, a fine win and one in which the Patriots became more and more in control [...]

by Scott Benson
The New England Patriots today ran their record to a division-leading 5-1 with a 28-3 win over the Buffalo Bills in a game that may have been, as the old cliche goes, closer than the final score would indicate.
Despite the three-score margin of victory, the Patriots spent most of the first three [...]

By Scott Benson
Colts President Bill Polian was all over the news this week.
Probably because was reportedly forced by the NFL to apologize for shoving a Jets functionary in a disagreement earlier this month over loudspeakers (“you kids turn that infernal music DOWN!”), which led everybody to spend the following days reminiscing about what a [...]

by Scott Benson
The bye week is over. Let the games begin.
The Patriots have the next eleven Sundays booked, and they better get busy. Time will soon grow short for NFL playoff hopefuls to declare their intentions.
Will the Pats smooth out their inconsistent offense? Will Troy Brown and His Band of Little Renown coalesce [...]

A look at some national articles that mention the Patriots:
From Jeffri Chadiha on SI.com, in an article on the pressures young quarterbacks face:
The only quarterback I’ve seen who has managed his early success without facing any criticism is New England’s Tom Brady. Granted, he has more hardware in his house than you’ll find in your [...]

by Scott Benson scott@bostonsportsmedia.com
Maybe I’ll go to a renaissance fair.
Maybe I’ll take the kids to an apple orchard, or a corn maze. Quality time with a capital Q!
Maybe I’ll really focus on getting some yard work done. Some raking, some winterizing, some fresh air.
I’m just trying to figure out what I’m going to do [...]

By Bill Barnwell, Football Outsiders – special to BSMW Patriots Game Day
Resuming normal service this week, I’m going to take a look at something Bill Simmons brought up in his column about the struggles of Daunte Culpepper, struggles which led to Culpepper’s benching last week before his game against the Patriots’. In the column, Simmons [...]