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 first-class dickhead Polian really is.

Old friend Tom E Curran, former PJ beat man, got the ball rolling with his nbcsports.com column on Friday, in which he reported that the Pats had appealed to the league to ensure the safety of their employees when the Colts come to town on November 5th.

Hoo boy. This was, no doubt, retribution for Polian recently throwing his two cents into the league-wide debate over the condition of the Gillette Stadium turf. As we know, Polian’s got one of those Commissioner Gordon-style phones on his desk - the kind with no keypad or rotary dial - that patches him directly to the NFL’s complaint desk. It’s the first thing he goes for (as opposed to, say, a mirror) anytime one of his poorly-constructed, fatally-flawed teams comes up short.

Which is to say often.

The Pats have other fish to fry over the next two weeks, but Curran and Michael Felger have amusingly set the stage for the next matchup between two of the league’s most bitter rivals. Polian may have one of the league’s least impressive jewelry collections, but in the Land of Miserable Assholes, he is king.

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Looks like the Pats will be a tad thin on the offensive line today, as both Russ Hochstein (knee) and Nick Kaczur (shoulder) will be sidelined. I swear Steve Foley will be back playing again before Kaczur is, and he got shot like thirty times. Making matters worse, Daniel Graham will also be among the missing with his ankle injury. I can’t help but wonder if these aches and pains will prevent the Pats from running the ball with the same effectiveness they displayed in Week One.

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If the Patriots run their record to 5-1 today, they will be off to their second best start under Bill Belichick, trailing only their perfect 6-0 start in 2004.

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The weather is expected to be iffy at best today, with about a 50/50 chance of rain at game time (with chances increasing later). The Bills, as you know, play on a FieldTurf surface - what happens to those rubber pellets when they get wet? Don’t you get improved traction, like with radials?

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It was kind of nice to see the Pats receivers rally behind maligned rookie Chad Jackson in a Herald article this week. Troy Brown, in particular, countered the local media’s notion of an immature, out of control Jackson with this quote:

“He’s a hard-working guy,” Brown said. “He’s always in the weight room or running his routes. He’s trying to do the right thing to take care of his body now. He’s realizing that’s how you stay on the field, by taking care of your body.”

Cbssportsline.com claims Jackson will start alongside Doug Gabriel this afternoon. Don’t ask me how the hell they know.

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Mike Reiss reports this morning that the Pats have worked out secondary swingman Derrick Strait, formerly of the Jets.

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 into a useful tool for Tom Brady? Will the defense remain steady, and continue to force turnovers? Will the secondary tighten the ship? Will the kicking game settle down, or will the Patriots be left kicking themselves?

The time to start answering those questions is now.

Speaking of questions, let’s head to the Row of Chairs and see what our panel has been up to.

Come on, admit it……you were starting to believe those Randy Moss rumors.

Greg: No, I really didn’t. Though in some ways I don’t think Belichick hates Moss as everyone assumes. I mean, the guy was once on a team one missed field goal away from going to a Super Bowl. So how bad could he be for a team? If a Denny Green coached team with Moss can get within a missed field goal, couldn’t a Belichick team get to a Super Bowl and win it with Moss? I bet Belichick thinks so. Still, I don’t think he really fits in at this particular time, its too late to try to make sure he could maybe fit in and his salary doesn’t really fit the bill either. I didn’t believe the rumors.

Bruce: I wouldn’t say I was starting to believe them…but I was intrigued by it all. So many media people said that there was no way that Belichick would have a guy like Moss on his team that I was kind of hoping that they would get him. I can’t even imagine the amount of backpeddling a guy like Pete Sheppard would be doing. Beyond that, just adding a player of his talent would’ve been great to watch and see how he would interact with the guys in the Patriots locker room and if it would’ve had an effect on him.

Scott: Thankfully, no. To me, it was never about what kind of ‘guy’ Moss is; I just couldn’t get beyond the logic that the Pats would draw a hard line on two guys (losing them) and then turn right around and make a mid-season trade for one of the highest paid receivers in the league. A friend said, “well, Branch and Givens aren’t in Moss’s league.” Don’t look now, but neither is Moss, at least lately. Since otherwordly seasons in 02 and 03, Moss has averaged about 55 catches a year, and is on pace to do it again. Not bad, but not elite. And, as one of the most thoughtful Pats observers I know reminded me, Moss is one toke from going over the line. Sweet Jesus. None of this trade chatter made a damn bit of sense.

So what are they going to do with that 53rd roster spot, anyway?

Bruce: Patrick Pass will get it as soon as he is ready to return. That won’t be this week, as Belichick has said already, but I expect it sometime in the next week. They might throw a temp guy in there just to fill it for a week, but eventually I expect that spot to be filled by Pass…if he’s healthy enough to take it.

Scott: I’m with the Tall Man, I maintain that spot has Patrick’s name on it, though the time doesn’t appear to be this week. In the meantime, Russ Hochstein is struggling with a bad knee apparently, and I noticed Billy Yates won the coveted black jersey last week. Maybe Yates gets moved up to fill in for the ailing Russ in Buffalo, while Pass gets ready to begin practicing next week.

Greg: That is a good question. They just let Jonathan Sullivan go, so I suppose Santonio Thomas from the practice squad is a possibility. Eventually, I would imagine it will go to Patrick Pass and he’ll become their main kickoff returner.

We haven’t had a chance to opine on Dan Koppen and his new five year extension. What are your thoughts about the Pats re-signing of the redheaded pivotman?

Scott: Redheaded pivotman? What kind of writing is that? That’s TERRRRRRRRIBLE! What is Benson THINKING!? Anyway, for all the high-visibility turbulence of the off-season, how predictable is it that the Pats choose to quietly spend their money on a position that most of us never even see? In doing so, they’ve locked down - for the foreseeable future - the front line that is most directly responsible for protecting the team’s most valuable resource. I can’t remember the last time the Pats have so adamantly assured themselves of consistentcy and continuity on the offensive line. Wait a minute…..yes I can. Well, all we can do now is hope that Dan and the rest of the boys don’t care for Everclear.

Greg: An excellent signing and fair value. Although Russ Hochstein did a solid job filling in last year when Koppen was injured, it was really noticeable how much better and how good Koppen was when he came back this year. Now they have their line pretty much wrapped up for the next few years and that is excellent for the team’s future.

Bruce: I’m glad its done. Koppen is a big part of the team, and a very good friend to Tom Brady. It kills me that when the deal was announced, media people just assumed that he took less to remain with the Patriots. Then Mike Reiss comes out and posts that the deal puts Koppen in the company of the top paid centers in the league. Guys like Mike Felger grill Koppen about why he didn’t wait until free agency when he likely could’ve gotten more…well, I’m not sure he could’ve done better, and he’s happy here, so it seems to be a win-win for him and the Patriots.

The Patriots are in the midst of dealing with some very painful, and very public, lawn care issues. After the debacle that was the field condition for the Miami game, the League Itself has decreed that the Men of Kraft must get to Home Depot forthwith. One erroneous report said the Pats would install FieldTurf before the end of November, though it was later learned that league rules prohibit teams from changing surfaces in midstream(season). So for now, they’ll resod. In the long term, should the Patriots carry through with their reported plans to install the rubbery rug at the conclusion of the 06 season?

Greg: I would say no. I think the beat up field is condusive to winning teams in the northeast, like the Patriots have done, come playoff time. Yes, the field got a little bit more beat up earlier this year than usual. Probably a combination of factors there. But the short term fix is actually the answer in this case. Just re-sod and lets get on to more important issues.

Bruce: I’d rather just kick out the New England Revolution. I think they’re they real culprits in this. Let them play on the Patriots practice fields…I’m sure the stands there can handle the crowds that the soccer team attracts. I ‘m only half-joking about this. How about not having concerts on the field during the season too? I’d want to keep the natural grass, but if they’re finding they just can’t grow it, then I guess FieldTurf would be the answer. Interesting that a piece from David Pevear later in the week had the FieldTurf guys still making preparations to do a quick install at Gillette…maybe the field is so bad that the NFL grants them special permission to change to a synthetic surface in the middle of the season.

Scott: I’m like anybody else - I don’t want to see the Patriots have the worst anything, much less something as important as the field. But I’ll be damned if I want to see Gillette Stadium become the kind of place where the Indianpolis Colts feel comfortable. I’d be hanging on to that grass like grim death, man. You can’t just sweep frozen grass. The Patriots are of course responsible to ensure the field is playable and safe, but they don’t have to be fanatics about it, if you know what I mean. Why give away an indigenous advantage like that? Bury the hatchet with Dennis Brolin and end this madness. That said, if we end up with a turf toupee, there has to be a way we can use it to screw a Bill Polian-assembled team. There HAS to.

The Big Board O’ Predictions is gettin’ mighty crowded, fellas. Last week was a walk in the park for yours truly, as I posted a 4-1 record on the strength of my all-seeing, all-knowing picks of the Jets and Panthers. Neither of my competitors had the imagination or the courage to make such bold selections. That’s why I’m a suddenly resurgent 22-13 and bearing down on glorious victory. Both Bruce (26-9 overall) and Greg (19-16) lost 3 of 5, which means I’ve got them exactly where I want them. This week, let’s try Detroit at the Jets, Green Bay at Miami, Pittsburgh at Atlanta, Carolina at Cincinnati, San Diego at Kansas City, and Washington at Indianapolis.

Bruce: The Jets should be able to handle the Lions, Can Miami beat Green Bay? It’s at home…I’ll have to take the Dolphins. I think the Steelers should be able to win in Atlanta, I’ll take the Panthers over the Bengals, the Chargers over the Chiefs and the Colts at home.

Scott: I’m sticking with the Jets again, and in Miami, I figure Brett Favre will give the Dolphins all the ammunition they need to beat him. I like Pittsburgh to quiet down Atlanta’s running game and pummel the Falcons defense on the ground. Carolina seems like an obvious pick, coming off a big road win in Baltimore, and with the Bengals still reeling from the asskicking the Patriots laid on them three weeks ago. That’s exactly why I’m picking Cincinnati. You never know. Just like in Kansas City, where the Chargers have lost 5 of their last 6. Do I dare pick the Chiefs? Nah. I’ll take the Chargers, as well as the Colts over Washington, who will react to the loss by signing someone.

Greg: Detroit at the Jets…..could the Jets actually get over .500? I’m gonna say no and Detroit pulls this one off. The Dolphins will win at home in this battle of two awful teams. Pittsburgh will win after getting its act together last week. I’ll take the Bengals to knock off the overrated Panthers at home, San Diego to beat up the Chiefs and Indy to get by Washington, but it’ll be close again.

Tom Brady and the Patriots certainly had their hands full with the Bills on opening day, and that was at home. This week, they have to travel to always-tough Buffalo for their fourth divisional game of the young season. Care to make a wager?

Scott: I don’t care where Takeo Spikes is on the first play of the game, he better be blocked. I’m going to assume they’ve figured a way to account for Buffalo’s front seven this time, and that they can run the ball with the same success they had in Foxboro. The Bills are giving up nearly 120 yards a game on the ground (20th in the league). The Bills offense is 29th, so as long as the Pats don’t turn the ball over, Buffalo won’t score much. I’ll take the Pats to get by the pesky Bills D 20-10 to go to 4-0 in their division.

Greg: I agree with Scott, the Patriots should be able to run the ball. And perhaps get a big day from the tight ends as well against Buffalo’s defense, whose linebackers don’t cover well. I like the Patriots 27-17.

Bruce: These division games are always tough, especially on the road, however the only way I see this being a really tight game is if the Patriots just come into this game totally overlooking the Bills. I don’t see that happening, and look for a fairly easy 28-10 win this week. The Patriots should be able to run the ball, and I don’t see J.P. Losman picking them apart this week.

Last call for Mediot of the Week!

Greg: I think I’ll go a little different route this week and go with a caller to sports radio, mostly WEEI. No he’s not media, but he is broadcast in the media when he calls, so we’ll bend the rules a bit. I’m talking about the illustrious Steve from Fall River. This loser’s act and wrong pronouncements are so ridiculous, ill-informed and miserable, you wonder if he sticks his mother’s cat in the microwave every day. He displays about the same understanding of the salary cap as an elephant does. This guy is a charter member of the get-a-life club, calling 4-5 times a week to repeat the same crap over and over.

This week, I caught him on ‘EEI Sunday morning NFL show. It was his typical rant the Patriots can’t win a Super Bowl without Ty Law and the others who’ve left (no mention of the fact they DID win one without Ty Law when he was injured for 3/4ths of the season in 2004). Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli don’t know jack compared to this clown from Fall River, to hear him tell it.

So he goes on this rant about how is Kansas City 4th in defense and Ty Law is the difference and they should have signed him, yada yada yada. He kept asking, how did Kansas City improve to 4th….higher than the Pats? Kept calling the AFC East the Adams Division as if the Cincinnati win and holding them to 13 points was nothing. The same Cincinnati that had scored 23 on Kansas City WITH Ty Law.

So, what happens a mere few hours later? Kansas City gives up 45 to the struggling Steelers, including allowing them to complete 17 of 20 and throw for 244 yards. All with the struggling Ben Roethlisberger, who hadn’t thrown a TD pass all year before the game. And Ty Law? Toasted like a turnstyle all day.

I wonder if he’ll bring that up in his next call?

Bruce: Let’s go with the nags that suggested immediately that Koppen had taken a “below market” deal when he re-signed with the team last week. I guess we need to know what their definition of “market” deal is. Is it “a dollar higher than what the most out there potentially would be?” or is it “an average of the top x number of contracts at that position?” Apparently for some, a market deal seems to be the former…where it is the highest possible amount potentially out there that someone might be willing to pay. I think in reality, the definition should be more along the lines of the latter, which is certain what Koppen got, and which makes the questioner an idiot.

Scott: The whole NESN team, for reporting for at least a few days that the Pats were going to install FieldTurf in a matter of minutes. Turns out if they’d asked the league, they’d have quickly found out that no matter what their ’sources’ were telling them, it couldn’t happen. I thought that’s what reporters were supposed to do - ask.

Food for thought from reader Dan.

We get letters - and sometimes, they’re not nasty. I liked this one, from longtime reader Dan.

“I saw something interesting in Belichick’s press conference today.

Maybe what I’m seeing is just coincidence or maybe I’m forgetting some over-the-middle stuff to Caldwell. It just seemed like a plausible reason why we’re seeing a lot of outside routes. And also why we’re seeing Brady throw it into the sidelines or into the dirt.”

Bill Simmons wishes he had such erudite, attentive readers. It’s good for him that he doesn’t. They’d eat him alive.

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 local Home Depot, but he has also managed his career in a way that young quarterbacks should emulate. He hasn’t written any books. He didn’t do many endorsements early in his career, Even his current ads downplay his personality. Brady has carefully manipulated his image so that it doesn’t conflict with his team’s perception of him. Today he’s as close to being “one of the guys” as a rich, handsome, three-time Super Bowl champion with a hot actress girlfriend can be.

From Sports Illustrated, Lisa Altobelli has a “First Person” look at Rodney Harrison.

On his Super Bowl XXXVIII win and the photo of him under a hail of confetti with his arm in a sling:

I had it blown up, and it’s hanging in my basement. Tears are flowing down my face, and my arm is broken: It signifies my career and life. There was so much pain and hard work. I remember days [growing up] it was 100 degrees. I would be running up and down the street in the neighborhood, and people would laugh at me, saying, ‘Are you crazy? You’re not going anywhere.’ That motivated me. You’re not going to outwork me. You may be faster, you may be bigger, you may be stronger, but you won’t outwork me. And I’m not afraid. I don’t care if you’re 6′6″ and 300 pounds, I’m going to try to make you pay.

From Vic Carucci’s Tuesday Huddle on NFL.com:

– I never saw how the New England Patriots would be a good fit for Randy Moss, if they had ever pulled off the much-speculated trade with the Raiders for his services. Yes, the Patriots need a receiver and Moss is talented, but his poor attitude simply doesn’t seem to have a place on a team built with players who don’t bring the divisiveness that Moss brings. Bill Belichick is a great coach, but I don’t think even he could get Moss to buy into his team-first approach.

From Pete Prisco’s Blog Quick Hits:

The New England Patriots amaze me at how they constantly plug in guys to their offensive line and never seem to miss a beat.

This season they have tackle Ryan O’Callaghan starting at right tackle and the line has played well.

A year ago, they started rookie Logan Mankins at left guard all season and also started rookie tackle Nick Kazcur at times. They also played most of the season without starting center Dan Koppn, yet still won the division and won a playoff game.

Why are they able to do this? Line coach Dante Scarnecchia is one of the best in the NFL.

“Dante gets guys ready to play,” Koppen said. “He’s not afraid to put the young guys out there and just let them play.”

O’Callaghan, a second-round pick from Cal, has been a pleasant surprise. He’s done a good job in the run game and in pass protection.

No matter who the Patriots seem to put in the lineup, they always have a good line. They lose players like Damien Woody, Joe Andruzzi and others, yet they keep playing well.

It’s time Dante Scarnecchia gets the due he deserves as a great line coach.

From John Clayton on ESPN.com:

Nothing doing on Moss, Porter fronts: The chances of Raiders receivers Randy Moss or Jerry Porter being traded to the Patriots were a longshot at best. The Patriots weren’t really interested in Porter, and his suspension due to insubordination in practice last week scared off a lot of teams that might have been interested. Moss was another story. There really wasn’t much talking going on between the two teams. Oakland was in a tough spot. If the Raiders received a first-round pick for Moss, they would be perceived to be taking a discount. It would be hard for the Patriots to give up the No. 1, so a deal was not imminent.

From Len Pasquarelli’s Tip Sheet on ESPN.com, talking about players eligible to come off the PUP list:

• RB Patrick Pass, New England (toe): The kind of experienced, utilitarian guy you don’t miss until he’s absent, Pass does a little of everything for the Patriots and is a valued veteran. Pass can play fullback or tailback, is a solid pass protector on third down, returns kickoffs and also plays on all of the special teams coverage units. A seventh-year veteran, Pass, 28, has just 1,161 yards total offense from scrimmage, but New England coaches will feel a lot better about their depth when he returns.

From Andrea Kremer’s Blog on NBCSports.com:

On the Raiders Handling of Jerry Porter:

A final thought, mercifully, on the Porter fiasco.

Remember, the Patriots who always find a way to win. Well, when they reached an impasse with Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch, they didn’t make it personal because as one team president told me, when a situation becomes a ’stare down,’ no one wins. You have to make a business decision, not an ‘I’ll show this guy ‘personal one.”

So the Patriots cut their losses and parted with Branch for a hefty number one pick next year — masterful negotiating, although the price Tom Brady “pays” is a whole other story.

Similarly, the Broncos didn’t make it personal with disgruntled receiver Ashley Lelie, (why is it always the receivers?!) rather they shipped him off to Atlanta in a three team deal.
That’s why the Patriots and Broncos, and not the Raiders, are winners on the field and in the front office.

Power Rankings:

Carucci’s Power Poll on NFL.com:

4. New England (4-1; unchanged): Maybe an extra week of practice has allowed the Patriots to improve the timing of their passing game.

Pete Prisco’s Power Rankings on Sportsline.com:

4 Coming out of the bye, they are on cruise control to the AFC East title. They get another chance this week to tighten the grip at Buffalo.

From the ESPN Power Rankings:

6 (7 last week) Patriots 4-1-0 Unless they trade for a WR before the deadline, the Patriots really need rookie Chad Jackson to become more of a contributor.

From Charles Robinson’s Yahoo! Sports Power Rankings:

5. New England Patriots (4-1) – Say goodbye to that awful field at Gillette Stadium now that the Patriots have been told by the NFL to revamp their surface. Field Turf should be in place by December. Coach Bill Belichick should shed a tear because in December and January, that torn up field used to be an advantage.

Dr Z’s Power Rankings on SI.com:

4) New England Patriots (4-1)
Still true to last week’s rankings. Bye week, leisurely relaxing, occasional TV viewing while watching the other poor devils getting the hell knocked out of them. Folks, this will get more interesting, I promise.

Peter Schrager’s Power Rankings on FoxSports.com:

6) (Last week, 7) Before the season, the Miami Dolphins were the chic pick to not only win the AFC East in 2006 — but to win the Super Bowl come January. Six weeks into the season, New England already holds a two-game lead in the division, is riding high after big wins over Cincinnati and the Dolphins, and are well on their way to a first round bye in the playoffs. Writing off Bill Belichick? Yeah, probably not the smartest idea.

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 with my Patriots-less Sunday.

Maybe we’ll go to a flea market and look for priceless antiques.

Maybe we’ll stroll to the library, and comb the racks for undiscovered treasures.

Maybe we’ll volunteer for something, somewhere. A bottle drive, a church yard sale, anything where I can feel like I’m GIVING SOMETHING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY. Because that’s important stuff, this GIVING SOMETHING BACK. Everybody says so. So I want a piece of that action. I don’t care who I have to step on to get it, either.

Maybe I’ll just take in a playoff baseball game. You know, to reconnect to our National Pastime. I’ll watch the game, and it will be as if I had dipped myself in magic waters. The memories will be so thick I’ll have to brush them from my face. It will remind me of all that once was good, and could be again. For its money I have, and peace I lack…….

Just kidding. Also gagging.

Maybe we’ll head to the park for a picnic. We’ll take a bottle of wine, an FM radio (for NPR, of course), tie bandannas on the dogs, the whole nine yards……

Nine yards? Hmmm. Screw it. I’m going to watch the Dolphins and the Jets. Who the hell am I kidding?

Chad Jackson has been taking some guff lately for his minimal contributions to date. The theories range from soft in the hamstring to soft in the head. Is this criticism fair?

Greg: Not really. The guy is a rookie who has had a lingering injury. And he still managed to contribute to at least one win. Its five games in and rumors are running rampant amongst the irresponsible press. Figures. He’ll have a big game some week and they’ll probably shut up for a few weeks with their unprofessional innuendo and uneducated guesses.

Bruce: I think Patriots fans are a bit frustrated at not being able to see more out of this kid. We’ve heard a lot about his talent, but haven’t been able to see it on a consistent basis. It’s hard to tell if the criticism is fair or not…no one seems to know the extent of his injury and the rumors about his preparation and maturity are often vague, without any hard examples. I’m going say that the media is being unfair, because that’s what they do. Their track record speaks for itself, unlike young Mr Jackson’s.

Scott: David Givens took the money and ran to Tennessee, and Deion Branch forced a trade to Seattle. In five whole weeks, Jackson hasn’t made us completely forget about either of them, much less both of them, which, as a second-round pick, he has the obligation to do. And frankly, based on the things we’re hearing, Jackson doesn’t seem to be our kind of people anyway. So he’s got to pay, plain and simple.

The Patriots released Johnathan Sullivan and Hank Poteat this week, and signed veteran receiver Jabar Gaffney. This leaves the team with one vacant roster spot. It seems likely that it will be filled by Patrick Pass, who is eligible and apparently ready to return from the PUP list. What can Pass bring to the Patriots that they don’t already have?

Bruce: His versatility is a trait that is always welcome on a Bill Belichick coached team. He gives Tom Brady another guy to dump the ball off to in a pinch, or to hand off to on a draw play. I suspect that special teams is where he’s going to impact the most for the Patriots and add some depth to that unit.

Greg: Pass is a versatile back that has contributed a lot to three Super Bowl winners. He is good at special teams, he can block. He can catch. He can fill in at halfback in a pinch. It’s funny a stray comment by Charlie Weis about him in a book defines some people’s perception of him. It’s probably the type of thing Weis said all the time, knowing what I know about him and the general nature of football coaches. Yet ridiculously short-sighted fans hear one thing because its one comment out of a million they happen to know about and think they have some inside information. It’s pathetic. The bottom line is the Patriots have kept him around for a long time because he is valuable and has contributed a lot. I assume they think he can continue to do so.

Scott: I have no idea what the plan is, but I say Patrick Pass is a better kickoff returner than anybody the Patriots have now, and he should be back there next weekend. At least Pass runs it straight ahead with authority. They haven’t had that.

Any thoughts on Gaffney?

Greg: He’s average. He can probably help a bit. Not overly fast, but decent hands and size. I think he’ll certainly be an upgrade over Jonathan Smith and can actually get on the field and play solidly. But I wouldn’t expect miracles.

Bruce: I haven’t seen a whole lot of the guy, but I think he’ll be a good addition. Last year David Carr spent most of his time on the field on his back, yet he still managed to complete 55 passes to Gaffney over the course of the season. I think a receiving unit of Gabriel, Jackson, Gaffney, Caldwell and Brown is solid, if unspectacular. I’m ok with that group.

Scott: I figure they have room for a guy that’s averaged 40 catches a season since 2002. It’s not like they have already have too many. He’s probably an average player, but at this point, kids, that’s an upgrade.

Back to the Big Board of Predictions for another week. In Week Five, Bruce ‘The Greek’ Allen went 6-0, running his overall record to 24-6. Honestly, we’re already sick of him. Greg Doyle had a big week too, also going 6-0, and he’s finally eclipsed the .500 mark for the first time this season (17-13). I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that I was 3-3 again, picking the Jets to beat Jacksonville (near miss), the Steelers to beat San Diego, and the Cowboys to beat the Eagles. That’s right, I bet on Drew Bledsoe. No wonder I’m 18-12, six games out of first and sinking like a stone. This week, let’s try Miami at the Jets, Carolina at Baltimore, Cincinnati at Tampa Bay, Kansas City at Pittsburgh, and Oakland at Denver.

Greg: I have to go with Miami, though they are bad. Their defense should lead them to a close victory. I’ll also go with Baltimore, the Bengals, Pittsburgh to get untracked and Denver to beat up the hapless Raiders. Not many great games this week.

Scott: I’m going to take the Jets. I had pretty good luck with them last week. Let’s see how Joey does when the other team has a week to prepare for him and only him. Will Steve McNair turn it around against the Panthers defense? I’ll take Carolina, even on the road. I’ll take the Bengals over Tampa, the most written about 0-4 team in history, thanks to Peter King. I’m going to take the Steelers and of course the Broncos.

Bruce: I’m just thankful we’re not picking spreads here. I’d be lost. The Jets/Dolphins game is the toughest of the week to pick. I’m going to take the Dolphins, thinking that Harrington is better than Culpepper at this point and the defense is pretty solid. I’m going to take the Ravens at home, the Bengals on the road, the Steelers at home and the Broncos.

I’m sure they’re not paying attention, so let’s get a good shot in at the Mediot of the Week.

Bruce: You know, maybe it’s the bye week or something, but I don’t recall too many stupid, idiotic things being written or said this week that I recall. Of course it is entirely possible that I’m just becoming numb to all of it. The stupidest thing I read all week didn’t come from a media person, but from a “fan” of the team who sent the following letter to Patriots Football Weekly:

I asked the Sports Guy from ESPN the same question. I’m a diehard Patriots fan, but at this point, some of my loyalties lie to our former players (Law, Vinatieri, Bledsoe, McGinest, etc.) Now lets say the Colts are trailing the Patriots by two, and Vinatieri is about to kick the game-winning field goal. I would without question want Vinatieri to nail the kick, and send our beloved Patriots home losers. Am I wrong? Can you give me some thoughts on the matter? Thanks, you guys are awesome.

I withheld the guy’s name for his own safety. Doesn’t what he just wrote go against the very definition of “diehard Patriots fan” which he claims to be? I just don’t get some people. It’s one thing to want former players to do well. It’s another to want them to come back and beat your team.

Greg: Tomase for repeating the idiotic Patriots Football Weekly Inside Track level stuff about Chad Jackson being “immature” at a Patriots function. This is something I have yet to hear one media member describe in coherent fashion or in any manner that resembles the slightest facsimile of responsible journalism.

Scott: My mediot of the week is anybody who’s taking about Randy Moss coming to the Patriots, whether they’re media or not.

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 writes the following:

Running QBs are like professional wrestlers and porn stars. In other words, it’s such a taxing profession on so many levels, and you end up taking such a pounding, there’s only a five- or six-year shelf life before things turn sour.

Lamentations of Gino Hernandez and Traci Lords aside, I thought about the idea for a minute, and it didn’t seem too absurd. I felt even more agreeable to the idea after Simmons provided actual data - granted, cherry-picked data, but that’s still eight or nine years ahead of Joe Theismann - in the defense of his argument.

Now, I’m aware that the internet backlash to our dear friend Mr. Simmons is mighty strong right about now, particularly after a rather desultory comment towards the sports blogosphere in a recent chat. Now, Bill Simmons is about eight thousand times the writer I am - he can say whatever he wants. That being said, isn’t that a little like NFL announcers insulting fantasy football players? It just seems strange to insult your core constituency. I mean, you don’t see Dennis Hastert saying people who go to church on Sunday are dorks, right? I digress.

Interested in its validity, I decided to do a more rigorous test of Simmons’ theory and what it might mean for the career paths of quarterbacks. I had to put several limitations on the quarterback pool to make sure we were working with the quarterbacks Simmons is talking about, which meant I filtered the sample down to quarterbacks had both:

• Started their career during or after 1978 (the advent of the sixteen-game schedule), and
• Thrown more than 1500 career attempts (since we’re not comparing Danny Kanell to Dameyune Craig here, but instead legitimate starting quarterbacks and their career paths, which requires several years of data to work with)

That brought the pool down to 83 different quarterbacks. I toyed with different ways of delineating the quarterbacks into mobile and immobile groups, not wanting to just separate the two willy-nilly. What I found worked best was using the number of rush attempts per game a quarterback had on a season-by-season basis, and then separating players from the mass as such.

I defined a “rushing” quarterback as one who averaged more than 4.5 carries per game for any two seasons in his career. That yielded a list of quarterbacks I was pretty comfortable with:

Not particularly coincidentally, this includes each of the players that Simmons provides as examples of the running quarterback problem in his column. It’s also worth noting that Michael Vick doesn’t appear in this group because he falls 67 attempts short of the 1500 pass qualifier. If he’d made it past the bouncer, he would’ve easily qualified for this group.

The flat-footed quarterbacks, on the other hand, were even harder to define; after all, it’s very easy for a quarterback to rack up very few carries per game by simply not playing — alternately, it’s easy for a quarterback to get three or so carries a game solely by downing the ball as a backup. With that in mind, I made the qualifications slightly harder for this group. The quarterbacks listed below had five seasons where they averaged below 1.75 carries per game, throwing at least 150 attempts in each. That yielded a group of, well, guys with creaky knees.

I am sure there are arguments you can make for putting a particular quarterback not listed here in one group or the other, but I think these are two pretty representative groups of quarterback.

After separating the groups, I calculated the performances of each quarterback in the respective season of his career - that is to say, I calculated how each quarterback did in the first season of his particular career, added that to the performance of every other quarterback in their particular career, and then produced an average result for all the quarterbacks in their first seasons. I did that for every group of seasons available, stretching all the way to 19 (Dave Krieg and Vinny Testaverde, before you ask) before I was done. I calculated this for all quarterbacks (incorporating all 83 quarterbacks), the running quarterbacks (listed as “Fast” in the charts below), and the slow ones (listed, as you might expect, as “Slow”).

I’ll include all the results in a table at the end of the article, but I chose to focus on three aspects of performance: yards per attempt, QB rating, and since the original article was about Culpepper’s fantasy dropoff, fantasy points.

As you can see, the performance of the faster quarterbacks cut out after season 15, since none of the rushing quarterbacks in the study have made it that far. This may be because seven of the eleven quarterbacks in the group are still active, and haven’t had a chance to make it to their fifteenth season as of yet. Regardless, what the data shows is that the quarterback performances are actually almost the opposite of what Simmons mentions in his column: the running quarterbacks underperform both the average quarterback and the slower quarterback until their sixth season, at which point they spend several outperforming the quarterbacks until a big drop around Season 11 (which includes a mediocre Steve Young season, a mediocre Jeff Blake season, Mark Brunell’s first aborted season with the Redskins, Randall Cunningham’s final half-year as an Eagle, and Steve McNair’s last year with the Titans. In other words, Donovan McNabb is in trouble when 2009 rolls around). You could chalk this up to a number of things — maybe the running quarterbacks are adapting to an NFL system, or becoming “pocket” passers, but I wasn’t expecting that data trend whatsoever.

QB Rating shows a variation on the story.

This time, the faster quarterbacks have a better showing, but they still don’t branch out from the pack of other quarterbacks until Seasons 6-10 roll around. Could it be that speedier quarterbacks elude sacks and throw fewer interceptions than slowpokes? The following chart shows the average number of attempts it takes a quarterback in each of these groups to throw an interception, followed by each group’s cumulative average:

Pretty obvious that rushing quarterbacks do throw fewer interceptions than pocket passers — a relatively hidden advantage of their performance up to this point.

Finally, to answer Simmons’ question, do these stud quarterbacks actually perform worse after a few years in fantasy points?

The short answer is, well, it’s debatable. The running quarterbacks don’t really seem to fall off a cliff in five or six years, like Simmons says, but he’s not far off. Somewhere around eight to nine seasons appear to be the limit for rushing quarterbacks — that big jump in the last year you’ve been seeing is the confluence of Mark Brunell’s revitalization last season with the Redskins and Randall Cunningham’s gigantic 15-win season with the Vikings. What does appear to be true, though, is that rushing quarterbacks are peaking very early into their fantasy careers, while slower quarterbacks do so slightly afterwards. It’s interesting that they both see the same dropoff after eight or nine seasons, though.

I’m inclined to say that Simmons’ hypothesis, for fantasy purposes, is pretty accurate. Rushing quarterbacks peak earlier into their career than I think a lot of people, myself included, realize: a sobering thought for those with Michael Vick, and a happy one for those who have Vince Young in a keeper league.

And now, a data dump.

A little less encouraging game than last week. But I suppose it would be easy to look at the ugly nature of yesterday’s win and forget a few things. First, it was a win. A division win at that, so even more important. Second, Miami knows the Patriots very well and always plays them tough. Most division games end up being tough, sometimes regardless of the quality of the opponent. So, while its true a look back at this game on film reveals it was probably the worst game the Patriots have played this season, overall, it was still a win and that in and of itself is a positive. Lets look at it positionally.

QUARTERBACK: Tom Brady has usually struggled against Miami and yesterday was no exception. He again made some good throws, but also some very poor ones. The good news is he didn’t turn the ball over and has mostly avoided that this year, despite not being on top of his game. One does wonder what’s wrong. I’m sure the theories will be flowing on talk radio for the next two weeks with a bye coming up. Lets stick with that old formula that the most likely answer is the simplest. In other words, its merely a matter of adjusting to new receivers and changes in the passing game that goes with new personnel. It will come around and its not like its been a total implosion. Again, turnovers have been avoided. So, the passing game has merely been mistake free, in general, but far from explosive. Hopefully some element of explosiveness will appear in time.

RUNNING BACK: Corey Dillon was running well, until sitting down in the third quarter seemingly with another injury. Laurence Maroney had his second off game in three weeks and Kevin Faulk didn’t do much on offense. On the up side, Heath Evans had a nice day including showing up surprisingly in the passing game and scoring his first NFL touchdown.

WIDE RECEIVER: Troy Brown had a nice game and made a couple very difficult catches in traffic. He also added a touchdown. No one else did much and this was an exceedingly weak game for this crew, save for Brown.

TIGHT END: A decent day for Ben Watson and David Thomas. Watson made a couple big catches and Thomas made one key one in which he took a vicious hit and held on. He also did a nice job blocking in extended time with Daniel Graham sitting out due to injury.

OFFENSIVE LINE: An uneven performance for the line. They created little room running, save for some good blocking in the middle of the line by Dan Koppen and Stephen Neal early in the game. And, although they only gave up one sack, their pass blocking wasn’t quite as good as its been other games. Definitely a down game for them.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A good game all around. Ty Warren continued his Pro Bowl level play. Richard Seymour had a nice game, as did Vince Wilfork clogging up the middle. Jarvis Green showed up again and had another decent game. A solid performance.

LINEBACKER: A pretty good day here too. Junior Seau and Tedy Bruschi were solid in the middle and Mike Vrabel was active. Another down day for Roosevelt Colvin and one wonders why he seems to have disappeared so much this season after a really strong year last year. He’s been alarmingly quiet, save the opener versus Buffalo.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: A solid day. Asante Samuel continued his solid year with two interceptions, the first for the secondary this year. Rodney Harrison was very active in run support and Ellis Hobbs gritted it out, playing decently despite a broken wrist. Chad Scott had another fine day and has been one of the more consistent players in the secondary this season. Not a bad day overall.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A nice day for Mike Wright blocking a field goal and tackling the Miami punter Donnie Jones after he mishandled a snap. Decent punting again from Josh Miller. But it was disappointing to see Kevin Faulk fumble again. He has unique talents, but I suppose it comes with knowing he’ll lose three or four fumbles on you over the course of the season and one or two of them could come back to really hurt you, as it did last year. Fortunately, his fumble against Miami did not cost the Patriots.

Next week is the bye and then another division game against Buffalo. The Patriots will need to play significantly better following the bye than they did this week on the road in Buffalo. Until then.

by Scott Benson

It wasn’t pretty, but the Patriots will take it.

Today’s 20-10 win over Miami offered none of the dominance of last week’s thrashing of the Bengals - in fact quite the opposite at times - but the New England Patriots still headed off the threadbare Gillette Stadium field and into their bye week with an 4-1 record featuring three early division wins.

Much like they had against both the Bills and the Jets, the Patriots struggled at times with an allegedly weaker AFC East opponent. Despite being unable to get off the field throughout much of the afternoon, the Patriots defense keyed this win with three timely takeaways and two special teams stops that led directly to all of New England’s 20 points.

Damn good thing, too. Tom Brady and the Patriots offense could manage but 213 total yards (with a long drive of 56), thanks to a Miami defensive effort that took away Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney (83 combined yards and 2.9 yards a carry) while harrassing Brady and blanketing his receivers. Once again, the Dolphins had Brady on the run. Seasons change, the players change and the coaches change, but Miami still plagues the two-time Super Bowl MVP. Same shit, different day. It’s getting kind of tiresome, isn’t it? Are the Patriots ever going to come up with an answer to it?

Thankfully, the sputtering offense WAS able to close the deal when presented with sweet field position by the suddenly playmaking New England defense (five takeways in the last two weeks). Brady threw short touchdowns to Troy Brown and Heath Evans, both following interceptions by Asante Samuel.

The Dolphins surprised by starting Detroit reject Joey Harrington in place of the battered Daunte Culpepper, and the change proved to be a well advised one for Miami.

Harrington repeatedly hit underneath receivers while Patriots defenders provided ample cushion to do so. It was as if the Patriots had prepared their defense for the long range throws of Culpepper, because their defensive backs played well off Miami’s receivers, as if protecting against a quick strike. This left great swaths of nearby turf for Harrington to play pitch and catch with the likes of Wes Welker and Randy McMichael, who rarely were bothered by a nearby New England defender. Harrington probably completed more passes in this game than he had in his entire five-year career. And with no running game to boot.

It didn’t amount to as much as it could have, thanks to the Pats run stuffing, turnovers, and big special teams plays.

Rodney Harrison and Junior Seau combined to force a Ronnie Brown fumble on the Dolphins first possession, which led to a Stephen Gostkowski field goal (two in a row…) and an early 3-0 lead. But on the next Miami drive, Harrington went to work, using the short pass to drive the Dolphins to the Patriots 22 (converting two third downs in the process). But Olindo Mare’s plant foot slipped on the tying field goal try, and Mike Wright slipped through to block the low kick and preserve the slim lead. It was the first time Mare had a kick blocked since Richard Seymour did it in 2003.

Brady then led the Pats on their longest drive of the day, hitting Troy Brown and Reche Caldwell with big third down throws on their way inside the Miami 20. But the Patriots could go no further, and Gostkowski added another field goal (THREE in a row….) to bring the lead to six.

Samuel smartly stepped in front of Welker to grab a Harrington throw on the third play of the next Miami possession, returning the ball to the Dolphins 10 and setting up Brown’s touchdown, a nice catch of a deliberately low Brady throw. Brown did not seem to be the primary receiver on the play, but the wily veteran worked his way free in time for Brady to thread him a throw.

So the Pats had Miami down early, and the thought was that New England may roll again, just a week after their 25 point win in Cincinnati.

But Miami quickly went to a no-hiuddle offense, putting Harrington back in the shotgun, where he took advantage of the generous personal space that Patriots defenders were allowing his receivers. An 80 yard, five minute drive resulted (built on a 23 yarder to a wide open McMichael, and a 25 yard beauty to a well-covered Welker), and Ronnie Brown plunged in to make it 13-7.

Besides fumbling, and dropping a late pass that would have been a first down, it was the only thing that the second-year back from Auburn did all day. The Pats were on him like white on rice from the start, and he finished with only 39 yards and a 2.2 yards per carry average.

Which makes Harrington’s performance all the better. Even without a suitable running threat, he calmly stood in the pocket without fear of reprisal (none was coming anyway - the Pats had only one sack all day). After the Pats were stopped on their (lethargic) final first half possession, Harrington brought the Phins back upfield to set up another Mare field goal try, and this time the veteran put it through. The Dolphins had responded to the early Patriots lead with 10 unanswered points. In doing so, they dominated time of possession and total yard stats for the first 30 minutes.

Mike Wright opened the second half with another strong special teams play, bursting into the backfield to tackle Miami punter Donnie Jones after he had fumbled the snap from center. The undrafted free agent from Cincinnati continues to cement his role on the team in just his second year in the league.

But Brady and the Patriots offense, which had been deathly quiet since early in the second quarter, could do nothing with the mid-field position. Brady missed a wide open Caldwell for a sure gain, and had a pass batted down at the line. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Patriots kept removing Corey Dillon from the game in favor of Maroney, even though the Bully Brother was one of the few who was able to get anything going against the Dolphins (4.5 a carry). I understand that the season is a marathon and not a sprint, and the split carries will keep them both fresh, but the rookie was running in cement all day, while Dillon was able to punch through here and there. Nevertheless, Maroney nearly doubled the veteran’s touches.

Happily, the Patriots defense picked this point to ratchet up the pass rush on Harrington, and the Dolphins offense began to sputter. They could do nothing with their next two possessions, and not even ANOTHER BALL-CRUSHING FUMBLE BY KEVIN FLIPPIN’ FAULK (that’s what my notes said) could enliven them again.

I have seen enough to know I’ve seen too much from Mr. Butterfingers, who dropped the ball after yet another kill shot interrupted an otherwise nice 18 yard punt return. He handed a stalled Miami offense a gift-wrapped ball at the Patriots 37, but the New England defense held firm (with a strong pass rush from Rosevelt Colvin and the Pats front seven) and forced another Miami punt. The lead remained at three.

On the next Dolphins possession, Harrington was hurried once again, which caused him to throw behind Welker, who tipped the ball to Samuel for his second interception of the day. The turnover left the ball at the Miami 24, and Brady went for the kill. He tried to go deep right to Doug Gabriel (quiet day with just 2 catches for 7 yards) and drew a pass interference from former Giant Will Allen. The penalty gave the Pats the ball at the two, and Brady rolled to his right for a touchdown flip to Evans, and a 10 point lead.

The Dolphins would take one more run at it in the fourth quarter, driving to the New England 32 (helped by a facemask foul by Jarvis Green on a third down sack), but Mare continued to struggle with the sandy Gillette sod, badly missing a 50 yard field goal to the right.

The Patriots offense finished the day on an up note by taking possession with 5:59 left and holding the ball for the remainder of the game. It was really the high point of their afternoon.

Along with his two picks, Samuel led the Pats with six tackles. Brown was the leading New England receiver with five catches, every one with meaning.

I couldn’t help but notice that Rodney Harrison was delivering a little something extra with his hits today. He looked like his old self again, about a year after his devastating knee injury in Pittsburgh.

The Patriots will now enjoy a well-deserved week off. Affter an off-season of unprecedented media and fan fretting, with the losses of icons like Vinatieri and McGinest, and young stars like Givens and Branch gathering like storm clouds, New England now heads into its bye week with a tidy 4-1 record, and three quick divisional wins. It would be hard to argue that we had a right to expect more.

See, today’s win is already looking prettier.