Game Day Rear View - Patriots Handle Chippy Titans 40-23

gdrv_sm.jpgBy Tim Jordan

For regular readers of Game Day Rear View, you’ve come here expecting to get your weekly game recap from GDRV staple and founder, Scott Benson. I am sorry to be the one to let you know that, in addition to being the proud father of jetsetting children who favor Corsican holidays, Scott is also one of those guys with the New Years Eve anniversary. It was either that or Elvis birthday, but the church was booked. I’ve the pleasure of a swank New Years Eve holiday wedding only once and my wife and I mistakenly spent nearly 90 minutes in the wrong reception at the hotel. After about 60 appetizers, 6 drinks, and, dozens of photos with strangers we finally figured it out. Anyway, that non-sequitor was designed to distract you from the fact that I am here in the place of the esteemed Mr. Benson for the weekly game post.

I am not going to try and mirror his format today, mostly because I couldn’t do even a passable impression of it. Instead, I’ll just post some reactions to the final Patriots game of the 06 regular season and some viewing notes. I’ll start with the obvious. Let’s hope Harrison has a deep bruise and not any structural damage after that questionable hit he took in the first half. I am cautiously optimistic based on the 47 replays I saw, but one never knows and the injury subplot is obviously huge with the playoffs starting next week. Harrison is one of the team’s most important players. Not much more to say about that.

The game itself was entertaining, physical, and very spirited for 4 quarters (even after Brady was pulled in favor of Cassel and, eventually, Testaverde). It seems the team has started to find it’s stride and there were long stretches of the game today that reminded me of the hard hitting, coldly efficient team we saw a few seasons back. It seemed that Tennessee sensed this as well and started getting chippy once they felt the game, and their playoff chances, slipping.

I am giving my 1 lb bag of Double Bubble to Corey Dillon, who played huge today. The Bully Brother accounted for 126 yards of offense and two TD’s in moving past OJ Simpson for 14th on the all-time rushing list. That’s quite an accomplishment and, for some reason, got me wondering about CD’s Hall of Fame credentials. I was using Curtis Martin, in my mind a surefire HOFer, as a comparison and I think another title with Dillon playing a key role could really help his chances. I am a big Dillon fan, if for nothing else, his seething hatred for particular beat writers that look like half the hair dressers on Newbury Street.

As far as the week long debate regarding whether or not the team would try to win or rest starters, it seemed to me that both sides were right. They did exactly that and I am assuming that’s what the plan all week was. It looked like everyone prepared like they would be playing to the final whistle and the coaching staff took it on a situational basis. I think it worked out very well. They played a very physical and well coached football team and answered the bell while not taxing any of the regulars too much (Harrison’s potential injury notwithstanding).

I am going notes format for the rest of my random thoughts because the better half is breathing down my neck to get our New Years Eve rolling. With that:

Happy New year, one and all. Have fun whatever you choose to do.

Boogie Chillen’,

tj

Game Day Blog - The Sunday Papers

sunday_links.jpg
by Scott Benson
scott@bostonsportsmedia.com

For more than 60% of the NFL, today is the last day of the 2006 regular season. Game over. Not so for the Patriots, who travel to Tennessee today for a final tune up with the Titans before the league’s second season begins next week. Let’s get the flavor of things with a quick run through the Sunday papers.

One thing I’ve learned by doing these links this season is that Michael Felger sure writes a ton of stuff for every Sunday Herald. I respect that. And typically, Felger writes every Sunday in a snark-free, straight-ahead style that belies his usual synergistic print/broadcast approach. A little bit of Media Mike seeps into today’s coverage, though. He opens by urging the Patriots to play to win today, and put the pressure on the Colts at 4:15. I think Felger’s in the minority here, but its not a position without merit.

For that, we go to Inside the Huddle, where Mike ranks the NFL’s best playoff coaches. Naturally, names like Belichick, Parcells and Shanahan top the list, but can you guess who #6 is? It’s everybody’s fair haired boy, Jets coach Eric Mangini. Some seven spots, for example, ahead of Carolina’s John Fox (5-2). Mangini’s never coached his team TO a playoff game - hell, he hasn’t even clinched it yet - much less WON one, but he’s the NFL’s sixth best playoff coach. Felger is careful to point out that this isn’t a ‘Coach of the Year’ poll - though if it was, he’d pick Mangini. Forgive me if I gag. No question that Mangini has done well to get the Jets to 9-6 and on the playoff brink, but don’t tell me this Mangini=Genius movement isn’t puffed up in great part by the media’s rooting interest in Border War II - The Protege.

Felger follows with some Quick Hits, and naturally gets around to the annual ‘rumors’ of Scott Pioli being targeted for Giants GM and further speculation about Bill Belichick’s contract. I have a low tolerance of this stuff to begin with (let me know when you KNOW something - besides, don’t pretend that ‘Scott Pioli covets the Giants job’ isn’t trotted out every freaking year at this time) but it gets ridiculous when Felger blames the Patriots, not the media, for the speculation. All they have to do is hold a big press conference clarifying everyone’s status for Mike and his friends, and then, the media will have no reason to speculate at all. Yeah. This week I heard from the New York papers that the Krafts would be more likely to let Belichick go than Pioli, because - essentially - Myra doesn’t approve of You Know What. Based on Chistian Peter. If the Krafts had only held a press conference to clarify that. Because the media has NO CHOICE but to speculate unless the team addresses every stinking whacko theory they can think of. What a load of bullshit, Felger.

Lastly, in a historically over-the-top second guess job, Felger suggests that the thrifty Patriots turned their nose up at Titans safety Chris Hope. I’m sure a search of the Herald archives will produce stacks of Felger appeals for Chris Hope while everybody else was screaming about Adam Vinatieri and the receivers. No question Hope is having a solid season for the Titans, but notice Jim Schwartz saying that it took awhile for Hope to get hip to the Titans defense and become a contributor. If that had been here, Felger would have been the first one to blast Hope for ‘not getting it’ and the Patriots for wasting their money on a Steelers retread while better players were ignored. Hindsight indeed, Mike. I’m sure your faithful radio listeners are soaking this up.

Let’s move on. Elsewhere in the Herald, Albert Breer does an extensive piece on how NFL players are surviving sixteen weeks of car wrecks. John Tomase has a Patriots Year in Review, and a list of the highs and lows of the season. I appreciated John’s fair opening to his year in review. Tomase also has today’s notebook, which brings the news that Vince Wilfork, Ben Watson and Kevin Faulk (all coming back from injuries) will be among the missing today.

In the Globe, Mike Reiss’s notebook has his take on the inactives. In his lead piece, Mike wonders which option the Patriots will take today - all in, or all ashore. Or something in between. I honestly have no idea what to expect myself.

Jim McBride thinks the Pats take a flyer - and the Titans take the game - in his scouting report. Amalie Benjamin gets a feature look at David Thomas, author of at least two exceptional plays in the win over Jacksonville. Ron Borges roars through some coaching stories, including Jeff Fisher’s - in this week’s football notes. I’m being careful what I wish for here, but this week’s notes had a little bit of the Borges bite back. Some of his notes entires this year have been sort of bland, but not this week. It’s like he’s getting fired up for the playoffs.

Judging by the headlines, Dan Shaughnessy apparently tells Patriots fans what to expect today. Trust me, you can skip this. Does he really think we believe he knows something about football?

At the ProJo, Shalise Manza Young opens with a Vinny Testaverde appreciation piece, and then gets the twice-comebacking Rodney Harrison for her weekly Who I Am. There’s also an uncredited game analysis.

You know what to do as the morning develops - check Reiss’s Pieces for the latest news. In the meantime, head over to the Patriots News Mashup to see what else is being said about the Pats.

Our friend Tim Jordan will be back later to pinch hit for me on the post game Rear View. Tim’s a great football fan with a hilarious way with words, so it should be a fun read. Enjoy - and by all means, from all of us to all of you - Happy New Year.

GDRV Roundtable

by Scott Benson, Greg Doyle, Tim Jordan and Bruce Allen
scott@bostonsportsmedia.com

The Patriots head to Tennessee this Sunday to end their regular season with a grueling road match at LP Field, home of the surprising Titans. With six straight wins, coach Jeff Fisher and sensational rookie quarterback Vince Young have led a bottomed-out Tennessee squad all the way back from the NFL’s basement (9-23 over the previous two seasons, and 2-7 to start this one) to an outside shot at the AFC playoffs on the last day of the season.

The Titans can get into the playoffs with a win over the Patriots combined with losses by Cincinnati (actually, a tie works here too) and Denver, and a win by the Chiefs. Tennessee would no doubt rather hold their destiny in their own hands, but either way, there’s no denying that the Titans re-emergence is one of the best stories of the NFL season.

In New England, the Patriots seem headed for the fourth seed, yet the possibility for moving up still remains. An Indianapolis home loss to Miami, combined with a Pats win in Music City, would give the Patriots the third seed and a wild card round home game against the sixth and final AFC playoff entrant.

Let’s see what the panel has to say for itself, with the playoff season fast approaching.

Any lingering thoughts about last Sunday’s win over the Jaguars?

Tim: Lingering is right. This is the type of game that really sticks to your ribs as a fan. It was everything you could ever ask for: dramatic without being too cardiac (they were the superior team from start to finish), featuring great plays from new and exciting players (David Thomas most notably, but Gaffney looks pretty damn comfortable out there, doesn’t he?), and it meant the playoff world to the local 11. Just a great way to spend the day as a fan. Hopefully, everybody did so with loved ones who share their passion for great NFL football (I watched while my sonic engineer / patented inventor / Slavic father-in-law looked on like I was watching Faces of Death 7, so be thankful for whoever shared couch space with you). This victory is a great endorsement for this team’s legitimate chance at a prolonged playoff run, although I think the Jaguars are similar to the Steelers (whom the Patriots match up with very well each time they play), a physical and talented team that can be outsmarted. I think that was clearly the case Sunday.

Bruce: Clearly, a lot more positives from this game than from weeks past. Strong play from start to finish. No clusters of turnovers or penalties. Big plays when needed. You’ve got to be encouraged by this performance. A couple of things to nitpick…the defense did give up at least three bug plays, which is a problem they had early in the season, but hopefully they were just a fluke this time around. It was great to have Rodney Harrison and Laurence Maroney back on the field and productive, and David Thomas showed that signs of being that big time receiver at tight end that the Patriots were looking for. I watched this game in the Bay Area with my Grandmother-in-law telling me tales of how great the 1970’s Raiders were and showing me her autographed photos of Jim Plunkett, and snapshots of her taken with Willie Brown and Cliff Branch. She told me that since the Raiders were so bad, she was going to root for the Patriots the rest of the way. I’m still pondering whether that is a good thing.

Greg: Just that it was a pretty good overall performance with the score really not indicative of how much the Patriots outplayed Jacksonville. You had that somewhat flukish run by Jones-Drew and a late TD by Jacksonville, but the Patriots pretty much dominated the play most of the game. That is encouraging.

Scott: I really thought David Garrard was going to run with the ball on that last Jacksonville play. I thought his arm was on the way up for a pump fake when Jarvis Green hit him from behind, which of course caused the ball to come out and his arm to go forward. I’ve since learned I’m the only one who thinks that. Something else I’m probably alone on is Travelin’ Tom Brady, Running Quarterback. I loved the heady sneaks for first downs, and to me, there’s no shame in having to bring it down and go for it once in awhile, especially against a defense that has been allowing nine - I said NINE - points a game at home. I was of course mortified by the shot he took, but I don’t equate that in any way with quick sneaks and something-from-nothing hook slides, which I wholeheartedly endorse. They need to scratch and claw the ball down the field, quite obviously, and it seems to me that’s exactly what he’s doing.

This weekend is bound to remind fans to some extent of last year’s season-ender with Miami. They’ve won their division and clinched a playoff spot, and the odds seem to be against them moving up to the third seed even if they beat Tennessee. What would you like to see Bill Belichick do this weekend? Protect some key starters - maybe even Tom Brady - and let the chips fall where they may, or play it straight up and hope for a break on the third seed?

Bruce: I think they’re going to try and win this game. It’s possible Brady might get some rest, along with some other guys this week, but I think for the most part, the team is going to try and do whatever they can to move in the the # 3 slot in the conference. Indy has to lose, of course, but they’ve been erratic down the stretch, and the Dolphins just might be able to help the Patriots out for once. Anything is possible, I think they might even try to win the game with Matt Cassel getting significant snaps, just to give him some real game experience.

Greg: I’d like to just see them play it out and win the game. What I’d really like is to have a bye, I think that is so huge….last year notwithstanding. But there was no shot at that last year at this point and there is not a shot this year either. Still, I’d like to see them just play the game straight up, win 12 games, possibly get the 3rd seed and keep rolling into the playoffs. But, I don’t expect to see that and I expect to see a heavy dose of Matt Cassel and guys like Marquise Hill and LeKevin Smith. Maybe Willie Andrews will get a pick!

Scott: Playoff permutations aside, I just feel like they’ve worked all season to get into the kind of groove they’ve been in the last two games, as far as cutting turnovers and penalties and just generally clean play, the scrappy offense notwithstanding. I’d hate to see them break that momentum, but I acknowledge the risks associated with that. I’ll still put my chips down on playing my best and trying to beat another good team on the road to keep rolling into the playoffs. They played it coy last year and then played some pretty sloppy football after that.

Tim: I am actually surprised by how much sentiment I’ve read endorsing a scrimmage approach to this game. I was surprised when they did it last year too, but the notable difference was they had full control of their destiny then. A win or a loss determined which opponent they played. They chose the 12 win Jaguars and chose them wisely. They don’t have that luxury this year. Sure, whether they win or lose in Tennessee does factor in, but there are other variables outside of their control this time. For this reason, and the fact that the difference between a 3 and a 4 seed could determine home field should an upset occur to one of the top 2 seeds (ala the AFC Championship game in 1996), tells me that they are playing this one straight. As Brady said earlier this week, “worry about one team instead of 5″. I also think they are equally familiar with each one of their likely first round opponents which could normally be a deciding factor.

In general, do you have any particular preference for a first round playoff matchup? Anybody you’d rather avoid? Do you care?

Greg: In general, I hate these kind of discussions. I guess I’m of the mindset we’ll find out soon enough and I don’t think there is any team the Patriots couldn’t beat or couldn’t lose to. So just discussing it is pointless, it’ll come down to how they play that day against whomever they match up with.

Scott: If the favorites win this weekend, the Patriots will face Denver at Gillette. I know that’s supposed to be a bad match-up and everything (Mike Shanahan has had the better of Bill Belichick), but has any AFC playoff contender had a worse second-half (3-4) than the Broncos? Do the matchups factor in a rookie quarterback that would be starting his sixth NFL game? Do they factor in the 23rd ranked pass defense? Point is, you’d have to put that game at even, at a minimum. I don’t see where Denver is any worse a matchup than any of the other teams in what seems to be a pretty even conference.

Tim: I’ve got this irrational fear of the Jets every year. It’s a deep seeded neurosis with origins from the Tuna Bowls of the nineties and a carryover from that ugly Sunday night game 4 years ago (almost to the day of the Jax game this year). I’d just assume not see them or their turncoat coach again this year (BTW, what are the chances that Charlie Weis has tried to score some referral money from his staple surgeon by giving him Mangini’s address?). I know that I should probably feel the same way about Denver, and to some extent I do, but the odds of losing 4 times in a row to the same team just doesn’t seem likely. I still respect and fear the speed of that Denver defense, especially the linebackers. That type of speed has proven to be very effective against the NE offense. Truth be told, I am more concerned about the divisional round than any of the others. Denver and New York are both tough outs.

Bruce: All playoff opponents are tough. Even though they basically hand-selected their opponent last season, I think that’s not something you can do that often and get away with it. Obviously Denver and the Jets beat the Patriots at Gillette this season, so you’re going to have it in your head that they are capable of knocking the Patriots out. I think we’re familiar with just about all the possible first round foes, and it doesn’t really make difference who they play…it’s going to be a tough game. I guess that’s my long winded way of saying that I don’t care who they play…but I’m glad they’re in.

Let’s dispense with the other games and move right to Pats and Titans. What do you think?

Scott: It seems like the Pats may treat this like any other game, in which case, I think they’ll find a way to outlast the inspired Titans. The Patriots ought to be able to score on the Titans defense (28th in scoring defense, 32nd in yards allowed, 28th against the run, 26th against the pass, though 13th in takeaways), and if the Pats can stop Travis Henry (no sure thing) to consistently force second and longs, I think they’ll handle Young. He’ll never be out of it, though, which makes this feel like last week part two. Pats, by a hair, 20-16. If the Pats end up sitting this one out, Tennessee wins, 21-13.

Tim: I think they win with the under. Vince Young will struggle going against a Belichick defense for the first time and we will all see first hand why the Titan defense should be garnering more attention for their recent winning streak. I think Fisher is a great coach, especially for his dogged persistence with the porn mustache, and he’ll prove a worthier adversary then Del Rio was this past week. I am thinking 10-6 . Something like that.

Bruce: I admire Scott’s approach of picking things both ways. I should’ve been doing that all along! As I said above, I think the Patriots are going to try and win this one, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to risk all their banged-up players. I think Wilfork and Watson, if they play will do so sparingly…just enough to get a taste of being back in action. Brady might not play the whole game. So even though they’re going to try and win, I think Tennessee might try harder, and be jacked up in their home finale. I’m picking the Titans, 24-14.

Greg: I just have the feeling the Patriots will win even without the starters going the whole way and even with the Titans playing it straight up. I’ll go Pats 30-17.

Anybody have a Mediot of the Week?

Tim: I was in Ridgefield, CT (home of the beautiful people with better dressed pets than any person in my family) for the game and had to do some last minute shopping on the boss’s orders. At halftime, I turn on the ignition and, like a cold, scaly hand on my privates, I am greeted by the discordant tones of Andy Gresh admonishing the New England players for the Jones Drew run. “ANY PLAYER, from PEE WEE through the pros knows that you PLAY TO THE WHISTLE! YOU PLAY TO THE WHISTLE!”. It was actually worse than I describe because I also caught the tail end of Tanguay’s voice asking the original question. It’s telling that this was the first thing these two clowns decided to talk about even though the lasting impression from the first half to any fan paying attention was the beautiful 14 play, 7+ minute, 82 yard drive that gave the Patriots the halftime lead. I turned it off instantaneously, it’s the equivalent of listening to a tee-totaling God Squadder while you try and enjoy a few cold ones after all, but it was my only exposure to the local broadcast sports media this week. I have to give them my Mediot of the Week award just on principle for intruding on an otherwise fantastic game experience. You show me a woman Andy Gresh has kissed and I will show you a hairlip you can’t help but stare at.

Bruce: I don’t even want to think about Andy Gresh kissing a woman with a hairlip…nice mental picture, Tim. Thanks. Steve Buckley and Bill Burt put on as annoying a performance as I’ve ever heard on the Big Show Wednesday. They constantly harped on all the negative things that have been around this club all season…the receivers…the team would be better with Deion Branch and David Givens, Corey Dillon is old and slow, they have had a cakewalk schedule etc etc etc. Obviously they did a lot of it to get a rise out of head pom-pom Pete Sheppard, who did his best to defend the club, but Buckley was at his smarmy worst that day, mocking Sheppard all afternoon (Which normally I would be in favor of.) and saying that Pete was going to shout down anyone who said the Patriots have any weaknesses. It’s again the case that this club suffers from comparison to the ‘03 and ‘04 clubs. But they don’t need to be as good as those teams. But some media types seem to be treating this team like a 4-11 team instead of an 11-4 team.

Greg: With many of the regular idiots in the media on vacation, I think I’ll take a week of vacation from this feature and list some of the guys and gals in the sports media, local and national, I enjoyed the work of this last year. They include Bob Ryan, Mike Reiss, Mike Fine, Mike Lynch, Tom Curran, Jackie MacMullan, Phil Simms, Boomer Esiason, Ron Jaworski, Jerry Remy, Joe Castiglione, Sean McDonough, Dale Arnold, Mike Holley, Shira Springer, Mike Tirico and John Madden, who improved a lot on a new network this year. There are many others, but these are some whose work was top notch off the top of my head.

Second Look: Patriots at Jacksonville

For all the whining, second guessing by armchair experts and half-truths pointed at the Patriots by some media and some fans this season, alls they did in response was win at least 11 games, bettering last season’s record and win their fourth consecutive AFC East title. Some of the fans around here have been spoiled. Still others are just miserable in general and translate that over to all their interests. A lot in the media spend most of their time trying to boost their own profiles, so cherry picking real or imagined weaknesses in the hopes a blind squirell may actually find a nut and they look prescient. That has become pretty much the norm from the Boston sports media and lead to attempts to find negatives in almost everything that happened to an 11-4 team.

And for that miserable section of fans who actually are more negative about the Patriots than idiots like Glenn Ordway, who at least has a perverse incentive of ratings and, consequently, money to provide him motivation for his schtick, well, I think those fans are probably just pretty unhappy about most things, not just the Patriots. Because, really, this team is on an unprecedented run of success. Or at least rarely matched. You don’t always have to win championships to be well run, though they still just may well do that. And you don’t have to be unobjective to see what an excellent system and successful organization they have become that makes the right decision the vast majority of the time.

So lets take a look at how each unit played for the once and present (and probably future) AFC East champs in beating a good Jacksonville team at their home 24-21 Sunday.

QUARTERBACK: A great game by Tom Brady. With the Patriots game plan focused on the pass, he was able to hit a very high percentage of passes on mostly three step drops. He wasn’t perfect, as he missed several open receivers. But he was mostly on target and also found room to scramble for several first downs. Overall, Brady has been much better and consistent and more like himself the second half of the season and that is good news heading into the playoffs.

RUNNING BACK: As I said, the Patriots weren’t focused as much on the run. But Corey Dillon had a couple good, tough runs and a touchdown. And Laurence Maroney made an effective return to the lineup, including a pretty long touchdown run. He showed little rust or injury effects and ran hard and with power. The blitz pickup was good.

WIDE RECEIVER: A fairly effective day. Troy Brown got himself open a number of times and had a few catches, as well as being missed by Brady a couple times despite being open. Jabar Gaffney chipped in some catches and the downfield blocking was good all around.

TIGHTEND: Great day for Dave Thomas. Not only did he show up in the passing game, including a spectacular diving touchdown catch, he blocked extremely well and could be seen involved in some of the big runs the Patriots had as a blocker. Daniel Graham also had a big game as a blocker and with a couple catches. I feel Graham should be the number one priority to get re-signed in the offseason. He is the most complete tightend on the roster.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Very good day overall. The short drops helped in pass protection, but they generally held up well. They did a good job in run blocking in limited opportunities. Nick Kaczur easily had his best day of the year and showed a lot in both the passing and run games at right tackle, rarely getting beat and often times dominating the guys he matched up with. Overall, there were very few breakdowns on the line Sunday.

DEFENSIVE LINE: Good job here. Mike Wright held up well again at nose tackle filling in for the injured Vince Wilfork. Jarvis Green had a good game, including causing the game ending fumble. Ty Warren again was stout and effective.

LINEBACKER: Very encouraging day. Tully Banta-Cain was again outstanding in both the run game and generating some pressure in the pass game. He did have the one glitch where he let Maurice Jones-Drew out of his sights, leading to a 74 yard touchdown run. But that was a fluke play and clearly Banta-Cain just thought Jones-Drew was down. A mistake to be sure, but the rest of the day he was good, particularly against the run. Tedy Bruschi also had a very nice day and seems to have improved his level of play recently. The entire crew was pretty good Sunday and only had the one long run against it.

SECONDARY: Rodney Harrison was back and seemingly didn’t miss a beat. He was active and showed up a lot in run support. Another good day for Artrell Hawkins as well and he has shown himself to be a very good tackler and solid player all year. Ellis Hobbs had a bad moment when he let Jacksonville receiver Matt Jones slip away from him. But Jones is a big, physical, fast receiver and that was a bit of a mismatch to let Hobbs handle him alone on that play. Asante Samuel had one of those moments too, losing a Jacksonville receiver in coverage where it appears Samuel bit on a fake and that led to a long gain. Besides those two plays the coverage was fairly solid.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Good coverage and pretty good returns. Stephen Gostkowski was a little shaky working with new holder Matt Cassell. He missed a kick. And new punter Todd Sauerbraun did his best Ken Walter imitation and had a bad first game. Lets hope he gets into the flow of the things and kicks like he has in the past by the playoffs.

On to Tennessee. It’ll be interesting to see how the Patriots play this. But based on last year, its likely they will play a lot of backups and not see it as a critical difference trying to improve from the #4 seed to the #3 seed. We shall see. Tennessee is an up and coming opponent and it would be great to see these two teams play while both going all out to win. But I just am not sure you’ll see that from the Patriots this week and instead will see them rest a lot of players for most of the game. Until then.

Game Day Rear View - Pats take Jags, AFC East, 24-21

gdrv_sm.jpgby Scott Benson
scott@bostonsportsmedia.com

The New England Patriots clinched a playoff spot today - and their fourth consecutive AFC Eastern Division title - with a hard-fought, down-to-the-wire 24-21 road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

With a brilliant 27 yard touchdown dash, Laurence Maroney gave the Patriots a 10 point lead with just over four and a half minutes left. But the game came down to a booth replay of a David Garrard fumble with the ball at midfield, the clock at 1:55, and the tying field goal just a first down or two away.

The call went to New England - officials ruled correctly that Garrard had fumbled, not passed (his arm was moving back, not forward), when stripped from behind by Jarvis Green. Rodney Harrison’s recovery stood, and a happy Patriots team celebrated, led by its coaching staff.

The Patriots dominated time of possession all day, and they rolled up more than 350 yards of offense on the NFL’s second best defense (in yards allowed). But one fluke play, and one big pass off a rollout, were all the tenacious Jags needed to keep the game in doubt to the end.

Still, Maroney’s fourth-quarter score should have ended their day, but Jacksonville immediately roared up the field on a suddenly soft Patriots defense. They got the quick score they needed when Garrard hit Matt Jones, and nobody else did. The rangy receiver slipped Ellis Hobbs and others for a 33 yard score.

The Jags then curiously kicked deep, but their gamble paid off when the Pats took a quick three and out (maybe its not a gamble with that defense) and punted the ball back to Jacksonville at their own 45, with a full two minutes left. On the next play, Green scrambled through a gauntlet of lineman for the deciding shot on Garrard, who was struggling to find an open receiver as he was hit. Game (finally) over.

Tom Brady played like an MVP for the Patriots, directing a mostly spread offense that attacked the Jags all-world front with quick, short passes and judicious runs, including TEN by the quarterback himself (most important were a couple of early quarterback sneaks). The Pats used the quick, low-risk passing as an extension of its running game, and they controlled the ball a full fifteen minutes longer than the Jags. And for the second week in a row, Brady was at the center of an offense that did NOT turn the ball over.

For most of the game, Brady was in total command, but as the second half progressed, Jacksonville moved tighter to the line and appeared to take away the short passes the Pats had used to move the chains. Brady was forced to hold on to the ball and look for longer routes, with predictable results, though credit here must go for ball protection. It could have been worse, is my point. The Jacksonville crowd was in a frenzy (the toughest road crowd this year), and the Patriots began to take penalties and move backwards.

But as he so often does, Brady produced one more drive in the face of adversity, a 68 yard fourth quarter march that culminated in Maroney’s touchdown run, and a seemingly secure ten point lead. The rookie returned to the lineup with a bang, including when he went nose to nose with the Jacksonville front to bang out a couple of first downs. But it was his scoring burst - a play that should have ended the game - that brought some much needed excitement back to the Pats buttoned-down offense.

Maroney was sprung on an effective block by fellow rookie David Thomas, who was Burt Ward to Brady’s Adam West today. Thomas made a NFL Films style diving touchdown catch of a perfectly thrown Brady 22 yarder in the third, taking care to cradle the ball away from the ground to prove the catch. The first TD of his career came only three plays after he took a short Brady pass and raced 36 yards, beautifully up the left sideline, to set up his own score.

Sue me if I’m getting kind of excited about some of the Patriots young players, even for this year. Thomas has grabbed a bucket and started bailing serious water these last two weeks. James Sanders is stepping up and making a handful of plays a game. Last week its was Mays and Woods. How about Tully Banta Cain, long a backup and special teamer, flashing a real threat on the edge (five tackles and consistent pressure in the backfield again)?

Unfortunately, Banta Cain will probably be remembered today for a hideous second quarter gaffe that cost the Patriots a few red faces and - even worse - six points. Just after the Patriots had taken an early 3-0 lead on a winding, twisting 48 yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski (nice hold by Matt Cassel on what proved to be the winning margin), the Jags took the ball on their own 26 and handed it to dangerous sparkplug Maurice Jones-Drew.

Ty Warren happened to make good penetration on the play, and kicked his man back into the tiny Drew, who instantly went to the ground. Both Banta Cain and veteran safety Artrell Hawkins assumed the little bastard was down, which of course he wasn’t. They let him up. Next thing you know he’s racing past a diving (and limited) Harrison, all the way to the end zone. 74 yards on what should have been one or two. Shameful.

The Patriots had really outplayed the Jags in every way to that point, and they were behind. But as noted above, it was Brady’s day. He took the ball with eight minutes left in the first half and marched the Pats on a 14 play, 82 yard drive that ate more than 7:20 of game clock. It was one of the best drives of the year, and it was all Brady. The chains just kept moving, five and six yards at a time. One to Graham, one to Faulk, one to Brown, one to Gaffney, and what the hell, here’s one for Bam Childress too. Corey Dillon did the honors with a thrust from the 1, behind the right side of the Pats line. New England had the lead again.

From there out, the teams traded touchdowns. The Pats struck with Thomas on their first drive of the second half (another corker - 78 yards on 7 plays), and suddenly, the Pats had a 10 point lead. The Jags fought back, driving into New England territory, but the Pats defense stiffened and Josh Scobee missed a 53 yard field goal attempt.

The Pats then went on a field goal drive of their own (highlighted by a nice catch by Daniel Graham), but Gostkowski’s 49 yarder (from the left hash) sailed just left of the post, and the chance to extend the lead was lost.

The Jags made it hurt right away, with some help from the Patriots.

Garrard faded back to pass under heavy rush by Banta Cain and Richard Seymour, and the pressured throw sailed straight to Mike Vrabel, who pulled it in for the first turnover of the afternoon. But Seymour laid an unnecessary late shot on Garrard, and the personal foul put the ball back in the mobile quarterback’s hands.

On the next play, Garrard rolled away from the pressure, and found a waiting Ernest Wilford - well behind Asante Samuel - inside the Pats 10 yard line. The 41 yard completion set up a short TD plunge by Drew, and the lead was cut back to three.

But Brady and Maroney took over after a brief flurry of punts, and - after their weakest moments allowed Jones to score - the Patriots defense came back to make a turnover stick and save New England from a last minute disaster.

What does it all mean?

It means that the Pats have another division crown, and another playoff berth. It also means that for all of today’s ups and downs, the Patriots came into a tough road stadium against a desperate team and found a way to win, even after shooting themselves in the foot at least twice. For the second week in a row, they’ve appropriately answered the clarion call of the approaching playoffs.

For all the changes, for all the defections, for all the angst internal and external - they’re 11-4, and a division winner, and a playoff invitee. And they may just be playing their best football of the season.

The Christmas Eve Sunday Papers

sunday_links.jpg
by Scott Benson
scott@bostonsportsmedia.com

Christmas Eve brings one of the biggest games of the 2006 season as the Patriots meet the rugged Jaguars today in Jacksonville. Here’s a quick turn at the links before we head off over the river and through the woods……

In the Globe, beat guy Mike Reiss writes about today’s must-win for both teams, and the Patriots’ desire to wrap it up. The prevailing thought today is that the game will be won in the trenches, which makes the continued absence of Vince Wilfork and Ben Watson unfortunate. Mike’s notebook goes on to preview the returns of Laurence Maroney and Rodney Harrison, who both made the trip to Jacksonville with the intention of playing.

In his weekly scouting report, Jim McBride previews the trench fight and gives the advantage to Jacksonville on both sides of the ball.

Ron Borges writes masterfully on Larry Izzo and his 11 year career as a NFL specialist. Here’s something I didn’t know; Izzo is the second leading special teams tackler in the history of the NFL. Ron also offers his weekly Football Notes, where he takes a crack at year-end NFL awards. Naturally, Peyton Manning and Ladanian Tomlinson take home the major hardware. Note that Eric Mangini, of all people, is Ron’s coach of the year. I’m sure that’s just a coincidence.

At the Herald, Michael Felger wonders if the Patriots can get on a playoff roll by stringing together complete football games for the first time this season. Felger gives the size matchups to the Jaguars, particularly at the wide receiver position, and also takes a quick peek at the upward trending Willie Andrews, the Pats leading special teams tackler.

John Tomase opens his notebook with the latest inactive updates, and notes the presence of Maroney and Kevin Faulk (who dodged a bullet last week) in the Patriots backfield, which may be called on again to lead the offense.

A couple of ‘Herald wire services’ stories round out the tab’s coverage - a collaborative scouting report again highlights the expected struggle in the trenches, and a zip around the league finds former Pat Deion Branch - much like the Little River Band - reminiscing.

Let’s not forget the Herald’s enemy lines entry for this week - Carl Kotala of Florida Today says David Garrard has already forgotten last Sunday’s four turnover performance against the Titans. Well, Dave, those who cannot learn history are doomed to repeat it. Santayana, bitches!

Lastly, at the ProJo, Shalise Manza Young has a pleasant feature on Terri Terrell, Laurence’s Maroney’s mom. Sounds like a nice family, and Maroney continues to come off as a well-grounded sort. In her weekly ‘Who I Am’, Shalise asks the players about the best gifts they’ve ever gotten, and given.

Joe McDonald is unbelievably optimistic in his weekly game analysis. That’s all right, Joe, I like your spirit.

Jim Donaldson’s got a column on the Patriots playing the ‘disrespect’ card again, except that if you look closely, you’ll see it’s Donaldson playing the disrespect card again, not the Patriots.

It occurs to me that I haven’t really recommended the ProJo Pats blog before, so here it is.

I guess that’s it for this morning, unless you head over to Bruce’s Patriots News Mashup page for further coverage. Naturally, you know where to click for updates throughout the morning - Reiss’s Pieces has always been the first place to check. I’ll be back later with some post game thoughts from our mobile studios in South Paris, Maine. Safe traveling, everyone.

GDRV Roundtable

By Scott Benson, Greg Doyle, Tim Jordan and Bruce Allen
scott@bostonsportsmedia.com

Next Monday, for the first time in my life, I’ll spend Christmas without either of my two now-grown children.

All for good reason, I’m happy to say. Earlier this week my son flew to spend Christmas with his sister, who is living in Corsica while she does some student teaching at a university there.

She’s a world traveler, as far as Bensons go. It’s not the first Christmas she’s spent far away from home, and I suspect, not the last. That’s why her brother is over there this year - she loves Europe, but I guess even jetsetting ameri-euro-hipsters still miss their families at Christmas. The truth is she always ends up a basket case. I don’t feel much better once I’ve gotten off the phone with her.

So he busted his ass on the boat (he’s a fisherman) and saved up enough extra money to buy plane tickets - his first international flight - to places called Orly and Ajaccio, just so his sister didn’t have another gray, lonely holiday.

As kids, they were like any other brother and sister born two years apart. I was always breaking something up, sending someone to their room, telling someone else to wipe that smirk off their face. It was even worse when they learned to walk.

To see them now, in their mid-twenties, devoted to each other as brother and sister, as family, and as friends - to the extent that one would fly 4000 miles to be there for the other - well, it’s one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever experienced. When he left here the other night, I squeezed him tight and told him how proud I was of him. Of both of them.

What does this have to do with the Patriots? Nothing. It’s just one father’s Christmas story, about one of the best gifts he’s ever gotten. I hope the tree that your family gathers around this Monday will be surrounded by dozens just like it.

Panel, let’s posit.

Did the Patriots do anything last Sunday to make you feel better about their readiness for the playoffs?

Greg: Yes, plenty of things. Save for one drive, the defense was dominant. The offense did what it had to and ddn’t turn the ball over. The special teams were great. Granted, it was against an opponent who isn’t good to begin with and played poorly to boot. But, the Patriots dispatched them 40-7 and played a clean, solid game. What’s not to like?

Bruce: Well, they took care of the ball and didn’t commit penalties. I feel better about both of those things. They weren’t dominant on offense, even though the scoreboard would tell you they were. The defense forced turnovers, which again is a positive. Overall, even if the Texans are one of the worst teams in the league, the Patriots did what they had to do to make sure this wasn’t a competitive game. They didn’t play down to the level of their competition. So all in all, there were a number of things that made this a positive step forward.

Scott: Yeah, the fact that they virtually eliminated turnovers and penalties. If the Patriots don’t kill themselves, they’ll make it damn hard for anybody else to kill them. Elsewhere, I especially liked that Corey Dillon got 20 carries even though some of his runs went nowhere. Sometimes they go away from the running game even when Dillon (or one of the others) is cranking. That they stayed with it on Sunday shows real commitment to making the running game work, and gives hope that common sense still has a place in the Patriots’ offensive gameplan. They’re not going anywhere - literally - without it. One more thing - a couple of rookies (Corey Mays and David Thomas) really contributed to the win.

Tim: They outclassed a 4 win team. As far as playoff readiness, I am glad they don’t start this week. They seem like a team that needs a couple more weeks of gameplanning for, preparing for, and playing an opponent. As a blogger fanboy, I feel like they have as good of a chance as any team come playoff time.

By the same token, what would a win mean for them this week? A loss?

Bruce: A win would probably ensure that next week’s game in Tennessee is their bye week, similar to the Miami game at home last year. A loss with a Jets loss probably means the same thing. A loss with a Jets win would really tighten things up and make next week’s game almost do-or-die. Let’s just be safe and win this one.

Scott: A win on Christmas Eve obviously means they would clinch their fourth straight division title, but just as obviously, its been an extremely trying season for the players on this team. I don’t doubt that they have confidence in themselves; what they don’t have is a ton of empirical evidence to back it up. Not this year’s team, anyway. A win over a playoff contender - in a very tough place to prevail - would have to build a little capital in that regard. A loss? Well, that means the AFC East is still open for debate, and it will all come down to the final weekend in Tennessee. That just doesn’t seem very appealing - or affiirming for the Patriots - at all.

Tim: My first response to this was how this game could be a rare “win-win” one for them. I was thinking that a loss may serve to leave just the right bad taste in their mouths for a passioned, sustained playoff run. Then I read what I wrote and it looked absurd, akin to pleading them to get their swagger back like they left it with the cute coat check girl. A loss would probably be a harbinger for other bad things to come. The December mulligan was already taken in Miami. They need to win this week. They need the offense to really assert themselves. Show themselves that they can execute against a physical and talented defense. They are 3 point dogs so I guess that tells you what the money men think about their chances of answering the bell against a schizophrenic Jacksonville team.

Greg: Well, it would mean the division championship to start. A loss would be discouraging, but hey, Indianapolis lost down there too recently. If they can win, that will tell you a lot more about the ability of the Patriots to go on the road against a team that is pretty good and also needs a win. If they can do it, it will be very encouraging for the playoffs.

The Pro Bowl teams were announced this week, and just one Patriot (Richard Seymour) was selected. Any reaction?

Bruce: I’m sure one or two more Patriots will be added as injury replacements, so that will work itself out. In the immediate present, it might mean a little extra motivation for those who feel snubbed. They could use every little edge they can find at this point.

Scott: I’m a fan of a good many of the players, and I suppose I’d like for them to get the national credit they deserve, and apparently want. But I cannot bring myself to give a shit about the Pro Bowl. Never have. I don’t even watch the effing thing. Who does?

Tim: I was elated when I saw this. Contrived or not, many players on this team have shown that they respond well to perceived slights like this. This year it seems like the pundits are tacitly getting behind them enough to remove that angle. Almost as if they don’t want to be wrong about the Patriots so they will continue to qualify every doubt with the obligatory “they’ve shown that they are a resilient group in the past, can they keep it up?”. Kind of takes the edge off of the whole “no one respects us or any of our family pets” mantra that they used to successfully fuel all three of their championship runs. Getting slighted helps, but getting slighted equally by fans, coaches, and players is even better. Plus, we got to see Seymour snarl at Fancypants Felger, the Preppy Fraud, at Wednesday’s press conference for proclaiming Sey’s pro bowl honor underserving.

Greg: Just that its an absolute snub for Ty Warren. Others who could have been selected include Asante Samuel, Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal, Logan Mankins and VInce Wilfork. It’s too bad at least a few of them didn’t get in and I hope a few are added if injury replacements are needed. Maybe the Patriots can parlay this into extra motivation.

The Patriots defense is currently allowing an average of 13.7 points per game, the second best in the NFL (behind Baltimore, at 13.3). They’ve allowed the fewest touchdowns of any team in the league (19 - actually, the defense has been responsible for only 17). They could better the great 03 defense for the franchise’s all-time PPG mark. Yet, it seems as though they’re rarely evoked in discussions of the best defenses of 06. Why?

Scott: Because they have no depth and the linebackers are old and the secondary is a bunch of second-tier JAG’s. They are the beneficiaries of an easy schedule. To paraphrase Stephen Colbert, I’m not a fan of numbers. Numbers can change, but my opinion will never change, no matter what the numbers are.

Tim: During the first quarter of the Bears game, many very knowledgeable fans in my section were cussing out this defense vociferously while watching Grossman complete long passes or gains due to interference calls. A fellow ticket holder that I often look to for optimism made me feel better about things by noting that the Bears weren’t going to score on a short field. As we’ve seen in the past, the Patriots defense was going to give yardage between the twenties, but they sure as hell weren’t going to give up long scoring plays. This is obviously anecdotal, but I think it’s a fair representation of what can happen when a team wins by playing sound and smart defense. The scoring statistics have been borderline dominant, but it hasn’t looked that way to the Highlights & Nicknames crowd.

Greg: Not sure. They’ve certainly been very good, which gives them a shot in any game in the playoffs. But in the end, who cares what people talk about? If they go into the playoffs and win a few games with excellent defensive performances, people will start talking. Until then, it’s almost better if they’re under the radar.

Bruce: Great question. Is this a situation where Dan Shaughnessy would say “Screw your stats, I go with what my eyes tell me” or has the defense just flown entirely under the radar? Some might say that the defense isn’t nearly as good as the stats would suggest, but we were told so many times before the season that the club had no depth, and yet they’ve had numerous significant injuries and have still managed to keep up this high level of play. Early on in the season, they seemed to have a problem giving up the big play, and they seemed to have addressed it, but perhaps that early image has stuck with those who are judging this defense. Dean Pees has seemingly done a terrific job with this unit in his first season as DC.

Well, it’s time again for the picks. As Minister of the Big Board of Predictions, I’m declaring wire-to-wire leader Bruce Allen the winner of our inaugural pick ‘em contest. Out of fatigue, mostly, though Bruce has been in command from the start. I’m just sick of keeping track of the W-L records. So now you can just freestyle it, boys. Accountability is for suckers. Here’s our slate for this week: San Diego at Seattle, Indianapolis at Houston, Baltimore at Pittsburgh, Cincinnati at Denver, and on Christmas Night, the Jets at Miami.

Tim: San Diego wins their last game of the season against Seattle (Schottenheimer looks like a lieutenant in the Promise Keepers and Holmgren like that creepy guy that takes the bowling league a little too seriously). Houston shocks the surprisingly punchless Colts (Kubiak wears a satin jacket to car club meetings and Dungy is Sammy Davis Jr. without the interesting sex life). Pittsburgh edges the Ravens (Sgt. Slaughter takes the metal chair to Billick and his Prince Valiant haircut). Denver’s defense rises to the occasion at home (Sphincter Face just too much for Deval Patrick). Miami beats the Jets in another bout of wishful thinking (The lonely substitute science teacher prevails against the fat kid with emotional problems).

Greg: San Diego has been very impressive lately. Seattle hasn’t. So I’ll go with San Diego. Indy beats up on hapless Houston. Pittsburgh is on a roll and takes out Baltimore. Denver beats Cincinnati and severely hurts their playoff shot. Miami beats the Jets as well.

Bruce: I’m humbled. I’m going with San Diego, Indy, Baltimore, Denver and the Jets.

Scott: All hail the Chargers. They look like the NFL’s best team as the year ends. The year’s ending, you say? That’s when Marty Ball is at its best. I’m making a wild-ass pick of the Hawks. The Colts haven’t won on the road since they beat the Patriots. But I just watched the Texans, and I can’t pick ‘em to beat Indy. I’m with Greg, I like the Steelers over the Ravens. Pittsburgh has allowed a total of 13 points in the last three games, all wins. Doesn’t sound like an environment where Steve McNair is going to flourish. Sounds like Carson Palmer could be done early again, but I’d take the Broncos at home anyway, regardless. Way to stay consistent, Miami - one week after shutting out the Pats 21-0, they go on the road to Buffalo and lose by the same score. This must be a week for the ‘good’ Dolphins to show up. I’ll take them over the Jets.

Deep breath, men…….let’s have a pick for the Pats and Jaguars.

Bruce: I think I say this every week, but I’m really conflicted here. The Patriots usually respond to a situation like this, but I thought that in Miami two weeks ago. The Jaguars have been great at home all year, (with an inexplicable loss to the Texans being the notable exception) and have generally played to the level of the competition, meaning that they’ll be stoked on Sunday. I fear how much offense the Patriots are going to be able to muster against the Jaguars defense, hoping Tom Brady manages to stay upright for the afternoon. A defensive battle seems in the cards. I’m going to go with the Jaguars, 17-7.

Scott: The Jags are 6-1 at home, where they’re the league’s best home defense (only 9.1 points allowed per game). They’re the third best defense against the run, and second-best when they’re running it themselves. We’ve already talked about the Pats defense. How about a 9-7 game won by the Patriots?

Greg: Tough game. I’m not sure on this one. I am also not sure if Wilfork will be back to help against the Jacksonville running game. I’m going to go with a tight Jacksonville win 20-16.

Tim: Pats by 4. 17-14. Really big game for them.

If you’ve been bad this year, you can expect Santa has left a Mediot of the Week in your stocking. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Bruce: I’m going with whoever Doug Most is from the Boston Globe Magazine. He slammed Tom Brady and David Ortiz for supposedly “helping” their opponents. Brady talking to Matt Hasselbeck about Deion Branch and Ortiz signaling A-Rod to “breathe” apparently makes them “bad teammates” in Most’s eyes. The fact that both of these athletes have been World Champions and performed at the highest level in clutch situations in leading their teams to victory is secondary to these traitorous acts that both Brady and Ortiz are guilty of. Most comments strike me as coming from some “intellectual” who thinks he has sports all figured out, but in reality has no clue about the relationships between athletes in this modern era.

Scott: Other than scanning the papers every morning, I’m pretty insulated from the local media chatter. The radio broke in my car, which was probably the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I’m thankfully too far away to get things like the Fifth Quarter and that crap. I don’t even listen to the Pats pre-game or post-game on the home radio, because that would involve me getting off the couch and going over there to turn it on, which seems like too much effort to go through just to hear Andy Gresh. So I don’t have a MOW again. One thing, though - have you noticed how Artrell Hawkins has become the media’s go-to guy for the Pats defense? And its not to butter his own carrots either - he seems to have become the spokesman for them all. I always appreciate these guys - Christian Fauria was another - who will answer the questions and run the interference for everybody else, without ever making it about them. There’s a real value to that, I think.

Tim: I’m going in the oppsoite direction this week. I want to thank a guy who’s been swimming upstream in the sewer of local sports figures for years. Tom Curran, please come accept your 1 lb bag of Double Bubble. I was stunned to turn on the radio yesterday to hear a caller offering some great observations on the Patriots, specifically about their options when a safety helps out at the line of scrimmage. It was a thoughtful call and the guy showed that he was really paying attention and interested in talking about football, not some contrived storyline that keeps Gary Tanguay-Glenn Orbway-Greg Dickerson flush in blood money (the blood is from the audience ears). Curran immediately recognized this and lauded the guy’s effort and asked Shephard (guest hosting) to (a) stop interrupting him and (b) start making strong points like he is. The whole sequence was a breath of fresh air. He also handled Buckley well when the Dyed Closet decided to derail discussion with posits about the Umass punter. Well done, Tom. I’ve been a fan of Curran’s for some time, along with many others that follow this team, and I am happy to see someone like him get a national gig. We sure miss him in that locker room, though.

Greg: This was easy for me this week. Lets go with the Big Show crew, Ordway, Smerlas, DeOssie and Sheppard. Their drumbeat of idiocy regarding the naming of Jeff Jagodzinski as head coach of Boston College was almost too nauseating to tolerate. If it wasn’t so stupid and ridiculous.

Let’s consider. The naming of Jagodzinski first leaked Monday afternoon in a Herald web column. The Big Show decided to attack; afterall, they are oh so knowledgeable on college sports, and what’s wrong with declaring a coach a failure in the name of ratings before he is even introduced at his press conference? Typical slime ball tactics, acceptable any day of the week at ‘EEI.

So what were their specific complaints? Well, numero uno was Fred Smerlas wondering how “any coach worth his salt” could accept assistants from the previous staff on his staff. I found that incredibly ironic. For fifteen minutes later they had Patriots Coach Bill Belichick on, and not a one of them, just minutes after ranting how weak Jagodzinski must be for taking previous regime assistants, bothered to ask Belchick if he was worth his salt for taking Dante Scarnecchia, Brad Seely and Jeff Davidson onto his staff from Pete Carroll’s staff. And while Ordway sometimes limited his complaint to taking coordinators from a previous staff (Smerlas, DeOssie and Sheppard didn’t make this caveat), it is irrelevant. Scarnecchia is Assistant Head Coach, the second highest coach rank-wise on Belichick’s staff, and Belichick took him. So why didn’t they grill Bill? Because they’re inconsistent, illogical morons who probably don’t even realize Belichick kept on three members of Carroll’s staff. And they certainly couldn’t make the connection that the decision to do so has zero to do with being successful and plenty of good coaches do just that, if the assistants are good coaches.

Furthermore, their idiocy ignores the possibilty maybe Jagodzinski wanted to keep Frank Spaziani, the current BC defensive coordinator. To hear the Big Show Buffoons spin it, Spaziani was forced down his throat and his willingness to take him was the only reason he got the job. Of course, in the name of faux controversy, they made this decision two minutes after reading a single article on it, before Jagodzinski was even named coach himself. Never mind that (according to the Herald) it was Jagodzinski’s ideas on the coaching staff, HIS ideas, that could lead to the retention of Spaziani. Did the Four Idiots of 850 ever consider the possibility that, oh, maybe Jagodzinski LIKES Spaziani because he coached two years with him at BC a few years back and they like each other? Maybe Jagodzinski knows Spaziani is a good, qualified coach because he SPENT A YEAR UNDER HIM as running backs coach when Jagodzinski was Offensive Coordinator? Or maybe he is impressed by the fact BC had a very good defense this year, ranked 29th out of the hundreds of Division I teams? Naw, that would be too logical. So ‘EEI went the screaming jackasses route instead.

Finally, Sheppard spent days going on and on about Jagodzinski having NO COLLEGE OR PRO HEAD COACHING EXPERIENCE!!! Clearly the fat man was outraged because he spent a good portion of relaying his thoughts on this screaming and spitting into the microphone like a bloviated drunkard. Gee, Pete, no college or pro head coaching experience when he takes over a major program and the highest he’d ever been was an NFL offensive coordinator? You mean like Charlie Weis? That certainly has proven a good way to evaluate who is ready, huh? Yeah right.

Here are other guys who have been pretty successful college head coaches without pro or college head coaching experience. Phillip Fulmer who won a National Championship at Tennessee, Mark Richt has top teams at Georgia every year, Lloyd Carr won a National Championship at Michigan in 1997, some guy named Joe Paterno when he took over Penn State and Bob Stoops, who won a National Title at Oklahoma. There are plenty of others and we already mentioned Weis. All these guys were hired to their first jobs as head men at major schools without previous college or NFL head coaching experience and did well. Tom O’Brien and Tom Coughlin were in the same situation when hired at BC. Coughlin hadn’t even been an NFL coordinator as Jagodzinski has. Yet Sheppard rants on and on about it as if its conclusive.

The only thing conclusive are all four of these guys are idiots of proportions that put them atop the list of biggest fools in Boston. When they’re not scalping tickets or taking money from charities as their own, they’re going on the air drunk and making stupid statements about Jagodzinski all in the name of creating something other drunks can call in and talk about, piling up ratings in the same way traffic accidents gather onlookers. And they’re this week’s mediots of the week.

Next Page →