by Patriots Daily Staff
feedback@patriotsdaily.com

Believing sincerely that a watched pot never boils, our own Chef has been passing the time in the PD Kitchen (idle this week with a road game on tap) by perusing the Intertubes for choice meat on this Sunday night’s Colts-Pats matchup.

He shoots, he scores. It seems the Pro Football Hall of Fame has designated the game as its Throwback Game of the Week, and with that comes all kinds of cool archival materials from the many memorable battles fought by these two rivals over the years.

We thought you might find something of interest there. Remember to compliment the Chef and tip the waitstaff.

Addition:

Some more appetizers in the form of NFL.com video clips about Colts/Patriots

Week 9: Patriots vs. Colts Preview

Weather update: Patriots vs Colts

Belichick ready for Colts

Cassel a bona fide starter

Colts’ concerns

Generally Speaking: Bill Polian on Colts

Colts not sharp

by Britt Schramm
britt@patriotsdaily.com

“Statistics are no substitute for judgment” - Henry Clay, American Statesman

“He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts-for support rather than for illumination.” - Andrew Lang, Scottish Poet and Collector of Folk/Fairy Tales

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” - Mark Twain, American author (attributing original quote to Benjamin Disraeli)

If I can paraphrase badly the sentiment of the three wise men quoted above, statistics can be very misleading in the wrong hands.  To that end, here’s an interesting comparison provided by NFL.com concerning the former and current starting QB for your AFC East Co-Leaders from Foxboro after seven games under their respective belts.

Hey, those numbers look pretty friggin comparable, I’d say.  As you can see, Cassel is completing at a better percentage and for more passing yards than his predecessor; probably a result of having Moss and Welker (not a slight against the ‘01 edition of Patten and Brown).  Other numbers show that Matt probably still holds onto the ball way too long based not only on the fact that the number of sacks is twice as many as Brady’s but a sometime by-product of a collapsing pocket is increased rushing attempts, which is over twice of what Brady has.

To justify all of the work to get these individual stats, I think that it is necessary to delve a little deeper into these numbers to find out how statistically alike these two So Cal QBs are.

by Bruce Allen
bruce@bostonsportsmedia.com

If Tom Brady hadn’t gotten hurt, you might not even have noticed it so much this season.

With his injury however, more attention is being paid to the defensive side of the ball, and even then, it’s not getting a whole lot of attention.

Don’t look now, but almost the entire Patriots defense is being remade. It’s getting younger, faster and more athletic. The growing pains are there, we’ve seen them. This sort of transition is going to have its bumpy parts, but the move is being made nonetheless.

At linebacker, for years the starters seemed to play the whole game, every game. For a long time it was Tedy Bruschi, Ted Johnson, Roman Phifer and Mike Vrabel, with Willie McGinest alternating between outside linebacker and defensive end. When Phifer, Johnson and McGinest all either retired or went elsewhere, Junior Seau came on board for the last two seasons. Only Bruschi and Vrabel remain today, and they were joined last season by Adalius Thomas. During those years, the only young linebacker to see the field was Tully Banta Cain, and he was allowed to leave via free agency, being deemed not worthy enough to keep around.

by Dan Snapp
dan@patriotsdaily.com

You never know what memories of a football game you’ll stash away long after the contest’s completed. The big plays typically get top billing - the bomb, the interception, the game-ending sack - but often, it’s less-likelier suspects that resonate. It’s a subtle part of the game’s beauty.

Early in the fourth quarter Sunday, after the Rams went up 16-13 on the Patriots, an old familiar feeling washed over: the Patriots are going to win this.

There was no particular rhyme or reason for it at the time. The Patriots had just consummated an abysmal third quarter by giving up an onside kick, two interceptions, the ball on downs, and ultimately the lead. Moreover, their first possession of the fourth featured two dropped passes, a sack and punt.

Didn’t matter. The feeling persisted.

And it was familiar not from last year, when a different kind of “They’re going to win this” feeling would hit, usually in the first quarter. No, this was a feeling returning from 2003 and 2004.

Despite their matching 14-2 records those two years, the Patriots were often undersold as a league power, as they rarely blew anybody out. A common win would be them holding an 8- to 11-point lead early in the fourth, and then watching the opposition use up most of remaining regulation getting one of the two scores they needed.

To beat the Patriots back then, you had to knock them out early. If they were lingering, they were going to win. That old feeling said as much.

by Scott Benson
scott@patriotsdaily.com

Welcome back to Five Questions, everybody. Now, you remember how we play our game - answer all five questions and you win one hundred thousand dollars, plus a invitation to play in our Grand Finals later this season……in Las Vegas!

Actually, that’s something else entirely. This is just Five Questions about football.

Shouldn’t retiring coaches wait until AFTER the season to announce their intentions?

This past offseason, Mike Holmgren came right out and said it. Tony Dungy may as well have. Two of the most successful head coaches of the last fifteen years would step down at the end of the 2008 season, leaving two teams that had become perennial contenders during their tenures.

Maybe they should have kept that bit of news to themselves for a while longer.

Holmgren’s Seattle Seahawks, coming off five straight playoff appearances, are 2-5 since learning their longtime head coach would step aside at the end of the season.

Dungy’s Indianapolis Colts, Super Bowl XLI champions and a playoff team in each of Dungy’s six seasons, are 3-4, giving the two lame ducks a combined record of 5-9 for 2008.

Sure, there are all kinds of reasons why this is the case; no Matt Hasselbeck puts a damper on things in Seattle (note to self: Sigh.), and the Colts have struggled with injuries and ailments from Peyton Manning on down (Sigh.). Neither team was impenetrable to begin with. Holmgren’s always been thin at one position or another (people were giving Belichick a hard time for having no better option than Matt Cassel; how does Seneca Wallace hit you?), and there’s been a subtle attrition happening in Indy that’s not all that dissimilar to the one in New England.

Still, you have to wonder how much “yeah, sure boss (eyeroll)” there is in that combined 5-9 record. It’s human nature, at least to a degree. If your boss came in this morning and announced he or she will be leaving at the end of the month, what would be your reaction to their next dictum? Yeah, sure boss.

I think it’s better than 50/50 that Holmgren’s Last Waltz won’t be Scorsese material. I guess we’ll get a look in week fourteen. But the Colts? I have to say I’m wary. They may have played themselves out of the division with their mess on Monday night, but four losses at this point disqualifies them from nothing else. Especially if they can get a big win on national TV this week.

by Tyler Carter
tyler@patriotsdaily.com

In front of a nationally televised audience against Denver, Matt Cassel completed 75% percent of his passes (7.7 yards per attempt), three of them for touchdowns and none for interceptions.  Although his success was no doubt buoyed by a potent rushing attack (not to mention five forced turnovers), his 136.3 passer rating was 10th highest all-time by a Patriot quarterback, and he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.

Yet his best game may have been against the Rams this past Sunday.

The author is aware that Cassel threw two interceptions, and his 21-33 effort (63.6%) actually brought down his seasonal completion percentage (65.8%).  The interceptions, which were primarily responsible for his lackluster 73.7 passer rating, were rather fortuitous: the first came on a pass intended for Moss (who had single coverage) that was tipped by Fakhir Brown and hauled in by Oshiomogho Atogwe, and the second occurred after Welker fell victim to the turf monster, giving Brown an easy pick.  If you take away those two picks (and assume the passes fell incomplete), Cassel’s rating jumps to a more respectable 98.9.

You can’t simply ignore turnovers however, and on this day the Rams won that battle 4-1 (if the turnover on downs and onside kick are factored in).  Although this provided the Rams with favorable field position and momentum, the Patriot defense rallied and surrendered only a couple of field goals.  The unit had a monster day overall, allowing only 16 points despite giving up 358 yards of total offense (268 through the air) for an eye-popping 22.38 yards per point allowed (YPPA, a measure of CHFF’s Bendability Index).

This week however, the Turning Point belongs to the Cassel-led offense.  After their three 3^rd quarter drives ended in turnovers (the aforementioned interceptions and turnover on downs), St. Louis led by three early in the 4^th quarter.  New England was forced to punt after their next possession before they finally got in sync on a drive that resulted in a game-tying field goal.  After their final (non-kneeldown) possession began with a sack (and brought up 2^nd and 18), the Patriots went back to their shotgun spread in an attempt to break the stalemate.

by Kevin Henkin
feedback@patriotsdaily.com

(Editor’s Note: This morning we welcome this guest contribution from old friend Kevin Henkin, who has an idea on how the Patriots can quickly return to the top of the NFL heap. We cannot believe we didn’t think of this first. But that’s Kevin Henkin, folks. A visionary.)

While I may not be a football “expert” along the lines of Tony Kornheiser or Glenn Ordway, I know at least this much: The Patriots need to steal Condoleeza Rice away before the San Francisco 49ers get their grubby little brie-encrusted hands on her.

It’s not all that surprising that the 49ers have Condi Rice in their sights. Perhaps more than any other team in the NFL, the 49ers enjoy a proud tradition of being a great football team a long time ago. That’s why this choice is so savvy for them. Football is, after all, is a game of war and Condi Rice is battle tested in managing two wars at once! Talk about multi-tasking.

Condi also brings a lot of other qualifications to the table. For example, she has been photographed on multiple occasions holding a football during photo-ops. Anyone who brings a football along to a press conference is clearly a student of the game. (Ever see Rich Kotite carrying around a football to press conferences? I rest my case.)

Also, it is said that when Condi served as Provost at Stanford University, she played a large role in landing Dennis Green as Head Coach of the football program. Yes, folks, the same Dennis Green who subsequently elevated the team back to above-average prominence (culminating in an exciting Aloha Bowl loss!). Heady days for the Cardinal football program indeed.

There is also the fact that Ms. Rice has often spoken of her ultimate of goal of one day becoming the NFL Commissioner. Suffice it to say that, considering the robo-nazis who currently occupy the NFL front office these days, the Patriots could really use a friend in the big chair the next time a huge cheating controversy happens.

Also consider the executive experience that Condi Rice can brag about. With her firmly in charge, she wouldn’t be allowing things like having her starting quarterback’s knee being operated on over and over again by some quack hippie doctor using a dirty steak knife out in California. Rest assured that the shenanigans would be over and order would be restored in this once proud Patriots organization.

Lastly, when it comes to “the way things are done” in Foxboro, Condi would obviously fit right in, what with her long track record of denying obvious truths to the press and treating important reporters very rudely.

For the sake of summation, let us recap the Condi situation: Carries football around. Wants to be Commissioner. Hired Denny Green. Takes no mess. Soon to be unemployed. Hates reporters. Wow. Honestly, do we need to hear anymore, folks? This is a win-win for everyone involved (except maybe for incompetent surfer-boy doctors out in California). It is what it is. As they say out in Texas (where people really love football!), let’s get’r done. In Condi We Trust!