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First Impressions – The Buffalo Bills, Round 2

December 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

By Greg Doyle, Patriots Daily Staff

The Patriots see their last division game come this Sunday in their second match up with Buffalo, who they saw in the opener. Once again, it would seem to make sense for the Patriots to pound it on offense. These Bills are very injured and banged up on defense and essentially are at least in nickel as a base defense most of the time. They are last in the NFL in rush defense and giving up 5.0 yards per carry, which is an unheard of high number in the NFL. In contrast, against the pass the Bills are effective, can rush the passer a bit and have an outstanding 10 to 25 touchdown to interception ratio by opposing quarterbacks. It’ll be bewildering if the Patriots, who ran more than usual last week, don’t show even more a commitment to that in the cold and blustery December Buffalo weather against a team that is simply pitiful against the run.

On offense the Bills will try to play conservative with an occasional long ball to Terrell Owens and Lee Evans. They’re gonna try to win this game 16-13. The Patriots simply can’t give up big plays and if they don’t, Buffalo will have a very hard time moving the ball consistently.

Lets take a look at some Bills who figure into this game:

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (#14):

Ryan-FitzpatrickA Harvard grad, Fitzpatrick has essentially taken over as Buffalo’s starting quarterback. The fact is Fitzpatrick is a smart quarterback with a very strong arm but simply lacks the accuracy to ever be a regular starting quarterback. He can do a competent job filling in and even occasionally make some excellent throws and plays, but he just hasn’t shown an ability to do it consistently. Fitzpatrick was formerly a 7th round choice with St. Louis who is now with his 3rd NFL team. For the year, Fitzpatrick has played in 8 games and 5 times he has had a QB rating of less than 70. He has thrown 5 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. His QB rating for the season is 60.2. One of the good things you can say, however, is the Bills are 3-3 in games he started, 2-5 in games he hasn’t. He can scramble a bit, so that is something the Patriots will have to look out for.

Offensive Lineman Kendall Simmons (#71):

Simmons was with the Patriots earlier this season having signed with them on September 6, 2009. He played in one game when he was, reportedly reluctantly, released when the Patriots needed to make room on the roster to account for injuries at other positions. Simmons then signed with Buffalo on November 24th and started 5 days later in a win versus Miami. He has started all 3 games at guard since joining the Bills. In fact, in 81 career NFL games the only one he has not started was the one game he played for the Patriots this year, a 59-0 win for New England. Simmons won two Super Bowls with Pittsburgh during the 2005 season and last season, though he was on injured reserve for the game last year.

TE Jonathan Stupar (#88):

Tight End Jonathan Stupar, who went to college at Virginia, originally signed after graduation with the Patriots in May of 2008. After being waived at the end of training camp last year by the Pats, he hooked on with the Bills practice squad and was activated to the regular roster towards the end of last year. He showed some promise this preseason as both a blocker and a pass catcher, leading the Bills in receiving their first 3 exhibition games. Now on the Bills regular roster, he is showing potential there as well having caught a pass in each of the last three games, two of which were wins. Stupar is the nephew of former Giants Super Bowl winning quarterback Jeff Hostetler and the son of a former Penn State offensive lineman. He has a brother who is a linebacker with Penn State now.

LB Bryan Scott (#43):

Scott, normally a safety throughout his college and NFL career, is playing linebacker for the Bills at the moment. The Bills are essentially playing a base 4-2-5 defense with Scott in the starting lineup and that is a major reason why they have been very good defensively versus the pass, but horrendous against the run. The way-undersized Scott (for linebacker) simply isn’t equipped to effectively play the run. Combine that with the undersized Bills at other defensive positions and they are the most inviting team in the NFL to try and manhandle.

Interim Head Coach Perry Fewell:

Fewell took over the team this season when Dick Jauron was fired on November 17, 2009. He has gotten the 3-6 team he took over to go 2-2 under him with every game being competitive (the losses were by 3 and 6 points). Fewell is 47 years old and has done a good job in the NFL as an assistant coach, sometimes with limited talent to work with. This week Fewell recalled meeting Bill Belichick for the first time in 1997 when Belichick was there scouting Corey Chavous. “I’ve always admired him, studied some of the things he’s done throughout his career. We’ve never worked together or coached together, but in your coaching career you look at people and like some of the things they do and you try to emulate those things” said Fewell this week. He’ll get a chance this Sunday to have the thrill of his so-far short head coaching career by topping Belichick’s team.

Bills Resources

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Filed Under: Opponents

Worry Wart – Game 14 at Bills

December 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

by Chris Warner, Patriots Daily Staff

Despite last week’s win over Carolina, this New England squad remains an underdog to finish up December in winning style. This week they travel to Buffalo for their final AFC East showdown.

The good news? The Bills have the lowest-ranked run defense in the league. The bad news? Well, as always, there’s plenty of that…

Oh Give Me A Home: Or, in this case, an away (victory, that is). All of the Patriots’ five losses have come outside of the comfy confines of Gillette. In a year of broken streaks, they need to overcome that one while maintaining their six-year run against the Bills.

While we’re on the topic of Buffalo…

pats-billsThe Answer Is Snow: The question is, what kind of funky weather will affect the game? Though this won’t equal last year’s literal whirlwind (check out the cockeyed goalposts of 2008 here), the conditions could become a factor.

Born To Run: The Bills, due to the aforementioned climate, have always tried to move the ball on the ground (they average 4.3 yards per carry). With the Patriots on their last chance power drive, injuries last week to Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren might put the onus on other defensive linemen. No one else on the Patriots’ front inspires confidence in preventing Buffalo from gaining yards.

Clearing Up A Loose End: Grrr, Randy Moss. Ehhh. Arrrgh. Okay, even as we get past the histrionics over last week’s lame performance, we still have concerns over which Moss makes the trip. Will this guy fight for passes and run through his routes, or will he mail it in this week?

Too bad we have to ask.

Ryan’s Song: We hope Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick ends up singing something like, “I can’t get enough time to pass.” With New England’s lack of pressure, though, that’s not likely. The Pats’ defense hasn’t held up against accurate quarterbacks, from a scale of Drew Brees to Chad Henne. Continued miscommunication and missed tackles will provide a long day for the visitors.

Point Of No Return: Can someone – anyone – step up to return kickoffs? Someone besides Matthew Slater, who moves with the elusiveness of a flat kickball? Or besides Wes Welker, who’s the best player on the offense right now? Will Laurence Maroney be the guy, or will he have to focus on the run game? It would be nice for someone to carry the ball past the 30 once in a while.

Welcome To Our Flat: If New England comes out with the same lack of enthusiasm as they did last week (I mean, really, they had the collective spark of a bowl of borscht), then they give Buffalo a chance.

Email Chris Warner at [email protected]

Filed Under: Games

Around The League – Week 14

December 17, 2009 By 1 Comment

By Jeremy Gottlieb, Patriots Daily Staff

It being the holiday season and all, why not give out some football-related gifts? And if you don’t get anything, that doesn’t mean we here at Patriots Daily don’t love you. Mostly.

MVP: Drew Brees, Saints

drew-breesBrees is the league’s leading passer, completing 70 percent of his passes for 3,832 yards at 8.9 YPA, 32 TDs, and a passer rating of 112.3. More importantly, along with coach Sean Payton, he has changed the culture of the Saints, who’s been decent from time to time before his arrival, but never, ever as good as they are now. He has led New Orleans to an unbeaten record through 13 games while not only posting the stats listed above but providing vocal leadership to every nook and cranny of the team (check out his Ray Lewis-esque motivational speeches he delivers to the entire team prior to every game sometime). With all due respect to Peyton Manning and Brett Favre, both of whom are worthy choices as well, it’s Brees’s year.

Defensive Player of the Year: Charles Woodson, Packers

The former Heisman Trophy winner, who was buried in the morass of Oakland a few years ago but has been reborn as the leader of the Green Bay defense, has eight INTs , four forced fumbles, two sacks, 61 tackles and scored two touchdowns all while covering (usually one-on-one) the opponent’s best receiver. The Packers are second overall in defense this season, third against the pass. Last year, the Packers were 22nd in defense and blew seven games in which they led in the fourth quarter en route to a 6-10 record. The change to a 3-4 scheme and the import of master defensive coordinator Dom Capers have been huge reasons for the improvement this year and the best player of this new-fangled group is Woodson.

Rookie of the Year: Percy Harvin, Vikings

Adrian Peterson may be Brett Favre’s most valuable weapon in Minnesota, but the electric Harvin isn’t far behind. The rookie from Florida has 48 catches for 681 yards (14.2 YPA) and six TDs to go with two kick returns for touchdowns, one for 101 yards and an average of 29 yards per return. The Vikings are loaded on offense and it would have been easy for Harvin to remain in the shadows of guys like Peterson, veteran deep threat Bernard Berrian and breakout receiver Sidney Rice. But he’s embraced his role as an all-around threat and has contributed to his team’s success more than any other rookie in the league.

Coach of the Year: Sean Payton, Saints

We’ve always known Payton to be an offensive guru, going back to his assistant days in Dallas (where he developed Tony Romo), and throughout his time in New Orleans, where he led the Saints to one NFC Championship games and has always had an offense in the league’s top 10. But this year, knowing that as great as his offense was, it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t do something to fix the defense. So he brought in highly regarded coordinator Gregg Williams and this year, they are allowing just 21PPG , a number that’s inflated a bit thanks to 53 points given up in the past two weeks. The results speak for themselves, which is why Payton should be a shoo-in for this honor.

Knucklehead of the Year: JaMarcus Russell, Raiders

Oakland is 31st in the league in passing (144.6 YPG), 31st in the league in scoring (11.9 PPG) and 31st in the league in total offense (246.2 YPG). Russell, the first overall pick in the 2007 draft, has completed just 48 percent of his passes in 10 games, thrown just two TDs against 10 picks, fumbled seven times and been sacked 30 times. he was benched in favor of no-name Bruce Gradkowski, who immediately won two of three starts before getting injured last week against Washington. In that game, Russell threw for just 74 yards and was sacked six times in the second half. He was benched again for this week’s game against Denver in favor of scout team leader Charlie Frye. Reports of laziness, missing meetings, being late for practice and being overweight and out of shape have followed him around all year. But when he was interviewed on the topic a couple of weeks ago, he refused to give Gradkowski any credit for the team’s better fortune since his benching, said he thought he was doing a pretty good job and believes he’s the team’s quarterback of the future. If anyone can think of a better candidate for this gift anywhere in the league than Russell (with the possible exception of his coach and his owner), feel free to let us know.

This Week’s Five Best Teams

1. New Orleans: Another close call for the Saints, but they managed to edge out the Falcons and are now 13-0 and have won more games in one season than any other team in franchise history. And, just to pile on, forgotten man Reggie Bush showed up with two touchdowns against Atlanta.

2. Indianapolis: Uh oh. The Colts win one with Peyton Manning throwing four TDs but mostly playing substandard (20-of-42, 220 yards, three INTs, 65.6 passer rating) and the defense leading the way over Denver. At this point, the only questions about Indy are whether it will rest guys instead of go for 16-0 and whether or not another early, unexpected playoff exit is in the cards.

3. San Diego: That’s 16 December wins in a row and counting for the Chargers, who it says here are Super Bowl bound. Last week, they pulled out a close game in the fourth quarter on the road against a pretty good Cowboys team and now get two of their last three at home. Not ready to declare them champs-to-be. But it’s hard to bet against them right now.

4. Minnesota: Good bounce back win for the Vikes with a beatdown of the struggling Bengals. Brett Favre didn’t follow up his stinker in Arizona with another one and looks good to go given Minnesota’s final three opponents (Carolina, Chicago, the Giants). That dream NFC Championship matchup between the Vikings and the Saints still may happen.

5. Philadelphia/Green Bay: A tie here just because I’m not sure I really trust either team. The Eagles, as awesome as they look right now, can never be fully trusted when the heat is on thanks to their coach and quarterback, while the Packers are still very young and inexperienced despite winning five straight since their putrid loss to theBucs and having a fairly favorable schedule (at Pittsburgh, vs. Seattle, at Arizona) down the stretch.

This Week’s Five Worst Teams

1. Tampa Bay: The Bucs, now 1-12, didn’t make a first down until the middle of the third quarter in last week’s 26-3 loss to the Jets, and it was on a penalty. Quarterback Josh Freeman has thrown eight picks in his last two games and coach Raheem Morris told the Tampa media that he doesn’t really like being a head coach. Yikes.

2. St. Louis: It’s getting harder and harder to stick up for my favorite bad team, especially after a 47-7 loss to at Tennessee in which they started their third-string quarterback, a sixth-round rookie named Keith Null, who was coached at West Texas A&M by the immortal Ryan Leaf, and tossed fiveINTs in his pro debut.

3. Detroit: This week’s You’ve Gotta Be Kidding Me stat involves the Lions, whose 48-3 loss at Baltimore last week, in which they allowed 548 yards (308 rushing), was their worst loss in 18 years. For a team that hasn’t even won 30 percent of its games this decade, that’s no small feat.

4. Cleveland: Congrats to the Browns, who move out of the top spot on our terrible teams list thanks to their 13-6 win over Pittsburgh, a game that may actually have made EricMangini feel like he has more than a two percent chance of being back next year.

5. Kansas City: The Chiefs appear to be the leaders in the clubhouse for Bad Team Most Likely to Turn Things Around Fastest. But they will have to get more out of $60 million man MattCassel, who has one TD and seven INTs in his last three games, to do it.

What’s Trendy

- Brandon Marshall, Broncos: What a turnaround for this guy. From slacking off in practice in an attempt to get himself traded and a subsequent suspension during training camp to a record-setting 21 catches against the Colts, good for 200 yards and two TDs. Great stuff.

- Steve Smith, Giants: The other Steve Smith caught seven more passes against the Eagles, setting a new franchise mark for receptions in a single season with 85. And he still has three more games to add on to it. If he keeps this up, pretty soon, the one in Carolina will be the other Steve Smith.

- DeSean Jackson, Eagles: Jackson completes our all-receiver trifecta edition of What’s Trendy thanks to a six-catch, 178-yard night against the Giants, complete with a 60-yard TD and a 72-yard punt return for another score. With that performance, he tied a league record with eight touchdowns of 50 or more yards in one season. Tremendous.

What’s Not

- Carson Palmer, Bengals: Palmer has appeared to be slipping somewhat in recent weeks and against the Vikings last week he fell flat, managing just 94 yards on a jaw-dropping 25 pass attempts. Cincinnati has a very god running game but it will go nowhere in the playoffs if Palmer puts up stats like that.

- The Giants Defense: On the opposite end of the spectrum from Smith, this group has allowed 32 points per game over its last eight games, likely the biggest reason why the G-Men are a an awful 2-6 over that stretch.

- The Steelers: Sure, there have been crippling injuries on both sides of the ball for the defending champs. But the Steelers added to their list of miserable losses (the Chiefs and the Raiders for starters) with a 13-6 stinker to the woeful Browns in which they averaged just 3.5 yards per play, their lowest in 25 games.

And finally…

Best wishes and deepest condolences to the family of Bengals receiver Chris Henry, who has passed away this morning in a Charlotte, N.C., hospital after suffering serious injuries following a domestic dispute with his fiance. He was 26 years old. It seems Henry’s fiance got into her pickup after the dispute and Henry jumped onto the flat bed as she was driving away. At some point, he was thrown from the vehicle and found by police about a half mile away unconscious and having sustained life-threatening injuries. Henry is on injured reserve for the Bengals after dislocating his forearm earlier in the year. Once one of the league’s leading knuckleheads, having been arrested five times and suspended by the NFL twice, once for two games, the second time for eight, for various indiscretions including assault, a DUI and drug related circumstances. The Bengals even released him once, only to bring him back at the behest of team president Mike Brown and despite the objections of head coach Marvin Lewis. Henry had seemingly cleaned himself up prior to this year, having not been in trouble at all since signing a two-year contract before last season. He had 12 catches for 236 yards and two TDs before suffering the season-ending injury on Nov. 8. Sadly, seeing Henry’s name attached to such a story is hardly surprising given his past issues. But he clearly had been on the right track of late, which only makes the situation more upsetting. What a terrible, tragic turn of events.

Filed Under: News

I Context When I Want To Context

December 16, 2009 By 4 Comments

by Dan Snapp
[email protected]

Original publish date  – August 2nd, 2007

(In light of the resurgence of regurgitation by many in the media of this Randy Moss quote following Sunday’s game against Carolina, we’ve decided to bump this article up from the archives.)

The Globe’s Mike Reiss today repeated the celebrated Randy Moss quote “I play when I want to play” in his rundown on the Patriots receiving competition through the first dozen or so practice sessions. But was it in the right context?

Moss’s remarks were in response to a question about who motivates him to play. Here’s PFW on it:

Minnesota WR Cris Carter on teammate Randy Moss’ remarks that he only plays “when I want to play”: “Some of it, did he mean it? Yes. But some of it did get misconstrued? It was not taken totally out of context, but some of it was asked in the sense of: ‘Does Coach Green get you motivated? Do you like playing on Monday Night Football? Do you like playing the Packers? Does Cris have to get on you to make a play?’ And he said, ‘No, I play when I want to play.’”

This fantastic CityPages article also talks about the incident with proper context:

Most notably, there was the flap over his “I play when I want to play” remark. Ripped from the original context (it came in response to a question of how Moss motivates himself to perform), the wide receiver’s off-the-cuff but fundamentally innocuous answer left talking heads sputtering and howling. They said Moss disgraced the game by failing to give the proverbial 110 percent on every down of every game–even though many other receivers do the same, and the legendary Jerry Rice has admitted he does.

Later in the same piece, it describes how a week later, Moss wasn’t backing down from his original statement:

Last year, a week after the initial furor over the “I play when I want to play” remark, Moss was asked about the quote in a conference call with reporters. Did he want to take it back? Or clarify what he meant? His response: “Hell, no. That shit is what I said.” A second public outcry ensued. But a man from Rand stands by his words. You say what you mean, you mean what you say. It is an anti-image ethic. Whatever else he is, Moss is the antithesis of extremely image-conscious athletes such as his old teammate Cris Carter or, more notably, that most beloved of Minnesota sports icons, Kirby Puckett.

Predictably, Peter King shot first, screw asking questions, later or anytime:

b. You had your chance, Randy Moss, in your interview with Andrea Kremer on ESPN to say you screwed up last year with your I-play-when-I-want-to-play statement. Instead, you said: “It got blown out of context.” Oh. You get the richest contract in NFL history for a wide receiver. You take a chunk of plays in every game off. And you can’t understand why everyone’s so up in arms when you say you play when you damn well feel like it. “When I said that, it might have come out the wrong way,” you told Kremer. Might have? Get a clue, fella.

Why was the onus on Moss to clear things up when the reporters were the ones continually getting the story wrong?

The original quote came from a Nov. 23, 2001 column by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Sid Hartman. Here’s another rundown from scout.com:

Moss was quoted in a Nov. 23 column by Minneapolis Star-Tribune columnist Sid Hartman as saying, “I play when I want to play. Do I play up to my top performance, my ability every time? Maybe not. I just keep doing what I do and that is playing football. When I make my mind up, I am going out there to tear somebody’s head off. When I go out there and play football, man it’s not anybody telling me to play or how I should play. I play when I want to play.”

Michael Silver of Sports Illustrated had a good article on Moss in 2002.

Moss puts one foot on the bench in front of his locker and stares at me. “O.K.,” he says, “shoot.”

I come with this convoluted question-and-a-half: You’re a guy who has said and done a lot of controversial things, and people have formed some strong opinions. Are they getting the right impression of you, and if they aren’t, does that bother you?

“HAY-ell no,” Moss booms in his West Virginia twang. “Why should I worry about what people think? I’ve got everything I need — everything I’ll ever need. It’s not my fault that people don’t know me. Look, I’m going to speak my mind, no matter what the consequences are. The things I do speak might come out different in terms of language, but when I say something, I speak my mind.” The interview lasts a half hour.

We’re not picking on Reiss here by any means. There are few better than Mike. And we’re not suggesting by any means that Moss has simply been a misunderstood choir boy. But would it be fair to say this celebrated quote is rarely put in its proper context?

HAY-ell yes.

Filed Under: Columns

50th Anniversary Minute – the 2004 Patriots

December 16, 2009 By 1 Comment

By Brendon Rosenau, Patriots Daily Staff

In my mind, the best Patriots team of all-time was the 2004 Patriots. They may not have been the most talented team, that distinction has yet to be made, but they are the best collection of players New England has every offered.

corey-dillonTom Brady had developed into one of the best passing quarterback’s in the league, but more importantly he had become the best big game chucker since Joe Montana. Corey Dillon got a reprieve from Cincinnati and thanked the Patriots with a franchise record 1635 yards and 12 touchdowns. Dillon complied nine 100-yard games in the regular season and added a 144 yard effort in the playoffs. The teams true calling card, though, was a defense that was absolutely loaded. Richard Seymour led a stout defensive front, and the line backing core consisted of Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi, Willie McGinest and Ted Johnson. Ty Law and Asante Samuel manned the corners with Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson cracking anyone who came across the field. Of course they also had the best kicker in the game in Adam Vinatieri.

The season started with a opening night win over the Colts that saw the teams win streak extend to 15 games. The Pats would win 21 straight before a loss on Halloween to Pittsburgh. But, New England would get its revenge. After a second straight 14-2 season New England headed to the playoffs, but were considered by many to be an underdog. The first opponent was the league’s highest scoring offense, the Peyton Manning-led Colts. Manning had thrown a record 49 touchdowns and was the league’s MVP. On a snowy and cold Sunday, the Patriots held Manning to 0 TD’s and 1 INT in a 20-3 win. A sign of the teams depth was the fact that both Seymour and Law missed the game.

The next week the Pats went into Pittsburgh and faced the leagues top-ranked defense. It was like the Pats were toying with their competition. The Pats scored 24 first half points, started by a 60-yard bomb from Brady to Deion Brach and punctuated with Harrison’s 87-yard pick six, en route to a 41-27 win over the 15-1 Steelers.

New England went on to win its third Super Bowl in four years by forcing three turnovers and sacking Donovan McNabb four times. When Harrison locked up the game with his second INT of the night, the Patriots had vaulted themselves in rarified air.

LEADERS

  • Tom Brady 3692 yards (10th NFL), 28 TD (6th), 92.6 rating (9th)
  • Corey Dillon 1635 yards (3rd NFL, franchise record?), 12 TD (8th); 13 total TD(10th
  • David Patten 44-800 (18.2), 7 TD
  • David Givens 56-874, 3 TD
  • Daniel Graham 30-364, 7 TD
  • Adam Vinatieri 31-33, 92.92 % (1st) 48-48; 41 points
  • Rodney Harrison 96 solo tackles
  • Eugene Wilson 4 INT
  • Troy Brown 3 INT
  • Willie McGinest 9.5 sacks

All Pro
Adam Vinatieri, Richard Seymour

Pro Bowl
Tom Brady, Corey Dillon, Larry Izzo, Tedy Bruschi, Seymour

Filed Under: History

Making The Grades – Week 14 vs Panthers

December 15, 2009 By 1 Comment

By Jeremy Gottlieb, Patriots Daily Staff

Repeat after us, Patriots Daily University students, friends and trustees: A win is a win. A win is a win. No matter whether you have to hold your nose while watching for fear of inhaling too much of too much of that rotten egg-like stench emanating from your TV or not, what matters is having more points than the opponent at the end of the game and that’s just what the Patriots did on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. Of course, it helps when the opponent is as woefully bad in all aspects of the game as the Panthers, racking up one penalty, bad decision or poorly executed play after another. And when one of the top two receivers plays his heart out and practically wills his team to victory while the other endures his worst game in three years. And when the defense is spared another public undressing thanks to the opposing quarterback’s inability to even get his offense lined up properly on multiple occasions. And when the offensive play caller remembers that the tight end is a guy that is always an eligible receiver. And when the lead running back has realized that best way to roll up yards and in turn see more playing time is to run hard, head down. And when the kicker displays major, major balls by drilling two long, massively important, fourth quarter field goals in crappy weather conditions. All of these ands helped contribute to the Pats snapping their two-game losing streak with a 20-10 win, no matter how ugly it was. So with that, let’s get to this week’s report card, completely odor-free for anyone still dealing with the after-effects from the reek of the actual game.

OFFENSE: Overall Grade: B-

Better, but still not great. The Pats did a couple of things against the Panthers that were much needed, committing more to the run and at least involving the tight ends in the game plan beyond just staying home to block. Both decisions paid major dividends as they ran for 185 yards and a TD and scored the winning touchdown on a pass from Tom Brady to Ben Watson, who found paydirt for the first time since London. They were also aided by the Carolina coaching staff’s absurd decision to leave Wes Welker matched up one-on-one, several times by a linebacker, which in turn allowed them to move the ball as well as they did all day in the third quarter, particularly on the 13-play, 96-yard, 7:20 scoring drive on which they effectively put the game away. Still, the first half was so ugly, so completely lacking in any sense of urgency or energy, so weak (the longest play from scrimmage was a 30-yard pass interference penalty), that it didn’t take much to make things look good. Unless you’ve been asleep for 48 hours, you know how little Randy Moss contributed, which was a problem, and other key players didn’t have such great days either. And in the fourth quarter, when the Panthers were still technically in the game, closing it out seemed a bit too difficult. But once again, enough plays were made to win the game, which is all that’s really important.

Quarterbacks: B-

Brady’s grade naturally must be taken with a grain of salt given his list of injuries coming into the game and the fact that he was apparently a game-time decision (though it’s likely the only way he wouldn’t have played was if he had an allergic reaction to the flak jacket he wore to protect his ribs). Basically, he looked bad in the first half, but when the money got pushed to the middle of the table, he came up with multiple clutch throws. The interception in the first quarter (you know, the one on which Moss “quit”) looked to be high and wide; it’s likely that even if Moss had come out of his break as hard as he could, the ball may have been overthrown. And his 6.0YPA and 74.0 passer rating leave a lot to be desired. But again, when it was winning time, he looked very sharp. The TD pass to Watson was a bullet laid right onto Watson’s hands through two defenders. Pretty much every throw to Welker in the second half was right on target mo matter if it was with touch or fired in there. And he seemed to move relatively freely when he needed to despite the rib problem, sliding away from pressure when he needed to. It was clear that Brady was banged up and he likely will be for the rest of the season. But he seemed to figure out how to adjust to his physical problems as the game wore on and got out of there without making anything worse, both of which bode well for the coming weeks. A gutsy game for Brady.

Running Backs: A-

maroneyMark it, dude – Laurence Maroney played his best game of the season. The dancing seems to be mostly a thing of the past, replaced a majority of the time by purposeful, hard-nosed running, which has been in good supply the past few weeks. Maroney posted 94 yards on 22 carries with a long run of 17 yards and while he didn’t score, he was one of the only guys on the offense who was there to play from the opening kickoff. Most of his damage was done on inside runs as the Pats looked to attack the middle of the Panthers defensive line, but he even made some tough yards on a few outside runs too, an aspect of the running game with which the Pats had pretty much zero success until Sunday. Additionally, he caught a couple of passes out of the backfield and looked like a complete back. It’s getting harder and harder to not like Maroney given the way he’s seemingly figured it out over the past two months and now, he seems to have put his fumble-itis of a few weeks ago behind him. Kevin Faulk was immense as well, racking up 58 yards on just 10 carries, including a three-yard TD run to close out the first half and get the offense off the schnide. Again, the draw play out of shotgun worked well, as it has all year, but Faulk also pulled a few carries out of power sets and still managed to chew up yards, including a 19-yard run up the middle early in the third quarter. Faulk has always been invaluable to this team and Sunday was no different. Then only thing keeping this grade from being a straight A is Sammy Morris, who was pretty bad. He dropped an easy swing pass from Brady in the second quarter, fumbled on the Pats first drive of the second half, killing the most productive march of the day for offense up to that point and again failed to gain five feet on a fourth-and-one call in the first quarter. Sammy will be fine, Sunday just wasn’t his day.

Wide Receivers: C+

Split grade here with Welker earning a solid A and Moss getting an F. It’s impossible to overpraise Welker, the most valuable, important, indispensable player on the team. He had 10 more catches, 107 more yards and took an absolute pounding while doing it, but it didn’t seem to affect him, particularly when he bounced up from one vicious hit and exhorted the dead Foxboro crowd to ratchet up the noise level. He has 18 more catches than anyone else in the league despite missing two games, is on pace to finish the year with the second most catches in league history, is the fourth receiver in history to catch at least 100 passes in three straight seasons (the second longest such stretch in league history), and is second in the league in receiving yardage with 1,158. Oh, and he also took the game over on that 96-yard drive with five of his 10 catches good for 64 yards (and making every catch on the drive but the touchdown to Watson) and was compared afterward to the legendary Troy Brown by Bill Belichick. If you think things have been bad the last few weeks, imagine life without this guy. Not a pleasant thought. As for Moss, I’m not interested in joining the fray on his situation all that much. We all saw the lack of hustle on Brady’s INT, the alligator-armed drop in the fourth quarter, the fumble, the awful false start penalty. But still, without feeling the need to pile on, I’ll stay somewhere between ESPN’s Keyshawan Johnson, who said he still thinks Moss is the best receiver in the NFL regardless of Sunday’s no-show, and Michael Felger, who is convinced Moss is the spawn of hell, thinks he should be cut immediately and is so over the top in his raging hatred for the guy that it’s borderline embarrassing (and in the interest of full disclosure, it says here that Felger is one of the best media guys we have in these parts). What is clear is that Moss played his worst game as a Patriot on Sunday, has looked lost/disinterested/frustrated/fragile for going on four weeks now with Sunday’s travesty the coup de grace, and needs to step it up big time. Hopefully for the sake of the team, he will man up and do just that.

Tight Ends: B+

How about that? The tight ends had something to do! Hallelujah! Admittedly, things looked bleak when Brady tried to check down to Chris Baker in the second quarter and the ball bounced off his face. But starting with that 30-yard interference call late in the first half, it seemed Brady was looking for Watson, who saw three passes come his way and caught all three of them for 37 yards including the five-yard score. The need for Watson to step up and/or be more involved was magnified by both Moss’s lousy game and the injury to Sam Aiken, who was inactive. The fact is, the offense has been one-dimensional and easy to defend the past few weeks and as great as Welker is and Moss can be, there needed to be more diversity in the play-calling. Watson has made big plays in the past, even earlier this season, so the coaches have to know what he’s capable of. He rewarded their faith on Sunday. Hopefully, they will keep calling his number. And for his part, Baker’s blocking paid off big time in the running game.

Offensive Line: A-

This group had an excellent day for the most part, keeping Brady upright all day and plowing enough terrain for the Pats to rush for nearly 200 yards. Missing Stephen Neal again, the Pats got Sebastian Vollmer back and the gigantic rookie delivered again, shuttling between both the right and left tackle spots without missing a beat. He was in on the right side for both touchdown drives and handled underachieving Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers flawlessly. Belichick was effusive in his praise of Vollmer in the aftermath, detailing how unusual it is to have a tackle who can play both sides and be as versatile as Vollmer is. The Pats are lucky in this regard, especially considering the continued struggles of Nick Kaczur , who added another week of looking totally psyched out ever since being owned by Robert Mathis against the Colts (this is a recording) before leaving late with a shoulder injury. Matt Light looked a little more like his old self in his second game back from his knee injury and Connolly was very solid in place of Neal. As for the other two members of this unit, Dan Koppen and Logan Mankins , each had a huge game, doing most of the dirty work that allowed for the gaudy rushing totals. Most of the damage on the ground was done up the middle and these two, along with some contributions from Connolly, especially on Faulk’s TD run, were as important to that aspect of the game as anyone. A really nice bounce back for the O-Line after some tough going over the past month.

DEFENSE: Overall Grade: B

Wasn’t it nice to see the Pats defense get well, at least sort of, on Sunday? Granted, except for a few runs by Carolina superstar DeAngelo Williams, the Panthers were mostly inept offensively (save for one, long TD pass in the second quarter which will be examined in a bit). But that may have been just what this beleaguered bunch needed in the aftermath of the past month. It seemed that they went back to basics a bit, starting with the re-insertion of veterans James Sanders and Shawn Springs into the secondary – where they’ve had the most problems – at the expense of Brandon McGowan and Jonathan Wilhite (finally put out of his misery), while clearly getting more energy out of the linebacking corps, thanks to the benching of the awful Adalius Thomas. The Panthers managed just 14 first downs, were only 3-of-13 on third down and their 305 total yards was nothing to write home about. And while there was still not much of a pass rush, they still managed a couple of sacks and benefited from Panthers quarterback Matt Moore’s indecision and ineffectiveness. Tully Banta-Cain, Jarvis Green, Leigh Bodden and yes, even Derrick Burgess stood out (perhaps Thomas could learn a thing or two from Burgess, the former biggest disappointment on this defense, now that he’s taken over that title for himself), each making a couple of important plays. Look, this bunch still has a long way to go and was lucky in several spots on Sunday thanks to how bad the Panthers are. But the numbers don’t lie and Sunday’s effort, combined with upcoming games against offensive creampuffs Buffalo and Jacksonville, could go a long way toward reinvigorating them and restoring some much-needed confidence.

Defensive Line: B

The Pats defensive front faced a few challenges on Sunday thanks to the injuries suffered by Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren. The Panthers entered with the one of the league’s top-ranked running games and were able to pound out 126 yards on the ground and a 5.2YPA even though everyone in the stadium knew the only chance they had to win the game was by running it down the Pats throats. But that total is deceiving considering the for all of their success running, the Panthers didn’t manage to score any touchdowns by virtue of the run (their TD drive came off a turnover and lasted two plays, one of which was a seven-yard run by Jonathan Stewart) and also lost the time of possession battle by almost 10 minutes. Both Warren and Wilfork remained in the game following their initial injuries (Warren’s his troublesome ankle and Wilfork’s his foot) and Warren especially stayed sharp, leading the team with six solo tackles, including one for a loss. Wilfork wasn’t as fortunate, though he did manage to make a coupe of key stops in the first half before leaving. The key was Jarvis Green, who played his best game of the year, staying in the game in most every situation, making three tackles, one for a loss, and getting to Moore for a sack and another hit. These three seemed to be able to handle Carolina’s offensive line well; it was when rookie Titus Adams was in for Wilfork that the Panthers did most of their damage on the ground. And Mike Wright, who played on the end mostly while Adams manned the middle, has seen better days as well.

Linebackers: B

Is it a coincidence that the Pats linebacking corps had it’s most solid game in weeks with Thomas sitting in his living room with his toes up? Perhaps not. Thomas’ co-stars in the brutally monikered LateGate, Gary Guyton and Burgess, didn’t play as much as in past weeks, with Burgess only seeing the field only in obvious passing situations and Guyton sharing time with 64-year old Junior Seau (and managing just one tackle, as well as a nice, running pass deflection that he nearly intercepted). Burgess, as mentioned before, stepped up in his limited time, scoring a late sack of Moore when the Panthers were still alive, and adding a couple of tackles, one of which came after he nearly got to Moore, changed direction and ran down Williams from behind in the open field. It was easily his best game of the year, regardless of the fact that he played only 15 snaps (thanks again for your awesome ESPN snap count chart, Mike Reiss !) and proved that maybe his punishment last Wednesday was indeed the kick in the ass to get his nearly lost season on track. It feels good to praise him for a change. Jerod Mayo was better; he was only wiped out of a play on which he seemed in position to make a hit once by my count, down significantly from the past few weeks, and was mostly solid. And Tully Banta -Cain played the entire game, making a couple of nice plays but more importantly, proving himself again to be an integral, very valuable member of the defense.

Secondary: B

Let’s be honest here. As bad as Moore is/was, he still passed for nearly 200 yards and a long TD against this group, leading to some questions regarding how well they really played. But with the exception of that 41-yard scoring pass, they didn’t give up any big plays and were able to get off the field on third downs, both major problems against the Saints and Dolphins. It has to start with Sanders, who replaced Brandon McGowan in the starting lineup and seemed to add a soothing presence to the defensive backfield while being in on seven tackles and breaking up a pass. Sanders might not be as explosive as McGowan, but he is steadier and that rubbed off on Brandon Meriweather. Meriweather , who was entirely to blame on the TD pass, biting on a head fake and running himself out of position while Springs, who let Steve Smith get a couple of steps in anticipation of the help over the top from Meriweather that never came, got toasted. But other than that, Meriweather was under control and even made a nice play on a third quarter deep ball on which he actually was where he was supposed to be. Small steps. Springs split time with Darius Butler right down the middle, giving Butler less chances to get burned to the great benefit of the team. Bodden submitted his usual solid game, pitching in a couple important tackles and just missing a diving interception at the end of the first half. And Wilhite, so terrible the past couple of weeks, didn’t start or see as much time as he has for most of the season and consequently, wasn’t picked on or exposed at all, which had to help his confidence. Like with the offense, there’s a way to go here. But maybe the DBs success on Sunday, however moderate, will be a precursor to better, more productive days.

Special Teams: A

Thank god for Gostkowski. His 47 and 48-yard field goals down the stretch with the weather at its worst, essentially saved the game for the Pats. Along with Welker , he was the MVP of Sunday’s game, putting any whispers of how healthy he may or may not be given his shorter kickoffs the past few weeks on the back burner. Chris Hanson’s punting was fine, the kick coverage was good and the kick and punt returns, handled by Maroney and Welker respectively, were solid. It was Gostkowski though, who came through as big as anyone in any aspect of the game. What a huge, clutch performance.

Coaching: B

“Stats are for losers. The final score is for winners.” Thus spake Belichick in the aftermath and truer words have rarely been uttered, especially in light of what went down on Sunday. No one’s numbers were pretty except for Welker’s and especially Moss’s. But the Pats still won and given that they’d lost three of their previous four, that’s saying something. The decision to streamline the defensive scheme and game plan seemed to work, as did the addition of Sanders and Springs in more prominent roles. Offensively, leaning on the run and utilizing the tight ends more also paid off, although it took a while and even though those moves may have been more circumstantial given Brady’s health and the lack of depth in the receiving corps. And further, it would be hard not to look good when facing Carolina’s once impressive, now overmatched /soon-to-be-fired John Fox, who is clearly at the end of the line for the Panthers and made one boneheaded move/decision after another (the 53-yard field goal attempt at the end of the first half, allowing Welker to be singled up on linebackers or safeties as many times as he was, being stuck without a legitimate quarterback or backup quarterback all year long while being into Peppers for $17 million, etc.). Something motivated the Pats from the later stages of the first half and through halftime on Sunday – they looked like a different team from one half to the next. And given the popping off of the Panther players who told the Boston Globe that Moss quit and Belichick’s subsequent response to them, he now has the “Everyone Doubts Us” card to play over the course of the season’s final three games. It hasn’t been Belichick’s best year by any stretch. But he may just be getting ready to round into form now that the games mean the most.

Filed Under: Games

Take A Lap – Randy Moss

December 14, 2009 By 7 Comments

by Chris Warner, Patriots Daily Staff

mossWithout getting hysterical, can we analyze what’s going on with Randy Moss? Can we do that without forwarding a pathetic agenda, or do we have to revert to the “I told you so” game?

Really, it’s like the Boston media are weathermen who warn of hurricanes every day: when one finally happens they feel vindicated, despite being wrong for two years.

Make no mistake, Moss had a terrible game against Carolina. He gave up on a pass route (interception), caught only one pass (fumble) and dropped one on an open slant. His performance stands out only as a contrast to the nifty play of Wes Welker, who continued his torrid reception streak to reach 105 grabs on the season with three games to play.

Welker gets the tough yards across the middle. Welker gets tater-mashed and pops up for more. Welker fights for the ball.

Randy Moss? Not all that much. He needs coddling, and he needs attention. Most of all, though, he needs to make plays. It’s possible that he’s harder on himself than others and goes turtle due to his own poor execution. We can say that he can’t handle adversity, but in some ways that’s a projection from his fans. We love him when he does well, but after a few bad games we’re ready to ship him out of town.

Next week’s performance at Buffalo will tell us whether or not Moss has packed it in: there will be snow (Moss likes the cold about as much as gila monsters) and the Bills have a statistically strong pass defense, partly due to the fact their run defense is the worst in the league.

Mr. Moss, you’ve had some rough going the past couple of weeks. PD asks you to shake it off, and there’s no better way to do that than to take a lap.

Email Chris Warner at [email protected]

Filed Under: Columns

Game Ball – WR Wes Welker

December 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

by Chris Warner, Patriots Daily Staff

welkerA couple more of these and we just might have to change the name to the PD Wes Welker Game Ball. (Maybe we could throw in a sponsorship from Raytheon or something.)

As he has throughout this season, the undrafted Texas Tech product rescued New England’s offense from itself, helping the Pats overcome three turnovers and shoddy play from its other receivers for a 20-10 win over Carolina. Welker had 10 receptions for 105 yards. The closest to him production-wise was tight end Benjamin Watson, who had three grabs for 37 yards (notable for him, but not exactly a Ben Coates kind of day). The only other wide receiver to even catch a pass was Randy Moss, who – much to the delight of the Boston media (calm down there, Michael Felger) – had an awful outing, fumbling on his only reception.

As if his day job weren’t enough, Welker also moonlighted as a punt returner, totaling 45 yards on five bring-backs (with a long of 17). Sure, seeing him in harm’s way makes us die a little inside, but it has become obvious that Welker’s the best man for the position.

On that note, during a year where so few Patriots have lived up to Bill Belichick’s mantra of “do your job,” Welker has excelled at two spots, doing more than anyone to keep his team atop the division. For all your hard work, Mr. Welker, please accept the precious PD Game Ball.

Honorable Mention: Running back Laurence Maroney ran with purpose (24 totes for 92 yards), caught the ball out of the backfield (two for 17), and showed some of the best vision choosing running lanes as he has in his years. Mr. Maroney, please keep it up.

Email Chris Warner at [email protected]

Filed Under: News

Gut Check – Game 13 vs. Panthers

December 14, 2009 By 3 Comments

by Chris Warner, Patriots Daily Staff

“I’ll take it.”

That’s what Coach Belichick might be thinking after his squad overcame a half-hearted first-half effort to pull away from Carolina, 20-10. This one looked bad from all kinds of angles, many of which are spelled out below.

faulkLet’s begin with something positive and work our way down from there…

Go Wes, Young Brady: We should pause for a moment to appreciate how well Wes Welker is doing this season. Ready?

There. Feels pretty good, doesn’t it?

The mighty mite added 10 more catches for 105 yards vs. the Panthers. On a day when both Randy Moss and Julian Edelman let passes slip through their hands while Receiver No. 3 Sam Aiken sat with an injury, quarterback Tom Brady sought out Welker. Half of his receptions came on New England’s 13-play, 96-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter that gave the home team a 14-7 lead.

Now, with that out of the way, here comes the complaint section.

Not-So-Many Happy Returns: Can we get Welker off of punt return duties, please? The guy risks getting his head taken off almost every time he catches the ball. Can we get him out of harm’s way for four or five plays a game? Apparently, a full-time returner is about as hard to find this year as the 1972 Dolphins. (By the way, where the hell are those guys? It’s as if someone clued them in that openly rooting against a team closing in on your record looks like bad form.)

There Is A Season (Turn, Turn, Turnover): Two fumbles, one interception. Lame.

Please Do NOT Play It Again, Sammy: Fourth and  short in the first quarter, Coach Belichick decides to go for it in Carolina territory. Okay. No problem. Now, the little give-to-Sammy-Morris-up-the-middle play? Problem. We liked the call vs. Atlanta several weeks ago, but that play has gotten as predictable as Death Valley weather. It wasn’t an accident that three Panthers got to the spot before Morris did.

With Two Boys Of His Own: Here’s the story of a man named Brady. He hasn’t played like the guy we expected (19 for 32, 192 yards, one TD, one INT Sunday). Maybe Moss can take the blame for failing to run the route on Brady’s interception, but the QB still managed to overthrow open receivers and miss his running backs in the flat. If his injuries are bothering him that much, let’s hope this week gives him time to recover.

Springs Into Action: Hey, welcome back, cornerback Shawn Springs. Sort of wish you’d made a play on that 41-yard TD pass to Steve Smith, there.

Moore Is Less: Backup QB Matt Moore had a poor game (15 of 30, 197 yards, 1 TD), yet managed to expose the mediocre play of the New England secondary. Moore should have been intercepted four different times as his passes seemed to bounce off of Patriots defenders’ hands (or slip through, as was the case with Leigh Bodden late in the first half). Worse, though, was the availability of open receivers that Moore consistently missed.

You know what? The Pats won, so let’s end on a high note. A couple, actually.

Catching On To Sea Bass: It may have taken an injury to right tackle Nick Kaczur to solidify his playing time, but Sebastian Vollmer should start the rest of the season. The Panthers had zero sacks (pass-rusher Julius Peppers was credited with zero stops) and Vollmer had a lot to do with that. He’s the best tackle and probably the best offensive lineman on the team right now.

Good Timing, Big Ben: Pats fans had been begging for more tight end involvement in the  offense, and they got it. Benjamin Watson caught three passes for 37 yards, including a five-yard TD that capped off New England’s 96-yard drive in the third. Watson and Chris Baker also blocked well, helping pave the way for Laurence Maroney’s strong rushing performance (22 attempts, 94 yards).

Next week, New England travels to Buffalo. Let’s see if they can keep it going.

Email Chris Warner at [email protected]

Filed Under: News

Patriots Buffet Table – Patriots vs. Panthers

December 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

by Patriots Daily Kitchen Staff

This week in a suddenly very important game, the Patriots move from fish to cats. Fun fact – the Panthers logo is a Thundercatized version of the Patriots logo. Panthro to be exact.

What to eat?

In the Carolinas, pork is the choice of meat. Sauce varies through the between the 2 states and within the states themselves. In North Carolina they go with a vinegar and pepper sauce. In South Carolina it’s a mustard based sauce.

The Panthers are based in Charlotte, NC but they claim both Carolinas as their home region. So we’re going with more of a South Carolina flavored pork.

To be really authentic we’d BBQ the pork, smoking it for about 6 hours. But we don’t have that kind of time, instead we’ll grill a pork tenderloin.

Carolina pork (serves 6)

Sauce

1 cup yellow deli mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
2 teaspoons black pepper

Mix all ingredients until brown sugar melts in.

2 to 2.5 pound pork tenderloin

Marinate pork loin for at least 2 hours, 4 hours would be better. Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade for use as a baste. Grill the tenderloin for 20 minutes over medium-high (350 degree) heat. For the last 5 minutes baste with extra sauce.

What to drink?

I’m not sure how the Patriots are going to do in December. But I do know 2 things: Christmas shopping is dangerous and beer is good .

Avoid long lines, noisy crowds, and H1N1 infected kids waiting for pictures with Santa Claus, do all of your shopping at your friendly neighborhood liquor store. You don’t have to worry about sizes, or if the recipient already has an item. Best of all – if you decide not to give the beer away you can drink it.

Try that with a sweater.

Believe it or not, there are better presents than beer. More beer is better than less beer. A variety of beer is better than one kind of beer. Beer packed with free stuff like glasses is better than beer without free stuff.

Many breweries have caught on to these important rules, and put out gift and mix packs for the Holiday season. Belgium is the top source for these packs, every brewery in Belgium produces a unique glass for it’s beers. The glass and a few high priced bottles of beer combined into a reasonably priced package make for a natural pair.

Duvel has a pack containing 4 bottles of Duvel Belgian Golden Strong Ale along with a branded snifter glass. It costs about $20.

Chimay boxes up bottles of all three of their beers White (Belgian Tripel), Red (Belgian Dubbel) and Blue (Belgian Dark Strong Ale) along with a branded goblet glass. It’s also about $20.

Otter Creek is being sold to Long Trail, but in the meantime they have a 3 beer gift pack available. It has three 22 ounce bottles of Russian Imperial Stout, Imperial IPA, and Quercus Vitis Humulus a 12% ABV Barleywine brewed with grapes and aged in oak barrels. The pack also contains a special glass. This goes for about $25.

Ommegang also goes with the three beer and a special glass gift pack. There pack contains 750 ml bottles of Chocolate Indulgence Belgian Chocolate Stout, Three Philosophers Belgian Quadruple, and Hennepin Saison. The pack is a $25-$30 item.

The three beers and a glass theme continues with Samuel Smith. They include three 500 ml bottles (slightly over a pint) of Nut Brown Ale, India Pale Ale and Oatmeal Stout. Sam Smith also includes a couple of coasters in the box. This pack is cheaper than most at about $15.

Corsendonk makes their pack twice as good. 6 bottles of Corsendonk Christmas Ale, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale like the Chimay Blue. Along with a branded glass. This is another $20 pack.

Lindemans puts out a 2 pack with a glass. 750ml bottles of Framboise (raspberry) and Pomme (apple) lambics. Lindemans produces the sweetest lambics amoung traditional producers. This pack should be around for a bit under $20.

Saint Bernardus puts out a very nice gift pack. Pater 6, Prior 8, Abbot 12 and Tripel with a Goblet glass. The numbers refer to an obsolete measurement of alcohol strength. Pater is a 6.7% Dubbel, Prior is a 8% Dubbel, Abbot is a 10.5% Quadruple and Triple is a 7.5% Triple. This pack should be just under $20.

Weihenstephan puts out a pack including 5 500ml beers and a large glass. The beers are marked on the top and will include 5 out of Orignal Lager, Dark Lager, Korbinian Dopplebock, Hefeweizen, Kristalweizen, Vitus Weizenbock, Dunkel Hefeweizen, Pilsner and Tradition. If you see a box with a combination of Korbinian, Vitus, Dark, and Tradition pick it up. This is another pack right at the magic $20 limit.

There are also plenty of mix packs available this winter. They may lack some of the freebies found in the packs above, but these are great choices for keeping in the house or bringing to parties. Usually these packs have some very good beers, some good beers, and some beers that fall flat or just don’t make sense. Here’s the beers to keep for yourself, and those to give away to company. Tis’ the season after all.

Saranac 12 beers of winter: 6 beers, 2 bottles of each. Winter Lager, Black Lager, Rye IPA, Big Moose Ale, Maple Porter, Belgian Ale.

Keep for yourself: Big Moose Ale

Give to company: Belgian Ale

Sam Adams Winter Classics 12 pack: 6 beers, 2 bottles of each. Boston Lager, Holiday Porter, Coastal Wheat, Old Fezziwig, Winter Lager, Cranberry Lambic.

Keep for yourself: Old Fezziwig

Give to company: Cranberry Lambic

Harpoon Wintry Mix 12 pack: 6 beers, 2 bottles of each. Winter Warmer, UFO hefeweizen, IPA, Chocolate Stout, Munich Dark, UFO Pale Ale.

Keep for yourself: Munich Dark is a year round favorite but Chocolate Stout is only available now.

Give to company: UFO, hefeweizens are better when it isn’t snowing.

Magic Hat Feast of Fools 12 pack: 4 beers, 3 bottles of each. Lucky Kat IPA, Howl black winter lager, #9, Odd Notion Winter ’09 Sour Ale.

Keep for yourself: Howl

Give to company: Odd Notion ’09

Long Trail Winter Survival Pack 12 pack: 4 beers, 3 bottles of each. IPA, Ale, Blackberry Wheat, Hibernator Scotch Ale.

Keep for yourself: Hibernator, malty scotch ale goes great with cold weather.

Give to company: Blackberry Wheat, a summer beer if there ever was one.

Gritty McDuff’s Mix 12 pack: 4 beers, 3 bottles of each. Beers vary and are marked on the top. Look for ones with Christmas Ale and 21 IPA.

Keep for yourself: 21 IPA, the big ticket item this beer only comes in 4 packs for about $10, a mix 12 pack with 3 is a good deal.

Give to company: Pub Style, a nice beer, but you can get it 365 days of the year

Filed Under: Buffet Table, Columns

Worry Wart – Game 13 vs. Panthers

December 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

by Chris Warner, Patriots Daily Staff

Here’s how your team can go from 7-3 to 7-5 in two easy steps:

  1. Don’t show up in New Orleans, even if there’s a game scheduled there.
  2. Leave Miami early, even if there’s almost a full half to play.

Let’s pray that Carolina doesn’t end up as number three on this list. New England tries to get their eighth win on Sunday vs. Carolina. The good news? They’re at home. The bad news? Well, there’s plenty of that to go around.

After all, that’s why I’m here…

Over My Dead Bodden: We here at PD have heard of a phenomenon called a pass defense, though it has been so long since any New England fans have witnessed this concept that we’ve begun to question whether it ever existed. Leigh Bodden and Jonathan Wilhite both need some serious step-it-up action, and rookie Darius Butler requires some improvement.

A Serious Case Of The Runs: Hmm… that catchphrase might need work. Carolina runs the ball (152 yards per game, 4.8 per carry). Other than Vince Wilfork, who else on New England’s defensive line can hold down the front? A lack of run defense leads to help from the defensive backs, which leads to the above pass-defense nightmare. It’s a situation Captain Yossarian would understand.

Double Dog Derrick: Outside linebacker/tree stump Derrick Burgess joined the Patriots to bolster their pass rush. The short story? He has only two more sacks than I do, and I get winded going to the freezer for more ice cream. With quarterback pressure about as threatening as Switzerland, the Pats defense could continue to struggle.

Speaking of pass rushers…

Thomas’ English Muffled: After getting kicked out of a meeting for being late due to weather, it sure seemed like outside linebacker/disappointment Adalius Thomas said most of what he wanted to without actually saying it, right? Thomas answered all questions of the media while managing to avoid the actual words, “Coach screwed me.” How is this going to affect the team Sunday? Will the defense actually get worse?

Heh, heh. No. Come on. That can’t happen.

Butcher The Baker And The Oh-For-God’s-Saker: New England came into this season with a couple of solid tight ends. Chris Baker looked great in the preseason, providing another red zone option. Benjamin Watson had a Buffalo game performance that sent expectations of him back into orbit. Since Week One, though, neither tight end has shown much potential, and neither has avoided getting cut out of the offensive game plan. Carolina can hold down the Randy Moss/Wes Welker combo with no tight ends to worry about. And that’s no good.

You know what? That makes me think of this:

Lately He’s Just Coach Brien (No “O”): We here at PD would like to see a little more consistency with play-calling. It seems that de facto offensive coordinator/acid reflux agitator Bill O’Brien has yet to install an overall game plan that he fails to toss in the dumpster by the fourth quarter.  (This is spelled out quite well in Greg Doyle’s column this week, by the way.) If it’s working, Coach, let’s stick with it, okay?

Tom Tom Club: He’s going to name the baby Tom. I can feel it. He’s going to name the baby Tom Jr. and messageboards across the planet will light up with opinions and “Genius of Love” (a Tom Tom Club original) references. Just another distraction to add to this weird, unpredictable season.

Email Chris Warner at [email protected]

Filed Under: News

First Impressions – The Carolina Panthers

December 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

By Greg Doyle, Patriots Daily Staff

So it’s the Carolina Panthers in Foxboro for the reeling Patriots this week, losers of 3 of the last 4 games. Are you going to run the ball this week, boys? After all, Carolina is giving up 133 yards rushing per game and 4.6 per attempt. Some of their most effective players are either pass rushers or defensive backs who are adept at making plays in the passing game. It would seem this isn’t a game that calls for “balance” or “spreading the field” but instead good old fashioned pounding of the ball in December against a southern team in cold weather that isn’t very good defending the run to begin with and has little playoff hopes. Seems a no-brainer right? Add in the various injuries Tom Brady has suffered lately, i.e. his knee last year, his finger and, reportedly, perhaps his ribs as well and you’d think this would be a nice game to really commit to running the ball and letting Tom take a few less hits than could be the case from Peppers, Beason and the boys on Carolina’s defense.

So will they do it? Who knows? Nothing seems to indicate they will. They seem strangely committed to spreading it out a certain percentage of the time come hell or high water. Logic or no logic. Take two weeks ago against New Orleans. First drive is a thing of beauty, right. Laurence Maroney is pounding it 7 times for 39 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots run it 9 times overall. They score and take 8 minutes off the clock and take a nice 7-3 lead. Seems to me the Saints haven’t proven a thing yet in terms of stopping that kind of offense, right? So what do the Patriots and Offensive Coordinator-in-everything-but-title Bill O’Brien do on the next drive? Why come out spread five wide of course. And promptly all momentum is gone with an interception on the first play.

And what about last week? There the Patriots are, up 21-19 in the fourth quarter. They probably should have had a larger lead, but it is what it is, right? Just get out with a win. In the second half, they hadn’t run much but there they were 2nd and goal on the five with under ten minutes left. Their 6 rushing attempts in the second half had led to 28 yards. Sammy Morris had just ripped off gains of 10 and 7 yards on his last two carries to even get you down to five. The Dolphins appeared to be tiring. A touchdown here makes it a two score game. Line it up and run it, right? Even if they stop you on second down you probably get the clock down to under 9 minutes. Run it again on third down and at worst you probably are settling for a field goal with under 8 minutes to go. And rather than only a field goal, the Dolphins owould need a touchdown to win. The Patriots never did give up a touchdown on defense the rest of the game and the Dolphins did get stopped twice on offense before getting the winning field goal on their third drive. Had the clock run more on this critical drive inside the Dolphins ten and it been a touchdown needed for the Dolphins instead after field goal, I like the Patriots chances there. Hell, I even like their chances to get the virtual game clinching five yards and touchdown the way Sammy Morris was running the ball. Did any of that happen?

No, the suddenly fascinated by bright and shiny toys (known as Wes Welker, Randy Moss, Tom Brady and the spread offense) Patriots decided to throw the ball illogically, incredibly and ridiculously into traffic. Interception. Game on. The old Patriots don’t do that. The old Patriots pounded opponents late in the game. The old Patriots played smart, tough, physical football. Spreading the field and getting the lead was for earlier in the game and had its place. But ending the game? Imposing your will late and pounding it? That was as much a part of the 3-time Champion Patriots as anything else. Where has that gone, Bill Belichick? What happened to toughness on offense? When are we just gonna run against teams that aren’t that good defending the run? Or are tiring? Do we really have to be balanced if one team isn’t as good in one are of defense as the other? Or are tiring? I long for those long drives in the second half of the 2004-2005 Colts games. I long for those Patriots team that didn’t want to be the Colts, they wanted to be the tough Patriots and pound the soft Colts. Where have they gone? Why did they lose their way?

In any event, this week its Carolina. Its December. Its at home. The Panthers are not good against the run. Tom Brady is a bit banged up. Can the Patriots please, for the love of football, run the damn ball?

Lets take a look at some of these Panthers:

Quarterback Matt Moore (#3):

Moore will start for the injured Jake Delhomme this week and frankly, its probably an upgrade for the Panthers as it would be near impossible for Moore to play at a lower level than Delhomme has this year. It’s remarkable the Panthers gave Delhomme a very large new contract before this season with a lot of guaranteed money given the evidence of his declining play for several years now. What is unsure is whether that says more about the Panthers mismanagement or backup Moore’s inability to be a NFL starter. Moore is 25 years old and has been in the NFL for several years now and will be starting his 5th career NFL game against the Patriots. He holds a TD/INT ratio of 3/7 so far and a QB rating of 64.0 for his career. If the Patriots much-maligned passing defense can’t hold Moore down, then you know they’re really in trouble. Moore, who started his college career at UCLA, eventually transferred to Oregon State and led them to a 10 win season as a starter his senior year. It was somewhat of a surprise he went undrafted as he was projected higher than that. There is some talent here, but he lacks NFL experience and a true chance so far. Patriot nemesis A.J. Feeley is the backup should Moore struggle.

Running Back DeAngelo Williams (#34)

Williams is one of the better young backs in the NFL and a back the Patriots have caught some flack for passing over in favor of Laurence Maroney. While his first two years were solid, it was last year that Williams became one of the NFL’s best with over 1,500 yards rushing and a stellar 5.5 per carry. This season Williams hasn’t been quite as dynamic and missed last week’s game to injury, but he still has over 1,000 yards and is averaging 5.2 per carry. Only in his fourth season, he is already Carolina’s all-time franchise rushing leader. It’ll be a difficult test for the Patriots to stop Williams, but if they can do so and put Moore in long yardage situations it’ll go a long way towards winning this game.

WR Steve Smith (#89)

Smith, of course, is a premier NFL receiver who had an excellent Super Bowl against the Patriots in a losing effort a few years back. For a guy of his slight stature, its amazing the numbers he has put up with over 8,000 career yards receiving at only 30 years old. Smith is an interesting guy who coaches his son’s soccer team and interns in the off-season in a Morgan Stanley office as a financial planning intern. He also has had some bad press in his career, throwing a sucker punch at teammate Ken Lucas. While his numbers are a bit down, probably due to some bad quarterback play, Smith is still obviously a very dangerous receiver who could torch the Patriots if they give the Panthers the time to throw.

DE Julius Peppers (#90)

Peppers is an outstanding pass rusher who is playing under the Panthers’ franchise tag this season. This past off-season a popular rumor had the Patriots strongly pursuing acquiring Peppers, but nothing ever developed. While the Patriots real interest in uncertain, Bill Belichick did speak glowingly of him as recently as this week and placed him amongst a handful of truly special players in the entire NFL. For the season, Peppers got off to a bit of a slow start as he dealt with hand injuries but has 8.5 sacks and 5 forced fumbles, a usual Peppers specialty. He also has an interception for a touchdown. The Patriots will surely have to dedicate extra attention to this always potentially game-changing player.

CB Chris Gamble (#20)

The 26 year old Gamble is one of the better corners in the NFL and was rewarded with a very lucrative 6 year $53 million dollar contract by the Panthers this past off-season. This week he’ll be charged with shutting down Randy Moss, assuming Moss plays, and allowing the Panthers to pay extra attention to Wes Welker. Gamble is a physical defensive back who plays equally well against run and pass and can make a play for an interception if the ball isn’t thrown perfectly. He’s a good player and enjoyable to watch on defense.

Offensive Coordinator Jeff Davidson:

Davidson is in his third season as the Panthers offensive coordinator and has done a good job, particularly for last season’s 12-4 team. This season the team has struggled, though they’ve largely been let down by their poor quarterback play. A former NFL offensive lineman, Davidson started with the Patriots under Pete Carroll and stayed on when Bill Belichick took over. He got his first training as a play-caller when Charlie Weis missed training camp in 2002 and Davidson called some exhibition games. After being Assistant Offensive Line Coach during Belichick’s first two season’s in New England, he added the title of Tight End Coach the next three and as such he was with the Patriots for all three Super Bowl wins. Davidson moved to Cleveland with Romeo Crennel as Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Line Coach before becoming Carolina’s Offensive Coordinator in 2007. Davidson is good friends with Charlie Weis and it is believed his recommendation played a big role in Carolina hiring Davidson as coordinator. While he runs clearly Weis-influenced and Patriots-influenced schemes, Davidson has been strongly run-oriented as a coordinator being well over a 50% running team on offense the last two seasons, something the Patriots haven’t done since Weis’ last year here in 2004.

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