9/14/11 – Holy sh*t, I’m back (Dolphins recap)

I’m going to trying this blogging thing again… it went pretty well the first time on  my Red Sox blog, may as well try it again.

Some thoughts from after the game
-517 yards. Damn.
-Wes Welker is a lot faster than I thought… I always assumed he was just quick, but his 40 time is 4.55 seconds. Also, he throws a mean stiff-arm, as evidenced on his 99-yard TD run.
-Hi Chad, welcome to the season, now please get you ass in gear and stop salivating over the Brady show, of which you are supposed to be a part. Take Bruschi’s advice and step it up.
-Chad Henne was not terrible. At all. I hope that doesn’t continue to be the case.
-Reggie Bush remains terrible.
-Our tight ends might out-yard our WRs this year. Especially if Slater keeps dropping balls that are right in his hands (I know, I know. He had a good catch downfield early, but he also dropped another one that’s added yardage would put Brady over the 550 mark).
-ESPN loves the Patriots, causing the rest of the country to hate them both even more.

Hats off to Belichick and the crew for taking care of business. Admittedly, I was a tad nervous while watching Henne drive the Dolphins all the way down the field (including the 4th-down conversion), but once the Pats responded with a touchdown of their own and followed it with a stop on defense, you knew it was over, even if it didn’t necessarily feel like it until the Welker 99-yarder. Speaking of defensive stops, the defense held Miami to 14% (2 of 14) on 3rd down conversions. Yo. Much better than last year’s disgrace.
Really, until the 99-yard TD, that game was close. Closer than the score would indicate, and it’s only because of Chad Henne. Somehow, some way, he looked like a legitimate starting QB last night. Maybe it’s because Miami fans took one giant collective dump on him during the preseason; maybe it’s because he realized it was retribution for what he did to their season last year. Either way, something caused Henne to play inspired, so, y’know, good for him.
And not good for Reggie Bush. Dude, I know you’ve made your living as a 3rd-down back who runs off-tackle or catches screens, but wow. You wanted to be the every-down back, and all you did was prove that you a) can’t run up the middle (still), and b) are only successful when the entire offensive line is blocking in front of you. When’s the last time you slipped a tackle in the backfield and got upfield after? Neeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr.

That’s all for now. I’ll try to live-blog this weekend’s game against the Chargers. Expect expletives.

Where I’ve been

see: http://mosox.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/off-season-absence-finally-explain-millions-wait-patiently/

thanks

Chad and Eddie Jackson activated

Chad Jackson brings a Troy Brown/Deion Branch kind of threat. He’s quick enough to run the comeback route, he can get underneath the defense , and he has good enough moves to be able to run the end-around or the quick screen, if Stallworth isn’t in for some reason. Do I think he’ll have a significant impact? No, but it’s always nice to have more than you need.

Eddie Jackson is a cornerback, which the Pats just seem to have coming out of the woodwork. Knowing how the Pats do things, he’ll probably step in, make a huge interception, and we’ll never hear from him again (see: Earthwind Moreland, Hank Poteat). Still, he adds depth and that’s always a plus.

The Don Shula Episode

I know this isn’t exactly “breaking news,” but I figured I’d wait until everything was out and done before commenting. I’ll start by saying I hate the Dolphins just as any Patriots fan does, and I love the fact that they’re going to go 0-16 this year. That said, Don Shula was a great coach and earned that 17-0 season by making all the right calls and having all the right players. His comments, on the other hand, were impulsive, empty-headed, and bitter, and I know he really does regret saying what he did.

Still, none of this changes the fact that he said how he feels, and presumably how a portion of the ’72 Dolphins and their fans feel as well. They’ve always celebrated when the last undefeated team falls, and they have good reason to be worried this year seeing as the Pats passed their only real test against Indy.

BUT – Let’s say Indy had won. You’d have to assume they’d go undefeated, no one had been able to come close to them all year, either. Would Shula make comments like he did about the Patriots, or would he congratulate them like a gentleman? I think you know the answer. Of course I realize that part of being the best is being hated by the rest, and it’s been no secret how much everyone hates the Patriots this year (with the exception of Sean Salisbury), and that for every year after this people will say that the Patriots cheated their way to the Superbowl. So be it. They’re ignorant. Part of the reason I love talking sports is because so many fans are completely irrational (see: HOW CAN WE WIN WITHOUT DEION BRANCH?!!?! or TRADE JULIO LUGO AND J.D. DREW NOW!!!!) that it gives the rational portion of us something to laugh at and discuss while knowing what is actually feasible for our teams. I’m not just talking Patriots and Red Sox, I mean for any team. If a Yankees fan were to talk Yankees with me, I could do it without letting my hate and utter distaste for the Yankees get in the way.

Blah blah blah, point is, Don Shula said something stupid. He regrets it, and now we move on and continue with life.

Let’s just hope we don’t lose to Miami in Foxboro later on this year.

@ Indy – 11/4/07

Well, it’s halftime of the Pats/Colts game, and Belichick has finally run into something you can’t prepare for: terrible officiating. I’m surprised that the refs haven’t just come out and said they’re trying to screw the Pats out of a win. Those pass interference calls were ludicrous. If anything, Indy’s receivers have been tackling our CBs before the ball gets there. That Asante Samuel interference call was equally as ridiculous, seeing as he barely touched whoever he was covering, yet that receiver still acted his way to a spot-of-the-foul call. Terrible. Cap it all off with shoddy defense to allow Joseph “According to FOX I’m the second coming of Barry Sanders” Addai to run untouched for 79 yards, and you have the perfect storm for Brady and the crew to come out and rip this overrated Indy defense a new one.

Live updates including Phil Simms gems throughout the game.

5:56 P.M. ET – Take notice: every time a Patriot gets tackled, they’re getting “walloped.” Thanks FOX!

6:01 – Following another bogus penalty calls on the Pats, Mathis comes in and sacks Brady. Notice how the Colts celebrate like a bunch of assholes when they do something, but the Pats remain classy.

6:02 – Another no-call for the Colts. Lovely.

6:11 – Thank you, Randy Moss, for being a superhuman in a football uniform (talking about the one-handed catch).

6:26 – Following Reggie Wayne dropping a pass – “Good play by Hobbs, who may have gotten a finger on it.” Yeah, if his fingers are six feet long. Great observation, Phil.

6:28 – Another “big hit” from the Indy defense. Mmmhm…

6:37 – Hey Phil, did you hear the one about how Joseph Addai was fatigued last year? You have? No way! Oh, you mean that’s the same thing you’ve eluded to at least 15 times this game? Ooooh, my bad, my bad. I just didn’t think it was possible for there to be a second coming of Tim McCarver for football, but once again you’ve proved me wrong. Only this time it was about who you are alike, and not about how I seem to always doubt you can get any stupider.

6:46 – Brady to Moss, down to the 2. About time. I know Tom hasn’t exactly had all the time in the world today, but there has yet to be a defender this year that can outjump or outplay Moss. Good call by Belichick and McDaniels.

6:48 – Only one thing to say about that pass interference call on Moss in the end zone: if Phil Simms can see that a call was wrong, it was wrong.

6:53 – Touchdown, Pats. Good route by Welker and good job by Brady to find him through the blitz.

7:01 – Time to hold on 3rd & 10… annnd… false start, Colts.

7:02 – Time to hold on 3rd & 15… annnd…

7:02 – FUMBLE! GET IT GET IT GET IT… damn. Ah well, 4th and a ton for the Colts, here comes Hunter.

7:03 – Welker with a nice return to the 50. Only 20 yards ’til comfortable field goal range.

7:08 – Sorry, just gone done calling people. TOUCHDOWN, PATS (5 minutes ago)! Nice play by Stallworth to set it up, and by Faulk to pound it in.

7:09 – If CBS mentions last January one more time…

7:22 – The Cotton Candy Man (Rosie Colvin) comes up with the take-away, then it’s a 3rd & 6 conversion from Brady to Welker, three knees, and your ballgame. Great comeback by the Patriots and they knew it. Even Belichick smiled, so you know this one was special. Overcoming questionable officiating, the atmosphere in the RCA Dome, Peyton Manning, and Peyton’s arsenal or receivers and backs, Belichick’s squad came back from 10 down with eight minutes left to win in true Tom Brady fashion. Ladies and Gentlemen, your 2007 Superbowl XLI-and-a-half champs, the New England Patriots.

Wish I was on that plane ride home.