Matt Fraser claimed off waivers by Oilers

(Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)

by Dakota Antelman

Bruins forward Matt Fraser, who was placed on waivers following the team’s 6-2 loss to the Blue Jackets Saturday, was claimed by the Edmonton Oilers Monday morning. The signing ended his short tenure with the Bruins.

Fraser came to the Bruins back in 2013 in the ill-fated trade that sent Tyler Seguin to Dallas. Since the trade he has logged 38 starts with the NHL Bruins and spent 44 games with AHL Providence. In two seasons, he scored 5 times for Boston and 20 times for Providence. In between goals though, Fraser struggled to produce.

The team plugged him in on the fourth line where he unfortunately lacked physicality and struggled to win battles along the boards.

“I would have liked to have produce more but maybe that opportunity wasn’t there as much. I just had a conversation with [coach] Claude [Julien] and he has kind of alluded to that but at the same time you’re in the NHL for a reason, you’ve got to find a reason to stay here,” Fraser said. “It didn't happen here as I had planned but at the end of the day you’ve got to move on and realize that this is a job.”

Very simply, Fraser’s place in the NHL does not lie on the fourth line of any team. He is a front of the net scorer, not a win-your-own-battles kind of guy. As good as he may be, his individual playing style did not cohesively match that of the rest of the Bruins. Such is likely why they made little effort to retain him.

Fraser understands that and is not bitter.

“For whatever reason it didn't work out but that’s not going to make me think anything different of this organization or anything like that,” Fraser said. “I have nothing bad to say about this organization, about the guys or anything like that. That’s just part of the business.”

The Bruins at times gave Fraser first team looks, greatly increasing the body of game film teams have to look at of him in the future. Also, though it did not work out, Fraser’s competence on the fourth line helped him discover versatility within a system while the Bruins’ willingness to put him into playoff situations helped create some key moments in his career.

With that, Fraser moves to Edmonton with hopes of getting starting time within a team currently focused on rebuilding.

Fraser is excited to play again. He understands the fit in Boston was never there and he leaves cordial, satisfied and eager to live the promising career ahead of him.

“At the end of the day, I feel like I have the best job in the world,” Fraser said after Edmonton snapped him up. “I really do. Every day that I came to the rink, I never took it for granted. With that being said, take the rest of the day and understand that you’re going back home and you’re going to play for the Oilers. You’ve got to make the most of it.”

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2014 in 8 Days: Top Bruins Moments

(Photo by USA Today Sports)

by Dakota Antelman

2014 for the Bruins started off great got rough in the middle months and ended even rougher. They ended the regular season with their second ever Presidents Trophy by virtue of their clinching the best record in the NHL. 

They rolled into the playoffs and promptly defeated the Detroit Redwings to move to the second round where, after seven games, the Bruins season ended in a game seven loss. 

From there the Bruins blew it up in the offseason. They did not pay Jarome Iginla and thereby lost him to the outbidding Avalanche. They drafted Czech forward David Pastrnak and then promptly traded Johnny Boychuck to the Islanders. 

What has that gotten them? Well, whatever way you put it, with just four days left in 2014, the Bruins are 18-14-3 and out of the playoff mix...

1) Bruins fall to Canadians in second round

After their dominant dispatching of Detroit in the first round, many favored the league best Bruins to easily topple their French Canadian rivals.

The long and the short is that many were wrong. 

The Bruins and Canadians split the first four games of the series. Though the Bruins then won game five to take a 3-2 lead, Montreal used superior speed and puck smarts to win Games Six and Seven.

2) Bruins trade Johnny Boychuck

On October Fourth, just days before the season began, the Bruins traded longtime defensive rock, Johnny Boychuck to the New York Islanders. Though they snagged a pair of second round picks and a conditional third round pick in either the 2016 or 2017 draft, many within the team and the fan base were unhappy with the departure of Boychuck. 

A Bostonian of six years, Boychuck brought physical defense to the top of the defensive zone and played smart up against his own net. Without him, the Bruins defense has been marked with youngsters and penalty kill misalignments. 

3) Zdeno Chara goes down with PCL tear

Without Boychuck, the Bruins needed their few experienced blue-liners to stay healthy. They took their first blow in trying to do that when Zdeno Chara delivered a hit on John Tavares and, in doing so tore his PCL, a ligament in his knee.

Chara missed over 7 weeks of play with the injury and even once he returned, he was nowhere near top shape

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New England Patriots vs Buffalo Bills Preview: Patriots with choices on how to manage roster

(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

by Dakota Antelman

The New England Patriots roll into their season finale against Buffalo with their postseason seeding already locked in. 

Following their win last Sunday and a corresponding Broncos loss on Monday, a lot of talk has been made of the team resting its starters in this game. Patriots coach Bill Belichick wants none of that talk however, insisting all week the perceived importance of this game.

The Patriots have been hard at work this week, taking only Christmas day off as they prepare to host the 8-7 Buffalo Bills Sunday at 4:25. Tom Brady has been taking first team snaps all week and appears to be slated to at least start Sunday’s game. Beyond the quarterback position, even injury prone tight end Rob Gronkowski has been saying that he hopes to play “the entire game.”

"With the (first-round bye), you realize we're going to have a little time to rest up," Brady said this week. "We just want to go out and play well and see if we can string together as many good plays as possible.”

If the Patriots go all out Sunday it will be in pursuit of a win that would give them morale and momentum going into the post-season. A convincing win could in fact be immensely helpful especially after the Patriots just barely scraped past the Jets last week.

Their offence got fewer yards than they had all season in the 17-16 victory over their rivals. Their defense struggled to lock down the middle of the field and the Patriots offensive line allowed the Jets to have Brady under pressure for much of the game, sacking him four times.

Many questions were raised by the weak play calling that allowed the Jets to solve New England. Unless the Patriots can prove Week Sixteen to be an anomaly, the game film from that game could become welcomed required reading for upcoming playoff opponents.

But all that of course is riding on the assumption that Brady starts and finishes the game and Gronkowski’s wish to play every snap is granted. If the whispers of backup Jimmy Garappolo playing the second half are in fact true than all those game film projections and momentum building strategies go down the drain.

If Garappolo makes an appearance it will be his first extended stint with the offence since the fourth quarter of the Patriots Week Four loss to the Chiefs. Save for the few who have attended Patriots practices since that game, Garappolo has been invisible to the Patriot fan’s eye. During that time though, Belichick says he has improved fundamentally, learning about the NFL and its teams in a deeper sense.

“I think Jimmy’s worked hard,” Belichick said Friday. “I’d say similar to (rookie center Bryan) Stork, he’s been consistent, he’s improved every week. He’s running different offenses for the scout team and having to keep up with what we’re doing in our installation and our game planning on a weekly basis, but he’s, again, been durable, been healthy, been out there every day, keeps getting better.”

The Patriots could go one of two ways Sunday vs the Bills. They could trot Tom Brady and company out as if this was a Week Seven game with playoff implications or they could pull him after a quarter and throw in the rookies and second team players to finish Week Seventeen like Week Four of the preseason.

Whatever direction the Patriots decide to go in though, they will remain professional and search for the win with whoever Belichick calls to action.

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2014 in 8 Days: Top Patriots Moments

(Photo by Getty Images)

by Dakota Antelman

After beginning 2014 with a loss to the Broncos that ended a vastly understaffed season for the Patriots, fans were treated to an off season roster shakeup as well as a roller coaster start to the 2014-2015 season. 

This season has featured the return of Rob Gronkowski, the departure and ensuing return of LeGarrette Blount as well as the signing of Darelle Revis. This year has at once featured some of the highest and lowest times in the career of Tom Brady and ends with Brady on top.

As we enter 2015, Patriots fans look back on what was a generally decent calendar year for their team...

1) Patriots fall 41-14 to Chiefs in Week Four  AND "We're on to Cincinnati"

There was a time in 2014 where once loyal fans were calling for Tom Brady to be traded. Those calls were never louder than they were in Week Four following a stunning Patriots collapse against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brady was flat in the game getting pulled due to performance issues for one of the first times in his career. Though absurd in hindsight, the general consensus was that Brady was done with the NFL.

"Trade Brady, start Garapolo!" Sounded the calls of fans.

But Bill Belichick and his team kept true. Belichick addressed his team following the loss and then turned to the media with his signature cold faced demeanor.

"Were on to Cincinnati," he said. And so they were. New England beat up on the Bengals the next week and proceeded to rattle off seven straight wins following the loss to the Chiefs.

As 2014 fades into the history books, that four word quote from Belichick will stand as a defining moment, a memoir of devotion and direction following a chaotic loss.

2) Patriots fall to Broncos in AFC Championship

Many months before the Patriots even started the 2014-2015 season they were in Denver playing in their third consecutive AFC Championship game. 

Things did not go so well for them though as a team, devoid of receiving targets, struggled to put up points against the Broncos. Without Rob Grokowski and with Wes Welker playing for the Broncos instead of the Patriots, they were beaten by a score of 26-16.

As a result, the off season began two weeks too early for Brady and company.

3) Darelle Revis comes to New England, excels

In the wake of the loss to Denver that was as much punctuated by inept tackling and defense in the secondary as it was offensive deficiencies, the Patriots went out and bought themselves a franchise cornerback. They signed former Jets and Buccaneers conerback Darelle Revis to a one year $12M contract. He came to the team mere hours after they lost former star Aqib Talib via free agency.

The Patriots definitely took a chance on Revis but the decision paid off in the end. Revis has played every game of this season. He has made two interceptions and effectively shadowed a range of receivers from Wes Welker to Calvin Johnson.

***

Agree with the Go Titletown rankings? Be sure to chime in down in the comment section or mention us on Twitter (@GoTitletown) with your own "Top Patriots Moments of 2014". 

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Darelle Revis, Patriots, not focused on Pro Bowl nomination

(Photo by Charles Krupa/AP)

by Dakota Antelman

Patriot cornerback Darelle Revis was named to the 2015 Pro Bowl Tuesday night. The nomination was the sixth of his career and the first in his first season with the Patriots.

He, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Stephan Gostkowski and Matthew Slater were all named following stand out seasons for all of them. The team treats their Pro Bowl plans as highly tentative though as, in the event that New England makes the Super Bowl, held the week after the Pro Bowl, no-one will be partaking in the game.

As a result of that, Revis thoroughly downplayed the honor in a midweek conversation with reporters Wednesday.

"We got team goals that we want to accomplish, and the Pro Bowl is definitely not one of them," he said abruptly.

Though appreciative, there has been no second thought among the Patriots about the game since its rosters were announced.

“We all appreciate getting honored, but at the same time, collectively as a whole group, as a team, we can just throw that under the bus, because we're focused more on the team."

Revis confessed to reporters that he does not even know the logistical details about the game (i.e. date and time).

He however is grateful for the support he has been given since being signed by the Patriots in the offseason as well as the success that has resulted from that. He has made 47 tackles and two interceptions this season, shadowing many of the league’s best receivers from week one right through next week’s finale. 

"It all works together, the pass rush, the schemes that we do that the coaches draw up. I thank the coaches, as well, and my teammates for making my job easier."

As for those players, four of whom made the Pro Bowl with Revis, none commented on the Pro Bowl following Wednesday's practice.

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Loui Eriksson elevating play of line as he improves his own

(Photo by Charles Krupa/AP)

by Dakota Antelman

Bruins left winger, Loui Eriksson has been streaky to say the least since he came to Boston in the Tyler Seguin trade of July 4^th, 2013.

Over the course 96 games with the Bruins, Eriksson has thrice put together point streaks of more than three games. Between those intermittent bursts of hope he has wallowed in goal-less droughts that have lasted for weeks.

As Eriksson celebrates his second Christmas since the trade to Boston though, his current hot streak seems to have the makings of a redefinition of him as a player rather than just a streak. In the eight games since the Bruins December 4th loss to the Sharks, Eriksson has scored six goals and assisted on two others. He is a +6 in these games. He has scored a power play goal. In the minds of many, Eriksson has found his grove.

He scored a pair of goals in a game last Tuesday; a 5-3 victory over the Nashville Predators.

"I’ve been feeling good," said Eriksson following the game. "We’ve been creating chances. When you get on a roll you usually get on a good scoring streak and it keeps coming. It’s what I’m feeling right now. I have my confidence up, making plays and scoring goals.”

With only three goals scored going into the month of December, Eriksson has tripled his scoring output for the year in these eight games. His points totals have soared to 21 total points making Eriksson now the fourth leading scorer on the team.

Needless to say, the vast improvements have not gone unnoticed.  

"Right now, a lot of it has to do with confidence," said Head Coach Claude Julien. "I think he’s skating better. When you’re confident, a lot of things come easy to you; when you’re not, you’re skating out there sometimes you feel like you’ve got a piano on your back and your sluggish and everything else."

Julian has rewarded Eriksson for his efforts with increased playing time. He has played at least 19 minutes of each of the last three Bruins games. That is only the second time that has happened all year.

"But right now I think he’s feeling it. Like all players in this league when they get on a roll, they feel good about themselves and I think, to me, he’s showing the kind of player we’ve always thought he was. He’s scoring some goals, he’s making some plays, he’s killing penalties. He’s a guy that you can use in all kinds of situations, so right now I think we’re seeing some of his best hockey."

Eriksson’s newfound consistency has also elevated the play of his linemates, Chris Kelly and Carl Soderberg. Kelly scored his first goal in 22 games in game seven of Eriksson’s hot streak. He has also assisted on a total of six goals since December 4^th. On the opposite wing of Eriksson, Soderberg has hopped back into the points column with a goal and four assists in the last eight games.

Finally, Eriksson has helped open space for the defenders behind him. In that 5-3 win over Nashville, Eriksson shot a stellar feed, back to defender Matt Bartowski who ultimately took a wide open goal scoring shot. The Predators, who had done their research, had allowed Eriksson to catch the defense leaning his way, leaving the rest of the Bruins unmarked.

Bartowski’s goal through an open lane was the direct byproduct of one of the first instances of Eriksson being treated like the 30 goal scorer he was in Dallas.

For the longest time, Bruins fans worried they would never get that. The common fear was that young forward Reily Smith would be the best thing that came out of the Tyler Seguin trade. Though that fear has not been put to rest yet, Eriksson is playing fundamentally good hockey this month.

He is getting power play time. He is getting into the corners in all facets of the game; and, as a result, he is getting on the scoreboard.

“I’m just trying to play my game and try to help the team as much as I can here,” Eriksson said. “These past couple games it’s been really good, so hopefully I’ll continue doing that.”

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2014 in 8 Days: Top Red Sox Moments

(Photo by Charles Krupa/AP Photo)

by Dakota Antelman

The long and the short is that 2014 did not treat the Boston Red Sox too kindly.

They went 71-91 in their second season under John Farrell and failed to execute in any of the ways that helped them win a World Series a year ago. Their outfield was weak and much of the left side of the infield began showing signs of mechanical fatigue. 

The Boston bats died in 2014 and as injury reports ran manically through the rows of Fenway and the heads of fans, our lovely defending champions wallowed in a season of despair and mediocrity.

Thus is it no secret that this year's top Red Sox stories all took place off the field...

1) Jon Lester chooses Cubs over Red Sox

After low-balling Lester with a meager $70M contract offer back in Spring Training the longtime Red Sox ace was somewhat irked by the team. Further adding to the perceived lack of respect by the team for Lester was the fact that midway through the season they traded him to the Oakland A's.

That move made it easier for Lester to ignore the "hometown discount" when the negotiation period rolled around this off-season. It was with ease that he turned down a $135M offer from the Red Sox, signing instead a monstrous $155M offer from the suddenly invested Chicago Cubs just last month.

2) Red Sox unload at trade deadline

It cannot be stressed how much the trade that moved Lester out of Boston for the first time effected the negotiations after the season as well as the remaining games in the season.

On July 31st, Lester and charismatic outfeilder Johnny Gomes were packaged in a blockbuster deal to the Oakland A's. The Red Sox got two time home run derby winner, Yoenis Cespedes in return.

At the time the deal seemed somewhat decent as Cespedes brought with him a mega bat and at least an average glove in left field. As they unloaded their pitching though, the Red Sox were soon caught in a vicious cycle of blowouts and games gone to the bullpen by the 4th inning.

John Lackey, Jake Peavy and Felix Dubront were all sent packing at the trade deadline. The players they got in return, though promising did little in the second half of the season and at times began to raise some questions about Ben Cherrington's leadership scheme.

3) Red Sox ink $200M in contracts in one morning

In a time where those questions about Cherrington's ability were burning brightest, the GM jumped into the rebuilding phase quickly and with both feet.

Looking to remedy some run scoring problems from last season, Cherrington dished out $200M in contract money to sluggers Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. The deals spawned immense questions about how the team would deal with the two in terms of their defense.

As it finally shook out, team sources suggested to multiple media outlets that Ramirez would spend time in center field and bat in the top of the order. Sandoval would be the starting third basemen for the Red Sox, effectively ending Will Middlebrooks tenure with the team as he did so. (Middlebrooks was traded just a few weeks after the Sandoval/Ramirez signings.)

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Pro Bowl rosters announced, 5 Patriots included

Photo courtosy of Bob Breidenbach / The Providence Journal)

by Dakota Antelman

Late Tuesday night, the NFL announced via its independent television network, "NFL Network", the 2015 Pro Bowl rosters. Included on this year's rosters were five New England Patriots players.

Quarterback Tom Brady, place-kicker Stephan Gostkowski, tight end Rob Gronkowski, cornerback Darelle Revis and wide receiver Matthew Slater were all selected. This marks the second year of the revamped Pro Bowl which features a draft like selection process and the first in decades not held at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii.

The Patriots have a long history to sending players to the game just as their players have a history of taking it very seriously. Though they had little representation last season, with just one player making the trip, 2015 is a return to a normal state.

Such has been a common theme this season as across the board, the Patriots have been playing to the best of their abilities and living up to the lofty expectations many had for them in the preseason.

Brady has put up some of his best numbers since 2011. He has his second highest completion percentage since 2007, getting back into the area of 30+ touchdowns per season after a sub-par 2013. All around, Brady has arguably been one of the best quarterbacks in football since Week Four. His accuracy has him with a better touchdown/interception ratio (3.67/1) than even the dynastic Peyton Manning (2.6/1).

As far as receivers go, Gronkowski has been above the rest of the Patriots this year. He has caught 82 passes for 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns this year.

Among the other Patriots delegates to Glendale, Gostkowski, Revis and Slater, all of them have put of numbers and fundamental chances to their games that have rightly earned them spots in the Pro Bowl. 

Gostkowski recently took over the franchise record for points-scored while Revis’ 14 passes defended and 47 tackles have negated the efforts of most every receiver who tries to go against him. Lastly, Slater has been a force to be reckoned with on the special teams unit making a case for a long term place within the Patriots in his 7^th NFL season.

If the Patriots do not make it to the Super Bowl they will have five players going to Glendale Arizona anyway the week before it. 

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Patriots even keeled following Denver loss that grants them number-one seed

(Photo courtesy of USA Today)

by Dakota Antelman

The Patriots held practice Tuesday just a few hours after learning that, by virtue of a Denver Broncos loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, they had clinched the number one seed in the AFC.

Week 16’s edition of Monday Night Football was packed with tension and local focus. The Patriots, having won their game with the Jets on Sunday, needed either a Broncos loss before the end of the year or a win for them against Buffalo next week to mathematically clinch the AFC and guarantee themselves homefield advantage through the AFC Championship.

They got the former when the Bengals defeated the Broncos by a score of 37-28. Peyton Manning fell flat in the game throwing four interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Following the game, the interceptions seemed to sting a normally accurate Manning the most.

"Four interceptions, you're not going to beat many good football teams," he said.

He took the brunt of the blame and in turn, the ensuing mockery from Patriots fans watching from afar following the loss. Those fans were thrilled Tuesday following the win and celebrated the no mathematically meaningless finale the Patriots will take part in next week vs Buffalo.

The Patriots themselves however did not suggest any sense of pride or mental easement provided by the Denver loss.

“That was really out of our control [Monday] night,” Patriots QB Tom Brady said. “I think we did our best to do our part on Sunday, which was good, but still the season is not over for us. There is plenty of time to think about things down the road down the road. This isn’t the time for it. We’ve got to go play well this week. That is the attitude and that is what all the leaders of the team have to make sure everyone is on the same page.”

The Patriots understand the need to be on the same page. They picked which page that was years ago when faced with similar situations to this and acted similarly as they convened at their Tuesday practice. Simply, they would be no taking the foot off the gas.

 "It's my fifth year. I knew not much was going to change when we came in here today. It's always business as usual, focused on the next game," Patriot safety, Devin McCourty said. "We've been in games where we've lost by a lot and the next week we had to focus on the next game. We've been in games where we've won by a lot and Bill [Belichick] has come in the same way. We're on to whatever team is next and this week it's Buffalo."

The Patriots host the 8-7, Buffalo Bills next week. The game carries no mathematical weight in terms of playoff seeding but arguably has immense influence on the momentum that the team carries into the postseason. Needless to say, there remains the possibility that the Patriots could treat the game as the washout it is and rest some of its starters when they get the chance. 

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Why someone's to blame for Matt Bartowski hit on Brian Gionta

(Photo Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images)

By Dakota Antelman

Sunday night in Boston, Bruins defensemen Matt Bartkowski was assessed a total of 20 penalty minutes following a brutal open ice hit on Buffalo Sabers forward right wing Brian Gionta. At first glance, the almost universal consensus was that Bartkowski was in for some supplementary discipline but as Sunday turned to Monday, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced via Twitter that Bartkowski would not even be called in for a hearing.

In a series of Tweets published Monday morning, the Department of Player Safety said that the Bartkowski hit on Gionta was an “example of incidental contact on an otherwise full body check.”

The league put the onus on Gionta to avoid situations where contact to the head would be unavoidable. They decided that the fact that Bartkowski’s shoulder made contact with Gionta was the fault not of Bartkowski but rather Gionta. Furthermore, the Department of Player Safety’s also insisted that Gionta’s head was not the “PRINCIPLE” point of contact and therefore the hit did not classify as a head shot.

Very simply, the final answer the league reached on the question - should Bartkowski be suspended - was no.  

Understandably Bartkowski was satisfied with that conclusion.

"I watched the replay and I didn't see any head contact," Bartkowski said. "It's not like I was trying to hit him in the head or anything. I was just riding the [blue] line and it was just a play in the game."

Needless to say though, even if the Bartkowski hit wasn’t technically illegal, the ferocity of it was of the sort that solicits cringes and explicatory remarks aimed at trying to absolve the league of any blame for allowing players to be knocked down in the way that Gionta was. Gionta was hit hard by a 196 pound man in Bartkowski. He was flipped 180^o through the air and thrown in a way that ended up with him landing with the entirety of his own 176 pound frame upon his head and neck.

Gionta was injured, dazed, nearly knocked out by the hit. But in terms of the rulebook, the hit was 100% illegal. Thus the conclusion can be drawn that very obviously, the Department of Player Safety got the call right and the on ice officials got it wrong.

Bartowski was given a game misconduct, a fighting major and a major penalty for interference adding up to 20 total penalty minutes earned on one play. The officials saw grievance and malice in the hit and as a result emptied the bag on Bartowski.

However, in empting the bag they seemed to have gone too far. With little definitive evidence in favor of the hit being truly illegal, vilifying him with such a statistic as 20 penalty minutes is something Bartowski does not deserve.

The officials saw a brutal hit and immediately assumed that it was illegal. They saw Gionta lying on the ice, shaken up by the force of 372 pounds of human colliding at 10 miles per hour, cringed and assessed unearned penalties.

They did not account for the fact that a game that features big muscular men skating as fast as they can with the goal of ultimately slamming into each other, can see people get hurt in totally unassuming or in this case, at least legal ways.

The on ice officials calling of the hit cast an unfair precedence on the Bruins D-Man that seemed to create bias among many observers (myself included).

Ultimately, hockey is a rough game and when the roughness turns painful, we must not vilify the players involved. Rather, simply support the player collapsed on the ground. End of story. Matt Bartowski is playing Tuesday night.

***

Video of Bartkowski's hit on Brian Gionta. Comment or mention @GoTitletown on Twitter with your opinion on whether or not the hit was clean. 

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Vince Wilfork, Danny Ammendola carry Patriots to 17-16 victory over Jets

(Photo courtesy of Barry Chin/Boston Globe/Getty Images)

by Dakota Antelman

The Patriots survived their closest finish of the season, grinding out a 17-16 win over their rival New York Jets.

The game featured gritty but at times lacking defense by the Patriots and a flat offense that somehow managed to come through late in the game. All was well in the end though as, through their deficiencies, Brady and his offence ended the afternoon in victory formation having won the game and clenched a first round BYE in next month’s playoffs.

"We made plenty of good (plays) in the fourth quarter to come from behind, so that was great," Patriot QB Tom Brady said. "I'm glad it came out the way it did -- makes for a better Christmas. It's always tough to get a win here."

Brady threw for just 182 yards and one touchdown in this game amounting to just 52 yards in the first half. His offence sputtered with regularity going three and out for  much of the first quarter. Many of his favorite receivers dropped passes they should have caught and made cases against his throwing to them.

Tight end Rob Gronkowski caught for just 31 yards on the day with four passes thrown to him going for incompletions. Wide receiver Brandon LaFell, who has been seeing more and more targets each week from Brady, caught 7 passes for 64 yards but tipped a 3^rd quarter pass that was picked off by the Jets.

One receiver who excelled vs the Jets though turned in a somewhat unexpected performance. Danny Ammendola caught 8 passes for 63 yards and several key 3rd down conversions. He was only in the game by a twist of fate as well, being inserted Friday after the announcement was made that Julian Edelman had stayed home with a concussion. 

Seizing the opportunity though, Ammendola doubled his catches and yardage totals for the season and served as the backbone of the Patriots few positive gains vs. the Jets.

The real all stars in this Week 16 win however, were the players on the Patriots special teams unit.  

In one of the plays of the game, Vince Wilfork got up and tipped a late Nick Folk field goal attempt. The tip pushed the ball short of the score and preserved the Patriots one point lead late in the game.

“I just felt a soft A-gap,” Wilfork said. “[I was] making sure I was legal, not covering up the center, but at the same time getting vertical. I felt that I had a good shot of getting some penetration. It worked out well.”

A 365 pound Wilfork got nearly 8 feet above the line of scrimmage to get a fingertip on the ball. His tip also gave the Patriots the ball with decent field position late, eventually helping them secure the win with a long drive into the redzone.

“It came down to one play really to win this ballgame,” Wilfork said of the magnitude of the play. “And that one play happened to be a block and the offense taking over and just getting one first down to seal it for us.”

It was not in any way pretty but the Patriots found a way to beat the Jets Sunday afternoon. With Danny Ammendola afoot, Vince Wilfork nudged the Jets out of the playoffs and the Patriots into a first round BYE. Tom Brady hit receivers when needed and the secondary came up with interceptions and broken up passes as well.

Hopefully with some sort of retention of momentum from the sheer reality of this being a victory, the Patriots will close out the regular season next week at home against the Buffalo Bills. 

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Bruins unsatisfied with lacking December effort

(Photo courtesy of the AP)

By Dakota Antelman

After going 1-1-1 on a three game road trip, the Bruins return home bedraggled and questioned. Things have not gone well for the Black and Gold this month and as we near the NHL Christmas break, they find themselves on the outside looking in on the playoff picture.

33 games into the season they have accrued just 35 points. They sit a point behind the Rangers for the final Eastern Conference Wild Card spot and nine points behind the Canadians in the divisional race that they were favored to win back in the preseason. Big losses in marquee games against the Ducks, Blackhawks and Sharks this month have decimated what little momentum they built with their five game win streak back in November.

This free-fall has them angry but dangerously non-productive. Also, it is beginning to solicit anger and discontent from the fans.

Said discontent, if defended before this most recent road trip, was painfully validated by the 1-1-1 finish.

"I'm not happy,” said Bruins coach Claude Julian after the trip’s final game, a 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. “Because we could have came back - the way we were playing - we could have came back with five out of six."

He extrapolated saying, "And if we're happy with that (three out of six points), we're going to be on vacation there in the beginning of April. We're going to need more than that, to be honest with you. We've got to string some wins together here and this was an opportunity that we missed [Friday night]."

The Bruins were outscored 6-7 on the trip; an unimposing deficit until the shot totals are noticed. In 190 minutes of play on the road trip, the Bruins were outshot 104-91. They struggled to sustain zone pressure and failed to capitalize on goal scoring opportunities directly in front of the net.

"You just have to look at the scoresheet - there's guys that end up with no shots and all that stuff and you say, with the amount of ice and positions they're put in, they should be getting shots at the net," said Julien of the lack of opportunistic play. "We need more out of certain players, no ifs or buts about that."

One image that will likely be a lasting one of this road trip shows Loui Eriksson with complete separation from the Winnipeg defense late in a then 2-1 game. He had the puck on his stick, one on one with the goaltender, yet he held onto the puck and simply never took the shot.

"I had too much time to do something there. I should keep it simple and try to get a shot quick there," Eriksson defended. 

Too much time, too many opportunities; with the exception of the Predators really, the three teams the Bruins played on their road trip were ones they had huge opportunities to beat. But they did not beat them, getting, in the words of many players, “too cute” with the puck.

"…the biggest thing for me is that we passed up on so many shot opportunities and looked for the cute plays and that's not our team," said Julien.

This lack of simplicity in play is evident across the board.

On the back end, Zdeno Chara, rather than elevating the play of the defensive unit in his return from injury, has taken a long time to get his timing back and cost the team any number of goals. The defense has struggled to clear pucks out of the crease leaving their goaltenders, who have not played half bad, to pick up the slack and steal the few games they have won this month.

Weak forechecking and lackadaisical coverage has forced the goalies to be perfect. That is simply not a good strategy.

For a team that prides itself in smart plays and logical strategy, loosing this kind of identity has been a talking point and omnipresent point of sadness for the team and its coach.

“Costly mistakes end up in our net and then the lack of wanting to put pucks at the net with a purpose versus trying to be cute, which is not our team, is what we struggled with," Coach Julian said.

The Bruins have been confessing their problems and confessing them again for weeks now but very little is changing in regards to the effort recognized by coaching. Goals are not coming for the Bruins and neither is timely shut down defense.

Things need to change for the Bruins who will be starting the second half of their season soon; because this is not the kind of team that misses the playoffs. 

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New England Patriots vs. New York Jets Preview: Pesky Jets look to rain on Patriot parade

(Photo courtesy of Charles Krupa/AP)

by Dakota Antelman

The Patriots roll into the Meadowlands for their Sunday game vs. the Jets riding high following their 41-13 win over the Dolphins that wrapped up the division for them. Furthermore, they enter their second to last game of the season aware of the fact that wins in these two games will guarantee them the number one seed in the AFC.

On paper, their next two opponents, the Jets and Bills, are not the most imposing of foes. However against each of them, especially the Jets, the Patriots have a long history of struggles that beg to make these next two contests more intense than they might seem.

Despite the Jets 3-11 record, the team is a threat to New England.

"I know the records are what they are, but we don't look at it like that," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. "We lost going into the Meadowlands last year."

The Jets have a way of keeping themselves in games that they could easily have been blown out in. Four of the last five Patriots/Jets games have been decided by three or fewer points. This season alone, which featured 10 New York losses by Week 13, has also featured four games decided by five or fewer points.

The Patriots attribute the Jets ability to keep pace to their defense.

“They've got a real good defense," Brady said. "We're anticipating their best game."

That Jets defense, made up of guys like Muhammad Wilkerson at the line and Marcas Williams in the secondary, like the rest of the team, has a history of elevating its game whenever the Patriots are on the schedule. In the five games since the beginning of the 2012 season, New England has scored 30 points just once.

At the same time however, New England comes to the Meadowlands with a kind of diverse attack comparable only to Patriots teams of the early 2000’s. They have three receivers (Brandon LaFell, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski) who are within striking distance of 1,000 yard seasons while they also boast a running back core that has them converting on 3^rddowns at one of the highest rates in the NFL.

If the roll over the Jets, which they might very well convincingly do, the result, though expected could lead to an immense turnover within the Jets system next offseason. Of the biggest of those potential changes stands at the coaching position. 

An eccentric Jets coach, Rex Ryan, appears to be on his last legs coaching a team that has averaged 16 points per game this year.

As has been pointed out all week, this game could in turn be his last as part of the Jets/Patriots rivalry. He insists however that he is focused on just this week’s matchup.

"It's not hard for me to do," Ryan said. "I'm a confident person, and I think I'm a decent football coach and I think people who know the game realize that. So, I don't worry about it."

If Ryan was watching the Patriots news feed this week he might have even been given some news to celebrate when a stream of announcements were made Saturday afternoon that neither Julian Edelman, LeGarette Blount or Kyle Arrington had made the trip with the Patriots to New York.

Each with mild to somewhat severe injuries, those three Patriots core players were the subjects of trending topics and worried analysis this week as they were all limited in team practices. The Jets could have predicted that at least one or two of them would have stayed back but to see Arrington, Blount and Edelman all as no shows ought to be somewhat of a surprise.

In their absence, the rest of the Patriots team will need to pick up the slack. Lucky for them, a stacked depth chart gives them the options and freedom to do that. 

Speculations dictate that RB’s who have seen decreased snaps since the signing of Blount could be thrust back into starting roles this week. Guys like Jonas Gray or Shane Vereen have their eyes set on big days.

Danny Ammendola could step in to compensate for the loss of Edelman at wide receiver, while the Patriots could also institute a more varied target distribution over the entire receiving unit including LaFell, Gronkowski and possibly even Aaron Dobson.

In terms of the secondary, where Arrington normally plays, New England will still be able to designate Darelle Revis to a full time coverage of Jets pass catchers Percy Harvin and Eric Decker while CBs, Brandon Browner and Logan Ryan could also see inflated snap counts.

All and all though, New England enters the game aware of their weaknesses but eager to exploit the Jets’. The Jets will try to rain on the Patriot parade but if the past is any indication, a close win could be in the near future for the Patriots as long as they do not get complacent.

"We have to play our best football to win," New England defensive end Chandler Jones said, "and I truly believe that."

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Julian Edelman, Kyle Arrington, Le Garette Blount do not travel to New York, out vs. Jets

(Photo courtesy of Jared Wilkerham/Getty Images)

By Dakota Antelman

According to multiple reports, the Patriots realized the extent of several key players’ injuries Saturday afternoon before they travelled to New York for their game against the Jets. As a result, they elected to leave WR Julian Edelman, RB LeGarette Blount and CB Kyle Arrington home; ruled out for Sunday’s game.

All week, injury trouble has been a common theme and an overtly discussed topic for the Patriots. Julian Edelman had been listed as limited in each of the Patriots practices this week reportedly nursing a concussion. During that time, LeGarette Blount had participated in almost no contact drills as he is said to be dealing with a shoulder injury.

Finally, Kyle Arrington, who pulled up lame during last week’s game with Miami, has been out for much of the week with an injured hamstring.  Even though an MRI conducted Monday morning showed no major damage to Arrington’s hamstring, the CB appears to be still feeling soreness and as a result will not play.

The losses of Blount, Edelman and Arrington stand as big stories going into Sunday’s game. But against a 3-11 Jets team that has the worst passing game in football and is ranked 20th in pass defense, the Patriots ought to be able to compensate.

Without Edelman, who has hawked big target numbers from Brady all season, passes could be distributed to less targeted players like Danny Ammendola or Brian Tyms. Tyms has only been targeted six times this season, catching one ball. Ironically, that catch went for a touchdown in Week Four vs. Buffalo.

In the run game mind you, the Patriots excelled earlier in the year when Blount did not even play for them. Predictions and past trends dictate that rookie running back Jonas Gray could see increased snaps while an appearance from draftee James White has not yet been ruled out.

The New England secondary will likely absorb the loss of Arrington seamlessly as, beyond cornerstone CB Darelle Revis, Brandon Browner has been on the rise in recent weeks, increasing his effectiveness and thereby decreasing the yards his opponents gain off of him. The Jets passing game, which largely consists of just two capable targets (Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley) could be negated by Revis and Browner alone.

Las Vegas favored the Patriots to win this game on Monday and still does on Saturday night. Though a lack of Blount, Edelman and Arrington stings on paper, a Patriots team that prides itself in positional depth feels they are able to absorb the loss. 

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Craig Breslow Signs One-Year Deal With Red Sox, Hopes to Return to All-Star Form

(Photo courtesy of Paul Sancya/AP)

By Dakota Antelman

Journey-man reliever Craig Breslow decided to forgo his nomadic tendencies Friday when he signed a deal that would extend his stint with the Red Sox into its fourth year.

After reportedly making the trip to the Baseball Winter Meetings last week to meet with representatives and baseball executives, Breslow returned home and signed a one-year, $2M deal with the Red Sox. The deal was first reported by Rob Bradford and Alex Speir of WEEI.

The $2M paycheck Breslow will earn next season stands as a substantial pay-cut, a direct result of a 2014 campaign fraught with inconsistencies. Jumping into the mix with more middle relief time midway through the year, he assembled a meager 2-6 record with an ERA of 5.96. He also finished 1.3 wins BELOW replacement.

Those statistics structurally undermined much of Breslow’s bargaining power in free agency. Therefore, he had little ground to stand on when, following the season, the Red Sox elected not to exercise their one year club option that would have brought Breslow back for next season at $4M.

The statistical struggles and ensuing pay cuts stung Breslow. He knew that, even in the minutes after the 2014 season ended.

“I’ve never before had to play the last game of such a miserable season,” Breslow said after pitching in the final game. “There were a lot of firsts this year. I’ve never struggled like this at any point of my career. I’ve never had a full season that ended up like this, especially one that had significant expectations going on. The best part of this season is that it’s done.”

Breslow, who has played in the MLB since 2005, wants to return to the all-star form that he was in even just one or two years ago. He sees the Red Sox and Boston as the best place for him to get support, strong coaching and a general opportunity to do that.

 “I’m not looking for sympathy. I recognize that in my mind, and I think quite pragmatically, 2014 was the complement to 2013. I wouldn’t undo any of that. I would gladly make that sacrifice. As much as this stinks, being able to contribute to a team that won a World Series is something that guys play for 20 years and never get a chance to do,” he said.  “I think it’s kind of like I had the ultimate high of highs last year and the ultimate low of lows last year and in 2015 I’ll go back to being the same guy I was for six of the last seven years.”

The Red Sox see Breslow simply as an able bodied middle reliever capable of shouldering big inning counts. Though he failed to turn in quality outings in those big innings last season, Breslow remains a possible game saving pitcher out of the bull-pen.

His one-year contract and moderate $2M salary will give him the chance to reprove that to Bostonians and the MLB as a whole. The deal keeps him in the league and Breslow is satisfied with that. 

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Comparing Defensive Abilities of Red Sox Catchers (Including Ryan Hanigan)

(Photo courtesy of Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

By Dakota Antelman

Going into last season, finding catchers with defensive ability was key for the Red Sox.

Wary of the struggles of guys like Jarod Saltalamaccia, they added slightly stronger defensive catcher AJ Pierzynski. Catching opponents stealing was a key struggle for the Red Sox in 2013 and they wanted to remedy it with Pierzynski's arm.

Though complications brought on by Pierzynski's behavior with the team led to his premature removal from the clubhouse and the roster, the need for a catcher with both pitcher cohesion abilities as well as raw defensive abilities has not gone anywhere.

For a team that has shown the willingness to add catchers in this off season in particular, the Red Sox are in a mindset and a personnel place where they could get a defensive rock.

But have they already gone out and done that?

Below is a statistical comparison of the four catchers currently on the Red Sox roster' (Christian Vazquez, Blake Swihart, Dan Butler and Ryan Hanigan) individual defense...

	Ryan Hanigan	Blake Swinhart	Dan Butler	Christian Vazquez
Team last season	Tampa Bay (MLB)	Pawtuket (AAA) Portland (AA)	Pawtucket (AAA) Red Sox (MLB)	Pawtucket (AAA) Red Sox (MLB)
CS%*	.211	.456	.267	.442
Errors	1	8	3	7
Fielding Percentage	.998	.990	.986	.992
Games	79	91	61	106

*Caught stealing percentage

When we think about defensive catchers, the first statistic that comes to mind is caught stealing percentage. It is the flashiest thing a catcher does just as it is one of the hardest. Being good at gunning down runners attempting to steal takes a combination of awareness in communication with a pitcher, manipulation of mind games that try to get a runner to commit early and of course brutal accuracy in throwing the ball to the base.

Some of the MLB's players who are best at combining those qualities can throw nearly 50% of runners out but the majority of catchers rarely put together seasons where they throw out more than 20% of attempted base stealers.

Compared to the current Red Sox depth chart, these numbers seem to make the Sox look pretty good. 

Two of their four catchers threw out more than 40% of runners last season. Blake Swinhart, who split time between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Portland Sea Dogs, led the entire Red Sox organization in the category last summer when he threw out 45.6% of runners. Needless to say, the majority of the outs that boosted that average were recorded with Portland against players with much less base stealing experience than any of the other Red Sox catchers featured. Taking experience into account, Christian Vazquez put up some of the best numbers. He threw out 44.2% of runners.

Furthermore when one takes into account the runners he threw out solely in his 54 MLB games, Vazquez's numbers are even more staggering representing a CS% of 51.7%.  

Beyond CS% is fielding percentage. Fielding percentage is a statistic that seems to provide some additional insight into how a catcher plays when the ball is not in his glove. It measures an ability to field the occasional foul-ball-pop-fly and get an occasional out as well as cover bunts or short choppy hits that trickle painfully along the baselines. 

Ironically some catchers Red Sox fans know to be horrible at catching runners stealing have been inexplicably talented in ranging plays. Such could partially be the case next season if Ryan Hanigan gets any playing time. Hanigan, despite throwing out just about 21% of attempted base stealers, had a remarkable .998 fielding percentage. He led the four catchers featured in this story, in that category.

On the flip side though, Christian Vasquez's statistics back up the statement that he is a genuinely smart player. He is second among featured Red Sox catchers with a fielding percentage of .992. 

In terms of fielding percentage, Hanigan holds a slight advantage over Vazquez. Needless to say, the completeness of Vazquez as a catcher holds true and demands recognition. 

(Photo courtesy of David Goldman/AP)

In other statistical categories, Dan Butler, and Blake Swinhart hold their own. Butler committed just three errors last season, the fewest of any featured players who were in the Red Sox system last year (ie. not Ryan Hanigan). Swinhart impresses with his .990 fielding percentage but is bitten by the eight errors counting against him.

Alas however, there remains one final discrepancy in these four catchers' statistics that is far beyond their control; games played. 

A difference in games played undermines the integrity and representative quality of some of these individual statistics. For example, Vasquez, who played 103 games, put up a 42.2 CS% that is arguable much more meaningful than the 45.6 that Swinhart put up. 

The same goes for nearly every category where Vazquez has a statistical edge. Any small advantage or even slight disadvantage he has is compensated for and turned into a large advantage by his ability to work more games and distribute his workload over those games.

Going into the preseason, having that kind of reputation as being a good worker will bode well for Vazquez. 

Across the board however, who gets starting reps during the season will be determined by their ability to play good defensive baseball during the slate of spring training games. 

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Will Middlebrooks traded to San Diego Padres for Ryan Hanigan

(Photo courtesy of Matt Stone/Boston Herald) 

by Dakota Antelman

After 232 games with the Red Sox, third basemen Will Middlebrooks’ days in Boston seemed all but done by the midafternoon hours of Friday December  19th.

Pending a physical, Middlebrooks was traded to the San Diego Padres in exchange for veteran catcher Ryan Hanigan.

Middlebrooks had expressed an understanding that he did not fit within the Red Sox system back in October but for the much of the offseason to this point, it appeared the Red Sox were willing to stand by their once touted prospect.

Middlebrooks of course was the player who played well enough in his rookie season to push previous Red Sox third basemen Kevin Youkilis out of Boston and soon after, the MLB. He hit 15 home runs in his rookie year while also flashing the glove with repeated and pinpoint accuracy and poise. Since that 2012 season though, Middlebrooks has been a different player. Fraught with injuries and mechanical issues, he has spent long stretches of time on the DL and even longer ones trundling away in the minors.

Management stood by him nonetheless, insisting that he could soon return to his 2012 power hitting form. But alas, there came a point following this most recent 2014 season where even his coaches had to draw a line.

Back in November they signed third basemen Pablo Sandoval to a $100M contract. Sandoval’s introduction into the infield mix effectively clogged up the rotation enough so that it was overtly clear how imminent Middlebrooks’ departure was.

Very quickly, the Middlebrooks situation turned from one where the Red Sox were trying to create a position/excuse to keep him around, to one where they were eager to get the highest return out of him on the trade market.

While whether or not the latter of those criteria was met by today’s trade is up for debate, the Sox acted decisively, finally severing ties with Middlebrooks.

Ryan Hanigan, who they got in the trade, comes to Boston as a seven year MLB veteran. He spent the first six years of his career with Cincinnati logging around 70-80 starts per season before being sent over to Tampa for last season.

He played a decent season at the position of backup catcher for the Rays starting 84 games and bringing a .218 average with him to a total of 225 plate appearances. He was in turn traded to the Padres from the Rays last week and obviously, did not play a game with them.

His arrival in Boston, which will occur unless anything unforeseen comes up in Will Middlebrooks’ physical, will give the Red Sox a fourth catcher under contract for next season. That will provide added depth to the already intense competition between Boston catchers for the starting job.

Hanigan will be competing with Christian Vasquez, Blake Swiheart and Dan Butler from day one.

Alas, Will Middlebrooks is a departed sole in terms of the Red Sox roster. The two year experiment the team conducted with him frankly did not work out and they have moved on. A consolation prize for doing so; the Red Sox now have one of the deepest catching lineups in the division and will have immense power of choice as to who will lead the unit come April.

The hot stove keeps on burning this offseason.

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Thoughts on Julian Edelman Concussion, Patriots Mid-Week Injury report

(Photo courtesy of Matt West/Boston Herald)

By Dakota Antelman

Wednesday’s rain forced the Patriots to hold their practice indoors at their domed Dana Farber Field House. But that did not dampen flames on the midseason hot stove for New England.

While the team ran through their midweek drills and press conferences, a flurry of transactions and announcements  were completed by the team.

The majority of these transactions fixated around the post-practice injury report. Among lesser stories were the listings of long snapper Danny Aiken and Cameron Flemming as being limited in practice. Among greater stories were those surrounding players like Kyle Arrington, Domonique Easley and Julian Edelman.

Arrington was listed as limited on the practice report meaning he participated in some but not all of the drills the team ran Wednesday. His presence no less, was reassuring to Patriots fans who watched him go down with a hamstring injury back on Sunday. It was made so by an MRI that Arrington reportedly underwent on Monday that showed no further injury to his hamstring.

While it remains to be seen whether or not he will practice at full participation in the coming days, his appearance at Wednesday’s practice hinted at him possibly being available for Sunday’s game with the Jets.

One player who will not be playing on Sunday though is rookie defensive tackle, Domonique Easley.

Easley has been suffering from knee pain for much of the season but that did not prevent the first round draft pick from making three starts and appearing in 11 games. He was a mobile addition to the defensive line that was appreciated by coaches of that largely big bodied unit. His 10 tackles in 11 games were among the most of Patriots DT’s while an interception in Week Four had him equal with Vince Wilfork as the only Patriot DT’s with interceptions this season.

Complications from his tearing both his ACL during college however saw the Patriots put him on injured reserve on Wednesday. The transaction officially ended what was a promising rookie season for Easley.

Needless to say, roomers of today’s Easley move have been circulating all week while the results of the Arrington MRI suggested a similar level of participation as was true today. Patriots fans could have predicted those two moves. What came as a bit of a surprise however was the sudden announcement via the practice report that Julian Edelman had been recently diagnosed with a concussion.

All that the team has divulged on the Edelman concussion matter is that said concussion limited his ability to participate in Wednesday practice. No reports have been made about when he suffered the concussion just as no report has been made regarding the severity of the concussion. More so, Edelman’s status for next Sunday’s game vs the Jets has been suddenly made unclear by this reported diagnosis.

The Patriots have made headlines this week trying to stay focused on Sunday’s game and find reason to stay invested in a matchup with New York that figures to be a blow out. They made headlines on Wednesday however when they were suddenly given reason to worry about games beyond this week following their troubling injury report. 

Very simply, any prolonged injury to their offensive anchor, Edelman, could definitely hurt the Patriot going into and in the first games of the postseason.

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