5 non-PSI related Patriots thoughts

by Dakota Antelman

As roomers, comments and opinions regarding the "Deflategate" controversy in Foxboro seem to dominate football headlines this week, here is a look at a few non-deflation related Patriots thoughts and story lines...

Patriots practicing indoors

The Patriots held their first practice of the week inside the climate controlled Dana Farber Field House. With temperatures outside perched right around 35 degrees, the move could be one made in an effort to reacclimate the team to what indoor football is like. 

Next week's Super Bowl will of course be held in Glendale Arizona's University of Phoenix Stadium, a domed venue. 

Bryan Stork practicing again 

Rookie center Bryan Stork hit the field for practice on Thursday for the first time since he injured his knee during the Divisional Playoff round vs. Baltimore. According to multiple observations by members of the Patriots media present at the indoor practice, Stork wore a brace and a medical wrap around his left knee. 

Stork was still slightly hobbled by the injury but was surely well enough to be written in as being a "full participant" in the practice.

Still with over a week to go before the Super Bowl and with "Deflategate" dominating press conference topics, no comment has been made by the team about Stork's status for the big game. His participation Thursday remains a good sign nonetheless and at first glance works to remind fans of the sizable chance that he will be ready to go on February 1.

Richard Sherman commenting on Darelle Revis

Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman spoke to media personnel this week about Patriot, Darelle Revis, one of the few CBs in football who seem to challenge Sherman's self-proclaimed title of "best corner in the NFL."

While Revis openly said that he would not answer questions regarding any comparison to Sherman, Sherman responded to a comparison question Thursday saying, "I haven’t thought about that honestly, but he’s had a great year. He’s been doing his job effectively and I’ve liked what I’ve seen from his game. I’m sure people make comparisons, they always do. But I think we play the game two different ways."

He elaborated.

"He plays it more conventional is what people would say, and mine's a little more unorthodox, which means it’s just more difficult to replicate what I do on the football field. So everyone is going to make comparisons but it’s just two different styles to compare. I play my way, he plays his way, and both of them are effective."

As many have pointed out Sherman and Revis have an intense personal rivalry which predated a highly publicized Twitter feud back in 2013 over who was a superior CB. Sherman has been cordial so far in addressing the topic of Revis though while Revis has taken the absolute vow of silence.

HOWEVER...

Richard Sherman taking shots at Tom Brady

Patriot QB Tom Brady has a long list of players who hate him. Sherman apparently is one of them. 

The two famously engaged in an on field verbal scuffle after the Patriots last played the Seahawks in 2012. Sherman and Brady exchanged trash talk before Sherman ultimately took to Twitter to post the now famous taunt "U MAD BRO?" 

This week, Sherman shed light on the moment. He in fact blamed Brady for instigating the clash.

"He was pretty much saying that we were nobodies, and that we should come up to him after they get the win. So we should take that pretty well. ‘Cool, can I get your autograph too?’"He said.

Sherman then more blatantly undercut what he believes to be a facade of professionalism that Brady has created.

"Like I said before, I think people some time get a skewed view of Tom Brady," Sherman explained. "That he’s just a clean-cut [guy], does everything right, and never says a bad word to anyone, and we know him to be otherwise. But in that moment of him being himself, he said some things and we returned the favor. Unfortunately he apparently didn’t remember what he said."

Date for Super Bowl sendoff rally set 

Earlier this week, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and the City of Boston announced that a date had been set for the Patriots Super Bowl sendoff rally. 

The rally will take place next Monday at 11AM in City Hall Plaza. Walsh will be hosting the rally while Patriot owner Robert Kraft, coach Bill Belichick and players Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork, Dan Connolly, Devin McCourty and Matthew Slater are all slated to speak. 

The Patriots will depart for Glendale following the conclusion of the rally.

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Bill Belichick addresses confusion, team preferences on football inflation following "Deflategate"

by Dakota Antelman

Patriots coach Bill Belichick made a prepared statement and answered media questions Thursday morning. The conference marked the first time since the escalation of the “Deflategate” controversy that Belichick had interacted with media. He revealed some  details of how the Patriots specifically inflate footballs while also expressly denying any involvement in the accused cheating.

"When I came in Monday morning, I was shocked to learn of the news about the footballs," Belichick said. "I had no knowledge whatsoever of the situation until Monday morning."

For much of this week, the cheating allegations against the Patriots have dominated both football and sports headlines as a whole. On Monday, the NFL announced that they were in the process of investigating whether or not the Patriots intentionally inflated their footballs to a pressure below the league limit of 12.5PSI.

Late Tuesday night, the story was elevated to a national one when ESPN’s Chris Mortenson published a report reveling that the NFL had found 11 of the 12 footballs used by the Patriot offence were 2PSI below the league limit.

Since then, a myriad of reports and roomers have complicated the picture. A debate has been raging in football world on whether or not the Patriots intentionally deflated the footballs. The effect that the alleged deflation had on the Patriots’ dominant 45-7 win over the Colts has also been under question.

Belichick admitted to a sense of confusion that even he felt this past week.

"I would say I've learned a lot more about this process in the last three days than I knew or had talked about in the last 40 years that I've coached in this league," he said. "I had no knowledge of the various steps involved in the game balls and the process that we went through, that happened between when they were prepared and went to the officials and went to the game. So I learned a lot about that.”

Beyond that, he addressed the argument that the balls, which were measured in a room with an estimated air temperature of 70F and then moved outside to the 20F air temperature on the field, could easily have lost air during the game.

He revealed that the Patriots walk a thin line with the inflation of their footballs and that their proximity to the minimum PSI could have been what got them in trouble Sunday. He says that they are in the process of changing their team protocol so as to avoid situations like this in the future.

"Obviously with our footballs being inflated to the 12.5-pound range, any deflation would then take us under that specification limit," Belichick said. "Knowing that now, in the future, we will certainly inflate the footballs above that low level to account for any possible change during the game. “

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Very early look at Patriots vs. Seahawks Super Bowl storylines

(Photo by Elaine Thompson/Associated Press)

by Dakota Antelman

The combatants who will battle in Super Bowl XLIX were decided Sunday afternoon when the Seattle Seahawks toppled the Green Bay Packers by a score of 28-22 and the New England Patriots routed the Colts 45-7.

As their February 1 date at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale Arizona nears, the Patriots and Seahawks prep for each other's scheme riddled play calling and power heavy offences.

Below are some initial observations and storylines made at the very beginning of these team's Super Bowl preparations...

Comeback king Seahawks vs. dominant Patriots

The Patriots and Sehawks are alike in the sense that they both finished the season with the best record in their conference and proceeded to win their conference championship. Aside from that, they are two teams with vastly different paths to this season's Super Bowl.

Seattle started the year with a record of four and three and took much longer to find its identity in 2014 than the Patriots did. Furthermore, once they did start winning games, they were only doing so by 7 to 10 points. The Patriots on the other hand scored 40 or more points on five different occasions during a stretch where they won 10 of 11 games between Week 5 and Week 16.

Lastly, in the AFC Championship game, they blew the Colts away with ease while the Seahawks needed a last second drive from Russell Wilson and a stunning overtime hail mary to advance to the Super Bowl.

Pete Caroll faces his old team

Before Tom Brady was in New England and before Bill Belichick left the Jets to coach the Patriots, Pete Caroll spent three seasons as the Patriot bench boss.

He inherited the job from hall of fame bound Bill Parcels before the 1997 season and promptly led the team on a mediocre 27-21 three year run. Caroll was fired after the 1999 season and was replaced by Belichick.

As Belichick earned national recognition as one of the greatest coaches in the history of football, Caroll trundled around the college football ranks before breaking back into the NFL in 2010 as coach of the Seahawks.

He enters this rare meeting with the team that fired him looking to win his second Super Bowl as a head coach.

Brady and Belichick get yet another shot at 4th title

Over the course of 15 seasons, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have now been to six Super Bowls. Their last two appearances have not gone exactly to plan though with losses being handed to them by the Giants in 2007 and 2011.

In 2015, the Brady/Belichick duo are desperate to avoid having the same number of Super Bowl losses as wins.

As for their chances, this year's Super Bowl, according to Las Vegas is the closest in history. When betting opened on Monday, multiple lines offered a pick-em while still others favored either the Patriots or Seahawks by only one or two points.

If Brady can swing those odds in his favor on February 1st, he will win the Super Bowl and tie Joe Montana for the most Super Bowl rings in NFL history.

Doing that, for many, would erase much of the pain felt by those painful losses to the Giants.

Major injuries on both sides could effect game

The last time the Patriots got to the Super Bowl they did so with depleted forces.

In 2015, injuries will once again be a major storyline going into Super Bowl Sunday. This time though, the bug has bitten both teams.

Notably, eccentric Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was limited in the NFC Championship game with a sprained elbow. Beyond him, teammate Earl Thomas was in a "dire situation" Sunday according to coach Pete Carrol after he dislocated his shoulder in the first half.

While both Sherman and Thomas had MRI's Monday and are expected to play in the Super Bowl, their injuries could have lingering effects two weeks from now and lead to an amended approach for the Patriots offence and secondary.

On the Patriots side of the ball, rookie center Bryan Stork was the biggest Patriots injury story going into the AFC Championship and will likely remain so for the next two weeks. He sprained his knee in the Divisional Playoff Game against Baltimore and missed Sunday's game vs. the Colts. The Patriots are yet to comment on his status for the Super Bowl.

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Patriot run game carries team past Colts to 8th Super Bowl

(Photo by Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

by Dakota Antelman

The New England Patriots were dominant in their dispatching the Colts from the AFC Championship Game.

After jumping out to an early lead which they held onto until halftime, the Patriots scored 21 points on Andrew Luck’s Indianapolis Colts in just the 3rd quarter alone. They fought through a heavy rainstorm with sometimes debilitating wind gusts to finish the night nearly perfect in their numerous redzone drives.

Tom Brady was crucial in ensuring that perfection, completing 23 of 35 attempted passes for 220 passing yards and three touchdown passes. His success in his record ninth AFC Championship game moved him into sole possession of the postseason touchdown passes record.

Though the game, like the season was not a perfect one for Brady, it was enough to get the Patriots to Glendale in convincing fashion.

"I know we've had some ups and downs this year," Brady said, "but right now we're up, baby, and we're going to try to stay up for one more game."

Brady had plenty of help in getting past the Colts though. As the Indianapolis secondary seemed to negate the efforts of Rob Gronkowski for much of the game, and a hip injury took wide receiver Julien Edelman off the field for some time, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDanials repeatedly called upon seasoned running back LeGarette Blount.

Blount, who ran for 166 yards and four touchdowns in last year’s Divisional Playoff game against the Colts, put up three touchdowns and 148 rushing yards Sunday.

“He ran his [butt] off, ran hard for four quarters” teammate, Shane Vereen said of Blount. "Coming into the game, we didn't know what the game plan was going to be, because we didn't know really what to expect from the Colts' defense. We were expecting some wrinkles but we were able to run the ball."

According to ESPN Stats & Information, Blount had 68 rushing yards AFTER contact. On one notable play midway through the third quarter, Blount earned a first down by continuing to push forward after the Colts defenders assumed he was down and let go of him.

"He made some great cuts in not good conditions," Belichick said of Blount, citing still other carries where Blount simply shook defenders off him without any need for his power running game. "He's a tough guy to tackle."

The Patriots made themselves hard to tackle both in a literal and metaphorical sense in the AFC Title Game. Through Blount’s dominant day, Julien Edelman’s nine catch effort as well as a shutdown showing by the Patriots secondary, the Patriots gained separation from the Colts early and never relented in their scoring assault.

As they revel in their AFC Title Game blowout, New England keenly turns its collective head towards Glendale Arizona where in two weeks, the Patriots will face the Seahawks in hot pursuit of their fourth Super Bowl title.

As Bill Belichick said with a smug hint of a smile following Sunday’s win, “Were on to Seattle.”

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Patriot Bryan Stork out vs. Colts

(Photo by Getty Images)

by Dakota Antelman

After missing all three team practices this week, the Patriots officially listed center Bryan Stork as "out" for Sunday's AFC Championship Game vs. the Colts.

Stork injured his knee last week vs. the Ravens and has been a touchy subject for Patriots coaches and players this week. Bill Belichick devoted no time to answering questions on Stork, obviously taking the injury one day at a time.

As soreness apparently persists in Stork's knee though, the team was forced to make the call Friday morning, holding him out of practice and effectively disqualifying him from Sunday's game.

Stork's absence reincarnates what was somewhat of a revolving door on the offensive line a week ago. General speculation from Patriot media outlets suggests that the team will have guard Ryan Wendell playing center while rookie Cameron Fleming and possibly reserve OL, Josh Kline, will get time Wendell's normal place.

Little will be stable on an offensive line that has been grossly unstable at many points during the year.

That being said, of all the weeks for New England to suffer an injury blow to their offensive line as severe as this, this might be the best one. The Colts have one of the weakest pass rushes the Patriots have faced in over a month. In the most telling statistic when rating a pass rush, sacks, the Colts ranked 9th in the NHL this season, tied with the Broncos, Packers, and Vikings with 41.

That is worse or equal to the sacks totals of 7 of the last 9 teams the Patriots have faced this season.

The Patriots face the Colts at 6:40PM on Saturday in Foxboro. Then and there they will try to keep pressure off Tom Brady and, even without Stork, dispatch a Colts team they is heavily favored to beat.

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Perfect plays by imperfect Patriots help beat Ravens

(Photo by Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

by Dakota Antelman

As has been a common theme in the last few playoff Patriots meetings with the Ravens, Tom Brady and the Patriots offence overcame a partially sluggish outing to squeak out a nail biting 4^th quarter win.

On the back of a slew of trick plays and one head scratching manipulation of the NFL rule book, the Patriots overcame two 14 point deficits to advance to the AFC Championship game for a fourth straight season.  

Needless to say, the game was a rough one to watch. For many Patriots fans, the alarm was sounded in the first quarter as the Patriots fell behind by two scores and then sounded again when the Ravens pulled away once again to start the second half.

Patriot quarterback Tom Brady did not deny the unfavorable position that the early game struggles put the team in.

"Behind twice by 14 wasn't necessarily in the plan," Brady said. "It took a lot of execution to overcome it."

Stumbling and struggling through the early minutes of this Divisional Playoff game, Bill Belichick and his coordinators eventually recognized the need to rework their entire approach to the game.  “Trick play” soon became the defining phrase of the affair.

Brady clocked a four yard touchdown run early. Soon after that, the Patriots put into motion an unheard of call that involved playing ineligible receivers and setting up with too few offensive linemen. That specific play had the Ravens defense scrambling and their coach John Harbaugh furious.

Following the game, Harbaugh stuck to his argument that that play was one that employed an illegal formation. So loud in fact was the back and forth chatter between Patriot and Raven camps that the NFL had to jump in and insist that the play was legal.

All that nonetheless, occurred after the Patriots continued to pile on with sly play calling. Rob Gronkowski was seen lining up on defense. College quarterback turned wide receiver, Julian Edelman, threw a touchdown pass to WR Danny Ammendola. And in the game’s final seconds, the Patriots lined up with a 3 defensive linemen set and stifled a desperate hail mary attempt by Joe Flacco.

Trick plays saved the day for the Patriots. It was not pretty and at times it even made this team appear to the league as more of a lucky team than a skillful one. But amidst it all, they got out of the Divisional Playoffs alive.

"It was a wild game," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, "but I'm just thankful our players hung in there and made the plays they needed to make."

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Patriots extend Patrick Chung, Brandon Boulden

(Photo by Jared Wilkerham/Getty Images North America)

by Dakota Antelman

One day before their playoff matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, the Patriots front office briefly took their eyes off Joe Flacco and company with intentions to sure up their own team in the long term.

As was first reported by ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the Patriots signed safety Patrick Chung as well as special team player Brandon Boulden to multiyear contract extensions on Friday afternoon.

Chung’s deal runs for the next three years and is worth up to $8.2M when incentives are factored in. Regardless though, at its core, the Chung deal offers him a $2.4M signing bonus as well as a guaranteed base salary of $3.4M.

The hefty pay raise comes after a resurgent season for Chung with New England. He played all 16 games for the team making 85 tackles and picking off one pass for an interception. Coaches, fans and media alike were delighted to see Chung return to form this season after a four year stint with the team (between 2009-2012) that was largely deemed a failed experiment.

Chung played the 2013 season with the Eagles but returned to the Patriots through free agency following the year.

Bill Belichick described Chung’s journey man qualities of late as a product of him trying to effectively find a way to fit within an NFL system

"I think some of the circumstance of the '12 season didn't work out as well as we all hoped, for a combination of reasons,” he said back in November. “Pat and I talked about that last year after he was released from Philadelphia. Pat and I talked about that. We had a long conversation about a lot of things. I don't think it was anybody's fault. It was just one of those things that didn't work out.”

Needless to say, that conversation proved poignant and set the stage for one of Chung’s best seasons.

Behind Chung for much of the year was special teams running back Brandon Boulden who was also extended Friday.

His deal is worth $3.2M and runs through the 2016 season. The deal could inflate to over $3.5M though with the $350,000 in incentives Boulden has the opportunity to earn.

Boulden, dispite sitting low on the running back depth chart, got considerable time on the kick return and punt defense teams this season. He figures to do the same next season while always being available to step in should the rushing core be damaged enough to need such depth.

The Patriots assigned over $11M on contract money to players Friday, locking up some considerable depth at two often lesser mentioned positions on their team. The deals guarantees that depth  for next season while it could also be a confidence booster for Boulden and Chung in the short term when New England plays Baltimore on Saturday in Foxboro.

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Patriots aware of Raven strengths at first practice of game week

(Photo by Matt West/Boston Herald)

by Dakota Antelman

The Patriots knew on Saturday, as the Baltimore Ravens dispatched the Stealers in the Wild Card Playoffs, the identity of the team that will be playing them in the Divisional Playoffs. On Monday, they got to work preparing for what could be a rough and/or close game.

The Patriots have a history with Baltimore facing them in back-to-back AFC Championship games back in 2011 and 2012. Those games went in two different directions for the Patriots with the 2011 affair punching New England’s ticket to the Super Bowl and the 2012 game ending in a disappointing, injury filled loss.

Though it is obvious that the Patriots would love to tap into that vein of victory circa 2011 when they play next Saturday, they are not buying into that mindset of hindsight; they are not looking at Baltimore’s unassuming six loss regular season either.

"They're well coached, they're physical, they do a good job on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday. "They have explosive skill players on offense, in the return game and on defense.”

Belichick went on to say  “I think Coach [John] Harbaugh has, as always, put those type of teams out there with [general manager] Ozzie [Newsome] and their respective staffs. I think that's what they have again. That's what they are. They're tough; physically and mentally tough. They can play in tough situations and they're talented. They keep coming at you."

Baltimore kept coming at the Stealers in Wild Card Week. Their play dispelled an equally physical team with apparent ease. The running game dominated the Stealers defensive line while a set of blocking tight ends seemed to regularly clear space for the receivers; Steve Smith and Owen Daniels particularly.

Smith caught five passes for 101 yards while Daniels accounted for 78 yards.

Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco tossed a pair of touchdowns and completed passes to nine different receivers in the win, drawing praise and cautious envy from Patriots coaches and players.

“I think it’s really a great system fit for him from his ability to get the ball downfield," Patriot defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said of Flacco and the Baltimore receivers. "Obviously Joe Flacco has an extremely strong arm. [He] can really make those hard throws downfield, the deep throws downfield. Along with his mobility, this guy is a very athletic quarterback.”  

Aware of Baltimore’s strength, the Patriots went to work Monday with a traditional practice. The coaches split off with their respective portions of the team, working to either solve Baltimore’s no-nonsense defense or crack the will of their offence.

Practice was heavy on Patriot linemen like Dan Connelly and featured intense coverage drills for members of the secondary like Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner. On offense, offensive coordinator Josh McDanials stressed the need to work on having a varied attack vs the Ravens in post-practice interviews. Belichick seemed to agree. He had Tom Brady consistently spread the ball across his receivers.

The Patriots have a full week of practice ahead of them. There is no joking around in Foxboro because Brady, Belichick and company know all too well how the Ravens have had their number in the past. As we near Saturday kickoff, the Patriots are working hard to do the things they need to do to prevent 2012 from repeating itself.

Tom Brady summarized those sentiments best on Facebook, Monday morning. He posted a picture of the end zone militia looking up at a flock of birds above Gillette Stadium and captioned it, “all eyes on Ravens this week #OurHouse.”

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Patriots say, do the right things in BYE week practices, given Thursday off

(Photo by Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

by Dakota Antelman

A simple observer of this week’s Patriots proceedings might easily conclude that Coach Bill Belichick has been wholly satisfied with the effort and progress made by his team in this playoff BYE week.

Even in the wake of a low scoring loss to the Bills in the regular season finale last Sunday, the Patriot skipper has kept a loose hold on his team. At the beginning of the week he scheduled just three practices (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday).

After Tuesday practice, he decided to take the team to the movies to see Christmas debuting blockbuster “American Sniper” on Thursday morning. The next day, on Wednesday, he broke free the traditional practice format and moved the team inside Gillette Stadium to play a team scrimmage.

The Patriots were somewhat surprised by the week’s bonus team time but were happy nonetheless about it.

“It was fun to have a competitive day," said quarterback Tom Brady of Wednesday’s scrimmage. "There were a lot of situations we covered. Just a great competitive spirit out there. It was a great day.”

Practice this week was self-focused and keen on keeping/building momentum largely because of the uncertainty surrounding the Patriots playoff fate in this time before the wild card games are decided. It was not the traditional week simply because the Patriots had nobody to prepare for.

Still though, Belichick seemed almost surprised with his team’s confidence and mental poise during their BYE week work. As a result he cancelled the previously scheduled Thursday practice letting players go home immediately following team meetings and the movie screening.  

Because of their regular season dominance and in part also because of the confidence coaches have instilled in players this week, the Patriots are excited and driven as the playoffs approach.

“We always do feel like it’s our year. I think you work pretty hard in the offseason to get yourself to this point. It’s tough to do,” Brady said following on of this week’s practices. “I’ve been fortunate to be part of teams that have done it. We have a great football team. We’ll see. We have to go out there and earn it. No one is going to give it to us. You have to play your biggest at the biggest moments against the best teams in the toughest conditions [and] see what you’re made of.”

Brady was grabbing headlines a lot during the week of unorthodox practice. Of the biggest of those headlines resonated with an Adam Schefter mid-week report detailed a selfless restructuring of Brady’s contract that the veteran QB signed off on. Basically, the deal let the Patriots strip millions worth of incentives off Brady’s contract all in order to free up money to sign Darelle Revis and others this offseason.

Brady was celebrated by fans and teammates alike after the gesture, proving that he is “doing it right”, loving the team and sacrificing for the good of it.

Speaking on the subject of the restructure Wednesday, Brady said, “It’s been a privilege to play here. I love playing here. It’s just been a great experience in my life. Hopefully I’m here for the rest of my career, and hopefully I go out and play really well for this team. That matters more than anything. I’m going to try to be the best I can be. I play with a lot of great teammates, and I’ve played with a lot of great teammates over the years. I don’t take those things for granted.”

Brady and company were rolling this week. According to many reporters and players alike, practices were competitive and fast paced. The Patriots were in the right mindset with the right put-the-team-needs-first mentality ringing in their heads.

Bill Belichick, who is often cold and unwelcoming to media and fans but is never irrational, rewarded his players with a week of team excursions and deviations from the “plan” as well a day off to cap the week.

The practices were positive. The meetings had players thinking the right way and the team’s interactions with media suggested the presence of a bout of confidence swelling underneath them that could carry them to February glory.

“I think it was beneficial because it was very competitive,” Patriot corner Darelle Revis said of the practice week. “I think you’ve got to give credit to the coaches for seeing that, especially on the BYE week. It’s really an off week where we’re not playing, so I think we did a great job of just being competitive and having that competitive spirit and just trying to work on the things that we’ve talked about that we need to work on in the past.”

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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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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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Patriots Topple Dolphins, Claim AFC East Title with 41-13 Win

(Photo courtesy of Matt West)

by Dakota Antelman

In what progressively turned into more and more of a blow out of a game for the Patriots, the long tenured kings of the AFC East claimed another division title with a 41-13 win over the Miami Dolphins.

Tom Brady, despite completing fewer passes than he had in four weeks, was accurate when he had to be while his receivers were clutch across the board. Though the New England running game stalled at times, it too gained yardage in situations that demanded their services while the secondary and defensive lines all stood tall against their Dolphin assignments.

The Patriots put up a solid effort Sunday that was recognized by coaching immediately following the win.

“We were able to get some points on the board get some turnovers,” said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. “I think we had a good day, good punt return, a lot of good field position. We were able to make some good plays.”

However, the majority of those positives from this game all occurred after a first half that admittedly, did not go so well for New England. They got off just 25 snaps in the first half and were forced to punt on three of five offensive drives.

Things got better though as one Brady play in particular seemed to reignite the competitive spirit within the Patriots. Just five minutes into the second half, Brady tucked the ball on 3^rd down and sprinted for a stunning gain of 17 yards. He took a hit at the end of the play but popped right up motivated and angry.

“I was goanna slide but I was pretty pissed off at that time so I figured I wouldn't slide,” Brady said of the play. “Wish I didn't get knocked down but that's the way it goes.”

The long gain set the Patriots up on the three yard line from which they would score on a LeGarret Blount run one play later.

After the game, Brady insisted that it was in fact Blount’s run, not his, that gave the Patriots their newfound strength.

“Blount with a great run! But you know it’s just whatever it takes,” Brady said. “That’s what matters and I think all our guys responded the way we wanted to good to go in there and finish them off like we did.”

Across the board, the second half was a vast improvement on the first half. Rob Gronkowski hauled in three huge catches for a total of 96 yards on the day while Brady threw several pinpoint passes to wide receiver Brandon LaFell. The defense came alive as well shutting out the Dolphins offence and forcing a trio of turnovers, a fact celebrated immensely by the entire team.

 “It’s a good feeling knowing that if you have to punt you have defense that is not goanna give up points to easily.”

The defense limited the chances that the Dolphins got while also playing a hard-nosed style of football that involved omnipresent pressure on opposing running backs and passers. They sacked Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill four times in the second half and forced a pair of fumbles (both of which were recovered by Miami).

Though they did not play the way they wanted to at times, the Patriots managed to grind out a gritty win, finding points in obscure ways (like a first quarter blocked field goal) and playing a kind of mental game that broke down the Dolphins relentlessly and meticulously.

They played like the good team they have been for nearly two decades now. As with the slew of dominant teams before them, they backed that statement of superiority up with a division title won with time to spare.

“Every year is a different year for us. Every year we have a different opportunity to try to accomplish something. It doesn’t start this morning, it started back in march. It’s a lot of hard work that goes into it and I don't think you ever take winning for granted, I certainly don’t because I know how hard it is to win,” Brady said.

He then, in true “Patriot-Way” fashion, described the accomplishment as being part of a greater plan for the team.

“I think we appreciate it but I also know that we have big goals for our team this is the first one we wanted to get,” he said.

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Patriots vs Packers preview: New England, Green Bay poised for painfully close game

by Dakota Antelman

The Patriots and Packers, perhaps the NFL’s two hottest teams, will clash in what could be a rather brilliant display of quarterback power and defensive execution.

New England, fresh off an offensive dismantling of the Lions will head to Lambeau Field in Green Bay with the understanding that their romp of the NFL may very soon come to an end. 

 "It's not realistic for us to expect to continue to blow teams out like that, or, I don't want to say blow out, but win by a large margin," coach Bill Belichick said. "I can't really put my finger on what it is. I think it's a culmination of things and preparation, I think, is at the forefront of that."

The Packers are one of the closest teams to the Patriots in terms of statistical ranking that New England has and will face for the remainder of the year. They have a top 10 passing game, average over 100 yards in the run game per game and their quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, is looking confident as ever in the pocket. Their starting running back, Eddie Lacey, has been running over defenses all season while prime receivers Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson are both on pace for 80+ catch seasons.

The Packers, an 8-3 team that is a more impressive 7-1 since week three, pose a threat to the soaring Patriots. Needless to say however, the threat is recognized.  

"We're playing Green Bay in Green Bay," Belichick said. "That's where they've been very dominant, really, in terms of getting ahead and playing from ahead, first quarter. The numbers are staggering."

The Packers are scoring nearly 33 points per game with Rogers throwing two or more touchdowns on six different occasions this season. But at the same time there have been moments this season where the Packers defense has struggled.

They rank 12^th in the league in pass defense and 30^th in run defense. In some of the same games that Rodgers has dominated, so have the Packer’s opponents.

As New England has prepared for this marquee meeting, finding and isolating the weaknesses in the Packers secondary and defensive line has been a focal point.

The Packers in turn understand this and know they will have to step their game up if they want to stem the flow of big Patriots players; especially streaky tight end Rob Gronkowski.

“I don't know that a lot of people have had great success covering him," Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers said Friday. "He can go vertical. He's a big guy. He's got a big wing span. You've seen him catch a ball thrown behind him and pull it in. He likes the physical part of the game. He's going to challenge you in terms of tackling. If you go up on his upper body, the guy's big and strong. Tacklers bounce off of him.”

Beyond Gronkowski, tight end Tim Wright is coming off a two touchdown performance last week vs. Detroit while wide receiver Brandon LaFell has added an extra passing target for New England along the sidelines.

Tom Brady’s distribution of the ball to his varied list of receivers has the Packers unsure of how to neutralize his abilities.

As of Friday, they still seemed unsure of who would be covering who. There was even talk of 225 pound linebacker, Clay Matthews, being matched up on Gronkowski.

There is indecision in regards to how either team will combat the other. Such becomes commonplace when two teams of immeasurable greatness like the Patriots and Packers meet.

Needless to say, after weeks of games decided in the first quarter, the Patriots and Packers game could very well have Patriots fans watching a kind of game they have not seen in months; a close one. 

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Tim Wright excels in 34-9 Patriots win over Deroit Lions

November 23rd, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

The Patriots kept things rolling Sunday vs the Lions when they steamrolled the Detroit Lions by a score of 34-9. They clenched their 14th straight winning season just eleven weeks into the season and, in doing so, solidified their place as one of the NFL’s best teams.

Tom Brady tossed a pair of touchdown passes, both to tight end Tim Wright while an old face named LeGarrett Blount managed to run in two touchdowns. The Patriots defense dominated as well, stuffing the Lions consistently and holding them to just three field goals.

“We did a good job today. We were ready to go. Any time you can keep a team like Detroit out of the endzone, that’s good,” Patriots coach Bill Bilichick said. “We were able to put some points on the board and make plays in all three phases of the game.”

Tim Wright staged a belated coming out party in the win. He caught his fourth and fifth touchdown passes of the year and was responsible for 36 of the Patriots 349 total receiving yards Sunday afternoon. 

Wright, who came to the Patriots from Tampa in the Logan Mankins trade before the season began, has definitely made the most of his targets this season. Wright has failed to catch just two of the passes thrown to him this season. Beyond that, now over a quarter of those 20 Wright targets have gone for touchdowns.

Needless to say, the Patriot are impressed with their new receiver’s sudden growth.

“It seems like every time we throw to him it's a touchdown,” Brady said of Wright. “So try to find him more often down there I guess. But he does a great job in coverage and finds the open spots and makes the plays so it was a big day, big day for that.”

Brady spread the ball to top targets Brandon LaFell and Julian Edelman but ran into a roadblock with tight end Rob Gronkowski who was double covered for much of the night.

Despite the lack of Gronkowski, New England still managed to get down the field on a regular basis. They did so largely on the backs of their kick returners who gave New England immaculate starting field position as well as their running backs who accounted for 90 yards of offence.

LeGarrett Blount, who returned to the Patriots midweek, carried the ball 12 times for 78 total yards and a pair of pivotal touchdowns.

“He’s a really great guy, runs hard, runs alot and once he breaks through he can make you pay,” Brady said. “He’s got a little bit of explosion so it was fun to see some of those big plays.”

The Patriots defense limited the effectiveness of Lions WR Calvin Johnson further debilitating the NFL’s most productive offence.

The Patriots went into their home stadium and took care of business Sunday. They kept with the positive trends they had been assembling in recent weeks and reached several key milestones with their ninth win of the season.

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Patriots intentions at RB clouded by LeGarrett Blount signing

November 21st, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

For the first time this season, the Patriots had a defined number one running back. Jonas Gray had one of the highest scoring games in years and proved himself capable of handling big time snaps. But then, mere days after Gray’s one man demolition of the Colts, the Patriots complicated the running back picture once again when they signed former player LeGarrett Blount to a two year contract.

Gray, a rookie, came alive verses the Colts. His four touchdowns were the most by any running back in the NFL this season. Beyond that, he rushed for a total of 201 yards on 38 carries; that was also a first for this year’s Patriots running back core.

In the coming days, the overnight sensation was trending on Twitter and dominating both local and national sports headlines. He was put on the cover of Sports Illustrated early this week and had stories about him circulated in the New York Times. More bluntly, a video of teammates chanting his nickname ‘Supreme’ had gone viral by Monday morning.

"I'll probably go home tonight, when we get back around 4 a.m., and just lay in bed, look up at the ceiling and just be astonished at what's going on," Gray said amidst that elated locker room atmosphere after the win. "Just writing a great story."

But at the same time that Gray was writing a great story, Steelers running back LeGarret Blount was erasing one. Controversy had sprung up around Blount angrily leaving the Steelers sideline late in their game vs. the Titans after a dispute with coaches over his playing time.

Though very little was known at the time, it was clear that there was an issue of character within the Pittsburgh locker room. Said issue was addressed swiftly and decisively when, Monday morning, the Steelers announced the release of Blount.

"We believe the decision to release LeGarrette is in the best interest of the organization and wish him the best of luck," said head coach Mike Tomlin in a prepared statement.

Blount had run into trouble with the Steelers before. He had previously expressed displeasure with his receiving sometimes less than 10 carries per game while also getting arrested for Marijuana possession back in August.

From the perspective of a fan, even one who watched Blount blow away the Colts a little less than a year before Gray did the same, Blount did not seem like the kind of player New England should spend its time on. They, a team recently plagued by the legal debacle brought on by Aaron Hernandez and the lesser mess brought on by Alfonzo Dennard’s DUI’s and probation violations, did not seem like one that should pay a guy who just got fired for his behavior.

But alas, the Patriots disregarded Blount’s issues and signed him to a two year deal at minimum salary Thursday afternoon.

Blount was present and practicing at Patriots facilities the next day.

One man who was not was the previously celebrated diamond in the ruff, Gray. He was sent home from Friday’s practice after showing up late. Though the Patriots coaching staff assured the media that the discipline would not affect his Sunday playing time it certainly added insult to injury for Gray.

Furthermore, the absence of Gray and the presence of Blount at Friday’s practice seemed to put a shocking, bow on a week of running back turmoil.

Right now not much is clear about how the Patriots will handle their new depth at running back or how the playing time of Blount and Gray will be managed.

One thing that the Patriots know for sure about Blount though is that he gives the Patriots a proficiency in the return game. He was the king of the kick return in his last stint with the team averaging nearly 30 yards a return in 17 attempts and once logging a stunning 84 yard run back in an explosive season finale win over the Bills.

But beyond the kick return game, Blount and Gray are very similar running backs. They are both powerful players who at the same time possess slick abilities to slip through gaps in defensive lines and then break away from any and all who chase them.

Thus the case could be made that the team should split their playing time, putting Blount on kick return and splitting rushing attempts right down the middle for him and Gray.

Friday at practice however, Bill Belichick seemed to disband any arguments in favor of that approach saying that for the time being, Blount would have to earn every snap he was given.

"That will be up to him, just like everybody else," Belichick said. "When he gets an opportunity, [it's] how much he can take advantage of it, how much he can be productive and what he can do with those opportunities [that] will determine how many more there are. It's totally up to him.”

Blount seemed to also understand that Belichick was putting his foot down and would not tolerate any of the playing time complaints that he assembled down in Pittsburgh.

"Bill is a straight-forward shooter, he's a 100 percent honest person," he said. "I truly believe that if I do what I have to do, then I'll make myself a role on this team. Whatever I have to do, I'm going to do it to be productive."

If Blount can be what he was when he rushed for 166 yards in the 2013 Divisional Playoff game for the Patriots, than they will be in possession of one of the strongest run games in football. But if he cannot than they will be in big trouble.

In short the Pariots have been indecisive in the run game for much of the season. This Blount signing, just a few days after Gray emerged as apparent king of the masses, was an example of that indecision at its most obvious.

It seemed to hint that the Patriots might not trust Gray as a number one back. After the great confidence boost that he was given by Sunday’s excellence, his team undermining him and bringing in this guy to breathe down his neck could do more harm than good. That could be shown as soon as Sunday when the Patriots face the Lions at home.

To keep that from happening, the Patriots need to let Gray defend his statistics with another day of starting reps. After a performance as historic as the one that he put up last Sunday, he does not deserve to fade back into the pot of talented Patriots running backs.

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Patriots vs Colts preview: Brady looks to extend streak, Luck looks for defining win

November 15th, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

Two weeks after a long awaited matchup between old and old, the Patriots and Colts will face off in a game that features a matchup of old and new.

The Patriots and Colts are two teams fresh off of BYE weeks. They are two teams with a wide array of receiving targets as well as powerful running backs that they use to move the ball up the field. But their biggest calling card is both their quarterbacks.

Tom Brady, New England’s 15^th year star has been playing brilliantly since a Week Four loss to Kansas City while Andrew Luck, Indianapolis’ third year starter Andrew Luck has been playing brilliantly since he was drafted in 2012.

The two are of great value to their respective teams and have also been compared heavily to each other. In this their 3^rd NFL meeting though, the stakes are higher as it seems that Luck is having a career year.

Patriots linebacker Dont'e Hightower glowed about Luck’s abilities after last Thursday’s practice in Foxboro.

“Luck is definitely one of the premier quarterbacks in the league,” he said. “He can do it with his arm. He can do it with his feet. He’s a smart guy, so he’s definitely again one of the premier quarterbacks in the league.”

Luck’s mobility was something that was noted almost controversially this week when Brady spoke frankly of his soon to be opponent.

"He's a great player, in his third year, and he's had a lot of success," Brady said at Wednesday’s Patriots press conference. "Their offense is doing a great job this year; they score a lot of points [averaging a league-high 32.2 per game], especially at home. He's kind of the ringleader. He does a lot of things I wish I could do."

Luck has thrown for almost 700 more yards than Brady has to this point in the season while also rushing for over 100 more.

Beyond Luck however, the Patriots will have their hands full. A vast onslaught of highly capable tight ends has the Colts positioned as the team with the most points per game in the NFL (31.8). Their last game, a 40-24 demolition of the Giants, featured touchdowns thrown to four different receivers.

Patriots corner-back, Darelle Revis recognized the huge threat that Colts tight end T.Y Hilton poses. He caught one of those Luck passes two weeks ago.

“He’s very fast and very explosive. He makes big plays,” Revis said. “I think he’s a No. 1 receiver at making big plays.”

Revis spoke similarly of Hilton’s teammate, Reggie Wayne.

“He’s just an elite receiver,” Revis said. “He’s been doing it for 14-plus years now. You never see any downfall. I never see a downfall in his game, so that tells you something.”

Beyond the receivers, the Patriots understand the need to prepare for the Colts ability to run the ball. Running back Trent Richardson has a history to beating up on the Patriots and will stop at nothing to do the same on Sunday night. 

But the Patriots are prepared and wholeheartedly willing to utilize their top talents in new ways. Earlier this week, the Patriots practiced in their domed Dana Farber Practice Facility to simulate the conditions in the similarly enclosed Lucas Oil Stadium. 

If the past is any indication, Brady will excel in the climate controlled game.

Earlier this week, CSN Patriots insider Tom E. Curren published an article detailing Brady’s supreme excellence in his 19 games played in domed stadiums. The piece revealed that Brady had thrown 39 touchdowns and an average of 284 yards per game. He is 14-5 in dome games.

“[It’s a change] to have [a week] where the weather is not a factor and we’re not talking about what the conditions may be because it seems like all season Coach [Belichick] has had meetings about what the weather is going to be and how the wind is going to affect the game and if it rains how the rain is going to affect the game,” Brady said in an attempt to extrapolate the trend to this game. “It is a little bit of a breather where you’re playing in a dome where everything is controlled. Like I said, ultimately it’s going to come down to how well you play and execute, but yeah, it’s nice to be indoors today.”

The Patriots and Colts face off at 8:30pm Sunday in a long awaited quarterback duel. Brady will be looking to extend his streak of dominance while Andrew Luck will be looking to achieve his first ever win against the long tenured Patriots legend.

The game will be one stocked with talent and will likely produce a final score that dictates each team’s scouring well past 30 points. 

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Patriots vs Bears preview: Jay Cutler comes to town after weak performance in Week 7

October 25th, 2014
Dakota Antelman

Coming off their third straight win since their Week Four loss to the Chiefs, the Patriots will conclude the first half of their season Sunday against the Bears.  

At 5-2, the Patriots sit in first place in the AFC East, two weeks after moving past the Bills with a pivotal win. New England has seemingly, rescued at least part of a season that was looking increasingly worrisome as the first four games played out. They have done so mainly as a result of the play of Brady.

The Patriots quarterback struggled to start the season but has turned his year around since week four. He has thrown for 9 touchdowns and 914 yards in the past three games possibly regaining the respect of Patriots fans who only a few weeks ago were calling for his head. 

Still, despite his work of late, Brady remains a mediocre quarterback in the eyes of NFL experts this season. That is shown by the fact that this week’s quarterback matchup between Brady and Chicago Bear Jay Cutler which tells of a statistical inferiority on the part of Brady.

Firing back against that numerical favoring of Cutler however, former NFL’er and current analyst Brian Urlacher, said, "You look at the guys ... the Bradys, the Mannings, the Rodgerses, the Breeses ... those guys win every year. Even with no one around them. (Aaron) Rodgers has no offensive line, he wins. (Tom) Brady has no receivers, he wins. You look at Jay, he's got Brandon (Marshall), Alshon (Jeffery), Matt (Forte) and a great offensive line ... Martellus Bennett ... and they can't seem to put it together for some reason."

Last week, Cutler threw an interception and fumbled the ball twice.

Going into this week’s matchup, major speculation has been made in regards to how the Patriots defense will work to deal with Cutler and the Bears offence. Earlier this week, Bill BIlichick spoke on how the team will need to play and aggressive game at the line of scrimmage while also throwing Revis into tight coverage against either Brandon Marshall or Alshon Jeffery.

In the past, Revis has exercised a superiority over Marshall in particular. In four games against the heralded receiver, Revis has allowed just 120 yards in receptions intercepting at least one pass thrown at Marshall.

The Patriots recognize the threat he poses.

“Great receiver, man. This week, we got our hands full with two big wide receivers, with him and (Alshon) Jeffery, and we’re looking forward to it,”

Marshall and Jeffery have combined for 853 yards. Their danger is appreciated by the Patriots. But their teammate, Matt Forte is, logically, even more dangerous. Sitting as the third best running back in the league this year Forte has rushed for 448 yards and a trifecta of touchdowns. He will likely draw the attention of middle D-linemen, Vince Wilfork.

"He [Forte] does an excellent job of burst and explosion through the line of scrimmage," Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said. "He has incredibly quick feet and some good quickness to get to the edge.”

The Bears and Patriots will hit the field a 1PM Sunday for a key midseason matchup. The 3-4 Bears need a win to save their season while the 5-2 Patriots need a win to keep on the track they are on.

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Dr. Brady lives in football lore and present gore, Mr. Brady rises to defeat: Exploring the Jekell and Hyde tenancies of late career Tom Brady

October 26th, 2014
by Dakota Antelman

Robert Louis Stevenson begins his famed novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with a thick description in dense literary prose of a man named Mr. Utterson. Mr. Utterson is a lawyer bearing a strong, get-it-done personality and a polished, all but professional presentation.

As Stevenson’s piece draws on, the titular characters are introduced. Dr. Jekyll is a well-rounded man with a name accosted with medicinal proficiency. The villain of the piece, Mr. Hyde is a demonic wrongdoer who brings shame and emotional trauma down upon the inhabitants of the town he shares with Dr. Jekyll. The two are accosted closely with said association being labeled as the emotional and physical conflict of the piece. Such conflict is so vividly painful for Dr. Jekyll in particular. This is because he and the terrible Mr. Hyde are inhabitants of not only the same town but the same body.

At different times, Dr. Jekyll is both the wonderful, kind, actual Dr. Henry Jekyll and at others he is the terrible Edward Hyde who hurts the community he loves.

As a result of that book in particular, the phrase “Jekyll and Hyde” has become a recognized part of the English language. It refers to a person or incident that over a short period of time is both wonderfully happy and terribly painful and/or detrimental to its surroundings.

Though Patriot quarterback, Tom Brady, is no psychopathic murderer, he embodies the latter, more commonplace definition of being a person who is at times both good and bad. Especially in the past 3 to 4 years, Brady has been painfully Jekyll and Hyde like.

** Dr. Brady **

A young Brady rears back to throw a pass. 

The story of a young Tom Brady is one of glory and success. After garnering very little recognition and as a result, playing time in college, Brady barely snuck into the NFL as the 199^th pick in the 2000 NFL draft.

In the ensuing season, he managed to climb onto the Patriots roster as Drew Bledsoe’s backup. From that position, Brady crawled into a midseason game at the end of which he managed to toss 3 attempts as well as one nondescript 6 yard toss over the middle.

One year after that however, he was anything but nondescript. Drew Bledsoe was injured in the second week of the 2001 season opening the door for Brady to jump in as a starter. In 2001, Brady flourished, playing so well that when Bledsoe returned, Brady remained under center as the Patriots 1^st string QB. He threw 18 touchdowns and managed to lead the Patriots to only their second Super Bowl berth in history.

We all know what happened next.

For those who saw that Super Bowl, for those who saw the moment in which Brady pumped the Lombardi Trophy above his head as confetti fell around him, it was blatantly, wonderfully evident how unusually good Brady was. That kid, this tiny, unmuscular 7^th string quarterback out of Michigan State had just done what no Patriots QB before him had; win a Super Bowl.

But that is not where Brady’s record setting stampede stopped. Two years later, the Patriots won the NFL title again, one year after that they added the third Super Bowl triumph to the Patriots history books.

By week one of his 5^th NFL season, Brady had long since eclipsed 10,000 passing yards and was just 3 scores short of his 100^th career touchdown pass. Two seasons later, with the 2005 and 2006 NFL campaigns in the books, he had increased his career passing yards totals to a whopping 21,558 yards. His proficiency in the red zone had only gotten better with age and experience as Brady became more and more accurate with his throws under pressure.

As he developed a vast library of NFL football knowledge and experience driven lists of options, Brady’s on field presence of mind and ridiculous work ethic began to become evident. Brady started working QB sneaks and unpredictable read option running plays into his offensive repertoire baffling defenses and saving countless drives that appeared lost. 

In all truth, Brady was king. He was playing high quality football unrivalled by pretty much everyone but Peyton Manning. He came out of nowhere.

Then 2007 happened.

** Mr. Brady **

Tom Brady walks off the field in a sad daze after loosing the 2007 Super Bowl. The game was all but lost on the stunning David Ty Ree "helmet catch".

One of the greatest single season performances by a team in the history of professional sports began and ended with Brady. The Patriots were the first NFL team since the institution of the new 16 game schedule to go undefeated. They claimed the first seed in the AFC East and proceeded to romp through their divisional and conference final opponents.

Brady played to a passer rating of 117 that season, throwing for over 4,000 yards and setting an NFL record with his 50 touchdown throws in the regular season.

In those initial playoff games, he boosted his reputation as one of the greatest postseason quarterbacks of all time with back to back 300 yard games.

Following those wins in the divisional and AFC Championship games, The Patriots were one win away from doing the unthinkable; going undefeated in football. One win was all they needed to make history. One win was all Brady needed to tie Joe Montana as the quarterback with the most Super Bowl wins.

All they had to do was beat the then lowly New York Giants, a team that had snuck into the playoffs eventually making it to the Super Bowl by a similar margin. Due to the decisiveness with which the Patriots were winning and the shakiness with which the Giants were playing, the Patriots were unanimous favorites in that game.

But just as the Pats did to the Rams (albeit to a lesser extent) in 2001, the Giants proved that the statisticians in Las Vegas do not actually play the games. And just as they did in 2001 against the Rams, Pats fans witnessed yet another memorable image take shape in 2007.

There was one minute and 15 seconds remaining in the game when Eli Manning burst out of a scrum of Patriots on 3^rd down and chucked a 30 yard pass in the direction of receiver David Ty Ree. The name does enough to conger up painful memories for Patriots fans.

Ty Ree leapt up for the catch and, fighting through the defense of Rodney Harrison managed to pin the ball against the top of his helmet and somehow hold on.

As Patriots fans knew, the pain born out of the one in the 2007 Patriots record of 18-1 was unimaginable. It was one of those moments that fades into lore as the day part of the die-hard football fan dies.

But the hypothetical “piece of the fan” was not the only thing that took a huge hit that day. 7 years into his career, Brady’s first Super Bowl loss kicked off a string of years of minor statistical decline that conquered up whispers of doubt from Patriots fans of the man they had quickly come to idolize.

As fans know very well, Brady tore his ACL mere minutes into the 2008 season and missed the entire year rehabbing.

A year later, when he finally did return, Brady was wonderful in the regular season but flopped in the playoffs when he and the Patriots lost to the Ravens in the wild card playoffs. Brady turned the ball over 3 times in the first quarter of that game. It was one of his earliest playoff exits in his career. One year later, things were not much better.

Despite a good start to the season, the Patriots again crumpled in the playoffs falling to the Jets in the divisional round. Despite the additions of Rob Gronkowski to the Patriots passing target arsenal and the continued presence of Wes Welker on the wide receiver receiving yards leaderboard, quite a bit about the Patriots fell apart that day against the Jets.

That loss only furthered the trend of falling levels of Brady’s reliability. Of course, then came 2010 when Brady threw in an outlier of a season. He threw for 5,000 passing yards for the first time in his career and led the Patriots to their 7^thSuper Bowl berth.

Of course it took a miracle in an AFC Championship where Brady was flat at best to get them to the big game, at which they would be decisively beaten by same Giants team that crushed their dreams years before.

Since then, Brady has dealt with two of his worst seasons of his career. Without as many targets to throw to, Brady managed fewer yards and fewer touchdowns. His QBR fell 13 points and his team collapsed miserably in the AFC Championship game.

Thus the Mr. Hyde aspect of Brady’s persona was made evident. At first he was a dominant, unquestioned king, but as his career dragged on Mr. Hyde began to drop hints of his presence in Brady’s game.

** To name the right name **

So what, happened why have we suddenly started questioning Brady? Why has he given us reason to question him?

In all truth, it really does go back to 2007. More precisely, it all changed the singular moment in time in which David Ty Ree pinned that 30 yard pass against his helmet.

Since 2007, Brady has seemed skittish in the pocket taking an uptick in sacks and more and more contested passes. His throws that were once consistently bulleted spirals that were guided with near military precision to the hands he was trying to hit have been slowly mixed in with loose passes that have been tipped, intercepted or brutally fumbled due to bobbled receptions.

Brady is running less, becoming slowly less comfortable with throwing to a wide array of targets and overall simply losing a small step throughout his game.

These big slashes against the Patriot legend’s place atop the pedestal of quarterbacking greatness have been done overtime. They were initiated by the disappointment of the 2007 Super Bowl loss but reinforced by questionable decisions by the Patriots staff.

In 2012, mismanagement of contracts resulted in the loss of Brandon Lloyd while “unsolvable rifts” between Bill Bilichick and fan favorite Wes Welker resulted in the longtime wide receiver being moved to Denver.

The Patriots struggled to compensate, filling the majority of their empty receiving spots with young, inexperienced, fundamentally weak rookies.  

Also, as time has gone on, this Patriots organization that would originally stand by its cornerstone without question has allowed media and various anonymous sources within the clubhouse and the league attack Brady.

Though that is partially the reality of professional football, one cannot expect a player to perform at a high level when he is under the scrutiny and stress that the team has allowed Brady to be under of late. However at the same time it is Brady’s resiliency and unrelenting work ethic that once and still will make him great.

Tom Brady is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. He is likely the greatest Patriot of all time and has done things in the NFL that nobody thought could be done.

Brady has smashed records, revived a team that was once a joke and guided said team to one of the strongest, most dynastic runs in recent sports history. But as with the wonderful, community loving, Dr. Jekyll, Tom Terrific has a dark side that, as he has aged, has begun to show.

Brady remains a good player and remains a future hall of famer. But his career is ending, and as a fan of Brady, as fans of one of the greatest quarterbacks in history, we should hope that when he retires that his career will be remembers for the good he did as Dr. Brady and not the mistakes that crept into his game as Mr. Brady.

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