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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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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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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Patriots at Chiefs week 4 preview: Patriots posed with threat of mobile Alex Smith

The first three weeks of the 2014 Patriots regular season have been far too exciting for fans of the team to appreciate. In three clashes with teams defined more by their mediocrity in the past decade than anything else, the Patriots themselves have been mediocre. Though they have been trying since week one to sort out their laundry list of on the field problems, time may have run out for the Patriots who face a big test this week.

Julian Edelman is still catching more than a third of Tom Brady’s passes. The Pats secondary, though satisfyingly competent at tackling, is still one plagued by penalties and the offensive line has continued to struggle to protect Brady in the pocket.

In three games, played against the Dolphins, Vikings and Raiders respectively, the Patriots are middle of the pack in rush defense. Also in those games the offence has been largely skewed in the direction of its established targets who, however great have the Pats sitting at 27th in the NFL in passing yards.

"We can do just really pretty much everything better offensively," coach Bill Belichick said. "Everything. Blocking, throwing, catching, running, run reads, routes, distribution, you name it."

Looking over to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Patriots must recognize that they will get yet another chance to vary their passing attack against a woeful secondary. The 1-2 Cheifs have allowed 223 passing yards per game this season while falling apart in the run game. In that category they are well within the bottom 10 defenses in the NFL.

The Chiefs offensive line has been the unit largely responsible for the team’s defensive shortcomings. Coach, Andy Reid recognizes a discrepancy in play calling for them.

"Some of that, especially early, that was my responsibility," Reid said. "We're in long-yardage situations, taking seven-step drops. I have to be a little smarter with the play call. And then the other ones, we have to make sure we block the right guys and do the right things."

However, among the Chiefs successes this season has been the play of their QB, Alex Smith. He is what makes this a big test for the Patriots.

Though leading his team through fewer passing yards than 25 other teams, Smith has tossed four touchdown passes this season to go along with 642 yards. But perhaps his biggest, most dangerous tool in the attack is his mobility in the pocket. Smith has scrambled for 95 yards this season and has not fumbled once. Smith does not deny his skill with the ball tucked.

“A lot of times, it sneaks up on the stat sheet, and if you can run for some first downs and make up some ground, it can really help you,” Smith pointed out. “And that’s just a matter of being smart with it when you’re a quarterback and you get out of the pocket because certainly this is a physical group and a lot of defenses are, so when you do get out, it’s about being smart and protecting yourself.”

When the Patriots and Chiefs clash Monday night, Alex Smith will be a player worth some attention from the Patriots defense.  As they prepped in Foxborough, the offensive line, particularly its cornerstone – Vince Wilfork – spoke of their wariness of Smith.  

“He’s got that team rocking and rolling,” said Wilfork. “Everybody’s working around him, they keep things mixed up with run, shot plays, pass game, screen – they throw it at you to see if you can defend it all and we need to be ready for everything.”

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Tom Brady bests old friend as he and coach set records: Patriots defeat Vikings 30-7

In a game of inches, the Patriots won their game against the Vikings by a mile.

With their identity as a team suddenly under question, the Patriots went to Minnesota knowing a win was necessary. Furthermore, though the game featured a warm reunion of old friends in Tom Brady and Matt Cassel, it soon turned cutthroat with emotions running high and big plays bountiful. 

Beginning with the defense, the Patriots came into this game with the number one priority of shutting down the Vikings big playmakers. Even after Adrian Peterson was deactivated following his arrest for child abuse Friday, that was still true. Though the attention had shifted it was still powerful in its direction at wide receiver Cordarrell Patterson. They stacked the line and rejoiced as big bodies like Jarod Mayo and Vince Wilfork clogged up the middle portions of the field with ease. Furthermore, tight coverage by the cornerbacks helped break up passes to Patterson before they could even get to him.

New England limited Patterson to just 4 receptions for 56 yards and 0 touchdowns thrown by Cassel. 

However as the Patriots also knew prior to kickoff, Patterson is the kind of player that can do more than just catch passes. Since joining the league a year ago, he has become one of the best kick returners in football. In knowing that, the Patriots and their kicker Stephan Gostkowski were prepared and fully capable of limiting any chance the Vikings star got to make any more big plays.

Gostkowski was kicking shots into the stands all afternoon allowing for just one return by Patterson. That return went for just 8 yards though and actually resulted in Goskowski’s best net yardage on a kick all game.  Additionally, Goskowski was greatly helpful to the Patriots in their offensive game. His three field goals and three PAT’s helped keep the game out of reach of the Vikings.

Among the other players whose play the Patriots were the beneficiaries of were Devin McCourty who intercepted a pass from Cassel and then returned it for 60 yards, Julian Edelman who was dominant in his first good game this season, and Stephan Ridley who produced a reassuring 101 yards rushing in the game. 

All and all, accurate throws by Tom Brady, 81 receiving yards by Edelman, 4 interceptions of Matt Cassell and a shutdown run defense helped even the Patriots record at 1-1. 

Beyond that, the brilliant game was even more so for stone faced Bill Belichick and his partner for all time in Brady. Though the pair’s record this season is mediocre, both of them hit monumental milestones for wins Sunday. Belichick became the 6th coach in NFL history to record 200 wins while Brady’s 149th win put him third on the all-time wins list for quarterbacks.

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