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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Takeaways from Bruins/Senators: McQuaid gritty in return, Chara continues alarming trend

(Photo by the AP)

by Dakota Antelman

The Bruins fell to the Senators Saturday afternoon in Boston, loosing in overtime by a score of 3-2. The game was dotted with budding animosity and had fans watching closely as young stars, Tory Krug and Seth Griffith complimented a host of Bruins veterans working to get the game to overtime. 

Bobby Ryan's overtime goal sent ultimatly them home sad for a second straight game though as the Bruins fell to 19-15-5 on the season. 

Below are a few takeaways from the game. 

Bruins take it to overtime once again

As much as December was a down moth for the Bruins they did get to overtime in five of their fourteen games. Though they were not winning with consistency, they were snapping up meager points where they could get them.

The same was the case Saturday with Boston dragging the contest past regulation for the second straight game.

Boston battled hard, tying the game in the second period and jumping out to a lead midway through the third. Despite then conceding to Ottawa, the Bruins held down the fort in the final frame dominating in the face-off circle and forcing Ottawa's shots to the perimeter.

Though they did not get two points, the "looser's point" which came for their getting to overtime locked them into a tie with the Panthers for 5th in the Atlantic Division.

Adam McQuaid gritty, fundamentally strong in return

Adam McQuaid who had not played for the Bruins since November 18th, made his return for the Bruins Saturday afternoon. He bumped young defender Matt Bartkowski out of the lineup and returned to his rightful spot alongside veteran Dennis Sidenberg.

McQuaid played 17 minutes and 26 seconds in his return. He blocked a shot and worked on the Bruins penalty kill unit all afternoon logging over a minute of shorthanded time.

His main strong suit as a player and as a player in this specific game vs the Senators however is his physicality and battling spirit. McQuaid did not hold back in his return. breaking out the face washes and late jabs to the chest by the dozen. He cleared the front of the net all afternoon and repeatedly sent Senators players complaining to officials in search of judicial retribution for various sneaky infractions.

Only once however did the officials oblige as his sole violence penalty came in the second period in the form of a rough against Clarke MacArthur.

McQuaid's physicality worked for the Bruins and gave them impressive grit and fire especially in the first period. If he can sustain that kind of lead-by-example play, he could be soon working wonders for this team.

Tory Krug continues hot streak, getting more aggressive in offensive zone

Tory Krug scored again vs. the Senators when he ripped a second period slapshot past Craig Anderson to tie the game at 1.

Krug now has goals in back-to-back games and also has points in four of his last five games. He has been jumping into the attack with more and more confidence and seems to be earning the trust of his coaches who are letting him do so.

One of the best examples of his offensive activity vs the Senators actually came on a play that was not reflected on the score-sheet, in his favor, in any way.

On Brad Marchand's slick skated, elusively placed goal to start the third period, Krug, who started the play at the blueline, rotated in behind Marchand as he skated out from behind the goal. As Marchand brought the puck out beyond the tops of the face off circles, Krug slid into a screen position and in turn drew tight coverage from the Ottawa defense.

That left Marchand open enough to get his clear, goal scoring shot off before being taken down by Clarke MacArthur.

Krug's involvement in the offense has the Bruins rolling. The addition of his slapshot goal to his resume also gives Boston a defender with 7 goals this season. That aspect alone is one that they can brag about being one of the best in, in the NHL.

Zdeno Chara uncharacteristically struggling with positioning, keeping on opponents

In his 16th NHL season, Zdeno Chara is finally showing signs of age. He has just two goals and six assists this season and has a +/- of two.

Chara is also moving slower and is almost appearing less aware of where his assignments are on the ice this season. That was starkly evident Saturday.

The Bruins captain was on the ice with shutdown partner Dennis Sidenberg for the overtime shift that was eventually end with Bobby Ryan's OT winner for Ottawa. As the play that spawned that goal developed, Chara ended up chasing opposing captain Erik Karlsson into the corner. Karlsson spun out of the corner and, in doing so, felled Chara to the ice.

Chara hobbled on his knees for a split second as Bobby Ryan shook off his defenders and cut back towards the goal. Unfortunately, by the time Chara slowly found his feet Ryan was already in front of him enough so that when the puck came back to him, he was able to tip the puck into the net before Chara could play the body.

This marks the second straight game where Chara has been at fault for a goal. On New Year's Eve vs Toronto, he was caught moving in the wrong direction against James Van Reimsdyk and, as a result, gave up a clear breakaway that resulted in a then go-ahead-goal.

Finding his strength has been a spoken about struggle for a little while now with Chara; but the sudden appearance of these positional miscues has Bruins fans both worried and angry as their captain continues to cost them in key moments.

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Adam McQuaid progressing for Bruins, team hopes to play him in weekend games

(Photo by Ted Fitzgerald/Boston Herald)

by Dakota Antelman

Bruins defensemen, Adam McQuaid, who has not played since he broke his thumb on Tuesday, November 18, could be nearing his return.

The Bruin blueliner had neither practiced nor even spoken to reporters since the injury. His thumb,  was broken on a blocked shot gone awry vs. the Blues. It had kept him out of the lineup and effectively separate from the team for over a month and a half.

McQuaid had sat on the IR list and in turn the Bruins press box for weeks as he hoped physical therapy and time would get him back to hockey.

This week though he was given the “okay” to practice by doctors. Though he and his coaches were still cautious in their use of him in battling and other rough drills, he was back around the team and busy working on getting his skating legs underneath him.

“I felt pretty good out there today,” said McQuaid after Friday’s practice in Wilmington. “The shot is coming along better, getting the feel for the puck, and just getting into the flow of things. It’s definitely close. Every day there’s been pretty significant improvement.”

Despite the more laid out injury timetable that a broken bone gives a player, McQuaid has been waiting to get back to practice for a while and acknowledges being angry at the prolonged rehab process.

“We’ll have a talk with the trainers, and we’ll go from there. Originally I didn’t think it was going to be this long, but I found out afterwards that it would be, and that was disappointing," he said "But you play the hand that’s dealt with you, and the good thing is that I was able to keep skating.”

According to Joe Haggerty of Comcast Sports Net New England, Friday was deemed a ‘full contact practice’ for McQuaid. The consistent peeling away of restrictions put on McQuaid suggests an impending return to game action.

Bruins coach, Claude Julian however was tight lipped on the subject saying simply, “We’ll know more later on.”

Boston is set to take on the Ottawa Senators at 1pm Saturday in Boston. McQuaid is a possibility for that game but with little news breaking overnight and on Saturday morning, there seems to be an equal possibility that he will sit.  

If that is the case fans could see him back either Sunday in Carolina or later in the week in the team’s games against the Penguins or Devils. 

Whenever McQuaid returns he will bring his patented brand of reckless physical play in his own zone and on ice versatility back to a team in dire need of it.

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Rob Grokowski honored by AP crew with unanimous All-Pro selection, Revis, Gostkowski also named

(Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/Denver Post)

by Dakota Antelman

The Associated Press released its annual list of NFL All-Pro players Friday morning. Three Patriots made the list with one Rob Gronkowski being denoted as a unanimous selection.  

This is the third All-Pro selection of Gronkowski’s career and it comes following one of the best seasons of it. The Patriot tight end returned from nagging arm, knee and back trouble to fanfare and increased target totals from quarterback Tom Brady.

He played 15 of 16 total games, missing the finale vs. Buffalo only for precautionary reasons. Gronkowski caught 82 of 130 passes thrown to him and was responsible for 1,124 receiving yards. He converted on 60 first down situations and was a go-to target in the red-zone catching 12 touchdown passes.

2014 was a fun year for Gronkowski involving hard hitting, gravity defying tackle resistance and a slew of highlight reel plays.

His teammates understood that much. 

"He's, I think, when you say a kid playing the game, that's him," Patriots safety Devin McCourty said of Gronkowski. "He don't care about anything, stats, if we're up or down, he's playing one way. He's playing hard and you can tell he's just having fun with his friends on the field."

Among the other Patriots honored Friday by the AP were Patriot cornerback Darelle Revis and kicker Stephan Gostkowski. Revis received the most votes of all cornerbacks even beating out shut-down Seattle Seahawks CB, Richard Sherman. 2014 marks the fourth season in which Revis has made the All-Pro list and serves as considerable validation for a powerful effort by the 29 year old in his first season with the Patriots.

“I think I’m a better player than I was a couple years ago, just by the growth as a player, growing in this league,” Revis said to ESPN back on the 18^th of December. “Just continuing to stay consistent with my studies and what I do as a player.”

Gostkowski, unlike Revis or Gronkowski was a second team All-Pro this year. It is his second appearance as he was named as a 1^stteam player back in 2008.

The Patriots were a deep team in the 2014 regular season. Their depth and the varied nature of their roster made them a difficult team to plan for. Above all though, Gronkowski and Revis in particular, two MVP candidates, deserved recognition for what they have done to get the Patriots where they are.

The writers and football personalities involved with voting for the AP All-Pro’s understood that and obliged. 

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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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Bruins needing to change their shootout approach following loss to Maple Leafs

(Photo by Gregory Fisher/USA Today Sports)

by Dakota Antelman

As much as the NHL knows how much fans and players alike seem to hate the convention of the shootout, the absolute way of determining a winner in EVERY hockey game has it going nowhere.

As a result, the Bruins, who were most recently hurt by the shootout in New Year’s Eve game with the Toronto Maple Leafs, are in desperate need of an internal overhaul to their approach to the shootout. With it likely being a part of hockey for many years to come, the Bruins need to find out how to win shootouts. This is simply because right now, that is not happening.

Their December 31^st game that ultimately ended in the shootout loss began uneventfully. The Bruins fell behind 1-0 but kept pace when Tuukka Rask stopped a key penalty shot in the first period. The Bruins came back firing following the first intermission, tying the game and eventually trading goals with the Maple Leafs in the second period. They finished regulation tied with the Leafs at three goals a-piece.

After bouncing through overtime without a game winning goal, the game went to the shootout.

The TD Garden rang with boos of the shootout convention while its few supporters tried to explain its rules to still others who did not understand it.

As the Zamboni drove off the ice and the administrators of the dry scrape walked down the maintenance tunnel, the Bruins and Maple Leafs conferred with officials.   

The home Bruins elected to have Toronto shoot first as they finalized their own shooters.

Needless to say even that was not enough to stave off the shifty shootout goals and five round win enjoyed by the Leafs.

But it was not their talent that doomed Boston, it was the Bruins’ own mismanagement of their shooters that prevented them from closing out 2014 on a winning note.

Accounting for the sudden death rounds of the shootout, the Bruins sent five shooters to center ice. They started with Reilly Smith, then they sent Tory Krug, Brad Marchand, Seth Griffith and finally David Krejci who missed on a must-make shot that ended the game.

The lineup was bizarre to say the least with a defensemen taking the second shot and a 50% career penalty shot shooter in Patrice Bergeron never taking the ice. Of a fundamentally talented Bruins attack, Claude Julian selected a group of five players with a career penalty shot conversion percentage of 19%. Furthermore, he did so against a Toronto shootout attack that came in with some of the best numbers in the league.

Boston was swiftly embarrassed by Maple Leaf shooters who entered with a shootout conversion percentage of 39% and nailed two of five shots on Rask.

So what is the problem? How can this be fixed?

Well, not too long ago mind you, the Bruins were, hands down, the best team in hockey in terms of winning shootouts.

Two seasons ago, in the season of their dominant run to their second Stanley Cup in three seasons, the Bruins reaped the benefits of a near immaculate winning percentage in shootout games. That sterling reputation was the direct byproduct of their lights out shooting lineup.

Each time the shootout was needed, in almost painful repetition, the Bruins would send Tyler Seguin, Patrice Bergeron and Davis Krejci to the puck.

Those players would constantly score on 40-50% of shots. They legitimately capped off hours of play with three minutes bearing three darting goals from the top of the opponents crease.

Things changed though after Seguin left Boston following the season. The Bruins started sending Marchand out in the top three and testing Loui Eriksson in the number two slot. They dropped Krejci out of the traditional shooting lineup and over time even let Bergeron fade.

And what for; so that they could let Seth Griffith shoot, so they could let a lucky Tory Krug pound a shot off Johnathan Bernier’s pad?

The Bruins need to rework their shootout approach. Bergeron needs to get back into the mix and we need to see somebody come through as a prime shooter for the team. 

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Matt Fraser claimed off waivers by Oilers

(Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)

by Dakota Antelman

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

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

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

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

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

Fraser understands that and is not bitter.

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

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

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

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

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

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