2008 Patriots Game Thread

[See Red]

Pats not playing well....in addition Bruschi got hurt in the 1st and looks like a season ending knee. Wilfork got hurt as well and it doesn't look like he'll be back.

 

 

Seau and Colvin, who have been out of football this year and had one day of practice....are now the starting LB's for the pats.

 

I feel you. Broncos are in the same boat at LB with Spencer Larsen (who's played offense, defense, and special teams for the Broncos) and Wesley Woodyard (an undrafted rookie), who appears to be ridiculously talented at least.

[YanksHater213]

When it rains it pours... everyones getting hurt, this year has been long and painful. Hopefully we can make something out of it, but probably not.

 

Its sad that we still have a semi-reasonable shot at making the playoffs and I'm looking forward to the offseason and seeing how we shore up this defense.

[Cocos Disciples]

Its sad that we still have a semi-reasonable shot at making the playoffs and I'm looking forward to the offseason and seeing how we shore up this defense.

 

Well even if we do make the playoffs, there's no way they make the Super Bowl or even the Championship game probably. I'm with you, I'm gearing up for 2009.

[Cocos Disciples]

Wow, 4th and Goal for the Pats down 21-16, for the season.

 

TD!

[Cocos Disciples]

Pats win. The Pats, Jets and Dolphins are all 8-5, 3 games to go. Nice.

[mtbykr]

Wow, crazy game. The pats made the plays when they had to....but it was against a terrible team. (although Seattle always is tough at home) Costly game though as Bruschi, Wilfork (big loss, no pun intended), and Sanders all go out and all look to be serious injuries. Vrable got hurt, but came back......and they are staying on the West Coast this week.

[mtbykr]

The latest on Wilfork is that it's not season ending and he could be back in a week or two. Bruschi looks to be done for the season, possibly next depending upon the severity of the knee injury...no info on Sanders.

[Elevation]

I just wish McDaniels could throw my fantasy team a bone and let Welker score a few more TDs.

[mtbykr]

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2008/12/tedy_bruschi_im.html

 

While the Patriots are staying in California for the week, linebacker Tedy Bruschi has returned home to Boston for further tests on his injured left knee.

 

Bruschi's left knee has been nagging him in recent weeks -- he's been limited in practices -- and the tipping point came when a teammate accidently fell on him with 14:04 remaining in the second quarter of Sunday's 24-21 win over the Seahawks. The blow knocked Bruschi out of the game.

 

The injury is not career-threatening, but it very well could end Bruschi's season because the Patriots -- with three weeks to chase a playoff berth -- might not have time to wait for him to recover.

 

What would the Patriots be missing without Bruschi?

 

First and foremost, a strong veteran presence. Bruschi has been a starter at the strongside inside linebacker spot in the team's 3-4 alignment, playing in 52 percent of the team's defensive snaps this season. He has mostly been a first- and second-down player, replaced in sub packages when the Patriots look to add more speed to the field in passing situations.

 

Entering Sunday's game against the Seahawks, coaches credited Bruschi with 69 tackles (36 solo), a total which ranked second on the team.

 

Bruschi's top backup for much of the season has been rookie Gary Guyton. Another option at the position would be veteran Junior Seau.

[Dojji]

Wow, it just never stops.

[TheKilo]

Maybe that will teach the Pats not to be ancient at every position.

[YanksHater213]

^^I agree with that, but Bruschi being old didn't really have anything to do with that injury. Anyone would have gotten hurt there, whether you were 15 or 75.

[mtbykr]

Maybe that will teach the Pats not to be ancient at every position.

 

What has that have to do with it? Anyone getting hit like he did would have been injured.

[mtbykr]

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2008/12/thursday_effect.html

 

 

Sunday's game against the Raiders marks the third straight week that the Patriots will face a team that has 10 days to prepare for the matchup because they played a Thursday night game the week before.

 

Is this an unfair disadvantage created by the NFL's schedule-maker?

 

Teams playing on Thursday night this season are 10-4 the following week, so the extra rest and preparation time does seem to help.

 

Yet specific to the Patriots, one aspect to keep in mind is that the club requested to play its West Coast games back-to-back if possible. The NFL granted that request, pairing up their road games against the 49ers/Chargers in October and the Seahawks/Raiders in December. In doing so, the Patriots (2-1 on the West Coast) ended up with the current scheduling quirk of facing three teams in a row coming off Thursday night games.

 

Contrast that to the Jets, whose four West Coast games were scheduled for Sept. 22 (at San Diego), Oct. 19 (at Oakland), Dec. 7 (at San Francisco) and Dec. 21 (at Seattle), requiring them to make four different back-and-forth cross-country trips (unlike the Patriots, who stayed on the West Coast both times). The Jets are 0-3 on their trips to the West Coast at this point, and that upcoming game in Seattle is looming large for their playoff hopes.

 

So, in the end, the Patriots' preference to play back-to-back games on the West Coast seems to trump the disadvantage of facing three straight clubs with extra time to prepar

[ORS]

http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/06/adem/pictures/absolut/images/absolut%20conspiracy.jpg

[CrespoBlows]

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2008/12/thursday_effect.html

 

Why would you post this?

 

The writer can't even go one paragraph without contradicting himself.

[mtbykr]

Why would you post this?

 

The writer can't even go one paragraph without contradicting himself.

 

I just thought it was interesting comparing the Jets and Pats. The pats chose to do it with 2 back to back west coast games, staying out west in-between while the Jets did 4 separate cross country trips. The 'thursday effect' is a result of the pats preferring to do this and requesting that scheduling.....just interesting seeing the two strategies at work. As far as Reiss goes, he is the most well respected pats beat writer out there and lead for the globe.

[See Red]

My god... their west coast trips are the easiest part of their ridiculously easy schedule. What would the AFC East look like if they hadn't gotten the two worst divisions in football this year?

[mtbykr]

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2008/12/pierre_woods_to.html

 

The Patriots placed outside linebacker Pierre Woods on season-ending injured reserve today. Woods has been sidelined with a jaw injury.

 

The team promoted offensive lineman Dan Connolly to the active roster.

 

 

 

With the Patriots placing outside linebacker Pierre Woods (jaw) on season-ending injured reserve, and promoting offensive lineman Dan Connolly from the practice squad, here is a look at what the moves could mean at each position:

 

 

Woods was starting at outside linebacker in the 3-4 alignment, moving into that spot after Adalius Thomas was injured in a Nov. 9 game against the Bills. He injured his jaw Nov. 30 against the Steelers (in the third quarter) and did not play in the team's next game, at Seattle. The Patriots started rookie Gary Guyton at that spot in Seattle, but he struggled and was eventually replaced by veteran Rosevelt Colvin. Looking ahead, Colvin, Guyton and rookie Vince Redd are the top options at that spot in the 3-4 alignment. Mike Vrabel is the starter on the opposite side.

 

 

Connolly, a center/guard, adds a 10th lineman to the roster. The Patriots have Russ Hochstein (8th year) and Billy Yates (5th year) as their reserve center/guards, so the 26-year-old Connolly doesn't fill an immediate need. It looks like his addition to the roster might be more with the future in mind, as Hochstein's contract expires after the 2008 season. Players promoted from the practice squad this season have regularly signed three-year contracts. Connolly showed some promise in training camp, but inconsistency with the shotgun snap hurt his chances of sticking on the 53-man roster.

[YanksHater213]

Getcha popcorn ready!

 

A TO and Dallas win next week vs. Baltimore opens up a spot for the Pats!

 

Huge game vs. Arizona next week... I'll be extremely surprised if we can stop their offense at this point.

[riverside sluggers]

Solid win, even if it was against the Raiders. Next week Cassel will face the Cardinals' suspect secondary

[YanksHater213]

Really early forecast is 34 and freezing rain.

 

I'm going to the game, but if those should be the conditions I plan on getting drunk enough to not be able to decide if its raining or not.

[MANNYHOF24]

My god... their west coast trips are the easiest part of their ridiculously easy schedule. What would the AFC East look like if they hadn't gotten the two worst divisions in football this year?

 

The Jets would probably have a better record.

[mtbykr]

Getcha popcorn ready!

 

A TO and Dallas win next week vs. Baltimore opens up a spot for the Pats!

 

Huge game vs. Arizona next week... I'll be extremely surprised if we can stop their offense at this point.

 

 

AZ looked terrible this week, although it was against a pretty good D in Minnesota. They appear to be looking ahead to the playoffs, and the cross country trip won't help either. With all that said it should still be a tough game for the pats because they have the ability to go up and down the field on us.

[Dojji]

I have confidence in Belichick to figure something out.

 

I also continue to be extremely impressed with Cassel. Total washout in the second half against the Steelers notwithstanding (that was really a group epic fail, not on any one player's shoulders), Cassel has run the offense very well, probably about as well as Brady would have run it.

 

Going into this season I thought our worst problem was going to be the ability to score. Turns out that that's not the issue, Cassel has done way better than most of us hoped he would at the beginning of the year.

 

Most of our defeats have come not from poor offense but awful D, the Pittsburgh turdfest aside. Matt Cassel has done a great job of making bad D's look silly and has put points on the board against decent defenses as well. THe problem comes when this D can't hold anyone to under 30 points. That makes it difficult for even a great offense to win anything.

[Paradisecity]

Hard to expect much from a group that has had like 78 linebacker injuries.

[mtbykr]

Nice vid of BB miked up and behind the scenes last week before the Raiders game:

 

http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80d74a78

[Cocos Disciples]

Can't wait for a snowy game Sunday.

[redsoxrules]

very s***** weather in NE , should be an interesting game

[redsoxrules]

or maybe not ....21-0 already for the pats