mtbykr

Here are a few of the tamer ones i heard from pats fans: and more about patsfans watching the game (as if that wasn't painful enough) and getting attacked, beer thrown, ect....

He knows what to do, he tucks the ball and tries to run. O'Connell must be a ways away from being ready if we are still sticking with Cassel. He can't make proper reads, can't read quick enough, has terrible pocket presence, and quits on the play way to quick. There were plenty of times last night when he had open guys and didn't see them, or it's 3rd down and he throws a route underneath that is short of the 1st down. The main problem though is not being able to go deep to Randy. There were several times last night where randy had a step and was behind the defense and Cassel didn't see it, and when he did he threw it too late and short. He keeps wanting the short and middle game, but if he can't go deep it won't free up the short stuff. I'm just glad I wasn't at the game after some of the horror stories I heard about SD fans!

Great stuff!

Welcome to talksox....i used to trade cards many moons ago, now I think they are collecting dust in my parents basement.

Let's not get carried away trying to predict the pats season based on their performance against the chiefs. Cassel has to come in when their QB and leader of the team goes down to what appears to be a season ending injury. The air got sucked out of Gillette on Sunday, and players/personall all said that when TB didn't come back in the 2nd half they knew his season was probably over. Cassel came in without any reps with the 1st team, and did a decent job...then the pats had to adjust to the chiefs new QB. This is a lot going on during one game where your season changes....a lot more can be argued after the Jets on Sunday. The pats were expected to go to the superbowl, so it's not crazy to think their still a playoff team without TB.

Sure, I'll go.

We're just seeing different things. I see Wilfork heading to the qb, and being tripped/tackled around his feet and going down. When he's almost to the ground he put's his elbow out......take losman out of the picture and it looks like a routine big guy hitting the ground after being blocked/tackled/tripped, ect... EDIT: That's not what happened, look at the vid again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3POT8n2Qk3g He got hit/tackled/tripped at the feet which cause him to go down all in one motion....at the end of it he puts his arm out. He didn't take 3 steps and lunge throwing his elbow out...................we may differ in our opinion on intent, but at least be honest with your assessment of the actual event.

It's difficult to judge intent, which is what a dirty play is. Define dirty....if you define dirty as 'intentionally trying to hurt someone' then no i don't think it was dirty. He has a good reputation, and is widely respected by teammates, media, ect... as a stand-up honest guy who doesn't want to see anyone get hurt. If I was in his situation, I probably would have done the same thing with my arm....i have taken plenty of falls over the years whether riding, trailrunning, ect.. and the first thing I do (out of instinct) is put out/up my arm. Here's Wilfork's quote: I guess I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt and see it from their perspective.

No that's not what I have been arguing. What I have said is that the NFL should give the same outcome given the reason/rule they have set-forth. They said that Pollard was not wrong because even though he hit Brady low, he was engaged with a offensive player. Wilfork was engaged with an offensive player as well.....neither had an 'unimpeded path to the qb' and dove at his legs.

No. Initially after looking at it I thought it was, but after looking at it multiple times I don't believe it was dirty.

Way to put words in my mouth....I have never said one was dirty and one was not. My argument was never about them being dirty. My argument was that the NFL ruled on both plays, and I believe both should have been the same outcome using the NFL's guideline. (whether a fine or not a fine...doesn't matter). The NFL maintains that if you hit a qb on the knee or below it's illegal unless the defender is 'engaged' with a member of the offense, and in both situations they were....so either both should be illegal, or both should not.

Interesting, sheds some light on the Simms/Rattay subject: http://blogs.nfl.com/2008/09/09/patriots-ahead-of-their-time-again/

I didn't see the game, was following it on my phone. I am sure though that Francona was thinking that this game is important, it's our chance to take over 1st..........why bring Masterson in? He would want to go with his best guy in the situation. The sox just come back in the 8th to take the lead, we are ready to take over first, it's Paps job to nail that down. No matter what anyone says, if Francona had brought in Masterson and he had blown it....everyone here would be killing Tito! (and rightly so, we want our best in that situation)

The pats lost the best player in the league (arguably) and that hurts, but don't count them out just yet. From here their schedule looks pretty easy, but teams fluctuate so much year to year it's hard to know how good these teams may be down the road. Cassel is an unknown at this point. He hasn't started a game since HS, however he's backed up Palmer/Leinart in college (ironically he beat out Leinart for the starting job, and then lost it to injury) and Brady in the NFL.....so it's not like he's been 2nd fiddle to scrubs. BB has had ample opportunity to replace Cassel and has stuck with him, so he see's something there. Also remember, we are talking about the coach that seems to plan for every possible contingency.....so it's not like he hasn't thought about this happening. I think winning the division is very possible, and then anything can happen in the playoffs....you just have to get hot at the right time. The pats have gone from the Superbowl favorite to a very good team with the loss of TB....there are certainly teams better in the AFC right now, but it's long season and anything can happen. Realistically I can see them getting a wildcard if Cassel doesn't play great to going deep in the playoffs if he does.

We will have to agree to disagree on this: Wilfork: free path to the qb, tackled from behind and falls into the qb (the elbow part looks dirty) Pollard: Blocked to the ground, lunges off the ground into the qb's knee. Wilfork was tackled/tripped from behind and fell into the qb, Pollard was blocked to the ground, and lunged at the qb's legs Both hits were at the knee or below....the NFL stated that the Pollard hit was legal becuase he was engaged and affected by a defender.....so was wilfork, he was tackled from behind. My point is it should be the same with both using the standards the NFL set-forth in their ruling. That's my take, we can just agree to disagree.

I'm sure that MDF3530 will be more than willing to trade Brady or Young to you!

BB on WEEI and should stop all the rumors. He said they won't bring in anyone except maybe Gutz becuase it would take too long to learn the system.

McNabb and Turner had great weeks, other than that everyone else was average or below average. Still have Minn going tonight so things are looking good.

The NFL ruled that the hit on TB was legal: Game 3 of last year something similar happend to Wilfork....the difference is that Wilfork was actually blocked into the qb. Now Wilfork was flagged, fined, and ripped to shreds in the media for being a dirty player. The two plays are almost identicle, but the NFL rules like this? Either both plays are legal, or they are dirty....can't have it both ways. http://boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/

It's official: http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2008/09/pats_confirm_ra.html BB also said in the PC, that they team did not bring in Rattay and Simms as reported and have had no contact with any other qb's....other than plenty of qb's calling them. They have no plans to workout any other qb's at this point.

There is no way they bring Culpepper in, he's dumber than a bag of hammers and couldn't pick up the system. The only thing he did in Minnesota was toss the ball up and Moss would have to go get it. Ironically the pats had Rattay and Brady similar during the draft, but chose Brady becuase he was taller. I think Cassel will be OK for a few weeks, he will get better with time and reps especially in practice. From there though unless he gets much better they might go with O'Connell (they spend a 3rd rounder on him) or someone else they bring in (Rattay or Simms). I still think the pats will make the playoffs, but the superbowl is a long shot....not impossible, but certainly not likely. It's a long season and anything can happen, so we'll see. Two things will come out of this: how good Tommy really is, and how good a coach BB is.