[NFL] New England Patriots Thread

[Tealey7]

Tealey's New England Patriots Thread

http://www.logoserver.com/football/NEPatriots8.GIF

This is my second attempt at a thread concerning the New England Patriots.

Franchise History

1959–1991

On November 16, 1959, Boston executive William H. "Billy" Sullivan Jr. was awarded the eighth and final franchise of the developing American Football League (AFL). The following winter, locals were allowed to submit ideas for the Boston football team's official name. The most popular choice—and the one that Sullivan selected—was "Boston Patriots", which derived from the historical Patriots of the American Revolution. Several months later, Phil Bisell created the "Pat Patriot" logo (see section), and Lou Saban was selected as the team's first head coach.

The franchise's first training camp began on July 4, 1960, two months prior to their first official game. On September 9 of that year, the Boston Patriots played the Denver Broncos in the first-ever AFL regular season game. The Broncos defeated the Patriots by a score of 13–10. The Patriots failed to reach the playoffs in each of their four seasons, despite posting a cumulative 23-17 record. However, in 1963 the Patriots reached the AFL Championship for the first time, resulting in a loss to the San Diego Chargers by a score of 51–10. Although the franchise lost the championship, it was honored when eleven Patriots made the AFL All-star team, including Gino Cappelletti, Nick Buoniconti, and Babe Parilli.

Although New England failed to reach the AFL playoffs for the remainder of the decade, the team was noted in 1966 when fullback Jim Nance gained 1,458 yards, and the title of the American Football League's MVP Tom Addison, the first Patriot All-star, founded the AFL Players Association in the mid 1960s.

The Patriots' second decade began with significant changes. In 1970, the Patriots' franchise joined the NFL pursuant to the merger of the AFL and NFL that had been agreed to three years earlier. The Patriots were merged into the American Football Conference (AFC), where they remain to the present day. However, the Patriots' first season as part of the NFL resulted in a record of 2–12, sole possession of the newly merged league's worst record. Despite the lack of wins, local morale increased in 1971 when the Patriots moved into a new stadium in Foxborough (also known as Foxboro). The stadium, to be known as Schaefer Stadium, became Sullivan Stadium in 1983 and, ultimately, Foxboro Stadium in 1990. This marked stability for the Patriots, who shifted between four different Boston-area stadiums since its creation. In March 1971, the team was renamed the "New England Patriots" to reflect the relocation.

By the early 1970s, several new players were added to the lineup, including Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett and offensive lineman John Hannah, who became the first career Patriot to make the Hall of Fame in 1991.Despite the changes in personnel, the Patriots' series of losing seasons continued into the early 1970s. Chuck Fairbanks was hired as head coach and general manager in 1973 after leading a top-ten program at the University of Oklahoma. Fairbanks began assembling one of the most talented - but ultimately underachieveing - squads in the NFL of the 1970s. The Patriots finished 7–7 in 1974 and 3–11 in 1975, which resulted in offensive changes. Plunkett was traded to the San Francisco 49ers and replaced by second year player Steve Grogan.

After the string of losing seasons, the Patriots finished the 1976 season with an 11–3 mark — the best record in team history to that point — and a playoff slot for the first time since 1963. In the first round of the 1976 playoffs, the Patriots lost to the Oakland Raiders 24–21. In 1978, Fairbanks was fired as head coach when it was revealed he had been secretly hired as the new head coach of the University of Colorado. Fairbanks was replaced by Ron Erhardt, who coached the team to a playoff appearance later that year. The Patriots lost to the Houston Oilers in the first round and did not return to the tournament until 1982. Under new coach Ron Meyer, the Patriots were once again eliminated in the first game — this time by the Miami Dolphins. With the team consistently unable to assemble playoff victories, the Sullivans replaced head coach Ron Meyer with former wide receiver Raymond Berry in 1984.

In the 1985 regular season, the team finished with an 11-5 record and obtained a wild card playoff berth. The Patriots won three road playoff games on their way to Super Bowl XX — an NFL record. At Super Bowl XX, the Patriots surrendered a 3-0 first quarter lead and lost to the Chicago Bears by a score of 46-10. The following season, New England won the AFC East with another 11–5 record, but fell to the Broncos in the first round of the playoffs. Local resident Doug Flutie was a member of the Patriots during the 1987–1988 seasons, in which they finished with records of 8–7 and 9–7, respectively. Berry remained head coach through both seasons.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Patriots' lack of playoff appearances was underscored by personnel changes and controversy within the Sullivan ownership. The Sullivan family lost millions of dollars on expensive investments, including The Jacksons' 1984 Victory tour. Additional pressure was placed on the ownership when they calculated that $100 million was already invested in the franchise. These financial losses and demands forced the Sullivans to sell the team in 1988. The highest bidder was Victor Kiam, who purchased the team for $84 million — $16 million less than the cost of the team. Although Kiam was now the full owner, he decided to keep Billy Sullivan and his son, Pat Sullivan, as franchise president and General Manager respectively. Meanwhile, entrepreneur Robert Kraft began his involvement with the Patriots by purchasing Sullivan Stadium (previously Schaefer Stadium) on November 23, 1988. Essensially, Kraft owned the stadium while Kiam possessed the team.[13] During this leadership change, head coach Berry was replaced by Rod Rust — a change that was short-lived.

The Patriots' worst season in franchise history came under Rust in 1990, when the team finished 1–15. During the season, the Patriots were thrown into the middle of a sexual harassment scandal when Boston Herald reporter Lisa Olson was sexually and verbally assaulted by several Patriots players in the team's locker room. Following an investigation into the scandal, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue fined the team $50,000, and players Zeke Mowatt, Michael Timpson and Robert Perryman $12,500, $5,000, and $5,000 respectively. Rust was fired and replaced by lalalala MacPherson at the end of the season. The Olson scandal and the 1-15 record are cited as the two primary reasons why Rod Rust was told to leave.

1992–present

In 1992, St. Louis businessman James Orthwein became sole owner of the Patriots franchise, sparking rumors of a possible franchise relocation to St. Louis. However, no move was scheduled for the 1992 season, despite a sub-par 1992 season. During the 1992-1993 offseason, the Patriots shifted gears by replacing MacPherson with Bill Parcells. The team's draft selections for the offseason included Drew Bledsoe, who quarterbacked the team until 2001. Despite these acquisitions, the 1993 season resulted in a losing record, and rumors about relocation to St. Louis resparked during the offseason. In order to save the team from relocation, Robert Kraft outbid an intense field of competition and obtained full ownership of the Patriots in 1994. Kraft implemented changes in organization and leadership, which culminated in a ten-season stadium sell-out streak from 1996 to the present.

New England entered the 1994 season after drafting first round and fourth overall pick Willie McGinest, who would later play linebacker on all three Super Bowl-winning teams. Although the team lost in the first round of the 1994 playoffs and finished the 1995 season with a 6–10 record, Kraft decided to keep Parcells. In 1996, the Patriots finished with an 11–5 record and an AFC East division championship. The team eventually advanced to Super Bowl XXXI, where they lost to the Green Bay Packers 35–21.

Due to rising tensions between Parcells and Kraft, the former was replaced by Pete Carroll in 1997. Meanwhile, the Patriots and the New York Jets began switching players and coaches, including current Jets head coach Eric Mangini, the aforementioned Parcells, and running back Curtis Martin. Nevertheless, New England finished 1997 with a 10–6 record and first place in the AFC East. The Patriots defeated the Miami Dolphins 17–3 at home in the opening round, before losing against the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 7–6. In the 1998 season, the Patriots finished 9–7, and lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the playoffs. A subpar 1999 season resulted in Carroll's firing.


President George W. Bush poses with the New England Patriots during a ceremony honoring the 2004 Super Bowl Champions in the Rose GardenAfter Carroll was fired, Bill Belichick, hand-picked to be Parcells' successor with the Jets, quit after one day to join New England. In 2000, Belichick's first season resulted in a 5–11 record. In 2001 Patriot quarterback Drew Bledsoe was injured early in the season on a hit by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis, and was replaced by Tom Brady, who led the team into the playoffs with an 11–5 record. The Patriots defeated the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers and advanced to Super Bowl XXXVI, where they defeated the St. Louis Rams on a last-second Adam Vinatieri field goal. In New England's first Super Bowl victory, Brady was selected Super Bowl MVP. Bledsoe was traded to the Buffalo Bills in the 2002 off-season.

In 2002, Robert Kraft opened the new Gillette Stadium after privately funding its construction. After getting no support from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to build a new stadium, Kraft made a deal to move the team to Hartford, Connecticut in 1998. However, environmental cleanup problems with the Hartford site, combined with Massachusetts' eventual willingness to loan $57,000,000 in infrastructure costs around Foxboro to be repaid through parking revenue led to a reversal of the Hartford deal. As a result of threats of lawsuits by Connecticut Governor John Rowland, Kraft paid $2.4M to Connecticut to avoid any future litigation. The state-of-the-art stadium is widely considered to be one of the premier stadiums in NFL Football.

The Patriots missed the 2002 playoffs after finishing with a record of 9–7. In 2003, the Patriots started 2–2 but finished with a 14–2 record and fourteen straight wins on their way to Super Bowl XXXVIII against the Carolina Panthers. The Patriots won by a score of 32–29; the final three points came from another Adam Vinatieri field goal. Brady was named Super Bowl MVP for the second time in his career.


Patriot fans rally in front of Boston City Hall following the 2004 championshipIn 2004 the Patriots broke the all-time winning streak record of 18 consecutive wins, following a victory against the Miami Dolphins. Later in the season, the Patriots lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, which halted their winning streak at 21 games. However, the NFL only counts regular-season wins in determining the consecutive wins record, so the Patriots' streak officially stands at 18 games.

After finishing the 2004 season with a 14–2 record, the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers en route to Super Bowl XXXIX. The Patriots went on to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 24–21. The victory made the Patriots the first team in six years (and the eighth in history) to repeat as NFL Super Bowl champions, and the second team ever to win three Super Bowls in four years (next to the Dallas Cowboys).

After the 2004 season, Belichick's top two coordinators — Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel — left the team to pursue head coaching positions. Significant players moved on as well, including longtime Patriot cornerback Ty Law. Linebacker Tedy Bruschi missed half of the 2005 season while recovering from a mild stroke. During the 2005 season, the team lost several starters to injuries, including safety Rodney Harrison and offensive tackle Matt Light. In the final game of the season, Doug Flutie performed the first successful dropkick extra point since 1941. At the end of the season, the Patriots won the AFC East with a 10–6 record. The Patriots defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 28–3 in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the Broncos 27–13. New England became the seventh team in NFL history to fail on a chance to win the Super Bowl in three consecutive seasons, the last team to do so being the Broncos.

The 2006 off-season saw the departure and arrival of several personnel. Dean Pees took over as defensive coordinator when Eric Mangini left the team to become head coach of the New York Jets.[25] Quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels was promoted to offensive coordinator after New England went one season without replacing Charlie Weis.[26] Notable Patriot players David Givens, Willie McGinest, and Adam Vinatieri left New England for the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, and Indianapolis Colts respectively.

The Kraft years have provided a major turnaround for the fan base of the Patriots. Prior to Kraft's arrival, the Patriots rarely played at Foxboro Stadium's maximum capacity (with the only exception being the highly successful 1986 season). The attendance was particularly low during the early 1990s, when poor performance and the aforementioned rumors of franchise relocation to St. Louis loomed; the average home attendance was below 60% of maximum capacity. However, the improvements made during Bill Parcells' coaching tenure (both on and off the field) resulted in a rejuvenation of the fan base. From the 1996 season onward, every Patriots home game has sold out, both at Foxboro and Gillette stadiums, including preseason games.

Super Bowl Appearances

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Lost 46-10 to the Chicago Bears (1986)

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Lost 31-25 to the Green Bay Packers (1997)

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Won 20-17 against the St. Louis Rams (2002)

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Won 32-29 against the Carolina Panthers (2004)

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Won 24-21 against the Philadelphia Eagles (2005)

2006 Fixtures

Pre-Season

11th August @ Atlanta Hawks
19th August vs Arizona Cardinals
26th August versus Washington Redskins
31st August @ New York Giants

Regular Season

Sun 9/10/2006 vs Bills
Sun 9/17/2006 @ Jets
Sun 9/24/2006 vs Broncos
Sun 10/1/2006 @ Bengals
Sun 10/8/2006 vs Dolphins
Sun 10/15/2006 Bye
Sun 10/22/2006 @ Bills
Mon 10/30/2006 @ Vikings
Sun 11/5/2006 vs Colts
Sun 11/12/2006 vs Jets
Sun 11/19/2006 @ Packers
Sun 11/26/2006 vs Bears
Sun 12/3/2006 vs Lions
Sun 12/10/2006 @ Dolphins
Sun 12/17/2006 vs Texans
Sun 12/24/2006 @ Jaguars
Sun 12/31/2006 @ Titans

[TugasFCPForever]

Nicely done however i don't follow american football

[Tealey7]

Cheers.

2006 Roster (Pictures To Follow)

Quarterbacks

12: Tom Brady

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16: Matt Cassel

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Halfbacks

28: Corey Dillon

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39: Laurence Maroney

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33: Kevin Faulk

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Fullbacks

44: Heath Evans

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Wide Receivers

80: Troy Brown

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87: Reche Caldwell

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13: Brandon Childress

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85: Doug Gabriel

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17: Chad Jackson

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Tight Ends

82: Daniel Graham

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45: Garrett Mills (TE/FB)

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86: David Thomas

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84: Benjamin Watson

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Centers

67: Dan Koppen

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71: Ross Hochstein (C/G)

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Guards

70: Logan Mankins

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64: Gene Mruczkowski

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61: Stephen Neal

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Tackles

65: Wesley Britt

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77: Nick Kaczur

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72: Matt Light

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68: Ryan O'Callaghan

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Defensive Line

97: Jarvis Green (DE)

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91: Marquise Hill (DE)

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93: Richard Seymour (DE)

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90: Le Kevin Smith (DT)

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96: Johnathan Sullivan (DT)

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94: Ty Warren (DE)

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75: Vince Wilfork (DT)

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99: Mike Wright (DE)

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Linebackers

52: Eric Alexander (ILB)

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95: Tully Banta-Cain (OLB)

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54: Tedy Bruschi (ILB)

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59: Rosevelt Colvin (OLB)

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51: Don Davis (ILB)

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53: Larry Izzo (ILB)

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55: Junior Seau (OLB)

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50: Mike Vrabel (OLB)

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58: Pierre Woods (OLB)

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Defensive Backs

23: Willie Andrews (CB)

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21: Randall Gay (CB)

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37: Rodney Harrison (S)

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25: Artrell Hawkins (S)

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27: Ellis Hobbs (CB)

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22: Asante Samuel (CB)

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36: James Sanders (S)

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30: Chad Scott (CB)

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26: Eugene Wilson (S)

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Special Teams

3: Stephen Gostkowski (K)

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8: Josh Miller (P)

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66: Lonnie Paxton (LS)

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Physically Unable To Perform

35: Patrick Pass (FB)

Injured Reserve

47: Barry Gardner (ILB)

34: Tebucky Jones (S)

24: Mel Mitchell (S)

18: Matt Shelton (WR)

42: Gemara Williams (CB)

Reserve/Left Camp

15: Michael McGrew (WR)

Reserve/Did Not Report

83: Deion Branch (WR)

Reserve/NFL Europe Injury

Earl Charles (HB)

Zuriel Smith (WR)

41: Raymond Ventrone (S)

Pro Football Hall of Famers

Nick Buonconti - LB

John Hannah - G

Mike Haynes - CB

[Tealey7]

Game Preview - Game 1 versus Buffalo

First match of the regular season for the Patriots tonight against the Bills.

Originally Posted by Patriots

The New England Patriots will open their 47th season by hosting the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 10. All of the work the Patriots have done since last year's playoffs will be put to its first true test when the season gets underway against a divisional opponent for just the second time in seven years.

The Patriots have won five straight games against the Bills and are 25-7 against AFC East opponents since 2001. New England has claimed three straight divisional titles and have won the AFC East four times in the last five seasons. After posting 5-1 divisional marks in each of the last three years, the Patriots will aim to maintain their focus and put forth a solid effort against the Bills to get the season off on the right foot. New England will continue divisional play in Week Two, traveling to New York to play the Jets, marking the first time since 1999 that the Patriots will start the season with back-to-back divisional contests.

HOME SWEET HOME

The Patriots enter this week's game sporting a 30-6 (.833) all-time record at Gillette Stadium, including regular-season and postseason games. New England has won 26 of its last 29 consecutive regular-season and postseason contests at home. The Patriots' .833 winning percentage is the highest of any NFL team since Gillette Stadium opened in time for the 2002 season. The Patriots also lead the NFL by allowing just 15.67 points per game at home since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast by CBS. The game can be seen in Boston on WBZ-TV Channel 4. The network's number one crew will cover the game. Jim Nantz will handle play-by-play duties and Phil Simms will provide analysis.

RADIO: WBCN 104.1 FM is the flagship station for the Patriots Rock Radio Network. A complete listing of the network's stations can be found here. Play-by-play broadcaster Gil Santos is in his 30th season as the voice of the Patriots and will call the action along with Patriots Hall of Famer Gino Cappelletti. Santos and Cappelletti are celebrating their 23rd season as a broadcast tandem.

SERIES HISTORY

This week, the Patriots and Bills will meet for the 92nd time since the series between the AFC East rivals began in 1960. The Patriots lead the series 51-40, with one tie. The Patriots' 51 wins over Buffalo are their most over any opponent, seven more than they own over the New York Jets (44). New England has won 10 of its last 11 games against Buffalo dating back to the 2000 season. The teams have had many memorable matchups over the years, including a five-game span from 1999 to 2001 where four of the five contests were decided in overtime.

PATRIOTS - BILLS QUICK HITS

The Patriots have recorded 51 wins over the Bills, the most against any opponent.
New England has won five straight games against Buffalo and has swept the season series in each of the last two seasons.
Bill Belichick holds a 10-3 career record against Buffalo, including a 10-2 record as head coach of the Patriots.
The Patriots and Bills have played in 19 games decided by three points or fewer since 1972.
The Patriots are 17-6 against the Bills in their last 23 meetings.
Since 1993, the two teams have played five overtime games, good for a total of 51:49 of extra time, almost equaling an entire game.
Over the series' last five games, the Patriots are averaging 29.2 points per game.
The Patriots defense has held the Bills to a touchdown or less in three of the last five games between the teams.
The Patriots will open the season against a divisional opponent for the 20th time in team history and for the first time since 2003. New England is 11-8 (.579) in its previous 19 season openers against divisional foes.

BEAST OF THE EAST

New England has the best record among AFC East teams in division games since the beginning of the 2001 season (25-7). The Patriots have won three straight division titles and have won four AFC East championships in the last five years.

PASSING PERFORMANCES

Tom Brady is slated to start against Buffalo for the 11th time in his career. The Patriots signal caller has led the Patriots to nine victories over the Bills, his highest such total over any single opponent. Additionally, Brady has completed more passes (185), thrown for more yardage (2,17 and thrown for more touchdowns (17) against Buffalo than any other opponent. In addition to the Bills, Brady has also started against the Miami Dolphins 10 previous times and has started against the New York Jets nine times.

In my opinion, nothing other than a win will do for the Patriots. We're playing quite a week Buffalo side and we need to chalk up a win and make a fast start this season.

NE Injury Report

Tedy Bruschi - Questionable
Jackson,Chad - Questionable
Kaczur, Nick - Questionable
Brady, Tom - Probable
Neal, Stephen - Probable
Gabriel, Doug - Probable

Tom Brady is always down as probable as he has minor shoulder problems that always cause him to miss some practices.

[Tealey7]

Game Review - Game 1 versus Buffalo

Last night we played the Bills in our first regular season game. Nice to see Harrison back after a year out.

http://espn-i.starwave.com/media/apphoto/729de07d-bf8c-40b7-a9b7-135cde21d183.jpg

Originally Posted by ESPN

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- The scoreboard looming over J.P. Losman as he scrambled behind the Bills' own goal line showed a tie game. Ty Warren was determined to change that.

"My priority was to get him in the end zone," the Patriots defensive end said. "We're tied up, so I'm thinking, 'Let me get this dude.'"

Losman went down, the official's arms went up and New England beat the Buffalo Bills 19-17 with poise under pressure and increasing pressure by a defensive line.

"I should have gotten rid of the ball, but the game was on the line," Losman said. "I dipped under one defender, but then there was another guy."

Warren's game-winning safety with 8:33 left completed a comeback from a very poor start that had the Patriots trailing 17-7 at halftime. Even the pregame activities were missing something.

For the first time in three years, the Patriots' season opener was not preceded by the unveiling of a championship banner. Kicker Adam Vinatieri, wide receiver David Givens and linebacker Willie McGinest were elsewhere after leaving as free agents.

The Patriots didn't have holdout wide receiver Deion Branch or injured linebacker Tedy Bruschi either.

And on the game's first play from scrimmage, Tom Brady fumbled as he was belted by Takeo Spikes, and London Fletcher ran the recovery in for a 5-yard touchdown.

"It's no way to start the season, but we recovered and came back and put together a nice drive after that," said Brady, who was disappointed with his performance, 11-for-23 for 163 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Bill Belichick became the 31st coach in NFL history with 100 regular-season wins, improving his record to 100-77.

New England cut the lead to 17-14 with 2:52 left in the third quarter on Brady's 17-yard pass to Kevin Faulk after Buffalo went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Patriots' 7-yard line and the line stopped Willis McGahee for no gain.

"That felt great," Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork said. "The fans got into it and we got into it."

McGahee wasn't sure what was happening.

"I wasn't worried. I thought it was third down," he said. "It was the play to run."

The pressure was on again when Stephen Gostkowski, the rookie replacing Vinatieri, connected on a 32-yard field goal that tied the game at 17 with 9:33 remaining.

Exactly one minute later, the Patriots took the lead for good on the third play of Buffalo's possession, sending the Bills to their sixth straight loss against New England.

On the first two plays, Losman threw the ball away under a heavy rush and McGahee was thrown for a 1-yard loss.

Then Losman dropped about 4 yards into the end zone as linebacker Tully Banta-Cain rushed from Losman's left and got a hand on the quarterback. Warren, charging in from the other side, tackled Losman for the safety.

"We handled it early, but their pressure mounted as the game went on," Buffalo coach lalalala Jauron said.

On the third play of the Bills' next possession, Richard Seymour sacked Losman for a 6-yard loss, Brian Moorman punted and the Patriots held the ball for the remaining 6:15. Losman finished 15-for-23 for 164 yards.

"You can tell why they have won three of the last five Super Bowls," defensive end Aaron Schobel said. "They know how to finish games."

Buffalo, with a new coaching staff, dominated early, starting with the sack by Spikes, who missed the last 13 games last season with a torn Achilles' tendon and left Sunday's game on the Patriots second series with a mild hamstring injury that he doesn't expect to hold him out of next Sunday's game at Miami.

The Patriots tied it 7-7 on their next possession on Brady's 9-yard scoring pass to Troy Brown. Buffalo regained the lead on Rian Lindell's 53-yard field goal and then made it 17-7 on an 18-yard run by Anthony Thomas.

The Patriots put together a 183-yard running attack with rookie first-round draft pick Laurence Maroney gaining 86 yards and Corey Dillon adding 73.

"He runs one way, I run another and we keep fresh legs in the game," Maroney said.

On defense, they were fresh enough to send Losman and the Bills to defeat.

"We're as good as we want to be," Warren said, but " it's too early in the season to be putting crowns on anyone's head."

Lovely job by the Patriots, winning 19-17.

Score Summary

Buffalo TD (London Fletcher 5 yard fumble return, EP is good)
New England TD (Troy Brown 9 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)
Buffalo FG (Rian Lindell 53 yards)
Buffalo TD (Anthony Thomas 18 yard run, EP is good)
New England TD (Kevin Faulk 17 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)
New England FG (Stephen Gostkowski 32 yards)
New England SF (J.P Losman tackled in endzone by Ty Warren)

AFC East Standings

Jets: 1-0
Patriots: 1-0
Dolphins: 0-1
Bills: 0-1

Our next game is on the 17th against the Jets.

[Tealey7]

Patriots Finally Get Rid Of Moaner Branch

Thank god. Finally, after moaning and stropping and stuff, Super Bowl 39 MVP Branch has been traded to the Seahawks for a draft pick next year.

Originally Posted by ESPN

Even sore ribs couldn't contain Matt Hasselbeck's excitement over having former New England Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch to throw to as his newest Seahawks receiver.

Branch's arrival had Hasselbeck laughing Monday through ribs that hurt enough from the battering by the Detroit Lions a day earlier, he held them while jogging through a short conditioning session.

"It's going to be that much harder to defend our offense," Hasselbeck said of a unit that also has 2005 NFL MVP and rushing leader Shaun Alexander.

As happy as the Pro Bowl quarterback was, he thought of his father Don's reaction at the family home in Westwood, Mass.

"Oh, my dad loves the Patriots. If he had a fantasy draft, he'd pick Tom [Brady] over me," the younger Hasselbeck said.

Hours earlier, Seattle acquired Brady's favorite target-turned-holdout for a first-round draft choice in 2007.

"We still have to figure out how to get all the people on the field," coach Mike Holmgren said, smiling. "That's the chess game for our coaches right now."

The last time the Seahawks traded their first-round pick for a veteran player was March 2, 2001, when then-general manager Holmgren traded for Hasselbeck.

In that trade, the Seahawks swapped first-round picks with Green Bay.

The trade hit some of Branch's former teammates hard.

"I don't think any of us envisioned something like this happening. It took the air out of me. It really did." defensive lineman Richard Seymour said. "When you look at Deion Branch, he embodies everything we want in a football player. Everything we talk about, the kind of guy we want on this football team, he did as good a job as anybody of embodying that."

"It's a tough day for a lot of guys on this football team, especially guys like myself who came in with Deion Branch," Seymour said. "To not have No. 83 in a Patriots uniform definitely hurts."

But members of the Patriots were also mindful that they've been through high-profile player departures before.

"We've seen distractions over the past five or six years that, really, we just handle," linebacker Mike Vrabel said. "This wasn't a situation [we couldn't handle]. I mean, yeah, we wish Deion was on our team. But the reality of it is, he's not. Deion, I wish him the best, he's a great player, he was awesome for us, he got the contract that he deserved, and you go on. We do what we normally do."

While the Patriots now are without their two top receivers from last season, every Seahawks player was grinning about getting Branch. He had been entering the last season of the five-year contract he signed as a rookie, but will be getting a new, long-term deal in the coming days.

"His representatives are flying in today," Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell said. "Obviously, we wouldn't have done this without the gist of the deal getting done."

The league has given the Seahawks a two-week roster exemption for Branch to learn Holmgren's intricate offense. Branch will begin practicing this week, but Holmgren said he was unsure when Branch might make his Seattle debut.

"It's all good for us," Holmgren said.

Even members of Seattle's already crowded receiving corps thought so.

Sort of.

"I don't have no reaction," leading receiver Darrell Jackson said.

But then Jackson acknowledged the defending NFC champions are better with Branch.

"Anytime you get a player of his caliber, it makes you better," he said.

Jackson, who missed the preseason, had not practiced until last week following his second knee surgery in four months, in February. He played far more than expected in Sunday's 9-6 win over the surprisingly rugged Lions. The Seahawks also have veteran Bobby Engram, former Minnesota receiver Nate Burleson and 2005 surprise D.J. Hackett.

"Oh, man, I love it," said Burleson, signed in April to a $49 million, seven-year contract as a free agent.

Burleson played the 2003 and '04 seasons with Vikings superstar Randy Moss. He said that's when he learned the lesson that "there's always enough food on the plate for everyone to eat.

"It's going to be tough for defenses," Burleson said. "I can't even imagine putting four receivers on the field at a time and a defense focusing on one guy."

The Patriots at least get something out of the Branch impasse than fine money.

Branch held out of the Patriots' mandatory minicamp in June and all of training camp. He had been subject to a $14,000 fine for each day he held out from July 28 through Monday.

"It's been a long process," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "I think we tried hard to make it work out. I think Deion tried hard. We tried. It didn't work out and we've moved on."

Branch was eligible for arbitration after this season, but Belichick said the prospect of a potentially contentious arbitration process was not "that big a factor" in the decision to trade Branch.

The Patriots had already lost David Givens, who signed with Tennessee in the offseason for five years and $24 million, including an $8 million signing bonus.

In the 2005 Super Bowl, Branch had 11 catches for 133 yards against Philadelphia, helping the Patriots win their third championship in four years. Last season, he had career highs of 78 receptions for 998 yards and five touchdowns. In four seasons, he has 213 catches for 2,744 yards and 14 touchdowns.

"This is a known commodity," Ruskell said. "The first round can be a lalalala shoot, from top to bottom."

Ruskell said that when he was a personnel guru under former Tampa Bay general manager Rich McKay a few years ago, the Buccaneers did a study of first-round draft choices. Ruskell said that over 15-20 years, 50 percent became NFL players.

"Fifty percent were busts," Ruskell said.

"If we were a young team, were trying to build, our records haven't been that good, this is probably not a move that you make. We feel good about where we're at. We're not an old team. We're a veteran team that's in its prime.

"We're trying to do something special ... The stars aligned for this to happen."

On Aug. 25, the Patriots gave Branch, who had been scheduled to make $1.045 million this year, permission to negotiate a contract with other teams and seek a trade until Sept. 1. The NFL Players Association filed a grievance on behalf of Branch after the Patriots did not trade him by the team-imposed deadline.

The grievance claimed that in allowing Branch to work out a contract with another team, the Patriots agreed they would trade him if Branch was comfortable with that contract and the draft choice compensation for him "was commensurate with what has been the value of similar players," union lawyer Richard Berthelsen said.

He said the New York Jets had offered a second-round draft pick for Branch, which Berthelsen said was of commensurate value.

[Tealey7]

Game Review - Game 2 versus NY Jets

Last night in the second game of the Sky Sports double header we travelled to play the Jets.

http://espn-i.starwave.com/media/apphoto/905e8b90-5de7-41ce-8d18-fada1fc8c468.jpg

Originally Posted by ESPN

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini met near midfield, exchanged a fleeting, businesslike handshake and again went their separate ways.

No warm embrace, and barely a word spoken. That's the way it's been since the student left the teacher's New England Patriots to become the head coach of the New York Jets, adding to an already spicy rivalry.

Belichick's Patriots held off a late rally by Mangini's Jets for a 24-17 victory Sunday, sending the rookie head coach to his first loss.

"It was the Patriots against the Jets," Belichick said. "We were just trying to coach against the Jets. I was just trying to do the best I can for my team, and I'm sure he's trying to do the best he can with his team."

In this case, the best Mangini and Jets had to offer wound up just short.

New England (2-0) took a 24-0 lead on touchdown runs by Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney, and a TD catch by rookie Chad Jackson.

But the Jets stormed back in the second half. Jerricho Cotchery and Laveranues Coles each made brilliant touchdown receptions, Mike Nugent kicked a 42-yard field goal and Jonathan Vilma blocked a late field-goal attempt to give the Jets (1-1) one last chance in their home opener.

"I'm proud of the way these guys fought back," Mangini said. "Down 24-0, we had a chance to tie the game at the end. I'm proud of that fact, but you can't dig yourself into a 24-0 hole."

After getting the ball at his 9 with 1:05 left and the crowd at Giants Stadium on its feet, Chad Pennington led New York to its 45. But a long pass down the right sideline to Justin McCareins was intercepted by Tedy Bruschi, ending the comeback hopes.

"You can't fall behind 24 points and expect to win any game," Vilma said. "Give them credit. They held on. They did a good job."

Mangini was New England's defensive backs coach under Belichick from 2000-04, and served as defensive coordinator last season before becoming head coach of the Jets.

"It was the last thing I was thinking about this week," Mangini said. "I focused on our players and our team. That's it. It's green for me all day, every day."

Mangini, who said he hadn't spoken to Belichick in some time, talked about how much he learned while helping lead the Patriots to three Super Bowl titles. It showed Sunday as the Jets, looking flat after an opening-week victory at Tennessee, made a game of it in the second half.

Cotchery's 71-yard reception made it 24-7 in the third quarter. Pennington scrambled and his long pass down the right sideline went to Cotchery, who turned, backpedaled and leaped for the ball near the Patriots 30. He walalalala hard by Chad Scott and fell on top of Eugene Wilson's back, but hearing no whistle, Cotchery popped up and ran into the end zone.

Belichick challenged the play, but the referees ruled only Cotchery's hand touched the ground.

"Once I caught the ball, I knew I landed on top of the defender," Cotchery said. "So I knew my knee didn't hit the ground and I was just going to get up and run."

On New England's next drive, Tom Brady's deep pass down the middle for Doug Gabriel was intercepted by David Barrett.

From New England's 46, Pennington threw a short pass across the middle to Coles. The veteran made a cut outside, causing Wilson to fall, and then cut inside, eluding a sliding tackle attempt by Ellis Hobbs and leaving a trail of Patriots behind to make it 24-14 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter.

"Chad gave me an opportunity to catch the ball, and I got a lot of downfield blocking," said Coles, who had six catches for 100 yards.

Brady finished 15-of-29 for 220 yards with one TD and an interception, while Pennington was 22-of-37 for 306 yards, two TDs and one interception.

The Jets recovered a fumble by Brady when safety Kerry Rhodes blitzed and hit the quarterback's right arm. Bryan Thomas recovered the ball and Nugent, who missed two field goals and an extra-point in the opener, kicked a 42-yarder to make it 24-17.

New England got the ball back with 9:20 left, and took just over 8 minutes off the clock with a typically efficient Brady-led drive. Despite rookie Stephen Gostkowski's 29-yard attempt being blocked, the Patriots got the job done.

"We know how to close out games," Bruschi said. "That's one thing I can say. We let them back in, but the offense bailed us out at the end."

My, that went close. 24-17 to the Patriots though, and a win's a win.

Score Summary

New England TD (Corey Dillon 1 yard run, EP is good)
New England FG (Stephen Gostowski 20 yards)
New England TD (Chad Jackson 13 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)
New England TD (Laurence Maroney 1 yard run, EP is good)
New York TD (Jerricho Cotchery 71 yard pass from Pennington, EP is good)
New York TD (Laveraunes Coles 46 yard pass from Pennington, EP is good)
New York FG (Mike Nugent 42 yards)

And that's how it stayed.

AFC East Standings

Patriots: 2-0
Jets: 1-1
Bills: 1-1
Dolphins: 0-2

Our next game is against the Denver Broncos, our conquerers in the playoffs last season, on Sunday 24th September.

[ReddogP1]

Mate i LOVE your post but i be honest-i don't know nothing about american football,but after i read your post i decide to find out more.
thanks for your work.
AVE
RED

[Tealey7]

Great. I'm glad I could be helpful.

Game Review - Game 4 @ Cincinnati

In week 3 we lost 17-7 against the Broncos, so we came into this game with a 2-1 record, and needing to keep up the popular belief that we never lose 2 in a row.

http://espn-i.starwave.com/media/apphoto/7b705e7d-2d36-433b-89c4-ff2ce7739b63.jpg

Originally Posted by ESPN

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Rookie running back Laurence Maroney got New England's offense rolling like old times.

Maroney ran for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns Sunday, restoring balance to the Patriots' off-keel offense and setting up a 38-13 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals that had a familiar feel.

"Kind of like the Patriots you guys were used to seeing," smiling quarterback Tom Brady said.

Only a week earlier, New England (3-1) was so pitiful on offense that Brady uncharacteristically waved his arms in frustration during a loss to Denver. The only time he lifted his arms Sunday was to signal another Patriots touchdown.

Maroney got the biggest scores.

Playing on the field where teammate Corey Dillon broke the single-game rushing record for Cincinnati in 2000, Maroney dodged and stiff-armed his way through the Bengals (3-1) on touchdown runs of 11 and 25 yards that set the tone.

"We knew coming in that the running game was going to play a major part in the game," said Maroney, who ran for only 18 yards against Denver. "That was No. 1 on our list -- get the running game going."

He made three tacklers miss on his second scoring run, which put New England up 21-13 and allowed Brady to forget his frustrations and do what he does best -- efficiently take a defense apart. He was 15-of-26 for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns, setting up the Patriots' highest-scoring game in two seasons.

"Yes, this is a statement game for us," safety Rodney Harrison said. "It felt good to come in here and play Patriots football. This is what I'm used to around here."

The final touch came from Dillon, who was tormented by losing during his seven seasons in Cincinnati.

His 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter put New England up 31-13 and drew another round of boos and catcalls. Dillon then reared back and threw the ball high into the same stands where he tossed his helmet, cleats and jersey after his final game for the Bengals in 2003.

Dillon was inspired for his homecoming.

"I think you could see it all week," coach Bill Belichick said. "He had some excitement and energy for this game. He always runs hard. It was just a little something extra for him to come back here."

Dillon finished with 67 yards on 17 carries and, in another throwback moment, declined interviews afterward.

"Ain't nothing changed," he said. "I got things to do."

Brady, Maroney and Dillon weren't the only ones who had a throwback day against the Bengals, who couldn't sustain their momentum from a 28-20 win in Pittsburgh a week earlier. New England's patchwork defense also did a number on Carson Palmer.

Palmer walalalala repeatedly, sacked four times and lost a pair of second-half fumbles that set up touchdowns and turned it into a blowout. Palmer was 20-of-35 for 245 yards in his least-productive showing since he returned from a major knee injury.

"It's tough to say after a loss like this, but hopefully well be able to look back in a month or two and say we needed this," Palmer said. "I don't know if we were too cocky or too confident, but I know this is a team that we should've beat. Hopefully, well get another shot at them. I know if we play our best football, we can beat them."

With starting cornerback Ellis Hobbs and safety Eugene Wilson sidelined by injuries, the Patriots had to improvise. Receiver Troy Brown reprised his role as nickel back, lining up on passing downs the way he did each of the last two seasons when New England was beat up.

That knack for improvisation helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls this decade. It worked again on Sunday.

"They knew they couldn't stop us, but you need the team as a whole to succeed," receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said. "There aren't any [defensive backs] on that team that can cover us. That's why they played the coverages they did. They did a good job of mixing it up."

Go Pats! 38-13!

Score Summary

Cincinnati FG (Shayne Graham 40 yards)
Cincinnati FG (Shayne Graham 45 yards)
New England TD (Laurence Maroney 11 yard run, EP is good)
New England TD (Doug Gabriel 25 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)
Cincinnati TD (Rudi Johnson 2 yard run, EP is good)
New England TD (Laurence Maroney 25 yard run, EP is good)
New England FG (Stephen Gostowski 24 yards)
New England TD (Corey Dillon 1 yard run, EP is good)
New England TD (Dan Graham 3 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)

And that was the end of the scoring with 7 minutes 55 seconds left in the 4th quarter.

AFC East Standings

Patriots: 3-1
Bills: 2-2
Jets: 2-2
Dolphins: 1-3

Our next game is on Sunday 8th against Miami.

[slashzumsis]

Not into NFL myself, but great thread, Tealy!
You doing the Celtics thread for the new season?

Slash

[Tealey7]

Yeah, I'll keep that going for next season. I haven't updated it for a while though because nothing much is happening other than training camp.

[Tealey7]

Maroney Voted Week 4 Rookie Of The Week

Originally Posted by Patriots

The 3-1 Patriots return to divisional play this week when the Miami Dolphins visit Foxborough. New England's final game before entering its bye week will provide another solid test against the Dolphins, who have handed the Patriots four of their seven divisional losses in the last five-plus seasons.

BEAST OF THE EAST
The New England Patriots own a 27-7 record in AFC East games since the beginning of the 2001 season, compiling the best intra-division record of any team in the NFL over the last five-plus seasons. The Patriots have claimed four of the last five AFC East championships, and along with the Philadelphia Eagles are the only teams in the NFL to have won four division titles in the last five years. Since 2001, the Patriots are 14-3 in home divisional games and they are 4-1 at home against the Dolphins over that span.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast by CBS. The game can be seen in Boston on WBZ-TV Channel 4. Greg Gumbel will handle play-by-play and Dan Dierdorf will provide analysis.

RADIO: WBCN 104.1 FM is the flagship station for the Patriots Rock Radio Network. A complete listing of the network's stations can be found here. Play-by-play broadcaster Gil Santos is in his 30th season as the voice of the Patriots and will call the action along with Patriots Hall of Famer Gino Cappelletti for the 23rd season.

NATIONAL RADIO: This week's game will be broadcast to a national audience by Westwood One/CBS Radio Sports. Bill Rosinski and Dan Reeves will call the game.

SERIES HISTORY
The New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins will meet for the 82nd time in their history in their 41st year as division foes. The Patriots have won five of the last seven matchups between the teams, including four of the last five games in Foxborough. New England trails in the overall series, 47-34 including the postseason. In 2005, the teams split the season series, with the road team winning each game. The Patriots claimed a 23-16 victory at Miami on Nov. 13, 2005, while the Dolphins were victorious in the regular season finale at Gillette Stadium, winning 28-26 on Jan. 1, 2006. Despite last season's home loss, the Patriots are 8-3 in their last 11 home games against Miami, dating back to the 1996 season.

CONNECTIONS

Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick hired Nick Saban as Cleveland's defensive coordinator when Belichick was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 1991. The pair worked together with the Browns for four seasons from 1991-94, and the 1994 Browns allowed an average of 12.8 points per game.
While serving as the head coach at Louisiana State University from 2000-04, Dolphins Head Coach Nick Saban coached three players on the Patriots active roster: defensive lineman Jarvis Green, defensive end Marquise Hill and linebacker Eric Alexander.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, defensive coordinator Dean Pees and wide receivers coach Brian Daboll were all on Head Coach Nick Saban's staff at Michigan State. Pees was the defensive coordinator on Saban's staff from 1995-97, Daboll was a graduate assistant from 1998-99 and McDaniels was a graduate assistant in 1999. Pees was also Saban's defensive coordinator at Toledo in 1990.
Patriots linebacker Larry Izzo was originally signed by the Miami Dolphins as a rookie free agent. In his five seasons with the team he appeared in 61 games and recorded 95 special teams tackles. He was named to the Pro Bowl following the 2000 season with the Dolphins.
Patriots linebacker Junior Seau played for the Dolphins for three seasons from 2003-05, playing in 30 games with 28 starts for Miami over that span.
Patriots fullback Heath Evans played in the first six games of the 2005 season for the Dolphins and earned two starts. He was signed by the Patriots on Nov. 1, 2005. Evans is a native of West Palm Beach, Fla.
Dolphins defensive tackle Keith Traylor played for the Patriots in 2004, starting 10 of 16 games at nose tackle.
Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel is originally from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and attended Central Florida. He played quarterback, defensive back, kicker and punter on Boyd Anderson (Lauderdale Lake, Fla.) High School's football team.
Patriots secondary coach Joel Collier was a member of the Dolphins coaching staff for 11 seasons prior to joining the Patriots for the 2005 season. Collier served as Miami's defensive staff assistant from 1994-97, then was the team's running backs coach from 1998-2004.
Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork was a standout defensive tackle at the University of Miami, where he recorded 148 tackles and 14 sacks from 2001-2003.
Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour was a teammate of Dolphins tight end Randy McMichael at the University of Georgia from 1997-2000, while Patriots tight end Benjamin Watson was at Georgia with McMichael in 2001.
Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin and Dolphins wide receiver Marty Booker were teammates with the Chicago Bears from 1999-2002.
Patriots fullback Heath Evans and Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown were teammates at Auburn in 2000.
Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork and Dolphins offensive tackle Vernon Carey were teammates at the University of Miami from 2000-03.
Patriots wide receiver Chad Jackson and Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder were teammates at the University of Florida from 2003-04.
Dolphins linebacker Keith Adams is the son of former Patriots defensive end Julius Adams, who played in 206 games over 15 seasons in New England.
Dolphins coordinator of football operations/assistant to the head coach Scott O'Brien was hired by Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick as the special teams coach for the Cleveland Browns in 1991. O'Brien was the special teams coach on Belichick's staff from 1991-94.
PASSING PERFORMANCES
Tom Brady is scheduled to start at quarterback against Miami for the 11th time. Brady and the Patriots have taken four of the five previous meetings in Foxborough, while the Dolphins have taken three of the five battles in Miami. In the last meeting between the teams in the 2005 regular-season finale, Brady played in just the first quarter of the game. Brady is 27-6 in his career as a starter in division games, with four of the six losses coming to the Dolphins. Miami signal caller Daunte Culpepper will face the Patriots for the third time after splitting the previous two encounters (both in New England). In Sept. 2000, Culpepper's Minnesota Vikings defeated the Patriots, 21-13 at Foxboro Stadium. In Culpepper's only visit to Gillette Stadium, the Patriots took a 24-17 win over the Vikings in Nov. 2002.

HOMELAND DEFENSE

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the Patriots have been the NFL's best team at home. New England leads the NFL with a 31-7 (.816) home record in the four-plus years since their state-of-theart facility opened, and the Patriots defense has allowed an NFLlow 15.7 points per game at home since 2002. The Patriots own 27 victories in their last 31 home games, including regular-season and playoff games. In the first four seasons that the Patriots called Gillette Stadium home, they won two Super Bowl championships, three AFC East titles and went 4-0 in home playoff games.

PROTECT THE HOUSE

The Patriots are 11-2 against AFC East teams at Gillette Stadium since the facility opened in 2002. The Patriots have won 10 of their last 11 at home against divisional opponents, including a 19- 17 win over Buffalo in the 2006 season opener on Sept. 10. New England's only divisional loss at home since 2003 came to the Dolphins in the 2005 regular-season finale, when the Patriots came up short on a potential game-tying two-point try on the final play of the game in a 28-26 loss.

We can beat the Dolphins, and should beat them. They haven't been playing well recently, as shown by their loss to Houston last Sunday.

NE Injury Report

Dan Graham - Questionable
Artrell Hawkins - Questionable
Ellis Hobbs - Questionable
Chad Jackson - Questionable
Nick Kaczur - Questionable
Eugene Wilson - Questionable
Willie Andrews - Probable
Tom Brady- Probable
Ryan O'Callaghan - Probable
Antwain Spann - Probable

As ever, Tom Brady is on the IR due to a recurring problem with his right shoulder, but he always plays. The only player I've heard of on the Dolphins' IR is starting QB Dante Culpepper, who is down as probable.

[Tealey7]

Game Review - Game 5 versus Miami

The first of our two games against Miami this season seemed pretty good. It saw Culpepper sidelined and Harrington starting at QB for the Dolphins.

Originally Posted by ESPN

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Joey Harrington didn't fare much better than the quarterback he replaced. It just didn't hurt as much.

Asante Samuel intercepted two passes by the substitute starter after 21 sacks in four games sidelined Daunte Culpepper with a bruised shoulder and the New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 20-10 on Sunday.

"We've been going for too many games here at the start of the season without any turnovers," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "Those turnovers are huge. It puts us on a short field."

The Patriots (4-1) had just one takeaway in the first three games and three for the season before coming up with three Sunday. Harrington, playing for the first time this season, may have been rusty but was sacked just once as he delivered the ball quickly.

He probably should have held it instead of throwing the interceptions that set up two touchdowns.

"He got me. Bill Belichick got me," Harrington said, but "we did a great job of protecting."

The Dolphins (1-4) continued to fall far short of the preseason hype that came with their acquisition of Culpepper, who missed his last nine games with Minnesota last season with a knee injury.

"He'll put his career on the line for this team. You have to admire that in the guy. So when he says he wanted to play, I know he did," Miami coach Nick Saban said. "I made that decision [to start Harrington]. I don't know if it was right or not, but it was a decision we had to make."

Belichick was ready for Harrington.

"We talked about him all week as it looked like he was upping his practice time," Belichick said.

Concerned about Culpepper's shoulder and mobility, Saban wouldn't say when he would play again.

There was no quarterback decision to be made by Belichick. Tom Brady was just 6-4 against Miami, compared with 21-2 against the rest of the AFC East. And he completed 16 of 29 passes for a season-low 140 yards as the Patriots were outgained 283 yards to 213.

"We didn't play as well as an offense as we would have liked, but we're playing some good situational football," Brady said. "We're finishing the games when we needed to, making critical plays."

The play with about 10 minutes left really hurt -- and angered -- the Dolphins.

The Patriots had taken the ball at the Dolphins 24 after Samuel's second interception on a pass off the hands of Wes Welker, who led all receivers with nine catches.

After an incompletion and a 2-yard run by Laurence Maroney, Brady underthrew the ball to Doug Gabriel on the right side of the end zone. But Will Allen was called for defensive pass interference, putting the ball at the 1. Brady threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Heath Evans on the next play with 9:47 to go.

The officials "said I didn't look for the ball. I did look for the ball," Allen said. "He [Gabriel] grabbed me."

Saban was incensed because the ball hit Allen as Gabriel was trying to come back to it.

"If it was a good call," Saban said, "we've got bad rules."

The first turnover, a recovery by Tedy Bruschi of Ronnie Brown's fumble on Miami's third play from scrimmage, led to Stephen Gostkowski's 35-yard field goal.

Miami's Olindo Mare had his 40-yard field-goal attempt blocked by Mike Wright before Gostkowski made it 6-0 with a 31-yard field goal on New England's second possession.

The Dolphins' third series didn't go any better. Harrington's pass on the fourth play was intercepted by Samuel, who returned it 26 yards to the Miami 10. Two plays later, Brady threw a 10-yard scoring pass down the middle to Troy Brown for a 13-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

Then Harrington outplayed Brady for the rest of the second and all of the third quarter, helping cut the lead to 13-10 on Brown's 2-yard run and Mare's 40-yard field goal.

But Mare missed a 50-yarder with 6 minutes left.

"We've got to create more turnovers," Miami linebacker Channing Crowder said. "They get three turnovers, we've got to get four or five."

Another play in the kicking game cost the Dolphins field position, if not points. With a fourth-and-5 at the Miami 36, punter Donnie Jones dropped the snap and fell on it before being tackled by Wright, giving the Patriots the ball at their 46. But New England punted the ball back.

"It's a totally different [approach] from last year," said Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs, who played 11 days after undergoing surgery on his broken left wrist. "We go out there with the attitude the ball is ours."

Yes! 20-10! Go Pats!

Score Summary

New England FG (Stephen Gostkowski, 35 yards)
New England FG (Stephen Gostkowski, 31 yards)
New England TD (Troy Brown 10 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)
Miami TD (Ronnie Brown 2 yard run, EP is good)
Miami FG (Olindo Mare, 40 yards)
New England TD (Heath Evans 1 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)

And that was the game killed. We've now taken a commanding lead in the AFC East with another win.

AFC East Standings

Patriots: 4-1
Jets: 2-3
Bills: 2-3
Dolphins: 1-4

We haven't got a game on Sunday. It's our bye week. In other news....

[size=24]Koppen Signs Five Year Extension[/size

Originally Posted by ESPN

The New England Patriots on Thursday afternoon used some of their salary cap surplus for this season to secure a key offensive player for the long term, reaching agreement with starting center Dan Koppen on a five-year contract extension.

The extension is worth between $19 million and $20 million and includes about $7.5 million in bonuses.

Koppen, 27, was in the final season of the original four-year contract he signed as a rookie in 2003, and scheduled to earn a 2006 base salary of $1.573 million. He would have been eligible for unrestricted free agency next spring without the extension.

A fifth-round choice in the 2003 draft, and the 164th player selected that year, Koppen earned a starting spot as a rookie, helping the team advance to Super Bowl XXXVIII. He ranked in the top 10 among rookies that year in terms of playing time and was among the league leaders in the performance-based-pay program that the NFL instituted to reward lower-salaried players who outperform their contracts.

Koppen had a string of 46 consecutive starts, including playoff games, until a shoulder injury ended his 2005 season after nine games.

There were concerns about lingering problems with Koppen's shoulder this spring, during minicamps, but he worked hard to complete his rehabilitation and has started all five games this season.

The former Boston College standout, who possesses the kind of lunch-pail mentality that offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia covets in his charges, is a tough in-line blocker who has steadily improved as a pass protector. From the outset, he demonstrated great football awareness, and was able to step in during his rookie season and make all the calls on blocking adjustments.

For his career, Koppen has appeared in 46 regular-season games, and started in all but one of them.

[Tealey7]

New England Revolution Update



The Patriots groundshare with another team, New England's MLS representatives, New England Revolution. Last night saw the Revs clinch home field in the MLS playoffs with a win over Columbus Crew. In this thread I will post match reports and stuff when the Revs play in the playoffs, and today, I'll post a report about last night's action at Foxboro. So here we go.

Game Review - Game 32 versus Columbus

This game was our last of the regular season, and was also Fan Appreciation Night as it was our last home game of the regular season. The XI we started with lined up like this:

Reis

John--Parkhurst--Heaps--Franchino

Larentowicz--Dorman--Ralston--Dempsey

Abundis--Twellman

Subs: Warren, Lochead, Riley, Sims, Smith, Hernandez, Cancela

Originally Posted by RevsSoccer.net

Foxborough, Mass. - Substitute midfielder Khano Smith scored his first goal of the 2006 campaign in the 88th minute as the New England Revolution defeated the Columbus Crew, 1-0, on Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium in front of a season-high crowd of 19,166 on “Fan Appreciation Night.” New England goalkeeper Matt Reis earned his league-best 10th shutout of the season in the win.

With the victory, New England (12-8-12, 48 pts.) secured second place in the Eastern Conference standings, and earned home-field advantage in the team’s Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against the third-place Chicago Fire. The Revs entered the game needing a win to ensure the second-place finish.

Off a quickly-taken free kick on the edge of the 18-yard box on the right side, substitute midfielder José Cancela passed a short ball to Steve Ralston. Ralston then made a diagonal run into the area and threaded a pass to Clint Dempsey 10 yards out from the goal. As defenders converged on him, Dempsey quickly dumped the ball off to Smith, who was also unmarked six yards off of the far post, for the uncontested, first-time shot on goal and a 1-0 lead for the Revs.

The goal was Smith’s first in the regular-season since he scored the game-winning goal in the Revs’ 1-0 victory at Real Salt Lake on Sept. 3, 2005. He also added a series-winning goal against New York in Game 2 of the 2005 Eastern Conference Semifinals to send the Revolution into the Eastern Conference Final.

Reis, who was called on to make two saves on the night, was active all evening. The Revs’ 2006 Team MVP routinely came out of the net to intercept dangerous crosses, and helped the Revolution set a new club record for least goal allowed in a season (35) as he matched his own team record with his 10th clean sheet of the season.

With the loss, Columbus (8-15-9, 33 pts.) closed its season in sixth place in the East, and snapped its two-game winning streak that saw the team defeat Western Conference leader Dallas, 3-1, two weeks ago and then-second place Chicago, 4-1, at the Fire’s home last weekend. That victory over Chicago allowed New England to leapfrog the Fire and claim second place in the standings.

The Revs had their first solid chance in the 17th minute when, after winning the ball in the midfield at the edge of the center circle, Dempsey launched a blast from 20 yards out in the right-center channel aimed toward the far post. Although he sent Crew keeper Adam Gruenebaum diving off his line to his right, Dempsey’s shot tracked narrowly wide left.

Columbus’ first chance followed in the 22nd minute when rookie forward Jason Garey got on the end of an angled cross from Rusty Pierce. Garey’s sharp header was right at Revs keeper Matt Reis, who made the reaction punch to prevent the goal.

The teams continued to play up and down, and neither team mounted another attacking thrust until New England defender Jay Heaps dropped a lobbed pass over the Columbus back line to a surging Ralston. The ball fell at Ralston’s feet eight yards out from goal, but he was unable to get a clean shot off before the Crew defenders tracked back and Gruenebaum collected the ball as Dempsey was lurking several yards away.

The Revs came out in the second half and had a grand chance in the 49th minute. José Manuel Abundis jumped on the rebound of Dempsey shot that Gruenebaum couldn’t control, but his one-on-one, left-footed shot from six yards out was just high and over the crossbar.

Crew captain Duncan Oughton went close for the visitors in the 54th minute when his flicked-on header from the edge of the 18-yard box - with his back to the goal - kicked off the crossbar and out of play.

The Revs had another go in the 83rd minute, when Heaps chipped in a lobbed ball to the area, but it deflected off a Crew defender and was redirected toward the upper left corner of net. However, on the resulting corner kick, Columbus cleared the ball.

The Revs continued to boss play and controlled the midfield with Cancela and substitute Daniel Hernandez in the game, and in the 88th minute when Cancela was fouled on the far touchline by Crew defender Marc Burch, the Revs finally put away the game-winning goal.

The Revolution will see its next action when they open the 2006 MLS Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against the Chicago Fire. The teams will play the first game of the two-game, aggregate-goal series at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill., at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 22. ESPN2 will televise the game nationally.

The Revs will host the second-game of the series at Gillette Stadium at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 28. Tickets for the deciding game are available by calling 1-877-GET-REVS or TicketMaster at 1-617-931-2222.

Nice work there by the Revs, earning a 1-0 win.

Score Summary

0-1 Smith - Revolution (90+)

Revolution Bookings

Larentowicz (40)
Dempsey (6
John (76)

Revolution Substitutions

Hernandez for Abundis (6
Smith for Franchnio (69)
Cancela for Dorman (81)

Rock on. The first leg of our Eastern Conference semi final is on Sunday 22nd and is against Chicago Fire.

[Tealey7]

Game Review - Game 7 @ Buffalo

Our second game of the season against Buffalo. It saw Dillon score more TDs, as did the Pats overall and saw the Bills score 2 FGs overall all game.

http://espn-i.starwave.com/media/apphoto/1391d5fc-c388-49d0-9bc6-00c812216976.jpg

Originally Posted by ESPN

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have become so accustomed to winning -- and particularly against Buffalo -- that even lopsided victories are no longer satisfying.

Take Brady, the perfectionist, for example: The Patriots had just routed the Bills 28-6 on Sunday, a game in which Brady methodically engineered four scoring drives. And yet the quarterback was kicking himself for a pass that he insists he shouldn't have thrown.

"Stupidity by me," Brady said.

He wasn't referring to an interception or incompletion. Rather, Brady was discussing a 5-yard pass on the run that found Doug Gabriel open in the end zone with the game already out of reach in the fourth quarter.

"Lucky," Brady said.

The Patriots (5-1) remain atop the AFC East after Corey Dillon scored two touchdowns rushing, Brady added two TD passes, and a stingy defense did the rest to get New England off to its second-best start since 1997.

And the Patriots continued their domination of Buffalo, winning their seventh straight and 12th in their last 13 meetings against the AFC East rivals. The Bills (2-5) continue to unravel, having lost three straight heading into their bye week.

"Our performance out there was embarrassing," linebacker London Fletcher said. "It's just not good football. ... It's the same mistakes over and over again."

New England has won three straight since a 17-7 loss to Denver, and five straight on the road, a stretch in which the Patriots have outscored their opponents 156-64.

"I feel pretty good right now just because we won the game," said linebacker Rosevelt Colvin. "But I do feel we can get better."

It's hard to imagine how, considering the Patriots, refreshed from a bye week off, had the game in hand by the end of the first quarter when Dillon scored his second touchdown on a 12-yard run to put New England ahead 14-3.

The defense then did its part, forcing three turnovers and limited the Bills to 256 yards offense and 13 first downs -- and only four in the second half.

Brady, who finished a modest 18-of-27 for 195 yards passing and no turnovers, sealed the win with two scoring drives in the second half, including a 35-yard TD pass to Chad Jackson.

The Bills defense couldn't get the Patriots off the field, allowing their opponents to convert 8-of-15 third-down attempts. And then there were the penalties.

The most undisciplined came when Buffalo defensive end Chris Kelsay was penalized for unnecessary roughness for delivering a late hit on Brady, who had given himself up by falling to the turf on third down at the Bills 24. The Patriots capitalized on the next play when Dillon scored his second touchdown.

Buffalo's offense wasn't much better.

J.P. Losman went 16-of-25 for 193 yards passing, but committed three turnovers, two fumbles and an interception. The second-year starter has now committed eight turnovers, including five interceptions, in his past three games.

"We have to grow up," said guard Chris Villarrial. "I'm frustrated and the team is frustrated."

"It was a long day," added coach lalalala Jauron. "We continued to make foolish errors that really don't give us much of a chance to win the game."

So much for how well the Bills competed in a 19-17 loss at New England to start the season.

Then again, this followed the pattern of how the annual two-game series has gone over the previous three years: Buffalo competing with New England in the first meeting and then getting blown out in the second.

The Bills are 1-3 in the first game over that stretch, outscoring New England 81-71. The Patriots have responded to win each of the four rematches, outscoring the Bills by a combined 150-36, including a 35-7 win last year.

"This is certainly what we expected to see this week," Patriots safety Rodney Harrison said. "Coming off a bye week, a lot of times you can have disappointment. Our emphasis this week was the start fast."

Another great performance by the Pats to win 28-6 against the Bills.

Score Summary

New England TD (Corey Dillion 8 yard run, EP is good)
Buffalo FG (Rian Lindell, 40 yards)
New England TD (Corey Dillon 12 yard run, EP is good)
New England TD (Chad Jackson 35 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)
Buffalo FG (Rian Lindell, 46 yards)
New England TD (Doug Gabriel 5 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)

Only six drives where points were scored for both teams in the whole game.

AFC East Standings

Patriots: 5-1
Jets: 4-3
Bills: 2-5
Dolphins: 1-6

In the game a few players were injured. They were:

Hobbs (CB)
O'Callaghan (RT)
Mills (TE)
Wilson (FS)

No worries, the Patriots have strength in depth. Our next game is on Monday night away to Minnesota.

[Tealey7]

New England Revolution Update



On Sunday night we were away to Chicago in the Eastern Conference semi final first leg. Our team lined up like this:

Reis

John--Parkhurst--Heaps--Franchino

Joseph--Larentowicz--Ralston--Dorman

Dempsey--Twellman

Subs: Warren, Smith, Hernandez, Abundis, Cancela, Riley, Noonan

Originally Posted by RevsSoccer.net

Bridgeview, Ill. - Justin Mapp’s freekick goal in the 35th minute gave the Fire a first-half, one-goal lead they wouldn’t relinquish as the Chicago team defeated the New England Revolution, 1-0, at Toyota Park on Sunday afternoon in the first of two games in the teams’ MLS Eastern Conference Semifinal Series.

The two-game, total-goals series continues Saturday, Oct. 28, when the teams play at the Revs’ home - Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The team with the higher combined goals total at the end of the two games advances to the Conference Championship game. If the two teams’ total goals are tied at the conclusion of Saturday’s 90-minute game, the clubs will play a 30-minute overtime session. If the aggregate goal total is still knotted after that time, the series will be decided by penalty kicks.

Despite controlling the run of play for the majority of the game, the Revolution was unable to net the equalizer after Mapp’s go-ahead strike. Chances by Taylor Twellman, Jay Heaps, Clint Dempsey and Andy Dorman were denied as the New England defense - MLS’ best in the regular season - held Chicago to just one shot in the second half.

The 1-0 final score marked the sixth game decided by one goal or less this season between the two teams. Chicago keeper Matt Pickens made eight saves for the shutout, while New England keeper Matt Reis made two saves. The teams combined for 38 fouls and five cautions in the physical contest.

The Revs had a prime chance in just the second minute of the game when Shalrie Joseph played Steve Ralston through on the right wing. After receiving Joseph's pass out of midfield, Ralston dribble ran into the penalty area with a clear shot on goal, but his attempt toward the far post wasn’t wide enough and Pickens smothered the ball for the save.

The Revs had another chance in the ninth minute when Twellman launched a shot from near the top of the area, which handcuffed Pickens. The Fire keeper punched the shot clear of the left post, but the rebound went out wide left to Revs captain Joe Franchino. Franchino angled in a cross to Twellman as he ran in on the near post, but Twellman’s shot was pressured by C.J. Brown and went wide.

In the 15th minute, Chicago got its first dangerous chance of the game when Chris Armas drew a foul near the right corner flag. Mapp served the freekick into the box, where Reis punched the ball out to the top of the area. Chris Rolfe gathered and sent a shot in where Reis made the save on the ground. However, Reis and Andy Herron collided while Reis was on the ground, and Herron kicked Reis’ head in an attempt to get at the ball, earning him a yellow-card caution in the 16th minute.

Mapp gave the Fire a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute when he left-footed a direct free kick over the Revs’ five-man wall and into the net just inside the right post from 19 yards out. The Fire were awarded the kick after Jay Heaps was cautioned for a collision with Armas one yard off the top of the penalty area in the right-center channel.

After the ensuing kickoff, the Revs came right down the field and nearly netted the equalizer when Heaps got on the end of a Ralston cross from the right wing and headed the ball down from 10 yards. His shot, however, hit Dempsey on the back as it was aimed at the open net.

The Revs went close in the 64th minute when the trio of Twellman, Dempsey and Dorman made a move into the attacking third. Dorman came down the left wing with the ball and sent an angled cross to the far post where Twellman had worked behind his marker. Twellman aimed his headed shot down, and Pickens made the scoop save at the post, but bobbled the ball as both Twellman and Dempsey converged before recollecting it safely.

As the Revolution continued to dictate the tempo of the game and keep Chicago pinned back in its defensive third, New England went close in the 76th minute when Dorman was left unmarked and snuck in around the back of the Fire defense on the far post as Joseph sent a weighted pass through Chicago’s backline. Dorman first-timed the ball on frame but Pickens was positioned to make the save and collect the ball on the catch.

With New England continuing to attack, Twellman nearly set up Dempsey in the 78th minute. Coming out of the midfield, Twellman sent Dempsey through with a diagonal ball into the right-center channel. Dempsey worked around Brown near the edge of the goal area and took a hard shot from a tight angle, but it went wide right of the goal. On the shot, Dempsey went down with an injury and was substituted for by José Manuel Abundis shortly after.

Although the Revs dominated possession as the game’s final minutes wound down, they were unable to net an equalizer.

The Revolution and Fire will conclude their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series with the second leg at Gillette Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28. That game will be televised live by TV38, and will be carried by the WEEI radio network (English) and WJDA 1300 AM (Spanish).

The Revs will present a Halloween-themed Soccer Celebration prior to the game. Fans attending the game are encouraged to wear costumes and children who come dressed up will have an opportunity to participate in on-field activities. Call 1-877-GET-REVS for more information and playoffs tickets.

A 0-1 is not a bad result, and I'm confident we can turn it round at Foxboro.

Score Summary

0-1 Mapp - Fire (35)

Revolution Bookings

Heaps (34)
John (3
Joseph (57)

Revolution Substitutions

Hernandez for Larentowicz (69)
Smith for Franchino (76)
Abundis for Dempsey (82)

The second leg is on Saturday. We are at home. Also, here's an image from the website saying who's won what Revs award from the regular season.

[Tealey7]

New England Revolution Update



On Saturday night we played the second leg of our Eastern Conference semi against Chicago. Our team was:

Reis

John--Parkhurst--Heaps--Franchino

Hernandez--Larentowicz--Ralston--Dorman

Abundis--Twellman

Subs: Warren, Riley, Lochead, Sims, Smith, Cancela, Noonan

Originally Posted by RevsSoccer.net

Foxborough, Mass. - The New England Revolution will play for the MLS Eastern Conference Championship game for the for the fifth straight year after earning a penalty-kick shootout victory over the Chicago Fire in the teams' two-game, total-goals Eastern Conference Semifinal Series on Saturday evening.

Entering Saturday's game at Gillette Stadium trailing 1-0 on aggregate after a one-goal loss on Sunday in Game 1 at Chicago, the Revolution won Game 2 at home on Saturday night, 2-1, to force 30-minutes of extra time. Neither team scored in the extra time, leading to the penalty kick shootout.

Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis made a save on Chicago's very first kick attempt - by Thiago - and then a second on Ivan Guerrero on Chicago's fourth attempt, while the Revs converted all four of their tries - by José Cancela, Reis, Pat Noonan and Taylor Twellman - to punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Championship match next weekend. The Revolution will face either D.C. United or the New York Red Bulls, who will complete their two-game series Sunday evening at United's RFK Stadium.

With the win, the Revolution advanced to their fifth consecutive Eastern Conference Championship contest. The Revs have played for the conference crown in each of head coach Steve Nicol's five seasons as head coach, advancing to MLS Cup twice in the past four years (2002, 2005).

The Revs defense - which was MLS' top unit in the regular season - limited the potent Chicago attack to only eight shots on goal in 210 minutes of play in the two-game series. Fire keeper Matt Pickens, meanwhile, made 16 saves in the two-game set to keep Chicago in the series. Reis, who made four saves in the run of play in the series, also added two clutch saves in the penalty-kick shootout, pushing his season saves total on PKs to four including the MLS regular season.

The physical tone of the series between the two teams continued on Saturday, as a total of 41 fouls were whistled and five cautions were issued in Game Two. Chicago committed 23 fouls and had three players shown yellow cards, while New England committed 17 fouls and saw two players cautioned.

Both teams controlled the flow of play for extended stretches in the match. Playing on the freshly-sodded Gillette Stadium pitch, both teams came out of the gate cautiously, but after Chicago went ahead 1-0, New England settled and controlled the tempo of the game through the end of the first half. The home team came out energized in the second half, scoring series-tying goal and creating several other chances down the stretch and into the first ten minutes of extra time, before Chicago retook control of the game in the final minutes of the two overtime sessions.

Nate Jaqua gave the Fire an early 1-0 lead in the game - and a 2-0 advantage on aggregate - when he slotted in a Justin Mapp cross from the right side in the 18th minute. Jaqua made a late run out of the midfield and redirected Mapp's cross with his right foot on his first touch into the net along the near post and off Reis' extended left hand.

One minute later, Twellman had a chance to cut the Fire's aggregate lead to one goal when he was left alone six yards out of net and connected with a Jay Heaps cross from the edge of the penalty area. Twellman's glancing header, however, went wide right when he was left alone with Pickens.

Twellman finally broke through for the Revs in the 41st minute, sending the teams into the halftime interval tied at 1-1, and pulling the Revs within one goal on aggregate. After a throw in, Andy Dorman lightly backheeled the ball to Joe Franchino on the left side of the 18-yard box, and he made a run along the endline toward goal. Franchino then cut a pass back from the endline on an angle to Twellman, who first-timed his right-footed shot while closely-marked in the area.

Just a few minutes after halftime - in the 48th minute - Franchino again nearly set up Twellman when he sent in a curling cross to him from the left wing, where Twellman's flicked-on headed shot from nine yards out hit the far post and came back into play before Pickens smothered the ball as Pat Noonan fought to get there. Noonan had checked into the game at halftime and was making his first appearance of the 2006 postseason after undergoing sports hernia surgery in Germany on Oct. 9.

Noonan - who in 2005 scored the semifinal series tying-goal against the MetroStars at Gillette Stadium - again achieved that feat and drew the Revs' 2006 series even at 2-2 on aggregate when he netted the rebound of a blocked Franchino shot in the 58th minute. After C.J. Brown blocked Franchino's first-time, left-footed blast from the top of the area, Noonan shot the ball into the back of the net with the instep of his right foot from eight yards out.

Daniel Hernandez, who was making his first start since May 6, went close in the 63rd minute when he settled a clearing attempt and left-footed a shot from the edge of penalty arc. He aimed for the left post, and forced Pickens to make a diving save to his right to prevent the goal.

The Fire had their first chance of the second half in the 67th minute when Jaqua elevated over Revs defender Jay Heaps on a Fire corner kick, and headed the ball over the net on the far post after Diego Gutierrez served an inswinging corner kick from the right side.

In the 70th minute, Noonan had a chance to complete the New England comeback and put the Revs ahead on aggregate when he broke in all-alone breakaway against Pickens. With all the Chicago defenders behind Noonan except Dasan Robinson on the far left side, Franchino sent a clean ball to Noonan for the chance. Noonan pulled Pickens out of the net and off his line, but his chip shot over the extended goalkeeper crashed off the crossbar and the Fire were able to clear.

Chicago earned a corner kick in the 77th minute, and Chris Armas served an outswinging ball from the right side. Tony Sanneh met the service 12 yards out, but his flicked-on header was both wide left and high.

New England had a prime chance in the third minute of the extra session when Cancela took a crossing shot to the far post as he worked into the penalty area, but Pickens dove low to deflect it for another save, one of his eight during the run of play.

The Revs had chance in the seventh minute of extra time. Khano Smith received the ball several yards over midfield field and ran into space in the Revs' attacking third, working around two defenders. At the edge of the penalty area, Smith took a left-footed blast and his rising shot caught Pickens by surprise, but the Fire keeper was able to make the reaction save.

In the penalty kick round, Reis' save of Thiago's right-post effort on the first kick set the tone for the shootout. New England converted all four of its kicks, and after the save on Thiago, Gutierrez and Herron sunk their shots before Reis made the save on Ivan Guerrero. With the Revs up 3-2, Twellman converted his shot - a rising angled rocket to the left post that beat Pickens and found the side netting - to send the Revs into the penultimate game of the MLS season.

The Revolution must now wait until D.C. and New York complete their semifinal series on Sunday, Oct. 29, in a game that will be played at RFK Stadium at 6 p.m., and televised by ESPN2. Should D.C., who lead 1-0 going into Game 2, go on to win the series, the Revs would travel to Washington and face D.C. for the Eastern Conference Championship on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 4 p.m. in game that would be nationally televised by ESPN2. Should New York come back and defeat United, the Revolution would host the Red Bulls on Saturday, Nov. 4, in a 7:30 p.m. game at Gillette Stadium.

That picture there sums up an interesting evening, which ended with out two best players, Reis and Twellman, jumping around joyously. 4-2 on penalties then, and at least one England can win on pens. Also useful to mention that if the MLS used the away goals rule, the Revs would have been out of the playoffs as the Fire scored 1 away goal and we scored 0.

Score Summary

1-0 Jaqua - Fire (1
1-1 Twellman - Revolution (41)
1-2 Noonan - Revolution (5

Penalties

Fire - Thiago (Save)
Revs - Cancela (Goal)
Fire - Gutierrez (Goal)
Revs - Reis (Goal)
Fire - Herron (Goal)
Revs - Noonan (Goal)
Fire - Guerrero (Save)
Revs - Twellman (Goal)

Revolution Bookings

Larentowicz (10)
Hernandez (14)

Revolution Substitutions

Noonan for Abundis (46)
Smith for Larentowicz (54)
Cancela for Ralston (85)

Awesome win for the Revolution, we now face DC United in the Eastern Conference Final in another two legged game. The first leg is on Sunday. The Patriots play tonight in their first outing on Monday Night Football since ESPN bought the rights before the start of the season. We play Minnesota Vikings away. Richard Seymour, our inspirational DE is day to day with an injury to his left elbow.

[Tealey7]

Game 8 @ Minnesota

Our first jaunt on Monday Night Football this season, as we looked to beat the improving Vikings.

Originally Posted by ESPN

MINNEAPOLIS (ESPN.com news services) -- Minnesota counts itself among the many NFL franchises trying to copy the New England Patriots' plan for success. The Vikings learned on Monday night that they still have a lot of catching up to do.

Tom Brady beat Minnesota's relentless rushing defense by simply throwing over it for 372 yards and touchdowns to four different receivers, and the Patriots pounded the Vikings 31-7 on Monday night to win their sixth straight regular-season road game.

New England's defense had four sacks and four interceptions, forcing Brad Johnson into a handful of uncharacteristic mistakes and a fourth-quarter benching.

"The plan was to come out and put the ball in the air a little bit," Brady said, grinning. "The receivers made a lot of great plays, and it was a lot of fun, needless to say."

Still firing well into the fourth quarter, Brady didn't let up -- going 29-of-43 to beat a defense that had been pretty decent against the pass, too.

New England (6-1) more than doubled Minnesota's average of allowing 15.8 points per game, setting the tone for an easy victory with an opening drive on which Brady completed all six of his throws for 94 yards.

"Whatever holes we had in the coverage, he found it," Vikings safety Darren Sharper said.

Johnson was no match for the unflappable, three-time Pro Bowl quarterback. Picked off three times, Johnson was 20-of-33 for 185 yards and forced to watch from the sideline for the final 12 minutes when backup Brooks Bollinger went in.

"The turnovers played into that," Vikings coach Brad Childress said, when asked about the switch. "It's important you have respect for the football."

When asked who would start for the Vikings next week at San Francisco, Childress said he "anticipated" it would be Johnson.

Minnesota's only score was a 71-yard punt return by Mewelde Moore in the third quarter, but Patriots rookie Laurence Maroney -- playing in the stadium where he became a college star -- answered that with a 74-yard kickoff return.

New England now has a big matchup, at least for November, at home against Indianapolis (7-0) on Sunday.

"We're happy to win," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, "but it doesn't get any easier. We have a tough challenge coming up this week against the Colts."

The Vikings (4-3) proved they weren't in their opponent's class just yet. Playing their first Monday night home game in five years, they were consistently outschemed and outworked. The jazzed-up crowd of 63,819 lost the buzz by halftime.

"You come into this environment, and you see the fans leaving midway through the fourth quarter," said Brady, who hasn't lost in 10 NFL games indoors.

Well, he's usually pretty good wherever he plays. Save for an up-for-grabs pass up the sideline that Sharper snagged for a one-handed interception as he fell down in the first quarter, Brady was brilliant.

The last time he was here, Brady was leading Michigan to a win over the University of Minnesota in 1998. And, boy, it sure looked like Brady was facing those defenseless Gophers again -- not a Vikings team that had held every prior opponent to 19 points or less and entered the game ranked seventh in the league in total yards allowed.

First-year defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin has helped create a dominant unit, but his charges were embarrassed on each of New England's three first-half scoring drives.

A frighteningly easy opening march ended with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Reche Caldwell. The Patriots drove 93 yards in eight plays to get a 23-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski in the second quarter. And just before halftime, they moved 74 yards in 11 plays to take a 17-0 lead on a 9-yard scoring toss to tight end Ben Watson.

Dillon and Maroney came into the game, combined, with nearly 700 yards rushing, but their impact was minimal except for Maroney's momentous kickoff return.

No, it was all Brady in this one, slinging his usual darts all over the field to 10 different receivers. He started the game in the shotgun, with an empty backfield, and lined up in that five-wide set several times throughout the first half. Ten of New England's first 11 plays were passes.

Minnesota just couldn't keep up.

Childress has built the Vikings into a run-first, low-risk outfit that relies on a sound defense and a take-what-it-can-get offense to succeed. One problem with that is they're not made for big rallies.

Their largest deficit to date was 17-3 against Detroit, and they overcame that with a 23-point fourth quarter three weeks ago. But after Troy Brown's 7-yard touchdown catch, set up by Maroney's return, Minnesota was down 24-7. On the next possession, Troy Williamson dropped a should-be touchdown on a long pass up the sideline when he failed to adjust to the ball as it arrived.

The Vikings, then, were out of opportunities. After a career-best 169 yards last week at Seattle, Chester Taylor was bottled up -- gaining only 22 yards on 10 carries. He suffered a shoulder stinger in the third quarter and was a non-factor the entire night.

Brady gave rookie Chad Jackson his chance to score late in the third, a 10-yard completion that Jackson deftly converted by virtually crawling into the end zone to keep from falling down.

Mike Vrabel intercepted Johnson on the next possession, and when Minnesota had the ball again Bollinger was behind center. New England then provided the punctuation to a near-perfect night, forcing a three-and-out with three straight sacks.

"It's probably one of the most embarrassing games I've been a part of," Johnson said.

Superb. 31-7.

Score Summary

New England TD (Reche Caldwell 6 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)
New England FG (Stephen Gostowski, 23 yards)
New England TD (Ben Watson 8 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)
Minnesota TD (Meweld Moore 71 yard punt return, EP is good)
New England TD (Troy Brown 7 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)
New England TD (Chad Jackson 10 ard pass from Brady, EP is good)

Awesome.

AFC East Standings

Patriots: 6-1
Jets: 4-4
Bills: 2-5
Dolphins: 1-6

So that sees us open up a very healthy lead at the top of the division. We're currently 2nd overall in the AFC, after Indianapolis, who have started worryingly well and are 7-0. It's worrying because we play the Colts on Sunday. It's at home, which means we have home advantage. In other news, we've released CB Chidi Iwuoma and C Brian Barthelmes, who I haven't even heard of.

[Tealey7]

New England Revolution Update



Well, last night we played DC United in a one legged game, not two as I first thought. Our team was:

Reis

John--Parkhurst--Riley--Heaps--Franchino

Joseph--Hernandez--Dorman

Noonan--Twellman

Subs: Warren, Sims, Cancela, Ralston, Abundis, Smith, Larentowicz

Originally Posted by RevsSoccer.net

Washington - For the second straight season and the third time in club history, the New England Revolution will play for the MLS Cup. With a 1-0 victory on the road at regular-season champion D.C. United, New England won its third Eastern Conference title on Sunday evening at RFK Stadium.

Taylor Twellman, the Revs' leading goal-scorer in the regular-season, netted his second goal of the 2006 postseason in just the fourth minute of play, and the Revs withstood a steady United attack to earn the victory and punch their tickets to the title match in Frisco, Texas, next weekend. The Revolution will face the winner of the Western Conference Championship, which pits the second-seeded Houston Dynamo against the fourth-seeded Colorado Rapids later Sunday evening in Houston.

In a season that has seen the Revs repeat a familiar postseason history - surging into the playoffs by playing strongly down the stretch in the regular season and coming back from a two-goal deficit in the team's total-goals conference semifinal to earn a victory - the Revs again repeated history with their 1-0 victory in the conference finale.

In 2005, against Chicago at home in the conference championship game, Clint Dempsey scored the game's only goal in the fourth minute and the Revs held on to earn the victory and a berth in MLS Cup 2005. And this season, in 2006, it was the same storyline repeated, just a different goal scorer.

Twellman, who along with veterans Steve Ralston, Joe Franchino and Jay Heaps, has been a part of the last five Eastern Conference Championships, came through with the game-winning goal minutes into the game, wasting little time in quieting the raucous D.C. fans. Twellman, positioned off the far post, volleyed in a Pat Noonan cross from the right side just outside the area, for a 1-0 New England lead. Heaps sent a lofted pass down the right flank to Noonan, who settled and ran toward the endline. Nine yards from the end, he sent an outbending cross into the box, where Twellman latched on to it near the spot with a side volley on the half-turn, going around D.C. defender Bryan Namoff and across the goal to the right post past a diving Troy Perkins, who committed to the left post when Twellman gained possession.

After New England went ahead, however, D.C. was reinvigorated and sent numbers forward in an attempt to equalize.

United had its first dangerous chance of the game in the 14th minute, coming off a Christian Gomez corner kick. Gomez served the ball from the left side to the far post, where Ben Olsen connected one yard off the line, but his close-in shot was deflected by Revs defender Michael Parkhurst.

Two minutes later, Freddy Adu threaded a pass to a streaking Jaime Moreno who came on late into the area down the right center channel. With defender James Riley on him, Moreno powerfully redirected the ball toward the far post with a first-time volley, but it went narrowly wide right.

United pushed numbers forward and twice nearly equalized in the 21st minute. Moreno, again making a late run out of the midfield, took a through ball from Namoff in the right-center channel and sent a first-time shot that crossed back toward the left post, missing the equalizer by inches. On the ensuing corner, Gomez again served a ball to the far post, but it was cleared out to Alecko Eskandarian just outside the penalty area. Eskandarian took a right-footed blast that Reis saved, but the rebound punched out to Josh Gros, and his shot was deflected. On the second corner kick, the Revs again cleared the ball over the endline, leading to a third corner kick, which New England finally cleared.

In the 32nd minute the Revs had a chance to go up 2-0, nearly coming through on the counter attack. Daniel Hernandez dispossessed United on the edge of its attacking third, and sent a beautiful through pass up the middle of the field to Andy Dorman. Dorman's run toward goal drew Namoff and Bobby Boswell, and he lost the ball on the edge of the area as they all converged, but Avery John stepped up and intercepted D.C.'s clearing pass. John, with Noonan running into the box, then found Twellman onside and unmarked with a cross 12 yards off the net, but Twellman's first-time volley attempt sailed high and out of play.

The Revs had to play down a man near for two minutes the end of the half after Hernandez limped off the field with an ankle injury in the 42nd minute. While he was off getting treatment on the sideline, D.C. United pushed ahead and had an excellent chance to equalize. After moving the ball down the left wing, Namoff tried to center the ball back outside the 18-yard box, putting Moreno and Shalrie Joseph into a footrace for the loose ball. Although Joseph reached the ball first and cleared it from D.C., referee Kevin Stott adjudged Joseph to have fouled Moreno inches outside the area, setting up a dangerous free kick, 18-yards and inches from goal at the edge of the penalty arc. Jeff Larentowicz was able to come on as a substitute for Hernandez before the kick, and Gomez's attempt deflected off the Revs' six-man wall and over the net.

In the first minute of first half stoppage time, D.C. again threatened when Adu sent Olsen through at the right post, but Olsen's hard shot was straight at Reis for the save.

The Revs had a chance in the 57th minute when Joseph sent a long pass from midfield out to Noonan on the right wing. He took on Boswell at the corner of the box, before chipping in a pass to Twellman surging into the box. Twellman volleyed the ball from 11 yards out with Namoff closing him. However, Twellman's shot to the right post went wide right.

After a substitution in the midfield that brought Khano Smith in for captain Joe Franchino in the 67th minute, the Revs had a spell on the attack starting in the 69th minute. Twellman skipped a pass out to Smith on the left wing, and after he ran down Olsen to the edge of the box, Smith whipped in a cross to Noonan, who was streaking in down the center of the field. Noonan connected with Smith's cross with his right heel as he was turned around, back to goal, for the flick, which went wide right. Smith again helped create a chance four minutes later in the 73rd minute. On the right wing at the edge of the box, Riley found Noonan in the center of the box, back-to-goal with three defenders converging on him. Noonan then passed to Smith at the top of the area. His left-footed drive surprised Perkins in net, but the shot skimmed just high over the crossbar.

After Rod Dyachenko came on for Eskandarian in the 76th minute, Olsen had a chance for the leveler for D.C. on minute later. On a counterattack - spurred by a D.C. clearance the box, which New England claimed was a handball foul by Namoff - Gomez collected the ball near the edge of the center circle and ran toward goal. Dyachencko, even with the Revs' back line, elevated over Michael Parkhurst for the flicked-on headed shot, but Reis rose for the save.

After Smith came into the game, the tempo changed in favor of the Revolution and New England had better possession in the midfield. United made several runs into their attacking third, but saw crosses or long shots sail over the endline. However, D.C. had one final dangerous chance in the third minute of stoppage time when, after a Revs foul near their penalty area, but United headed it out of bounds for a New England goal kick.

Reis made eight saves in the game, while the Revs made good on their only shot on frame as Perkins did not register a save in the contest.

MLS Cup 2006 will be played at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, on Sunday, Nov. 12. ABC will televise the game live at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Yes! Yes! Yes! It doesn't matter about regular seasom championships, or the quality of your youngest player, we won! We beat you! 1-0!

Score Summary

1-0 Twellman - Revolution (4)

Revolution Bookings

Dorman (2)

Revolution Substitutions

Larentowicz for Hernandez (44)
Smith for Franchino (67)

Oh yeah. 1-0. Now we face Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup 2006. Third appearance for the Revs in the final in our history. Second in a row. Can we win? Of course! Sunday, 12th November. Go Revs.

[Tealey7]

Game Review - Game 9 versus Indianapolis

Another game, and a loss to the brilliant Colts. No shame in that, however.

Originally Posted by ESPN

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Peyton Manning didn't have to be perfect for the Colts to remain the only team with a perfect record.

He had plenty of help from a defense that had been far from perfect all season. With four interceptions -- the last ending the Patriots' final chance with 1:18 left -- Indianapolis beat New England 27-20 Sunday night to improve to 8-0.

With the loss by Chicago and coach Lovie Smith to Miami earlier Sunday, the Colts are the NFL's only unbeaten team.

"Lovie let me down," Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy said. "I was hoping they'd win so they would get all the focus."

Sunday's win capped an impressive two-game road stretch against two of the best teams in the AFC. On Sunday, he threw for 328 yards and tossed two touchdown passes to Marvin Harrison one week after throwing for 345 yards and three scores in a 34-31 win at Denver.

"Those are two very tough places to play," Dungy said. "We're finding a lot of different ways to win. We still aren't playing our best."

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady certainly didn't on Sunday.

Two of his interceptions came on tipped balls against a defense that had just five picks in its first seven games. The Patriots' running game did gain 148 yards against the NFL's worst rush defense.

"We ran successfully and made some passes," Brady said, "but it all gets negated when you turn the ball over."

His 201 yards passing were just 56 more than Harrison had on his eight catches.

The Patriots (6-2) ended a four-game winning streak and dropped a second straight to Indianapolis after winning six in a row.

They also were victimized for the first time by Adam Vinatieri, who signed as a free agent after kicking two Super Bowl winning field goals for New England in the final seconds. But he also missed twice in the second half as his once adoring fans booed.

"They are trying to get loud and make it hard on the opposing team and that totally makes sense," he said. "I wish I had played a little bit better."

The Colts defense also recovered a fumble and allowed no touchdown passes, only two scoring runs by Corey Dillon and two field goals by rookie Stephen Gostkowski.

The Colts became the only team to start consecutive seasons at 8-0 since the Green Bay Packers did it three straight years from 1929-31. And for the first time in his brilliant career, Manning has thrown for 300 yards in three consecutive games.

"All anybody wants to talk about with this team is, 'what are you guys going to do in the playoffs,' " said Manning, who took the team to the AFC title game just once while reaching the postseason the last four years. "I will enjoy this one for a little while."

Manning won his second straight game against the Patriots and is 4-10 against them.

The Patriots had one last chance after Vinatieri missed from 37 yards with 1:55 left. But on the Patriots' second play, Brady was intercepted by Cato June.

"That was a tough night all the way around," Brady said. "The defense really kept us in there with as many turnovers as there were."

The Colts never trailed as Manning threw the first of his two touchdown passes to Harrison, a 5-yarder, on their opening possession.

Patriots safety Rodney Harrison didn't return after hurting his arm in the first quarter.

"We had to adjust," cornerback Ellis Hobbs said. "The ship gets rocked a little bit and you make it steady."

The Patriots defense did that better than the offense.

The Colts began the day tied for 21st in points allowed. But the first sign the defense would be a positive factor came when Antoine Bethea ended the Patriots' first drive with an interception in the end zone. Manning then drove the Colts 68 yards to his first scoring pass to Marvin Harrison.

The Patriots tied the game on Dillon's 1-yard run on the second play of the second quarter. Indianapolis countered with an 82-yard drive capped by Joseph Addai's 2-yard touchdown run, before New England tied it again on Dillon's 4-yard run.

Then Terrence Wilkins returned the kickoff 70 yards to the Patriots 29 and Vinatieri put the Colts ahead for good 17-14 with a 33-yard field goal with 1:46 left in the half. New England's final possession before intermission ended on Bob Sanders' interception at the Indianapolis 3.

"We're not going to win many games that way, giving up big plays on special teams, defense," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.

Vinatieri's miss on a 37-yarder early in the third quarter was his first failure in 16 attempts this season and ended a string of 12 possessions in which the Colts scored 10 times. The only two times they failed in that stretch were at the end of their last two first halves, when Manning knelt down with the ball.

Harrison's 4-yard scoring catch made it 24-14 midway through the third quarter. Gostkowski then kicked a 49-yard field goal, Vinatieri connected from 31 and Gostkowski was good again from 26. Harrison's TD was a twisting, diving one-handed catch in the right edge of the end zone on which he barely dragged both feet in bounds.

"Peyton and Marvin have that connection," Hobbs said. "Peyton put it right there."

No shame in losing 27-20 to the best regular season team. I'm happy though because we have arguably the weakest division in the NFL to get through.

Score Summary

Indianapolis TD (Marvin Harrison 5 yard pass from Manning, EP is good)
New England TD (Corey Dillon 1 yard run, EP is good)
Indianapolis TD (Joseph Addai 2 yard run, EP is good)
New England TD (Corey Dillon 4 yard run, EP is good)
Indianapolis FG (Adam Vinatieri, 23 yards)
Indianapolis TD (Marvin Harrison 4 yard pass from Manning, EP is good)
New England FG (Stephen Gostkowski, 49 yards)
Indianapolis FG (Adam Vinatieri, 31 yards)
New England FG (Stephen Gostkowski, 26 yards)

Ironic really that I've got Vinatieri in my Yahoo Fantasy Football team.

AFC East Standings

Patriots: 6-2
Jets: 4-4
Buffalo: 3-5
Miami: 2-6

As I said, no shame in losing to the Colts. Bearing in mind that once the Colts are in the playoffs they'll freeze like they always do. Our next game is on Sunday, and we are at home to the New York Jets.

[Tealey7]

Game Preview - Game 10 versus New York Jets

I know it's our 9th game, but it's actually week 10. Anyway, we play the 4-4 Jets tonight.

Originally Posted by Patriots.com

The Patriots will return to divisional play this week when they host the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium. New England holds a two-game lead over New York for the top spot in the AFC East and has recorded a 4-0 record in the division so far this season. The Patriots will look to bounce back from last week's loss to the Colts and have won their last 11 games following a loss, a streak that dates back to 2002.

BOUNCING BACK
The Patriots have not lost back-to-back games since December 2002, and their streak of 57 consecutive regular season games without back-to-back losses is the second longest streak since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. The last time the Patriots had a losing streak was when they dropped a game at Tennessee (24-7, 12/16/02), and followed that with a home loss to the N.Y. Jets (30-17, 12/22/02). Since then, New England has recorded an 11-0 record in games following a loss.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Patriots have recorded a 32-8 (.800) all-time record at Gillette Stadium, including regular-season and postseason games. New England's home record is the best of any NFL team since 2002, the year in which its state-of-the-art facility opened. The Patriots own 28 victories in their last 33 home games, and have allowed an NFL-low 15.88 points per game at home since 2002.

The way I see it, nothing but a win will suffice.

Patriots Injury Report

Rodney Harrison (S) - Out
Dan Graham (TE) - Questionable
Ellis Hobbs (CB) - Questionable
Russ Hochstein (G) - Questionable
Laurence Maroney (RB) - Questionable
Garrett Mills (TE) - Questionable
Stephen Neal (G) - Questionable
Richard Seymour (DL) - Questionable
Ty Warren (DL) - Questionable
Eugene Wilson (S) - Questionable
Tom Brady (QB) - Probable

Patriots To Honour Veterans Tonight

It being Rememberance Sunday in the UK and being Veterans' Day yesterday in the US, the Patriots will put on a tribute to the veterans.

Originally Posted by Patriots.com

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots have planned a number of activities at Sunday's game against the New York Jets to recognize and honor veterans of the United States Military in observance of Veteran's Day. The day's events will be highlighted by “Vets with Vets”, a program where eight prominent Patriots Alumni will host a military veteran for the day. Additionally, the pregame presentation will feature four honor guards comprised of veterans from each branch of the military, a performance by the United States Air Force Band of Liberty, a giant flag (weather permitting) presented by a group of Marines who recently returned from Iraq and a flyover by A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft (weather permitting). During the game, local members of the military currently serving overseas will deliver video messages on the in-stadium ProVision screens. Details of each of the activities are listed below.

Vets with Vets

Eight Patriots Alumni will each host a military veteran at Sunday's game. Former Patriots Peter Brock, Gino Cappelletti, Tony Collins, Russ Francis, John Hannah, John Smith, Andre Tippett and Tom Yewcic will escort veterans from a local VFW or American Legion on the field before the game. Cappelletti and Yewcic are both military veterans, with Cappelletti serving in the Army from 1957-58 and Yewcic serving in the Army from 1955-57. In addition, 26 former Patriots will be on hand to greet the veterans in the Red Level Suite area during the game.

Video Messages

Throughout the game, local soldiers currently serving overseas will deliver videotaped messages expressing their enthusiasm for the Patriots.

National Anthem

The Star Spangled Banner will be performed by the United States Air Force Band of Liberty from Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Mass. The band will also perform God Bless America.

Honor Guard

Four honor guards comprised of veterans from each branch of the military will present the colors on the field prior to the game.

Flag Presentation - Weather Permitting

During the national anthem, 50 Marines from the 1st Battalion 25th Marines will present a giant American Flag on the field. All 50 Marines recently returned from seven months of service in Fallujah, Iraq. The unit has members from throughout New England and is headquartered in Ayer, Mass.

Flyover - Weather Permitting

A group of A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft from the 104th Fighter Wing from Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, Mass. will fly over the stadium following the national anthem.

[Tealey7]

Game 10 versus New York Jets

So this game saw us lose. It meant that we lost consecutive games for the first time in 57 games. Oh well. The division is still is good as ours.

Originally Posted by ESPN

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Bill Belichick exchanged another cold handshake with Eric Mangini in the middle of the muddy field.

The Patriots coach certainly had no reason to embrace the protege who angered him by leaving for the New York Jets. After all, the Jets had just won 17-14 on a rainy Sunday, tightening the AFC East race that once loomed as a runaway for New England.

"I have a lot of great memories from here," Mangini said. "I'd like to add this to it."

Belichick has refused to refer to the Jets coach by name since Mangini left after serving five years as his defensive backs coach and last season as defensive coordinator, helping the Patriots win three Super Bowl titles. Their first midfield meeting after the Patriots won in New York this season wasn't a study in warmth either.

Then again, why should any of the Patriots be happy after their 57-game streak without consecutive losses ended? The record of 60 games was set by San Francisco from 1995-99.

Jets quarterback Chad Pennington also had a hand in the previous losing streak when he led New York to a 30-17 win in December 2002 -- one week after the Patriots lost to Tennessee.

"Two in a row. I can't remember the last time we did it," Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "We've got to get back on the winning road if we want to be AFC champions."

Preseason favorites to win their fourth straight division title, the Patriots (6-3) lead the Jets (5-4) by just one game.

"To lose today, you don't forget about the playoffs, but as far as the division race, it's would have been basically over," said Jets linebacker Matt Chatham, who spent the last six seasons with the Patriots. "We know that we've at least kept ourselves alive."

Relying on short gains and long drives, the Jets built enough of a lead to repel a late comeback and end a seven-game losing streak to the Patriots.

"We knew we had to have precise execution and, in the meantime, play a great defense," because of the muddy field and slippery ball, Pennington said.

Mangini clearly learned something from Belichick that his players picked up, from the pressure the Jets put on Tom Brady to their two takeaways.

"When you make plays against the pressure, it tends to ease it off a little bit," Brady said, "but we just didn't make enough plays."

Pennington did, despite the rain and mist that dictated that both teams rely on runs and short passes.

"The field was a mess," said Kevan Barlow, who scored on a 2-yard run for the Jets. "One play, I almost took it to the house, but the mud got me."

Pennington led two long scoring drives, one covering 16 plays that led to Barlow's touchdown and a 7-3 lead. The other was 15-play drive that was capped by Mike Nugent's 34-yard field goal and gave the Jets a 10-6 lead with 1:46 left in the third quarter.

The Jets made it 17-6 on Pennington's 22-yard pass to Jerricho Cotchery with 4:45 left after an interception by Erik Coleman.

The Patriots then drove 69 yards in 31 seconds to draw within 17-14 on Brady's 15-yard scoring pass to Reche Caldwell on a pass that was tipped by New York's Kerry Rhodes. Brady and Caldwell then combined on a two-point conversion.

After a punt, the Patriots took over at their 11 with 1:08 and no timeouts left. New England reached the Jets 45 before Brady spiked the ball with 9 seconds left. But he was sacked by Shaun Ellis on the final play. Brady completed 25 of 37 passes for 255 yards.

"We just couldn't stop them on defense," Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown said. "And when we did stop them, we had to use all our timeouts."

Pennington was 22-for-33 for 168, an average of 7.6 yards per completion. Barlow gained 75 yards on 17 carries. The Jets already have surpassed last season's victory total of four.

Following a 27-20 loss to Indianapolis last Sunday night in which Brady threw four interceptions, the Patriots fell to 2-3 at home and 4-1 in the division.

They led 3-0 on Stephen Gostkowski's 31-yard field goal 4 seconds into the second quarter before Barlow put the Jets in front on an 81-yard drive lasting 9:12. Gostkowski kicked a 21-yard field goal, cutting the lead to 7-6 with 4 seconds left in the half.

The Patriots played without both starting safeties -- Rodney Harrison with a broken shoulder blade and Eugene Wilson with a hamstring injury -- who were major contributors to the defense Mangini coached last season.

Now, though, he often refers to New England as "the other place," and Belichick has continually avoided giving his former assistant any praise.

"We all have our own reasons for why we wanted to beat New England," Pennington said. "Eric has his reasons, I have my reasons and we have ours as a team."

From what I've seen of the game, 17-14 flattered us.

Score Summary

New England FG (Stephen Gostkowski, 31 yards)
New York TD (Kevan Barlow 2 yard run, EP is good)
New England FG (Stephen Gostkowski, 21 yards)
New York FG (Mike Nugent, 34 yards)
New York TD (Jerricho Cotchery 22 yard pass from Pennington, EP is good)
New England TD (Reche Caldwell 15 yard pass from Brady, 2P conversion is good)

AFC East Standings

Patriots: 6-3
Jets: 5-4
Dolphins: 3-6
Bills: 3-6

Seriously, looking at our remaining games, we must make the playoffs. Looking at the weakness of the other teams in the division, we must win the division. But hey, strange things happen. Our next game is on Sunday. We are away to the Green Bay Packers.

[Tealey7]

Game Review - Game 11 @ Green Bay

Another game, another win for the Patriots as our charge to the AFC East title continues.

http://espn-i.starwave.com/media/apphoto/437d09ac-be1f-47ba-82c5-3edae13f8d84.jpg

Originally Posted by ESPN

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- Brett Favre wasn't around to finish the game.

Vinny Testaverde was.

The New England Patriots forced the Green Bay Packers' three-time MVP off the field with an elbow injury near the end of the first half, then snapped their first losing streak in nearly four years with a 35-0 victory at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

"It was just one of those days where a lot of things went right for us and not too many went right for Green Bay," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.

Tom Brady threw for 244 yards and four touchdowns before he was replaced by backup Matt Cassel late in the fourth quarter. Testaverde, who was signed by New England earlier this week, then came in to run out the clock.

"There is not a whole lot of stuff out there that we did poorly," Brady said. "Now you just have to try to carry it over to next week. But there is a not a whole lot of carryover, just like last week didn't mean a whole lot to this week."

New England (7-3) had lost two straight games at home -- its first losing streak since the end of the 2002 season -- but is 5-0 on the road this year.

The Patriots had Sunday's game well under control even before Favre was injured.

New England had run up a 21-0 lead with under two minutes left in the first half when linebacker Tully Banta-Cain wrapped Favre up in the backfield and Tedy Bruschi jumped in to finish the sack. Bruschi'lalalala slammed Favre to the ground on his throwing arm, and the three-time MVP got up wincing.

"It doesn't matter if he's a quarterback or not, he's one of the toughest guys in the league," Bruschi said. "You know when he can't come back like that something's probably up."

Favre, who made his 251st consecutive start on Sunday including playoff games, was replaced by second-year player Aaron Rodgers. Favre walked back out of the locker room shortly after halftime, but Rodgers played the remainder of the game.

"It was a surprise when Brett couldn't come back in, because he's always been the iron man of the NFL," Packers rookie linebacker A.J. Hawk said.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Favre likely injured a nerve in his elbow. McCarthy said Favre wasn't in pain, but was unable to muster enough strength in his hand to grip the football properly after halftime.

McCarthy said he did not know whether Favre would be able to play in the Packers' next game.

To make matters even worse for Green Bay, Rodgers was limping through the locker room after the game.

"I ain't talking," Rodgers said.

Favre also did not speak to reporters. He struggled with his accuracy before the injury, going 5-for-15 for 73 yards and leading the Packers to only two first downs in the first half. Rodgers didn't fare much better, as the Packers finished the game with only five first downs.

"When you can count the number of first downs on one hand, it's embarrassing," center Scott Wells said.

Brady didn't have any such problems, taking advantage of strong pass protection.

"They were great, they were great," Brady said.

The Packers (4-6) couldn't take advantage of a chance to reach .500 under rookie coach Mike McCarthy, but he will likely have bigger problems on his mind this week after the Packers' second shutout loss at Lambeau this season.

McCarthy said he didn't see it coming after the Packers had won three of their last four games.

"We can't jump on that roller coaster that exists," McCarthy said. "We took a step back today, but there's a lot of positive things over the last four to five weeks that we need to help move forward."

The last time Favre left a game with an injury and failed to return was Oct. 3, 2004, when the New York Giants knocked him out of the game with a concussion. He will have an extra day of rest before the Packers' next game, at Seattle next Monday night.

The Patriots successfully converted fourth downs on their first two scoring drives, including one for a touchdown on their first possession. They went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Green Bay 2. Brady faked a handoff, then threw to tight end Daniel Graham for a touchdown in the back of the end zone.

I suppose an injury to Favre really helped, but a 35-0 win is great. Just what we needed.

Score Summary

New England TD (Dan Graham 2 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)
New England TD (Corey Dillon 1 yard run, EP is good)
New England TD (Reche Caldwell 54 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)
New England TD (Ben Watson 8 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)
New England TD (Laurence Maroney 19 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)

AFC East Standings

Patriots: 7-3
Jets: 5-5
Bills: 4-6
Dolphins: 4-6

Very nice. In other news, we signed veteran QB Vinny Testaverde. He saw a bit of action against the Packers, carrying the ball 3 times for -3 yards as we closed the game out. We next play on Sunday. At home to the 9-1 Bears.

[Tealey7]

Game Review - Game 12 versus Chicago

One of our tougher tests against the Bears last Sunday. And we won.

Originally Posted by ESPN

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Tom Brady's decision to run on two key plays was a surprise. That he didn't fumble may have been more of a shock.

Cutting on new artificial turf instead of the mud that was there two weeks ago, Brady set up New England's decisive touchdown in a turnover-filled game and the Patriots beat the Chicago Bears 17-13 Sunday.

"Must be the turf," Brady said. "I don't think that would have happened a few weeks ago."

The Patriots (8-3) persevered despite five turnovers against the Bears (9-2), who had allowed the fewest points in the NFL going into the game with 120. New England was the second stingiest with 131.

"Our defense took the ball, did a good job of that and we didn't do such a good job with it," Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman said.

On third-and-9 at the Bears 14, Brady took off running for 11 yards, a scamper that left star linebacker Brian Urlacher behind.

"I'll tell my kids one day I slipped Brian Urlacher," Brady said with a grin. "They won't believe me."

Brady also had a 3-yard run for a first down at the 3, capping the drive with his 2-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Watson that gave the Patriots a 17-10 lead with 8:22 left in the game.

Before that drive, the Patriots had turned the ball over three times inside the Bears' 20-yard line against a team that leads the NFL in takeaways.

But the Bears committed four turnovers, three on interceptions by Asante Samuel. The last came with 1:46 left, clinching the victory just six seconds after Chicago's Alex Brown had recovered Corey Dillon's fumble.

"This is prime time against the team with the best record," Samuel said. "They like to go deep and it was something we were expecting."

The Bears didn't expect to be so sloppy.

"It's tough to win when you have four turnovers," Chicago coach Lovie Smith said.

The Patriots won with five -- three fumbles and two interceptions by Charles Tillman.

"It wasn't pretty, not at all," New England safety Artrell Hawkins said.

The Bears capitalized on their fourth takeaway, Tillman's second interception, and tied the game 10-10 just 7 seconds into the fourth quarter on Cedric Benson's 2-yard run.

The Patriots then moved 73 yards and went ahead on Watson's catch. On one play, Brady scrambled before completing a perfect 40-yard arc to Watson. Three plays later, Brady made his run and his footing was secure enough for him to get up, plant his cleats and deliver an emphatic first-down signal.

"I saw that and I said, 'Oh, Tom. Oh, Tom,'" Watson said with a laugh. "But he put a move on Urlacher and made a great play."

That put the ball at the Chicago 14, and Watson scored five plays later.

The Bears' hopes ended with Samuel's interception of Grossman's 40-yard heave toward Rashied Davis.

With both teams coming off shutout wins, the game shaped up as a defensive struggle. Not even the new FieldTurf, installed after season-long problems with the natural grass caused players to slip, made much difference for running backs trying to shake loose for big gains.

The first half ended with a bizarre set of plays. Two passes by Brady that were ruled completions on the field were overturned on video review.

That left rookie Stephen Gostkowski with a 52-yard field goal attempt that went wide right. But Chicago had called a timeout before the kick and Gostkowski's second try made it over the crossbar. His longest kick of the season gave New England a 10-3 halftime lead.

Both teams had trouble holding onto the ball early. On their first three possessions, each team lost a fumble and an interception. On Chicago's other series in that stretch, Robbie Gould missed a field goal attempt for the first time in 25 tries this year when defensive end Richard Seymour deflected the 45-yard try.

We really are brilliant. 17-13 - a win that sees us consolidate our commanding lead on top of the AFC East.

Score Summary

New England TD (Laurence Maroney 1 yard run, EP is good)
Chicago FG (Robbie Gould 46 yards)
New England FG (Stephen Gostkowski 52 yards)
Chicago TD (Cedric Benson 2 yard run, EP is good)
New England TD (Ben Watson 2 yard pass from Brady, EP is good)
Chicago FG (Robbie Gould 32 yards)

AFC East Standings

Patriots: 8-3
Jets: 6-5
Dolphins: 5-6
Bills: 5-6

Awesome. Our next game is on Sunday and is against the 2-9 Detroit Lions.

[Tealey7]

Game Review - Game 13 versus Detroit

Our game in week 13 was against the 2-9 Detroit Lions. As the Bee Gees almost said, we win again.

Originally Posted by ESPN

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- The Patriots know how to finish games. The Lions just finish themselves off.

Corey Dillon scored two of his three touchdowns in the last 8:35, Detroit turned the ball over on its last three possessions and New England avoided a stunning upset with a 28-21 victory Sunday.

Dillon gave the Patriots their first lead of the second half with his 4-yard scoring run with 2:33 left, backing up Tom Brady's belief that the Patriots nearly always have a chance to win.

"Any time there's time left on the clock, we think we can," he said. "For so much of that game we didn't play with much energy or enthusiasm."

That's not shocking, considering Detroit has the NFL's worst record over the last six years (23-69) and is 2-10 this season. It's a surprise, though, considering the Patriots (9-3) talked all week about not taking any opponent for granted.

"Embarrassing, frustrating, but a win is a win," fullback Heath Evans said.

The Lions took an 18-13 lead after Evans was tackled in the end zone for a safety when he fell on Brady's fumble. Jason Hanson's 26-yard field goal, his fourth of the game, made it 21-13 less than 2 minutes into the fourth quarter.

The Patriots needed a touchdown and a 2-point conversion just to tie. Could they actually lose to a team that started the day with nine losses one week after the Patriots beat a team with nine wins in a 17-13 victory over Chicago on the same field?

Well, Detroit did squander a 10-0 lead in a 27-10 loss to Miami in its previous game.

"We had our chance to win," Lions running back Kevin Jones said, "but at the end of the game, we gave it away."

New England was giving it away for most of the day. With 10 penalties and four turnovers, it was sloppy and undisciplined.

"We didn't set the tone, the tempo, like we usually set it and it showed," Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour said. "It's obvious we have a lot of work to do."

They also have a cool Brady and a hard-hitting Dillon, who led a mediocre running attack when rookie Laurence Maroney was sidelined for the game after having the wind knocked out of him in the first quarter. Coach Bill Belichick said "he's doing all right."

Dillon, who finished with 25 yards on nine carries, scored on a 2-yard run with 8:35 left. Brady's 2-point conversion pass to Troy Brown tied it. Dillon also tied the game at 10 late in the first half with a 6-yard run. Stephen Gostkowski's second field goal as time ran out put the Patriots ahead 13-10 at intermission

"He's just got a nose for" the end zone, Evans said of Dillon. "He's not denied too often."

Then the Lions began playing like they have been all season. On their second play after the touchdown, Kitna's pass was intercepted by Vrabel.

"I though we did an excellent job of overcoming adversity, but I let them down," Kitna said. "I can't feel any worse."

But the Patriots continued playing like they did a week earlier when they committed five turnovers. On their third play, Brady completed a 9-yard pass to Benjamin Watson but he fumbled and Terrence Holt recovered.

Next it was the Lions turn to give the ball -- and, this time, the game -- away. On their second play, Mike Wright recovered Kitna's fumble after the quarterback was sacked by Rosevelt Colvin with 5:57 to go.

The Patriots didn't mess up the ensuing series. After an incompletion, Brady ran for 5 yards then completed four straight passes, the last a 5-yarder to Brown to the 4 that set up the winning touchdown.

"This was a typical game for them," Detroit wide receiver Roy Williams said. "Their defense creates turnovers and then (Brady) works his magic."

Mike Furrey had nine catches for a career-high 123 yards and a touchdown for Detroit, which also tried quarterback Josh McCown at wide receiver. He had two catches but was called for offensive pass interference deep in New England territory late in the third quarter.

Williams, doubled-teamed much of the game, had three catches for 50 yards and has 1,043 total yards receiving. The last Lion with more than 1,000 yards receiving in a season was Johnnie Morton with 1,154 in 2001.

"Look, we're 2-10. It's a good 2-10," Williams said, "but we always figure out a way to lose."

So the Lions roared, but we still prevailed 28-21 after they selfdestructed.

Score Summary

New England FG (Stephen Gostkowski, 25 yards)
Detroit TD (Mike Furrey 5 yard pass from Kitna, EP is good)
Detroit FG (Jason Hanson, 29 yards)
New England TD (Corey Dillon 6 yard run, EP is good)
New England FG (Stephen Gostkowski, 27 yards)
Detroit FG (Jason Hanson, 38 yards)
Detroit FG (Jason Hanson, 49 yards)
Detroit SF (Heath Evans tackled in the endzone by Jared Devries)
Detroit FG (Jason Hanson, 26 yards)
New England TD (Corey Dillon 2 yard run, 2P is good)
New England TD (Corey Dillon 4 yard run, EP is good)

A game full of drama.

AFC East Standings

Patriots: 9-3
Jets: 7-5
Bills: 5-7
Dolphins: 5-7

So we've almost clinched our division. Almost. Our next game sound easy but may not be. We travel to Miami to play the Dolphins on Sunday.