Boston Dream Pie: Season Start Not What Patriots Expected

The New England Patriots are 3-2 five games into the 2009 season. In a year filled with high hopes and aspirations of grandeur, there haven’t been many signs to validate either. 

Oddly enough, the biggest reason for continued hope moving forward is the same reason they aren’t by themselves atop the AFC East as of this writing: Tom Brady has not played like himself. 

He’s been serviceable at best.  Slightly above average, but not consistent enough to call great, or even very good. He’s routinely missed on throws that were routine two years ago, he hasn’t shown his patented knack for the clutch play, or game-winning drive, and he clearly isn’t on the same page as his receivers. Yet.

That’s the operative word. Yet. He showed flashes during the opening game of the season against Buffalo.  He floundered in mediocrity all game until the final two drives, with the game on the line, when he dug deep and found something within himself, something Patriots fans are desperate to see more of.

That the unrelenting desire and drive to win at all costs. It’s been his trademark throughout his entire career, and now, after missing an entire season due to injury, he seems to have lost it.

If you truly believe that, look again. Week One showed that he still has the tenacity to get it done, unfortunately, after a full year of rehab he’s more than a little rusty.

Understandably so, his big play threat, Randy Moss, is a half-step slower, and his chief protector, Matt Light, couldn’t protect his own genitals with a jock strap, cup, chastity belt, and a half-dozen condoms. 

Ironically enough, Light’s injury (the extent of which has yet to be determined) could be the best case scenario for the Patriots. Rookie Sebastian Vollmer played with a mean streak on Sunday, and introduced himself firsthand to several Bronco defenders.

Not only did he contain premier pass-rusher Dumerville, but on one particular play, on a screen pass to Sammy Morris, he was blocking one defender downfield, and took out another one with his body on the way by. Any time an offensive lineman takes two defenders out of a play, it warrants noting.

Vollmer has all the tools to succeed. As a former tight end, he has quick feet and hands, both traits that Matt “Turnstyles” Light lacks, and an understanding of how to adjust his blocking assigments on run plays.

Not to mention with pads and a uniform on, he looks like Sloth from the Goonies compared to the other players. He’s big, he’s smart, he’s strong, and he’s quick. He will be a fixture on the O-Line for a long time.

All kidding aside, the O-Line has been sufficient, it’s Brady who’s been off. Understandably so, I mean the man only missed an entire season after knee surgery. Peyton Manning got off to a similarly slow start after minor knee surgery before winning the NFL MVP award, how can Brady be expected to return without missing a beat?

New England fans expected it because Brady’s defied so many odds in the past, this was supposed to be just another effortless hurdle.  But it hasn’t been.

He’s rusty, his timing is off, he’s missing open targets, and he’s frustrated. It shows.

It isn’t often the cool-headed Brady yells at a receiver (Galloway in Week 2) or barks at himself all the way to the sideline (this past week against Denver).  Is he mad at his receivers’ poor execution? Perhaps. Is he mad at himself for missing open targets and leaving points on the field? Absolutely.

That on its own should give New England fans hope. The Patriots are 3-2, in a tie for first place in the AFC East even though their vaunted offense, and particularly their star quarterback, have misfired more often than not. 

Brady’s skills are still there. Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Kazcur, and now Vollmer are doing their part. It’s just a matter of shaking the rust off and recapturing his timing. Believe me, a competitor as fierce as Brady will not tolerate losing if there’s anything he can do about it.

He will work harder than ever to sharpen up and shake off the rust. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. When it does, I pity the team their playing against.

As though the looming threat of Brady isn’t enough, the defense had performed surprisingly well in the absence of their best playmaker, Jerod Mayo.  Last season’s defensive Rookie of the Year worked like an animal to return far sooner than expected and should provide a massive boost to a unit sorely lacking big-play ability.

His impact was felt immediately when his first tackle in four games also resulted in a forced fumble and a turnover.

The defense is not elite, but it is legit, and should put the Patriots in a position to win more often than not. A 3-2 record isn’t terrible by any means, but it is the worst start to a season Brady’s ever had, which is telling. 

There is little doubt No. 12 is doing all he can to return to form, and considering how competitive a player he is, nobody has any reason to doubt him. He can only get better from here, and he could attain his former glory at any moment.

He was just forced to watch helplessly on the sidelines in overtime as the Broncos drove downfield to beat his Patriots.  I can’t imagine a worse feeling for a quarterback than that. The Patriots are 3-2, and if I were any other team in the NFL, I’d be scared as hell.

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Bill of Wrongs: Belichick Sends Another Patriot Packing

Bill Belichick has finally been outfoxed. By himself.

Sunday’s trade of Richard Seymour is certainly not the first time the hooded mastermind has shipped a local superstar out of town, though it is easily the most puzzling.

When Lawyer Milloy was released prior to the 2003 season, the Patriots already had Rodney Harrison in place to fill the void. Ty Law’s departure was softened by Asante Samuel waiting in the wings. Terry Glenn was a chronic pain in the you-know-what. Mike Vrabel is nearing the end of his career. Willie McGinest was more than a little long in the tooth as a free agent. Deion Branch was a holdout. Asante Samuel was seeking the type of money the Patriots will forever refuse to invest in a corner back. 

The list goes on and on, but the release, trade, or failure to resign almost every player on it made sense on at least some level. Except Seymour.

Seymour hasn’t even turned 30 yet (his birthday falls on October 6th) so there’s still tons of gas left in the tank. The eventual Hall of Fame candidate is still in the prime of his career, which is scary considering he made five consecutive Pro Bowls from 2002-2006 and was elected first team All-Pro three straight years from 2003-2005.

His 39 career sacks are more than anyone else currently on the Patriots roster and 10th all-time in a Patriots uniform. He lead the team with eight last season. When healthy, he is one of the best defensive linemen in football and easily the best player on the Patriots defense.

The 6th overall pick in the 2001 draft was the first player to instill the northeast’s trust in Belichick. The fans wanted a flashier pick (namely WR’s David Terrell or Koren Robinson), but Seymour dominated from the start and was a major reason the upstart Patriots captured their first title that season.

He is a versatile player who can play anywhere along the line and dominate both the running and passing games. He’s done everything Belichick has asked of him and then some, and now he’s being casually tossed aside. New England’s resident voyeur is throwing him to the Raiders like I would throw a piece of scrap meat to my hungry dog.

And all New England gets in return is a first round pick? In 2011? When the Raiders have had another season to rebuild and actually compete?

Yes, I said it, the Raiders will compete. Seymour is that good. His presence alone will account for four or five extra wins in the next two years before the Patriots can even net any return for losing him.

Now, the Pats will still be a good team, and still should be considered the favorite to win the Super Bowl thanks to incredible depth along their defensive line. Jarvis Green can be a disruptive pass rusher at times and Derrick Burgess has played at high levels in the past. They should pick up the slack nicely, especially if they get Ron Brace involved and switch to a 4-3 scheme as has been rumoured.

But losing Seymour will hurt. Forget about even approaching an undefeated season again. Forget about trouncing the rest of the league in landslide victories. If the Patriots can’t score 30 points per game, they will be in trouble, because Seymour changed the game just by being on the field. The Patriots have allowed 17.8 points per game since Seymour joined them (good for third-best in the NFL), and he was a huge reason why.  Expect that number to linger somewhere closer to 26 this year.

The Patriots lose out this season, and next season, and probably the season after that just based on the unreliable nature of rookies. In fact, the Patriots could easily just lose out. Period. The draft is such a crap shoot, even for gurus like Hoodie Bill, that the odds of getting a fair return on Seymour are slim to none.

 

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Brady’s Bunch: The Reunion Tour

Don’t call it a comeback. He’s been here for years.

It is currently halftime during the New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles preseason week 1 matchup, and this much is already clear…Tom Brady is back. 

In one half of NFL football, he finished 10 of 15 passing for 100 yards, 2 TD’s, and 1 INT. He could very easily have been 12 of 14 for 146 yards were it not for a defensive pass interference penalty against former Patriot Asante Samuel, and an end-zone drop by off-season acquisition Joey Galloway. 

The interception was ugly, a jump ball with way to much air under it, but for the most part Brady was throwing nothing but strikes. To stick with the baseball analogy, he threw a no-hitter, and the pick was his only walk, keeping him from a perfect game.

The pass interference play against Samuel was a beautiful 46 yard completion through the air to Moss, as was their 35-yard hookup to set up Brady’s second TD pass of the night (both new addition, TE, Chris Baker). 

In typical Brady fashion, he spread the ball to several different targets, hitting 5 receivers in all, including 5 completions to rookie wideout and former Kent State QB Julian Edelman. Even more importantly, his timing was so precise it looked at though he’d never missed a game.

To top it all off, as though to lay to rest any final doubts about his health (did I mention he played the entire first half except for two clock killing kneel downs?), Brady called his own number on his final drive of the game, rushing straight into the big bodies up front for 3 yards and a first down.

If Brady continues to play with no hesitation or reservation, the “experts” should pencil them in as Super Bowl Champions in a similar fashion.

Ten Bold Predictions for the Upcoming NFL Season

In my fantasy leagues I’m famous, err, check that, infamous, for my “bold predictions”. They typically end up as fodder for a good year-end roasting but every so often I hit the nail right on the head. Under the given premise of “very bold” you won’t find anything that a right-minded sports fan would say. Rather, I’m trying to pinpoint the bizarre and unexpected before it happens. Like I said, I’m not always right, but that’s the nature of predictions, besides, even Nostradamus made a few mistakes. So without further adieu, this year’s ten very bold predictions for the upcoming NFL season!

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