No Brady, No Problem

Fear not Patriots’ fans, Tom Brady’s torn ACL does not mean all is lost. The Patriots will still win the AFC East and win double-digit games in 2008. The Patriots’ defensive front seven is the best in the AFC, they have one of the top five wide receiver duos in the league, and a great and diverse running game. While quarterback might be the position that you can least afford an injury, the Patriots have the best team to surround a new quarterback. Matt Cassel is stepping into a situation very similar to what Tom Brady was thrust into in 2001 when Drew Bledsoe was injured. If Cassel can manage the game efficiently (find the open man, don’t try to do too much, and limit turnovers) then the Patriots will be fine (just don’t expect to see Brady shipped out of New England before next season like Bledsoe was).

When Tom Brady stepped up and threw a wounded duck in the direction of Randy Moss it was obvious that something was wrong. Most fans could see by the first replay the severity of Brady’s injury and realize he had an injured ACL. While the team was saying that Brady’s return to the game was “questionable”, what was really in question was if he was returning this season. The Patriots’ concern shouldn’t be Tom Brady’s injury as much as it should be the play of the offensive line. Center Dan Koppen and left guard Logan Mankins are Pro Bowl players but the rest of the line is a concern. Left tackle Matt Light can be one of the best at his position but he is coming off of a preseason injury and struggles with speed rushers. Light has a tendency to shrink when he needs to step up, but he is still solid. The real concern is the right side of the line. Right tackle Nick Kaczur is average but the issues at right guard make him more vulnerable. Starting right guard Stephen Neal is a Pro Bowl player but he is injured and not eligible to return until Week 7 at the earliest. Russ Hochstein is a decent fill-in, but not a long-term answer, and he is injured as well. Bill Yates started against the Chiefs, but he should not be a starter on this team at any time. Until the offensive line is healthy the Patriots have a major weakness that will make the offense much less explosive.

This year the Patriots’ defense will have to play up to their potential to win, as the offense will not set another NFL scoring record. The key to the defense rest in two positions, inside linebacker and cornerback. Jerod Mayo will have to play up to his top-10 draft status, and he has shown that potential so far. Mayo’s quickness allows Tedy Bruschi to freelance without having to worry about the middle being covered. The depth at linebacker will also allow Bruschi to get a bit more rest than he had in recent years, something crucial to him staying successful all year. Cornerback is more of a concern. Ellis Hobbs will forever be remembered as the man who was beaten by Plaxico Burress for the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl, but Hobbs is an emerging star. The play of Deltha O’Neal and Terrence Wheatley at the other cornerback position will need to be steady for the Patriots to keep opponents from picking apart the secondary. Fortunately the Patriots strength is collapsing the pocket and forcing the opposing quarterback to make bad decisions. A strong defense will not only make the job of the Matt Cassel easier, but also give the Patriots great field position.

The injury to Tom Brady will make the road to the Super Bowl much more difficult. The Steelers, Colts, and Chargers do not care that Brady is hurt, and will be looking to give the Patriots a dose of playoff payback this year. The Patriots are still the team to beat, but the rest of the AFC can see the blood in the water. The true test for the Patriots will come this year. When every team is gunning for you, and your gunslinger is hurt, do you have what it takes to win it all? Hopefully for Pats fans the answer is yes, but this isn’t Brady’s team anymore. This will need to be a true team effort and the work of Belichick’s magic to have the Patriots still be the NFL’s elite team.

Delusions of Randomness

To paraphrase Jon Stewart’s intro for Daily Show correspondent Lewis Black, “Sometimes a news story falls through the cracks, here to catch them is Chris Vining, with his column, Delusions of Randomness.” So I will touch upon stories that didn’t get big headlines, but are still important.


Baseball
The Red Sox finally decided to give Terry Francona (the most successful Sox manager in decades) a three-year contract extension. Francona is now signed through 2011, and as long as nothing drastic changes (Manny Ramirez goes insane and tries to mentor upcoming prospects)he has a great chance to lead the Red Sox to another World Series Championship in the next four years. Francona is a class act and does a great job of handling the Boston media.

Kudos to the Red Sox for signing Bartolo Colon to a minor league contract this week. Curt Schilling will be lucky if he can pitch with any effectiveness again, and Colon is a low risk (and cost) investment to make sure the Sox have depth in the rotation. Colon is not the Cy Young pitcher he was, and despite being an injury risk, he provides Clay Buchholz a chance to be brought along slowly. If the Sox can get anything above twenty starts they would be in a great position, as Colon can still pitch when he is on his game. For those people complaining about the rich getting richer, Colon was still unsigned when Spring Training opened, and was signed for chump change. He was more than fair game.

The Tampa Bay Rays dropped the “Devil” from their name but they might sign the Devil to their roster. Barry Bonds has arisen as a target for Tampa, which might not be as bad of an idea as it sounds. The Rays are young and talented, and Bonds would take a rapidly improving offense to dangerous levels. Bonds would also provide insurance for Cliff Floyd and Roco Baldelli. If Evan Longoria can be effective in the Majors this year, than the Rays have one of the top 10 offenses in baseball, and that is without Bonds. Adding the *All-Time Home Run King* would make the Rays a Wild Card threat, but the health of Scott Kazmir and Troy Percival will be key factors toward the Rays’ quest to get out of the AL East cellar.

Koby Clemens has been caught in a very tough spot for the Astros. While he is in Major League Spring Training he is subject to the substance advise of Miguel Tejada. If/when Koby is sent to Minor League Camp he will have his father to talk with. The younger Clemens should say he has visa problems and skip camp, or show up for another teams’ Spring Training.

Not only is Jonathan Papelbon the best young closer in baseball he showed that he could bust a move during the playoffs, and people took notice. Paps was offered a spot as a contestant on Dancing With the Stars, however he turned it down when he realized he had to dance to music that wasn’t played by the Dropkick Murphys.


Football
Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor are family, and were teammates on the Dolphins up until Bill Parcells rolled into town. Taylor is now working on his footwork as a member of the Dancing With the Stars cast. Thomas was pushed into the unemployment line until Jerry Jones offered Thomas a chance to play in his home state of Texas. Thomas will make the Cowboys better on defense, even if his skills are diminishing. His knowledge and leadership will be key to the Cowboys defense, and his locker room presence cannot be underestimated. He also hates vacationing during bye weeks.

The Atlanta Falcons won the coin flip to give them the third pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. The downside is that the Falcons have so many holes that they could have used a lower pick. The benefit is that more players would be off the board so they would have an easier time picking which player will be blamed for a string of losing seasons.

Peter King of Sports Illustrated predicted that the Giants would win the Super Bowl against the Patriots if they could apply consistent pressure on Brady. He also suggested the Giants might win if they could outscore the Patriots. I am a Peter King fan but my three year old knew the game was in trouble when the Pat’s line had trouble blocking the rush.

Rex Grossman was resigned to a one year, three million-dollar contract by the Chicago Bears. No seriously, the Bears resigned him and Kyle Orton in the same week. That is a punch line, but I can’t even come up with a joke.


Basketball
Former players Keith Van Horn and Aaron McKie were included in trades despite not being active players. In an attempt to bolster their roster the Celtics had a trade in place to send Bob Cousy to Memphis for Mike Conley. Memphis was looking to add veteran leadership and cut payroll (Cousy was making 5 figures in his last contract) and the deal was perfect for both sides. The trade fell through at the last minute when Memphis was unable to find a pair of shorts short enough for Cousy to wear.

Yao Ming suffered a stress fracture in his foot and now will be out for the season. While this is a shot to the Rockets playoff chances, the worse news is that Yao’s backup is Dikembe Mutombo, who has scored a whopping seven points this season. The Rockets do not have any players 6’10’’ or taller besides Steve Novak, who weighs in at a massive 220 pounds and has played less than fifty career games.

Sam Cassell has asked to be bought out of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers so he can sign with (most likely) Boston or Denver. What makes Sam I Am even more attractive is that he has already missed 15 games due to injuries this year. When questioned about his health Cassell had this to say, “The Celtics are getting damaged goods if I do go over there," Cassell said. "But I'll be all right." Nothing says sign me like that quote.


NASCAR
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a new team but the same winning ways. Junior hasn’t been allowed in the winner’s circle in over five-dozen races. Maybe he should spend less time doing commercials and spend more time on figuring out why his engines keep blowing up. Just a thought, I’m no car expert.


Hockey
The trade deadline just passed and players were moving all over North America (except to Mexico, there is no ice there). The Penguins acquired Marian Hossa, the top forward available, and the player that can put the Penguins in position for a Stanley Cup run. Wait, Penguins adding payroll? Weren’t they going to be sold and moved to Canada earlier this year?

In what has become an all too familiar scenario, the Boston Bruins promised to be active at the trade deadline but failed to bring in anyone at all, even a fourth line bench warmer. The Bruins are clinging to a playoff spot but are falling fast. Why are season ticket sales down again?

That is all I have this week, remember if you heard it here first you need to pay closer attention to real sports reporters! I will be back when I return.

Super Bowl Conspiracy

The Giants won the Super Bowl fair and square, they knew what they had to do to disrupt the Patriots and they did. I am not taking their win away from them at all. The Patriots had plenty of time in the game to make adjustments, but it was too little too late, and they made some bad decisions. For the first time all year the ball didn't bounce the Patriots way.

However I would be remiss if I didn't share this tidbit I found that shows something was up with the clock in the final two minutes. Click the link and watch for yourself. The video isn't great but it is explained very well and shows that there was a questionable finish to that game that nobody is talking about.

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=27384

This link shows a video of how the refs screwed over the Pats in the last 90+ seconds of the Super Bowl. The funny thing is that the issues the person mentions (uncalled penalties, clock issues) are not reviewable. I thought something seemed wrong watching the last part of the game, and I was positive I saw the game clock go from :58 to :59 before a play.

The Pats should have tried to go for a field goal, but this shows the Giants never even had enough time to get the touchdown pass off. If the clock was run correctly than the plays would have been different and they still may have scored, but we will never know.

Move over 1985 Draft Ewing Envelope, we have a new New York conspiracy.

Patriots Cheating or Jets bitter?

Whenever the topic of the New England Patriots recent audiovisual scandal was mentioned one though jumped to the forefront of my mind. Hemorrhoid cream. Strange I know, but it is a quasi-logical progression of mind ramblings that makes at least some sense. Eric Mangini was once a Patriots defensive coordinator who left to coach the New York Jets, a job the Bill Belichick didn’t think was the best fit for him. Since that time Mangini has been determined to use any and all means he has at his disposal to hurt his former club. He signed free agents that didn’t have any real spot on the Jets roster, but their departure left a void for the Patriots. Mangini has seemed focused on beating his former boss, almost to the point of obsession. If the Patriots had been violating league rules than it is possible that a former employee would know what to look for and where to look (especially if he was the beneficiary of information while with the Patriots).

Take a stroll down memory lane almost a quarter century ago to another game in New York, this time at Yankee Stadium. New York Yankees manager Billy Martin (in his 6th of 14th stint as Yankees manager) had inside information that Kansas City Royals future Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett had an illegal amount of pine tar on his bat. When Brett hit a go ahead home run in the ninth inning, Martin used the information he knew about the illegal bat (information which he had been keeping secret until he needed it) to convince the umpires that Brett had broken the rules. The umpires agreed, the home run was negated, and George Brett produced one of the most famous tirades in sports history. After MLB officials decided that Brett didn’t “Break the spirit of the rules” the game continued and the Royals won. George Brett went on to become the most famous Preparation-H spokesperson ever, and Billy Martin became yet another bitter New York coach.

So Eric Mangini takes his inside information, squeals once the Patriots beat his team, and gets revenge on his former employer. If the Patriots were not videotaping or using radio signals to help beat the Jets they may have only won by 17 not by 24 (38-14). The Jets are a fringe playoff team at best, and even if the Pats did cheat, they didn’t need to to beat the Jets. The last thing you want to do is piss off Bill Belichick and the Patriots, and San Diego found that out in a big way on Sunday, losing 38-14. San Diego was a Super Bowl favorite and the Patriots simply abused them for sixty minutes Sunday night, just like how Sixty Minutes abuses common sense earlier on Sunday nights. The Patriots have already been fined and forced to forfeit a first round pick (they won’t miss the playoffs and have to give up the second and third round picks) and it seems like Mangini will do anything he can to try to get the Pats to be forced to forfeit their win. Are the Jets that desperate for a win? Well, they should be.

A few things strike me as unusual about this entire situation, besides that one of the best coaches ever felt the need to try to evade the rules. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was interviewed before the Patriots/Chargers game and he seemed to be hiding that this story still had a few chapters left, and that he expected that there would be more issues for the Pats in the future (and the questions about which first round pick the Pats would have to give up seemed to surprise him, almost as if he didn’t know that the Pats own the 49ers first rounder next year). During the game we were informed that the Jets are now accusing the Patriots of using radio transmitters in the defensive players helmets in an attempt to relay signals to try to shut down the Jets anemic offense. Despite missing Pro Bowl defensive end Richard Seymour with a knee injury, Pro Bowl safety Rodney Harrison to a league suspension, and only getting limited action from Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel, the Patriots still dominated the Jets (and Chargers as well). The Patriots don’t need any help to dominate; they don’t even need their best players on the field.

When John Madden was talking about the usefulness of videotaping opponents, he actually made an insightful comment, which is a news story in itself. Madden commented that he never needed video because it took away from natural coaching instincts, and created too much confusion. With only seconds before each snap, substituting personnel and changing formations seems to be a bit prohibitive to running a smooth defense. This would be a very uncharacteristic and reactionary tactic for a coach like Belichick that prides himself on making teams adjust to what he brings to the table.

Now that the Patriots have to turn over any and all notes, video, audio, and who knows what else, to the NFL will this show the Pats have been cheating, or that one former coach was a bit bitter? While most coaches seem to be against Mangini, you can’t fault him for trying to protect his team. In the end it won’t make a difference, the Patriots will cruise to the AFC East Crown, finish first or second in the AFC, and will make the AFC Championship, if not advance even further. With scandal surrounding this team, the Patriots are the one franchise that has consonantly been able to thrive when their backs are against the wall, and this team will be no different, just don’t hold your breath waiting for Tom Brady to endorse rectal cream.

Patriot Reign

Once again the New England Patriots are the team to beat in the NFL. Tom Brady is an amazing QB but needed weapons, and now he has more weapons than the US Army. Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, Kelley Washington, Reche Caldwell, Andre Johnson, and Troy Brown are the best wide Receiver corps in football. Ben Watson is one of the games' top pass couching Tight Ends. Laurence Maroney is a legit #1, Sammy Morris is a top big back, Heath Evans is a solid fullback, and Kevin Faulk is a stellar third down back. Throw in added depth on the offensive line acquired in the draft and the Pats have the best offense in football.

The Pats still have the best defensive line in football, and two more inside linebackers give them one of the best and deepest front seven's in the game. A Pro Bowl CB, an above average #2 CB and a few young up and comers, along with safety stars Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson along with first round pick Brandon Meriweather and the Pats might have the best team in football. Super Bowl and a 14-2 record should be well within reach. I love Bill Belicheck and the Pat's front office