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Ageless Brady Rallies Pats Again

By Michael Vallee

It was yet another notch on the belt for the man known now simply as “The G.O.A.T.”.  Yet another playoff win, yet another double-digit fourth quarterback comeback and yet another despondent opponent sent packing for the offseason.  And, of course, yet another Super Bowl appearance, his NFL record eighth.  Tom Brady collects Super Bowl appearances like Bill Belichick collects late-round draft picks.  In the Patriots 24-20 narrow escape of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship, the Patriots’ QB once again used one of football’s biggest stages to remind us that he’s Tom Brady and everyone else is just playing for second place.

At this point we’ve almost run out of superlatives to describe the Patriots signal-caller.  Going forward I’m just going to write Tom Brady is __________, and let you guys fill in the blank.  Seriously, try and think of an adjective to insert in that space that hasn’t already been overused about Brady.  Poised, accurate, tough, smart, prepared, clutch, ageless are just a small sample of the adjectives used to describe a quarterback that has not only separated himself from the pack but is starting to lap the field.

Sunday’s fourth quarter comeback was just another lynchpin in that dominance.

To appreciate what Brady did against Jacksonville we have to first set the stage with less than 11 minutes remaining in the game.  The Patriots defense has been leaking like a sieve all game.  New England needs to score 10 to tie a game in which they have score just 10 points in 49+ minutes.  Brady is facing the number one pass defense in the NFL.  His favorite target, TE Rob Gronkowski, is out for the game with a concussion.  The backup tight end is a glorified offensive tackle.  Two of Brady’s favorite weapons from last year’s Super Bowl comeback, Julian Edelman and Malcolm Mitchell, are done for the year.  And this might be a good time to mention that Brady is playing with a jacked up thumb on his throwing hand that required multiple stitches and almost caused him to miss the first playoff game of his career.  Did I forget anything?

Those were the facts when Brady stood in his huddle with 10:49 on the clock.  He had been sacked two plays earlier and now faced a 3rd and 18.  The game felt like it was slowly slipping away from New England.  With every play, the margin of error was shrinking and the Jaguars confidence was swelling.

Then it all changed.

Brady throws a dart to Amendola for 21 yards.  It was a quintessential Brady throw in every way.  He didn’t just throw the ball to a well-covered Amendola, Brady threw it to the one spot where only Amendola could get it.  First down.

Wasting no time, Brady followed that up with a perfect 31-yard over-the-shoulder pass to a barely open Phillip Dorsett (yes, he is alive and well).  Two plays later Brady hit Amendola for a touchdown.   

Jacksonville’s lead was cut to three, and you could feel the momentum shift.  The Patriots defense felt it too, forcing back-to-back punts for the first time all game.  Just under five minutes later Brady whipped a bullet to Amendola in the back of the end zone.  Once again, the future Hall-Of-Famer threw it exactly where it needed to be to avoid the defender and give Amendola a shot to make a play.  Comeback complete.            

A tremendous play by Stephon Gilmore on the next series followed by a great 3rd down run by Dion Lewis would inevitably seal the victory.  But this was all about Brady, the Benjamin Button of the NFL who continues to age like he’s from Napa Valley.  All told Brady finished the fourth quarter 9-14 for 138 yards and two touchdowns and a QB rating of 136.3.  It was pure vintage.

Did you expect anything less in January from a man who really only needs one superlative: G.O.A.T.

Game Notes

-Harry Hindsight:  The day after the game I had to laugh at all the commentators that talked about the Patriots comeback as if it was some foregone conclusion.  Maybe I was watching a different game than them but there is little doubt in my mind that New England easily could have lost that game.  Three plays stand out that might have sent the final score in the other direction:

    -Delay of game:  Late in the 2nd quarter the Jaguars had a 12-yard gain on 3rd and 7 wiped out by a brutal delay of game penalty.  It was an inexplicable mistake by Bortles and the offense following a timeout.  If the Jaguars had snapped the ball one second earlier the results could have been devastating for the Patriots.  Not only would it have placed them in field goal range but it would have allowed the Jags offense to use up most of the remaining first half clock, preventing New England from scoring late.  Instead of a halftime score of 14-10, the Patriots would have been looking at 17-3, or possibly 21-3, with Jacksonville getting the ball to start the second half.

    -Dion Lewis fumble:  When Lewis fumbled early in the 4th quarter it was a devastating blow for New England, but it could have been much worse.  After Myles Jack ripped the ball out of Lewis’ hands he immediately got up and started running in the other direction, only to be stopped when the refs blew the play dead.  Replays, however, showed that Jack was never touched by a Patriot and should have been allowed to continue for a likely defensive touchdown.  That would have made the score 27-10 and effectively ended the Patriots season.  

    -3rd and 18:  Not sure if failing to convert this would have been a fatal blow but it certainly would have shrunk the margin of error for a comeback to razor thin proportions.  The pass to Amendola didn’t just keep the drive alive it woke up the crowd and gave the Patriots desperately needed momentum.

-230 Pound Anchor:  Usually this is the part of the column where I point out all of the ways that the other coaching staff threw up all over themselves, a regular occurrence for those coaching in the shadow of Belichick.  But after rewatching the game I don’t have much to kill Doug Marrone on.  Jacksonville stayed aggressive, didn’t sit on their lead despite having Blake Bortles as their quarterback, and didn’t make any glaring second half mistakes.  The only second guess is more of a strategy decision and it would have been a bold move by Jacksonville.  They should have benched Leonard Fournette.  

The Patriots have no speed at linebacker and the best way to take advantage of that is through the short passes to the running backs, which the Jaguars did early and often.  Utilizing the speed of their two 3rd down backs Jacksonville was able to rip off gains of 9, 15, 21 and 24 with passes to their running backs out of the backfield.  They also just missed on a couple of deeper balls including one late in the 4th quarter to Fournette that might have been complete if it had been the quicker Yeldon running the play.  In the second half, aside from one 14-yard run, Fournette rushed 12 times for just 22 yards.  He also had zero catches.  If the Jaguars had played Yeldon and Grant in the second half, and continued to throw them the ball, it might be the Jaguars heading to Minnesota.

-Mr Universe:  On Sunday there weren’t many people doing better than Danny Amendola.  Shortly after his 84 yard, two touchdown performance that included a spectacular, toe-tap game-winning touchdown, Amendola was mauled on the field by his girlfriend, Olivia Culpo, you know, the one that used to be the reigning Miss Universe.  I’m not sure what you do for an encore after a day like that.

In two playoff games Amendola has filled the clutch receiver role vacated by Julian edelman nicely, ringing up 18 catches for 196 yards and two touchdowns.  Amendola continues a long Patriot tradition of undersized overachieving receivers coming up big when it matters most.  Amendola, Troy Brown, Deion Branch, Julian Edelman and Wes Wel…..well maybe not him so much, despite their diminutive stature have all come through with dominant playoff performances and won multiple rings while serving as Brady’s go to receiver.  

This all stands in stark contrast to Randy Moss who, for all his speed, size and gaudy stats, was a notorious underachieving dog in the playoffs and will enter the Hall-Of-Fame with zero Super Bowl rings.  In Moss’ four playoff games with New England, despite setting a record in ‘07 for receiving touchdowns in a season,he scored a whopping one touchdown.  He averaged just 3 catches for 35 yards in those four games.  And this wasn’t just a Patriots problem.  In his final 10 playoff games Moss averaged 3 catches for 39 yards.  Now compare that to his pocket-sized peers in New England:

    -Amendola:  Comparing careers with the Patriots, he averaged more catches and yards per game in the playoffs than Moss.  In Amendola’s last three playoff games he has 26 receptions for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns.

    -Troy Brown:  In his six playoff games as a starter Brown averaged 5.8 receptions and 71 yards per game.

    -Deion Branch:  In his 11 playoff games as a starter with the Patriots, averaged 4.5 catches and 71 yards, including a stretch of six games where he averaged 6 and 100.  He was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX.

    -Edelman:  Still the gold standard of the small and clutch crowd.  In his last 10 playoff games he has averaged 8 receptions for 95 yards.  To put that in perspective, in Jerry Rice’s 10 best consecutive playoff games he averaged 6.5 receptions and 105 yards.

Edelman, Branch, Brown and Amendola also contributed in numerous other facets of the game -  throwing touchdowns passes, scoring on touchdown runs or making big plays on special teams.

-Better late than never:  Credit Matt Patricia and the defense for coming up big in the 4th quarter.  For three quarters Jacksonville’s offense was surprisingly effective producing four scoring drives and just one 3-and-out.  In the 4th quarter the Jaguars were stopped on all four of their possessions and forced into two 3-and-outs.  All told the Patriots outgained Jacksonville 207 to 62 in the final quarter.  

-Monster.com:  Interesting to hear that Belichick twice recommended Jaguars coach Doug Marrone for jobs with Jacksonville, first as an assistant then as a head coach.  This support stemmed from his experience competing against Marrone in Buffalo where he reportedly called Marrone’s teams the toughest and most disciplined Bills teams he’s ever faced.  Marrone has yet to beat Belichick but every game has been competitive and within one score in the 4th quarter.

-I’m too sexy for my shirt:  This Championship game got me thinking about the AFC Title game in 1996 between Parcells’ Patriots and Coughlin’s Jaguars, and reminded me that the mid-90s Patriots are on the short list for worst uniforms in NFL history.

-Tin foil hat:  It was disappointing to hear Boomer Esiason fall into the Patriots conspiracy vortex when he started his halftime commentary with this, ”Now, it’s Gillette Stadium, so the flags have to come out don’t they boys.”  Even stranger, this came just after they showed video of two penalties that Esiason agreed were good calls.  He then added that he wasn’t sure about the A.J. Bouye pass interference on Brandin Cooks.  So there is one borderline call in an entire half and that warrants a quote about some kind of perceived home cooking for New England?  And I can’t imagine the league likes to hear a former MVP, on a network broadcast being watched by tens of millions of people, impugn the integrity of the NFL and its officials with little evidence to back it up.

-The Patriots were the first team to beat the Jaguars this year when Blake Bortles doesn’t throw an interception.  Jacksonville entered the Championship game 10-0 in games when he doesn’t have an INT.  Speaking of Bortles, it is strange that he only attempted two runs for -2 yards against a New England D that has been susceptible to mobile quarterbacks.  In his previous two playoff games he ran for a combined 123 yards and against Buffalo Bortles rush yards accounted for 38% of their offense.

-Jewel of northern Florida:  Over two years ago the Patriots were playing the Jaguars and because it was such a boring mismatch on the field (51-17), instead of writing about the game I decided to write about Jacksonville the city.  I thought it might be worth a revisit with new context:

https://mvalleefootball.tumblr.com/post/130125019575/new-england-and-jacksonville-are-worlds-apart

-I have a dream:  We hear so many negative comments about minority relations in America these days you’d think that we were on the verge of some kind of violent coast-to-coast race war.  How about a quick reminder that a lot of that negativity is noise and hype generated by a loud few that are often serving an agenda and a reminder that the overwhelming majority of people, at their core, are good people that likely don’t care what your race or religion are.

It is hard to find two things more different than the Jaguars Muslim, Pakistani born owner, Shahid Khan, and the majority white and largely rednecky people of Jacksonville Florida.  When Khan bought the Jaguars, becoming the first minority owner in league history, it would have been easy to assume this was a match that was doomed from the start.  Then a funny thing happened, the people of Jacksonville fell in love with Khan.  His humble background, infectious personality and commitment to stay in the city made him an instant fan favorite, and made imitations of his signature stache one of the most popular accessories in Jacksonville.  Now, it is common place to see a bunch of white blue collar Billy Bobs and Mary Joes tailgating before Jacksonville Jaguar games wearing the novelty mustache of a foreign born Muslim while singing the praises of their new owner.  

Turns out most people are happy to support anyone from any background that is loyal to them and does a good job.  Who says we can’t all get along.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Ho-Hum Pats Win; Patriots Jaguars Preview

By Michael Vallee

Welcome to NFL groundhog day.  The Patriots win their division; the Patriots get a bye; the Patriots yawn their way to another easy breezy lopsided, barely-break-a-sweat home divisional blowout of yet another not-yet-ready-for-primetime team.  Raise your hand if you’ve heard this narrative before.  With their 35-14 win last week over the Tennessee Titans the Patriots, once again, kicked off their playoff season by dispatching an overwhelmed opponent that offered little in the way of talent or resistance as New England cruised to their record seventh consecutive AFC Championship.

It was every bit as effortless as the score suggests.

The Patriots are 11-1 under Belichick in the divisional round coming off a bye.  While this implies dominance, this divisional game wasn’t always as easy as that record suggests.  The closest of these games might have been the first, when the Patriots beat the Raiders in the now infamous “Tuck Game” in the ‘01 playoffs.  After that there was a close frigid win over the Titans, a matchup against Peyton Manning’s Colts and their record-setting offense, and even in the undefeated year of ‘07 the Patriots were locked in a one-score game in the 4th quarter against the Jaguars.

Then of course came the bloodbath in 2010 when the Patriots lost handedly to a Jets team they had beaten 45-3 just six weeks earlier.  It was one of the worst losses of the Belichick era as New England entered the ‘10 playoffs as prohibitive favorites to win it all.  It also ushered in the so-called “Tomato Can” era where the divisional game transformed from an early challenge to a glorified scrimmage.

Since 2011 the Patriots have played in seven consecutive divisional playoff games coming off a bye and they have coasted to a 7-0 record.  In those seven games the average point spread was -10 and the average margin of victory was 17.  The NFL lined‘em up and the Patriots knocked’em down.  Their opponents provided less resistance than Donald Trump’s nutritionist.  And nobody knew this more than Brady, who produced 21 touchdowns in these games to just four interceptions, posting a QB rating of 103.

The only test in that stretch came in 2014 when they twice had to rally from 14 down to beat the Ravens 35-31 in arguably the best game ever played at Gillette Stadium.  The rest of the time it was the Patriots toying with the likes of the overrated Andrew Luck and the overwhelmed Tim Tebow.  

However, those blowouts didn’t exactly serve the Patriots well going forward.  After that tough Ravens victory New England went on to win their 4th Super Bowl title, revealing a distinct pattern.  In the years when the Patriots faced a challenge in the divisional round (‘01 Raiders, ‘03 Titans, ‘04 Colts, ‘14 Ravens and ‘16 Texans) they would eventually win the Super Bowl.  In the years when they waltzed their way past some half-ass opponent (‘11 Broncos, ‘12 Texans, ‘13 Colts, ‘15 Chiefs) they inevitably came up short.

Coincidence?  Perhaps, but if sports history has taught us anything it’s that competition is a good thing for a team.  All of this reminds me of the 1991 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels who dominated college basketball and coasted into the Final Four undefeated.  Their Final Four opponent, the Duke Blue Devils, played in the most competitive conference in the country, the ACC.  On that day their prior competition served them well as Duke beat UNLV in a close game that they were simply better prepared for because of the schedule they played.  

Beating up on an inferior opponent teaches you very little about your team and in no way prepares you for a tough road ahead.  Sometimes it can even have an opposite effect, pumping a team full of overconfidence.  It’s in the close battles where you truly learn what your roster is made of.  A fighter reveals a lot more about himself in a 12-round brawl than he does in a first round knockout.

The Patriots will try to break that pattern this year as they attempt to win their 6th Super Bowl title.  They can take some solace in knowing that past dynasties have also cake-walked through the divisional round and gone on to win the championship.  The Cowboys dominated the league from 1992-1995, winning three championships in four years.  During those four years the Cowboys won their four divisional round games by an average of 20 points.  The 80s Niners also rolled through the divisional round in each of their four Super Bowl years, also winning by an average of 20 points.  Landslide wins in the divisional round obviously doesn’t preclude you from winning a Super Bowl, but so far for the Patriots it’s been a bad omen.

In the end was it a win last Sunday for the Patriots?  Yes.  Did we learn anything new about New England?  No.  Was it entertaining?  Barely.  Is it their fault that the best the NFL can muster for a second round playoff opponent is a crappy 9-7 Titans team lead by one of the lowest rated QBs in the NFL and a coach that was days away from being fired?  Absolutely not.  But now amateur hour is over and the real challenge begins: the challenge of beating a team that might actually put up some resistance.  A team led by such dynamic names as Blake Bortles and Doug Marrone.  On second thought, see you in Minnesota.  

Patriots Jaguars Preview:

How the Jaguars can win:  It’s not easy to make a case that Jacksonville will walk into Foxboro and beat the New England Patriots but if they pull off the upset here’s how it might happen:

The key to beating the Patriots in the Brady/Belichick era has always been the defense.  Unless your last name is Manning or Rodgers your just not winning a playoff shootout against Brady.  A quick scan of the Patriots worst playoff losses shows a relatively simple pattern - stop Brady and you have a shot.  In New England’s playoff losses to the Giants (‘07, ‘11), the Broncos (‘13, ‘15), the Jets (‘10) and the Ravens (‘09, ‘12) combined, Brady posted just a 73.6 QB rating and the Patriots averaged just 16.1 points.

Of course stopping New England is easier said than done, so how does Jacksonville pull it off?  For starters you need a team with the talent and stones to play a lot of tight man-to-man.  Brady abuses zone coverage, just ask the Steelers.  The good news for the Jaguars is they boast one of the best cornerback tandems in the league in Pro Bowlers Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye.  If you can take away New England’s short to mid-range bread-and-butter, and prevent them from moving the chains on 3rd down, you can frustrate Brady and the offense.  Then it’s time to attack.

The Jaguars are loaded up front with Calais Campbell, Malik Jackson and Yannick Ngakoue combining for 34.5 sacks.  If Jacksonville can take away the Patriots short passes and force Brady to hold the ball longer the Jaguars defensive front could thrive.  And if Jacksonville is smart they will be aggressive and not just rely on the front four to generate pressure.  There is a misperception that you can’t blitz Brady but if you have the horses to cover on the back end, well-timed and well-disguised blitzes, particularly up the middle, can be effective against New England.

This is also essential for the psyche of the young Jaguars.  If Brady is carving them up early it will suck the life right out of them and demoralize their inexperienced roster.  By the third quarter they will be staring at the game clock waiting for the pain to end.  But if they can get some early three-and-outs, and end a couple of those drives with sacks, then things could go in the other direction.  The cocky aggressive Jaguars will see their confidence swell, and their are few things scarier in the NFL Playoffs than a talented defense that thinks it can’t be stopped.  If that happens then New England will find themselves in a rock fight and they better hope Matt Patricia’s defense is up to the challenge.

The X-factor for the Jaguars defense is Gronk.  I can’t recall watching a Patriots playoff game where Gronk is dominating the middle of the field and New England loses.  If he is ripping off 15 and 20-yard gains down the seam Jacksonville is in for long afternoon.  The Jaguars have to make stopping #87 their top priority, and they have to deploy any and all methods to do it.  Chip him at the line, double-cover him, disguise coverages, hold him, grab him, punch him - they must try anything and everything or he will bury them (again, ask the Steelers).  And if all else fails don’t be afraid to give all-world cornerback Jalen Ramsey the assignment of stopping Gronk.  He has the size, speed and confidence to take on the Eric Berry role that has been effective in the past.

A lot will be made of the importance of getting that physical bull, Leonard Fournette, cranking and crafting a game plan that mitigates Blake Bortles from screwing everything up.  But those are minor sub-plots.  This game comes down to one matchup: a 40-year old soon-to-be-MVP quarterback vs. the number one pass defense in the NFL, and if the Jaguars lose that matchup, it’s going to be a long day at Gillette.

Curb Your Enthusiasm:  There is no denying the talent that Jacksonville has on the defensive side of the ball but a closer look indicates their lofty status as a dominant top two defense was significantly aided by a soft schedule.  The Jaguars 18 games featured opponents with an offense ranked 20th or worse and in the six games where they faced an offense that wasn’t among the dregs of the league they allowed 27.1 points per game, including two 40+ games in the last month against Jimmy G’s niners and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Additionally their 55 sacks were dramatically inflated by the 20 sacks the registered in two games started by Tom Savage and Jacoby Brissett.

The Phantom Menace:  Can someone explain to me why so much of the pregame coverage has been devoted to the mysterious “Coughlin Factor”.  Jaguars president, Tom Coughlin, was a great head coach and had a lot of success against Belichick and the Patriots, but this idea that he is Brady’s kryptonite has been wildly overblown.  Yeah, I get it, the Giants beat the Patriots twice in the Super Bowl but it wasn’t as if Coughlin devised some magic defensive riddle to stop Brady.  Much of this reputation is tied to the ‘07 Super Bowl when Coughlin’s Giants shocked the football world by ending the Patriots undefeated season.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t that game come down to the simple fact that the Giants stout defensive line dominated a Patriots O-Line that had its worst game of the year?  Credit Coughlin for having his team ready to play but there wasn’t a lot of Xs and Os genius behind that win.

How they were built:  With the Jaguars pulling off a massive one-year turnaround, going from 3-13 to 10-6, it has a lot of people asking, “How did they do it?”  While the hiring of Doug Marrone and smart drafting helped, surprisingly it was free agency that keyed their success.  NFL free agency is usually fool’s gold.  For every success story there seems to be a dozen Albert Haynesworths and Adalius Thomases.  But Jacksonville bucked that trend the last two years and rebuilt their defense behind massive contracts to Campbell, Jackson and Bouye.

Attack Mode:  If the Patriots are smart they won’t make the mistake the Steelers made and allow Blake Bortles to get comfortable.  The Steelers registered zero sacks on Bortles last week and played the majority of the game on their heels, allowing Bortles and the Jaguars offense to dictate the action.  Jacksonville has no weapons in the passing game and Matt Patricia would be wise to unleash the dogs on the aerially-challenged Bortles and take the risk of Allen Hurns beating them.

Stupid is as stupid does:  Gotta love the stories surfacing from Pittsburgh that show just how unprepared mentally the Steelers were for the rematch against Jacksonville.  My favorite is Le’Veon Bell tweeting the following late Saturday night, “I love round 2s...We’ll have two round 2s in back-to-back weeks….”  Hey, why get a good night’s rest before your first playoff game when you can instead stay up late and piss off your opponent.  And this was after Bell had blown off Saturday’s walk-through, showing up with just five minutes left in practice.  Additional reports have multiple coaches and players showing up late the day of the actual game.  Is this the NFL playoffs or spring practice at Kent State?  And the disciplinary result of these   transgressions?  Nothing.  Zippo.  Do you think Dion Lewis would play if he blew off practice the day before a game and then trashed his opponent on Twitter later that night?  It amazes me Tomlin still has a job as he looks more and more like Marvin Lewis with a better roster. 

Perhaps most amazing is that the Jaguars curb-stomped the Steelers earlier in the year.  For normal teams that would be a wake up call but apparently there is nothing normal about the Tomlin Steelers.  Pittsburgh’s arrogance confounded their opponents who released these gems in response, “I was wondering why they were so confident,” said Ramsey.  “We stomped their ass last time and we knew we was going to do the same this time.”  Linebacker Myles Jack was equally puzzled by the Steelers bravado, “It was like they had...amnesia...or something.  I don’t know if they just forgot and thought that didn’t happen but it happened…”

Jacksonville Jag-offs:  Let’s end on a humorous note.  A few years ago an enterprising Jaguars fan devised Jacksonville’s own version of the steelers Terrible Towel and came up with the “Jag Rag”.  Yup, that actually happened.  I would love to watch YouTube videos of every guys reaction when they first heard the name Jag Rag.  Sadly, the Jag Rag is no longer available for purchase, providing the NFL with a big sigh of relief while disappointing anybody with a sense of humor.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Patriots Stun Steelers; The NFL is King

By Michael Vallee

Sometimes the star of a game is an individual player.  Someone that steals the show with a singular effort.  Think Michael Jordan, sick with the flu, dropping 38 on the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals.  Sometimes the star of a game is an entire team, one that collectively takes over with a transcendent performance.  The New England Patriots trailing 28-3 and winning the Super Bowl certainly qualifies.  And sometimes the star of a game is simply one play or one moment.  Ask Seattle Seahawks fans about this one, I have a feeling they might be able to come up with an example.

But in certain instances, the star of the game is the game itself or, more specifically, the league in which it resides.  In Sunday’s 27-24 Patriots victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers there were many standout performances and moments but the real star of the game was the National Football League and its total domination of our sports universe.

No other league can touch the anticipation factor of the NFL.  The Patriots vs. Steelers has been circled on the NFL calendar for weeks.  Everybody from Patriots and Steelers fans to network executives and beat writers were eagerly awaiting Sunday’s game which featured a stable of superstars and two future Hall Of Fame quarterbacks.  In a cluttered sports landscape it felt like the only game that really mattered.  What is the equivalent in other sports leagues?  Quick, what day do the Houston Rockets play the Golden State Warriors?  OK, how about what month?  Do you have any idea?  Me neither.  

I guess the baseball equivalent would be Red Sox/Yankees but does the baseball world outside of Boston and New York really care about that series?  They might watch parts of a game or two but does it really matter to out-of-market fans?  And how do even Sox and Yankees fans get geeked up for a series that will be played six times in a season and have little functional impact in a 162-game schedule?  Pittsburgh vs. New England had urgency and desperation, the result of clear and tangible consequences for both teams regarding home-field advantage and first round byes.  Fans from coast-to-coast knew the stakes and, more so than any other sport, cared about the outcome.

A marquee matchup like Patriots/Steelers stirs interest across the entire football world.  When you are dealing with teams that have won as often as Pittsburgh and New England, odds are, you are either a fan of one of those two teams or absolutely despise everything about one or both of those teams but, either way, you are going to be watching.  Additionally, you might not love or hate either team but know your team has to deal with one or both of them if they want to win in January.  Or maybe you have no dog in the hunt but just love football and there is no way you’re missing a chance to watch arguably the two best teams in the NFL, two teams with a long history of mutual animosity, knock the hell out of each other for 60 minutes.  A hockey diehard could easily miss a Tampa Bay Lightning/L.A. Kings game and not think twice.  There is nobody that calls themselves a football fan that was missing Sunday’s game.

It’s appointment television.  It’s what people revolve their social calendars around.  It affects not only your schedule but the schedule of your family.  I am sure a lot of Christmas shopping was done on Saturday knowing that being in a mall at 4:25 Sunday was not an option.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the NFL’s cultural dominance even affected some drinking schedules.  How many guys do you think didn’t go out Saturday night, or went out and drank less, because they wanted to be at “full strength” for the big game on Sunday?  That might seem like a stretch, or even a little insane, but I bet that number is bigger than you think.  That is the reality of America’s obsession with football.  It’s like nothing else in sports.

And the ratings for this one more than backed that up.

The Patriots/Steelers did a 17 rating, making it the highest rated NFL game this year.  The game also did a 32 share which means one out of every three televisions that was turned on in America was watching this game, an unheard of number in the age of multiple choices and splintered audiences.  The game peaked in the final half hour with a 20.5 rating and 36 share.  There has been a lot of yapping this year about the NFL’s declining ratings and dubious future but you didn’t hear any of it on Sunday.

The NFL is also the only sport that consistently delivers in the regular season.  How often do we hear people say about hockey or basketball, “I’m just waiting for the playoffs”?  Which is understandable considering that the intensity level for the winter sports increases exponentially in the playoffs.  But anybody that watched the Steelers and Bengals two weeks ago beat the hell out of each other for four quarters knows that simply isn’t true about football.  The regular season can be every bit as intense and brutal as the postseason.

And this was abundantly true on Sunday.

The only thing better for the NFL’s dominance than a nationally hyped game is a nationally hyped game that delivers - and Sunday’s Patriots game delivered in a big way.  Patriots/Steelers was a three hour football explosion of big plays, big moments and big performances.  It had drama and suspense - heroes and goats - controversial calls and controversial decisions.  There were last second comebacks and botched final drives.  The outcome was always in doubt.  Literally every second mattered.  It was one of those games that reminds us why we watch sports.

Imagine switching over in the middle of that game to a baseball game.  It would be like going from the roller coaster to the merry-go-round.

All of this says nothing of the ancillary activities that are also crucial to the NFL’s dominance.  Throw out, for a minute, all the loyalties, passion and hatred that drives sports fans and just think of what Sunday’s game was like for the millions that bet on it.  Patriots -2.5, trailing by five, driving for the “winning” touchdown.  A crucial two-point conversion looming if they score.  Massive financial swings riding on every play.  Pittsburgh responding with a huge play and apparent game-winning touchdown.  The play reversed…...the clock running…….both the point spread and under/over (52.5) are in play…….a gut-wrenching interception that simultaneously realized and dashed the hopes and dreams of gamblers everywhere from Pasadena to Peoria.  It was gambling tension at its finest.

Then there’s the office pools, football cards, pick four pools, pick five pools, underdog pools, big money winner-take-all suicide pools, futures bets (Patriots over/under wins was 12.5), any and all of it just adds layers to the cultural sports monopoly of the NFL.

And then there’s fantasy football.  We don’t do much fantasy talk on this blog as I don’t generally like to mix real football with pretend football but it’s impossible to ignore or deny the role of fantasy football in all of this.  Week 15, for most fantasy leagues, is the playoffs and Sunday’s games offered a bevy of highly productive offensive stars that can make or break a fantasy team.  While most probably tuned in for the football, don’t kid yourself, there were a lot of eyeballs on that game sweating out the production of the Bells, Bradys, Browns and Gronks.  

Purists hate it, your girlfriend doesn’t understand it and those that don’t participate most likely find the whole thing absurd but there is no denying its impact.  Fantasy sports has grown from an obscure hobby to a multi-billion dollar industry, and the pseudo-monopoly held by the NFL is yet another linchpin of its dominance.

All that was before the emergence of daily fantasy sports, the high stakes game-changer that just recently exploded onto the sports world, and is, of course, dominated by the NFL.  This new phenomenon, which reduces players to mere numbers on a screen and can turn nobodys into millionaires, has allowed the NFL to capture a certain fringe geek element that might have otherwise been occupied with something else.  They might not love football but they are now engaged because they have found a way to link it to their computers and smartphones.  Yet another financial notch in the NFL’s belt.

It can still be argued that the NFL’s future is far from secure.  Audiences continue to fracture, youth football participation is down and the effects of CTE loom like a dark cloud on the horizon.  And the current product is not perfect.  The games are increasingly micro-managed and slowed down by confusing rules and an archaic replay system; and NFL leadership, from Jerry Jones to Roger Goodell, is often an embarrassment.  

But on a day like last Sunday that all just seems like a bunch of white noise for talk show hosts and sports columnists to pontificate about.  It might not be perfect but there is no denying that the NFL is a cultural tour-de-force that is extensively ingrained throughout American society.  All ages and both sexes watch it, the president tweets about it, networks live and die by it, advertisers flock to it and the sports media can’t get enough of it.  In our sports solar system, the NFL is the sun and everything else is just rotating around it.  Mark Cuban once said about the NFL, “Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.  And they’re getting hoggy.”  Maybe, but if all the sports leagues are competing, that hog is miles ahead and the gap ain’t closing anytime soon. 

Game Notes

-Amateur Hour:  Another Patriots’ opponent, another late-game meltdown.  It’s hard not to sound like a homer when you cite all the times New England’s opponents have puddled in the final minutes of a big game and you conclude that the Patriots are simply smarter and more composed than their counterparts.  But how often does something have to happen before opinion becomes fact.  Atlanta in the Super Bowl, Seattle in the Super Bowl, Baltimore in the AFC Championship, Pittsburgh on Sunday, and on and on it goes. ��Someday we might look back on this historic run and conclude that the Patriots’ ability to handle situational football, and perhaps as important, their opponents complete and total lack of ability to handle situational football was the most crucial component to their success.

-Rah, rah, sis boom bah:  The more you watch him the more Tomlin looks less like a head coach and more like a glorified male cheerleader.  His handling of the final moments of Sunday’s loss and subsequent comments are doing little to dispel that notion.  For starters, the offensive “brain trust” of Tomlin, Roethlisberger and OC Todd Haley had three minutes and 20 seconds to formulate a plan of attack while the refs reviewed the Jesse James touchdown yet reportedly the Steelers spent the entire time playing grabass and assuming they had already won the game.  That’s more time than you get for an actual timeout yet they seemed wildly unprepared after the touchdown was overturned. 

And this only gets worse.

According to Tomlin the reason they had no timeouts was because referee Tony Corrente mistakenly awarded them a timeout.  His reasoning is so dumb I can’t possibly do it justice so I’ll just let him do it, “I was looking at Ben. Ben was signaling timeout, but he wasn’t signaling at you (Corrente), he was signaling timeout at me, trying to get confirmation of what we wanted to do.”  So let me get this straight, following a 69-yard gain, which is a moment when most teams would call a timeout, your quarterback, who is on the field of play, signaled for a timeout but wasn’t actually signaling the refs that he wanted a timeout but was asking his coaches if they wanted a timeout and it’s all Corrente’s fault that he didn’t accurately read Roethlisberger’s mind to decipher his true intentions.  I think we’re starting to get a window into why Tomlin never learns from his mistakes - apparently he doesn’t think he makes any.

Oh, and we’re not done.

Tomlin, displaying a mindblowing level of ignorance, also asked Corrente this Mensa-level question, “Why did you award that timeout, the timeouts are supposed to come from the bench?”  What?  WHAT?!?  Timeouts only come from the bench?  Alright, Tomlin’s gotta just be fucking with us at this point.  How can that question come out of an NFL head coach’s mouth?  Are we actually supposed to believe that in his 16+ year NFL coaching career he has never seen a quarterback call a timeout?  That is so ridiculous on so many different levels when I first read it my brain had trouble processing it.  It feels like a quote from The Onion.

-Jedi Master:  Imagine Belichick giving that answer as to why his team didn’t have anymore timeouts.  Or try to picture Belichick, Brady and McDaniels standing around for over three-minutes at then end of a crucial game and doing absolutely nothing.  Belichick is the anti-Tomlin: No intense dramatic scowls, no excessive enthusiastic hand-clapping, no meandering aimlessly on the sideline; Belichick learns from his mistakes and has an actual working knowledge of the NFL rule book.  He knows rules that the refs don’t even know yet, Tomlin, who is on the NFL Competition Committee, doesn’t even know that quarterbacks, in the course of an NFL game, sometimes call timeouts.  When the Patriots face the Steelers, for Belichick, it must feel like he is playing chess against his grandson.

-What down is it again?:  Don’t think for a minute Roethlisberger is off the hook for that late-game debacle.  There is no excuse for a future Hall Of Fame quarterback to ever throw that pass.  None.  That is the type of pass you throw on 4th down or if your team is trailing by 4+ points.  On third down, with your team down by three, that ball has to go out of the back of the end zone.  Throw it away, kick the field goal and take your chances at home in overtime.  There are high school quarterbacks that understand that.  And Big Ben’s entire approach to the play was a hot mess.  If you’re not going to clock the ball, why not just take a deep breath, call out a play at the line-of-scrimmage and take a legit shot at the end one?  Instead Roethlisberger looked panicked, rushed to the line despite plenty of time, attempted some half-ass fake spike then threw the ball into triple-coverage.  Baffling.

-Revenge is a dish best served unhinged:  If you want to have a laugh, peruse Twitter and Youtube for reactions to the end of the Patriots game on Sunday.  Too many examples to cite them all here but think Seattle fans circa 2014 with the added twist of a controversial call.  In short, Steelers fans lost their f’n minds.  It’s hard enough losing to the same coach and quarterback for 15 years straight but to lose at home, blow a late lead and have it all come to fruition because of an annoying NFL rule is enough to send any sports fan reeling.  The saddest part of their reactions was the repeated and desperate cries of “cheaters”.  It’s perfectly understandable to not like the NFL’s “survive the ground” rule regarding what is and isn’t a catch, but somebody needs to inform Steelers fans (and Raiders fans for that matter) that NFL officials enforcing a rule already on the books is not actually cheating nor is it the NFL rigging the outcome for New England.

-OK, maybe we’ll cite one example because this is really damn funny:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc1McOfjcSD/

-Words to live by:  There are two concrete truths in life: never get involved in a land war in Asia and never throw a slant on the goal line against the Patriots in a big game.

-Taking the chalk:  The Patriots victory over the Steelers meant that every NFL favorite, based on the point spread, won week 15 - only the third time since the 1970 merger that has happened.

-“Never stop fighting till the fight is done”:  One of the sneaky underrated plays from the game was the Patriots defense keeping Steelers receiver Juju Shuster out of the end zone on his 69-yard catch and run in the final minute.  When the speedy Shuster cut back to the middle of the field in Patriots territory it looked like he was a sure bet to score.  But the Patriots secondary never gave up on the play, eventually pinning him down and gang tackling him on the 10-yard line.  

-Why was Trey Flowers covering (or trying to anyway) Le’Veon Bell on some key pass plays?  That was a very Tomlinian move by Belichick.

-Gronk smash Pittsburgh:  It is widely accepted that Gronkowski is not only the best tight end in the NFL but is on a trajectory to be the best tight end of all-time, but a week ago if someone asked you what the signature game of his career was you might have struggled to come up with an answer.  I think it’s safe to say that is no longer the case after what Gronk did to the Steelers.  Despite a slow start, Gronkowski finished the game with 9 catches for a career-high 168 yards (10 catches if you include the two-point conversion).  Nowhere was Gronk’s dominance more on display than on the game-winning drive, when he completely took the game over with five plays:

Play one:  Brady to Gronk deep down the middle for 26 yards

Play two:  Carbon copy of play one, another 26 yards

Play three:  Gronk reaches down and snatches the ball just before it hits the ground for another 17 yards

Play four:  Gronk seals off a defender with a key block on Dion Lewis’ 9-yard game-winning touchdown

Play five:  Gronk fakes an inside release, jukes the defensive back out of his jock, catches a wide-open two-point and celebrates like a deranged mad man

It was Gronk at his unstoppable best.  Someday a guy will have to go in that room at the Pro Football Hall Of Fame and make the case for Gronkowski’s induction and after Sunday that guy’s job just got a whole lot easier.  Now all he has to do is walk in, pop in the Pittsburgh tape, kick back, and watch the HOF votes tumble in.

-Tomlin not double-teaming Gronkowski at any point on that final drive is a fireable offense.

-Shhhhhhhh:  Tony Romo remains razor sharp with the Xs and Os stuff but desperately needs to learn the art of how to shut the hell up.

-Make space on the mantel:  Brady all but wrapped up the MVP on Sunday.  Not only did Brady lead the Patriots to a key road win but his MVP competition was decimated.  A week after Carson Wentz tore his ACL, dark-horse candidate Antonio Brown hurt his calf and Russell Wilson and the Seahawks imploded against the Rams.  

-No easy task:  If Brown is healthy come January and the Steelers get past the Jaguars don’t count me as one of the people that thinks this rematch will be an easy win for the Patriots if the game is played in Foxboro.  Pittsburgh represents all kinds of matchup problems for the Patriots defense and, despite the Steelers dubious history against Belichick and Brady, Pittsburgh could easily win next month in New England.

-Belichick is not pliable:  Interesting story in the Boston Globe by professional shit-stirrer Bob Hohler, who details how Brady whisperer Alex Guerrero has had his his team privileges revoked, banning him from team flights and from the sideline during games.  It’s hard to know just how big a riff this represents between Brady and Belichick, if any, because none of the principals are talking but it is definitely a situation worth monitoring.  The importance of this story would multiply tenfold if Jimmy Garoppolo was still a Patriot.   

-Stars and stripes:  A Great story emerged last week about Tom Brady and his commitment to supporting the troops.  According to Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle, war hero and unabashed supporter of the National Anthem, Alejandro Villanueva, Brady routinely Skypes with soldiers stationed overseas on the front lines.  Brady has said nothing about this and has sought no publicity for his actions.  Go ahead Steelers fans tell me again how much you hate Tom Brady.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

New England Comes up Small in Miami

By Michael Vallee

On a night when the Patriots were out-played, out-hit, out-coached and out-classed it’s instinctual to react.  Is the defense overrated?  Are they now doomed against Pittsburgh?  Is Brady finally showing his age late in the year?  It’s the easy and obvious thing to do.  If you see a guy get his ass kicked in a fight, then someone asks you if you think he will win his next fight. It’s hard to look at his bloodied face and answer “Yes.”  It’s just human nature.  But don’t fall into that trap.  Sure, New England was dominated for virtually all four quarters, on both sides of the ball and all along the trenches, but in the grand scheme of things the Patriots’ deceptively close 27-20 loss to Miami means absolutely nothing.    

Monday night’s Patriots game was what I call a typical NFL “exception to the rule” game and for all predictions and projections going forward it should be ignored.  That’s right, ignored.  Forget it, wipe it from your mental hard drive, erase it from your DVR, in the immortal words of Donnie Brasco, “Fuggetaboutit”.  Over the course of a long NFL season these “exception to the rule” games will crop up from time to time.  They are games where the two teams behave so wildly different from everything we know about both of them that it defies logic.  It would be like turning on your TV and hearing Phil Simms say something coherent.

Does anyone remember that the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-9 in Pittsburgh?  And did it matter?  Hell no, the Jaguars lost at home the following week by double digits and the Steelers went on to win eight straight.  Does anyone remember the lowly Chicago Bears beating the Carolina Panthers 17-3?  And the fallout?  None.  The Panthers won four of their next five and the Bears lost five in a row.  How about the Baltimore Ravens beating the Miami Dolphins 40-0, week 8.  Did this spur the Ravens to great things and ruin the Dolphins season?  Not really, the Dolphins went on a little slide but here we are six weeks later and both teams are hovering around .500.  These games happen all the time and the results, while shocking, determine very little about either team.  

The Patriots certainly have their own history with these games.  In fact, they played the ultimate “exception to the rule” game opening night when they were shellacked at home by the Kansas City Chiefs, 42-27.  A harbinger of things to come?  Hardly.  The Chiefs have gone .500 since and the Patriots won 10 of their next 12.  

The ultimate example of this came in 2014 when those same Chiefs destroyed the Patriots 41-14 in the now infamous, “They’re not good anymore game”, a quote from Trent Dilfer that illustrates just how easy it is to overreact to these results.  But we all remember what happened, the Patriots won their next seven games and finished 13-2 over their final 15, culminating in yet another Super Bowl title.  Illustrating that not only are these games not an indicator of future results, they might actually help the team on the losing end.  These surprising lopsided defeats can be both humbling and galvanizing, resulting in a team sharpening its edge and rallying around the negative publicity.  

Another famous example from the Belichick era was the 31-0 beatdown New England suffered at the hands of the Buffalo Bills week 1 of the 2003 season - the game now known as the “Lawyer Milloy game”.  Following that humiliating defeat the Patriots won 16 of their next 17 including the Super Bowl and the Drew Bledsoe Bills finished the season with a record of 6-10. 

These games are by no means a new phenomenon.  In 1994 the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers lost at home 40-8 to the lowly Philadelphia Eagles.  It was as big an ass-whooping as the score indicates.  The Impact?  The Niners went 13-1 to close out the season and were later named one of the 20 greatest teams in NFL history.  The Eagles finished the season on a 3-8 spiral costing charismatic head coach Rich Kotite his job.  In 1979 the always terrible Cincinnati Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-10.  The Bengals finished with a record of 4-12, the Steelers finished the season with their 4th Super Bowl title.

We know these games happen but the perplexing question is why?  There are a variety of potential reasons.

-Looking ahead:  It happens at every level of football.  It’s human nature.  When you have a crucial game in two weeks it’s easy to look past the shitty opponent you’re playing that week.  Patriots vs Pittsburgh is the most important regular season game of the 2017 NFL season.  Both teams have had it circled for weeks, Tomlin outright admitted that.  This was a classic spot to start looking ahead on the schedule.

-Motivation:  This game meant little to New England.  Beat Pitt and you are the number one seed, lose and you’re not.  Same exact stakes if they had beaten Miami.  Additionally they had easily defeated Miami just two weeks earlier.  For the Patriots this game was a big giant yawn.  For Miami this was their Super Bowl.  Not only was it essential they win to have any semblance of a chance to make the playoffs but this was their chance to save what is likely a lost season.  A chance to avenge a chippy loss at Gillette and register a signature win to build on for next season.

-Division rival:  Division games have typically been a breeding ground for big upsets.  One reason might be the emotional component fueled by the familiarity of a division foe.  Simply put, these teams know each other too well to be intimidated and the close quarters of the division generally fuels hatred.  A team that is motivated, fueled by hate and not easily intimidated is in a perfect mindset to pull an upset.  This is one of the reasons why you see so many upsets, including dominating upsets like Monday night, in division games.

-Injuries/Suspensions:  I love it when people say, “Injuries are no excuse”.  Actually, they are the opposite of that, they are a great excuse.  If the Packers lose a close game and their fans say they lost because Aaron Rodgers is hurt, isn’t that a perfectly valid statement?  A fact, really.  Obviously it’s not an excuse you ever want to hear from the actual team because a team wallowing in self-pity is not a team that’s going to win a lot of football games.  But it’s a perfectly legit reason for a team to have a bad night.  The Patriots defense was decimated up front and their offense was without Gronk, one of its best players and it’s emotional spark plug.  Gronk’s value to an Edelman-less offense can’t be overstated. Gronk makes everything work.  He helps the passing game, he helps the running game and he draws defenders away from his teammates.  He exudes a confidence that is infectious.  Almost any game the Patriots play without Gronk and Edelman is a game they can lose.

-The X-Factor:  This final category encapsulates all the random unforseen landmines that can pop up during an NFL season.  The “Lawyer Milloy game” we mentioned earlier is a perfect example.  Nobody, including the entire Patriots locker room, could have envisioned that New England would cut one of its starters and team leaders on the eve of the 2003 season and that he would sign with the team they were playing week one.  Last Monday the Patriots were playing their fourth road game in five weeks including a two-week high altitude trek through Denver and Mexico City.  That would wear on any team.  Compounding the problem, that fourth game was being played in a stadium that has been a proverbial house of horrors for New England.  That’s a bad spot for any team.

For those of you keeping score at home, that’s five boxes checked for the Patriots.  Any one of the above five factors could trigger an “exception to the rule” game and the Patriots were dealing with a perfect storm of all five.  You could argue that the most surprising thing about Monday night was not the final score but the size of the point spread (New England -11).

Whatever the reason for the 2017 Dolphins suddenly looking like the 1972 Dolphins and the Patriots looking like some cheap impostor, it is irrelevant.  None of it matters now.  The Patriots have what amounts to a winner-take-all game in Pittsburgh and if they take care of business the road to the Super Bowl goes through Foxboro.  If not, the Patriots have to find a way to win a big road game in the playoffs, something they haven’t done in over a decade.  Either way, come Sunday afternoon you can expect a much better effort from the defending champs than what you saw Monday night, as they put yet another “exception to the rule” game in their rearview mirror.

Game Notes

-Catch me if you can:  Did you see Kenyan Drake run past Elandon Roberts like Usain Bolt running past a mailbox.  What’s that going to look like when it’s Le’veon Bell?  I imagine Belichick is hard at work in his lair trying to solve that quandary.

-Show me the money:  It was another tough game for Butler who has seemed out of sorts for much of the season.  Then after the game he had an odd moment where he retweeted a graphic showing how effective Jay Cutler was against the Patriots’ blitz.  The retweet was then un-tweeted (de-tweeted?) and Butler would later call the whole thing a “misunderstanding”.  Normally a guy in a contract year plays his best football, something the Patriots might have been banking on when they didn’t give him a contract in the offseason.  As a general principle that might be correct but for this player New England might have played this one wrong.  Butler has not been himself all year and you have to wonder if it’s because of the money.

-Cutler’s numbers against the Patriots’ blitz:  16-20, 186 yards, two TDs, QB rating: 138.8

-Staying Power:  A lot of panic talk swirled around the NFL after Brady’s lousy performance, with much of it centered around his stamina.  Last year Brady had the benefit of a four-game deflategate vacation to keep his legs and arm fresh for the playoffs.  This year with Brady playing a full slate of games some have been speculating that his body might not be up to the task.  Maybe it’s something worth monitoring but it seems a little premature to express concern for a guy that is the current favorite to win the MVP.

-Tommy Two times:  Monday night was the first time in 30 games that Brady has thrown two interceptions in a game.  The first pick was a bad decision but the second interception was a spectacular play by cornerback Xavien Howard who closed late to rob Brandin Cooks of a big gain.

-Jordan Richards whiff on a 3rd down sack pretty much sums up his entire sorry career with New England.  A terrible draft pick.

-Mastering the master:  It’s something we haven’t said often in the last 17 years but Adam Gase completely out-coached Bill Belichick monday night.  Gase took away the middle of the field for New England’s receivers, effectively pressured Brady with well timed blitzes and repeatedly found creative ways to get the ball to his playmakers.

-If the Patriots lose to the Steelers and the Jaguars beat the Texans, the Patriots will be the number three seed.

-Jimmy G to the rescue:  If New England wants to crawl out of that three seed and re-secure a first round bye they might need some help from an old friend.  The Jaguars travel to San Francisco week 16 to face the undefeated Jimmy Garoppolo.

-Jay Cutler still sucks.

-Planes, trains and automobiles:  The NFL didn’t do the Patriots any favors with the scheduling.  A lot of people don’t know this but it is rare for a team to be on the road for Monday night football then on the road again the following week.  In fact, it has only happened three time in the last two years and the results are not pretty.  Teams in that spot are 0-3 the last two years, losing by an average margin of 15 points.

-The Patriots are an inexplicable 20-6 with Gronkowski out of the lineup.

-Felix and Oscar:  I love MNF play-by-play guy Sean McDonough, and analyst Jon Gruden has his moments, but they are broadcasting’s odd couple.  Whenever they’re together on screen it feels like both of them are really uncomfortable which, for the viewer, is like watching one of those really awkward scenes from an episode of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’.

-Yankee doodle dandy:  Speaking of Gruden, his high praise of the military during the game followed by the proud declaration, “It’s great to be an American” felt awfully scripted.  

-Arrested development:  Interesting move by the Patriots to sign WR Kenny Britt off the scrap heap.  Britt is a tall fast receiver that can take the top of the defense and last year registered a career high 1002 yards receiving.  He also continues New England’s tradition of acquiring a late-season derelict for the playoffs as Britt has had numerous run-ins with law enforcement.  The signing also required a change of heart from Bob Kraft who shot down the very idea of signing Britt when the Patriots hosted him for a visit three years ago, “We won’t be signing him. That won’t happen”, said Kraft at the time.  My favorite nugget from his arrest record is that he was arrested at a car wash.  What could possibly happen at the local Scrub-a-dub that would have you leaving there in handcuffs?  To Britt’s credit he has been clean since 2013.

-Trick or treat:  No update on disgraced Dolphins coach Chris Foerster, who resigned in October after a video surfaced that he sent to an alleged hooker showing him proudly snorting some yayo.  It was a regrettable moment for all involved but at least it produced some classic Halloween costumes.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

The Sorry-Ass Buffalo Bills

By Michael Vallee

Last Sunday the New England Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills 23-3.  If we did an analytical deep dive into this one it would go something like this: The Patriots are really, really good and the Bills are terrible.  The Patriots have talented players, the Bills have shitty players.  The Patriots coaches are smart, the Bills coaches are stupid.  The Patriots organization is always three steps ahead, the Bills organization is always three steps behind.  We could do half dozen paragraphs of this if you want, but really, what’s the point.  New England’s beatdown of the Buffalo Bills was not so much an outcome of a game as it was a symptom of a much larger issue.  Rather than extolling the virtues of Tom Brady or the genius of Bill Belichick why don’t we talk about the elephant in the room: The embarrassing, bumbling,  laugh-out-loud, unparalleled suckiness of the Buffalo Bills franchise.

For the sake of efficiency we will leave the city of Buffalo alone on this one.  We’ve already documented the lifeless, dystopian hellhole that is Buffalo, a city whose score on the depression richter scale ranks somewhere between Pyongyang and outer Mongolia.  Instead let’s just focus on the pitiful Buffalo Bills.

Historically speaking the Bills are on a wretched run.  Buffalo has the longest NFL playoff drought at 17 seasons.  In a league where the Cleveland Browns are the benchmark for bad football, the Bills have actually been worse.  Now that’s a low bar.  In fact, during that stretch the Browns have made the playoffs and won 10 games in a season, two things the Bills could not accomplish.  It’s never a good thing when you’re being upstaged by the clown show in Cleveland.  That’s like losing a battle of the bands to Nickelback.

To truly appreciate the Bills ineptitude you actually have to look beyond the NFL.  Buffalo isn’t just lowering the football bar, they’re lowering the bar for all sports.  The Bills are currently on the longest playoff drought in all of professional sports.  That’s 123 professional teams spread out over four major sports and none of them has been sitting at home when the games matter most, as long as the Buffalo Bills.  Hillary Clinton knows more about winning presidential elections than Buffalo knows about winning football games.

And do you remember what happened the last time the Bills made the playoffs?  Well, let’s just say they Buffalo’d the hell out of it.  For starters, they took their starting quarterback, Doug Flutie, and unceremoniously booted him to the bench for their 1999 Wild Card game against the Tennessee Titans.  It’s always good for morale to humiliate your inspirational team leader just before the postseason kicks off.  Flutie was 17-8 as a starter for the Bills when he was benched.  So who did Buffalo hand Flutie’s job to?  Rob Johnson.  Rob Johnson?!?!  The guy best known for wearing effeminate headbands and throwing interceptions.  The guy that finished his Buffalo career with a 9-17 record.  THAT Rob Johnson.

And this was no football decision.  Johnson was awarded the job by Buffalo’s fossilized owner, Ralph Wilson, who was convinced Johnson was the guy because he piled up stats in a meaningless week 17 win.  Man, that is so Buffalo.

But these Bills were just getting warmed up.

Six days later, in the most Buffalo of Buffalo moments, the Bills, after taking the lead on a FG with 16 seconds left on the clock, choked away that playoff game when they allowed the Titans to score a game-winning, kick return, lateral touchdown on the ensuing kickoff.  BAHAHAHAHA.  Buffalo’d again.  In case you’re wondering, Rob Johnson and his headband completed 45% of his passes against Tennessee for a QB rating of 64.8.  Good call Ralph.

That Titans play would later be dubbed ‘The Music City Miracle’ and spurred the Titans to their first, and only, Super Bowl appearance……..and sent the Bills franchise reeling.  Since then it has been a never-ending shit show for that depressing enclave on Lake Erie.  It’s a run of futility that has produced many depressing stats, perhaps none more so than this: During that time Tom Brady has won as many games in Buffalo as any Bills starting QB.  That almost doesn’t seem possible.  Brady plays for New England right?  Yet he has won more games in Buffalo than the guys that actually play in Buffalo, like, all the time.

The Bills have had 14 starting quarterbacks since Brady took over the New England QB job in 2001.  Including such illustrious names as Brian Brohm and J.P. Losman.  The Bills have also had 10 head coaches during that time New England has had just one.  The Bills are like the oppo-Patriots.  A perfect inverse mirror image of the Patriots.  The moment Buffalo started losing, New England started winning.  Buffalo stumbles, New England surges.  Buffalo spirals, New England soars.  The Bills fumble their way to another losing season, The Patriots rack up another AFC East title.  Buffalo is the incompetent Yin to New England’s championship Yang.

Maybe it’s all the curse of Doug Flutie.  Since Buffalo benched New England’s beloved native son the Patriots have played in 34 playoff games.  The Bills have played in zero.  The Patriots have played in seven Super Bowls.  The Bills - zero.  The Patriots have won 14 AFC East titles.  The Bills - zero.  You have to wonder if somewhere in the Boston area Doug Flutie is privately kicking back, smoking a cigar and quietly laughing his ass off over the football carnage in Buffalo.

Buffalo also has their own famous native football son, Rob Gronkowski.  An unstoppable, all-world, superstar talent that will some day be enshrined in the pro football Hall Of Fame and likely recognized as the greatest tight end that ever played.  Gronkowski may have grown up in Buffalo but now resides in New England and spends his time torturing his hometown Bills with touchdown catches and forearm shivers to the back of their head.  

Gronk could have been scoring all his touchdowns for the Bills.  He was drafted 42nd overall in the 2010 draft by the Patriots.  Who was the team with the 41st pick?  That would be the Buffalo Bills, but instead of drafting the local future All-Pro they went in a different direction and drafted some guy named Torell Troup.  Troup was a defensive lineman that lasted a whopping three years in the league, registering zero sacks.  At the time they passed on Gronkowski the Bills tight ends were Derek Fine, Shawn Nelson, Jonathan Stupar and Joe Klopfenstein.  Yeah, you definitely don’t want to draft Gronkowski with that stable of talent at the tight end position.  The last thing you want to do is take targets away from the dynamic Joe Klopfenstein.  At some point, Bills fans have to wonder if Buffalo Bills management purposely sabotages their own team.

Of course you don’t want to piss off Bills fans, a fan base that dubs themselves the “Bills Mafia”.  Though, I’m thinking, the “Bills Mafia” is less Tony Soprano and more Bobby Baccalieri.  Is there anything more absurd than the least successful NFL team of the last 18 years having a fan base with the nickname “mafia”.  In real life crime terms that would be like a guy saying, “I’m with the Hoboken mafia”.  When you hear the title it elicits more laughter than fear.  For Bills fans “mafia” is actually code for “drink a lot of alcohol, do a lot of drugs and engage in a bunch of dumb shit” while tailgating before Bills games.  I guess anything to numb the pain of what is about to happen on the field.

The pain and self-sabotage has continued into 2017.  Not long ago the Bills were 5-2 and looked poised to finally end their humiliating playoff drought.  Now they are 6-6 and fading fast, courtesy of a three-game losing streak that culminated with an embarrassing 54-24 loss to the Chargers.  That was the game where Bills coach Sean McDermott inexplicably benched starting QB Tyrod Taylor in favor of rookie Nathan Peterman.  Predictably, Peterman was awful, finishing with almost as many interceptions (five) as completions (six).  He was benched at halftime.  Did McDermott have the Chargers in his suicide pool?  Baffling.

Last Sunday the Patriots dominated the Bills for the usual reasons: Brady to Gronk was an unstoppable combination racking up 147 yards, the rapidly improving defense smothered the Bills for four quarters and, once again, Bill Belichick coached the pants off some hapless counterpart.  But the real star of the show, the thing perhaps most responsible for that final score, was the one thing in the NFL that might be more consistent than the Bradys, the Gronks and the Belichicks - the unwavering terribleness of the Buffalo Bills.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Pat Keep Rolling, Crush Raiders

By Michael Vallee

It’s amazing how fast perceptions can change over the course of an NFL season.  Through four weeks the Patriots record was an unimpressive 2-2 and the only thing preventing them from being 1-3 was a dropped late-game interception by the Houston Texans.  New England had the worst defense in the NFL and looming on their schedule was a potentially brutal two-game road swing against the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders.  So much for that perception.  On Sunday the Patriots pounded the Raiders like they were a Mexican pinata stuffed with Super Bowl rings, coasting to a 33-8 win.  This completed the Patriots two-week-high-altitude road trip where they glided thru the thin air of Denver and Mexico City with the ease of a 62-yard stephen Gostkowski field goal, outscoring their opponents 74-24.

Of course, as has been the recent trend, Patriot greatness was only half of the equation.  The Raiders committed eight penalties, had two turnovers and in general performed with an almost staggering level of bumbling incompetence.  What the hell happened to that team?  I know Jack Del Rio isn’t going to be mistaken for Vince Lombardi any time soon but his teams are generally, at least, competitive and display a modicum of preparation.  What did Oakland do all week to prepare for their Mexico trip, take lessons on burrito making and listen to Rosetta Stone?  This is a team that was 12-4 last year and was on the short list of AFC teams that might actually make the Patriots sweat a little.  Instead they join the long list of Houstons, Denvers, Chargers and Chiefs that can’t get out of their own way and will be lucky to finish the year at .500.  

And if you think the AFC Conference is bad, how about the AFC East.  I hope you don’t watch the Patriots for entertainment purposes, if so, you might want to shut it down until the playoffs.  The Patriots have exactly one interesting game remaining, Pittsburgh week 15, otherwise it’s five games against their laugh-out-loud awful divisional opponents.  The Bills have lost three straight, the Dolphins have lost four straight and the Jets are 1-4 in their last five.  Boston’s subway system the morning of a blizzard runs with more precision than this collection of stiffs.  As long as Brady is the Patriots quarterback and Belichick is the Patriots coach the league should mandate that all of their AFC East opponents change their team logo to a white flag.

The Patriots are 8-2.  They are a virtual lock to win 13 or 14 games.  They are going to have a first round bye.  They are going to crush a lousy team with a lousy quarterback in the divisional round of the playoffs.  The only pressing question left from now until the AFC Championship is whether or not that game will be played in Foxboro or Pittsburgh.  So much for the unpredictability of sports.

Notes

Inside the Numbers:

-In Brady’s two games on the high altitude swing through Denver and Mexico City he was a combined 55 for 71, for 605 yards and 6 touchdowns.  His QB rating was 130.3.

-In Brady’s last 22 regular season games he has thrown 50 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

-When Brady has faced a team with Jack Del Rio as either the head coach or defensive coordinator, including the playoffs, he has thrown 25 touchdowns and one interception.  Hey Jack, whatever you’re doing, it’s not working.

-On Sunday Belichick recorded win number 271 as a head coach, passing Landry for third place on the all-time list.  He is still a staggering 76 wins shy of Don Shula for the top spot.

-The Patriots have won 13 straight road games.  It is the 2nd longest streak in NFL history.  The 1988-90 Niners are the current record holders with 18.

TB12 Method:  In his constant battle to kick father time’s ass Brady was spectacular Sunday, completing over 80% of his passes for a 131.9 quarterback rating.  Is it possible at age 40 that Brady is actually getting better?  He is the current favorite to win the NFL MVP award; he continues to move in the pocket as well as he ever has; and he might be throwing the ball downfield with more precision than at any point in his career.  Brady completed two perfect bombs to Brandin Cooks against Oakland, including a 64-yard touchdown that effectively iced the game in the first minute of the 2nd half.  Brady currently leads the NFL with 43 passes over 15 yards.  If they’re smart every quarterback in the NFL has ‘The TB12 Method’ on their Christmas list.

Center of Attention:  One of the most impressive things about Sunday’s win over Oakland was that the Patriots were without starting center, David Andrews.  Andrews is having a Pro Bowl caliber year and was replaced by a guy, Ted Karras, with virtually no game experience, and the Patriots offense didn’t miss a beat.  15 years ago the Raiders organization learned the hard way of the potential impact of losing a quality center, when their Pro Bowl center, Barret Robbins, went missing before Super Bowl XXXVII.  Robbins never played in the game and their offense imploded in a 48-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  

Strange side note: We later learned from Robbins’ ex-wife the bizarre details of his pre-Super Bowl disappearance.  The episode was apparently triggered by Robbins not taking his depression medication, and it must have been some strong medication because he spent the day before the big game partying in Tijuana, Mexico where he thought he was celebrating the Raiders “victory” in the Super Bowl that had not yet been played.

Bowl Cut:  They should add a Mark Davis cam to every Raiders broadcast.

Into Thin Air:  This game might have been won before the ball was ever kicked off.  The Patriots not only played Denver in the thin air of mile high last week but Belichick wisely kept the team in the high altitude of Colorado, holding practices at the Air Force Academy.  By the time the Patriots reached Mexico City, which is 2,000 feet higher than mile high, they were fully acclimated to the conditions.  The Raiders, on the other hand, rolled into town the day before the game and looked completely gassed right out of the chute.  The Raiders used the same approach last year when they beat the Houston Texans in Mexico City so they went with it again.  Makes perfect sense to think that something that would work against the Texans would also work against the Patriots.

A Week in the Life of:  Marshawn Lynch recently had a rather unusual week as far as NFL running backs go.  He was tossed from a game for contacting an official, spent the rest of the game watching from the stands, then after the game took the train home, was eventually suspended for one game and during his suspension practiced with his old high school, causing them to be investigated for violating local high school bylaws.

Sensitivity Training:  Belichick reportedly ruffled a few feathers when he said this about the game in Mexico City on WEEI Monday,  “I think we’re fortunate there was no volcano eruptions, earthquakes or anything else…”  A bunch of overly sensitive types freaked out on Twitter including one guy who countered that Mexicans should be happy when they visit America and are not killed in a mass shooting.  Now that is a perfectly valid point considering that Mexico is a completely non-violent and safe country.  I read recently that drug cartels in Juarez just instituted a new policy of meting out discipline with hugs and kindness.

He Said What Now?:  Don’t expect Jerry Jones to be invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the Kraft’s this year.  ESPN’s ‘Outside the Lines’ recently reported that Roger Goodell called Jerry Jones in August to inform him of Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension and Jones responded with this poetic gem, “I’m gonna come after you with everything I have.  If you think Bob Kraft came after you hard, Bob Kraft is a pussy compared to what I’m going to do.”  While Patriots fans have likely used similar language to describe their beloved owner’s response to Deflategate, Jones is shameless hypocrite.  Not long ago he was telling Kraft to stand down and accept his Deflategate punishment but when it’s Jones’ team that is being adversely affected suddenly he is singing a different tune.  As far as picking sides in the Jones v. Goodell feud that would be like asking a woman who she’d rather date, Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein.  Sophie had an easier choice.

Gridiron Death Star:  Mark Davis might be a clown but is he also about to become the first owner of an NFL team in Las Vegas, where the Raiders are building one helluva a badass looking stadium.  The only thing missing from this virtual tour video is a Darth Vader voice over declaring, “The battle station is almost fully operational.”

For The Record:  Gostkowski’s high-altitude-aided 62-yard field goal at the end of the first half got me thinking, who is the true record holder of the longest field goal in NFL history.  This title comes with two stipulations:

-The kick cannot be assisted by thin air (sorry Denver)

-The kicker has to have a human foot.  As impressive as Tom Dempsey’s then record 63-yard kick was, I am looking for a field goal that was made by someone that doesn’t have a shoe shine box attached to their leg.

True Record Holder:  David Akers, San Francisco 49ers

Akers kicked a 63-yard field goal in 2012 at Lambeau field which means it was both outdoors and on grass.  Impressive.

Terry Glenn, 1974-2017:  Tough news hearing about the sudden death of Terry Glenn from an automobile accident.  Apparently Glenn had an infamous reputation as a driver, a sentiment echoed on Twitter by WEEI’s Gerry Callahan, “I spent a day with Terry Glenn once upon a time. Nice enough guy, but I remember one thing above all others: He drove like a maniac”.  People might not remember that Glenn caught Brady’s first touchdown pass and it came during Brady’s breakout came as a pro.  After two unspectacular starts Brady lit it up in his third start, a 29-26 win over the San Diego Chargers, throwing for 364 yards and two touchdowns.  More significantly Glenn was at the heart of the infamous power struggle between owner Bob Kraft and then coach Bill Parcells.  It was just before the 1996 draft and the Patriots held the seventh spot in the first round.  Kraft and Director of Player Personnel, Bobby Grier, wanted a lightning fast wide receiver out of Ohio State and Parcells reportedly wanted to take a defensive lineman.  Kraft would eventually side with Grier and the Patriots drafted Terry Glenn.  

This move was the beginning of the end for Parcells’ time in New England.  After the season Parcells was hired to run the NY Jets and Grier was promoted to general manager.  Glenn had a highly productive rookie year, hauling in 90 catches for over 1,100 yards, but a disappointing career plagued by injuries and attitude problems.  If, however, you believe in the butterfly effect, Glenn proved to be the catalyst for Bill Belichick ultimately landing with the Patriots and taking them on this historic run.  His Patriots career may have been disappointing but his impact is still being felt.  Glenn was 43-years old.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Patriots Pummel Rudderless Broncos

By Michael Vallee

When Tom Brady sauntered into Mile High Stadium Sunday night I was reminded of that line from the movie Rounders, “I feel like Buckner walking back into Shea”.  While Brady is no Buckner, he did have to feel a little like Mike McDermott walking back into Teddy KGB’s basement lair.  Like McDermott, Brady was returning to the scene of arguably his worst beating.  The 20-18 score in the 2015 AFC Championship might have reflected a close game, but those numbers on the scoreboard said nothing of the relentless pounding Brady received from the Broncos.  Brady limped out of Denver that day with a 3-7 record and an 80.6 career QB rating in Denver.  Mile High had become his proverbial house of horrors.

That was then this is now.

The Broncos may still possess a lot of the same talent on defense but with the departures of quarterback Peyton Manning and most of their Super Bowl coaching staff, Denver is a shell of its former championship self.  They entered Sunday’s game an unimpressive 3-5 and on the outside looking in on the AFC playoff picture.  Far outside.  

Undaunted by previous Bronco beatdowns, unfazed by his surroundings and sensing a vastly inferior opponent, Brady pounced, tossing three touchdowns enroute to an easy 41-16 win.  If Brady was spooked by any Von Miller inspired demons he certainly didn’t show it.  Brady looked as calm and comfortable as he has all year, racking up a 125.4 QB rating.

Brady’s game experience Sunday night could not have been more different from that brutal Championship game two years ago, as he was hit just two times, a mere fraction of the 20 hits he took in the 2015 bloodbath.  

But this game was not all about Brady and the Patriots.

Denver looks lost.  A likely reflection of their first year head coach, Vance Joseph, who appears far out of his depth and is clearly not “HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE”.  Their offense is a sputtering mess, their once vaunted defense is 29th in the NFL in points allowed and their special teams is ranked dead last according to Football Outsiders.  All three deficiencies were on full display against New England.

The Broncos offense, helmed by Brock Osweiler who recently made his not-so-triumphant return to Denver, managed just one touchdown and was held scoreless for the final 22 minutes.  Denver’s defense, who apparently didn’t get the memo that New England likes to throw to their backs and work the middle of the field, allowed 16 receptions and three touchdowns to Patriot tight ends and running backs.  The short stuff was open all game with little adjustment from Denver’s overwhelmed rookie coach.

But the Broncos saved their worst for special teams where they experienced a complete and total meltdown.  After New England’s opening drive stalled, they punted to Denver’s Isaiah McKenzie who proceeded to muff Ryan Allen’s kick.  The Patriots recovered on the Broncos’ 24-yard line and scored two plays later.  Just over four minutes later, following a Denver field goal, Dion Lewis took the ensuing kickoff and coasted virtually untouched for a 103-yard touchdown.  It was a touchdown that could have been denied if Denver’s kicker didn’t allow Lewis to essentially run through him as if he was some kind of apparition.

Early in the second quarter the Broncos gifted the Patriots more points when they allowed Rex Burkhead to burst up the middle and swallow up a Bronco punt, leading to an eventual Gostkowski field goal.  For those of you keeping score at home, that’s a muffed punt, a blocked punt and a kick return TD in less than 20 minutes.  It might be the worst 20 minutes for a special teams unit in NFL history.  On Denver’s next field goal attempt I was all but expecting their kicker to get hit in the face with a pie just before he shanked it.

Imagine what might have happened if New England special teamer savant Matthew Slater wasn’t out with an injury.

With the first part of New England’s high altitude swing under their belt they now head to the even thinner hair of Mexico City to take on the disappointing Oakland Raiders.  A win over Oakland puts the Patriots at 8-2 and sets them on a potential home-field collision course with Pittsburgh week 15.  For now, however, the Patriots find themselves standing on familiar ground, at the top of the AFC.  Not bad for a team that started 2-2 and had Patriots fans from Bangor to Boston pressing the early season panic button.

Notes

Phil Simms 2.0:  What the hell has happened to Cris Collinsworth?  There was a time, not long ago, when Collinsworth was considered the best in the business.  Edgy, smart and interesting he possessed all the requisite qualities to be an elite game analyst.  Couple that with a relentless work ethic and Collinsworth was as good as it gets.  Now?  Not so much.  I’m not sure if he became so rich and famous he decided he didn’t want to offend anyone, or if he lost that early motivation that spurs most people starting a new job, or if he simply lost his fastball, but somewhere along the way Collinsworth has morphed into a spineless, annoying dolt that blathers on about nothing and tries to carve out time in every broadcast to kiss somebody’s ass at NFL headquarters.  The latest target of his unwavering ass kissery: NFL officials.

It wasn’t so much his desire to praise the officials that was the problem, but the bizarre Phil Simms-esque way that he did it.  During the broadcast while attempting to speak effusively about NFL officials and the many challenges they face he said this, “Sometime if you want to get a feel for how hard that job is, go into the NFL offices and check it out.”  What does that mean?  No, seriously, what does that mean?  I literally have no idea.  Is he implying any schmo can just show up at the headquarters of the most powerful and paranoid sports league on the planet and say, “Hey, I want to know about how hard it is to be an official”.  And then what happens?  How exactly do they illustrate how hard an official’s job is?  Do they usher you off to a room and play you a video?  Do they let you sit down with an NFL official so he can discuss the challenges he faces in the workplace?  Do they hire a dramatic actor to read the NFL rule book out loud?  Collinsworth is having more and more of these empty moments and it’s starting to drag down what was once the best broadcast team in the game.

The Butler Still Isn’t Doing It:  Rough day for Malcolm Butler who spent most of the day chasing Broncos wideout Emmanuel Sanders.  Sanders finished the game with 6 catches for 137 yards.  Impressive, considering his quarterback is some guy that has been released more times than O.J. Simpson.  More troubling is this marks the end of a good stretch of games by Butler and the only variable that was different Sunday night was the return of Stephon Gilmore.  It’s hard to fathom that Gilmore’s presence is actually affecting Butler’s ability to cover opposing wide receivers, but it’s not a theory that should be immediately dismissed.  The Gilmore signing has been in Butler’s head all year, something he, himself, has admitted, and it’s not unreasonable to wonder if Butler, when playing with Gilmore, feels a certain competitive fire that triggers him to freelance and take foolish chances.  Just a theory, but something worth monitoring.

Bum’s Kid Can Coach:  Wade Phillips was a lousy head coach but as defensive coordinator he is a certified wizard.  In 2015 and 2016, under Phillips, the Broncos defense finished 4th in scoring back-to-back years.  This year, with almost the exact same personnel, but a new coach, they are 29th.  Phillips is now the new D coordinator for the Rams.  Last year they had the 23rd ranked scoring defense.  In 2017 they are ranked 3rd.  The dude can coach.  

The Curious Case Of Martellus Bennett:  Martellus Bennett had an innocuous night on the stat sheet, hauling in 3 catches for 38 yards.  But those three catches triggered quite the shit storm in the context of how Bennett became a Patriot again.  A quick summary: Bennett was released by the Green Bay Packers with a “failure to disclose an injury” designation because they felt Bennett withheld that his shoulder was hurt when he signed a 3-year/21 million contract last March, causing him to explode on Instagram that not only were the Packers lying, their team doctor had pressured him to play with the injury, which then spurred a bunch of current and former Packers to vehemently defend the doctor and question the integrity of Bennett, who then was claimed off waivers by the Patriots and, despite telling Green Bay he was having season-ending surgery because he was in so much pain, played Sunday night for New England.  Got it.

Let’s try and answer a few of the questions at the heart of this mess:

Q:  Was Bennett injured when he signed with Green Bay?

A:  Players get physicals before they sign big contracts so it seems unlikely that Bennett had a significant injury last March that Green Bay was unaware of.  We won’t know for sure unless the situation is adjudicated and evidence is presented, which seems likely if the Packers intend on going after Bennett’s signing bonus.

Q:  Did Green Bay’s team doctor, Patrick McKenzie, pressure Bennett to play thru an injury?

A:  I don’t know Dr. McKenzie from Dr. Doolittle but when everybody that has worked with him rushes to immediately defend him and not a single story surfaces supporting Bennett’s claim, it makes Bennett look like he is full of it.  Most likely Bennett was simply pissed and decided to just start slinging arrows at anybody wearing green and gold.  Also the Bennett family has a history of having a tenuous relationship with the truth.

Q:  Did Bennett fake his injury?

A:  Highly doubtful.  Bennett claims he notified the Packers of his injury weekly on his body evaluation form and he says he met with several outside doctors about his shoulder.  Unless he is a compulsive liar that doesn’t mind being publicly humiliated when the truth comes out, it is unlikely that the injury is a complete fabrication.  

Q:  Did he quit on the Packers?

A:  Hell yeah.  Hard to argue that he didn’t when he told Green Bay he was shutting it down for the season then was seen galloping across the field in a Patriots uniform a few days later.  There’s an old adage in football, you’re either hurt or injured, and if you’re hurt, you play.  Bennett was clearly more hurt than injured but decided that catching passes from some scrub named Hundley just wasn’t worth the pain or risk.  Catching passes from the greatest quarterback that ever lived on the other hand, that’s a different story.  It also helps when the G.O.A.T. himself personally texts you and asks you to come back. 

Q:  Did the dark lord, Bill Belichick, orchestrate this entire thing?

A:  No, but the world would be a lot more interesting a place if he did.  It should surprise nobody that this is immediately what some assumed when New England claimed Bennett off waivers.  The Patriots have, um, had some trouble in the past with pushing the envelope to gain a competitive edge and this reputation mixed with good old fashioned jealousy has left them so far imbedded in their opponent’s heads that they even see Patriot conspiracies in the fog.  The reality is simple, New England saw a guy that both knew their system and played a position where they were thin and they grabbed him.  Initially, Bennett claims he was going to reject the Patriots and get surgery but had a revenge fueled change of heart, "After trying to get (shoulder) fixed and getting waived, you get that vengeance in your heart and you say 'fuck it, let's go ball.'"

Onto Mexico (try not to get kidnapped and don’t drink the water)

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Patriots Stun NFL, Trade Garoppolo

By Michael Vallee

The New England Patriots used a productive yet plodding offense and a fast emerging defense to defeat the San Diego Los Angeles Chargers 21-13 at Gillette on Sunday.  It was by no means the Patriots best game but it was all they needed against the perpetually inconsistent, forever .500 Chargers, who managed just enough self-inflicted wounds to prevent any chance of an upset.  

The Patriots are now 6-2 at the midway point, tied for the best record in the conference.  Not bad for a team that started the season by getting their face stomped at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.  But none of this is what Patriots fans are talking about.  After months of discussion, debate and speculation on Monday night Bill Belichick dealt one of his most prized assets when he shipped QB Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2018 second round pick.  I’m not quite sure it qualifies as a “do you remember where you were when…” kind of trade, but for those of us that have followed every chapter of the Jimmy G saga, it comes close.

For starters, this was a deadline deal nobody saw coming.  Nobody.  Not Adam Schefter or Peter King. Not Ben Volin or Tom E. Curran.  They were all blindsided by this trade which reportedly went from nonexistent to consummated in the span of just 24 hours.  Let’s delve into the tidal wave of questions triggered by this trade and see if we can cull a few answers from this confounding situation.

The most immediate question surrounding this move is, what changed?  Just six months ago Adam Schefter told anyone who would listen that the Patriots were not, under any circumstances, trading Jimmy Garoppolo, going so far as to say New England would not trade him even if they were offered four 1st round picks.  It was a jarring statement for most Patriot fans, who knew Garoppolo was entering the final year of his contract and viewed him as an obvious trade piece to bring back a haul of draft picks.  It was widely believed that Brady’s disciplined TB12 lifestyle and his stellar play in leading New England to yet another championship, had secured his future with the Patriots and thus a Jimmy G deal was inevitable.  It was presumed that the draft return from such trade would be the cornerstone of a potentially massive offseason.  

The NFL Draft came and went with no deal, making Schefter look clairvoyant and sparking a new wave of speculation about the future of the QB position in New England.  Is Garoppolo officially the heir apparent to Brady?  Has Brady privately informed the team of a retirement date in the near future?  Could they hit Garoppolo with the franchise tag and keep both quarterbacks for the next two years?  Obviously Belichick wasn’t providing any answers but his actions during the offseason spoke volumes and made one thing crystal clear - he liked Jimmy Garoppolo as a quarterback.  He liked him a lot.

So what changed?  How did Garoppolo go from untouchable to traded in just six months?  The short answer is, nothing changed.  At least not from Belichick’s perspective.  Just check out what he said about Garoppolo when he faced the media the day after the trade, “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jimmy…...the 49ers are getting a good player, they’re getting a good person and they’re getting a great teammate.”  Belichick added, “We probably had, in my opinion, the best quarterback situation in the league for the last, call it, two-and-a-half years.”  And Belichick wasn’t even prompted by a question, that was all part of his opening statement.  Belichick is not known for speaking so effusively about the dead, i.e. the recently traded, so for him, that was borderline gushing.  Hell, it would take a deep Google search to find examples of Belichick speaking that glowingly of Brady.  

Then there’s this.  In the lengthy piece about Brady’s future at espn.com, they report that Belichick has told friends in the past year that he wants to coach Garoppolo as a starter and believes he can win a Super Bowl with him.  Call it ego or simply a thirst for a fresh challenge, but Belichick clearly is intrigued, if not enamored, with the idea of Jimmy G as his full-time quarterback.  So, again, what changed?  Why is Jimmy Garoppolo a 49er?  Let’s get back to those questions later.  First, why don’t we delve into what New England got as compensation and the curious timing of the deal.

One of the tag lines you will hear about this deal is that New England used a 2nd round pick on Garoppolo and received a 2nd round pick in return, so it’s a wash.  Ignore that garbage.  That would be like saying a penthouse in Manhattan and a basement studio in Queens are roughly the same because they are both apartments in New York.  The Patriots got back a decent return in this deal, landing a draft pick that will likely fall between picks 33 and 35.  Garoppolo was drafted with the 62nd pick which is a far cry from, say, the 34th pick.  Despite this, it is more than fair to ask if they could have received more, either last spring, at the deadline, or in the 2018 offseason.  The answer is yes, most likely, and probably not.

Last spring is where Belichick appears to have really blown it.  Mary Kay Abbott reported last offseason that the Browns’ “dream scenario” was to land Garoppolo in a trade with the 12th overall pick.  This appears to contradict Ian Rapoport, who reported that the Patriots were never offered a 1st round pick by the Browns.  The reality is, both can be right.  The Browns may very well have wanted to land Garoppolo with the 12th pick but never formally made the Patriots an offer because of all the reports swirling around that New England had no interest in dealing him.  And therein lies the rub.  It is impossible to know what exactly Garoppolo’s value was last spring, because the Patriots never put him on the market.  An appraiser can tell you what they think your house is worth, but you’ll never really know until you slap the “For Sale” sign on the lawn and put it on the market.

Technically we will probably never know for sure what the Patriots would have received for Garoppolo before the 2017 Draft, but a quick read of the NFL landscape and a little common sense tells you it would have been more than what they just got.  Maybe a lot more.  At minimum, the Browns, Bears, Texans and 49ers were looking to fill their massive hole at quarterback last spring.  The list is likely longer than that but all it takes is two teams to drive up the price, so four would have been more than enough to orchestrate a bidding war.  Furthermore, some of these teams, like the Browns and 49ers were sitting on a cache of extra draft picks.  Add to that a QB draft class that was universally considered weak and you have the perfect opportunity for unloading a smart, accurate quarterback with movie star looks.  

If New England had asked every QB starved team to make their best offer for Jimmy G, and informed them that there were multiple suitors, I will go to my grave believing they would have walked away with more than a 2nd round pick.  From there the scenarios are endless.

They could have used those picks to trade down and secure even more picks over the 2017 and 2018 drafts, adding a pile of young talent to their roster.

They could have packaged those picks, moved up and filled a need with an All-Pro caliber player.

They could have drafted Deshaun Watson as the heir apparent to Brady.

They could have received the 12th pick plus Joe Haden from the Browns possibly preventing them from wasting spending 65 million on a cornerback who looks more lost in zone coverage than Harvey Weinstein at sensitivity training.

Any one of those scenarios is better than what they got from San Francisco.  If Garoppolo was never going to be the future of the New England Patriots, Belichick should have maximized his asset and squeezed as much value for him as possible.  Waiting, and taking less, was just postponing the inevitable.

So, why did Belichick wait, and after waiting, why did he not just push the entire thing to next offseason?  The timing of this deal was, to say the least, strange.  Belichick addressed the timing when he spoke to the media Tuesday saying, “We rode it out as long as we could”, then, in reference to keeping both Brady and Garoppolo said, “We, over a period of time, explored every option to try to sustain it.”  Again, a modest read between the lines tells you that Belichick was all in on Jimmy G, to the point where he was willing to sacrifice a return on the asset just to have a chance to keep his talented backup.  This was confirmed Monday by Adam Schefter on WEEI’s Kirk & Callahan Show when Schefter indicated the team had been working on a bridge deal with their backup QB.

Thinking they could sign Garoppolo strikes me as foolish, bordering on insane.  Why would a talented veteran NFL QB agree to spend his first 7 years relegated to the bench, earning roughly half of what he’s worth, to eventually play for a coach that might be retired by the time he gets his shot?  And if he did sign a deal like that wouldn’t it instantly call into question his competitiveness?  After he signed the deal wouldn’t you be tempted to turn to him and say, “What the hell is wrong with you?  Don’t you want to compete?  Why would you sign away half of your prime to be a backup?”  

And let’s pretend for a minute that Garoppolo’s love of cold weather, crippling traffic and Dunkin Donuts actually had him contemplating signing such a deal, isn’t that something you should have ascertained six months ago?  Belichick looks like a sucker on this one, an NFL coach suddenly thrust into the role of the nerd waiting around for Amber, the smoking hot cheerleader, to say yes to his prom invite.  I hate to break it to you, Bill, but Amber was never going to the prom with you and Jimmy G was never signing an extension with the Patriots.

So did the Patriots at least maximize the asset when they did finally trade Garoppolo?  A quick survey of the key players in this football drama suggests that they did not.  It started with Schefter’s bizarre appearance on Kirk & Callahan where he alluded to the benefits of dealing with San Francisco by reminding us that they are out of conference and mentioning that they did did not fire Belichick, a not-so-subtle Cleveland Browns reference.

Maybe Schefter was still rattled by the trade news but the point about the Browns makes absolutely no sense.  For starters, Schefter got his franchises wrong as it was technically the Ravens that fired Belichick since they were the team that originally moved from Cleveland.  It’s also worth mentioning that the guy who actually fired Belichick, Art Modell, is dead so I’m thinking Bill has let that grudge go.  Additionally, Belichick has done multiple trades with the Browns including trading them Jamie Collins a year ago.  The out of conference mention, though, hints at a troubling theme that suggests Belichick did not subject Garoppolo to a bidding war and instead choose to just deal with the 49ers.  This possibility was furthered by Belichick who made a point to mention that Garoppolo was going to a good situation in San Fran.

Why does that matter?  It’s Belichick’s job to find the best deal, not set up Garoppolo for the future.  Is it possible that Belichick actually dealt exclusively with the 49ers because he wanted to put Jimmy G in a good situation and because he has respect for Mike Shanahan, whose son Kyle coaches the Niners?  If so that is not exactly living up to your fiduciary responsibilities as Patriots coach and de facto GM.  Garoppolo’s not a dog you’re putting up for adoption and you need to find him a good home.

Before you dismiss the theory, Radio host Benjamin Allbright reported that the Cleveland coaches were incensed that the Browns were not in on the Garoppolo sweepstakes and he also reported that Brown’s VP Sashi Brown didn’t even know about the trade until over an hour after it was made.  That’s stunning.  Belichick never even called the Browns.  It makes zero sense that Belichick would not call a team that is loaded with draft capital, desperate for a QB, and had interest 6 months ago in the very QB that you’re trading.  If he was a lesser GM, it would almost be a fireable offense.  

Cleveland isn’t the only team that might have driven up the price.  How about the Arizona Cardinals?  Here’s my Cardinals sales pitch:  How would you guys like to rescue your 2017 season, have a franchise QB for the future to pair with RB David Johnson and cock-block a team in your own division.  Are you telling me Arizona doesn’t offer at least a 1st round pick?  Again, like in the offseason, it feels like Belichick blew it.

It would be one thing if the Niners had offered New England a haul and maybe paired it with an ultimatum that the Patriots had to take their deal or it was off the table.  But that ain’t what happened.  A top 35 pick is a solid return but certainly not worth eliminating all bidding.  Consider that LT Duane Brown was traded for a package similar in value to Garoppolo’s.  Since when does a left tackle have the same value as a potential franchise QB?  

Then there are the reports that Cleveland had a deal at the deadline to acquire A.J. McCarron from the Bengals for a 2nd and 3rd round pick, a package potentially more valuable than what New England got for Garoppolo.  WTF?!?  If you polled 32 NFL front offices over who they would prefer, Garoppolo or McCarron, unless McCarron’s wife is included in the deal, 32 out of 32 teams would choose Garoppolo.  Of course the McCarron deal never was consummated because, in what might be the most perfect moment to exemplify an entire franchise’s pathetic existence, the Browns were so busy celebrating the deal they missed the trade deadline and the trade was voided.  

(Quick side bar:  Bahahahahahaha, wow that’s dumb.  What the hell is wrong with them?  Imagine being a Cleveland Browns fan and reading that story.  Nothing like finding out your team is literally run by buffoons.  I’m not sure any NFL franchise has ever been lower than the Browns are right now.  The league should make them change their team logo to Charlie Brown whiffing on yet another kick.)

Finally, there are the words of Niners GM, John Lynch, who told the media that when New England called him about a possible trade for Garoppolo the Patriots were emphatic that Lynch keep the negotiations 100% private.  That doesn’t exactly sound like a team trying to spread the word and generate competing offers.  Sounds more like somebody dealing exclusively with one team and, for some unexplained reason, wanting to keep it that way.  If that is true, Belichick made a huge blunder.  Belichick loves to say, “I’m always gonna do what’s best for the football team”, well somebody needs to explain to me why exclusively negotiating with the Niners was best for the football team.

Belichick is also getting criticized for the timing of this deal.  Why now, as opposed to after the season which would provide New England with some insurance from a Brady injury?  On this one, Belichick got it right.  In order to trade Garoppolo after the season the Patriots would have had to slap him with the franchise tag.  This would tie up over 20 million dollars in cap space and cripple New England early in free agency if a deal could not be completed quickly.  Additionally, such a move would take the franchise tag out of the equation to use on any other Patriot players. After a half season of Gilmore would you be surprised if Belichick was having buyer’s remorse and wanted to hold onto any chips that might help the team keep Malcolm Butler?

It’s not clear what the QB market would look like next spring.  Several previously QB-deficient teams (Texans, Bears, Rams, etc.) seem to have found quarterbacks and the ones that remained (Niners, Browns, Cardinals, etc.) might have decided that someone like Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen are better and less expensive options than Garoppolo.  It is unlikely they would have gotten more for Garoppolo after the season, and they might have gotten less.

Yes, trading Jimmy G now is a gamble, and one that could make Belichick look foolish, but Brady is a genetic freak who appears to be aging in reverse, so betting on his health isn’t exactly the riskiest play.

One final but significant nugget before we tie this all together.  Ryan Burr of the Golf Channel and NBC Sports tweeted out this, “Brady camp 3 days ago felt privately TB could be traded by Bill after 17. This was a Kraft decision to make it clear Brady finishes as a Pat.”  If true, that tweet is a whopper.  Kraft is supposed to be hands off on the football stuff; if he intervened to resolve this Brady/Garoppolo situation that is a big F’n deal.  But the part about Brady being traded after 2017 by Belichick should surprise nobody.

Belichick has always been a ruthless horse trader when it comes to personnel moves and has never let a silly thing like loyalty get in the way of a good deal.  Furthermore, Belichick and Brady have a surprisingly icy relationship outside of football.  You would be hard pressed to find a single picture of them interacting socially during the offseason.  Brady once went so far as to say he has never eaten dinner with Bill Belichick.  Eighteen years together and they haven’t so much as shared an order of Arby’s together!?!  There is certainly a mountain of mutual respect between Belichick and Brady but not the bond you would have assumed after all those years in the trenches.  

This brings us back to where we started and that simple question, what changed?  What changed in the last six months that suddenly made Jimmy G expendable?  Cobbling together all that we know, a clear theory emerges.  It appears that Belichick was fully committed to Garoppolo.  Knowing how important the quarterback position is, Belichick concluded that the Patriots had to make the difficult choice of moving on from the G.O.A.T. himself in order to guarantee that the team could keep Garoppolo as the future of the franchise.  

But Belichick knew moving on from Brady was no small thing, and with his soon to be 40-year old QB coming off another MVP-caliber season, he decided to move forward on a short-term plan to keep both QBs.  He also, most likely, broached the topic of trading Brady with Robert Kraft and quickly learned that this was a non-starter for Kraft.  Belichick then, against all logic, shelved any idea of a Garoppolo trade and turned his energy towards trying to secure a contract extension for his backup QB.  Remember that great line from the Shawshank Redemption, “Some birds aren’t meant to be caged, their feathers are just too bright”?  After six months of haggling, it likely became clear to Belichick that Garoppolo had no more interest in being New England’s backup quarterback.  Jimmy G wanted out of his cage.

Maybe Belichick made one more run at Kraft, imploring him to make the tough choice on Brady so they could secure their long-term future at the QB position; a bizarre priority for a coach that just became eligible for Social Security.  After getting rebuked again by Kraft, Belichick decided to finally let go, and refocused on finding a taker for Garoppolo.  Shortly thereafter, a deal was made.  His vast potential and dreamy looks were now property of the 49ers, undoubtedly increasing heart palpitations throughout the Bay area.

As for New England, they were left with an extra draft pick and a 40-year old starting quarterback.  Under normal conditions that would not be an enviable position, but there is nothing normal about Tom Brady.  He continues to kick father time’s ass up and down the field and is in the midst of yet another MVP-caliber season.  

So, if Kraft did intervene to keep Brady, was it the right decision?  Some will say only time can tell, but for me, the jury is in.  Whether Brady falls off the proverbial cliff in five games or five years, Kraft made the right call.  When a guy has given as much as Brady to your franchise, at some point, loyalty has to matter.  

Brady has been as selfless and hardworking an athlete as these parts have ever seen and you don’t just discard that, and five Super Bowl rings, because something new comes along.  I’m sure Garoppolo will make a great starting quarterback, and yes, someday Brady will no longer be able to play like Brady, but until that day comes, you ride that old horse as far as he can take you; which, most years, is to the top of the NFL.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Patriots Bury Reeling Falcons

By Michael Vallee

dam·aged goods

noun

plural noun: damaged goods

a person regarded as inadequate or impaired in some way

a team that is psychologically damaged after blowing a 28-3 Super Bowl lead

Hangovers, most of us have had them in one form or another.  The pounding headache.  The nausea.  The cloudiness and sheer exhaustion.  What ensues after a night of heavy drinking can be nothing short of miserable.  All of that, however, pales in comparison to a Super Bowl hangover.  The pain.  The regret.  The wrenching sickness of knowing you failed at the biggest opportunity on the biggest stage in American sports - or really, the biggest stage in American anything, except maybe, a presidential election.

Then there’s what the Atlanta Falcons experienced last February.  The unfathomable, unimaginable, incomprehensible, heretofore non-existent, 28-3 Super Bowl hangover.  In many ways it is its own entity, existing in some kind of unexplored sports dimension.  Not only had no team ever blown a lead anywhere near that large on that stage, few had probably ever even considered the possibility.  Yeah, the 2012 Ravens came close against the 49ers, but in the end they won, and that’s all that matters.  Nobody would have ever mentioned the 2004 Yankees 3-0 collapse if they had won game 7 against the Red Sox.  Winning cures all.

On the other hand, losing a game like that leaves a scar long and deep.  At least the 2004 Yankees had several days to slowly come to grips with their eventual collapse.  The emotional swing of thinking you are going to win the Super bowl by blowing out Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, then roughly an hour later losing the game altogether is almost too much for the sports brain to process.

Yes, naturally, people have been forced to deal with far greater tragedies than losing a football game, but I defy you to find anything worse that has happened in the realm of sports.  And before you play the ‘07 Patriots card, just remember, as much of a gut-punch loss as that was, the Patriots still walked off that field in Arizona with three Super Bowl rings in their pocket and a future as bright as any team in the NFL.  

None of that is true about the Atlanta Falcons.  In 51 years of existence the Falcons haven’t won jack shit.  The ‘07 Patriots were simply trying to expand their already sizable trophy case.  They were the NFL’s version of a thriving fat cat looking to add more riches to a burgeoning fortune.  The Falcons, however, were trying to win that all important first title, and in the devastating loss side of sports, numbers matter.  If the ‘04 Red Sox, who were trying to end an 86-year championship drought, had lost to the Cardinals in the World Series it would have been soul crushing.  If the ‘13 Red Sox, who were attempting to win their 3rd title in 10 years, had lost the World Series it would have been soon forgotten.  When a team falls on its face, recent championships are like a crutch they can use to push themselves off the canvas.

Do you really think the Meryl Streeps and Jack Nicholsons are phased when they fail to win yet another Academy Award?  Someone like Michael Keaton on the other hand, an actor that gets just one shot at that big prize, was probably devastated when he lost.  The 2016 Falcons are like the Michael Keaton of Super Bowl hopefuls, a one-off team that wasn’t launching a dynasty, but rather just trying to grab that brass ring in the one chance they got.

And they blew it.  Big time.

That was the setup when the Atlanta Falcons stumbled into Foxboro Sunday night.  A damaged team, desperately searching for redemption.  Recent losses to Buffalo and Miami only compounded their issues.  In the Miami game they blew a 17-0 lead at home.  After a 3-0 start, suddenly Atlanta looked more lost than post-election Hillary.  But on this night redemption would not come.  Not even close.  For 60 minutes the Patriots dominated and dismantled the reeling Falcons, coasting to a 23-7 win.  If Atlanta started the game rattled and teetering on the brink they ended it in full-blown shell shock.

Recent losses to Buffalo and Miami only compounded their issues.  In the Miami game they blew a 17-0 lead at home.  After a 3-0 start, suddenly Atlanta looked more lost than post-election Hillary.

To understand the mental state of the Falcons, one needs only to study one decision from Sunday night’s game.  With two minutes remaining in the half and the Falcons facing a 4th and 6 at midfield, Dan Quinn sent his offense back on the field to extend the drive.  It was one of those moments where the thought of going for it seemed so bat shit crazy you just assumed Atlanta was going to either try and draw New England offsides or take a delay of game penalty to give their punter a better shot at dropping a kick inside the 10-yard line.  

Yes, it is true, the Falcons had gone for it in a similar situation earlier on the game but that was different.  The score was 0-0 at the time and while it was a questionable decision an argument could be made that Atlanta was simply making an aggressive move to grab an early lead.  The decision had a slight air of desperation but to beat the Bill Belichick coached Patriots has always required a combination of brains and balls, so it was hard to fault Atlanta for showing a little of the latter.  

The second 4th down was different.  Thanks to a blocked field goal and an ill-timed roughing the passer penalty earlier in the half, Atlanta now trailed 10-0.  With the game still competitive and knowing that they received the ball to start the second half, the Falcons needed to simply punt the ball away, stop the Patriots two-minute offense and regroup at half.  As far as coaching decisions go It was as easy it gets.  It’s what 100 out of 100 NFL coaches would do in that spot.  But 100 out of 100 coaches are not chasing the ghosts of 28-3.

Against all better judgment, on 4th and 6, Quinn had the offense run a play…...and it failed miserably.  To nobody’s surprise, eight plays later Brady and the Patriots scored to push the lead to 17-0.  Just like that, the game was over.  Frantically trying to pull out of a Super Bowl tailspin Quinn had made a colossal blunder.  Is there any doubt that if Atlanta had won the Super Bowl last year he punts the ball in that spot?  It was as if he wanted to send a message to his team that they were over the Super Bowl.  Instead he came off like a bad high school boyfriend trying desperately to convince you that he is over the chick that dumped him, even though everybody knows he is clearly not over her.

And Quinn isn’t over the Patriots, not by a longshot.  They are embedded in his brain.  Atlanta’s players, ownership, front office and fans are no different.  It was fitting that a thick fog rolled into Gillette during the second half of Sunday’s game, an apt metaphor for the Super Bowl haze that clouds the entire Falcons franchise - a franchise still haunted by that night last February.

It’s tough to say know how long it will take for them to recover but after Sunday night’s game you can write-off the 2017 Falcons.  They are deader than Dillinger.  Bill O’Reilly has a better chance of resurrecting his career than the Falcons do of rescuing the 2017 season.  And the final nail may have come from the team that is still in their head.  The team responsible for turning them into a full blown football basket case.  The team that all but broke their franchise last February with a comeback that started with that infamous score.

28-3.

Game Notes

-Here They Go Again:  We should all be required to write “I will never again doubt Bill Belichick and the Patriots” 100 times on a blackboard.  It was just three short weeks ago that the Patriots defense was getting lit up by a struggling Cam Newton, sending them to 2-2, effectively three games behind the conference leading Chiefs.  The secondary looked lost, the pass rush was non-existent and it was starting to look like one of those lost 2009 seasons.  Fast forward three games and the Patriots secondary has started to right itself, they have the same record as the Chiefs and they just came one garbage TD away from shutting out the Falcons.  Once again, all seems right in the Patriots world.

-Stupid is as Stupid does:  The 4th and goal jet sweep that Kyle Van Noy swallowed up has to be one of the five worst play calls I have ever seen at any level of football.  The Falcons had two downs to score from the one-yard line, they had been running the ball well on that drive and the best they could do was dial up that nonsense?  When Atlanta did finally score it ended a streak of 91 minutes and 20 seconds without scoring a single point.  It’s looking more and more like hiring volatile recovering party-boy Steve Sarkisian to replace offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan was a big mistake.  How about this stat: entering Sunday night’s game Julio Jones had two red one targets, not catches just targets, the entire year.  That is mind-blowing.  A guy like Jones should be seeing two targets every possession in the red zone.  Matt Ryan has also regressed back to his pre-MVP form under the tutelage of Sarkisian, himself a former QB.  Not sure what Quinn was thinking handing his Super Bowl offense over to a guy that wasn’t on the staff last year and has exactly one year of coaching experience in the NFL.

-Wicked Smaht:  Sunday night’s football game gave us what has to be one of the most baffling moments in sports broadcasting history when Chris Collinsworth said this about an experience he once had on one of Boston’s Duck Boat Tours, “You know what I learned on the duck tour?......In Boston, they don’t pronounce their R’s. It’s ‘pahk the cah.”  Uh, what?  How is it possible not to know that?  Does Collinsworth live in a cave?  He has lived 58 years on this earth and is unaware of one of the most mocked, parodied and mimicked accents in history.  That doesn’t seem possible.  He literally said “pahk the cah” like he had this juicy fresh nugget he was sharing with the audience.  I know I live in Boston but I think I’ve heard that expression roughly a thousand times in my life.

I wanna let this go but I just can’t.  How do you avoid the Boston accent?  Does Collinsworth not watch TV?  He works for NBC, has he ever watched Saturday Night Live?  Did he miss the whole Nomaaaah thing?  Maybe Collinsworth isn’t a politics guy, but it’s hard to fathom living in America and missing every speech the Kennedy family has ever given.  Did Collinsworth never see the Academy Award winning ‘Departed’?  How about ‘Good Will Hunting’?  Or the awful that terrible movie ‘The Perfect Storm’, which featured some best terrible Boston accents of all time?  Maybe, something more contemporary like ‘Patriots Day’?  Perhaps Collinsworth actually saw all those movies and spent the entire time thinking, “Why are they talking funny?”  Really, Chris, none of this rings a bell.  For crying out loud his kid went to Harvard?!?  He didn’t pick up on anything parents weekend?  I’ve always operated under the belief that Collinsworth was a smart well-rounded guy.  It might be time to rethink that.

-Stat of the week:  The much maligned AFC East has more wins than any other division in the NFL with 16.

-Crisis of Confidence:  It was interesting hearing from Collinsworth and Al Michaels that Malcolm Butler told them he lost confidence in himself as a result of the tumultuous offseason where he was passed over for a big contract in favor of Stephen Gilmore and almost traded to New Orleans.  If the signing of Gilmore hurt his confidence, I am guessing that playing next to Gilmore and seeing what 65 million gets you these days, has brought that confidence right back.

-From 28-3 to Atlanta’s late TD in garbage time, the Patriots outscored the Falcons 54-0.

-”The Fog is Getting Thicker…”:  Obviously the thick fog that blinded the traditional broadcast view was not ideal but it did allow the viewer to watch virtually the entire second half from a unique vantage point, almost providing a view of what Brady sees when he drops back to pass.  Of course it’s the Patriots so Twitter naturally assumed Belichick did some sort of halftime seance to conjure up the fog in an attempt to protect the Patriots lead.  Normally I don’t give much weight to Twitter based conspiracies but even Julio Jones hinted after the game that “fireworks” might have been the source of the haze over Gillette.  Cue ‘Zombie’ by The Cranberries, “In your head, in your heeead…”

-Why doesn’t linebacker David Harris play more?  Seeing the most action he’s seen all year because of an injury to Elandon Roberts, Harris was solid against the Atlanta run game including one play where he knocked All-Pro center Alex Mack on his ass then buried RB Tevin Coleman.  Harris is both bigger and more experienced than Roberts.

-Great interview with Andrea Kremer and Brady’s parents detailing what they all went through regarding his mom, Galynn’s, cancer diagnosis and treatment.  It is definitely worth a watch.  Brady’s parents were at the game Sunday as part of the NFL’s “Crucial Catch” campaign.  Even though the interview was less about football and more about serious real-life stuff it was hard not to think about the football side of the equation and marvel at what Brady had to deal with while preparing for the Super Bowl.  His mother was so sick they weren’t sure if she would even make it to Houston for the game and she was not even cleared to fly until the day before her flight.  Despite all that, Brady managed to stay laser focused in preparing to not only play in front of the brightest spotlight in sports but play a spots that, unlike the others, requires extensive preparation and game-planning.  Brady has to be as mentally tough as any athlete that’s ever lived.

Onto San Diego, er, LA.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Pats Outlast Bucs: A Road Trip to Tampa

By Michael Vallee

A friend of mine likes to say, “Once is a fluke, twice is a trend”.  With that in mind my friends and I say set out last week on our second consecutive Patriots road trip, making this officially a tradition.  Last year’s inaugural trip was to the depressing dystopian waste land also known as Buffalo, so we were definitely expecting an upgrade with this year’s destination: Tampa, Florida.

Takeoff:  The Buffalo trip was a ground affair, which meant 16 hours round trip driving across the tediously boring 1-90 corridor (actually 12 hours if you have a friend that thinks he’s Al Unser).  This year we were traveling by air, and since I don’t travel for work, that meant getting reaquainted with the joys of post-9/11 air travel.  

This did not begin well, as I missed my early morning flight, sort of.  In the “old” days missing a flight meant you were sprinting thru the airport like O.J. Simpson (sorry but there just aren’t any other airport running references) and arriving at your gate at 7:32am for a 7:30am flight.  I “missed” my flight by arriving 40 minutes before takeoff only to be informed, in the most robotic and unpleasant way possible, that bag check ends 45 minutes before takeoff.  Apparently the size of my luggage represented a threat to national security so my bag could not be carried on.  Luckily there was another flight leaving 30 minutes later for Philadelphia with enough time to spare to meet my friends for the connecting flight to Tampa.  Whew.  

One layover, two flights and three bags of pretzels later we deplaned from the claustrophobic hell that is coach in the 21st century and set foot in the state that provides the internet with 90% of it’s NSFW content, Florida.

Tampa:   Arriving from the northeast and setting foot into the Florida sun conjures up one simple word - sweltering.  The heaviness of the humidity hits you like a bag of bricks.  Which is so Florida.  Whether you are in the theme-park laden area of Orlando, the redneck panhandle or the art deco social mecca that is Miami, Florida is not exactly a state that hides who it is.  It takes all of one 30 minute ride from the airport to our hotel in Clearwater, to get an immediate sense of what much of this area is all about.  

The tackiness.  The palm trees.  The touristy stuff.  The chain restaurants.  The pink buildings.  The Tampa area is like a sexy strip mall.  In one location you can pick up your prescription at CVS, grab some groceries, then get your nipples pierced, grab another lower back tattoo and, if there’s time, maybe pick up some fake breasts.  It is cheesy Florida convenience at its finest.  And Florida is nothing if not convenient.  Not only is there some form of a gas station, pharmacy, fast food or grocery store on virtually every block but they are all open 24 hours.  Literally nothing closes.  Outside of the weather it might be the single biggest difference between Tampa and Boston.

The chain restaurants are all those ones that you’ve never actually seen anywhere in the Boston area.  Places like, Sonic, Little Caesars and Long John Silvers, low rent fast food that, for people like me, only exists in bad commercials.  The chain restaurants did, however, provide temporary relief from the not-so-subtle pastel decor of Florida.  It’s everywhere.  We saw a yellow stucco building that had “Internal Revenue Service” written on the front.  It almost seemed like somebody randomly threw those letters on the front of the building as part of some elaborate hoax.

As we get closer to Clearwater the roads are inundated with bad motels.  You know, those one-story types that look like they rent by the hour and on their signs openly boast about “clean rooms” and “cable”.  If you stay at a place that brags that its rooms are clean you’re probably in for a disappointing stay.  There was a time in college where I could see my friends and I sleeping six to a room in one of those places.  Thankfully on this trip we were driving right past those hell holes for our weekend headquarters:  Shephard’s Beach Resort.

It’s a quick turnaround after we check-in.  The Red Sox are beginning their postseason that afternoon so we head out to a sports bar near Raymond James Stadium to pregame before the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers square off on Thursday Night Football.

The Game:  On the way to the bar we hit bad traffic.  It’s early so it’s not so much game day traffic as it is Tampa traffic, brought on by the city’s desire to seemingly place as many traffic lights on its highways as possible.  Route 60 is Tampa’s answer to Route 9 in Massachusetts.  If you don’t get the reference consider yourself one of the lucky souls that doesn’t have to frequent one of the most annoying traffic-laden roads in America.

We eventually arrive at our sports bar of choice: The Winghouse Bar and Grill.  Unfortunately the Boston hostile takeover was in full effect with every drunken Patriots fan down for the game descending upon the Winghouse like it was the only place in Tampa serving food.  This left us staring at a 1 to 2 hour wait.  They won’t even let us in to drink.  But wait, this is Tampa, if you can’t go to the party, the party comes to you.  In an attempt to cater to its many waiting customers the Winghouse has whipped up a makeshift bar outside where everybody is welcome to drink in the parking lot and watch the outdoor TVs.  Apparently Tampa’s open-container laws are slightly more lax than they are in Boston.

The Winghouse is your typical T & A sports bar, one of those places where hot scantily clad chicks serve you beer and bar food and have subtle names like “Twin Peaks”.  We found this fitting considering the Tampa/Clearwater area is home to the original Hooters.  Aah, nothing like a little culture to spice up the neighborhood.  The Winghouse though seemed to have a slightly different interpretation of the T & A sports bar with more of an emphasis on the A than the T.  They were like Hooters’ trashy cousin.

After watching the Sox get hammered, next it was off to Raymond James Stadium, home of the perennially disappointing Tampa Bay Bucs.  If first impressions matter the Buccaneers were not off to a good start as the first thing that greets you is a massive and incredibly lame billboard that had “SIEGE THE DAY” written across it.  Amateur hour.  

Unfortunately this theme continues throughout the game as we are hit with a relentless onslaught of nonsense.  Raffles, games, in-game Instagram pictures, cartoon car races, four day old highlights, anything and everything to remind you that the Buccaneers don’t think their fans are real football fans but rather the equivalent of toddlers that need constant distraction and stimulation to enjoy the game.  I was all but waiting for them to dangle a set of plastic toy car keys on the jumbotron in between plays and drop an oversize baby mobile over the field during timeouts.  The whole thing reeked of desperation, as if the entire game presentation was produced by a used car salesman.  It was less like an NFL game and more like a county fair.

Almost all of these distractions were introduced on the jumbotron by this chick that, as the game progressed, slowly became the most annoying woman in the world.  A couple of videos to entertain the masses is one thing, but I swear she must have appeared in 40 videos featuring all this pointless crap.  By the time the game ended it was almost impossible not to have developed an irrational hatred of this poor girl who was guilty of nothing more than having a really, really lame job.

A lot of the stuff seemed random, like repeatedly showing us a picture of some ex-Buc with a bad mustache named Paul Gruber.  But, as it turns out, this might not have been random at all as Gruber is a member of the Buccaneers Ring of Honor, and at halftime they were inducting former owner Malcolm Glazer into this elite and hallowed group.  Someday I can tell my grand kids I had a front row seat to one of the great days in Tampa sports history.

One thing that was not random but rather was disturbingly permanent was this:

Yup, those are bonafide male cheerleaders at an NFL game.  I would love to know the thought process that went into this decision.  “Hey guys we need something to appeal to our audience which consists largely of men age 10-70, any ideas?”  “I’ve got it, we add male cheerleaders to the sideline, that should keep the fans coming back.”  And they were sort of half-ass male cheerleaders at that.  No megaphones or uniforms to speak of, just a bunch of dudes in t-shirts pumping their fists and prodding the crowd.  Somewhere, ex-male cheerleader George W Bush was shaking his head in disgust.

The Bucs even struggled when it came to honoring their lone championship team.  Instead of raising a traditional banner for the 2002 World Championship team, the team instead honored them with a tattered old sail attached to the pirate ship stationed in one of the end zones.  I guess when you lose as much as the Bucs have, it’s hard to figure out what to do when you finally get a little taste of success.

The game itself ended in typical Thursday night fashion, with the Patriots holding on for a grinding 19-14 win.  A few quick thoughts on the game:

-It was a nice bounce back game for the defense coming off back-to-back 33 point games, including a putrid performance against Carolina.  That punk Jameis Winston is still unpolished but Tampa has a lot weapons and holding them to 14 in their own building is a good effort.  Stephen Gilmore, whom we shredded in this space after the Panthers debacle, had his best game as a Patriot, helping to hold explosive receiver Mike Evans to just 49 yards.

-Brady took an absolute pounding in this game.  Last year his body only had to endure 12 games and 15 sacks prior to the playoffs.  This year he has to play 16 games and has already been sacked 16 times.  I don’t care how pliable he is, if they don’t clean up the offensive line and find a way to get the short passing game going he is going to be one sore customer come January.  If he makes it to January.

-Patriots had one of their worst penalized games of the Belichick era with 12 penalties for 108 yards.  It wasn’t so much the total number of penalties as the potentially costly timing of them.  Two roughing the passer penalties in the final 10 seconds of the first half put Tampa in field goal range and a brutal penalty by Brandon Bolden on punt coverage extended a Buccaneer drive in the 3rd quarter.  Bolden committed two penalties on special teams which is problematic if you want to remain on the roster and you are a running back that can’t run.

-After watching yet another ugly Thursday night game it just baffles me why the NFL has not adopted the 18 week, double bye week schedule, guaranteeing that both Thursday night teams play each other following a bye.  This would not only give the owners the 18 week schedule they so covet and help preserve player health but it would dramatically upgrade the quality of play for the Thursday night games.  It would also be a nice PR bump in regards to all the CTE stuff.  It is the mother of all no brainers. 

Nothing like a curbside nap after a tough loss:

Shephard’s:  After the game it was back to our “resort” for 48 hours of Florida revelry.  Shephard’s Beach Resort is located in Clearwater Florida, which boasts beautiful beaches and plenty of riff-raff giving it the feel of a sort of trashy poorman’s riviera.  At the social epicenter of Clearwater is Shephard’s which serves a dual purpose as a hotel and an indoor/outdoor nightclub.  The term “epicenter” cannot be overstated as one night we asked our waitress what else there is to do in Clearwater and she responded, “I can’t think of anything else at all really”.  Oh well, so much for exploring the nightlife of Clearwater.  Tethered to our “resort” we settle in for two days of fun and sun Shephard’s style.

The first thing you notice during a day of drinking by the pool at Shephard’s is that this is not a place with a lot of rules.  In other words, our kind of place.  At one point in the pool, almost simultaneously, there was a guy doing cannon balls, two couples having a drunk chicken fight, a little girl eating chicken fingers with ketchup in the shallow end and a pigeon pecking at the remains of a fish taco.  This triggered my friend, who just bought a condo in Miami, to say, “Literally none of this would be allowed at my place.”  In fact, even when Shephard’s has an actual rule they don’t enforce it.  There is a no smoking sign outside of the lobby, and a massive ashtray right next to it, sending more mixed signals than my ex-girlfriend.

Before heading out Friday night we stop by the hotel’s all-you-can-eat buffet.  This is only noteworthy because of the eating performance we witnessed in a booth 10 feet away.  Two guys, determined to get every penny’s worth of their $34.99, and then some, sat down and proceeded to eat about 50 king crab legs each.  They were like machines.  No emotion, no chatter between platefulls, no wasted movements - just relentless non-stop king crab leg consumption.  It was an awesome spectacle.  I’m pretty sure the hotel lost money on the entire buffet that night because of these two.  

The crowd at the club that night was the same eclectic collection of random characters we encountered during much of this Florida trip.  You gotta love a place where you can see a gorgeous 22-year-old, a weathered 62-year-old and a mother with her 4-year-old child all drinking at the same place.  What do you do when you find out that Shephard’s doesn’t offer any baby-sitting services?  You say, “What the hell, I’ll just bring my kid to the club.”  It’s just like Cinderella’s castle at Disney World, only instead of a castle there’s a bar and instead of Cinderella there’s a bunch of drunk people.

Last call was surprisingly early for what you might expect from such a place, forcing us across the street to drink at the deceptively named “Filo’s Beach Bar & Grill”.  There was nothing “beach” about the place’; it was basically just a townie bar with a fancy name.  Commercially, Florida loves to milk the tropical theme for all it’s worth.  For example, you don’t just rent a scooter, you rent a “Sunset” Scooter.  Funny sidebar on the Sunset Scooter place, it provided us with the most Florida of all Florida moments on the trip.  On a sign in front of the place it says “DUI scooters”, because apparently they are electric and thus don’t require a license, so if you’ve been busted recently for driving under the influence, you can still legally drive a Sunset Scooter.  Ha, so Florida.

Saturday was another sunny, sweltering day, the majority of which was spent trying to consume as many beachside Dark Rum Pina Coladas as possible while flirting with our hot blonde bartender, Stacy.  Florida has so many blonde bartenders I’m convinced when you finish bartender school down there, at the graduation they grab you by the ankles and dip you into a vat of hydrogen peroxide.  Nonetheless, Stacy was extremely cool and made drinks twice as strong as anything you will get in Boston.  One of the many things about the sunshine state I will miss.

Saturday night wrapped up early as we had to wake up at 6am for an early flight.  Unfortunately, nobody told the band about my early flight and since my hotel room faced the outdoor nightclub I wasn’t getting any sleep before 2am.  If anybody ever again tells me that James Brown was the hardest working man in show business I will laugh at them.  The band at Shephard’s must have played a 12-hour set every day we were there.  I think I heard Tom Petty’s ‘American Girl’ roughly 25 times in three days.  

As the band roars on and the night winds down I see what cable has to offer and discover that Florida has what appears to be a 24-hour NASA channel, presumably to celebrate the presence of Cape Canaveral, NASA’s launch complex located in Brevard County.  At night the channel has a constant image of the earth from outer space.  It’s kind of cool but soon I am bored, go channel surfing and stumble across an infomercial more miraculous than any trip to the moon.  It is an ad for some kind of miracle skin cream being pumped up by former S.I. swimsuit cover model, Christie Brinkley.  This is 63-year-old Brinkley in the commercial:

Damn, she looks good.  That’s amazing.  She instantly passes Tom Brady on the list of people that are doing things at a certain age that human beings are not supposed to do.  In this case, her thing is looking ridiculously hot.  When she walks into the Bingo parlor the other women must seethe with jealousy.  I immediately start to think of what my grandmother looked like at that age.  It’s a side-by-side comparison that would not have ended favorably for grandma.

What better way to end a travel log to Florida than with a hot blonde made famous by her ability to wear a bikini better than anybody else on the planet.  So goodbye Tampa (and Clearwater).  While we won’t miss your traffic, humidity, overrated “resorts” and bad parents; we will miss your hot women, stiff drinks, sexy sports bars and endless array of warm ocean and sunshine.  So enjoy your DUI Scooters and your last place football team, maybe we’ll come back for a visit when you guys have another championship contender - I’m thinking sometime around 2030.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Why is Stephon Gilmore a Patriot?

By Michael Vallee

When the New England Patriots opened NFL free agency last March by signing Stephon Gilmore to a whopping 65 million dollar contract I imagine most Patriots fans reacted with some variation of the following, “Uh Gilmore…...um, OK…...uh, plays for the Bills right……..yeah he’s solid I guess…..don’t remember him much….”.  This was the classic “In Bill We Trust” signing.  A guy that was hundreds of miles off anybody’s radar, didn’t exactly make a big splash in the AFC East and played a position, corner, where they already had an elite player.  In short, the signing made little sense and on the “Un-Patriot-like Scale” was the free agent equivalent of the Patriots recording their own version of the ‘Super Bowl Shuffle’.  Now, after an embarrassing 33-30 home loss to the Carolina Panthers, a loss where Gilmore was exceptionally awful, it’s time to push “In Bill We Trust” aside and start asking “What the hell was Bill thinking?”

The defense has been bad all year but Sunday was particularly ugly.  The Panthers offense stumbled into Foxboro having scored just 22 points in their last two games, including a putrid 13 point performance at home against the Saints.  They put up 33 on the Patriots despite fumbling inside the 10-yard-line.  Entering Sunday Carolina had not thrown for more than 180 yards all year.  On Sunday they lit up New England for over 300 yards passing.  Cam Newton walked into Gillette a broken quarterback in a prolonged funk: He embarrassed himself in the Super Bowl against the Broncos, followed that up with the worst year of his career in 2016 and entered Sunday’s game with a QB rating of 69.7.  Newton may have walked in a broken man but he left with MVP swagger - shoulders back, chest puffed out and a 130.8 QB rating in his back pocket.

The Patriots defense has become like a therapy dog for NFL quarterbacks.  Dink-and-dunk Alex Smith entered his Patriots game needing to fend off a high rookie draft pick and establish the Kansas City Chiefs as a contender, well Alex, how does 368 yards and a 148.6 QB rating grab you.  Deshaun Watson entered his Patriots contest a struggling and confused rookie but left with confidence and clarity after putting up 342 yards of total offense.  And now the rebirth of Newton.  

Most disappointing is that the biggest culprit in this defensive mess is New England’s secondary - a much-hyped unit laced with talent and experience, that has been abysmal most of the season.  The Patriots pass defense ranks dead last in the NFL, allowing 324 yards per game.  The second worst team is the Eagles at 285 yards per game.  That’s a big gap.  Which brings us back to Gilmore.  

While everybody has struggled on some level in the secondary, Gilmore has been at the center of the mess, and Sunday he was a one-man wrecking crew of incompetence.  It’s not so much that he can’t cover as much as it is that he apparently doesn’t even know who to cover.  Whether it’s a late first half TD to a wide-open Devin Funchess or a Fozzy Whittaker touchdown where, not one, but two Panthers were left wide-open, it seems all it takes is the slightest motion or misdirection to turn Gilmore into a befuddled pile of goop.  And yes, I know, technically we don’t know what coverage they were in or who had what receiver but is it some wild coincidence that Gilmore seems to be involved in all of these plays.  Is there any doubt now that Tyreek Hill’s deep ball on the Patriots week 1 was Gilmore’s fault and not McCourty’s?

It probably isn’t helping the situation that New England’s secondary is communicating with each other about as well as the Democrats and Republicans, and certainly the entire unit, along with the coaches, need to shoulder the blame for that.  But it’s funny, I don’t seem to recall any problems with the secondary communicating before this year.  Hmmm, what has changed in the last year?  If only I could put my finger on it.  

Clearly, opposing teams have put their finger on it.  Sunday it looked like Carolina was using its receivers to play three-card Monty with the Patriots defensive backs.

Of course communication wasn’t the only problem that plagued Gilmore on Sunday.  Twice he was flagged for illegal hands to the face on 3rd and long to extend Carolina drives that led to scores.  The first penalty was simply a horrendous call as Gilmore’s fingertips barely grazed the lower part of Kelvin Benjamin’s facemask.  The second penalty was all Gilmore, and it was as costly as they come.  

Despite a wretched game New England’s defense actually showed a spark late in the 2nd half and it looked as if they had stopped Carolina with sacks on back-to-back 3 and outs.  It appeared that Brady, who had brought the team back from 14 down with consecutive touchdown drives, was going to get a shot to score for a third consecutive time and win the game.  All was going to be right with the world.  Then Gilmore, after having just been called for it, jams Carolina receiver Devin Funchess right in the mug.  Penalty.  Sack nullified.  First down.  Eight plays later the Panthers put Gilmore and the defense out of their misery with a game-winning field goal.

It’s not as if Funchess is some Wes Welker runt where you are almost forced to jam him near his face, the guy stands 6’5”.  It was an inexcusable and baffling mistake from a Patriots player that is looking more and more like an inexcusable and baffling signing.  Gilmore didn’t exactly instill confidence when he was asked about the penalty, “I was playing aggressive, I don’t know what else I can do.”  Really?  You’ve been in this league for 6 years and you don’t know how to prevent a penalty.  Here’s an idea, stop doing stuff that is against the rules.  And definitely stop doing stuff that is against the rules at really, really key moments in the game.  At the very least, stop getting caught.

“I don’t know what else I can do?”  Not exactly the cerebral answer you might expect from a Belichick coached player.  Which begs the question, why is Stephon Gilmore here?  What did Belichick see in this inconsistent and expensive cornerback from a franchise that has spent the last 15 years rotting away in the NFL’s basement?  Why is this the guy Belichick chose to break the bank for?

For starters, it’s not exactly the Patriot way to make any big splash in free agency, much less on day one.  Free agency has always been a bit of fool’s gold, wrought with big risks and expensive payouts, and the Belichick era has been no exception.  Only twice since 2001 has New England delved into the world of high-priced free agency and both times the results were less than spectacular: LB Rosevelt Colvin in 2003 and LB Adalius Thomas in 2007.  Both players had their moments but in the end came up way short of expectations and were eventually released.  If twice in your life you go on an expensive cruise, and both times you get sick, then you’re probably not booking a third cruise.  But after 10 years of staying away Belichick was sucked back into the unlimited buffets and awkward magic shows of the open seas, convincing himself that he had packed enough dramamine and this time would be different.  So far it’s been different alright, it’s been much worse.  

The entire mind set and process behind the signing of Gilmore was such a break from the normal way of doing business down at Foxboro.  The Patriots are supposed to be the patient and methodical ones.  The team that rarely trades up in the draft, and gladly trades down for picks in future years.  The team that never overpays for its own players, and welcomes them to test the market.  The team that calmly sits back when free agency opens, while all the desperate franchises trample all over each other like it’s midnight on black Friday, so they can throw away 100 million on the next Ndamukong Suh.  Not New England, they are smart shoppers.  The team that lies in the weeds waiting to pounce on the next bargain.  

Until now.

The Gilmore signing always had that whiff of desperation normally reserved for the other guys.  The Patriots didn’t even have him in for a visit.  No formal meeting to kick the tires and look him in the eye in the hope of getting some sense of what the player was all about.  No chance for Belichick to put him thru any of those mental tests he uses on potential draft picks.  No opportunity to find out if the loser mentality of the Buffalo Bills had seeped permanently into his DNA.  If they had a face-to-face maybe they could have asked him about that deep touchdown Chris Hogan caught against the Bills last year in Buffalo.  It was a play that was broken down expertly by Erik Turner of USA Today and, as Parcells used to say, the play had more red flags than May Day in Moscow.

For starters it looks like yet another blown coverage that involved Gilmore and a big play - are you starting to see a pattern here?  Then, after Hogan makes the catch Gilmore bypasses an opportunity to make a tackle on Hogan so he can instead turn and yell at one of his teammates.  Even if the touchdown wasn’t his fault what NFL player does that in the middle of a play?  And this was during a Patriots game.  Belichick saw this first hand and still didn’t hesitate to whip out Kraft’s checkbook???

And this only gets worse.

Turner reported that Gilmore reacted that way “several times” that year, inexcusable even if Gilmore was in the correct coverage every time.  But guess what, he wasn’t, at least not on the Hogan touchdown.  After the game then head coach Rex Ryan confirmed that it was Gilmore that had blown the coverage.  So for those of you keeping score at home, Gilmore blew a coverage, cost his team a crucial 53-yard touchdown, and even though it was his fault, gave up on the play so he could openly bitch out a teammate for his own mistake.  Is there anything in that sentence that sounds remotely Patriot-like?

Turner adds this nugget about Gilmore’s play overall, “He has been beaten by opposing wide receivers, but that happens to every cornerback.  What’s more concerning is his apparent selfish play and his attitude towards his teammates in a contract year.”  Yikes.  Again, does this sound like the type of guy you break 10 years of free agent discipline for?  And don’t gloss over the “beaten by opposing receivers” part of the quote.  In 2016 Gilmore was one of the lowest rated corners according to Pro Football Focus, with a grade of 73.2.  To put that in perspective he barely finished ahead of Sterling Moore, yeah THAT Sterling Moore, who came in with a grade of 72.3.

Isn’t that the opposite of what Belichick normally does?  Belichick’s the guy that lands the player with the high ranking for the low dollars, not the other way around.  Belichick’s free agent M.O. is to find the undervalued guys from winning programs like Rodney Harrison and Mike Vrabel, not overpay for defensive backs from loser franchises that can’t even perform in a contract year.  But maybe I shouldn’t be so harsh on the Bills who currently have the number one scoring defense in the NFL and just won at Atlanta by holding their high-powered offense to 17 points.  I have no idea if this will hold up, but if it does, what does it say about Gilmore that he leaves and the defense gets better?  Or that he shows up on the number one scoring defense last year and thru four games they are ranked 31st.  I call this the A-Rod effect.  It’s when a team seemingly improves whenever a certain player leaves and when the new team regresses after that same player arrives.  The sample size as yet is too small but it is something to keep an eye on.

The worst part of this entire Gilmore saga is the Malcolm Butler sub-plot.  At least when Belichick signed Colvin and Thomas he didn’t step over high-performing linebackers on his own roster to do it.  If the Gilmore signing is puzzling, the treatment of Butler is utterly baffling.  

Since arriving in New England as an undrafted free agent Butler has done virtually everything right.  By all accounts he works hard, plays hard, keeps his nose clean off the field and in case you missed it, has a penchant for making big plays when the spotlight is brightest.  He is a Pro Bowler that has excelled in the Patriots system and played a key role on teams that have done nothing but win.  He is a coach’s dream yet here he is making less than 4 million while his struggling counterpart makes 13 million.  The entire situation is confounding.  It’s easy to understand in a salary cap league why guys like Belichick take an excessively frugal approach to team building, but if you’re going to occasionally open the vault don’t you do it for a high-performer on your own roster and not some outside question mark?

It’s still far too early to close the book on the Gilmore signing but what if this thing keeps trending bad?  Worse yet, what if Butler is gone at the end of the year?  Where will the Patriots be then?  And for those of you that think New England can just press the eject button on the Gilmore experiment and give his money to Butler, think again.  Gilmore’s guaranteed money based on performance (not injury) is 31 million, meaning there is zero chance he gets cut after this year.  If he did, the cap hit for next year would be roughly 23 million for a player that wouldn’t even be on your roster.  That ain’t happening.  Even if he is cut after 2018 the cap hit would still be around 11 million in 2019.  Like it or not, Gilmore is here for the foreseeable future.  But the question Patriots fans are asking today is less about his future and more about his past: Why is Stephon Gilmore a Patriot?

Your guess is as good as mine.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Trump vs The NFL

By Michael Vallee

BostonFootballBlog@yahoo.com

The tone and tenor of last Sunday’s games changed on Friday night when the President of the United States, while giving a fiery speech in Alabama, decided to take some shots at the NFL and its players, specifically those that chose not to stand during the National Anthem.  This set off a fierce reaction across the NFL amongst both players and management, much of it centered around what they would do during the Anthem week 3.  Here are some of the highlights:

-Hail to the Chief:  This latest and heated chapter in the Anthem brouhaha started Friday night with this quote from Trump:

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’”

-For starters, with President Trump currently in a dick-measuring contest with nuclear “Rocket man” Kim Jong Un and millions of Americans dealing with the devastation wrought by multiple hurricanes, I’m glad his priorities are to worry about what NFL players are doing during the National Anthem.  Of course Trump would later deny this was a distraction and, in the Trumpiest way possible, justify focusing on this issue by claiming, “I have plenty of time on my hands….all I do is work.”  Excuse me Mr. President but I believe those are mutually exclusive.  Trump then suggested a boycott of the NFL:

“When people like yourselves turn on television and you see those people taking the knee when they’re playing our great national anthem. The only thing you could do better is if you see it, even if it’s one player, leave the stadium. I guarantee things will stop. Things will stop. Just pick up and leave. Pick up and leave. Not the same game anymore, anyway.”

-The President is now drifting into unprecedented waters as it is almost unfathomable for a sitting President to suggest a boycott of a private business, particularly one as important and powerful as the NFL.  Can you imagine the reaction by Trump supporters if President Obama suggested people stop going to Walmart because he doesn’t like one of their policies.  The following day on Twitter, Trump continued to tread towards dangerous and, again, unprecedented waters when he tweeted this:

“If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU’RE FIRED. Find something else to do!”

-While this isn’t a full-blown assault on the First Amendment, after all he’s not sending in troops to arrest kneeling football players, it is dangerously close.  It is unheard of for a sitting President to express that somebody should lose their job if they express a certain opinion, regardless of what that opinion is.  And how about the President double-dipping with his Apprentice catch-phrase, “You’re Fired!”  It’s probably not wise for a President to remind everybody that his most recent work experience consisted of vital decisions like whether or not to fire Gary Busey.  I suspect some of Trump’s staff wish they could take away his First Amendment rights.

-Flippity Floppity:  It’s worth noting that Trump hasn’t exactly been consistent on this issue.  In a 2015 appearance on the Late Show he said Letterman was “100 percent right” to defend flag-burning as an act of free-expression.

-Emperor Mnuchin:  It also doesn’t help when your Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin says this, “Players have the right for free speech off the field. On the field, this is about respect for lots of people…”

Sorry Steve, but that’s not how it works.  Our Constitution and it’s sacred Amendments are not part-time commitments to be applied when certain members of the government see fit.  Then again what do you expect from Mnuchin who might have married the worst human being on earth.  Seriously, Google, “Louise Linton terrible person”.

-Nuclear Reaction:  Not surprisingly, the reaction to Trump’s comments from current and former players went something like this:

“It’s a shame and disgrace when you have the president of the US calling citizens of the country sons of a bitches.”  -Bishop Sankey

“It’s really sad man ... our president is an asshole.”  -LeSean McCoy

-Colin Kaepernick’s Mom might have had the funniest response:  “I guess that makes me a proud bitch.”

-Robert Kraft and Tom Brady, both of whom received some backlash for their support of Trump during the presidential campaign, criticised the President’s comments with Brady calling them “divisive” and Kraft issuing a statement lamenting the “tone” of the comments.

With much anticipation, Sunday arrived and suddenly all eyes were on the first 5 minutes of every game, and if you were looking for drama it did not disappoint.

-Pass the Crumpets Old Boy:  It started with the first game, Ravens vs Jaguars in London.  Both teams had players kneel during the Anthem, with the Ravens adding a special touch by including murder accomplice team leader Ray Lewis.  It should be noted that both teams stood for Britain’s National Anthem, “God Save the Queen”.  It’s certainly a strange look to kneel for your Anthem on foreign soil but stand for an Anthem that is basically an ode to some pretend title whose primary job description is to look fancy and wave funny.

-Pats take a Knee:  Several players from the New England Patriots took a knee for the first time all year, including Devin McCourty and Malcolm Brown.  Other players, such as Tom Brady, choose to stand and lock arms.  Belichick issued this statement then surprised nobody by going mum on the topic.  The statement was predictably safe and vague and told us little about how this guy, who once drafted a long-snapper in the 5th round just because he went to Navy, really feels.

-The Pittsburgh Steelers chose to remain in their locker room during the Anthem but because Mike Tomlin is about as good at managing his team as he is at game-planning for the Patriots, things didn’t quite go as planned.  They went something like this: Steelers decide to stay in the locker room, but their LT Alejandro Villanueva is a badass war hero and decides he wants to be outside during the Anthem, then someone takes a picture of Villanueva alone with his hand over his heart during the Anthem prompting his jersey to become the number one selling jersey in the NFL and triggering his coach to say something about team unity which causes Villanueva to apologize for breaking away from his team even though Tomlin says he wasn’t actually criticising the left tackle and thus the apology was unnecessary, particularly because Villanueva says he got permission from captain Ben Roethlisberger who later claimed he regretted the decision to stay in the locker room in the first place.  Got it.  I have a headache, let’s move on.

-Shut Up and Sing:  The Falcons/Lions game was witness to a National Anthem first when Anthem singer Rico Lavelle took a knee at the end of the song.  I attended the Roger Waters concert Wednesday night at the TD Garden and the excessively political Waters also took a knee and was loudly booed by some in attendance even though it wasn’t even during the National Anthem.  Perhaps they just wanted to hear more music but there is also a chance we have all lost our collective minds.

-Texas Two-Step:  For those players that did not take a knee many choose to stand and lock arms, like the Houston Texans, whose entire team stood arm-and-arm during the Anthem.  On Monday Night Football the Cowboys added a wrinkle with the entire team kneeling arm-and-arm before the Anthem was played or the American flag was displayed, then standing during the Anthem.  This made for some good television as there are few things more out of place and awkwardly entertaining than watching Jerry Jones attempting to do the right thing.

-Nuclear Reaction 2.0:  Of course, all of this Anthem activity led to a bevy of reactions:

-The Patriot Way:  One of the strongest initial reactions was from former Patriot LT Matt Light who watched the game from a private suite at Gillette with a Seal Team 6 member, a widow of a Seal Team 6 member and 91-year-old WW II vet.  Speaking on radio Light said, “I feel like it’s the first time I’ve ever felt disappointed in this team.  That’s not the Patriot way.”  Light continued, “We should be standing for the National Anthem…..we should honor and respect what the National Anthem stands for, and if you can’t stand for it, you’re wrong.”  Light later said that the Seal Team 6 widow cried when the players took a knee and implied that taking a knee during the Anthem was disrespectful to those that served our country.  

It’s easy to understand where Light is coming from and clearly his heart is in the right place, but I don’t understand this direct link many draw between the Anthem and our military.  I personally would never kneel during the National Anthem, for any reason, but I don’t consider such an act some sort of direct attack on our military, and it seems unfair to put that label on the protesters.  The Anthem is not a song for our military it is a song for our country and the reality is many vets have expressed support for those that are protesting.  Patriots WR Brandin Cooks, who also took a knee, appeared to be reacting to those accusations when he went out of his way to remind everyone that his Dad was a Marine, his uncle was a Marine and he has “The utmost respect for the men and women that fight for our freedom”.

-View from the Slot:  Representing the other side, ex-Patriot Troy Brown called Trump’s comments “offensive” and “outrageous” and asked the President to apologize.  He then added, “So please sir, please refrain from the insults of not just NFL football players but many people who don’t look like you.”  Good luck with that Troy but apologies aren’t exactly the President’s thing.

-You Might be a Redneck:  The strong reactions were not limited to the NFL.  NASCAR legend Richard Petty, a guy with red, white and blue blood pumping thru his veins, went full blown Toby Keith at the NH Motor Speedway when asked about the protests,  “Anybody that don’t stand up for the anthem ought to be out of the country. Period. What got ’em where they’re at? The United States.”  A little harsh, no?  Throwing people out of the country for not standing for an Anthem sounds a lot more like Berlin in the 1930s.  Kind of ironic that he would say that in the “Live Free or Die” state.

-Dale Earnhardt Jr, however, decided to remind us that not everybody in NASCAR shares the same brain, when he responded with this JFK inspired tweet, “All Americans are granted right to peaceful protests.  Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable.”  Now that takes balls to defend a bunch of black guys taking a knee during the National Anthem when you are a superstar in the whitest red neck sport in America.

-Burning Man:  Fan reactions also rolled in, with Swansea, Massachusetts taking the lead Thursday night, as Patriots fan Mark Shane hosted an awkward and slightly depressing jersey burning party where apparently no actual jerseys were burned.  Instead it just looked like an excuse to sit around a fire pit, wave American flags, sing Lee Greenwood and burn some old t-shirts.  Watching the video of this patriotic pop-up party I couldn’t help but wonder if any of the participants blame the man most responsible for all the NFL kneel downs that occurred last Sunday - President Trump.  Prior to Trump lashing out at NFL players for kneeling during the Anthem, roughly a dozen players had done so, but on Sunday that numbered ballooned up to an estimated 300, almost all the direct result of Trump’s comments.  Perhaps Trump should make this a permanent tactic and start telling people to do the opposite of what he really wants.   

-Ballad of the Green Beret:  If you’re wondering why sitting during the Anthem shifted to kneeling during the Anthem you can thank former long-snapper and Green Beret Nate Boyer, who had an impactful discussion with the guy that got this whole ball rolling, Colin Kaepernick.  Boyer explained to Kaepernick how soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen comrades grave as a sign of respect, and suggested Kaepernick do the same.  Kaepernick was moved by this suggestion and eventually changed tactics, from sitting to kneeling.  

-Silence is Golden:  Kaepernick has been surprisingly quiet during this week and that might be a good thing.  Even if you agree with his motivation to protest the Anthem he has always been a deeply flawed face of the movement who is prone to insulting the police, making bizarre comments like his factually inaccurate praise of Cuba and appearing to be nothing more than a mouthpiece for his outspoken girlfriend.  Kaepernick said he is done kneeling but if he is signed it would be hard to imagine him not joining the fray with how much the landscape has changed on this issue.

-Place your Bets:  Here’s something you can always count on:  If anything sports related captures the national conscience, then somebody will make sure that you can bet on it.  This week Bovada released an under/over for the number of teams that will stay in the locker room during the National Anthem Week 4 of the NFL.  The number was set at 3.  They also released this interesting prop bet:

What will happen first during the NFL season:

-Trump attends an NFL game: +150

-Colin Kaepernick signs with an NFL team: -200  

-The Anthem protests finally jumped sports this week with Oakland A’s catcher Bruce Maxwell taking a knee to provide a voice for the “voiceless”.  He also kept his hand over his heart while kneeling and made a point after the game of reaffirming his love for this country and pointed out that his father is a military vet.  With the NBA season around the corner it will be interesting to see what the players do in a league that is overwhelmingly black yet has a rule that you must stand for the National Anthem.

-I Know You Are but What Am I:  This week Trump also decided that going to war with one sports league wasn’t enough and dragged the NBA onto the cultural battlefield when he rescinded an invitation to Steph Curry to attend a White House ceremony for the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.  That’s gotta be the first disinvitation in presidential history.  Does it count as a disinvitation if the other party had zero intention of accepting your initial invitation?  What’s next, is Trump going to disinvite Kim Jong Un from his birthday party?

-Face of the league LeBron James chimed in, because LeBron literally has to inject himself into everything, calling Trump a “bum” on Twitter.  LeBron commented in earlier in the week on Trump’s feud with NFL players saying, “The people run the country, not one individual - and damn sure not him”.

-High Horse:  Perhaps no NBA personality had a more passionate reaction to this week’s events than Gregg Popovich who went on a self-righteous rant where he declared, amongst other things, that “People have to be made to feel uncomfortable; especially white people.  We still have no clue what being white means…..Because you were born white, you have advantages systemically, culturally, psychology there.”  It is unfortunate we convolute everything into race when so many so called “advantages” are often economic based.  I personally have several white friends that grew up in housing projects and had to deal with everything from poverty and welfare to drug abuse and mental illness.  One of my friends practically took care of his entire family because his father was doing life in prison.  Does he sound like somebody that was born with systemic advantages?  Yes racism is still a problem in this country but not to the degree where it should be automatically injected into all discussions of social issues, many of which transcend race.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Brady, A One-Man Show

By Michael Vallee

Football is a team game.  The ultimate team game.  A game where success hinges on extensive practice and film work to assure that all the players are working in unison, with each of their fates intertwined.  If one guy doesn’t do his job it makes it harder for the other guys to do their jobs.  But sometimes, there are those rare moments when a player and a performance seem to transcend all that.  Moments when one man’s singular talent renders all tenets of team football obsolete.  The New England Patriots 36-33 win over the Houston Texans last Sunday was one of those moments, and to no one’s surprise, the player was their quarterback, Thomas Edward Brady.

Brady is an all-in-one fix-all.  A player whose ability masks his team’s many flaws and deficiencies. He’s like that magic stuff women put on their face to conceal all blemishes and imperfections.  He is one stop shopping for whatever ails your team.

Defense is leaking like a sieve - don’t worry, we got Brady.

O-Line can’t block anyone - don’t worry, we got Brady.

No running game - don’t worry, we got Brady.

Down 5 with two minutes left - don’t worry, we got Brady.

Final drive stalled - don’t worry, we got Brady.

Last Sunday, all of the above was true for New England.  The defense allowed over 400 yards to a rookie quarterback.  The offensive line allowed five sacks that resulted in three fumbles, a loss of 41 yards and a touchdown.  The running game averaged less than three yards-per-carry.  The Patriots faced a 3rd and 18, down by five with less than a minute to play.  Hell, even their punter got outplayed (58.5 average vs 45.3).  And none of it mattered.  Brady completed 25 of 35 passes for 378 yards and 5 touchdowns, effectively covering up the entire mess around him.  

Nowhere was this more true than the final drive, where Brady passed for 93 yards, overcoming sacks, penalties and multiple 3rd-and-longs, to lead the Patriots to a game-winning touchdown.  On the 3rd and 18 play, the ageless signal-caller was under pressure from JJ Watt, stepped up in the pocket and hit Amendola in tight-coverage for a 27-yard gain.  It was vintage Brady.  Then again the entire day was vintage Brady.

Perhaps no play encapsulated this one-man show better than the Patriots third play from scrimmage.  On back-to-back runs New England was stuffed for negative yardage and faced a 3rd and 13.  On 3rd down Brady dropped back to pass and as he threw the ball was hit hard by linebacker Benardrick McKinney.

Let’s hit pause for a minute and do a quick summary to illustrate the point: Three plays in and the Patriots offensive line can’t block anybody, their running backs can’t avoid anybody and their coaches haven’t exactly confounded the Texans with their play-calling.  And none of it mattered.  Brady, while getting drilled, calmly launched a perfect 44-yard over-the-shoulder pass to Brandin Cooks.  Five plays later the Patriots scored their first touchdown.  

Imagine what happens to a lesser quarterback in that spot.  Sack?  Fumble?  Interception?  Incompletion?  But fortunately for the Patriots they don’t have a lesser quarterback.  They have Brady.  A man whose talent, more often than not, avoids those outcomes and shields you from all your problems.  

You know that late-night infomercial stuff called Flex Seal, the magical cure-all that seals any holes, cracks or openings you might need fixed?  According to the ad it even allows you to go fishing in a screen-door bottomed boat, if for some reason you ever decide to do that.  You know the stuff I’m talking about.  Well THAT’S Brady.  The human Flex Seal.  The player that plugs all your holes.  

It might not be a recipe for a championship - for that a complete team effort is required - but for one day in September it does allow you to come up short in virtually all facets of the game and still escape with a victory.  

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Patriots Bounce Back in the Bayou

By Michael Vallee

Sometimes it takes the results of a game to see the obvious.  Or at least the results of the first quarter.  Entering Sunday’s game in New Orleans, Patriots fans were predictably on edge.  It was just 10 days ago that they watched their team get humiliated at home in front of a national television audience.  It was the type of loss that triggers immediate concerns about everything from personnel and injuries to the inevitable mortality of their seemingly ageless quarterback.  Compounding the problem was the wait.  The long tedious wait that accompanies all the losing teams of any Thursday night game.  Just enough time for Patriots fans to analyze, over-analyze and re-analyze what happened.  Even worse, enough time to not only contemplate the next game, but start to formulate a half-decent argument that the New England Patriots might actually lose to the New Orleans Saints.  

Then the game happens.

Faster than you could say “Tony Romo is sooooo much better than Phil Simms”, New England raced to a 20-3 lead, eventually coasting to an easy, and suddenly quite predictable, 36-20 victory.  It was one of those results that instantly made you feel stupid.  Did we actually entertain the possibility that Bill Belichick’s Patriots were going to fall to 0-2 and lose to a Saints team that is perpetually adrift in mediocrity?  Shame on all of us for ever doubting.

This was your classic New England Patriot bounce back game.  Belichick specializes in tearing his teams down by constantly reminding them that they’re not as good as they might think they are - a task made increasingly more difficult when your team accumulates more rings than Tiffanys.  But give Belichick an ugly loss to work with, and it is all the ammunition he needs to knock his team down a few dozen pegs and get them refocused.  

Since 2003, Brady and Belichick have lost 11 games by two touchdowns or more.  In the games that immediately followed those losses the New England Patriots are 10-1, with the only defeat being a one-point loss to the Dolphins in 2009.  Hell, Belichick even went 3-0 with Matt Cassel following losses of two touchdowns or more.  But don’t be fooled by that last sentence, these bounce backs are just as much a Brady show as a Belichick show.  The kale eating, night-shade hating, excessively pliable franchise quarterback has been nothing short of spectacular following blowout losses.  In those 10 wins since ‘03, Brady has thrown 24 touchdowns and just three interceptions, posting a QB rating of 115.  

I guess the TB12 method is just as effective with your back against the wall.  Maybe even more so.  Though I have a suspicion that Brady’s near-perfect performance Sunday, and in all these rebound games, is less about avoiding tomatoes and getting to bed early and more about a competitive fire that is nothing short of maniacal.  Guys like Brady despise losing at things like checkers and *ping pong so you can only imagine how they feel about getting publicly humiliated at their chosen profession.  It is only natural that such a loss triggers some kind of hyper-focus in the Bradys and Belichicks of the world.  

It’s also worth noting the Patriots don’t just bounce back following big losses, they bounce back with a vengeance, winning by an average of just under 17 points.  Sunday’s win over New Orleans was not the exception to the rule, it was the rule.  The Patriots bounce back, and bounce back big time.  It’s what they do.  

We shouldn’t have needed the final score Sunday to know that.

Game Notes

-Brady was nothing short of masterful on Sunday:

Poised under pressure…

Active in the pocket…

Accurate…

Decisive…

Anticipating throws like the 53-yard TD to Gronk which was pure school yard stuff...

Brady’s first quarter was near perfect, completing 11 of 14 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns.  He did most of the damage without even utilizing his wideouts, completing his first nine passes to running backs and tight ends.  Brady finished the game with a QB rating of 139.6.  It was an absolute clinic.

-Baffling Stat of the Day:  The 20 points scored in the first quarter was the most ever by a Brady led offense.  That is mind-blowing.  I would have thought he did that at least a dozen other times.

-Defenseless:  To be fair this wasn’t much of a test for Brady.  If you’ll recall this was the same defense that allowed Sam “noodle-arm” Bradford to complete 27 of 32 passes week 1.  Brady would have faced more resistance if he played against Boston College.  Things get a lot tougher going forward with Houston and Carolina on the horizon.

-M*A*S*H:  And Brady could be without multiple weapons in the coming weeks as that mysterious blue medical tent had more bodies coming and going than a clown car.  Julian Edelman, Malcolm Mitchell, and Danny Amendola might soon be joined on the injury report by Gronk, Burkhead, Hogan and Dorsett.  Uh, what exactly is left after that?  Is Welker available?  Moss still looks like he’s in shape.  Any chance Stallworth is done with his probation and free to travel the country?  Now more than ever they have to give Dion Lewis a shot at slot receiver.  The underrated RB has touched the ball a meager seven times the first two weeks.  It’s time to find a way to get the ball in his hands.

-No Home Cooking:  It’s still early, but it’s hard not to be down on Brandin Cooks.  On Sunday he was facing his old team, in a dome and by game’s end was literally the only healthy receiver on the team yet managed a mere two catches against arguably the worst secondary in the NFL.  Romo expressed his own doubt during the broadcast openly questioning how good Cooks could be if Brees and the Saints were willing to let him go.  If he doesn’t pick it up soon this is going to start looking like one of the more costly mistakes of the Belichick era.

-Analyze This:  As good as Brady was Sunday the quarterback that received the most positive reviews from the Patriots game was Tony Romo.  Romo has been nothing short of a revelation.  He’s enthusiastic, sharp, opinionated and might have as strong a working knowledge of the current NFL as any analyst.  He has not only displayed an uncanny knack for anticipating what’s coming but on Sunday even went so far as to try and read Belichick’s mind.  

Now let’s be honest, as good as he has been, Romo has been helped by the “Small Shoes Affect”, in other words, no human being anywhere on earth in any profession started a new job this year with smaller shoes to fill than Tony Romo.  If Romo just sat there and stared at the wall he would have been an upgrade from the lazy, clueless and remarkably untalented Phil Simms.  Someday the guy that replaces Marvin Lewis will know exactly what I’m talking about.  For 15 years (holy sh*t was it that long) Simms sat next to Jim Nantz as the lead NFL analyst on CBS and brought nothing of value to the broadcast except unintentional comedy.  The length of his tenure remains one of the great mysteries of our time, but it is clear that Romo is benefiting from that tenure and the collective disdain the football watching public had for Simms.

Romo isn’t perfect.  Somebody has to tell him that he is not required to comment on everything that occurs during the game.  His energy level is commendable but sometimes it’s OK to just let the game breathe.  He also missed badly when comparing the 2017 Patriots offense to their 2001 counterparts simply because McDaniels ran a few plays with a fullback.  On balance though he has had as strong a start to a broadcasting career as I can remember.  Now we just need to pray that Dak Prescott doesn’t get hurt and Romo doesn’t get the itch to return to the field, otherwise we might again be stuck with Simms fumbling and flatulating his way through another broadcast.

-Master Class:  How many coaches in the NFL would have their team prepared enough to run the field goal unit on the field, get set up and successfully execute a field goal without committing a penalty, in under 16 seconds?  Moments like that are why Belichick has spent more on boat paint than anyone on Nantucket.

-Not quite the ‘85 Bears but…:  I thought the defense had an underrated game on Sunday.  If you throw out the garbage time touchdown, they held a Drew Brees led offense to 13 points in a dome.  Not bad.  When Brees did manage big plays it often required a perfect throw into tight coverage.  Aside from Patrick Chung, who struggled in coverage, I thought the secondary was solid and the pass rush got a needed boost from rookie DE Deatrich Wise.  They also got a sneaky good game out of undrafted corner Jonathan Jones, who broke up multiple passes.  Could it be that Belichick has found the next Malcolm Butler?

-Beginning of the end?:  Speaking of Butler, this bizarre cold war between him and Belichick continued Sunday when Butler was benched in favor of Eric Rowe.  I’m lost.  How exactly did Butler go from Super Bowl hero and rock solid starter to the Belichick doghouse in 6 months?  This can’t all just be about a shaky game week 1.  Did Butler cut Bill in the buffet line?  During last year’s Super Bowl celebration was Bill’s favorite band, Bon Jovi, blaring on the radio only to be turned off by Butler, who then shouted, “That band sucks”?  What?  WHAT???  Maybe it is all about football but it feels more petty and personal.  There was a time when I thought Butler was going to get a long-term deal, now I’m wondering if he gets dumped at the trade deadline, a la Jamie Collins.

-No TB12 diet here:  If Butler is in the doghouse, Alan Branch is buried 6-feet under it.  Branch not only didn’t start Sunday, he played a miniscule six snaps on defense.  This decision was 100% a football decision.  Branch was atrocious last week, a fact that had to particularly irritate Belichick considering he just gave Branch a new contract.  Let me give you my highly sophisticated deep dive analysis on what is currently behind Branch’s struggles: he is a fat load.  Branch looks like he has packed on several pounds in all the wrong places.  Apparently he signed his new contract then immediately purchased an all-you-can-eat lifetime pass to KFC.  Whether he has gained weight, or I’m just seeing things (large things), either way Branch’s play is a troubling early development.

-The definition of insanity…:  When does New Orleans move on from the Drew Brees/Sean Payton era?  Payton is like a band that had one really good album and has been cranking out garbage ever since.  Yeah the post-Katrina Super Bowl title was special but it was also eight years ago.  Since then the Saints have won just two playoff games, failed to make it past the division round and have posted four losing seasons.  Their defense is perennially one of the worst in the NFL and currently sits at dead last.  If this continues the Saints should cut the cord with Payton, trade Brees to a contender and shift full-speed into rebuild mode.   

-Barely legal:  Can the NFL once-and-for-all end the pick play.  It’s hard enough for defenses to stop the modern NFL passing game without having receivers blocking defensive backs that are just trying to do their job.  Chris Hogan scored Sunday on a legal pick play that was originally flagged as pass interference, until Tom Brady calmly explained to the officials that they were mistaken, and the flag was immediately picked up.  Microphones on the field were able to pick up the conversation:

Referee:  Tom we got you guys for pass interference

Brady:  No way.  I’m Tom Brady.  I got five Super Bowl rings and four Super Bowl MVPs, plus look at me.  And have you ever seen my wife?  I’m the man.  So, do you think you might want to reconsider that call?

Referee:  There was no penalty on the play

-Brady’s cultish manifesto book the TB12 Method comes out Tuesday, giving everyone the opportunity to eat and train like him.  All you need is a massive food budget, a private chef and a lifestyle that allows you to go to bed at 7:00pm.  Thanks, but I’ll pass.  I value bacon and whiskey more than I value pliability.

-Zero Dark Thirty:  Common wisdom was that the Patriots broke the Falcons in last year’s Super Bowl…...like permanently broke the entire franchise.  But Dan Quinn had other ideas, and he set out to fix his team from the mental devastation of blowing the biggest opportunity of their football lives in front of 100+ million people.  One of those ideas was for the Falcons to train with the Navy Seals in the offseason which Matt Ryan recently credited in an interview for making the team mentally tougher.  Fresh off a beatdown of the Green Bay Packers the Falcons are 2-0 and travel to Foxboro week 7.

-Celebrating diversity one bad sideline report at a time:  I didn’t get a chance to address that Sergio Dipp thing that happened to the internet last week.  What I find most fascinating is that I still have no idea what the hell that was.  Did he choke?  Lose a bet?  Is he just a fool?  I still have no idea.  It was like somebody melded a sideline report with a hostage video.  All his incoherent babble about diversity made it seem as if he was not a human, but rather a politically correct internet bot created by ESPN (would you put it past them) to spew safe, happy, and extremely awkward platitudes.  Whatever happened it is clear Sergio was not “HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE”, last Monday.  Unfortunately for Sergio he went from sympathetic underdog to annoying tool when he posted a response to all the internet fervor where he at one point invoked 9/11 - not the date, but the national tragedy that killed thousands of people and sent our nation to war.  Alright Sergio, I think we’ve heard enough out of you, time to go back to ESPN Deportes and let the grownups handle the football stuff.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Patriots get Walloped on Banner Night

By Michael Vallee

So much for 19-0.  A night that was supposed to be a celebration of all things Patriots and the first step on the road to another coronation took a dark and unexpected turn as the Kansas City Chiefs curb-stomped the consensus Super Bowl favorites 42-27, outscoring New England 21-0 in the fourth quarter.  It ended every bit as ugly as the score indicates.    

The evening started innocently enough, with ex-Patriots and bad actors joining Bob Kraft and a sold out crowd at Gillette Stadium for yet another Super Bowl banner raising.  Unfortunately for Patriots fans all the pomp and circumstance gave way to an actual football game where it was quickly revealed that New England’s collection of linebackers possess all the speed and athleticism of Charlie Weiss.  Chiefs rookie running back Kareem Hunt cruised right past a Patriots front seven that looked slow and overmatched, enroute to an NFL debut record 246 total yards.  It was as un-Belichickian a defensive effort as we’ve seen since, well, the last time they played the Chiefs.

It’s certainly never dull when New England dips their toes in the treacherous waters of Kansas City.  It seems the Patriots can’t escape a Chiefs game without being hurled into an existential crisis.  It was exactly nine years earlier that Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard ended Brady’s 2008 season just minutes after it started with a hit that blew out both his ACL and MCL, immediately leading to questions about whether Brady would ever be the same again.  Then three seasons ago the Chiefs so thoroughly dismantled the Patriots on Monday Night Football it spurred a week of “Is the dynasty done” questions, as Patriots fans wondered if Trent Dilfer was right, maybe they’re just not that good anymore.

It turns out the reports of their demise had been greatly exaggerated as Brady went on to win the MVP two years after his knee was shredded and the Patriots won the Super Bowl four months after they were declared dead that Monday night. Which brings us to Thursday.

Now what?

Another mere blip on the radar or the beginning of the end?  Too early to tell.  And while the defense looked deeply flawed and Brady was missing his old pal Julian Edelman, Belichick has a way of figuring these things out, and if history has shown us anything you probably don’t want to be the guy that prematurely throws dirt on New England’s grave and you definitely don’t want to be the team that lines up against the Patriots week two.   

Game Notes

-Thursday night’s loss was more about execution than strategy but let’s get some quick Xs and Os stuff out of the way:

  -Dont’a Hightower at defensive end didn’t work at all.  Not only are you removing your best LB from the middle of the field, you’re displacing him to a position where he just isn’t suited.  Hightower has proven to be a quality spot pass rusher but he has no experience setting the edge on the run.  Kareem Hunt and the Chiefs repeatedly and effectively ran right at Hightower who finished the game with one tackle.  While I’m not as excited as most about bringing back the overrated Rob Ninkovich, if it gets Hightower back to the middle that alone might be worth it.  Patriots better hope Ninkovich and his chemists have found a better masking agent.

  -If the receiver position remains thin, why not move Dion Lewis to the slot?  He’s tough enough, has good hands and knows the passing offense.  Remember how good he was in space prior to his knee injury?  In 2015 when Lewis found the next level, defenders looked like they were trying to tackle a greased up chicken.  He was on a record-setting pace for missed tackles before he tore his ACL, and he says he feels 100% healthy for the first time in two years.  Lewis touched the ball just twice against the Chiefs, which is criminally low.  The slot receiver has become an essential position in this offense and though Danny Amendola looked good prior to his concussion, the odds of him staying healthy for 16 games are roughly 0.0000001%.

  -Not utilizing Brady on a QB sneak in short yardage is understandable, considering the Chiefs had stacked the line to prevent it.  But what is baffling is running two dive plays right into the middle of that same stacked front.  Nobody is second guessing the decision to go for it on 4th and 1 in the first quarter but McDaniels has to dial up a better play than that.  If there are a lot of guys on the inside you don’t have to be Tom Landry to figure out that you probably want to run outside.

-You’re all worthless and weak:  Interesting words from Tom Brady after the game when he was asked about the team’s attitude:  “I just think we need to have more urgency…...we’ve got to dig a lot deeper than we did tonight because we didn’t dig very deep tonight”.  Brady would later add that the team had to be a lot better with “our attitude and our competitiveness”.  That’s as close as Brady gets to calling out his teammates after a loss.  Maybe, deep down, Brady suspects that this loss is exactly what the team needed after all that absurd 19-0 talk.  For the record, the idea of speculating that an NFL team might go undefeated before they play a single down is like asking a girl on a first date and speculating how many kids you’re going to have when you eventually get married.  

-Not-so-good vibrations:  I generally have the same philosophy for my pregame ceremonies that I have for my movies - the less Wahlberg, the better.

-Bargain Basement:  Hard to question Belichick’s record as a team builder but if there is one consistent criticism it’s that he too often walks past the designer brands in favor of the knockoffs.  Sometimes you have to invest in talent, and right now DE Akiem Hicks, who just signed a contract extension with the Bears, would look pretty good in a Patriots uniform.

-He’s no Ali:  Speaking of bargain basement shopping, I have no idea what the hell a Cassius Marsh is but after Thursday night it’s quite clear he neither floats like a butterfly nor stings like a bee.

-Send in the clowns:  The subplot for Thursday night’s game was the presence of Commissioner Roger Goodell and the distribution of tens of thousands of Goodell clown towels by Barstool sports to greet him.  The final result was a little underwhelming but it was still brilliant gorilla marketing by Barstool and based on past reports you have to think, on some level, the stunt and avalanche of related media coverage irritated the thin-skinned commissioner.

(Side note: It absolutely baffles me that people have a fear of clowns.  Unless it is a demonic clown straight from the mind of Stephen King, what exactly is the fear?  Clowns are generally just some marginally employed goofus with big shoes and a lot of makeup.  What am I missing?  Yeah they can be a little creepy if you’re a 5-year-old, and bands like the Insane Clown Posse probably don’t help, but, again, what is the concern?  I know phobias are typically irrational but I just don’t understand grown ups fearing some guy wearing a red nose and a rainbow wig.)

-I wish I could quit you:  Fresh off a contract extension (and another embarrassing disciplinary case) Goodell became the focus of an emerging narrative that he had somehow won this pseudo cold war with the Patriots.  But what has really changed?  Yeah he got another big fat contract but when you have the kind of money Goodell already has, all that amounts to is additional zeros in some bank account.  And did anybody really think he was going to lose his job.  After he bungled the Ray Rice case and didn’t cede any power Goodell basically emerged bulletproof.  The extension also did nothing to change the reputation of Goodell.  Old jolly Roger is widely regarded as an arrogant aloof buffoon and it will take a lot more than a new contract to ever put a dent in that perception.

-Tommy tough guy:  Gutsy move by Goodell last week when the NFL announced it was suspending serial abuser and former NY Giant Josh Brown an additional six games.  It shows remarkable courage when the commissioner of the most powerful sports league in the world comes down hard on retired place kickers.

-Big plays killed the Patriots defense Thursday night.  On three scoring drives in the second half the Chiefs racked up a total of 244 yards on six plays.  Overall it was an historically bad night for the defense as they yielded more points (42) and yards (537) than any New England defense in the Belichick era, and more yards than any defending champ has ever allowed week 1.

-Opponent’s passer rating is as good as any metric when evaluating an NFL defense.  Alex Smith’s passer rating Thursday night: 148.6.  What is the highest passer rating Belichick and the Patriots have ever yielded?  A perfect 158.3 to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints in 2009.  Next week’s opponent: Drew Brees and the Saints.  

-Not the usual home cooking:  The Patriots entered Thursday’s game 102-1 in home games where they held a 10+ point lead.  Only loss: that bizarre “mortar-kick” game against the Eagles in 2015. Prior to Thursday night the Patriots had also won 87 straight home games which they led at halftime and New England had not lost a home game, that Brady started and finished, to an AFC opponent since 2006.

-Inconceivable:  It’s almost unheard of for an NFL team that loses the turnover battle (1-0) and commits 15 penalties to win by double-digits on the road.

-Let it ride:  So let me get this straight, if I submit a perfect fantasy football lineup Draft Kings will give me one billion dollars, but daily fantasy is not gambling.  Got it.  If they had any sense of humor, Draft Kings would have Doctor Evil read their commercials.

-Last laugh:  When NFL Network analyst Maurice Jones-Drew gave the coaching matchup edge to Andy Reid he was widely mocked and ridiculed.  Who’s laughing now.  Not since General Custer at Little Big Horn, has a Chief so thoroughly outmaneuvered a Patriot, as Reid did to Belichick Thursday night.  Jones-Drew could easily have been accused of trying to generate the TV equivalent of click bait, but he actually gave a surprisingly thoughtful answer, citing Reid’s impressive record when he has extra time to prepare.  Of course Reid benefited from the fact that at no point was he asked to engage in clock management to secure the win.

-Credit Reid for not doing what so many coaches might have done in that spot, and letting rookie Kareem Hunt remain the starter despite fumbling on his first carry.  246 yards and three touchdowns later it looks like Reid made the right call.

-Boys to men:  This video clip has absolutely nothing to do with what happened Thursday night but anytime Andy Reid’s name is mentioned it has to be viewed as an opportunity to show one of my favorite things the internet has ever given us - Andy Reid competing in punt, pass, kick.  If anybody has the full video from the competition PLEASE immediately forward it to Bostonfootballblog@yahoo.com.

-Tough night for Marcus Cannon who struggled with speed rusher Justin Houston off the edge.  In fairness, a lot of tackles struggle with Justin Houston, but if Cannon regresses to pre-2016 levels no amount of Neurosafe or avocado ice cream will be able to keep Brady safe.

-Less is more:  Even though the invention of the DVR has allowed us to not be slaves to the commercial breaks it was still borderline orgasmic to finally watch an NFL game that did not go to a commercial following the kickoff.

-J.J. Watt might be an annoying, self-promoting, social media windbag, but hats off to the big fella and his Hurricane Harvey fundraising efforts.  The Texans defensive star just surpassed the 30 million mark despite an initial goal of 200K.  If you want to donate to the cause click here.

-Just shoot me:  Harvey isn’t the only hurricane causing massive damage.  Here’s hoping that when Irma is done wreaking havoc everybody makes it out safely and follows this bizarre advice from the Florida police.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

2016 Super Bowl Champion Leftovers

By Michael Vallee

BostonFootballBlog@yahoo.com

-Evil Genius:  Looks like the verdict is in on Belichick’s controversial decision to trade Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins.  Jones started 16 games and registered 11 sacks while his replacement, Trey Flowers, started 11 games and finished with 9.5 sacks, including a monster 2.5 sack performance in the Super Bowl.  Not only did New England not miss a beat this year on defense but trading Jones freed up millions in cap space and netted New England two big-time contributors in Joe Thuney and Malcolm Mitchell.  As for the Collins trade, the Patriots defense improved significantly after the so-called franchise linebacker was shipped to the NFL’s basement in Cleveland.  With stories surfacing that he reported to camp overweight along with his choice to commit long-term to a loser team like the Browns, you have to wonder if this guy was all in on the whole winning thing.  Once again, it’s another example of Belichick knowing exactly when to cut bait.

-Dual Threat:  Belichick the GM might have had his best year in 2016.  Whether it was offseason trades, in-season trades or the draft it’s hard to argue with virtually anything he did over the last 12 months.  And how about this nugget: the Patriots had 30 new faces on their 2016 Super Bowl Champion team that did not play for the 2014 Championship squad.  How many NFL executives can win two Super Bowls in three years while turning over half the roster?  An argument can be made that the Patriots have the best QB in the NFL, the best coach in the NFL and the best GM in the NFL.

-Back up the Brinks Truck:  I think it’s safe to say Patriots fans are hoping Belichick the GM signs pending free agent Dont’a Hightower.  Not only is Hightower a team leader on defense but the Patriots are dangerously thin at linebacker.  And while we all know Belichick isn’t the most sentimental guy it can’t hurt negotiations when the player can argue that the Patriots would be minus two Super Bowls without him.  If Hightower doesn’t make that goal line shoe-string tackle on Marshawn Lynch in 2014 and doesn’t cause that fumble on Matt Ryan the Patriots might still be stuck on three Super Bowls.  As Teddy KGB once said, “Pay him, pay that man his money.”

-Super Bowl Shell Shock:  Speaking of those two Super Bowls, Falcons coach Dan Quinn must be a basket case at this point.  How do you mentally process being a part of arguably the two biggest choke jobs in NFL history.  Yeah, Brady and the Patriots had a lot to do with it, but if you are on the losing end of those games the only thing on your mind when you think of either loss is, “We blew it.”  As the DC for Seattle, Quinn can’t be blamed for Pete Carroll’s horrendous goal line play call but the loss Sunday is squarely on his shoulders.  Everybody needs to stop blaming Kyle Shanahan for the decision to not run the ball after Julio Jones spectacular 4th quarter catch. ��Quinn is the head coach, that call is his and his alone.  Can you Imagine Bill Belichick just standing there in the 4th quarter of a Super Bowl and letting Josh McDaniels pass the ball in that situation?

-Mic’d Up:  The NFL Network’s Sound FX show for Super Bowl LI wasn’t quite the full blown football porn I was hoping for, but it’s definitely worth a watch.  The mics picked up a quote from Quinn that proved to be prophetic.  Just before Matt Ryan took the field after the Patriots cut the lead to 28-20 Quinn said to him, “Let’s go attack, Matt, let’s go attack it brother.”  Perhaps instead Quinn should have said, “Let’s go attack, Matt, unless we get in field goal range then, naturally, we will just run the ball three times and win the Super Bowl.”

-Roger That:  How about the stones on Brady to record that alternate ending to his Shields MRI commercial months BEFORE Super Bowl LI.  Brady, alone in a commercial, discussing a Super Bowl win that hasn’t yet happened isn’t exactly the same as half the Chicago Bears recording the Super Bowl Shuffle for all the world to see, but considering how things are run down there in Foxboro this was a huge break from business as usual.  I wonder what Belichick thought when he first saw the commercial, and I don’t mean whatever bullshit he said publicly, I mean what he REALLY thought. 

-Trendsetters:  Prior to Sunday, NFL playoff teams trailing by 17+ entering the 4th quarter were 0-124.  If you’re thinking that the Buffalo Bills overcame a similar 4th quarter deficit when they rallied from 32 down against the Houston Oilers in ‘92, the Bills actually scored four 3rd quarter touchdowns and only trailed by four entering the final quarter.

-Thank You Sir may I have Another:  For those keeping score at home, the Patriots final Deflategate punishment was a four game rest for Brady, which probably didn’t hurt in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl, and an opportunity to showcase Jimmy Garoppolo which has already triggered rumors of a Bears, Browns, 49ers bidding war which should net the Patriots more than the 1st and 4th round draft picks that the league took from them.  So if you get a chance maybe drop Goodell a nice thank you note for all he has done for the 2016 Super Bowl champs.

-Commissioner Clown Show:  When the Patriots returned home from Houston Matt Patricia exited the plane wearing a Roger Goodell clown t-shirt from Barstool Sports and soon after reports surfaced that Goodell was “really bothered” by the t-shirt.  Can you imagine making $40 million dollars a year to do a dream job like NFL Commissioner and still being such a thin-skinned, insecure narcissist that you actually care what t-shirt somebody wears?  Goodell is pathetic.  The report also states that NFL executives were “seething” at Robert Kraft for not stopping Patricia from wearing the t-shirt and for his fairly tame declaration that the fifth title was “the sweetest”.  Those guys at NFL Headquarters have a set of brass ones.  After all the crap they put the Patriots thru and all the cheap shots they took at New England, they have the gall to leak to an NFL reporter that they are upset over a t-shirt and a brief comment made after winning a Super Bowl.  NFL executives strike me as the type of guys that cheat on their wives then tell everyone they are “seething” about their wives choice of a divorce attorney.  If I were Kraft I would have been handing out Goodell clown shirts as I walked off the plane, shooting Goodell clown shirts out of a potato gun during the victory parade and then I would have gone full “Trading Places” and sold Goodell clown shirts for one dollar at the Patriots Pro Shop.

-Deflate This:  Since Brady has been playing with those “legal” footballs, he is 28-6, has thrown 80 TDs to just 16 INTs and has won two Super Bowl MVPs.  Maybe the rest of the league would have been better off just letting him play with the “deflated” footballs.  I can’t imagine the results would have been any worse for them.

-America’s Funniest Home Videos:  It is impossible to provide links to all of the wild social media reactions to the patriots comeback win but here’s a few you might enjoy:  This video features David Ortiz going crazy when the Patriots win in overtime and has bonus footage of Lil’ Bow Wow, at the game, despondent over his Falcons collapse.  Snoop Dogg weighed in praising Tom Brady as the best quarterback that ever lived.  Click here if you want to watch one of several Atlanta fan meltdown videos, click here if you want to see a radio host lose his mind, click here if you want to see a gambler that bet on Atlanta go on an angry rambling diatribe and click here if you want to see a fed up Adolph Hitler flip out over the Patriots victory.

-What Size Straitjacket do you Wear?:  This Super Bowl matchup really brought out the crazy in Ray Lewis who was at his bizarre best when he, for no apparent reason, recorded pregame pep talks for both the Patriots and the Falcons in what appears to be his garage.  We have always known Ray was a little off but this is padded room type stuff.  Can somebody close to the former linebacker please check on him or at least contact his doctor to see about upping his dosage.

-Deja Vu:  On Sunday the happiest person in Houston should have been Stephen Gostkowski.  If New England had failed on that final two-point conversion that would be back-to-back seasons ending in major disappointment because the kicker couldn’t make an extra point.

-First Time for Everything:  108 times this year teams had a 1st and 10 and their opponents 22-yard line.  The Falcons were the first to punt.

-Running on Empty:  It used to be that you would wear down a defense by running the ball but in the modern NFL the new method for exhausting defenses is with the pass.  The Patriots snapped the ball over 100 times on offense (more than double Atlanta) and 70% of those plays were passes.  In the 4th quarter the Falcons defense looked more exhausted than a Kardashian after NBA All-Star weekend and was a shell of the defense that was so effective in the first half.

-The Very Early Edition:  So the Boston Globe had their “Dewey Defeats Truman” moment when they ran early editions in Florida with a picture of a dejected Tom Brady lying on the turf after his interception.  Also Dan Shaughnessy claims that one of his editors told him to finish his story when the Patriots were down 28-3 and Shaughnessy, to his credit, refused.

-Second to None:  Brady’s stats the last two Super Bowl 4th quarters and overtime: 35-43, 372 yards, 3 touchdowns, zero INTs, QB rating: 126.  

-The Reports of My Death have been Greatly Exaggerated:  Remember, not long ago, when analysts were throwing dirt on New England’s dynasty following that nightmare in Kansas City when they got shellacked 42-14?  Immediately after the game certain critics bellowed “let’s face it, they’re not good anymore” and that week Grantland ran a piece suggesting that the Patriots were “fatally flawed”.  Since then the Patriots are 43-9 and have added two Lombardi trophies to Kraft’s mantel.  My favorite part of the Grantland piece: “Edelman is a college quarterback who nobody else in the league wanted in free agency before the 2013 season. Danny Amendola, who some idiot expected to replace Wes Welker, is almost a punch line…”  

-Tough Act to Follow:  Did Super Bowl LI ruin the Super Bowl?  Seriously, how will any future Bowl come close to measuring up to what we saw last Sunday.  If next year’s championship is a competitive hard fought 27-21 game it’s going to feel like a disappointment after what we just experienced.

-No Rest for the Wicked:  The best part of New England’s comeback might have been all of the Patriot trolls that spent two hours laughing and celebrating only to sit there in stunned silence while Brady brought New England all the way back.  If I could have been a fly on the wall in two houses it would have been these:

Michael Che:  Che is the inarticulate talentless hack that co-anchors Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live.  Che fumbles and stumbles his way thru every broadcast making multiple mistakes, rarely saying anything funny and the entire time has this miserable sourpuss look on his face that makes you wonder if he even wants to make you laugh.  He is abysmal.  He is also opinionated, and on SNL the week before the Super Bowl he said, “I just wanna relax, turn my brain off, and watch the blackest city in America beat the most racist city I have ever been to”.  Somebody please tell Che that we have nothing against black people, we just don’t like annoying, unfunny comedians.  I would have loved to watch this no talent mope react to New England’s comeback.  Is it possible for him to look more dour?    

Maine Governor Paul LePage:  This buffoon claims to boycott the Patriots because of what they did to Connecticut but in reality he’s just a grumpy lifelong NY Giants fan.  By most accounts LePage is an unhinged wacko that specializes in offending people, threatening those that criticize him and generally saying a lot of dumb shit.  He has never received 50% of the vote in any election and currently has one of the worst governor approval ratings in the country.  LePage is also a notorious hot head and I hope his family hid the guns while he was watching those hated Patriots make history on sunday.

-Check My References:  The NFL announced its 2017 Hall-of-Fame class Super Bowl week and one name on that list was Jason Taylor, who apparently got an assist from an old foe.  Brady, who Taylor sacked more time than any other QB he faced, wrote a letter passionately arguing that Taylor belongs in the HOF.  Dolphin Stadium (or whatever the hell they call it now) was often a house of horrors for Brady and the Patriots when they faced Taylor.  Taylor’s Dolphins were the last team to shutout Brady when they beat him 21-0 in Miami during the 2006 season.  Former Patriot, and ex-Brady teammate, Ty Law came up short this year in his bid for the HOF and might be wondering where his letter of recommendation was?

-At least We still have Our Health:  Not sure where the Falcons go from here.  How do you mentally rebound from quite possibly the worst loss in sports history?  With the offseason in just its first week they are already off to an inauspicious start, firing two scapegoats coaches in the wake of the Super Bowl meltdown and hiring a college coach with a drinking problem, Steve Sarkisian, to replace 2016 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year, Kyle Shanahan, who was left to be the head coach of the 49ers.  Not only is the hiring of Sarkisian risky but it has reportedly ticked off a lot of Quinn’s offensive assistants who were passed over for the job.  This year’s Super Bowl hangover appears to be kicking in early.

-On Second Thought:  If offensive coordinators were stocks, thru three quarters Kyle Shanahan was Google and Josh McDaniels was Enron, but by the time the game ended you have to wonder if the 49ers were thinking they may have hired the wrong coordinator.

-Oh Ye of little Faith:  President Trump reportedly left his own Super Bowl party when the Patriots were losing 28-3.

-Walker Texas Ranger:  You know you’ve reached the pinnacle as an athlete when your game jersey is stolen from your locker and the Texas Rangers are asked to help locate it.  Then again Brady’s game-worn Super Bowl jersey is estimated to be worth 200K.  If it was stolen what exactly is the thief’s plan?  With all the hype around this story it would be nearly impossible to sell, making it the sports equivalent of stealing a Picasso or a Van Gogh.

-Fountain of Youth:  As we accurately predicted in this space the Brady/Goodell Super Bowl MVP trophy presentation proved to be rather benign but something was said that day which is fairly astounding.  Talking about his future Brady said, “When I was 25, I was hurting all the time, and I couldn't imagine playing as long as I did, just because, you know, if your arm hurts every day when you throw, how can you keep playing? And now, at 39, my arm never hurts and my body never hurts.”

We all know Brady has this crazy next-level training regimen and diet but it is unbelievable to hear a 39-year old guy that plays in the NFL say, “my body never hurts.”  This isn’t racquetball or beach volleyball, it’s the NFL, a league whose culture of violence and injuries has been the focus of numerous books, lawsuits and a big-budget Hollywood movie.  I have no idea how long Brady can keep playing but a quote like that certainly makes the reported 3-5 year estimate seem very realistic.  Either way it’s been an entertaining ride.  It certainly was on Super Bowl Sunday.

*Paul Heffernan aka “Mr. Internet” contributed to this report

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Super Bowl LI:  One for the Ages

By Michael Vallee

BostonFootballBlog@yahoo.com

Two and a half quarters into Super bowl LI and the nightmare scenario was unfolding.  For Patriots loyalists scattered across New England it was the nuclear option.  Maybe a handful of skeptical Pats fans had kicked around the possibility during their many Super Bowl discussions over the last two weeks, pointing out what Atlanta had done to both the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers, but quickly the thought was dismissed.  Brady, Belichick and the 16-2 Patriots were just too damn good to ever let it happen.  Yet here it was materializing before the eyes of the football world, the least likely of all possible Super Bowl outcomes: The Atlanta Falcons were blowing out the New England Patriots.

The Falcons had just punched in another touchdown and the scoreboard flashed a stunning score of 28-3.  It’s the type of deficit that sends fair weather fans and overrated actors scrambling for the exits.  In the almost 300 games that encompass the Brady/Belichick era you could probably count on one hand the number of times they have been blown out, but here they were, the NFL’s premier franchise, melting down on its sports’ biggest stage.  And this was not a case where tough breaks and bad calls had sabotaged New England’s chances; the Patriots were getting their ass kicked in virtually every phase of the game.  The Falcons looked faster, meaner and better prepared.  In an almost incomprehensible case of flipping the script, Atlanta was the focused team, the confident team and, dare I say, the more talented team.  This one was over.  The only thing left to play for was pride.

Anytime a team is down big and you’re trying to rationalize the possibility of a comeback, the first thing you look for is vulnerabilities, something, anything that can provide a sliver of hope that the fortunes of the game will be reversed.  But Atlanta was giving them nothing.  Their offense was ripping off runs at five-yards a pop.  Easy runs.  Unmolested sweeps that had the eerie look of something that would be there all day.  And with New England inching closer and closer to the line-of-scrimmage to stem the tide, NFL MVP Matt Ryan went to work.  Playing a near flawless game, Ryan dissected the suddenly vulnerable Patriots defense, throwing just three incompletions as Atlanta built their seemingly insurmountable lead.  After Ryan’s second touchdown put the Falcons up 25, his QB rating stood at a perfect 158.3.  And Julio Jones was, well, Julio Jones, fighting through double-teams and flashing that otherworldly ability that has made him the most talented receiver in the NFL.  Matt Patricia’s crew had no answers.  After a season of easy open book quizzes, they were finally facing their first real test - and failing.

Things weren’t any better on the other side of the ball.  For those clinging to the slim possibility that Tom Brady could somehow pull them out of their tailspin, that hope was repeatedly dashed by a Falcons defense that swarmed New England’s supposedly unstoppable passing attack.  Learning the lessons of Mike Tomlin, on how not to defend New England, Falcons coach Dan Quinn showed no fear, and rolled his defensive backs up into the face of the Patriots receivers.  Quinn was going to make the Patriots work for it.  And with New England’s receivers unable to shake free for those bread-and butter intermediate routes, Brady was forced into a series of awkward fades and ineffective check downs.  It was looking like Denver 2015 all over again.

For Brady it probably felt more like Giants 2007, as the Falcons front four pounded the Patriots signal-caller.  Aided by an alarmingly fast back seven that was blanketing his options Brady was repeatedly pressured, hit and sacked throughout the first half.  The Falcons defense was treating him like a pinata stuffed with Super Bowl rings.  Adding to the sense of hopelessness was a rare and costly Brady mistake late in the first half.  Trailing 14-0, and with the game slowly slipping away, Atlanta DB Robert Alford jumped a crossing route, intercepted Brady’s pass and dashed untouched for a back-breaking 82-yard touchdown.  In 1,325 postseason pass attempts Brady had never thrown a pick-six.  Once again, the young Falcon defenders were one-step ahead and looking like they knew exactly what New England was going to do.  The offensive Ferrari the Patriots rode into Houston suddenly looked like a sputtering Gremlin.

New England did manage a late field goal on their next possession but it was a small consolation in a half where they had been thoroughly out-played, out-hit and out-coached.  And it would only get worse.

With Lady Gaga dangling in the Houston sky Patriots Nation was clinging to the belief that a brand new Patriots team would emerge from the locker room.  Armed with a slew of Belichick adjustments, the best quarterback that ever lived and a championship pedigree, there was still optimism that New England could get this done.  But faster than you can say Matty Ice those remote hopes came crashing to earth.  After forcing a Falcons three-and-out, it was more of the same from the Patriots offense, who went nowhere, squandering their best field position.  With the Patriots reeling and on the ropes, Ryan pulled out a stake and aimed it right at New England’s heart, shredding the Patriots defense for 71 easy yards, culminating in a devastating 6-yard touchdown that brought us to that infamous score:  

28-3, 3rd Quarter: 8:31

That glimmer of hope that Patriots fans were so desperately holding onto was now lost.  No team had ever come back from a deficit larger than 10 in a Super Bowl.  The Patriots not only trailed by 25, but they were playing their worst game of the year.  The receivers were dropping passes, the running backs were getting stuffed, Brady was getting punished, the defense was on its heels, and New England’s coaches were getting schooled.  They had nothing.  Atlanta was the better team, and it wasn’t even close.  This is where Super Bowl LI stood with 8:31 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

But there’s an old saw about sports: Great teams aren’t always great, they’re just great when they have to be.

Appearing to have nothing more to play for than pride and dignity, Brady jogged onto the field and went back to work.  12 yards to James White.  17-yard 4th down conversion to Danny Amendola.  A rare 15-yard scramble by Brady on 3rd and 8.  And finally, they crossed that elusive goal line with a 5-yard touchdown by White.  It was the deepest New England had gone in a Super Bowl without scoring a touchdown.  It wasn’t much, but at least it was something in a game where there had been a whole lotta nothing.

28-9, 3rd Quarter: 2:06

But the tone of the game had not changed.  The Patriots offense plodded their way up the field, needing 13 plays to secure their first score; a score that only delivered six points when kicker Stephen Gostkowski clanged the extra-point off the right upright.  And the touchdown came with a price.  Because of the Patriots oddly slow approach and continued insistence on running the ball, the drive had taken almost six and a half minutes off the clock.  This was compounded by a failed Gostkowski onside kick that gave Atlanta the ball on New England’s 41-yard line.  All told the Patriots had gained very little.  If you offered Atlanta the following deal: you surrender six points in exchange for taking six minutes off the clock and getting the ball at the Patriots 41, they would take it 10 out of 10 times.  The touchdown had not moved New England’s remote win probability even an inch.

With Atlanta in a prime position to add to their lead, the first cracks in their foundation started to show.  Already within field goal range and facing just a 2nd and 1, former top 10 pick Jake Matthews committed a crucial holding penalty, sending Atlanta out of kicker Matt Bryant’s range and forcing Kyle Shanahan’s offense into a passing situation.  New England’s D pounced, sacking Ryan on the final play of the 3rd quarter.  The bullet had been dodged.

The task ahead was still formidable.  The Patriots entered the final quarter trailing by 19 and pinned on their own 13-yard line.  But they had Brady.  The G.O.A.T.  That rarest of rare athletes that makes everyone around him believe anything is possible.  Perhaps sensing the urgency of the situation the offense began to pick up the pace.  Prior to that, Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels looked like they had borrowed a page from the Andy Reid book of clock management.    Brady hit’em with a steady diet of Malcolm Mitchell and James White, quickly driving New England’s offense the length of the field and setting up a first-and-goal from the seven-yard line.  

But the drive quickly stalled when Patriots turnstile Shaq Mason decided to show America his best Max Lane impersonation, allowing a brutal sack on 3rd down by Falcons DT Grady Jarrett.  It was Jarrett’s second sack in three plays and third of the game, despite only registering three sacks all year.  At least when Lane got abused in ‘96 it was at the hands of a future Hall-of-Famer, not some second year role player.

4th and goal from the 15.  Now what?  

Immediately, boozed up Patriots everywhere began frantically crunching the numbers.  A touchdown seemed essential if New England had any real chance to win the game but a field goal technically keeps the comeback alive.  With the Patriots staring at a long shot 4th down conversion Belichick played the percentages and took the automatic points.  

28-12, 4th Quarter: 9:44

It was the right move but it was another New England drive that ended in disappointment.  The Patriots now needed two touchdowns and two conversions just to tie the game.  Their margin of error was razor thin.  Any points by Atlanta and the Patriots were done.  Any missed two-point conversions and the Patriots were done.  It was going to take a near miracle to pull this off.

The Patriots were slowly clawing back in it but they were now dealing with two opponents: the Falcons and the clock.  With that ominous tick, tick, tick echoing in their heads the Patriots needed a break.  A big play.  A game-changer.  

If they were going to make a play, Matt Patricia knew they’d have to force the issue.  The Falcons weren’t going to give it to them.  With Atlanta facing a 3rd and 1 from their own 36-yard line, Patricia dialed up a blitz.  Ryan took the shotgun snap and linebacker Dont’a Hightower exploded off the edge, blowing right past the flailing Devonta Freeman and blasting the unsuspecting Ryan as he attempted to throw.  The ball was on the turf.  Seconds, that felt like hours, ticked by as all of New England waited for the call. 

New England ball.

This was it.  The momentum changer they needed.  With all eyes looking to Brady and the offense to bring the Patriots back from the brink, it was the defense that came up with the play of the Super Bowl and, for the first time all game, put the fear of god into the Atlanta Falcons.  The comeback had now shifted from possible to plausible…..and Atlanta knew it.  Until now the Falcons were almost humoring New England.  Tolerating that Brady and company were going to make a run at it, all the while confident that Atlanta was still the better team and time was on their side.

Not anymore.

The Patriots had the ball on the Atlanta 25 and a faint but very real doubt was starting to creep into the heads of everyone on the Falcons sideline.  Any chance that New England would squander another scoring opportunity was quickly erased when Brady ripped off four straight completions, the last of which was a laser to Danny Amendola for a 6-yard touchdown.

28-18, 4th Quarter: 5:56

Now for the scary subplot: the dreaded two-point conversion.  As the Patriots learned the hard way last year in Denver, touchdowns mean nothing if you need eight points.  It’s just a case of simple math - no conversion, no comeback.  For this crucial play the Patriots decided to go old school.  Grabbing a page from their playbook circa 2006 and casting James White in the role of Kevin Faulk, New England went direct snap to the running back, with Brady giving his patented high-snap fake, and White glided into the end zone.

28-20, 4th Quarter: 5:56

The comeback was no longer theoretical.  We now officially had a one-score game and the Patriots were one defensive stop away from handing the ball to their franchise quarterback for a chance at history.  But Atlanta wasn’t gonna go easy.  Following a disastrous kickoff that pinned them on their own 10-yard line, Ryan found an uncovered Devonta Freeman in the flat, and the running back scampered 39 yards down the right side.  Before New England had a chance to catch their breath, All-World super freak Julio Jones hauled in a spectacular 27-yard sideline catch, just barely scraping his toes before the white chalk.  A collective sigh of defeat could be heard emanating throughout Super Bowl parties across New England.  Atlanta was now three runs away from wiping out the Patriots timeouts and handing the ball to Matt Bryant for a game-clinching chip shot.

Or so we thought.

Dan Quinn, failing to learn anything from the Super Bowl two years ago when his then Seahawks made the ill-fated decision to throw the ball in an obvious run situation, let his offense inexplicably take to the air.  And the results were disastrous.  On 2nd and 11 Matt Ryan, in shotgun, dropped back to pass and was swallowed up by a hard-charging middle rush from DE Trey Flowers.  Ryan not only failed to throw the ball away, he lost 12 yards on the play.  The 40-yard chip shot was now 53 yards…..and Atlanta was not done imploding.  On the next play left tackle Jake Matthews committed his second devastating holding penalty, pushing the Falcons out of field goal range and setting up a crucial 3rd and long.  Very long.  And when Matt Ryan’s 3rd down pass sailed wide the worst case scenario became reality for Quinn’s team.  The Atlanta Falcons were wilting under the brightest spotlight in sports, and now, to win the Super Bowl, they had to stop the most decorated QB in NFL history.  A quarterback that has already orchestrated not one, not two, but three game-winning Super Bowl drives.    

The stage was set.

Tom Brady and the Patriots, who once trailed by 25 points, were now 91 yards and one two-point conversion away from forcing the first overtime in Super Bowl history.  The drive started slow.  Two quick incompletions forced New England into a third-and-long, and returned some doubt to the New England faithful.  But if any of the 117 million people watching thought the Patriots had run out of miracles, they were about to be proven wrong in the most unlikely of fashion.

A clutch 3rd down catch by Chris Hogan, followed by a completion to rookie Malcolm Mitchell put the Patriots on their own 36-yard line.  Next, what started out as an innocuous first-and-ten soon became anything but.  Brady dropped back to pass and fired a deep slant to Julian Edelman.  The ball was tipped by Alford (the 82-yard interception guy), landed temporarily in Edelman’s arms, bounced off a leg, then an arm, maybe a foot was involved, briefly left Edelman’s arm, suspended in mid air defying any and all things we know about physics, then was grabbed firmly by Edelman just inches before it bounced off the turf.  

Unbelievable.

Phenomenal.

Improbable

And, for Patriots fans, cathartic.  After suffering thru David Tyree, Jermaine Kearse and Mario Manningham, finally, FINALLY, the guy making the crucial 4th quarter circus Super Bowl catch was wearing a Patriots jersey.  The only thing better than the catch might have been the camera work, which provided a spectacular and clear view of the entire play, and left no doubt about the outcome.  Unless you were the Atlanta coaching staff, who burned their final timeout desperately challenging the catch.  The Patriots team that spent three quarters doing almost nothing right could suddenly do no wrong.

Atlanta on the other hand was reeling.  The comeback had now shifted from plausible to inevitable.  Rarely do teams get a break like that and fail to capitalize. Brady quickly went back to work, firing a 20-yard bullet to Amendola and completing two more passes to White, landing the Patriots on the one-yard line.  One play letter White dove up the middle for an easy touchdown.     

28-26, 4th Quarter: 0:57

All celebrations, however, were tempered.  That Gostkowski missed extra-point left the Patriots two points shy of completing the miracle.  One more opportunity for Belichick and McDaniels to dig deep into their bag of tricks.  One more opportunity for Brady to execute.  One more opportunity for some unheralded Patriot skill guy to make a play.  

Brady under center.  Trips left.  Amendola, on the outside, motions a few steps towards the ball.  Snap to Brady, he turns quickly and fires to Amendola.  SCORE!!!

28-28, 4th Quarter: 0:57

Cue the bedlam.  You can only imagine the spontaneous joy and lunacy that exploded in back halls and barrooms everywhere from Back Bay to Burlington.  While the game was not yet won, the comeback, at least, was complete.  Brady had officially brought his team back from the brink.

There was one last piece of business before they could begin the first overtime in Super Bowl history.  The reigning NFL MVP still had 52 seconds left to rescue his team from this sports calamity.  But starting from his own 10-yard line and with no timeouts it predictably became just another opportunity lost for the Falcons.

Onto overtime.

It’s rare to dismiss something as significant as a Super Bowl overtime, but once special teams captain Matthew Slater won the coin toss it all felt like a mere formality.  This was the ‘04 Red Sox finishing off the Cardinals with ease after the Sox epic comeback against the Yankees.  Was it possible they could lose?  Sure.  Were they going to lose?  Hell no.  And any remote glimmer of hope that the Falcons might regroup in overtime was quickly extinguished by the arm of Tom Brady.  Brady picked up right where he left off in regulation, firing pinpoint darts past the lunging arms of exhausted Falcons defenders.  Five plays, five passes, five completions.  The Patriots could taste it.  Following a James White run and a pass interference penalty, New England, a team once on death’s doorstep, was six feet away from completing the greatest comeback in sports history.

Pitch right to James White, cuts left, breaks a tackle…..

TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS!!!!!!!

34-28, Super Bowl Champions

You could practically hear the screams echoing across New England, “They did it, they did it, they did it…”  And on the field euphoria exploded among the Patriots players.  They were celebrating like giddy school boys.  It was sports in its purest form.  For a brief moment there were no agents, no contracts, and no ego-driven controversies; just the unbridled bliss of the most improbable of improbable victories.  Players hugging, players dancing, players laughing, and one franchise quarterback collapsed on his knees, overcome by a deep wave of emotion; emotion about a Mom, emotion about a win and somewhere in there, emotion about enduring and overcoming two years of people wagging their finger of judgment in his face and calling him a cheater.

This game was supposed to be about everything but the game: revenge, race, Deflategate, Goodell, the legacy of a coach and quarterback, and a dynasty looking to add one more chapter to their tome of dominance.  But along the way it became about something else.  It became about the game.  It became about one team with all the odds stacked against it, rallying for the unlikeliest of championships.  There will be plenty of time to talk about all that other stuff in the coming months, because on this night, Super Bowl Sunday, all the drama was between the lines.  There were no lawyers, no rants and no accusations, just an entire country experiencing one of the most thrilling sporting events they will ever see.

Roger that.