Crisis of Confidence

Did you hear that Bill Belichick went for it on 4^th and 2 against the Colts during Week 10? No, you say? Then you really should call the Guinness Book of World Records; you’re living underneath the world’s largest rock. It doesn’t matter if you’re watching coverage of the Rams-Cardinals game six weeks later, sportscasters will bring it up somehow. It’s the most controversial decision of the year, and unless the Patriots beat the Colts in the playoffs, it could be remembered for long after this season.

The biggest conversation point that has come out of that is about Belichick’s lack of faith in his defense. But as of right now, my faith in the defense is waning as well. They’re ranked 20^th in the NFL. The Saints not only made them look bad, but they made the D look stupid as well, as Drew Brees tricked them into blowing simple coverages. Tully Banta-Cain has been hyped as the main pass-rusher, and let’s be honest here, that’s not good news, because that means TULLY BANTA-CAIN is our main pass-rusher. The Pats are tied for 19^th in the league with 28 sacks. But 10 of those sacks have come against the Buffalo Bills, including 5 of Banta-Cain’s 8.5. Since they're getting practically no pressure, the defense is falling flat.

After Week 13, in which the Patriots lost to the Dolphins and the Giants beat the Cowboys, ESPN had a poll asking whether New England or Dallas was in more trouble to get to the playoffs. Only two states in the nation picked the Patriots as being in deeper trouble than the Cowboys: Massachusetts and Hawaii. And we all remember from grade school that Hawaii doesn’t count for anything. So essentially the entire country believed that the Cowboys were in for it, and the one state that is supposed have faith in the Patriots has suddenly become “glass half-empty” as this season has progressed. Even though we were leading the AFC East when the poll was taken, and have since won the division.

And to be honest, the Patriots defense has done little to give us faith. They haven’t had a “defining play.” They’ve been burned by big play after big play. You can’t help but wonder what effect Richard Seymour’s departure had on this young unit. Thankfully, it is a young unit, and has a lot of chance to grow in the future. The defense could be great again with more experience for Jerod Mayo, Brandon Merriweather, and Vince Wilfork, if he’s re-signed.

There are a handful of spots for this team to have some real confidence. Wes Welker leads the league in receptions. The way he’s played the last couple seasons, that sounds like no surprise to Patriots fans. But don’t forget that he was out injured the first two weeks of the season, so he’s outperformed every receiver in the league that had a two game head start on him. And he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Sebastian Vollmer ended up being a monster at offensive tackle in his rookie season. He came in for an injured Matt Light and manhandled top defensive ends like Kyle Vanden Bosch and Dwight Freeney. He’s now moved over to right tackle, and our offensive line might be even stronger than it was in the perfect season. It’s something easily overlooked, but an improvement like that could mean more time for Brady to throw in the playoffs.

Randy Moss “bouncing back” was encouraging. He never bounced back in Minnesota. He never bounced in the first place for Oakland. Is it being blown completely out of proportion? Yes, it absolutely is. He had one bad game against Carolina, where the losing team was questioning his effort. In the weeks prior to that, he’d caught a 58 yard touchdown pass against the Dolphins, came down with 5 catches and a score against the red-hot Darelle Revis, and had 179 yards receiving with two trips to the end zone against the Colts. The only time in there he’d really done nothing was against the Saints, but none of the Patriots showed up that day anyways. Perhaps the thing to be happy with isn’t that Randy “bounced back,” but just can still play at the top of his game, and didn’t let Carolina’s head games get to him.

Beyond just issues with confidence from the people surrounding them, this is undoubtedly a team with an identity crisis. At the start of the decade, this was the defense that won championships. In 2007, the Tom Brady led one of the most unbelievable offenses in history. Last season was supposed to be the quirky year with Cassel leading the offense, yet this season has really been one lacking definition. We’re not a premiere defense anymore. The passing offense is good, but not perfect enough to rest the game solely on Brady’s sore shoulders. Every time the rushing game starts to make strides, either someone gets injured, or Maroney fumbles the ball on the goal line. Mostly the latter.

The Patriots are going to the playoffs, and they still have Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. There was once a day that meant they were the favorites for it all. But now people are questioning Belichick’s decisions for the first time, and a once-infallible Brady has come down to earth in many people’s eyes. The Patriots can win the Super Bowl. I just can’t tell you exactly how they would do it. And I don’t think they could tell you either.

Annual BC Football Post

Well, I'm clearly still lagging behind in life, but in case you want to know what I do with my free time, here's a letter I wrote to the Athletic Director of Boston College regarding the state of the football program. He should be getting this any day now.

November 14^th, 2009

Mr. Defilippo-

As an avid fan of Boston College Football, I wanted to write to you expressing a concern I have for the program. I held season tickets while attending BC, and have held them since graduating, and intend to remain a season ticket holder for as long as I live in New England. While my friends and I are adamant about attendance, excitement for the team the last two years has been tough to come by. I appreciated receiving two free tickets to opening day, but seeing constant sales and giveaways on half of the schedule is concerning. Most recently at the Central Michigan game, I counted only eleven people sitting in my section by the beginning of the fourth quarter. After the game, I went to visit a tailgate that has been ongoing for more than 20 seasons. I found that they decided for once that they would not bother, and watched the game from home. Some alumni I stay in touch with will watch on TV to avoid the cold weather when the matchup does not excite them, and this season, the home schedule has offered little excitement.

I understand that every major program in college football pads their schedule with teams like Northeastern. But relying on regular matchups with ACC rivals and a Notre Dame game (if we’re lucky) has not excited the Eagles fan base enough. The undefeated record at home is great to brag about, but considering the game play of Florida State and Wake Forest this year, there is little to truly be proud of. Having heard the talk that Notre Dame does not want to play us anymore, BC will need an exciting matchup to get fans off the couch and into the seats.

I know we can’t change the state of college football, “cupcake” games are inevitable, even if fans have little interest in them. I ask that you take a risk with the 2011 schedule, and consider adding the Boise State Broncos to our home schedule. I have read that their athletic director is searching desperately to travel to a major program’s home turf. The media coverage would be fantastic, and it would be a great way to spark added interest in season tickets. After Boise State’s miraculous win over Oklahoma to cap their undefeated season, I took great pride in bragging that Boston College had been the last team to beat the Broncos. And if for some reason we decided to play again, travelling to the blue turf could generate excitement if we can’t get caravans of RV’s to South Bend, Indiana anymore.

Please know that I do not write this to criticize. I’ll buy my season ticket either way, and I will show up whether it’s Boise State or Kent State. But I know that many others will not. Several years ago, a longtime season ticket holder once expressed to me his frustration over changes that required more money from him, and he told me; “BC needs to figure out that it’s not the only game in town.” That attitude is tough for me to hear, but is sadly well known. In this economic climate, if you only have a few hundred dollars to spend on sports games, some would rather spend it all on one Patriots game than a season of “cupcake” BC football games. We know this to be a problem, that BC is often the redheaded stepchild in Boston sports. Please take a risk in the schedules for the coming years, Mr. Defilippo. Thank you for your time, and Go Eagles!

Sincerely,

Sean Harris

Playing Catch-Up

It’s funny how being in a foreign country for two Sundays, and at Gillette for another two Sundays results in you not watching much football on TV since week one. I don’t think the woman at the front desk of my hotel in Peru was terribly amused when asked if we could pay extra for them to somehow order the Patriots-Jets game. So I went to the pool and took in the sun instead. I was probably the only smiling Patriots fan that day.

And probably best I wasn’t allowed anywhere near the Atlanta game. Having had season tickets to BC football for the last six seasons, my heart would have been a little torn watching Matty Ice come home to get beat down. I’ll never forget that I got to graduate with that man. I’ll also never forget that the day after we graduated, he signed a $63 million contract while I searched Monster.com for a job with a monster hangover. That sort of thing really puts your life in perspective.

On that note: Never mind. I feel no remorse for beating those losers.

Putting Baltimore to the side for a moment, what is our hump with Denver? Tom Brady is 1-5 against the Broncos, and they are the only franchise he has a losing record to in the regular season. To compare, Drew Bledsoe also faced Denver 6 times as a Patriot. He had 4 straight losses before winning out his last 2 against the Broncos. But his losses were to all to John Elway. Brady hasn’t faced Elway. He’s been beaten up multiple times by the likes of Brian Griese and Jake Plummer, with Kyle Orton just getting his punches in the other week. Oh, but Tom beat Denver quarterback Danny Kanell. Man we showed…that……guy?

And Tennessee? What can you really say? When Pats tickets went on sale, I bought that game thinking, “That’ll be a close one.” Shows what I know. But, seeing history as Tom shattered the record for most touchdowns in a quarter was very worth it. Even if I still can’t feel my feet from the cold.

Now, I understand wanting to spread football throughout the world. The rest of the world is lacking a major part of modern life. Forget the Christian Children’s Fund and their 7 cents a day, we need to get football to those poor bastards around the world that think soccer is a real sport. (Look, I downloaded the demo for the soccer video game on Xbox Live. I got a penalty for tackling an Italian dude. I deleted it immediately.) But how does the NFL choose to do bring joy and happiness to Europe?

Roger Goodell: “We need to send a premiere team to London, so I say we get the Patriots over there. Now which team on their schedule should travel well?”

Some genius: “Well I think the British really love those pirate movies. But the Raiders players might stay over there to avoid their contracts with Al Davis if we ship them to London, so let’s send Tampa Bay!”

And hence, we spread goodwill by having New England beat the crap out of the Succanneers in Old England. Not quite the way to make people excited about the NFL. Glad to see we went opened the season playing nothing but unbeaten teams, to turn around immediately and play two awful winless teams. But I would safely say Tom looks like he’s warming back up.

Now I set Baltimore aside so I can have extra room to rant. Just to be clear, I have got nothing but respect for the talents Ray Lewis and Ed Reed have. Without those two, that famed Baltimore defense that has dominated for the better part of this last decade would be nothing. I also have to make sure I state my respect for Ray Lewis upfront, because he killed two people and got away with it, and I don’t want to die next. So…you’re the man, Lewis!

But what Ray has to learn is that the NFL refs don’t let you get away with as much as the U.S. justice system. He complained after the game about two roughing-the-passer penalties the Ravens received, implying that the officials screwed over Baltimore and cost them the game. Well Ray, those were just two of the nine accepted penalties on the Ravens, totaling 85 yards over the game. And it’s not exactly unheard of to have a highly-penalized Ravens team. They blew it against Cincinnati thanks to penalties. And I’m sure the Ravens haven’t forgotten that defensive holding called on 4^th down that kept the 2007 win streak alive for the Pats.

Do I like the roughing-the-passer calls the league has thrown down this year? Of course not. It nearly cost us the Bills game. The difference between the Patriots and the Ravens? We won in spite of two of those calls with two fantastic drives by Tom Brady, and Mark Clayton dropped an easy catch on 4^th down that would have given them 1^st and goal. You have to accept that this is how the league is now, be smart about hitting quarterbacks, and suck it up when you make the mistakes.

Just as frustrating in the situation, though, is the lack of a sack by the NFL by not fining any of the Ravens for their comments. If you’re going to change the rules, stick to your guns, fine players who complain that they were bad calls.

But Ray Lewis can keep playing Ravens football, make dumb penalties, and complain about the calls after the game. Meanwhile, the Patriots will enjoy our wins. Your choice, Ray.

KICKOFF

The last time Tom Brady lost a regular season game was December 10th, 2006. That means, as of the night of the game against the Bills, it’s been 2 years, 9 months, and 4 days. A lot of Tuesday Morning Quarterbacks have said that Tom Brady looked “rusty,” “jittery,” “off-balance,” and acting like he's forgotten how to be Tom Brady. From what I saw, if Tom Brady forgot ANYTHING, he forgot how to lose. Since Tom’s last loss:

1.) Michael Vick was accused of, convicted, and served his sentence for dog fighting.

2.) Brett Favre retired and unretired. Twice.

3.) Tom Brady impregnated two gorgeous women.

4.) And the iPhone debuted, was reinvented, and then re-reinvented.

Monday night wasn’t the perfection of 2007, which is our most recent memory. But that last regular season game he lost was a 21-0 blowout by the Miami Dolphins. And the quarterback that outplayed Tom? Name him. Really, go ahead.

Can’t remember?

Joey Harrington. Admit it, you barely remember Joey Harrington even PLAYED for the Dolphins. So yes, Tom isn’t perfect. Let’s get over it, people. He still won the game, and if you can’t even remember the last quarterback who beat Tom Brady, who will remember two average quarters from a game he won?

The Budweiser 4th Down Rants of the Week

Here’s everything you need to know about this week without wasting much time on any point, officially sponsored by Budweiser. ***

- Jon Gruden’s announcing job on Monday proved he deserved to get fired by the Bucs. “Todd Light” apparently played several series on Monday. THERE IS A LIST OF NAMES RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. Get the two-time Pro Bowler’s name right.

- Richard Seymour was missed in the run defense as Fred Jackson performed better than a 2nd string running back should. Pass rush got more penetration than a U-Mass sorority during Senior Week, so we could be in good shape. Of course, this could just be proof that the Bills O-Line is as bad as everyone said it would be.

- On that note of pass rush, apparently the “Tom Brady rule” is turning the NFL into a game of Two-Hand-Touch, as we saw on with that questionable call on Thomas and absurd call on Wilfork. Let’s strap some skirts on the quarterbacks while we’re at it.

- Pray to God Jerod Mayo is okay in less than 8 weeks. Short of some miracle trade, we may have to grab Derrick Brooks, who is example number two as to why Jon Gruden is an idiot, giving up on a Pro Bowl linebacker.

- Thank you for having a sack, Leodis McKelvin, taking that ball out of the end zone with basically no one to block for you. Classy fans in Buffalo are glad you have more of a sack than J.P. Losman by publishing your address. Buffalo teenagers returned the favor by spray painting a picture of said sack on his front lawn, along with the score of the game. I'm sure it was a compliment. Also, reason number three to illustrate Jon Gruden is an idiot, as he seemed to think there was no choice but for the Patriots to do an onside kick. Monday nights are going to be painful.

***Note: Not so much "officially sponsored by" Budweiser, as "creative assistance provided by."

So Long, and Thanks For All the Picks

The retirement of a player like Tedy Bruschi is the most significant emotional loss that most teams experience. On the field, we’ll move on, as Jerod Mayo is ready to bear the load of this defense. But this is entirely different from losing your best player. Tom Brady is our superstar, our headline news, our future Hall of Famer. Bruschi was the guts of this team. Not the heart, because that’s some Lifetime TV movie BS. Yeah, the guy knew how to love life and always had a smile. But he had his biggest smiles after crushing the hopes and dreams of every fan for the opposing team. That’s not heart, that’s the damned guts of a team.

New England football didn’t know the meaning of the word “good” before he set foot in Foxboro. Most fans know he’s been in 5 of the Patriots’ 6 Super Bowls. When speaking to Patriots fans with more selective memories, they’ll tell you he was in every Patriots Super Bowl that is worth your breath. But what is easy to take for granted is that of the 13 seasons Tedy graced that uniform, 11 were years with winning records. To offer up a contrast, of the 7 seasons prior to his arrival, 6 were losing years. That included a 1 win season and a 2 win season. Tedy was an integral part to the play of the defense, as well as the mentality of the team over those 13 seasons.

Tedy Bruschi is the consummate Patriot. He was the representative of that mantra “the team comes first.” Why? Because Bruschi was a PLAYER. He didn’t aim to be a superstar with the stats and the ego. His goal, every down, was to make that defense better. And he deserves “Comeback Player of the Decade” for coming back from his 2005 stroke and not only playing, but playing at the top of his game ever since, recording 10 tackles in his first game back.

The fact that Tedy spent his entire career on one team is something truly special in this day and age. It speaks to how much he cared about the team. You won’t see him retire one week, only to come back in another uniform next month with whatever team will take him. Just to give you an idea of how long those 13 years really have been, here are just SOME of the players who have left us since Tedy became a Patriot:

Drew Bledsoe, Curtis Martin, Troy Brown, Terry Glenn, Ben Coates, Willie McGinest, Ted Johnson, Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy, Sam Gash, Tebucky Jones, Damien Woody, Antowain Smith, Roman Phifer, Mike Vrabel, Deion Branch, David Givens, David Patten, Christian Fauria, Daniel Graham, Asante Samuel, Eugene Wilson, Rodney Harrison, Roosevelt Colvin, Corey Dillon, Matt Cassel, Larry Izzo, Heath Evans, Jabar Gaffney, Ellis Hobbs, Donte Stallworth, Lamont Jordan, Junior Seau, Adam Vinatieri.

These are just the notable people who have left in the 13 seasons that Bruschi stuck with the Pats. All were his teammates, and Tedy was the last one standing.

Oh, and Tedy also outlived Bill Parcells and Pete Carroll to boot. Not just their stints, but even their influence. He was the final man left on the roster that had been drafted or signed by Parcells, and the only other player left on the team that played under Pete Carroll is Kevin Faulk.

He participated in 22 playoff games, more than any Patriot. Adam Vinatieri is the only active player in the NFL who has been in more playoff games. He has played more games than any other linebacker in Patriots history. With Bruschi on the field, the Patriots are 144-67. In those 211 games, he recorded 1,134 tackles, 30 ½ sacks, 12 interceptions, 18 forced fumbles, and 6 fumble recoveries. But those are just numbers, and none of us will remember those statistics off the top of our heads by tomorrow.

The Fact is, Tedy Bruschi is one of the reasons I love football. Were it not for memories of his fire and fantastic play, I may not have become so obsessive about the Patriots as a whole. And you can’t retire memories. Perhaps no Patriot of the last two decades will be as memorable as him, besides just Tom Brady and maybe Troy Brown. Boston fans reward loyalty with loyalty (tough luck Adam Vinatieri and Johnny Damon), and Bruschi will be no exception to this rule, especially since he is one of the few faces we will associate with all three Super Bowl victories.

Thank you, Tedy. We will never forget that you truly went out on top.

Obligatory Brett Favre Post

The Patriot Fact has little to say about Brett Favre's continued lack of knowledge of what the word "retirement" means. Since the only possible way it affects the Patriots is if both teams end up in the Super Bowl, so we can exact revenge for Super Bowl XXXI, little comment is needed. I was stuck in a chair for an hour and a half that infamous day, and the only topic on all three channels of ESPN the whole time was Favre. So for 24/7 coverage of Brett's career statistics, memorable games, workouts, contract signings, sleeping habits, and love life, refer to them.

The only thing I can offer you that they won’t is three reasons why you shouldn't let Brett Favre into your survival party when the zombie attack comes:

1.) You can't trust Brett Favre as far as he can throw a ball at the end of the season. Which is shorter than you can throw him. So when he says, "Go run through the zombie pit to save that helpless child. Don’t worry, I’ll cover you,” do so at your own risk.

2.) On that note, holding the league record for interceptions gives me little faith in his aim. When bullets are limited, I don't want the Brett Favre style of shooting to dictate how ammo is used.

3.) If he turns into a zombie, he WILL BE that one zombie that just won't die.

While I'm sorry for just wasting 60 seconds of your life, but there is literally NOTHING I can say that won’t be repeating some news organization, as apparently every sport goes on hiatus when Brett Favre makes decisions. But at least now you know: zombies show up and Brett Favre needs a posse? Steal his Wrangler jeans for their durability, and send him on his way.