Game Rewind: After getting off to a slow start, the Patriots scored 21 second quarter points and cruised to a 35-14 win over the Tennessee Titans. The Patriots will be playing in their NFL record seventh straight AFC Championship game next Sunday. Here are five thoughts from the game. 1. Sluggish Beginning: The Patriots got off to an uncharacteristically slow start. They won the toss and took the ball only…
The Patriots open the playoffs by hosting the Tennessee Titans. The Patriots are prohibitive favorites in a game that most experts did not see coming. Instead, pundits had the Chiefs coming to town but Marcus Mariota and the Titans spoiled the party with a big road win in Kansas City. Here are five keys for the Patriots in this game. 1. Contain Mariota: The Patriots cannot allow Marcus Mariota to…
It’s divisional round weekend. The top four seeds in each conference are in action. Will they hold serve at home or are they primed for an upset? We will know by the end of the weekend. Here are our three key previews for three of the four games. We will do a separate preview for the Patriots game. 1/13 4:35 ET Atlanta -3 At Philadelphia 41 The Falcons are favored…
With rumors swirling Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is the leading candidate for the New York Giants job, it got me thinking. Who is more vital to the Patriots success. Josh McDaniels or Matt Patricia? I came to the conclusion that McDaniels is more vital to the team’s success moving forward. There are several reasons for that. For one, McDaniels has been the offensive coordinator in New England on two…
Here are some thoughts on the happenings around the football world. 1.Alabama, Georgia went from a boring game at halftime to one of the best national championship games in the last 25 years. 2. Nick Saban benching Jalen Hurts at halftime and going with true freshmen Tua T (can’t spell or pronounce his last name) was a ballsy move. It was a move that a coach who wins a lot…
It is an all SEC national championship game as Alabama will battle Georgia for all the marbles. The two teams did not play each other this past season. Here are three keys for both teams in what should be a great game. 3 Keys for Georgia 1. Keep Jalen Hurts in the Pocket: Jalen Hurts is a terrific athlete and he can beat defenses in a variety of ways. He…
There could be as many as five quarterbacks taken in the first round of the draft this year. Several teams including the Browns, Giants, Colts, Broncos, Jets, Cardinals, Jaguars, Bills and Redskins will all be in the market for a quarterback. Heck, even the Patriots will be in the market for one. They need to find Tom Brady’s eventual successor. It is too early to rank these quarterbacks as I…
It’s wild card weekend, one of my favorite weekends of the year. The wild card round is intriguing for a variety of reasons. One reason I love it is because any of these eight teams could get hot and make a super bowl run. Here are our three key previews for this weekend’s games. 1/6 4:30 ET At Kansas City -8.5 Tennessee 44.5 The Titans will try to pull off…
Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis finally got his man today when former Raiders and Bucs coach and current ESPN analyst Jon Gruden agreed to become the team’s new head coach. According to reports, Gruden will get a 10 year, $100 million dollar contract to coach the team. With that kind of money on the table, it’s no wonder Gruden decided to get back into coaching. I would have to! You…
I have no issue with Seth Wickersham’s piece on espn.com regarding the power struggle between Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Robert Kraft. Quite frankly, the notion that there is a rift is not that hard to believe. Patriots fans and certain members of the media around here need to take off their rose colored glasses for a second and analyze the piece. According to Wickersham, the rift between Belichick and…