Week six was littered with upsets and close calls. Here are my thoughts on the week that was in college football. 1.Oklahoma losing to Iowa State is not a surprise to me. The Sooners have been perennial gaggers for a long time. Just because Bob Stoops isn’t there anymore, doesn’t mean they don’t choke away winnable games. 2. Penn State was in a battle for the first half against Northwestern…

Here are positional plays for week five. There are several intriguing match ups this week.  Quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers- The Dallas defense is awful and are in the bottom 3rd of the league in pass defense. They got picked apart by Jared Goff last week, so you can only imagine what Rodgers will do to them. This game should shoot out. Ben Roethlisberger– His road/home splits are on complete opposites ends…

Game Rewind: The Patriots survived an ugly game beating the Bucs 19-14. The defense played much better than they have thus far this season but the offensive line continued to struggle. Here are my thoughts on this bore of a game.  1. The Offensive Line Woes Continue: The offensive continued to struggle last night. Tom Brady was sacked four times and got hit a lot. It is hard to explain…

Saquon Barkley and the Lions face a stiff test this week at Northwestern.  It is hard to believe that it is already week 6 of the college football season. Where does the time go? Anyway, there are several great game on the docket this weekend.  Here are my picks versus the spread. 8 p.m. ET: No. 17 Louisville at No. 24 NC State (NC State +4.5): I like the Pack…

The Patriots travel to Tampa tonight to battle the Bucs on Thursday night football. At 2-2, the Patriots desperately need a win to avoid falling below . 500. It will not be easy as Jameis Winston and the upstart Bucs feature an explosive offense and young, aggressive defense. Here are five keys to the game. 1. The Focus is on the Defense Tonight: The defense needs to be better, period! The…

Butch Jones job is officially on the line in Knoxville.  1.I love that Washington State beat USC. It gives Mike Leach’s program street cred and puts them in the national conversation in terms of the college football playoff. 2. Clemson continues to prove that not only are they the best team in the ACC. They might be the best team in the country. Yes. I said that. 3. Speaking of…

Image courtesy of the Boston Herald 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…

By Mike Vallee  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…

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…

By John Sarianides The Patriots host Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers today at Gillette Stadium. The two teams have split the previous six meetings. Carolina is 5-11 all time in franchise history against defending champions. Here are five keys for the Patriots in this game. 1. The Defense Must Play Better: The defense needs to be better! PERIOD! They have been awful thus far, especially at home. They have…