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…
By John Sarianides There are some initriguing games on the schedule for week five of the college football season. Here are my picks for this week. No. 14 Miami (-5.5) at Duke: Duke is 4-0 and playing at home so you know they’ll be feeling it tonight. It won’t matter. The Canes are better and they have weapons all over the place. I like the Canes as a road dog in…
By John Sarianides 1.Remember when the Vandy faithful were chanting we want Bama? Well…they got Bama. 59-0 Tide. 2. Boston College showed some fight against Clemson for three quarters and then the cream rose to the top and the Tigers pulled away in the fourth quarter. 3. Silly me. I thought Mississippi State might be a player in the SEC West and then Georgia whacked them and reality set in….
By Jared Leonard Week 3 Features some terrific match-ups that could produce some high scoring games both in fantasy and reality. Here are my top DFS plays for week 3. Quarterbacks Matt Stafford– He’s not Aaron Rodgers but he’s a damn good QB and the Falcons D gave up 346 yards to Rodgers and the Packers last week (With Jordy out on first drive and Cobb injured later). This game…
By John Sarianides The Patriots host old friends Bill O’Brien, Romeo Crennel, Mike Vrabel and Larry Izzo to Foxboro as the Patriots battle the Texans in a key early season match up. Here are five keys to the game. 1. Find Three Healthy Receivers and a Tight End: The Patriots receiving corp is depleted right now. Bill Belichick and his staff needs to find three healthy receivers that can play…
By John Sarianides It is week four and there are some intriguing games on the schedule for this weekend. Here are my picks. UTAH (-3.5) AT ARIZONA: The Utes are flying under the radar per usual but they face a stiff test on Friday night when they travel to Tuscon to battle Rich Rod and the Wildcats. Arizona’s uptempo offense gives defenses problems because of the speed they play at….
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…