NFL Week 3: With Videogate behind them Pats look to go 3-0

New England hosts the Bills, the Bucs are home for the disappointing Rams, and three other games to keep an eye on

1.) Buffalo (0-2) at New England (2-0)
After last Sunday night's absolute ass-kicking of the San Diego Chargers on national television, coupled with the historic fines laid down on Bill Belichick and the franchise PLUS the announcement that the league has destroyed all evidence related to the Pat's video taping scandal, I think it's safe to say New England is ready to put the embarrassing Videogate incident behind them.

At least until they face Man-snitcher and the Jets again.

Today they Pats should be distraction free when they take on the hapless Bills at Gillette. Buffalo was predicted to be a darkhorse playoff contender this season by many 'experts', but after suffering a last-second loss to Denver in Week 1, the Bills got clobbered 26-3 by the Steelers last week.

Buffalo quarterback J.P. Losman, whom many are still holding out hope will turn into a good NFL QB, has been horrid, as usual, and his days as an NFL starter are most likely numbered. In two games Lostman has thrown for 251 yards with no TDs and one pick, and those numbers don't figure to get any better as he goes up against a defense that has allowed just 28 points in two games and decimated the high-powered Chargers attack last week.

Tom Brady is having a field day now that he finally has some targets to throw to downfield who aren't smurfs or geezers. Couple that passing attack with a solid ground game anchored by Lawrence Maroney and capable backups Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris, and you have the makings of a prolific offensive unit.

We already know the defense is good (just ask Ladainian Tomlinson), we know the offense is loaded, and now that the coach has shed the remnants of the first scandal that has somewhat tainted his legacy, New England can get back to doing what they do best: destroying other NFL teams hopes & dreams.
MY PICK: Patriots 38, Buffalo 14 (hey, third time's a charm, right?)

2.) St. Louis Rams (0-2) @ Tampa Bay Bucs (1-1)
This was supposed to be the year, right? The year that new coach Scott Linehan got awoke the offensive juggernaut that used to be known as The Greatest Show on Turf and made the once superior St. Louis Rams relevant again on the STML-afflicted NFL landscape.

Not quite.

After two games the Rams are going backwards. Despite a hefty new contract, Marc Bulger has been as invisible as Whitey Bulger as the starting slinger has totalled just 535 yards and 2 TDs in losses to Carolina and San Francisco, not exactly Super Bowl-caliber teams.

To make matters worse, stud running back Stephen Jackson is already upset that he didn't touch the ball enough in the loss to San Fran, and with just 118 yards on 39 carries and no TDs in two games, you can bet there are a lot of FF geeks who are pretty pissed off that his production is down, too.

All this turmoil could make for a rough day when the rams travel down here to sunny Tampa Bay, where the teams will have a hard time believing it's the first day of fall.

Much like the Saints last week, you can bet the dome-bound Rams will not take too kindly to the stifling 88 degree heat beating down on them at Ray Jay this afternoon, but the temperature should be the least of their worries.

Tampa bay bounced back from a lackluster loss to Seattle in Week 1 with an impressive 34-10 victory of the saints last week at home. Jeff Garcia is a marked improvement over the cavalcade of weak-armed losers Chucky Gruden trotted out behind center last season as the Bucs already have more plays of over 20 yards than they had in the first 10 weeks of last season.

That the offense would be improved with the fiery veteran quarterback leading the offense was no surprise, but it was the re energized defense, which swarmed Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, et al last week that has really surprised the Bucs fans this season.

Led by ageless leaders Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber, youngsters like Barrett Ruud, who was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts last week, Jermaine Phillips, rookie safety Tanard Jackson and rookie linemen Jovan Haye and Greg White, the unit punished the Saints offense, hearkening back to the stout D corps of the 2003 Super Bowl team.

So today will be a real test to see which of these teams is for real and which one can start making excuses as to why they aren't better than advertised.

But at least the Bucs had low expectations going into the season.
MY PICK: Bucs 27, Rams 24

3.) San Diego (1-1) at Green Bay (2-0)
Before the season began this game looked like a mere blip on the Charger's way to the Super Bowl. Then San Diego got steamrolled by the Pats, and Green Bay upset the Giants at home behind the rejuvenated Brett Favre, and suddenly the trip to the not-yet-frozen tundra bodes as a tough test for the playoff-minded Bolts.

Favre passed John Elway as the all time wins leader in the NFL with the victory last week, and coach Mike McCarthy's edict to have Favre curtail his gunslinging ways, i.e. cut out the costly INTs that have plagued him the last few years, has seemed to work, Favre has thrown just two picks in 80 attempts, and if he can continue to keep himself in check, the star-less Pack could be this year's surprise team.

It may not be frozen, but the Chargers won't have an easy day in Green Bay.
MY PICK: Packers 28, Chargers 27 **UPSET SPECIAL**

4.) Detroit (2-0) at Philly (0-2)
Who woulda thunk it? This early season battle between intra-conference rivals means more to the championship-starved Eagles than it does the perennially horrible Lions?

But with Philly adjusting to the newer, slower Donovan McNabb, who inflamed the NFL community when he pulled the race card as the reason for his struggles, and Detroit off to its first 2-0 start since the Eisenhower administration, POhilly desperatley needs this game to remain relevant in the city of brotherly love as the Phillies make a late-season push for the playoffs.

Detroit, behind surprising QB Jon Kitna and stud rookie receiver Calvin Johnson, has been the surprise of the league so far, while the Eagles have looked old and unimpressive. I'm not sure the young lions are ready to win a big game in a hostile environment like this, but it should be fun to see them try.
MY PICK: Eagles 24, Lions 17

5.) Dallas Cowboys (2-0) @ Chicago Bears (1-1) SNF
This should be a classic case of what's more potent: Dallas' offense, which has scored 82 points in two games, or Chicago's defense, which has yielded just 24 points in two games despite losing its first game 14-3 to San Diego.

The Bears unit will be put the test by Tony Romo, TO & Co. tonight at Soldier Field, and it better be up to the task because the Super Bowl runners up cannot afford to drop another game this early in the season.

Then again, this is the NFC, so I guess a handful of losses really shouldn't matter.

This one promises to be an entertaining game as a national audience will get to see just how good Dallas is this season and just how bad the Rex Grossman era can truly be.
MY PICK: Bears 17, Cowboys 14

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Pats will face Chargers in Battle of the Year: Eagles win too

AFC Wild Card Game

New England 37, New York Jets 16

When the dust settled and the sun was starting to go down over the Giant Razor Blade the two coaches, mentor & student, came together at midfield for a brief, awkward, menbrace.

Then Belichick turned away and muttered from under his grey hood "how'd that taste you pudgy little Benedict Arnold cocksucker?!"

Or maybe it didn't happen exactly that way. But if I were writing the screenplay for the Patriots 37-16 drubbing of Eric Mangini's New York Jets this afternoon in Foxborough, that's how I would end it.

The Hooded Genius had groomed Mangini to be in the position he is in, the youngest head coach in the league, ever since Bill was the head man in Cleveland and Mangini was one of his assistants. But the fact that Eric bolted so soon, after the departures of Charlie Weiss & Romeo Crennell, left a bitter taste in Belichick's mouth.

Things got testy when Bill wouldn't even mention Mangini by name in the week leading up to their last game in Week 10; New England losing that game at home, 17-14, led to the infamous cold shoulder at midfield between the two former friends and fueled the stories of animosity, jealousy and pettiness, mostly on Belichick's part.

Ah but there's nothing like a sound playoff ass-kicking to stoke the flames of friendship and cause a crusty genius coach to slap helmets, run up & down the sideline looking for someone to hug, and grin ear to ear more in one day than he had in the last 45 years combined.

What did the Patriots do to make a sourpuss like Belichick grin like a Chesire cat? They befuddled the same Jets defense that had manhandled the Patriots in that November loss, harassing Tom Terrific with a variety of blitzes and hits.

Coming out on the first drive running a no-huddle offense New England marched 65 yards in 10 plays capped by an 11-yard touchdown by Corey Dillon. (side note: a couple of weeks ago I was watching the Pats/Titans game at the local sports bar when I got into a "discussion" about Dillon & Travis Henry, Tennessee's back. The Titans fan sitting next to me started to get bitchy-wonder why- when I said the Titans needed another back to help Henry or they'd never make it in the playoffs, someone like Dillon. This yahoo went on to tell me that Dillon sucks, he's washed up, that Henry is a 1,000+ yard back and he is good enough to get them to the Super Bowl, they have LenDale Fatburger White, yadda yadda yadda... I said Dillon is the best short yardage back in the game right now. This touchdown reaffirmed that. Just thought I'd bring it up.)

After a Jets field goal New York took a 10-7 lead thanks to a 77-yard touchdown pass from Chad Pennington to Jerricho Pats Killer Cotchery; in 3 games this year against the Pats the former NC State standout had 16 catches for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns.

But the Pats got back on track thanks to Brady (22-34, 212 yards, 2 TDs) and his superior mastery of the New England offense. Tommy Boy led the Pats on two long scoring drives, the first culminating in a Stephen Adam Who? Gostokowski field goal and the second with a 1-yard TD from Brady to Daniel Graham to make it 17-10 New England at the half.

It's playoff time, where Tommy Boy is a terrific 11-1 in his career

New York would mount an impressive drive to open the third quarter- 10 plays, 73 yards in nearly 7:00- but after that it was all New England. Gostokowski added two more field goals in the quarter, the second one coming as the direct result of a wacky mistake by the Jets. Pennington lateraled the ball back to his running back, but Rosie Colvin put his arms up and nearly picked it off. Although the ball would drop harmlessly to the ground, Vince Wilfork jumped on the ball and started to run. With the Patriots' coaches urging him to run the mountainous tackle rumbled 35 yards to the New York 15. No one else, Pennington included, seemed to realize that a backwards pass that is dropped IS A FUMBLE, except the alert Wilfork, who had a monster game after missing 3 straight.

Now leading 23-13 the only thing left to do in the final quarter was put the icing on the cake. Which they did when Brady directed a 13-play, 63 yard drive that ended with an example of why Brady is the perfect conductor for Belichick's genius schemes. On 3rd & goal from the 7 Brady lined up in an empty backfield, read the defense, and called Kevin Faulk back to him as if to block or run the ball. But after the snap Faulk broke into the flat untouched and Brady hit him with a perfect tender pass for the score, putting a beautiful capper on a beautiful fall-like New England day.

Assante Samuel would add the cherry on top when he returned a Pennington interception 36 yards for a touchdown, his 11th of the season ("under-rated") with 5:00 left for the final margin, and then it was manshake time between the Hooded Genius and the Man-genius.

These two former friends will warm up to each other eventually and perhaps even go out to dinner with each other and Romeo & Weiss, like Tony Dungy, Herm Edwards and Lovie Smith did last Friday night before the Colts/Chiefs game.

As long as the mentor keeps beating the pupil in the playoffs, that is.

Up next: The Pats will travel to San Diego to take on the 14-2 Chargers in a revenge match of sorts. San Diego handed the Pats their worst loss in many years last season, 41-17 in Foxborough. The game will be at 4:30 on Sunday. Full preview coming soon. I'm too spent to write any more.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the other game...

Giants gag again as Eagles keep soaring (ugh- that's all I can come up with)

Philly 23-20

Tiki Barber went out with a whimper as the joyless Giants dropped their 7th game in their last 9 and in the process most likely got coach Tom Coughlin fired.

The Eagles will next play at New Orleans next Saturday at 8:00 as Jeff Garcia and his magic beans will try to pull off another miraculous win. Since entering the starting lineup Garcia is 6-1, but much of that success has to do with the reemergence of Brian Westbrook. Westbrook had 141 yards rushing and has helped Garcia lead an efficient and effective offense on this streak.

That's all I got. More tomorrow, plus a preview of the BCS Championship Game (yes-it's finally here!)

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Monday Night Preview: Pats @ Vikes

Finally the Pats get a Monday Nighter. But why the hell do the 3-time champs have to travel to the hinterlands of the Minnesota Metrodome to get on prime time? I mean shouldn't the Vikes, who haven't won anything since Fran Tarkenton was slingin' the rock for them, have to travel to Foxborough for this game? Anyway, the Pats are unstoppable indoors , and Tom Terrific is just that inside: he has a 9-0 record away from the elements.


The Vikings (4-2) are one of the surprises of the league this year (all the more reason to question the MNF gift) and are coming off of a 31-13 demolition of the Seahawks last week in the Pacific Northwest. But the Pats have been quietly sneaking up on the rest of the league: they started out slowly, with unimpressive wins over Buffalo & the Jets and an ugly loss to the Broncos at Gillette. But since that 17-7 defeat on Sept. 24th New England has rattled off 3 straight impressive wins, and a win tonight would serve notice to the rest of the league that the Patriots are back on the Super Bowl map.

This game has all the makings of a run-fest. Minny has been riding the strong legs of Chester Taylor all season long. Taylor has carried the ball 136 times, the rest of the Viking running backs have 16 carries combines. Taylor lit up the Seahawks last week for 169 yards, including this 95-yard TD jaunt. He also leads the Vikes in receptions with 21. Long gone are the days of Culpepper-to-Moss. Now Brad Johnson guides the Minny offense, and it is his pinpoint accuracy and ability to lead the team rather than carry it that has made Minnesota so successful since he took the reigns from Culpepper midway through last season.

The Pats have also relied heavily on the running game. RB Lawrence Maroney leads all rookies with 361 yards on 86 carries while splitting time with aging workhorse Corey Dillon(328yds.) That double-barreled assault has allowed Brady to settle in to his new offense, spreading the ball around to a new group of receivers including Doug Gabriel, Chad Jackson, and TE Ben Watson (leading receiver with 21 grabs for 271 yards.) But Maroney played his college ball in the very building the Pats will be playing in tonight with the Minnesota Golden Gophers and he will have plenty of friends & family on hand tonight. Look for him to try and have a breakout game in his old digs despite the fact that he will be facing the league's stingiest run defense(70/YPG).

It has all the makings of a slug-it-out affair with both teams relying on veteran steady, accurate passers and dazzling young runners. Are the Vikes ready to win a game like this, in their 1st appearance at home on Monday Night in 5 years? We shall see.

MY PICK: Pats 24, Vikes 20

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Fabulous Football Weekend

Amidst all the baseball going, and with an off day today before the World Series starts, I plan on having an All-Football Weekend.
Starting tonight my son & I are going to attend the Largo High School football game. Largo High is the alma mater of current Ole Miss RB Dexter McCluster, who ran for a county record 2,490 yards & 39 TDs as Largo made it all the way to the regional finals last season. This year the Packers haven't missed Dex a bit, reeling off a 7-0 record behind the strength of versatile QB Leonard Johnson and a pair of running back siblings, junior Brynn (839 yds & 10 TDs, both 3rd in the county) and senior Greg Harvey.

Tomorrow, after my son's Little League game at noon, I will be firmly planted on the couch for the BC/FSU battle at 3:30 on ABC. It should be an interesting ACC clash, with the unranked Noles in desperate need of a decent conference win and the #22 Eagles coming off of a 22-0 beatdown of the powerhouse Hokies. After that tilt at 5:45 EST I will be digging into a Big East battle for supremacy as #19 Rutgers (6-0) takes on unranked (somehow) Pitt (6-1.) These two overachieving schools are looking for the BCS bowl bid as the top team in the conference, so a lot will be on the line in this one. I will end the college football segment of my weekend with the 13 Georgia Tech/12 Clemson match @ 7:45 on ESPN; this one seemed to be a mere afterthought at the beginning of the season but now shapes up to be an important game in deciding who will advance to the ACC Championship game.

Finally on Sunday I will be attending the Eagles/Bucs game at RayJay at 1:00PM, courtesy of my good buddy Joe and his awesome seats 5 rows up on the 20yard line in the south end zone. A week ago this game looked like a complete stinker, with the Eagles sitting pretty at 4-1 and the Bucs resembling the 1980's creamsicle Pirates at 0-4. But then the Eagles lost a heartbreaker to New Orleans and the Bucs won a heart warmer against the Bengals, and now this game has a feel of desperation for both teams- one trying to stay in the playoff hunt and another attempting to retain its credibility with fans and not become a laughingstock parody of its former championship self.

So there you have it, my itinerary for a full weekend of football action. Of course I will also watch the World Series between the Tigers and Cardinals; that's what PIP is for.

As usual, full reports with highlights & photos will follow all the games.

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