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More Tom Brady Numbers

Blogged under Bloglockers, Front Page, If I was going to bet the farm....., General by ravenhater on Saturday 20 January 2007 at 2:55 am

If I were the Colts I would be a little bit worried that Tom Brady is 12-1 in the post-season.  But that’s not the worst part for the Colts as Brady really loves the Colts playing surface.  Brady is a remarkable 23-1 in his career on Artificial Turf.  The amazing thing about that is Brady’s home field is a grass one.  All the numbers in this matchup are pointing to the Patriots winning this football game outright.  So I would think of taking the money line and letting the Sportsbook keep the points.

New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts

Blogged under Bloglockers, Front Page, Big Pats News, This Week's Matchup Report, General by ravenhater on Wednesday 17 January 2007 at 1:08 pm
This should be an epic matchup to see who represents the AFC in the Super Bowl this season.  The Colts get the game at home in the RCA Dome where they are 9-0 this season.  But it won’t be that easy as the Patriots have been road warriors this season as they are an unbelievable 9-1 on the road!

Peyton Manning has not played well in the post season and he has never done well against the Patriots in the playoffs.  But the Colts have actually been running the ball more than they’ve been throwing it in the playoffs.  Joseph Addai & Dominic Rhodes have been sharing the carries and the Colts are averaging 144.0 yards rushing per game in the post season, so NT Vince Wilfork must demand a double team to keep Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel to make plays against the Colts backs.  The Colts are also relying much more on the short passing game in the playoffs, so Dallas Clark and Joseph Addai (21 catches, 192 yards between them) have actually caught more passes than Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison (combined 16 receptions for 180 yards).  Look for the trend to continue as the Patriots have a pair of good cover corners in Asante Samuel and Ellis Hobbs. 

The Patriots will look to attack the suddenly stout run defense of the Colts.  The Colts allowed 173.0 yards rushing per game and 5.3 yards per carry in the regular season, but they are only allowing 63.5 yards per game and 3.4 yards per carry in the post season.  Still, look for the Patriots to hand the ball off to Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney alot in this football game.  If the Patriots can run the football that will slow the Colts pass rush and give Tom Brady a chance to light them up.  Tom Brady should have success throwing the football against the Colts as he’s be money in the post season in his career.  The Patriots will likely spread the Colts defense out and attack the weak link which could be strong safety Antoine Bethea.  With that in mind, it seems as if the Patriots will use their TEs alot in this game.  Daniel Graham and Ben Watson have combined for 8 catches and 72 yards in the post season with a TD grab.  Look for those two to produce similar numbers to that this weekend in Indy.  Also, watch out for the two players Brady trusts the most on the offense…..Troy Brown and Kevin Faulk.  Both of those guys made huge plays last weekend. 

This could be a game where the kicking game comes into play.  Adam Vinatieri would like nothing more than to stick it to the Patriots for letting him go.  He’s 8 for 8 in the post-season and has never missed a FG in the RCA Dome.  Rookie Stephen Gostkowski had a good rookie season and he’s hit all 6 of his of his FGs in the post season.

With this being such a big game you have to look at some of the matchups to determine a winner in this game.  I would take Bill Belichick & Tom Brady any day over Peyton Manning & Tony Dungy and it doesn’t matter where they play the football game.  The Chargers were 8-0 at home and the Patriots beat them.  So with that, I’m picking the Patriots to beat the Colts again in the post season and advance to the Super Bowl.

 

Patriots’ receivers come out of nowhere to produce big-time!

Blogged under Bloglockers, Front Page, General by ravenhater on Wednesday 17 January 2007 at 12:57 am

Unbelievable is the only way to describe the play of the Patriots WRs in the playoffs.  Jabar Gaffney has already caught 18 passes for 207 yards (11.5 avg) and a TD in the playoffs!  During the regular season, he only caught 11 passes for 142 yards (12.9 avg) and a TD.  His transformation to #1 receiver has been amazing to watch and I still can’t believe my eyes when I see him play.

Reche Caldwell has caught 12 passes for 130 yards (10.8 avg) and a TD catch in the playoffs.  Before Caldwell got to the Patriots, he had never caught more than 28 passes in his previous 4 seasons.  It looks like Caldwell has now found a home as he caught 61 passes for 760 yards (12.5 avg) and 4 TD grabs this season.

If these two guys keep playing like this, the Patriots will return to the Super Bowl this season.

Patriots greatness shines through in 24-21 win over the Chargers in San Diego

Blogged under Bloglockers, Front Page, Big Pats News, General by ravenhater on Monday 15 January 2007 at 6:53 pm

The Patriots had alot of great plays turned in by unlikely sources and that’s why they beat the Chargers yesterday.  Rookie TE David Thomas recovered a fumbled punt on the San Diego 31 yard line that led to a FG in the third quarter to bring the Patriots within one point at 14-13.  Roosevelt Colvin intercepted a pass as the Chargers were driving at the end of the third quarter.  But old vet Troy Brown had the biggest play in the football game.  With the Patriots trailing 21-13 and facing a 4th and 5 at the San Diego 41 with barely six minutes left in the game, safety Marlon McCree of the Chargers intercepted a Tom Brady pass, but Troy Brown stripped the ball from him and the Patriots recovered it.  The Patriots went on to tie the game on this drive when Tom Brady hit Reche Caldwell for a 4 yard TD.  Kevin Faulk then took a direct snap from the center and converted the 2-point play.  Then it was time for some Tom Brady magic as he led the Patriots on a 8 play, 72 yard drive to set up rookie Stephen Gostkowski for the game winning 31 yard FG with only 1:10 left in the game.  The Chargers had a short drive to set up for a 54 yard FG to tie, but it fell short.

Tom Brady threw a few bad passes, but he was money when the Patriots really needed him to be.  Brady completed 27 of 51 passes for 280 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 interceptions.  Kevin Faulk carried the ball 6 times for 25 yards, but his big carry was the 2-point conversion to tie the game in the 4th quarter.  The amazing thing for the Patriots has been the emergence of WRs Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell.  The Patriots signed both of these guys off the scrap heap and are now reaping the benefits of that.  Gaffney caught 10 passes for 103 yards and a TD.  Reche Caldwell also had a good game with 7 receptions for 80 yards and a TD.  Troy Brown also caught 5 passes for 39 yards, but the strip of Marlon McCree of the football in the 4th quarter was his greatest contribution.

Tedy Bruschi stepped up like he always does when the games get big and led the Patriots with 11 tackles.  Mike Vrabel also made some big plays with 6 tackles and a sack.  The Patriots had big problems with the Chargers running game as they carried the ball 33 times for 148 yards (4.5 ypc).  They did play well against the pass and were often confusing Philip Rivers in the passing game.  The Chargers completed 14 of 32 passes for 204 net yards passing.

The Patriots are primed to roll into Indy and beat their whipping boy Peyton Manning next week.  The Colts might have beat them in Foxboro earlier this season…but that wasn’t the playoffs.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270114024

 

New England Patriots vs. San Diego Chargers

Blogged under Bloglockers, Front Page, This Week's Matchup Report by ravenhater on Friday 12 January 2007 at 2:25 pm

This could be an epic battle on Sunday afternoon.  The New England Patriots were an awesome 7-1 on the road, while the Chargers were a dominating 8-0 at home on the season.  Will Marty Schottenheimer open up the offensive playcalling with Philip Rivers struggling lately?  Or will he get ultra conservative in his play calling?  That will be interesting to watch unfold on Sunday as Bill Belichick is a master at confusing young QBs with his defensive gameplanning.

When the Patriots have the ball they will likely test the Chargers run defense which has allowed 100.8 yards rushing (7th in the NFL) with Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney.  The Patriots have to be successful on the ground for two reasons.  1) They want to control the clock   2) They want the Chargers to have to respect the Patriots running game, thus slowing down the Chargers fantastic pass rush to give Tom Brady a fighting chance to find his receivers down the field.  If Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips are living in the Patriots backfield, the Patriots won’t have much of a chance to move the ball.

The Chargers will come out running the ball with LaDainian Tomlinson against the Patriots run defense which only has allowed 94.2 yards rushing per game which was fifth in the NFL this season. Tomlinson did rush for 134 yards and scored 2 TDs in Foxboro last season so the Patriots will be tested big-time.  Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel have a way of stepping up in big games and they will be hitting LT all game long.  If the Patriots can somehow slow LT down and force the Chargers into definate passing downs than the Chargers will be in some trouble.  Antonio Gates will benefit from Rodney Harrison missing this game, so this is one area that the Chargers will have a huge advantage in the game.  The Patriots corners are very tough and Asante Samuel has been an absolute thief on defense so Rivers will have to be very careful when he decides to go downfield with the football.

The Chargers have a slight edge on special teams in this game if it comes down to a kick.

The thing that stands out in this game is the coaches.  Marty Schottenheimer is a fine regular season coach, but he’s only 5-12 in his career in the post season.  Bill Belichick is a genius in the post season as last week’s win over the Jets improved his career post season record to 12-2.

I’m siding with the Patriots in this football game because of the huge edge that the Patriots have in coaching and at the QB position.

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