It's finally happened (or has it?) The Raiders have "drafted and signed a five-day letter addressed to Seymour." This is an ultimatem. Seymour has 5 days to show up to practice. If he doesn't, he's effectively suspended for the 2009 season. He'll also be unable to achieve free agency in 2010. That is, of course, if the letter has been sent yet. That much is still uncertain, which shouldn't surprise us considering how uncertain this whole mess has been.
It's looking extremely unlikely that Seymour will participate in Oakland's Week 1 defeat to the Chargers. Even if he showed up today, he doesn't know the Raider defense at all.
I just don't understand what Seymour wants or expects from this situation. Doesn't he and his representation realize he's in a shitty but inescapable mess? Does he have the same agent as Phil Kessel?
Remember 2001, when the Patriots won thanks to some big special teams plays? Big returns, big blocks, big kicks. How nice would it be to see those days again?
But the Pats' special teams are hardly a liability.
Stephen Gostkowski is a fine kicker. And although he hasn't earned the place in New England lore that Vinatieri had, he hasn't yet had the chance. Last year he hit 90% of his field goals, including a 50 yarder. He's got everything you'd want in an NFL place kicker. In fact, he's slightly better than average at kicking off, frequently hitting it out of the end zone.
Chris Hanson is equally as good at punting. He's not stunning. He's not bad. He's dependable.
Jake Ingram takes over for Lonnie Paton at long-snapper. I anticipate no problems.
In the return game, the Patriots don't have a really ferocious kick returner. I guess I miss the days of Bethel Johnson, but having a big return threat always kept games more interesting. That's perhaps the only thing I'll miss about Ellis Hobbs. Matthew Slater and Laurence Maroney are listed as the top KR men on the depth chart, but this position will see many different players.
The punt return situation is much better. And hopefully, the Patriots will be returning more punts than kicks. Although Wes Welker has never returned a punt to the house, he's averaged about 10 yards per return as a Patriot. That's a nice little boost to an already potent offense. Julian Edelman and Kevin Faulk might also return punts in certain situations, or to keep Wes Welker healthy.
In the coverage game, the Patriots are quite solid. Matthew Slater acquitted himself nicely as a special teams specialist in '08, and looks to do more of the same. The Patriots don't have much depth at linebacker, which usually means the special teams game won't be too great.
Special teams won't steal any wins for the Patriots, but it won't cost them any either.
"c.1300, "food for one meal, pottage," from O.Fr. mes "portion of food, course at dinner," from L.L. missus "course at dinner," lit. "placing, putting (on a table, etc.)," from mittere "to put, place," from L. mittere "to send, let go" (see mission). Sense of "mixed food" led to contemptuous use for "jumble, mixed mass" (1828), and figurative sense of "state of confusion" (1834), as well as "condition of untidiness" (1851)."
And that's what the Patriots' secondary looks like, a total mess. Shawn Springs, Leigh Bodden, Terrence Wheatley, Jonathan Wilhite, and Darius Butler. There are no #1 CBs in this mix. No #2 either. Gone are the days of Ty Law and Tyrone Poole shutting down the Colts receivers in one-on-one coverage. Even Asante Samuel and Ellis Hobbs look like Hall of Famers compared to this bunch.
Wheatley showed some promise in '08 before getting hurt. But all of these guys have "shown some promise" at one time or another. That's not the problem. CONSISTENCY is the problem. A defensive back that only covers well 2/3 of the time is utterly useless.
Without a steady pass rush, and a well-performing offense that tallies points and hangs onto the ball, these CBs are fucked, plain and simple.
But the safeties aren't bad. That's the one bright spot. Brandon Meriweather is pretty solid as a tackler, even though he struggles a bit in coverage. He's like Rodney Harrison in that respect. He made 83 tackles, forced 2 fumbles, and led the team with 4 interceptions.
James Sanders is slightly better at coverage than Meriweather. He's not a Pro Bowler, but he's a solid safety to have. Sometimes both he and Meriweather look bad because the CBs in front of them screw up coverages. But the safeties are fine, and always improving. Look for Meriweather to be a dark horse to make the Pro Bowl.
Teams with bad secondaries can win Super Bowls (See: New York Giants, 2007). They can also be very easily beaten.
Terrell Owens just doesn't know how to shutup. I guess he didn't learn his lesson from 2007, when he talked about popcorn and "the real #81" leading up to the Patriots/Cowboys game. A game the Pats won 48-27. You'd think that he would learn his lesson.
What did he say now. When asked if he had something up his sleeve for Monday's game against the Patriots, he responded:
"Nah, nothing up my sleeve. I might bring my spy camera out, though."
Way to be topical and current, Terrell. And thanks for giving the Patriots bulletin board material. It usually works out for us here in New England.
Terrell Owens' career is bloated with baseless trash-talk and whining. He's a media-whore who never met a camera he didn't like, apparently not even a spy camera.
The Tim Wakefield question remains without a solid answer. Francona and the Sox have "penciled" him in for a start in the team's upcoming trip to Baltimore, the weekend of the 18th. A couple of off days allow for the Sox to go with a 4 man rotation for now. But that won't be possible again. The Sox play their last 20 games in a row without a day off. This stretch starts September 15.
Wakefield can pitch, he just can't field. That's why he was scratched for the Tampa series. Wisely, scratched, I might add. The Rays would bunt and run like crazy on him.
If Tim Wakefield still can't field, I think it may prove to be too much of a liability in a playoff start.
These guys are the key to the success or failure of the defense. A good LB Corps can cover for deficient DBs and/or a lethargic line. When the Pats align in the 3-4, the linebackers are the playmakers. In the 4-3, they still have to make the plays as blitzers, in pass coverage, and stopping the run.
Adalius Thomas is the veteran leadership among this group. The 6' 2" 270 pounder is a fierce pass rusher, and an able tackler. He's the guy opposing RBs want to avoid, and opposing QBs will have to look for. In the 3-4, he typically lines up very close to the line of scrimmage as an OLB. But he can also play inside, which he did in 2007. Nevertheless, he's much better on the outside.
He missed the 2nd half of the season, but still amassed 5 sacks. Look for about 10 from him, as well as an interception or two. It's up to players like Adalius to rush the passer, and force some hurried throws. Otherwise, the secondary is dead meat.
I'm really pumped to see Thomas as an OLB in a 4-3 alignment. He's almost too big for the position in a 3-4, but his size becomes a great asset on the outside of a 4-3. Also, if there's a good pass rush from the other side (or from the D-Line), Adalius becomes exponentially more dangerous to opponents.
49 of 50 voters named Jerod Mayo the Defensive Rookie of the Year. He led the Pats with 128 tackles, and 100 solo tackles. He accounted for 11.7%, or more than 1/9 of the Patriots total tackles. He was tied for 5th in the NFL in solo tackles, and 10th in total.
Suffice it to say, Mayo is a quality tackler. And in a 4-3, he'll be playing center-field in the defense. Nobody will want to run up the middle if they have to squeeze by Wilfork, and then meet Jerod Mayo. He's a solid player, the kind of guy that defenses are built on.
Who is Gary Guyton? Well he went to Georgia Tech, and was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He's come out of nowhere to be a staple in the Patriots' LB Corps, whereas drafteed like Bo Ruud and Shawn Crable have dissapointed. Guyton had the fasted 40 time among LBs in his combine. He's 6' 3" and 245, and can play adequately on the inside and outside. He won't amaze like Tedy Bruschi in 2003, but he is a step up from Tedy Bruschi in 2007.
The only thing I allow myself to know about Pierre Woods is that he recovered a fumble in Super Bowl XLII, then fumbled it right back to the Giants. I'm sure he's a decent player, but he has a lot to do to make up for that miscue. He's projected to be an OLB, sharing time with Derrick Burgess.
Speaking of Burgess, remember the last time the Patriots had a linebacker with the number 0 on his jersey? His name was Bryan Cox and the Pats won the Super Bowl the year he played for them.
Burgess is a very good pass rusher, a Roosevelt Colvin kind of guy in a 3-4 defense. He played DE for the Raiders. He won't play every snap, but look for him to be a feature LB in passing downs. I wouldn't be surprised if Burgess accumulated 8+ sacks this season. But if he and Adalius are on the field at the same time, offensive lines will be very confused, helping both players.
Tully Banta-Cain is back, but this time as #95. He's an excellent role player to have on the bench, and in certain situations. He's looked really solid in preseason.
What frightens me is the lack of depth at this position. If Adalius goes down, as he did last year, who replaces him? If Mayo goes down, the LB Corps and thus the defense teeters on collapse. This position could be a house of cards for the Patriots.
The Sox belted 6 homeruns, and Buchholz combined with Bowden for a shutout of the lowly Baltimore Orioles. The Sox are now 11-2 against the O's.
Thank goodness for Clay Buchholz. He's turned into a more-than-solid #3 pitcher in this rotation. He's got a 1.69 ERA in his last 3 outings, and 6 of his last 7 starts have been Quality Starts. He's won his last 4 decisions.
Jason Berken takes the mound for Baltimore Wednesday night. Paul Byrd goes for the Sox. What's the over/under on this game? 25?
