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?
Richard Seymour, who was perfectly happy to play for the Patriots, has yet to show up for the Oakland Raiders. Seymour, according to Rodney Harrison, might sit-out of Raiders camp/practice, insisting that the Raiders agree not to franchise him in 2010.
This deal made no sense for Oakland, and only goes to show how awful that organization is. Why give up a 1st round pick to rent a player for 1 year, or even 2 years if they intended to franchise him? Does Al Davis still think that people WANT to play for the Raiders?
I do feel bad for Seymour, who goes from anticipating a season full of meaningful games, playing alongside great players, and hopefully going deep into the postseason. Now what does he have to look forward to? It's pretty sad that the best part of playing for the Raiders is living in the shithole that is Oakland.
And to people here in New England who still don't understand this deal, the Patriots are sacrificing 1 season of Seymour for a 1st round pick. If you think the Patriots will actually select someone with this 1st round pick, then you haven't been paying attention for the last 8 years.
But the Pats actually might take someone with a top 10 or even top 5 pick in 2011. There's potentially going to be a cap on rookie pay starting in 2011, which makes selecting early much more desirable.
The critics of this deal will point out how much of a crapshoot the draft can be. And they're right. You get a lot of clunkers in the draft, in every round. You also get some studs that can change teams. Examples of game-changing top 10 picks:
2008: QB Matt Ryan, LB Jerod Mayo 2007: OT Joe Thomas, RB Adrian Peterson 2006: DE Mario Williams 2005: RB Ronnie Brown 2004: QB Eli Manning, WR Larry Fitzgerald, QB Philip Rivers, WR Roy Williams, CB DeAngelo Hall 2003: QB Carson Palmer, WR Andre Johnson, LB Terrell Suggs 2002: DE Julius Peppers, S Roy Williams 2001: RB LaDanian Tomlinson, DE Richard Seymour
After this season, either Seymour or Wilfork were going to go. I prefer Wilfork. Think, if the Pats had sent Wilfork to Oakland, would it still be possible to utilize the 3-4 defense? Nope.
There was an opportunity to get an early 1st round pick, which could be turned into a late 1st round pick plus a 3rd round pick. Or it could be a pair of 2nd round picks. Or the pick could packaged with others and be traded for a stud runningback.
Draft picks are currency to the Patriots, and they just cashed in big-time for a player who was leaving after the season anyway.
The neverending story that is Daisuke Matsuzaka's rehab will add a new chapter Wednesday in Winston-Salem, NC. He'll pitch for the single-A Salem Red Sox in their Carolina League playoff game against the Winston-Salem Dash.
Daisuke's struggled in his last two outings. But afterword, through a translator, he'll give some BS about "experimenting" with one thing or another. Well so far in his rehab, Dr. Dice-K and his madcap experiments haven't produced anything.
We all remember the debacle about Daisuke and the Sox shoulder program. We all know that the Sox weren't happy with his off-season conditioning program that consisted of throwing, more throwing, then some more throwing. And then he threw even more in the WBC.
Daisuke hasn't subscribed to the way things are done in America. There wasn't any sucuh drama when Hideo Nomo, Hideki Irabu, and other Japanese pitchers made the transition from Japan to the Majors. Why is Daisuke different? How come Junichi Tazawa doesn't have his own throwing programs?
Frankly, I'm sick of Daisuke's drama. Just do what the rest of the team does, and then if that doesn't work, figure it out on your own. But Matsuzaka's regimen of his own homespun remedies have done nothing but fail him, and fail the team.
The Pats traded tight end David Thomas to the Saints for a 7th round pick. I had always had high hopes for him. He was drafted by the Patriots in the 3rd round of the '06 draft, but injuries hurt his career in Foxborough.
The Patriots also cut tight end Alex Smith after using a 5th round pick to acquire him.
Shawn Crable was placed on injured reserve, ending his 2009 season before it started.
Backup offensive tackle Ryan O'Callaghan was also let go.
This might be the strongest unit on the team, top to bottom. So strong, in fact, that the Patriots will probably use more 4-3 than 3-4. Vince Wilfork should be a 5 time Pro Bowler, and Ty Warren might be the most underrated linemen in the game. Then there's pass-rushing specialist Jarvis Green, who can play on the end in a 4-3. Veteran Mike Wright and rookie Ron Brace fill up the depth chart inside at tackle.
Vince Wilfork is superhuman. He's big, strong, and fast. He was 3rd on the team in tackles last year with 45. He only has 7.5 career sacks, but that's because they don't award assists to the nose tackle who absorbs a double-team, allowing the ends and linebackers to get to the QB.
If the Pats go to a 4-3 defense, Vince Wilfork will become a highlight reel player. He'll get sacks, tackle RBs for a loss, and own an entire side of the field. They call the O-Line and D-Line "The Trenches." Wilfork is The Tank that makes trench warfare obsolete.
Ty Warren, much like Richard Seymour, was drafted as a tackle, then converted to an end in the Pats' 3-4 defense. I consider him to be one of the most underrated defensive players in the game. If he lines up as a tackle in the 4-3, he will prove me right. You can't double team Wilfork, then hope to stop Warren and either Green or Seymour on the end.
Warren's a sure tackler, and once he gets to the QB, he rarely allows him to escape. He might be a Pro Bowl contender this season.
Mike Wright and Jarvis Green provide the depth. Wright had 22 solo tackles and 2.5 sacks in limited time last year. Green only had 2 sacks last year, but before that he registered 6.5 in '07, and 7.5 in '06. He's an excellent backup D-End.
Then there's Ron Brace. I've seen Ron Brace in person and he's a giant. He's listed at 6' 2" and 330 pounds, both are lies. He's 6' 6" and 350. He was BJ Raji's partner in crime for Boston College last year, and it's nice to have such a large asset sitting on the bench.
The defensive secondary is weak, and the LB's have holes here and there. The QB pressure and run-stopping needed to atone for these deficiencies MUST come from the defensive line.
