LUCK OF THE PATRIOTS?

I've lived in central New York state for nearly 4 years now, surrounded by Bills, Jets, Giants, Eagles, and Steelers fans. These people also think Peyton Manning is the best player in the NFL. They are united only in their hatred of the New England Patriots.

A common word associated by these haters is "lucky." The Patriots were "lucky" to win such and such a game. An even more ludicrous statement is "the Patriots didn't win the game, the other team lost it." Of course, this makes no sense, because if someone loses a football game, then someone else wins it. Then there's also the "they didn't deserve to win" accusation. All of these things are just silly.

With the recent 24-21 victory over the San Diego Chargers, these words have been tossed around by many up here in CNY, and by some on the national sports media level. If you ever want to lose a few brain cells, listen to WEEI past midnight. WOW!

They all point to the Tuck Play a few seasons back in Oakland. They claim that this single play is what made Brady, Belichick, and the Patriots what they are today.

Just a few things about this particular play:

1. The officials called it correctly, as confirmed by the NFL after the game.

2. The NFL has kept the tuck rule in exactly the same language as it was written back then.

3. It may have been a freak thing, but it didn't exactly end the game. The play was called incomplete in our favor, not a touchdown or anything.

The Tuck Play occurred at the Oakland 47. There was only a little over 90 seconds on the clock in that game with us down by 3. We drove the ball 23 yards after that play to set up Vinatieri's game tying 45 yard kick.

We won the toss for overtime, which I guess is lucky. But then we drove to the Oakland 28, converted a 4th and 4, and kept driving until we set-up a Vinatieri 23 yard field goal. Yeah, Oakland let us get all the way down to the 6 yard line. I guess we were lucky to get down there.

The next week, we beat Pittsburgh straight up. Yeah, we had 2 special teams TDs, but we also held Jerome Bettis to 8 yards on 9 carries. And despite what Bill Cowher might still think, special teams are part of the game. You return a punt for a TD, or block a field goal, it is a good football play, not a lucky play.

We all know what happened to the Rams the next week. There wasn't much luck in that game, either. We outplayed St. Louis and we won.

We also won 21 straight games a few seaosns later, 6 more playoff games and 2 more Super Bowls. I guess we were still riding that luck. Remember when we dominated the Colts and Steelers in back to back weeks? Man, we were sooooooooo lucky!

After our win against the Chargers on Sunday, all the haters continued to call the Patriots lucky. But where the hell is this luck?

I'll say this much, the Chargers did make a few pivotal errors which gave the Patriots an opportunity to win the game. The muffed and re-muffed punt, a few dropped passes, and the interception fumble are a few of the most obvious. I don't see how this is luck, though. Nor do I see our being able to score after these plays was being lucky. Furthermore, we made plenty of mistakes, as well. We turned the ball over 3 times. San Diego had 0 points off our turnovers. We scored 14 off their turnovers. Luck? We had a few dropped balls, and a few misguided passes, but in the end, our offense was still able to score more points than the Chargers.

As glaring as some of the mistakes San Diego made were, they also played one hell of a football game. LT had 187 yards of total offense. As a team, they ran for nearly 3 times as many yards as we did. They pressured Brady a great deal, sacking him twice, hurrying and hitting him so often that he made big mistakes. Both of their lines did a great job at what they do. Most of them played a very good game. They controlled the line of scrimmage, the rushing game, the field position, 3rd down conversions, total first downs, time of possession, and were only -1 in the turnover ratio. But we still won. I guess we got lucky.

What exactly is luck? Here's what Dictionary.com defines luck as:

1. the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities: With my luck I'll probably get pneumonia.
2. good fortune; advantage or success, considered as the result of chance: He had no luck finding work.
3. a combination of circumstances, events, etc., operating by chance to bring good or ill to a person: She's had nothing but bad luck all year.
4. some object on which good fortune is supposed to depend: This rabbit's foot is my luck.
—Verb phrases Informal.
5. luck into or onto, to meet, acquire, become, etc., by good luck: She lucked into a great job.
6. luck out, to have an instance or run of exceptionally good luck: He lucked out when he made a hole in one during the tournament.
7. luck upon, to come across by chance: to luck upon a profitable investment.
—Idioms
8. down on one's luck, in unfortunate circumstances; unlucky: She hated to see her old friend so down on her luck.
9. in luck, lucky; fortunate: We were in luck, for the bakery was still open.
10. luck of the draw, the luck one has in or as if in drawing cards.
11. out of luck, unlucky; unfortunate: When it comes to getting World Series tickets, we're usually out of luck.
12. push one's luck, Informal. to try to make too much of an opportunity; go too far. Also, crowd one's luck.

A key word I'm seeing here is "chance." Now, a flip of a coin, that's luck. That's purely chance. Recovering a fumble, that isn't luck. There isn't much chance involved in that. The player fumbled for some reason. He could have been stripped, hit hard, just lost control of the ball, whatever. He still fumbled because he lost control over the ball. That isn't chance. Neither is a muffed punt, or a personal foul penalty. These things are not random events like being struck by lightning. These are mistakes.

The real test in any football game is how a team capitalizes on their opponent's mistakes and how they minimize the effect of their own miscues. You can throw 10 INTs and fumble the ball 5 times, but if the other team fails to score any points off these turnovers, and you score a touchdown somehow, you'll probably win.

The Pats are NOT lucky to still be in the playoffs. They outplayed the San Diego Chargers. They outcoached the San Diego Chargers. On Sunday, they were better than the Chargers.

FINDING A WAY TO WIN

Wow! WOW! As much as my heart was racing in anticipation of this game, it got faster as time went on. I have to say that for 90% of this game, perhaps more, we looked terrible. But in that 10%, we played our hearts out and earned a victory over the 14-2, #1 seeded San Diego Chargers.

For a great majority of this game, I was planning a losing post. This is one of those "Here is why we lost" types of thing that I hate to write. I was planning to don my Brady jersey tomorrow in order to show everyone that I still loved the Pats. Now I will wear it out of pride for our team, and I will write a regular post about why we won, why we COULD have lost, and what is up ahead.

Let's start with before the game. Everyone, and I mean everyone was talking about LT and how the Patriots would try to stop him. I didn't think we'd be able to keep him to a bad game like 15 carries for 50 yards, or anything like that. I figured LT would have a great day, but we could win. It all depended on what we did on offense, and what we did with the opportunities given to us. The Chargers were going to blitz the crap out of us, and how we played against the blitz would be a big factor in determining the game. Would we give Brady enough time, and would our receivers get open against one-on-one coverage.



The game started with, guess what, LT running. He got some good blocking from his tackle and tight end that created a pinhole that he made look like a black hole. He ran for 11 yards and a 1st down. He got 3 on the next play and Rivers threw to Neal for 11 more. LT got 3 on the next play. To me, these 3 run yards were huge. LT had so many carries that could have been stopped for a loss or no gain, but he is so hard to bring down that he gets a few extra yards. He uses his speed to get 20 when he should get 3, and his strength to get 3 when he should get none. He is the MVP, without a doubt.

After that run, Rivers threw to Parker who was stripped before having control by Hobbs. Not being able to hold onto the ball would be a trademark of Chargers receivers throughout the day. On the next play chad Scott made a nice open field tackle on Antonio Gates to force a 3rd down and a punt. However, the drive had successfully gotten into our territory to the 43 yard line. The Chargers ensuing punt was fair caught by Troy Brown at the 10.

The Patriots had a three and out. They tried spreading the field a bit, but things just weren't working. Sauerbrun punted to the 50. LT and the chargers were unable to get a yard, and punted. Faulk fair caught it at the 7. Even though we had just made a good defensive stop, I was worried. Things were looking like the Miami loss when we couldn't get anything going on offense, and were constantly defending a short-field.

Brady hit Reche for 3, then scrambled for 4 more. On 3rd and 3, Merrimen defensed (I love that term) a pass intended for Faulk. Steroid Shawne wouldn't be heard from much the rest of the day.

Speaking of roids, Sauerbrun had a nice 56 yard punt and the Chargers would start their next drive at the 35. The Pats had a chance to make some progress in the field position battle. But then LT ran for 15 yards. After a pair of incompleteness, Rivers hit Parker for 21 yards. A reverse got blown up by Colvin, Warren, and Phil Rivers for a 7 yard loss. LT got 6, but the Chargers couldn't convert on 3rd and 11. The Chargers went for it on 4th down instead of a 47 yard field goal attempt. However, Vrabel got in on Rivers and forced a fumble. After we recovered, we finally had the ball to start a drive past our own 10 yard line.



On 1st and 10 on the 35, we ran three straight plays. Dillon for 3, then 3 again, then Faulk for 5 on 3rd and 4. The Patriots made their first penetration into Chargers territory with a 9 yard pass from Brady to Brown. Dillon got the 1st down on the next play. After Dillon was stopped for a 1 yard gain, Brady overthrew Gaffney in the end zone. Jabbar had a step and a half on his man, but Brady just put a bit too much under it. On 3rd and 9, Brady threw a conservative pass to Brown, who was tackled shy of the 1st down, but the play allowed us to attempt a 50 yard field goal which Gotskowski nailed. 3-0 New England

After a good kickoff return, the Chargers tried an all Tomlinson drive. LT got 16 on the first play to end the 1st quarter, then was stopped at the line. He caught a 6 yard pass, then a 3rd and 4 incomplete forced a Chargers punt. On 1st and 10, Maroney got 5, but was swarmed in the backfield on the next play and lost 4. An incomplete was followed by a punt.

LT got 5, then 4, then Neal was stuffed. The chargers went for it on 4th and 1, and Turner got 17 before Sanders wrapped him up. Rivers threw to Gates who seemed to catch it at the 2, then seemed to fumble it. Vrabel seemed to fall on it, but the play was challenged by San Diego and the pass was ruled incomplete. It was a good reversal, though, as Gates never did a "football move." Rivers hit Gates again for 9, then Rivers was flushed and forced to scramble for 2. He then hit Neal for 9. On 1st and goal from the 2, LT easily took it in for a TD. 7-3 San Diego.



After a 15 yard face mask penalty, the Patriots had their best starting field position on the 43. Then Brady and Graham hooked up for the biggest offensive play for the Patriots for 19 yards to the charger 38. Then Brady threw a pick. It was probably the worst time to throw it. We had just fallen behind 7-3, but seemed to have a little bit of momentum about to build up. Brady seemed to think that Edwards would follow a receiver who ran in front of him, but he stayed put and jumped up to catch the ball. Just a stupid INT.

The Chargers blitz was preventing Brady from making complete throwing motions and following through. They did a good job of forcing Brady to make decisions, and on this play, Brady made a bad one.

The defense stood up nicely after the INT. This would be a theme. Even though we had difficulty holding onto the ball, we did a good job of not allowing turnovers to kill us by allowing points off them. Hawkins capped off the defensive stand with a sack for an 11 yard loss. However, give credit to Rivers who did a good job of holding onto the ball. If he fumbles right there, it's a HUGE turnover.



Although the Patriots forced a 3 and out and allowed 0 points off the interception, the turnover still hurt us. We had gotten to the San Diego 38 yard line with a chance to penetrate even further. After the Chargers punted, we had the ball back at our 33. That's a 29 yard difference, and yards weren't exactly coming cheaply against the Chargers defense.

After gaining 0 yards, Sauerbrun punted a 52 yarder and after the 8 yard return, San Diego would start at their 23. This was their worst starting field position at this point in the game. It didn't seem to matter, though.

LT ran up the middle for 11, then again for 2. He caught a screen and exploded for 58 yards. It was just a display of a great football player making a great play.



Asante Samuel finally dragged down Tomlinson at the 6.



Probably the weirdest "tackle" of Samuel's career as he essentially tripped up LT enough so that he fell down. Turner took it into the end zone on the next play. 14-3 San Diego. Things were looking bleak.



The Patriots had 2:00 and some timeouts to try to get some points on the board. But things didn't look good. We were down by 11 against a defense that hadn't allowed us to do anything consistently. We were also against a team with a sensational running game that could drain out the clock with ease.

The Pats started from their 28. Surprisingly, Faulk got the ball for 7. Then he got it again and got 7 more. These two plays allowed us to continue the drive further. After a holding penalty on Mankins, Brady hit Gaffney on a sideline route for 17. Jabbar got it again for 16 more to the Charger 32. This was our deepest penetration to that point. After an incomplete, Faulk ran for 5 and Caldwell caught a 9 yarder. With 0:17 on the clock, Gaffney had a 7 yard reception, moving the ball to the 11. An offside penalty moved the ball to the 6, Brady hit Gaffney in the back of the end zone for a touchdown, 14-10 San Diego.



The Pats went into the locker room with some momentum, and had the game close against a tough blitzing defense and a strong running game.

The teams exchanged punts to open the 2nd half. On a 3rd and 10 play, Brady threw a ball that was intended for Brown but was picked off by the Chargers. They started the drive from our 32 and moved the ball forward 11 yards before a holding penalty pushed it back. This meant they were on the edge of field goal range. After an in-completion and a Tomlinson run for 2, Rivers was sacked by Sanders for a loss of 10. This knocked San Diego out of field goal range and they were forced to punt.

Even though we kept San Diego from scoring, the turnover hurt us. Their punt was downed at the 2 yard line and we'd once again have a long field. In the 2nd half, to this point, neither team was really winning or losing the field position battle. But after the pick, we were definitely losing it.

After an incompletion on 1st and 10, Brady hit Brown for 12 yards. Faulk got 6 up the middle, but after an incomplete and a run for a 2 yard loss, the Pats were forced to punt. Sauerbrun booted a 51 yarder, which was muffed by Parker. Instead of trying to collapse on the ball, Parker then seemed to try to pick it up so that he could return it. This allowed the coverage team to envelop him and David Thomas to fall on the ball.

Now we had the ball on the Charger 31. San Diego gave us 5 more yards with an illegal contact penalty. After an incomplete pass to Graham, the Pats tried a play-action pass to Faulk, who was stopped at the line. Mankins was called for pass interference. Now, I haven't done any research on this to confirm it, but this is the first and last time Logan Mankins will be called for PI.

Brady hit Brown for 7 on the next play, but was sacked from the blind-side and the ball popped out. Matt Light caught it, though, but he was unable to advance anywhere near a 1st down. Florence head-butted a Patriot after the play and was flagged for it, which gave us a 1st down and another shot at the end zone.

Maroney ran for 4, then was stopped at the line. Mankins was called for holding which moved the ball back to the 24. Brady then threw too low for Watson, who could have walked into the end zone. On 3rd down, Brady hit Gaffney for 8, which I felt was a good play because it made the field goal attempt easier. Gostkowski nailed the 34 yarder. 14-13 San Diego.

We took advantage of San Diego's mistakes, which were numerous on this drive. This was something the chargers hadn't really been able to do to us.

The Chargers seemed to respond nicely on offense. Rivers threw to Jackson for 12. Tomlinson ran for 9, then Neal got the 1st down with 2. The Chargers ran a screen to LT on the flat, but Colvin was in between Rivers and Tomlinson. Rivers tried lofting the ball over Colvin, but Roosevelt tipped it up, then came down with it.



For a linebacker not named Vrabel, it was a dam good catch. Tomlinson seemed to have his hands on Colvin's face mask, but the flag thrown by the officials was picked up. I felt it should have been a 5 yard incidental penalty, but no penalty was assessed.

We didn't score off the turnover, but we were able to move the ball as far as San Diego's 41. After driving, we punted the chargers back to their 17, their worst starting field position to that point.

LT moved the ball to the 30 with a 17 yard run. Turner was held for 1 on the next play, but then Rivers hit Gates for 19 at midfield. The chargers converted a big 3rd and 7 when Rivers hit Gates for 12. LT ran for 1, then Jackson caught a 31 yard pass at our 3. LT easily took it into the end zone on the next play.



21-13 San Diego.

8:35 left in the 4th quarter and we needed 8 points to tie. I'm not going to say I was confident we'd win at this point, but I didn't doubt it much.

We started the drive at the 37, thanks in large part to a Chargers personal foul on the extra-point. This drive needs to be divided play by play.

On 1st and 10 at the 37, Brady threw incomplete intended for Brown, defensed very well by Polk.

On 2nd and 10, Brady found Gaffney for 17 yards in the middle of the field. These 10-19 yard passes were the bread and butter of the Patriots the past two years.

On 1st and 10 from the San Diego 46, Brady hit Faulk for a modest gain of 5. Even though there was just under 8 minutes on the clock, the Patriots needed to be quick. Even if we scored a tD, we also needed to make the 2 point conversion, and if we failed, we'd need the ball back with time.

On 2nd and 5 from the Charger 41, Brady threw to Brown deep down the sideline, but the ball was overthrown, which was good because Brown was pretty blanketed.

On 3rd and 5, Brady was pressured out of the pocket. He seemed to want to run, but Merrimen's steroid fueled legs allowed him to converge on Brady at the line of scrimmage and the hyped up linebacker made his only noise of the game with a "sack" that resulted in a loss of 0 yards.

The Pats were forced to go for it on 4th down, and what happened was one of the greatest plays in Patriots history.

Brady threw to Brown in tight coverage. Marlon McCree intercepted it, and Troy Brown stripped him. Reche Caldwell fell on the ball and it was 1st and 10 Patriots at the San Diego 32. For some reason, the chargers challenged the play, but it was clearly an interception, then a fumble, then a Patriots recovery.

This play shows what it means to be a Patriot. Brown isn't going to be named to any All-Star teams any time soon, but he is capable of making amazing plays when confronted with tough situations. This is what the Patriots do!

The challenge was also one of the weirdest decisions I've seen a coach make to challenge a play. The ruling on the field was upheld and San Diego was charged a timeout.

On 1st and 10, Brady hit Gaffney for 7 yards. Gaffney has become a favorite target of Brady the past 2 weeks, with 18 total catches against San Diego and New York, compared to 11 during the regular season.

On 2nd and 3 from the 25, Brady threw incomplete to Watson. Despite being thrown to, Watson had yet to make a catch and he let this one go underneath his fingers.

On 3rd and 3, Brady hit Gaffney yet again for 12 more yards.

On 1st and 10 from the 13 and 4:46 on the clock in the 4th, Watson caught his first pass of the day for 9 yards.

On 2nd and 1 from the 4, Brady looked right, then to the middle, then to the right, then looked left and saw Reche Caldwell all alone in the end zone. Brady threw it, Reche caught it, touchdown. 21-19 San Diego.



We had to go for 2 to tie it.

My roommate said as the Patriots lined up for the attempt "I like seeing trick plays."

To which I replied "Well, you're about to see one."

Kevin Faulk had lined up as a receiver, but came in motion and wound up next to Brady, who was in the shotgun. Instantly, every Patriots fan is thinking direct snap to Faulk. That's what happened. And Faulk took it in to tie the game.



It was 21-21 with 4:36 on the clock. But we still had to stop the Chargers from scoring. If we stopped them quickly, we could get the ball back and a chance to win it.

LT ran for 5, then Rivers threw incomplete. Asante Samuel made a great play on the ball to force an in completion on 3rd down and force a punt. The 3 and out took a total of 60 seconds off the clock. Great stop by the defense.

We got the ball back on our 15. We moved the ball to the 34 when Brady hit Graham for 19. Brady threw Graham's way again and it was nearly picked off, but Graham was able to break up the play enough. After Brady threw incomplete to Faulk, the risk of blitzing was demonstrated fully.

Why don't teams blitz on every play? Well, it leaves receivers on islands with their DBs in one-on-one coverage. If the blitz is sufficiently picked up, and the receivers are able to create any kind of space, they will be burnt. If the QB has enough time to look, he will find an open man. This is exactly what happened on 3rd and 10. Brady found Caldwell in one-on-one coverage. Caldwell had beaten his man. Brady hit him in stride, and Caldwell tight-roped up the sideline for 49 yards.







The ball was on the San Diego 17, in field goal range. With 2:31 on the clock, the game was now about running off time and setting up a field goal attempt.

Dillon got 2 and the Chargers used a timeout. Dillon then got 3 and the 2 minute warning stopped the clock. Dillon was stopped for a loss of 1 at the 13 and the Patriots ran off the clock before calling a timeout. Then the rookie kicker took the field, and nailed a 31 yard field goal.



24-21 New England. This was our first lead since 7:19 in the 2nd quarter, or nearly 40 minutes of game clock.

There was 1:14 on the clock, still plenty of time for San Diego.

After the kickoff and return, San Diego had the ball on their 25 with 1:05 left. Rivers hit Gates for 14 yards. The play took 25 seconds. Ball on the 39, 0:50 on the clock. For some reason, Rivers hit Gates near the middle of the field for 4 yards. Clock continues moving. Ball on the 43, 0:24 on the clock. After a spike, Rivers hit Parker at our 36. This was at the edge of field goal range. They spiked the ball with 0:08 on the clock. They attempted a 54 yard field goal that was short and to the right. Game over.

This wasn't the cleanest of wins, and we should thank San Diego for helping us out with dropped balls, silly penalties, and turnovers. But I think the Patriots earned this victory. Despite all their miscues, the Chargers are a dam good team. And it wasn't like they all played like crap, either. LT had 187 yards of total offense and 2 TDs. As a team, San Diego rushed for 148 yards against us. They forced 3 picks. They won the field position battle throughout most of the game with 5 punts inside our 20, and 3 inside our 10.

We took advantage of San Diego's miscues, and we limited the damage of our own mistakes. That's New England Patriots football.

Tom Brady had one of his worst playoff performances for about 90% of this game. He threw 3 picks, and threw about half a dozen balls off target, including an overthrow of Gaffney in the end zone. He also had a fumble. His stat line looks like a Drew Bledsoe one (no offense, Drew, and we all know you're better than Tony Romo). 27 for 51 (yes, 51!), for 280 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs. But in the end he orchestrated some nice drives.

The Patriots running game was non-existent. The Chargers did an excellent job of stopping our run. Faulk led the team in rushing with 25 yards on 6 carries. Dillon had 8 carries for 18 yards, Maroney 5 for 5, and Brady 2 for 3. Our running backs had a total of 19 carries for 48 yards. That's 2.5 yards a carry. Not good. Compare that with San Diego's backs who had 29 carries for 152 yards (5.2 a carry). Faulk was the only back who caught passes, he caught 2 for 11 yards. San Diego's backs had 84 receiving yards on 4 catches. No running back fumbled the entire game on either team.

Jabbar Gaffney had his second straight career game. He had 10 catches for 103 yards and a TD. That's 18 catches and 207 yards in these last two games. But I guess he wasn't good enough for Houston or Miami. Great find by the Patriots to pick this guy up.

Reche Caldwell had a great game with 7 catches for 80 yards and a TD. His 49 yard reception and run set-up the game winning field goal. Reche also recovered Troy Brown strip in the 4th quarter.

Troy Brown. You simply can't say enough about Troy. He had 5 catches for 39 yards. Perhaps more importantly, he stripped McCree after Brady threw an INT. The play allowed the Patriots drive to continue and they eventually tied it up. He's such a Patriot, and by that I mean he's a great team player.

The tight-ends didn't make a whole lot of noise in this game, partially because they were kept in on pass protection on a good number of plays. Graham had two big receptions for a total of 38 yards. Watson only caught the ball once after being thrown to several times, for a 9 yard gain. David Thomas might have had the best game out of all of our TEs with a muffed punt recovery.

Stephen Gostkowski had a very nice day. His only blemish was a kickoff out of bounds. However, he made 3 field goals, including the game winner, and including a 50 yarder, and kicked an extra point. Can we finally stop all the whining about losing Vinatieri's clutchness. I know Gostkowski's kick in the 4th wasn't exactly the hardest in the world, but he still nailed it to win the game. He also nailed that 50 yarder in the 1st, and in a close game like this, every single point counts.

Our return game was non-existant. We averaged 17.5 on kickoff returns, and had 1 punt return for 0 yards. Credit the Chargers punter and coverage team for this.

Saurbrun had a decent day with a 44.7 yard average and 1 punt inside the 20. He had a few 50+ punts, which was good because we were losing the field position battle for most of the game. Maybe he and Merrimen started another cycle.

The Pats defensive line had a decent day. Their job is to eat up blocks both on pass and rush defense, and they did that. It's just that LT got to the outside on us so well and eluded the tackles of our linebackers and defensive backs.

Our linebackers were beaten by LT a few times, but so wasn't every linebacker in the NFL that played San Diego. Colvin only made noise on one play, but he made a lot of it with a brilliant pickoff of a screen intended for LT. Bruschi did a good job of gang tackling in the middle. Banta-Cain had a fumble recovery, and Mike Vrabel was the one who forced the fumble with a sack of Rivers.

Our DBs had a solid game, as well. Notice how you didn't really see Asante Samuel that much? That means he was doing his job. We did see him a few times, and he did a good job of playing the ball and breaking up plays. Ellis Hobbs also had a few good plays on the ball that broke up some pass plays, including one that would have been a San Diego touchdown in the 1st quarter. Artrell Hawkins made some nice "last-chance" tackles on LT and by in large did a good job defending. He also had a sack rushing off the edge. Sanders also sacked Rivers, but he got burnt a bit more in run stopping by LT. We really missed Rodney Harrison in this game because he does such a great job of finishing off tackles and stopping the run in the middle of the field.

All things considered, the offensive line did well. Mankins had a few penalties, but Light had a great game. You didn't see Merrimen much, even when he was on the field. They even moved him away from Light. Matt also recovered a fumble which allowed a Patriots scoring drive to continue. The line didn't get much push for the running game, and they bent to the blitz a few times, but we must remember that San Diego has a very good defensive front.

So we beat the best team in the NFL. Imagine if the NFL had a BCS type of system, Baltimore and San Diego would be playing as the 1 and 2 teams. Instead, it's the 3 and 4 teams. We go to Indianapolis next Sunday. We can win that game, but I'll talk about that in another post.

After the game, Tomlinson remarked about the Patriots players imitating Shawne Merrimen's "lights out" dance.

"You guys know me, im a very classy person," Tomlinson said. "They showed no class, and maybe it comes from the head coach."

Just a few thoughts.

1. Classy people don't usually call themselves classy. LT doesn't dance in the end zone and doesn't talk trash, but it is weird when someone says "I'm a classy guy" to reporters after a game.

2. Imitating a dance is not classless. If it is, then the dance itself is classless. That would mean that Merrimen is classless. If you're going to have a special little "trademark" dance like some sort of stripper with a special move, then prepared to have it imitated. People do the Mile High Salute in Denver to make fun of the Broncos, and many, many other celebrations have been imitated.

3. I thought that given Merrimen's history with steroids, it would have been even funnier to start a modified Lights Out dance by injecting one's arm with a fake syringe. But I guess that would be even more classless according to LT. But not as classless as TAKING STEROIDS AND CHEATING!

4. I know I'm biased, but the Patriots under Belichick are some of classiest players and coaches you'll see in the NFL. We don't talk trash all week leading up to a game, we don't talk trash after a game, and we don't have choreographed and planned celebrations after making a freaking tackle. We play, we win, we keep our mouths shut, and our celebrations spontaneous.

5. Your team showed no poise, and maybe it comes from the head coach.

Anyway, LT will probably apologize. I know he was probably frustrated after having such a great game and still losing. But hey, it's the NFL, it's a team game, and you lost fair and square. Enjoy the off-season, and have fun with 8 of your teammates at the Pro Bowl.

Just Ended Their Season

The New England Patriots met the Jets in Foxborough, and blew them out 37-16. The game was closer than the score would suggest, but the Pats maintained control almost throughout the contest.

The Pats started off the game in decent field position at the 35. They decided to pick on Dyson as he was inactive until this week. They also seemed to prefer throwing short to the sidelines in an effort to stop the inevitable blitzes of the Jets. The Jets started off with a very Patriot-like defensive alignment in that they had no defensive alignment. Everyone was milling on or near the line of scrimmage. But the Pats, this time, were ready for the blitzes.

Brady hit Gaffney on the flat for 12. Dillon then got the ball and ran for 4. Gaffney got it again for 7, then Dillon again for 2. After an incomplete, Gaffney got another catch for 15 to the Jets 25 yard line. Faulk got stuffed for a loss, then after an incomplete, Brady found Brown for 16 and a first down. Dillon took it off tackle for an 11 yard TD run.



The Patriots ran a no huddle, non-hurry-up offense that kept the Jets from subbing and adapting. 65 yards, 3:07, 7-0 Patriots.

The Pats came out just as aggressively on defense. Banta-Cain got in Pennington's face, along with Seymour, Wilfork, and warren. Tully took him down for a loss of 2. The next play, they got pressure on Pennington again, and forced him to run. Chad got 7, but forcing Pennington to use his legs is a good thing about 99.9% of the time. The Jets were also running no huddle, but the Pats were able to mount good pressure with 4 men and forced an incomplete and a 3 and out.

On the punt, Hobbs got called for holding so the Pats were forced to start from the 10. Maroney took the hand off for 4, then the Pats caught the Jets in the middle of a substitution and got a 5 yard penalty out of it. Maroney got 7, then 4, all in the no huddle. Brady threw incomplete, then he hit Gaffney for 5 on 3rd and 6. Gaffney could have fallen forward for a 1st down, but he seemed to not know where the marker was and he stepped back in an attempt to get running room, only to be tackled behind the 1st down line. The Pats were forced to punt.

Gaffney's misstep was a small mistake. But if we get the 1st down, the drive continues and we may be able to continue moving and pin the Jets deep, or maybe even score again. But unlike mistakes we've made earlier in the year, we didn't let this one kill us.

The Pats stopped the rush up the middle for no gain, but Pennington hit Washington for 11 and a 1st down. They seemed to adjust their protection and the Patriots were finding it difficult to pressure Pennington. After an incomplete, Washington was stuffed for a gain of 1, by Vinny Wilfork who tossed him like a rag doll. I couldn't hear a whistle, but Wilfork got called for a 15 yard personal foul for finishing a tackle.

The Jets got 8 yards after the penalty, but were forced to punt. We got the ball on the 14. Next play, Dillon had the ball pop out and the Jets recovered.

This was another mistake, and could have been a massive one. We've been fouling up like this all season, but this time we did a great job to limit the damage. The Jets got the ball at the 15, but were only able to move 5 yards forward. They kicked a field goal, 7-3 Patriots.

The Pats were able to move the ball from the 30 up to the 48 before they were forced to punt. The 2nd quarter began and the Jets had a 3rd and 7. Pennington found Cochery in space. Vrabel had been on him, and was obviously mismatched. Hawkins came up to stop him, but overran him and missed the tackle. Cochery was sprung free to the sideline and absorbed the tackle of Sanders enough to get into the end zone. It was a bad play by Hawkins, and a good one by Pennington, and cochery. 10-7 Jets. They wouldn't lead for much longer.

Maroney had a nice return to the 42 yard line which set up the Pats drive. Dillon ran for 2, then Caldwell caught a 7 yard pass. On 3rd and 1, Dillon got 8. After an incomplete and a 4 yard throw to Watson, Brady stepped up to elude the rush of Vilma. Vilma was running too fast on the outside to cut back in and was only able to flail wildly at the ball in Brady's hands. But Brady had both hands on the ball, and eventually found a wide enough hole to run for 12 yards. When i say hole, I mean like a third of the field.

On the next play, Poteat got called for PI on Watson so we got the ball on the 3. The Jets did a good job at standing us up and forced a field goal try. It was the first field goal attempt by a Patriots kicker in the playoffs that wasn't Adam Vinatieri since 1994. But Gostkowski hit it, tied game, 10-10.

The Jets came out in a no huddle, shotgun format that worked nicely against us. They drove into our territory before we finally stopped them and forced a punt. But they were protecting Pennington and finally getting 1st downs.

Maroney started the drive with a 6 yard run. Brady hit Watson for 10, then Faulk was stopped at the line of scrimmage. Brady hit Caldwell for 19, then after an incomplete pass, the Kevin Faulk show started. Faulk ran up the middle for 7. Then for 8. Then for 9. Maroney got 2, then Gaffney caught a 13 yard pass. Maroney had a pair of carries for 5 each. It was 1st and goal on the 1. Evans and Maroney got stopped at the line. With 0:14 on the clock and on 3rd and 1, the Pats could go for the end zone twice, or pass once then try a field goal. They threw play-action pass and Brady split the defenders to hit Graham for a touchdown. 17-10 Pats, and they would not give up the lead for the rest of the game.



The second half began with a long Jets drive. They were protecting Pennington, spreading our defense, and finally ran the ball well. They were making a lot of good mid-range passes and racking up 1st downs. They got as far as our 3, but were forced to kick a field goal. The drive ate up 6:41 of clock, which actually was good for us.

The Pats responded with a nice drive of their own. They were in a hybrid of a huddle/no-huddle scheme, gathering after each play but not really huddling. They drove as deep as the New York 15, but on 2nd and 7, Brady was sacked for a loss of 12. After a conservative pass, Gostkowski nailed a 40 yard field goal to make it 20-13.

The game was still close. It was only a 7 point lead with nearly 20 minutes left on the clock. The Jets had been moving well against us and were definitely threats to score a TD. The Jets continued their forward momentum with a 19 yard pass that broke into our half of the field. On the next play, Pennington threw a quick pass to the side. Colvin jumped and the ball hit both hands, but slipped to the ground. Everyone on the field thought the play was over except for the refs and Vinny Wilfork. Vince scooped up the ball and ran down the sideline before being knocked out at the 14. The replays clearly showed the ball travelling backwards, making the play a fumble. This was a game-breaking play, and good heads up football by Wilfork.

The Pats didn't move the ball much, and settled for a field goal, but that made the game a two score contest. We also took 1:39 of the clock, and would force the Jets to mount another complete drive in order to score.

The Jets did drive down the field, but were stalled on the 19. They hit a 37 yard field goal, but the game was still a 7 point game, and the Jets took 3:25 to drive down the field.

There was now 11:32 left in the 4th, and the Pats had the ball. It was kill time. A long drive and/or a score would effectively end the game. They did both. After a strange long pass attempt down the field on 1st down, Maroney gained 2 yards and Brady found Brown for 10 and a 1st on a big 3rd and 8 play. Maroney ran for 8, then for 4. The clock was under 10:00. Caldwell got 13 yards, then Faulk ran for 1. Clock under 8:00. Gaffney caught an 8 yarder to break 100 on the day, and set up a 3rd and 1 run by Dillon which he got 7 on. Under 7:00. The ball was on the 10. Brady hit Watson for 3, then the Pats utilized the Jets blitz against them. The Pats had often been keeping the back in the backfield for additional protection on passing plays. On this play, Faulk went out on a pattern and was wide open. Brady found him, and Kevin found the end zone.



Warm up the bus, the game was over. 30-16 Pats.

There was still 5:00 on the clock, but the Jets would be in a situation in which they'd be passing every play. This meant the line could tee off on Pennington and the coverage guys knew the patterns would be deep so they could sit back. This became very apparent when Samuel picked off Pennington and returned it all the way for a 36 yard TD.



The rest of the game was elementary. The Jets moved forward a bit, but Pennington was sacked on 4th and 10 to end it.

vinny "Victory Formation" Testaverde took a knee to end the game.



Before this tender hug, Belichick manhandled a photographer in his way to meet Mangini.

A lot of guys had great games and good games, which is why we won. Let's start at the top.

Belichick did a great job anticipating what the Jets would do, especially in terms of blitzing. The Jets got some pressure on Brady, but it was inconsistent and sporadic. On offense and defense, we were able to sufficiently surprise the Jets enough to give us an edge.

Tom Brady had a very solid game, throwing a lot of great passes. Some were close to being picked, but these were long jump balls. He was 22/34 for 212 and 2 TDs. It was his 10th straight playoff game with at least 1 TD pass, tying him for 3rd all-time behind Favre and Marino. It was also his 11th win in the playoffs as a starting QB.

Corey Dillon, despite the fumble, had a solid game. He had 10 carries for 53 yards, and a TD. He worked for a lot of extra yardage on every play. He had some big 1st down runs in which he demonstrated a great deal of latteral power. This is something he has that often gets overlooked. everoyne knows he's a great North-South power back, but his power gets displayed when he runs side to side along the line and is able to evade potential tacklers by moving them out of his way. A lot of power backs have trouble on the side, especially when they're unable to square their shoulders. But Dillon is so strong that he can use his arms and upper body to keep defenders from getting good angles on him.

Maroney had a solid playoff debut, rushing for 69 on 18 carries. 3.83 per carry isn't his best average we've seen, but he was very workmanlike and got some tough yardage. He and Dillon helped eat up clock, wear down the Jets, and keep their D-line at home to help pass protection. He also had a big 29 yard kickoff return that set-up a scoring drive.

Kevin Faulk had a good game that is hard to see in the stats. His first few carries went nowhere, but he had some nice runs late in the game and racked up a total of 26 yards on the ground. His 6 carries was a season high. He also caught the game sealing TD pass. Faulk, Dillon, and Maroney all did a phenominal job in picking up blitzes. This is an overlooked part of our RB Corps, but they're very good at it and helped keep Brady from being enveloped.

Jabar Gaffney came out of nowhere to have an amazing game. He had 8 receptions (more than a third of our total catches) for 104 yards. He only had 11 catches all season. This was also his first playoff game and he did very nicely.

Reche Caldwell had a good day at the office with 5 catches for 50 yards.

Troy Brown only caught two passes for 26 yards, but both of these were on 3rd downs and both of these resulted in 1st downs.

Ben Watson didn't look that amazing, but he didn't look terrible. He had 4 catches, but could have had more, including a TD catch. He was hardly in space, though, and didn't screw up any sure receptions.

Daniel Graham had an absolutely amazing game. He only caught one pass for 1 yard, but it was a great TD pass. His blocking and blitz pick up was great. He did a very good job of sealing off the Jets DEs which created huge holes for Dillon, Maroney, and Faulk.

The offensive line looked so much better than they did in November. The Jets were doing a lot to disguise and confuse, but the line was able to answer the challenge. Brady was only sacked once, and we also rushed for 158 total yards.

Vince Wilfork has a great game. He got flagged for a sick tackle, and his awareness shone through when he scopped up the ball and returned it to the 14 on the latteral play. He also ate up a lot of rushers, and did a good job of pushing back the center of the Jets offensive line.

Seymour and warren had solid games. Their 1st quarter pressure didn't last, but they still did a decent job of eating up blocks. The defense was very bendable in the 2nd half, but they did not break. They played very well in the Red Zone today.

Asante Samuel, of course, had a nice INT that ended the game. He had a solid day before that, as did the rest of the defense. We didn't play perfect, but we didn't give up a TD besides the 77 yarder in the 1st half. We didn't allow a TD in the 2nd half, despite the offensive movement of the Jets.

Special teams performed very well. Gostkowski was perfect in place kicking, making 3 field goals, and 4 extra points. He also kicked a touchback. The Pats coverage teams did a good job of preventing any big returns by the Jets. The Jets averaged a mere 16.3 yards in kickoff returns. In punt returns, they only had 1 for 7 yards. Meanwhile, our return team did a good job at getting us decent field position. Hobbs and Maroney combined for a 25.2 return average and we frequently started with the ball beyond the 30 yard line.

Next stop, San Diego to play the Chargers. Should be a good game between two very good teams. By the way, during half-time, Shawne Merrimen of the Chargers predicted the Jets would win. Uh, oh.



For the record, I came up with my headline before I saw this picture.

2006 BOSTON BLOOD SOX AWARDS

Okay, I'm gonna do something new. I'm going to give out meaningless, pointless, arbitrary awards (like the Grammys) for various sports related things. Now, all the categories will be limited to New England sports. The team, person, or event must have something significant to do with New England. Also, since winter sports traverse years, starting in one year and ending in the next, we're going to define "year" to mean January 1st, 2006 until December 31st, 2006.

Now keep in mind, these awards are determined strictly by me. You may disagree with them and they may be outright stupid, but they're my decisions

And since this is the first year of the Boston Blood Sox Awards, I'll briefly explain each award.

We're going to start off with the Harry Frazee Award for Goat of the Year. This goes to the athlete(s), coach(es), or executive(s) who were called out and used as whipping boys (or girls) for the downfall or troubles of a team. Now, this doesn't mean that they were responsible for anything, they just became the focus of anger amongst the media and fans. The award is named after Harry Frazee who sold Babe Ruth along with many other great players to New York.

The winner is Manny Ramirez, Left-Fielder, Boston Red Sox

When the Red Sox fell apart near the end of 2006, Manny stopped playing. The anger of Red Sox fans and sportswriters at this lack of heart and hustle incited yet another off-season of Manny Ramirez trade talks. Of course, Manny didn't help the situation much by not playing and then asking for a trade. But there were definitely a great many fans and writers who took the opportunity to try and run Manny out of town on a rail, regardless of the consequences. Manny took the brunt of Red Sox Nation's frustrations over a ruined summah.

Speaking of sportswriters...

On to the Dan Shaughnessy Award for Worst Sports Writing. This goes to the writer that embarrassed himself the most, either through bad writing, or poorly crafted and supported opinions. Or both.

The winner is Dan Shaughnessy, columnist, Boston Globe

Dan is the epitome of Boston sports writing. And that isn't necessarily a good thing. Boston sports writers are overly general, too quick to judge, too quick to take sides, suffer from "binkyism" (choosing favorites), and often can't see past the surface of any issue or situation. Dan is a good example of this. Now, his writing isn't that bad and this is more of a joke at his expense than anything else. Honestly, I like some of his books, I just think a lot of his columns are a bit ridiculous from time to time.

Examples:
Some friendly suggestions for Matsuzaka
Piecing it all together

In the second one, he predicts USC will beat OSU in the title game. The prediction was published the day USC, "a virtual NFL team," lost to UCLA. And we all know that USC didn't make it to the title game. Furthermore, anyone who thinks USC is a the next best thing to an NFL team is a fool. NFL teams would not lose to Oregon State, or UCLA. Plus, if they were an NFL team, Pete Carroll wouldn't be able to couch them. After all, he's a crappy NFL coach.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Are all the Boston Blood Sox Awards negative? Unfortunately, most of them are positive. I just wanted to start off with the negative ones before getting to the upbeat ones. Sadly, here is the last negative award.

The Peyton Manning and Alex Rodriguez Award for Biggest Disappointment is given to any team, player(s), coach(es), or executive(s) that essentially snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, that was poised on the precipice of greatness and slipped on their own two feet. The one thing that made New England swear the most.

And the winner is the 2006 Boston Red Sox

After making the playoffs for the third straight year in 2005, Sox fans had high hopes for the team. Despite losing Johnny Damon to New York, we had acquired Coco Crisp, Josh Beckett, and a few seemingly decent relievers. We also had prospects on the way, a healthy Schilling, a healthy Nixon, and no more Edgar Renteria.

The team started off nicely, too. After a par April, they exploded in May and June, going 34-18. They came back down to earth in July, and in August, they went further down into the depths of hell. Their 9-21 record in August was one of the worst months of baseball you'll see. They finished with a .500 September/October that kept the season from being a total and utter embarrassment.

Against the AL, we were 70-74. We were 4-5 against the Royals, 10-9 against Tampa, and 7-12 against Toronto. We had the 8th best record in the AL. Only Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Texas, and Seattle had worse records. We lead the East for a good amount of time early on, but then slipped behind New York. We continued to slip until we fell behind Toronto.

Not only was 2006 the first time we've failed to make the playoffs since 2002, it was the first time we finished worse than 2nd in the division since 1997. The team spent about $120 million for a team that folded, collapsed, fell-in, broke down, and sucked.

Now we can move on to the more positive awards. The Award for Hottest Cheerleader on the Patriots is given to the hottest cheerleader on the Patriots. Simple enough. Now I know it seems sexist of me to say "best" player or coach for a guy, and then say "hottest" whatever for a woman, but I don't go to Patriots games that often, I rarely get to see Patriots cheerleaders perform, so it would be difficult to say which one is the best. But I can peruse the web-site and judiciously determine who is the hottest.

And the winner is Ashleigh van Gerven out of THE Worcester State College

Don't really need to explain much, do I?

Up next is the Doug Flutie College Athlete of the Year. This goes to the best athlete that goes to a New England college/university. This award is technically open for any athlete at any school, playing any sport, at any level. However, the bigger the stage, the better. Let's say the best lacrosse player in the country goes to UMass, but the 4th best basketball player goes to BC, obviously the basketball player is on a slightly bigger stage because of his school and his sport.

And the winner is Craig Smith, Forward, Boston College Men's Basketball

Craig Smith was the heart and soul of the BC team that made it to the Sweet 16. He was All ACC first-team, and All American second team. The BC Eagles were the fourth best college sports team in New England behind UConn basketball, last year's BC hockey team, and UMass football. Smith WAS the team. Not to take anything away from the other players, but Smith was just the man for the Eagles last season. Just look at how they're doing at the beginning of the '06-'07 season.

Now it's time for the Bobby Orr Bruins Player of the Year Award. This goes to the best player on the Bruins from January to December.

The winner is Patrice Bergeron, Center

Bergeron led the Bruins in goals, assists, and points in the '05-'06 season, and he is currently 2nd on the team behind Savard in points, 2nd in goals behind Murray, and 2nd in assists behind Savard (also he's 12th in the NHL in assists). He's 21 years old and already an Assistant Captain. He's a big part of the reason why the Bruins have been able to crawl back into playoff contention in a very difficult division (at the moment, 4 of the 5 teams in the Northeast division would be in the playoffs, with the Bruins left out in 9th).

Now it's time for the Bill Russell Celtics Player of the Year Award. This goes to the best player on the Celtics, obviously.

The winner is Paul Pierce, Guard-Forward

Yeah. Paul Pierce. That's all I have to say about that.

The Drew Bledsoe Patriots Player of the Year Award goes to the best player on the Patriots.

The winner is Asante Samuel, Cornerback

Samuel tied for the League lead in interceptions with Champ Bailey at 10 picks. He didn't bring any back for a TD, but he did average 12 yards a return. Asante fell 1 INT short of tying a Patriot record, but he did tie a New England record for picks in a game with 3 against the Bears.

The Ted Williams Red Sox Player of the Year Award goes to the best player on the Sox.

The winner is David Ortiz, Designated Hitter

Papi led the team in homeruns. Had Papelbon remained healthy, he might have been a contender for this award, but Ortiz was able to go out every day and mesmerize, even when the rest of the team was doing the opposite. Fifty-four homers, 'nuf said.

The Tom Brady Award for Biggest Surprise goes to the player, team, coach, or executive that came out of nowhere and burst onto the scene as a force, even though most of us either never heard of them, or didn't think they were very good.

The winner is Jonathan Papelbon, Closer, Boston Red Sox

Papelbon went from a potential starter with some promise at the end of 2005, to being the most dominant closer we've ever seen don the Red Sox uniform. His consecutive save streak of 20 was one of the most impressive stretches of pitching you'll ever see. 29 innings, 1 earned run. Overall in '06, he saved 35 games and kept opponents to a .167 average.

The Curt Schilling Bloody Sock Award is awarded to an athlete who has demonstrated extreme toughness, grit, and determination. It is named after the famous blood-soaked sock that Schilling sported in the ALCS and World Series in 2004.

The recipient of the Bloody Sock Award is Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox.

Lester was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma near the end of the 2006 season and has since undergone treatment in his native Washington. The good news is that all signs of cancer have gone away and Lester expects to be back in 2007.

I just found this web-site on MLB Blogs:
K Cancer
They sell t-shirts with Lester's name and number on the back and a K Cancer logo on the front. Or, they used to, not sure if they still do but you can ask them via e-mail. Proceeds from the shirts are split between Dana Farber and the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
The Best Game Award goes to the best contest involving a New England team. The game could be a great championship win, or a defeat in a well fought contest, whatever. The Best Game was...

BC Men's Basketball vs. Villanova in the 3rd round of the NCAA Tournament on March 24th.

In the Metrodome, 4th seeded Boston College faced 1st seeded Villanova in a battle to determine who went on to the Elite Eight. Boston College burst out of the gate and led for most of the early part of the game. BC opened up a 9-0 lead to begin the game, and led by as many as 16 points before Villanova came back to within 4 at the end of the 1st half. In the 2nd half, Villanova tied the score at 28-28 before BC once again pulled away to lead by 8 points. But ‘Nova never quit and kept it close as the game winded down to the final minutes. BC lost the lead for the first time in the game with 2:37 left on the clock. With 0:28 left, down 51-48, Jared Dudley made a 3 pointer that tied the game. Villanova failed to score and the game went to OT.

In overtime, ‘Nova pulled ahead early 56-51, but BC crawled back to make it 56-55. With 0:42 on the clock, Villanova took a 58-55 lead. BC responded with 0:25 left with 2 points to make it 58-57. After Villanova missed a free throw, Craig Smith hit a two pointer to take the lead 59-58 with 0:12 on the clock. Villanova missed a shot but got the rebound, then Sean Williams appeared to block another shot, but it was ruled goaltending and Villanova was awarded the 2 points and the 60-59 lead. The Eagles failed to hit a desperation 3 and the game was over.

Even though Boston College lost, it was still one of the best games of the entire NCAA tournament between two very good teams.

Now it is time for the Best Athlete Award. This goes to the best performer in any sport, at any level.

The winner is David Ortiz, Designated Hitter, Boston Red Sox

David Ortiz had one of the best seasons in Red Sox history last year. He hit 54 homeruns, which led the AL, and set a new franchise record for the Sox. He knocked in 137 runs, had 85 extra-base hits, 115 total runs scored, an OBP of .413, SLG of .636, and an impressive OPS of 1.049. He also stole a base.

Ortiz was the starting first-basemen for the American League All-Star team. He won the Silver Slugger Award for Designated Hitter. He finished 3rd in MVP voting. He was the AL player of the month in July. He broke his own record for homeruns hit by a DH. He tied Babe Ruth's AL record for homeruns hit on the road with 32. He led the AL in the following categories:

Homeruns - 54
RBI - 137
Total Bases - 355
Walks -119
Runs Created - 146
At-Bats per HR - 10.3

Ortiz finished in the top 5 in the AL in Slugging, OPS, Runs, Extra-Basehits, Times on Base, Intentional Walks.

Ortiz was the best player on the Red Sox, and the best player in New England sports in 2006.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to a man or woman whose lifetime work deserves recognition. The first BBS Lifetime Achievement Award goes to the late, great Red Auerbach.

Red's resume is well known, but it deserves repetition. Nine NBA Championships as a coach, including eight in a row. He led the Celtics to 10 Eastern Division titles. He was the first coach to reach 1,000 wins. He was named Coach of the Year in 1965, Executive of the Year in 1980, and Greatest Coach Ever in 1980. Red was a member of the Celtics organization for each one of their record 16 titles. He was the greatest coach in NBA history, the greatest executive in NBA history, the greatest coach in Boston sports history, the greatest executive in Boston sports history, and one of the greatest coaches or executives in the history of all of sports.

Now, the final Award. The Team of the Year Award goes to the team that was the most impressive, most excellent, and did the best at making you proud of New England sports in general. This was not an easy one to pick. The 4 major teams in New England all failed to win a championship. The Pats were eliminated in the 2nd round of the playoffs at the beginning of 2006, and God knows what they'll do in 2007. They were the only one of the major teams to make the post-season, but they did disappoint.

One less than major team did win a championship. The Portland SeaDogs won the Eastern League Championship. A few other teams came very close. BC Men's Hockey made it to the NCAA finals, losing 2-1 to Wisconsin. The New England Revolution made it to the MLS Cup, losing on penalty kicks. UMass made it to the D-IAA final, losing 28-17 to Appalachian State. Another team that had a good end of 2006 was UConn Men's basketball. They made it to the Elite Eight before being upset by George Mason. So far this season, they're 12-1 and ranked 18th in the country. But that record is not as good as it seems.

Since there is no obvious standout for Team of the Year, I've decided to use a process of elimination to narrow down the field.

The SeaDogs won the Eastern League Championship. But this is a AA championship. It isn't even the championship of all of AA. AA baseball has the sole purpose of developing talent, not determining which team is better than the other. Props to the SeaDogs for winning the Eastern League, but it isn't exactly a monumental achievement.

BC hockey came very close to winning a national title in the '05-'06 season. They fell 2-1 to Wisconsin (in Milwaukee, no less) in the final game. Although they came that close to taking the championship, their regular season was a bit of a disappointment. They were in position to win the Hockey East regular season title, but fells short, thanks in large part to a 3-6 loss to UMass-Lowell, a 3-3 tie with UNH and a 2-5 loss to UNH to end the season. Then in the Hockey East Tournament, they lost the championship game to Boston University. Speaking of BU, the Eagles also lost the Beanpot to their crosstown rivals. At the moment, the '06-'07 Eagles are tied for 2nd in Hockey East, but are very far behind 1st place Vermont. They're ranked 7th in the country. The lack of a trophy at the end of last season, coupled with good but not great results so far this season, and BC hockey doesn't merit Team of the Year.

UConn basketball was pretty damn good last season. They earned a 1 seed in the NCAA tourney, and had an impressive 30 win season, with only 4 defeats. Despite winning 31 games in the 2006 calendar year, and losing only 5, it is safe to say the end of the 05-06 season was disappointing for the Huskies. They lost to the Syracuse Orangemen in the Big East Tournament. Then they lost to George Mason in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies were more talented than both of these teams, but these losses cost them some silverware. Also, their 12-1 performance so far this season is far from mesmerizing. These are the teams they've beaten: Quinnipiac, Central Arkansas, Fairfield, Mississippi, Albany, Sacred Heart, Texas Southern, Northeastern, Saint Mary's, South Florida, and Pepperdine. And all of these games were played in Connecticut. Their one loss came on the road against unranked West Virginia. UConn's lack of big end of season victories, as well as their lack of strong opponents this season eliminates them as contenders for Team of the Year.

So who is left? UMass football and the New England Revolution. The Revs finished 2nd in the MLS Eastern Conference, beat Chicago in the 1st round of the playoffs, then beat DC United to win the Conference. They lost to Houston on PKs in a closely fought game. UMass also lost a hard fought championship game. UMass also won the Atlantic 10 title, going undefeated in the conference (I think the last time that was accomplished was in 1997). UMass lost only 2 games all year. They lost to Appalachian State in the championship, and to D-IA Navy in the regular season. They lost 21-20 to a D-IA team that went 9-4, and nearly beat Boston College in a bowl game.

Since UMass had such an impressive regular season, and since they were 2nd best among 122 D-IAA teams, and the Revs were 2nd best among 12 teams; and since UMass won a regular season title and had a very impressive year up to and including the playoffs...The University of Massachusetts Minutemen football team is the Boston Blood Sox New England Team of the Year for 2006.


So in summation:
Harry Frazee Award for Goat of the Year: Manny Ramirez, LF, Red Sox
Dan Shaughnessey Award for Worst Sports Writing: Dan Shaughnessey, Globe
Peyton Manning/Alex Rodriguez Award for Biggest Disappointment: Boston Red Sox
Award for Patriots Hottest Cheerleader: Ashleigh van Gerven
Doug Flutie Award for Best College Athlete: Craig Smith, F, BC basketball
Bobby Orr Award for Best Bruins Player: Patrice Bergeron, C
Bill Russell Award for Best Celtics Player: Paul Pierce, G-F
Drew Bledsoe Award for Best Patriots Player: Asante Samuel, CB
Ted Williams Award for Best Red Sox Player: David Ortiz, DH
Tom Brady Award for Biggest Surprise: Jonathan Papelbon, Closer, Red Sox
Bloody Sock Award: Jon Lester, SP, Red Sox
Game of the Year: BC men's basketball vs. Villanova, March 24th, NCAA Regional Semi-Finals, Villanova 60, BC 59
Athlete of the Year: David Ortiz, DH, Red Sox
Lifetime Achievement Award: Red Auerbach, coach/executive, Celtics
Team of the Year: UMass Minutemen football

SO ITS THE JETS

For the third time this season, the Patriots will play the Jets. This time...it's personal!

Actually, this time, it means one team's season is over, and the other's can continue.

This should be a really good game. Mangini has the Jets playing well. They beat us 17-14 in November (in Foxborough) and played us close in the Meadowlands in week 2 (24-17 win). Of course, in both games, the Patriots played terribly. Not to take anything away from the Jets, but they didn't beat the Patriots at their best. We turned the ball over, had really stupid and poorly timed penalties, and couldn't finish our drives. Now some of that is due to the Jets playing good football, but not all of it. The Patriots need to play great in order to win this game. Same goes for the Jets. There is little homefield advantage in this game, and both teams know each other. The Pats have a bit more experience in the playoffs, but that really only shows itself when things start going bad.

I think we can win this game. And I think we will win this game. But it won't be easy and it will be close. I'm thinking a 21-17 victory.

Of course, I'm assuming Rodney Harrison will play. And God knows if that will happen. And by God, I mean Bill Belichick.

BC ESCAPES CHARLOTTE

Boston College was an 8 point favorite in this game. Navy was 9-3, just like BC, but they had only beaten 1 D-IA team with a winning record: East Carolina. For most of the game, however, Navy was in control.

The Midshipmen threw the option at BC, who seemed unprepared to defend it despite having such a long time (37 days) in between their loss to Miami and this game. Navy wound up with 322 total rushing yards on 59 carries. Seven Navy players had multiple carries. Four had more than 40 yards on the ground, two had more than 70.

BC's failure to successfully defend against the option forced them to play it tighter. The safeties were kept in at the snap which made us vulnerable to deep passing routes. Navy exploited this weakness perfectly. They had 2 touchdowns in the air. The only had 5 during the regular season.

The Eagles did their part in screwing up just a little bit. A few stupid penalties to begin the game and a missed XP all of which might have been due to rust after sitting for 5 weeks. Ryan also threw two picks, one which was somewhat of a freak play as the linebacker who picked the ball was hidden from Ryan's view by the umpire. Nevertheless, BC wasn't playing perfectly.

They were still in the game, and halfway through the 4th, they had an opportunity to tie with a 2 point conversion. Ryan threw a bullet that hit Tony Gonzalez in the chest, but Gonzalez couldn't bring it in. After a great defensive series, BC got the ball back on their 42. But the Eagles went 3 and out and punted.

Navy rushed past midfield and were running the clock down. They forced BC to use all of its timeouts. Just under 2 minutes on the clock, Navy had a 3rd and 15 on BC's 47. They could run the ball, and run the clock down to just over 1 minute before pooching a punt and pinning the Eagles deep. Instead, they ran the option and fumbled the pitch. BC recovered at the Navy 40.

After a few plays BC was in field goal range and kicked the game winner.

Earlier in the game, one of the commentators was describing the advantages that running the option can give an offense. Some disadvantages he didn't mention, in no particular order:

1. More likelihood of holding penalties
2. Plays can easily be blown up for a loss
3. Gaining consistent yardage on short situations is difficult
4. Your QB is going to get hit, a lot
5. If you're behind, you're doing the other team a favor by eating up clock
6. What do you do in the shadow of your own end zone? Pitch it into your own end zone?
7. THE LIKELIHOOD OF A FUMBLE OR BOTCHED PITCH

The thing is, Navy didn't need to be running the option so late in the game. It is very easy to say that in hindsight, but on a 3rd and 15 situation, you're probably not getting a 1st down anyway, so mind as well have a safe hand off or run a QB draw or something to run off 40 seconds.

I'm not going to say that BC is "lucky" to have won or that Navy "deserved" to win. There is very little luck in sports, and usually the winner deserves to win. BC deserved to win this game because they were able to put up 25 points, whereas Navy was only capable of putting up 24. It's that simple, end of story.

Hardly the most impressive victory in BC history, but considering the loss of O'Brien as head coach and the unsureness of the coaching situation and it isn't a meaningless win. The Eagles fought nicely in this game, and despite being run over by the option, were able to carve out a victory. That's what good teams do. It'll hardly be an Instant Classic, but it was a solid win.

This was also BC's 7th bowl victory in a row, which I believe is the 3rd or 4th best streak in NCAA history. Of course, the streak is deceptive as most of those bowls have been middling, late December bowls.

PATS PASS (AND RUN) TEST, WIN EAST

I try not to use this word very much when it comes to sports. I feel like it gets overused and misused by people when they talk about sports. However, the Jacksonville Jaguars were LUCKY to be in this game when it came down to the wire.

The Pats knew the task ahead of them before the game. Win and you're in. Lose and you might not be. The Jaguars weren't going to be as easy to beat as Houston was. They were 8-6 and in the running for the Wild Card spot. They had a very good defense and a solid running game, the foundations of a good football team.

This was a test game for the Patriots. We hadn't played a contending team since November 26th when we beat Chicago. Since then, we had barely beaten the Lions and were shutout by the Dolphins. We had been 5-3 against contending teams coming into this one (only 3-3 if you don't consider Buffalo competitive). This game was going to be a late season test of the Pats.

The game began with an exchange of drives that ended in punts. The Pats forced the Jags to punt again and got the ball back at their 31. Tom Brady got his 3rd carry of the game in the 1st quarter. He would end up with 10 overall. The Patriots benefited from a 15 yard face mask penalty as the 1st quarter ended 0-0. At the beginning of the 2nd, they had a 4th and 1 on the Jaguar 26. Brady was lined up for another sneak, but the play was whistled dead. Brady was called for a false start. Now, I didn't see much of a false start, and it is very strange when the QB's number gets called for moving early. He typically knows when the ball has been snapped.

So anyway, the ball was moved back and on 4th and 6, the Pats kicked a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. The Pats kicked it off and with their first offensive play of the series, the Jags got into the end zone. Here's how:

Maurice Jones-Drew was given the ball in the backfield, he ran to his right behind his offensive linemen. The linemen, however, were unable to drive forward and Jones-Drew literally ran into his guard. The collision knocked him down to the ground. BUT, he had yet to be touched by a Patriot so he wasn't down. Jones-Drew got up, just as Tully Banta-Cain (too many hyphens) arrived at the line of scrimmage.

Jones-Drew got up before Banta-Cain touched him. Banta-Cain had come up to the line, saw Jones-Drew was on the ground, and held up. He hadn't seen HOW Jones-Drew was knocked down and probably assumed he had been taken down by a Patriot. Banta-Cain also probably assumed that if he hit Jones-Drew after he had been downed, the flags would be flying.

Jones-Drew took advantage of this pause in the action, got up, and ran. The Pats D wasn't able to haul him down and he ran into the end zone for a touchdown.

Now, you can call Banta-Cain's hesitation a "mental error," but I think it's too simple for that. I think the play was simply screwed up and bizarre. Should Banta-Cain have put a hand on him? Yeah. But he also should have plowed him into the ground if he's going to touch him. Nine out of ten times, though, he'd get a personal foul for this.

The run was only the second 20+ yard run the Patriots defense has allowed all season.

The Pats replied with a stalled drive that lasted 4 plays before they punted away. The Jags went 3 and out and punted.

The Patriots next drive was vintage Tom Brady. 7 yard completion to Graham, 4 yard run by Maroney, 6 yard pass to Faulk, 5 yard pass to Childress, 6 yard pass to Faulk, 8 yard run by Maroney, 8 yard reception by Brown, 4 yard run by Faulk. These plays were all in a row. After an incompletion, Brady ran for 9 yards. On 3rd and 1, Brady hit Gaffney for a 1st down. On the play, the Jags rusher ran into Brady well after Brady got rid of the ball. To his credit, Brady didn't dive or flail on the ground or moan like a Manning, but the refs threw the flag anyway. 1st down on the 10. Faulk got 4, then Brady snuck for 5 to the 1. Dillon punched it in for the score. 10-7 Pats. The 1st half ended with that score.

David Thomas was the star of the next drive. He made a 5 yard gain turn into a 36 yarder. Then he made an amazing catch (off an amazing throw) in the end zone for his first career TD. 17-7.

The Jags and Pats exchanged drives that ended with missed field goals. For some reason CBS kept showing Gotskowski after his miss. However, the kick was a 49 yarder, not exactly a chip shot.

In the ensuing Jacksonville possession, we saw our 1,000th ticky tacky roughing the passer call of the year called on a Patriot. Richard Seymour, who was trying to sack the QB, ran into him after the ball was out. Flag thrown. Making the penalty even harsher was what happened with the ball. It found its way into the hands of Mike Vrabel.

The call was a ticky tacky call. We've seen it far too often this season. Instead of having the ball with a 10 point lead, 4 minutes left in the 3rd, and possession of the ball near midfield; the Jags were given the ball in our territory after the 15 yard penalty.

Immediately after the call, the Jaguars got to the 2 yard line and eventually punched it into the end zone. The Patriots responded nicely with a touchdown drive aided by some Jacksonville penalties. The Jags scored and we went 3 and out, but Rodney Harrison recovered a fumble that sealed the game.

The Patriots didn't play perfectly, but they played without screwing up in a big way. And if it weren't for that roughing penalty that negated a pick, the game probably would have been over much sooner than it was.

With the win, the Patriots wrapped up the AFC East for the 4th year in a row. This is also their 5th division title in 6 years. Since 2001, we've won 6 division championships, which is more than we had won in all the years before then.

Brady had maybe his best game of the season, not from a stats point of view, but from a leadership one. He had 10 carries for 31 yards (Dillon had 10 for 30), made some good throws, maneuvered in the pocket nicely, and orchestrated some nice drives.

PLAYOFF PICTURE
As it is, the Patriots would be the 4th seed in the playoffs. They're tied with the Colts for the 3rd best record in the AFC, but the Colts hold the head-to-head win against us and it is the first tie-breaker. Indy hosts Miami next week.

At the moment, the 5th seed is the team we would play and that team is the vaunted Denver Broncos. But the situation is still very fluid. The Jets are the 6th seed, but they'll play tomorrow in Miami. Cincinnati, Kansas City, Tennessee, and Jacksonville are all 8-7 but are on the outside looking in right now.

VERY BUSY DAY FOR RED SOX

The deadline was looming. The entirety of Red Sox Nation was worried about whether or not we'd sign Daisuke Matsuzaka, and for what price. Rumors placed Boras's unyielding demands at $70 million for 6 seasons. It seemed like the possibilities of signing the WBC MVP were waning by the hour as the clock ticked.

Red Sox brass flew out to southern California to meet with Matsuzaka and agent Scott Boras. After talking, and reporting "frustration" to the ever attentive Red Sox Press Corps, things looked dreary.

The Red Sox issued a deadline of their own. Theo Epstein and associates would be boarding a private plane for Boston on Wednesday morning, with or without Matsuzaka. Wednesday morning came and Matsuzaka and Boras boarded the private plane with the minds behind the Sox. Things seemed to be looking up.

Reports popped up all over the internet, citing "unknown sources close to the negotiations." They were all saying that the team was very, VERY, close to making a deal for Matsuzaka. Of course, these were the same sites and reporters that claimed that the deal was essentially dead.

Boston.com posted a link that allowed fans to observe live updates of the private plane's flight path. I'll admit to checking it from time to time, to see how close it was. As a matter of fact, the plane flew very near Ithaca, NY, where I am currently situated. No, I didn't make any giant signs or anything, I was too busy doing work. Plus, any sign visible from 20,000 feet would have to be pretty monstrous.

The plane landed at Hanscom Field in Bedford. With a police escort, Matsuzaka was brought to Mass. General and underwent a physical. Reportedly, the deal had been struck and was impending only the results of said physical before it went into effect.

Even RedSox.com reported the deal as being all but finalized, with an official announcement expected to come Thursday afternoon. The deal is said to be $52 million over 6 years, or $8.67 million per year. That means that in total, the Sox will be paying $103.1 million for Matsuzaka. If we only keep him for the 6 years, that's a $17.2 million per season investment.

The price is good, though, trust me. Do you see what other teams are paying for 35 year old #2/#3 starters these days? Meanwhile, we get a 26 year old with stuff that could make him an Ace in the Majors. We also got Scott Boras to come down on his proposed contract by about $20 million. As far as accomplishments go, that's just a step below winning the World Series.

So why did Boras go down? Was the $70 million a ploy? Here's a couple of reasons why that number may have decreased. Firstly, his client could have urged Boras to get the deal done. Matsuzaka wants to pitch in the Majors, and perhaps didn't want to spend another year in NPB. Another factor is that he truly is an unproven commodity. Another factor is that he will be 32 when this deal ends, which means that if he plays well in MLB, he'll receive a very good contract. Another factor is that if the deal didn't get done, teams might be somewhat wary of posting a huge sum for him, knowing he'd want to get even more in his contract.

In the end, I think that Matsuzaka's desire to pitch in the Majors superseded his desire to get a massive contract.

The big question now is, will the Sox be able to churn out some Matsuzaka merchandise before Christmas?

IN OTHER NEWS

Julio Lugo was introduced to the media by Terry Francona and Assistant GM Jed Hoyer.

The Sox also came to terms on a 1 year deal with Doug Mirabelli. The deal is said to be worth $700,000 and includes performance based incentives.

There's also a rumor that the Sox might be looking at Chan Ho Park as a potential closer. Reportedly, this was something discussed between Park's agent, Boras, and Theo on the plane.