The Teams: New England Patriots (3-1) At San Diego Chargers (2-3)
The Terms: Regular Season Week 6
The Place: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA
The Time: 8:15 pm
The Channel: NBC
3 Burning Questions:

1. Will the Patriots get off to a fast start? Last week the Pats started slow and found themselves down 14-7 before long. Against a Chargers team with weapons like Philip Rivers and LaDanian Tomlinson, a slow start could see them down by three touchdowns, a hole they probably wouldn’t recover from. Hopefully the Pats can score the first points, particularly on the first drive. Ball control again will be important as Rivers and LT can beat you down the field in just one play. The defense has to get settled into a groove and a lot of that depends on the game plan the coaching staff put in place for the game.
   Continue reading Gametime: Patriots At Chargers »

After a rocky start coming off a loss and a bye week, the Patriots stepped up and scored a big road win by beating the 49ers 30-21. Matt Cassel made some mistakes including two interceptions but the running game and ball control gave the Patriots enough to win. The Pats dominated time of possession by almost a 2-1 margin.

Kevin Faulk once again showed his worth, scoring two touchdowns on the ground. The running attack was spread out and effective as the 49ers defense wore down in the second half.

Defensively the Patriots started off poorly, trailing 14-7 after the first quarter. But thanks to some key turnovers (the pick by Brandon Meriweather was sweeeet) and great rush defense (Frank Gore with just 38 yards on the ground) the Pats were able to control the ball and the clock. The Pats are now 3-1 and next week face the underachieving Chargers. A full verdict report will come later.

The Teams: New England Patriots (2-1) At San Francisco 49ers (2-2)
The Terms: Regular Season Week 5
The Place: Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
The Time: 4:15pm
The Channel: CBS
3 Burning Questions:

1. How will the Patriots respond? It’s put up or shut up time for the Pats as they enter the most difficult part of their schedule. The loss to Miami and the bye week were supposed to be tune ups for their two game west coast road trip followed by a visit from Denver in a few weeks. Now it seems this game is much more important or the Patriots could be 2-4 before very long. The veterans must step up and I think they will. Offensively the Patriots haven’t found a rhythm all season and the defense? Well we all saw what can happen. Bill Belichick will have them ready to play against a Jekyll and Hyde 49ers team and I see the veterans on both sides of the ball having big games.

Continue reading Gametime: Patriots at 49ers »

This week’s 2-point conversion column will focus on the Patriots California dreaming and the Al Davis claim of Randy Moss tampering by Bill Belichick.

Point 1: Patriots Chillin’ in Cali:

A long bye week for the 2-1 Patriots leaves the team plenty of time to stew over the embarrassing loss to the Dolphins. As bad as things were it’s now time to focus on the future which is a two game road trip in California. Back-to-back games against the 49ers and Chargers will see the Patriots stay in California through the second game instead of bringing the team back across the country two more times. The 49ers will not be an easy rebound for the Pats as QB J.T. O’Sullivan isn’t as inept as many thought. The ‘niners are 2-2 and O’Sullivan has nearly 1,000 yards and four TD passes thus far. Frank Gore is an elite running back and has - dare I say - Ronnie Brown like skills.
Continue reading Patriots in Cali; Al Davis Crazy »

For this weeks column I’ll be focusing my two points on the fan reaction of Sunday’s disaster at Gillette Stadium.
There was still much of the fourth quarter to go, yet most of the fans were headed towards the exits. The field which has seen multiple AFC championships triumphs in this decade was emptying faster than a Save Matt Millon committee meeting. The Patriots weren’t beaten, they were humiliated, and by a team who had been 1-21 in their last 22. Against a no name coach (can anyone still name him?) on their home turf, a week after a big statement win over the Jets. After all the success the team has given the fans of New England in the last 7 years, there they were leaving early and booing the team at the end of the game. The players took notice, as both Ben Watson and Ellis Hobbs took offense to the actions of the fanbase.
Continue reading Patriots Upset with Fans Leaving Early »

I apologize for the delay of this week’s Verdict, after Sunday I went into a mini-sports hibernation. We all know the Pats laid an egg so I’ll keep this short and sweet. Let’s see how my questions were answered:

1. Will Randy Moss be involved more often? A lot has been made about Moss and his alligator arms/sulking on the bench. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for a few weeks before getting on his case. On the one hand, he came to New England to play with Tom Brady and win Super Bowls, neither of which is happening this year. But he’s a team captain and I think he’ll straighten out quick. Now whether he can get more touches remains to be seen. Will they let Cassel air it out? We’ll see.

Continue reading Dolphins 38, Patriots 13 - The Verdict »