Pre-Game Meal: Fish and Chips Edition

How 'Bout Them Patriots?

Sunday was one of the more fun, memorable moments of recent Patriots for me. My friend, Tom, called me around 3:45 PM to tell me that the Pats were warming up and it was snowing in Foxboro. "It's snowing... we win," he said. We laughed about it initially, but once the Titans got the ball, those jokes quickly became reality. I didn't think the Titans were that terrible and the Pats D was that lock down. Tennessee simply could not muster up anything through the air and Chris Johnson's big runs couldn't even add up to 3 points.

Tom Brady played one for the record books, throwing 3 touchdowns to Randy Moss, 2 to Wes Welker, and 1 to Kevin Faulk, five of those TD passes came in the second quarter alone! Week 6 marked the 2nd time that Tom has thrown for six scores and shares that honor with Peyton Manning for quarterbacks since 1969; the last time Manning did it was in 2004. The offense was seriously sparked when Laurence Maroney busted through the line for a 45-yard run for a touchdown. After a Titan's 3-and-out and a few snaps in to the Patriots drive, BenJarvus Green-Ellis tossed the pigskin back to Brady on a flea-flicker for 40 yards and a TD to none other than Randy Moss.

These guys seriously put up Madden numbers on Tennessee this past weekend. Brady was 29/34 on 380 yards passing, 6 TDs and no INTs. Randy Moss caught 8 for 129 and 3 scores, while Wes Welker caught 10 for 150 yards and 2 TDs of his own. Maroney racked up 123 on the ground and a score. The defense had picked off 2 passes, recovered 3 fumbles, kept the Titans to 9 first downs(2 on penalties), and shut their offense out. The 59-0 blowout marks the 4th biggest regular-season slaughter by any team ever, and the largest since the seventies.

I'm not going to say anything about the Titans, they lost, badly. But I will say that the Patriots played their best, most sound football yet. They were exquisite in the kicking game, the passing game, the running game, the defending game....you get my drift. Even though they let up almost 200 yards on the ground, it's still Chris Johnson, and he still didn't score. Keeping Johnson out of the end zone is great run-defense in my book.




I'd like to take this moment to CALL OUT every single "Patriots fan" of whom were abandoning ship like lemmings prior to this game. I can't tell you how many headlines I saw that said stuff like: "The End of The Dynasty" and "The Patriots Run is Over". These were from New England sources. Mr. NEPatriotsDraft himself has said countless times this season, it took Peyton Manning (coming off a knee injury in 2008) until about week 11 to really get into form. The Colts had a losing record after week 5 last year. Peyton went on to win the NFL's Most Valuable Player and bring Indy to the playoffs. So next time someone wants to jump ship on the Patriots; do me a favor and stay in the water. We don't need fake fan negativity over here: either you're with us or you're not. Learn some patience... people lose games. Go find another team who knows how to win better then Bill Belichick and the boys.

Anyways... when there is good news, there is always some bad news.

Julian Edleman has a broken arm and the Patriots are in need of a #3 wide receiver. With Galloway cut (no arguments there) that spot will ultimately be filled by either rookie Brandon Tate, Terrence Nunn, or, former Dallas Cowboy, Isiah Stanback. In true Patriots style, we won't know the answer for a couple of days because the entire practice squad is taking the trip to London this week. Sammy Morris, Matt Light, Fred Taylor, and Darius Butler also did not practice this week.

Other Good News: I'm also going to personally thank Marky "Sanchise" "The Shamchez" Sanchez single-handedly threw the Patriots into first place of the AFC East by tossing 5 interceptions to our rivals to the north-west-west, the Buffalo Bills. I will never wish injury on a player, for obvious reasons, but the Jets' loss of NT Kris Jenkins is a serious blow to their defense and could have a serious impact on their sesaon.

Now let's leave last week where it belongs-in the history books, and move on to this Sunday. The New England Patriots vs. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers...


You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best. The Hottest Match-ups In The World:

* Tom Brady Does The UK vs. The Buccaneers Secondary - Tom Brady looked like a video game quarterback in Sunday's destruction of the Titans. Hopefully the plane ride and change of scenery doesn't take away from the momentum. The Patriots are going from a terrible defense to another not so hot defense. Teams should be worried when their rookie coach Raheem Morris isn't too excited about playing the next game: "You’re obviously happy to take your game international and make it a bigger game than it already is. At the same time, you’re going to play a team that just scored 59 points.” I doubt Tom Terrific will drop 6 TDs, but he could score somewhere between 2-4. The Tampa Bay defense gives up an average 28 points per game on defense and it doesn't seem like they are locking down any time soon. If the offensive line continues to keep Tommy off of the ground against a weak d-line, the Patriots should soar through the air in London. The 0-6 Bucs have little to be happy about, especially when the Patriots are 15-point favorites on Wednesday. With Jermaine Phillips out with a broken thumb, most of the safety duty will fall to Tanard Jackson who returned a Jack DelHomme interception last week in Tampa. Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber will be lined up at CB to try and keep Wes Welker and Randy Moss at bay (no pun).

* Randy Moss vs. Aqib Talib - Aqib Talib is in is first starting season and is a serious corner back as well. The Former Kansas star has shut down Steve Smith and DeSean Jackson in the last two games. Even though DeSean is a second-year and Smith is disgruntled, those are some pretty nice achievements. I don't expect Talib to completely silence Moss, as I expect Randy to have at least one touchdown during this one. The intimidation factor is there from what we did to the last 0-for team. If Randy can get tough off of the line and play on his A-game against this young CB, he should end up with +100 yards and a score.

* Laurence-Firm vs. The Second-to-Last Run Defense - This Tampa Bay defensive is struggling. The rush isn't there at all and they cannot plug up the gaps or make their tackles. They are giving up big runs and that is just what the doctor ordered for Laurence Maroney and Law-Firm (BenJarvus Green-Ellis). These two backs could produce some serious numbers on the ground with the right blocking from the o-line and play calling from the sideline. Maroney is going to still be pumped from his breakout performance against Tennessee and I think he will be able to make this the second week in a row that he has a big game.

* The Tampa Bay WR Corps vs. The Patriots Secondary - Tampa Bay features Antonio Bryant, Michael Clayton, and Kellen Winslow. These are some pretty talented wideouts, but Josh Johnson just can't seem to get it to them enough. Jonathan Wilhite, Darius Butler, and Leigh Bodden will be matched up against the receivers and should be able to restrict the passing game. Bodden has been pretty lock down this season and if the defense can get to Johnson early to disrupt him, there is no indication of him relenting. I expect that if Adalius Thomas starts, either him or safety Brandon McGowan will be matched up against TE Kellen Winslow. Winslow can run and catch like a WR, but the Patriots have dealt with that before. When the Pats faced Atlanta and Tony Gonzalez, McGowan kept him to one catch for 10 yards.

* Cadillac Williams vs. The D-Line and Linebackers - Cadillac Williams has been running well this season, but still, he only has 276 yards and 2 TDs. ESPN released a video where their simulation projections predict that if Cadillac rushes for 140 yards AND the Bucs can force 2 Patriot turnovers, they still only have A 6% CHANCE OF WINNING. I don't expect him do rush for half of his season total against the Patriots in another country. Jerod Mayo is back in full effect and the renewed presence of Junior Seau has sparked this defense. With Seau this year the Patriots have not allowed a score... just sayin'.

We should be able to win this one.
Thanks for your time. Enjoy the weekend in London, boys.

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