The AFC-NFC Pro Bowl will be played Sunday, January 29, 2012 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, HI.  However, note that this is also the bye week for Super Bowl XLVI, and as such, the Pro Bowl players for the AFC champion New England Patriots and NFC champion New York Giants will not play. For all of my Patriots related Pro Bowl posts, check here, here, and finally here. The Patriots and Giants are practicing a bit this week.  The most [...] Continue reading → | 1SKILLZ Gameplan, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Pro Bowl, Super Bowl XLVI

I don't know why it took the NFL so long to put the Pro Bowl the week before the Super Bowl instead of the week after.  Instead of a 1 out of 10 on the interest scale, it gets a 2 now!  Not that the AFC champ New England Patriots or NFC champ New York Giants care.  Their Pro Bowl players will stay fresh by not playing in the all-star contest in Honolulu. For the Patriots, that means QB Tom Brady, WR Wes Welker, TE Rob Gronkowski, LG Logan Mankins, RG Brian Waters, DE Andre Carter (who was already injured), DT Vince Wilfork, and WR/ST Matthew Slater.  They will be replaced by Cincinnati Bengals rookie QB Andy Dalton, San Diego Chargers WR Vincent Jackson, Bengals TE Jermaine Gresham, Baltimore Ravens LG Ben Grubbs, New York Jets RG Brandon Moore, Houston Texans DE Antonio Smith, [...] Continue reading → | 1986 Patriots, 1996 Patriots, 2001 Patriots, 2003 Patriots, 2004 Patriots, AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, Andre Carter, Brian Waters, Chris Snee, devin thomas, Eli Manning, Jacquian Williams, Jake Ballard, JASON PIERRE-PAUL, Kevin Boothe, Linval Joseph, Logan Mankins, Matthew Slater, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Rob Gronkowski, Sterling Moore, Super Bowl XLVI, Tom Brady, Victor Cruz, Vince Wilfork, Wes Welker

It's been two days, and I still don't exactly know what to say about the New England Patriots winning this year's AFC Championship over the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 to earn a trip to Super Bowl XLVI against the NFC Champion New York Giants. Maybe it's because I wrote so much in the 1SKILLZ Gameplan about how the Ravens (and for that matter, the San Francisco 49ers) were going to win this game, only for them to win it ... or at least tie it ... or not. Blame [...] Continue reading → | Anquan Boldin, Baltimore Ravens, Bernard Pollard, Bill Belichick, Billy Cundiff, Brandon Spikes, Cam Cameron, Hawaii, Jim Harbaugh, Joe Flacco, John Harbaugh, Kyle Williams, Lee Evans, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Pro Bowl, Ray Rice, Rob Gronkowski, San Francisco 49ers, Sterling Moore, Super Bowl XLVI, Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork

After three years, the 1SKILLZ Gameplan has entered conference championship weekend!  The AFC #1 seed New England Patriots (14-3) is hosting the AFC #2 seed Baltimore Ravens (13-4) at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, January 22, 2012, for the Lamar Hunt Trophy and a ticket to Indianapolis, IN to represent the AFC in Super Bowl XLVI.  Will the Ravens continue their three-year streak of winning at least one road postseason game and win the AFC for the first time since 2000-2001?  Or will the Patriots, in their seventh AFC championship appearance since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994, win their first AFC title since 2007-2008? The Ravens and Patriots both came off of their Wild Card byes with home victories in the AFC Divisional Round.  The Ravens eliminated the Houston Texans 20-13, [...] Continue reading → | 1SKILLZ Gameplan, Aaron Hernandez, AFC championship, AFC Championship 2011, Anquan Boldin, Baltimore Ravens, Bernard Pollard, Bill Belichick, Brandon Spikes, Brian Waters, Deion Branch, Dennis Pitta, Devin McCourty, Ed Dickson, Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata, Jarret Johnson, Jerod Mayo, Joe Flacco, John Harbaugh, Lardarius Webb, Logan Mankins, New England Patriots, New York Giants, NFC championship, NFC Championship 2011, Patrick Chung, Ray Lewis, Ray Rice, Rob Gronkowski, Rob Ninkovich, San Francisco 49ers, Terrell Suggs, Tom Brady, TORREY SMITH, Vince Wilfork, Wes Welker

The New England Patriots (14-3) host the Baltimore Ravens (13-4) in only the eighth overall meeting and second get-together in the playoffs since the Ravens came into existence in 1996 on Sunday at 3:00pm EST on CBS in the AFC Championship Game. Heated History The Patriots have [...] Continue reading → | 2012 NFL Playoffs, Baltimore Ravens, Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, Brian Billick, Cam Cameron, Deion Branch, Derrick Mason, Drew Bledsoe, Ed Reed, Kyle Boller, Marvin Lewis, Mike Nolan, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Patriots Jets Rivalry History, Ravens Patriots Rivalry, Ravens vs. Patriots, Ray Lewis, Rex Ryan, Sean Taylor, steve mcnair, Terrell Suggs, Tom Brady

I know what you're thinking: Tom Brady's a heck of a punter, no? And Aaron Hernandez—who knew he was the best running back on the field? Oh, and the New England Patriots' defense, ranked 31st in total and passing yards allowed... whoever thought they would force the Denver Broncos backward 14 times? What happened to the Broncos on Saturday night was not even fair, and we're not even talking about Josh McDaniels.  The Patriots, 0-3 in the postseason [...] Continue reading → | 2012 NFL Playoffs, Aaron Hernandez, Aaron Rodgers, AFC championship, AFC Playoffs, Baltimore Ravens, Brandon Spikes, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Patrick Chung, Rob Gronkowski, Rob Ninkovich, Tim Tebow, Tom Brady, Wes Welker

The rematch no one was anticipating is here!  The 9-8 AFC West Champs Denver Broncos, the #4 seed in the AFC, are on the road at Gillette Stadium to face the #1 AFC seed, the AFC East Champ New England Patriots today, January 14, 2012, in Foxbourough, MA.  In this divisional playoff, the winner goes to the AFC Championship.  Either the game will be in New England, or the stage will be set in Houston or Baltimore to continue what has been an improbable run for the Broncos. The Broncos are coming off an absolute thrilling OT Wild Card weekend victory against the 12-win Pittsburgh Steelers in Denver, capped after 11 seconds when Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas took a slant from QB Tim Tebow 80 yards to end the game 29-23.  The Patriots, [...] Continue reading → | 1SKILLZ Gameplan, Aaron Hernandez, AFC Divisional playoffs 2011, Bill Belichick, Bill O'Brien, Brandon Spikes, David Binn, Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos, Devin McCourty, eddie royal, Jerod Mayo, john fox, Josh McDaniels, Mark Anderson, New England Patriots, NFL playoffs, Pamela Anderson, Patrick Chung, Rob Gronkowski, Tim Tebow, Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork, Wes Welker, Willis McGahee

After finishing 14-2 in 2010 with the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs, the New England Patriots lost to the New York Jets 28-21 in the AFC Divisional.  Just like last year, the Patriots enter the 2011 NFL playoffs on an eight-game winning streak and with homefield advantage throughout the conference playoffs.  The Patriots seemed like a team playing in the preseason to prepare for their real season starting in January during the last half of their winning streak.  The Patriots went on the road to hold on against the inferior Washington Redskins 34-27, came back from a 16-7 deficit to defeat the Denver Broncos 41-23 on the road, came back from a 17-0 halftime deficit to sweep the Miami Dolphins 17-0, and came back from a 21-0 first quarter deficit to defeat the Buffalo Bills 49-21.  Of [...] Continue reading → | 2011 New England Patriots, Aaron Hernandez, Andre Carter, Brandon Spikes, Brian Waters, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Devin McCourty, Jerod Mayo, Logan Mankins, Mark Anderson, Matt Light, Matthew Slater, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Patrick Chung, Rob Gronkowski, Rob Ninkovich, Stevan Ridley, Tom Brady, Washington Redskins, Wes Welker, Zoltan Mesko

I'm going to keep this one short, because I pretty much called the New England Patriots' 49-21 victory over the Buffalo Bills down the middle in the 1SKILLZ Gameplan.  In fact, we're just going to go with bulletpoints and italics: *BOTTOM LINE: Fitzpatrick will get off to a big start in New England, but it’s doubtful the Bills offense will generate the points they did in September without some assistance from the Patriots’ offense.  With Brady nursing a bad shoulder but still healthy enough to perform, expect a more conservative approach that will test the Bills ability to play total defense.  Expect records to be broken and for the Patriots to not have to [...] Continue reading → | Aaron Hernandez, AFC East, AFC Playoffs, Bill Belichick, Bill O'Brien, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Rex Ryan, Rob Gronkowski, Ryan Fitzpatrick, The Patriot Way, Tom Brady, Wes Welker

The last 1SKILLZ Gameplan of 2011!  The 12-3 New England Patriots will host the 6-9 Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on New Year's Day, a place the Bills have never won.  The Patriots are going for the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs, and a win clinches that no matter what happens between the Baltimore Ravens (at Cincinnati Bengals) or Pittsburgh Steelers (at Cleveland Browns) Sunday.  Of course, the Bills broke a 15-game losing streak to the Patriots in Week 3, and will be going for a Patriots sweep for the first time since 1999 (the year before Belichick/Brady and the last time the Bills made the postseason). In that Week 3 game, the Bills overcame a 21-0 deficit to win 34-31, aided significantly by four INTs by Pro Bowl Patriots QB Tom Brady.  Since then, the Bills lost 9 of their [...] Continue reading → | 1SKILLZ Gameplan, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, NFL Week 17 2011