And it begins: the 2009 NFL Playoffs are underway this weekend, and the 6th seeded Baltimore Ravens (9-7, 2nd in the AFC North) will go to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA to face the New England Patriots (10-6, 1st in the AFC East) Sunday at 1PM.
This game will be a rematch of the week 4 game in New England that the Patriots won 27-21. Though the Ravens have yet to beat the Patriots ever in five tries, the last two games (this season and in 2007) have come down to the final possession, and the already emotionally charged Ravens will be motivated by those close losses. If the Patriots win this game, they go to San Diego to face the Chargers, and if the Ravens win, they will go to Indianapolis to face the Colts.
RAVENS PASS OFFENSE vs. PATRIOTS PASS [...]
Continue reading →
January 1, 2010 by
Law Murray |
1SKILLZ Gameplan,
2009 NFL Week 17,
Andre Johnson,
Bernard Pollard,
Bill Belichick,
Gary Kubiak,
Houston Texans,
LaMarr Woodley,
Matt Schaub,
New England Patriots,
NFL playoffs,
Pro Bowl,
Randy Moss,
Reliant Stadium,
Tom Brady,
Wes Welker
The first game in the year 2010 will be the last game of the regular season as the 8-7 Houston Texans host the 10-5 New England Patriots on Sunday, January 3, at Reliant Stadium. While the Patriots have locked up the AFC East already, this happens to be the biggest game in Houston Texans franchise history. The Texans still have a chance to make the AFC playoffs, but they do not control their own destiny. In addition to a win, the Texans need at least two losses from these three teams: the Baltimore Ravens (at Oakland), Denver Broncos (hosting Kansas City), and New York Jets (hosting Cincinnati). I don't like the Texans' chances, but I'm not here to talk about the Texans' playoff hopes, just their matchup with the Patriots. Now, the Patriots also have something to play for, as [...]
Continue reading →
In the last games of December 2009, the 7-7 Jacksonville Jaguars will visit Foxborough, Massachusetts in a must-win situation against the 9-5 New England Patriots. The Jaguars have lost three of their last four games, most recently to the Indianapolis Colts 35-31 on Thursday Night Football. After losing two straight games, the Patriots have won two in a row against the Carolina Panthers and last week against the Buffalo Bills, 17-10. The win over the Bills marked the Patriots' first road win in the continental United States (their 35-7 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was at Wembley Stadium in London). This is the Patriots 2009 home finale, where they are undefeated (7-0).
The last time the Jaguars and Patriots met was in the Divisional Round of the 2007 NFL playoffs. At [...]
Continue reading →
It's a snowstorm version of the 1SKILLZ Gameplan! If I was on a college campus this week, everything would be cool as far as this week's 1SKILLZ Gameplan. But I live and work in the city of Philadelphia, and we got dumped on. Needless to say, I'm multi-tasking on game day, trying to release the 1SKILLZ Gameplan as well as shovel all of the incoming snow. So I'll keep this short and sweet.
The 8-5 New England Patriots are at Ralph Wilson Stadium today to face the 5-8 Buffalo Bills. The Patriots are hanging on to a one game lead in the AFC East, and need to win in order to stay afloat. The Bills have an interim head coach, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. The Patriots and Bills faced off in the season opener of Monday Night Football, and the Patriots won their 12th [...]
Continue reading →
It is game day for the 1SKILLZ Gameplan!!! The 7-5 New England Patriots will host the 5-7 Carolina Panthers today at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots are coming off a last minute 22-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins last week, and are a lost football team at the moment. The Panthers forced five INTs of Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie QB Josh Freeman last week and won 16-6.
This will be only the second game between the Panthers and Patriots at New England; the first was a Panthers 20-17 OT win in 1995, their first season in the NFL. The Patriots defeated the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII 32-29. The last meeting between the two teams was in 2005, a 27-17 Panthers win at Carolina. The Patriots won 17 in a row against the NFC since that game until losing to the New Orleans Saints 38-17 [...]
Continue reading →
It seems like every time the New England Patriots are playing the Miami Dolphins, I come out with a short 1SKILLZ Gameplan! No matter, this game is very important for both teams. The 7-4 New England Patriots lead the AFC East, but if they lost at Land Shark Stadium, then the 5-6 Dolphins would then be 6-6 and along with the New York Jets would only be one game behind the Patriots heading into the final quarter of the NFL season.
Last week, the Patriots lost to the undefeated New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football 38-17 in what was arguably the worst defensive performance by the Patriots since winning their first Super Bowl, allowing 480 yards of total offense and five TD passes by QB Drew Brees. The Dolphins could have been playing to tie the division lead, but they laid an [...]
Continue reading →
November 26, 2009 by
Law Murray |
1SKILLZ Gameplan,
2009 NFL Week 12,
analysis,
Drew Brees,
Monday Night Football,
New England Patriots,
New Orleans Saints,
predictions,
preview,
Sean Payton,
Thanksgiving,
Tom Brady
Happy Thanksgiving! The start of "Holiday Season" is today, a festive time of the year that extends from Thanksgiving until New Year's Day. It is also the time of the year when the National Football League playoff picture starts to intensify with almost every game. On Monday Night Football at the Louisiana Superdome, the 10-0 New Orleans Saints will host the 7-3 New England Patriots which may very well be the last Monday Night Football game of the season to feature two playoff teams.
The Patriots defeated the New York Jets last week 31-14 at home to bring their record in the AFC East to 3-1. The Patriots forced Jets QB Mark Sanchez into five turnovers and Patriots WR [...]
Continue reading →
Sunday afternoon marks the 6-3 New England Patriots' first divisional rematch of the 2009 season when they host the 4-5 New York Jets at Gillette Stadium. It is a pivotal game for both teams, as the Jets won the Week 2 matchup 16-9 at the Meadowlands, their first home victory against the Patriots since 2000. If the Patriots lose this week to the Jets and next week to the New Orleans Saints, and the Jets defeat the Carolina Panthers next week, the Jets will reclaim the AFC East division lead they held to start the season until their Week 6 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The moods are flipped compared to when these two teams played for the first time this season. The Jets are coming off a [...]
Continue reading →
November 14, 2009 by
Law Murray |
1SKILLZ Gameplan,
2009 NFL Week 10,
Donald Brown,
Indianapolis Colts,
Jim Caldwell,
Joseph Addai,
Laurence Maroney,
New England Patriots,
Peyton Manning,
Sunday Night Football,
Tom Brady
The rivalry of the decade between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts continues tonight on Sunday Night Football at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. The Patriots come in with a 6-2 record and in first place in the AFC East, holding a two game lead on the New York Jets after defeating the Miami Dolphins 27-17. The Colts are undefeated at 8-0, having beaten the Houston Texans 23-20 to give them a three game lead in their division. This is the Patriots' sixth game of the season against an undefeated team, and the most significant AFC game since their 20-17 overtime loss to the Broncos at Denver. While this would be their biggest win of the season, a loss (and a Jets win vs. Jacksonville) would make their game at home versus the Jets next week a battle for first [...]
Continue reading →
You all will have to forgive me, I have to cut this 1SKILLZ Gameplan a little shorter than what you're used to! Moves have to be made! But before I skip town, I have to release the 1SKILLZ Gameplan for the peoples. Joey Porter would like you all to know that the DEFENDING AFC EAST CHAMPION Miami Dolphins (3-4) are coming to New England to face the Patriots (5-2).
Now, Porter and Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano have a good point about the AFC East: the division still goes through them. Now, they are the defending champions. This is about as relevant a point to 2009 as the Tennessee Titans being the defending champions of the AFC South. What IS relevant is that the Dolphins, coming off of a 30-25 win against the New York Jets, control their own destiny with Sunday's game at [...]
Continue reading →
