It seems like months since the end of the New England Patriots' loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl 46 ... but that's probably because the Patriots also lost to them months ago, in November.  All yuks aside, when a team plays its last contest, everyone knows that a journey that began with training camp has ended, never to be reduplicated.  Especially in the free agency era, and especially with the Patriots, roster turnover ensures that teams look remarkably different by time summer hits.  With that in mind, and after taking time to look at the Patriots' 2011 draft, let's reset the Patriots' veteran roster by position, with some added attention to the guys without [...] Continue reading → | Andre Carter, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Brandon Meriweather, Brian Waters, Chad Ochocinco, Dan Koppen, Deion Branch, franchise tag, Free Agency, James Ihedigbo, Kyle Love, Mark Anderson, Matt Light, New England Patriots, Randy Moss, Wes Welker

Finally, the heat is over!  Super Bowl XLVI is this Sunday, February 5, 2012 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN.  The NFC champion New York Giants (12-7, #4 seed) will face the New England Patriots, champions of the AFC (15-3, #1 seed), in a rematch of Super Bowl XLII and (more importantly) Week 9 of the 2011 NFL season.  No comment on the Giants/Patriots preseason finale, except that the Giants are probably who the Patriots think they are.  Will they once again let them off the hook? The Giants won the NFC championship on the home turf of [...] Continue reading → | 1SKILLZ Gameplan, Aaron Hernandez, Aaron Ross, Ahmad Bradshaw, Antrel Rolle, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Bernard Pollard, Bill Belichick, Bill O'Brien, Bill Parcells, Billy Cundiff, Brandon Deaderick, Brandon Jacobs, Brandon Spikes, Brian Waters, Chad Ochocinco, Chase Blackburn, Chris Canty, Chris Snee, Corey Webster, Dan Connolly, Danny Woodhead, David Baas, David Diehl, David Tyree, Deion Branch, Deon Grant, Devin McCourty, devin thomas, Eli Manning, Gerard Warren, Hakeem Nicks, Jacquian Williams, Jake Ballard, James Ihedigbo, JASON PIERRE-PAUL, Jerod Mayo, Josh McDaniels, Julian Edelman, Justin Tuck, Kareem McKenzie, Kenny Phillips, Kevin Boothe, Kevin Gilbride, Kyle Arrington, Kyle Love, Kyle Williams, Lawrence Tynes, Lee Evans, Linval Joseph, Logan Mankins, Marcus Cannon, Mario Manningham, Mark Anderson, Mark Herzlich, Mathius Kiwanuka, Matt Light, Matthew Slater, Michael Boley, Myra Kraft, Nate Solder, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Osi Umenyiora, Patrick Chung, Perry Fewell, Plaxico Burress, Prince Amukamara, Rob Gronkowski, Rob Ninkovich, Sebastian Vollmer, Shaun Ellis, Stephen Gostkowski, Sterling Moore, Stevan Ridley, Steve Weatherford, Super Bowl 46, Super Bowl XLII, Super Bowl XLVI, Tom Brady, Tom Coughlin, Victor Cruz, Vince Wilfork, Wes Welker, Zoltan Mesko

Remember how folks said the New York Giants 17-14 Super Bowl XLII win over the then-undefeated New England Patriots was a fluke?  How many said that if you played that game 10 times, the Patriots would have won the remaining nine? Maybe this game at Gillette Stadium between the New York Giants and New England Patriots proves that what happened in Glendale in February 2008 was no fluke.  In fact, the game played out almost exactly like the Super Bowl as Giants QB Eli Manning answered a late go-ahead Tom Brady TD pass with his second 4th quarter TD pass to give the Giants a 24-20 win. For the Patriots, this game was maddening.  Everyone will blame it on the defense, and they wouldn't be wrong.  The defense had a simple job, and that was to hold a three-point lead under two minutes [...] Continue reading → | 1SKILLZ, Bill Belichick, Chad Ochocinco, Eli Manning, Jake Ballard, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Super Bowl XLII, Tom Brady, Tom Coughlin

I know the focus should be on the New England Patriots game against the defending AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, but first I must address the controversy on everyone's mind regarding Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski: Rob Gronkowski's professional wrestling alter ego, Val Venis.  Helllllo Ladies. Now that this issue has been addressed, we can talk about football.  And if you're a Patriots fan, you may want to cover your eyes. I've mentioned several times this season how poor the Patriots drafts have been defensively.  Many resources have been used in the first and second rounds to [...] Continue reading → | 2006 NFL Draft, 2009 NFL Draft, Brandon Tate, Chad Jackson, Chad Ochocinco, Green Bay Packers, Greg Jennings, Mike Wallace, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Randy Moss, Rob Gronkowski, Val Venis

Patriots QB Tom Brady led a game-winning TD drive that ended with a TD pass to TE Aaron Hernandez, giving the Patriots a 20-16 win over the Cowboys, overcoming four turnovers.  The win (combined with the Bills' loss against the Giants) puts the 5-1 Patriots in sole-possession of first place in the AFC heading into the bye week. Let's state the obvious, though: The New England Patriots had no business winning this game against the Dallas Cowboys. The Patriots (specifically, their offense and special teams) played exactly the kind of game that was going to hand the victory to the Cowboys.  They had two first quarter turnovers (QB Tom Brady was intercepted by Cowboys CB Terence Newman, and KR Matthew Slater lost a fumble).  Slater also fumbled a kickoff in the Patriots' last regular [...] Continue reading → | Aaron Hernandez, Andre Carter, Chad Ochocinco, Dallas Cowboys, Dez Bryant, Jason Garrett, Jason Witten, New England Patriots, Rob Gronkowski, Rob Ryan, Sean Lee, Tom Brady, tony romo, Wes Welker

The dynasty of the 1990s meets the dynasty of the 2000s (http://www.nfltouchdown.com/good-ol-days-dynasty-bowl-the-hype-of-90s-cowboys-2000s-patriots/) as the Dallas Cowboys (2-2) visit the New England Patriots (4-1) at Gillette Stadium.  This is the Patriots' first interconference game of the season and they look to go into the bye week on a positive note.  The Cowboys are coming off of their bye week and look to figure out if they are more like the team that has won two tough games this season or the team that has blown huge leads. The Cowboys are coming off of a meltdown of significant proportions as they had a 27-3 lead at home against the Detroit Lions break under the [...] Continue reading → | 1SKILLZ Gameplan, Aaron Hernandez, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Bill Belichick, Chad Ochocinco, Dallas Cowboys, Deion Branch, Dez Bryant, Felix Jones, Jason Garrett, Jason Witten, Miles Austin, Nate Solder, New England Patriots, NFL Week 6 2011, Patrick Chung, Rob Gronkowski, Rob Ryan, Tom Brady, tony romo, Vince Wilfork, Wes Welker

The AFC East rematch you have all been waiting for is here, as the New England Patriots (3-1) host the New York Jets (3-1) Sunday, October 9 at Gillette Stadium.  The Patriots have lost four of their last six games to the Jets, including last season's divisional playoff game in New England that ended the Patriots' season.  The interesting part about this matchup is that with the Patriots losing to the Buffalo Bills, neither of these teams are going to have first place in the AFC East to themselves at the end of the day if the Bills win at home.  It'll be a marathon, and a win is important for these teams to catch up.  The Patriots don't want to lose two division games early, and the Jets don't want to fall below .500 and lose three straight for the first time since November [...] Continue reading → | 1SKILLZ Gameplan, A Football Life, Aaron Hernandez, Albert Haynesworth, Antonio Cromartie, Bill Belichick, Chad Ochocinco, Darrelle Revis, Derrick Mason, Ground and Pound, Jerod Mayo, LaDainian Tomlinson, Mark Sanchez, New England Patriots, New York Jets, NFL Week 5 2011, Nick Mangold, Plaxico Burress, Rex Ryan, Santonio Holmes, Shonn Greene, Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork, Wes Welker

The New England Patriots have done a great job of running their offense through the defenses of the Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers en route to opening 2-0 for the first time since 2008.  But in both weeks, the offense has been hit by significant injuries.  In week one, it was C Dan Koppen fracturing his ankle; he is out for 6-10 weeks (UPDATE: Koppen was placed on injured reserve Wednesday).  In week two, it was TE Aaron Hernandez spraining his MCL in his knee; he'll miss at least a week of action and possibly up to six weeks. Hernandez missed the last two games of his rookie season with a hip injury.  The first of those games, coincidentally, was at Buffalo in December.  The Patriots play at Buffalo on Sunday.  TE Rob Gronkowski had 2 TDs against the Bills last year in [...] Continue reading → | Aaron Hernandez, Brandon Tate, Chad Ochocinco, Injuries, New England Patriots

You know, I might be the only one, but does anyone else see the irony of the Patriots Way producing two NFL media personalities in former Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi and SS Rodney Harrison? Despite a Monday Night Football road win in the division that saw New England Patriots QB Tom Brady outduel Miami Dolphins QB Chad Henne and win 38-24 (http://www.nfltouchdown.com/brady-517-henne-416-on-monday-night-football-as-patriots-win-38-24/), the Patriots probably want Sunday and the Chargers to get here ASAP and hope Brady can pass for under 200 yards.  WR Chad Ochocinco, who only had a single 14 yard catch in all of the MNF madness, went on Twitter to post, "Just waking up after a [...] Continue reading → | Bill Belichick, Chad Ochocinco, ESPN, New England Patriots, NFL media, Rodney Harrison, Tedy Bruschi, Tom Brady

Well, excuse me for thinking this was going to be a drag-it out dogfight of a game.  What we got on Monday Night Football between the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins was the greatest shootout in NFL history between two QBs.  Former Michigan starters Chad Henne (30/49, career-high 416 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and Tom Brady (32/48, career-high 517 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT) set an NFL record for combined passing yards as the Patriots outlasted the Dolphins 38-24 down in Miami. The biggest play of the game was another record.  After the Dolphins turned the ball over on downs on the NE 1 yard line down 31-17 in the 4th quarter, Brady went over the top to WR Wes Welker.  Welker had a step on CB Benny Sapp, made the catch, threw a stiff arm reminiscent of former Patriots [...] Continue reading → | Aaron Hernandez, Anthony Fasano, Bill Belichick, Brandon Marshall, Cameron Wake, Chad Henne, Chad Ochocinco, Danny Woodhead, Davone Bess, Deion Branch, Miami Dolphins, Monday Night Football, Nate Solder, New England Patriots, Reggie Bush, Rob Gronkowski, Tom Brady, Wes Welker