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AND PARTY LIKE GRONK! YO SOY FIESTA!

A great game last Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens ended with play-after-play lining up just the way Bill Belichick wanted to see it go. With Sterling Moore, a player dropped by the mediocre Oakland Raiders and picked up to the Patriots’ practice squad, making the key defensive stops in the endzone that we have not seen since Asante Samuel last donned the backfield. Raven’s kicker Billy Cundiff pooching the kick from 32 yards away was an ending Myra Kraft could have only dreamed of.

Coming out of Sunday, even Tom Brady admitted that he was less than stellar. The team didn’t do anything amazing and still eeked into the Super Bowl in Indy against their 2007 Super Bowl opponent, the New York Giants.

And in a way, this 2011 run feels nothing like that 2007 run.

Sure, it’s easy to say that there’s clearly a difference in the teams. The 2007 team had won every single game that season while this season, the Patriots played no team with a winning record until the AFC title game against Baltimore.

The 2007 Patriots had an aging cast of future Hall of Famers on the defense. Eager to get one more ring before hitting the dusty trail.

The 2007 Patriots were on a revenge streak of “eff yous” against the entire NFL after being outted for Spygate. The numbers put up week-after-week were not unlike my Friday nights of Madden. Brady and Randy Moss both reached NFL records in touchdown numbers and the NFL was scared.

This year’s Patriots are not the 2007 Patriots. But you know that.

No one expected a lot from this Patriots team. A 10-11 win season was right where we thought they would be. Slipping into the playoffs, hopefully in front of the New York Jets, and possibly going a round or two.

But the SUPER BOWL?!

It’s a win-win situation for New England fans. Still a little hungover from the Bruins Cup win of June, we were all accepting of the fate of the Pats this year.

“We’re going to the Super Bowl! We’re going to the ‘Ship!” was the call of Rob “I Am Party” Gronkowski after Sunday night’s win. The stage is set and the opponent is chosen.

Anyone planning on participating on the Super Bowl betting over at TopBet should keep an eye on the line. The Patriots are currently favored by a slim margin with the over under on points being 53.

In my wildest imagination, as awesome as it is to be a Patriots fan this year (and for the last decade, at that), I cannot imagine another heartbreaking loss like 2007. Lucky for us, this team doesn’t have the same ramifications as that one.

This weekend on the radio, I heard a caller call in. An older woman, spouting about how her husband has been a fan of the team for 40 years through heartbreak and championships. She used a word that I knew immediately resonated with Pats fans, that word was “proud”. She was proud of the team for overcoming a lack of expectation. She was proud of what the team has done for the legend of Myra Kraft and the Kraft family.

And I couldn’t agree more.

This 2011 Patriots teams reminds us of what we love about our sports teams. Take the Celtics of late out of this, our favorite championships were executed with home-grown talent and by taking risks on guys the rest of the league didn’t believe in anymore (IE the 2004 Red Sox, Patriots of the early 2000s, the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Bruins).

This year’s Boston Red Sox is a team of overpaid, overvalued, whiny players who are coming off the most disgusting end to a season and off-season New England has seen in a long time.

This Patriots team is not your 2012 Red Sox.

They are likeable.

They are working class.

They have guys playing whatever position Belichick tells them in that day even if they played QB in college, drafted as a wide receiver, return kicks, and need to be put in as a DB for the entire game. Thank you Julian Edelman.

So, despite a season that has culminated in a lot of debate over their value and whether each win was good enough or the defense was good enough or if Brady still has it, the Pats have landed in Indy.

Revenge is not the key word in Super Bowl XLVI. The word is redemption.

This is not a Super Bowl about avenging the loss to another team. The Patriots simply don’t care what other teams, even if it is against their own team. These Patriots have pride and with pride on the line, redemption for the name of everything in Foxboro is the key.

The moment that the ball left the foot of one Billy Cundiff, who may have just gotten the Patriots’ game ball, every person watching could see it hooking left, with the score being left at 20-17 Patriots. The magical words of former Pats backup Scott Zolak ringing across the airwaves, “HE HOOKED IT!” have given me chills a half dozen times in the past 12 hours. And seeing the comparisons to Ace Ventura’s “Ray Finkle” become a trend on Boston’s Twitter was fantastic.

So the game ended and the speculation began.

Are these Patriots as good as the New York football Giants? Did they deserve to win that game? Is Bernard Pollard a stone-cold Patriot assassin?

The answer to all of those questions, is yes.

So on we go to what will most possibly be two weeks of pure hell. Replays from every negative moment of the 2007 Super Bowl. Giants talking trash while Bill Belichick and Tom Brady kiss their ass for all of the good things they do. Boston vs. New York. A Manning playing in Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time this year.

What it all comes down to is Sunday, February 5th. Super Bowl Sunday.

… And for some reason, New England feels like they are 0-13.

It is undeniable that the Pats have at times looked dazzling. In more cases, they have looked less than stellar.

So, which team is this?

On Sunday against the Washington Redskins, Tom Brady threw for 357 yards, including 160 to his favorite TE Rob Gronkowski, with three touchdowns and an interception.

Coming out of that game, what was anyone in New England talking about? A spat between Brady and Offensive Coordinator Bill O’Brien caught on the CBS cameras on the sideline as caught perfectly in this wonderful GIF format.

Over 350 yards, three touchdowns, and we’re worried about a yelling match between guys who are in the most physical sport in America?

GRONK SMASH!!!

Better yet, the defense.

While no one in New England (or anywhere else even) will ever say the Patriots are holding teams’ offenses, there have been weeks when the media and fans have felt comfortable enough to assume this group of drain-plugs was improving enough to keep most offenses below what the soaring offense could provide.

Of course, the 10-3 record reflects the fact that the defense does JUST  THAT.

Like Denver and their miracle story of Tim “Dont-call-me-Jesus” Tebow and the well-known fact that his defense allows him to win by holding the opposing team below the offense’s output, the Patriots do the opposite.

Honestly, this makes for a great match-up this coming week.

The defense who has to do just enough to keep the opponent’s point total below the great offense against the offense who has to simply be within a score or two at the end of the game to do what they need, especially in Denver.

Mile High baby.

But, I digress…

So which team is this? Should it be all doom and gloom or should we be be finally thinking about replacing that 16-0 banner with another Super Bowl one?

Honestly, I lean towards the dark clouds and whimpering in a corner.

I simply don’t see it. I watched that game in Washington just like most of you did. I didn’t see anything spectacular happening. I saw a lot of easy missed scoring opportunities by Brady with the pigskin flying over Gronk’s head, at the feet of Aaron Hernandez, once into Washington CB Josh Wilson’s hands (the lone INT), and once into the arms of Chad @Ochocinco, which has to mean it was underthrown, right?

Bazinga.

The rushing attack didn’t accomplish much against the ‘Skins either, topped by Danny Woodhead with 41 yards compared to the impressive Washington rookie Roy Helo’s 126 yards of foot pounding.

(Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

The defense remains an issue but no one can say that the addition of Andre Carter on the defensive line hasn’t dramatically changed their dynamic. Carter’s forced fumble and regular omnipresence in the pocket have finally given quarterbacks someone other than Vincent Wilfork, who coincidentally recovered the fumble, to worry about. Andre’s 10 sacks this year coupled with his insane physique should not go unnoticed and may be earning him a final resting place to play out his career beyond his current age of 32.

Are the Patriots playoff ready? Unfortunately, we honestly don’t know. The competition in the second half of the season hasn’t really called for the best of this team. Against #TebowTime and his Broncos we may get to see something but only if it’s still a game in the fourth quarter.

It may just be another one-and-done playoff season in New England but we honestly won’t know until the time comes.

All I do know, is that what the Patriots have had going on so far has not been evident outside of the box score and that generally does not translate well on the field.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Ok, sorry. I feel better now.

What in the hell was that?!

In a game that was a 60 minute version of the final minutes of Super Bowl XLII and the opening minutes of Wild Card weekend ’09, Tom Brady and Co. pulled yet another premature exit from the 2010 playoffs with a 28-21 loss to the “arch-rival” New York Jets.

I refuse to spit numbers at you because the only good ones have “J-E-T-S” next to them. I won’t rattle off the scoring drives. I won’t even talk about this game specifically except to say that it was completely obvious two minutes into the game that the Patriots would not be winning. Brady’s sulking on the sideline after a single failed drive was a sight Pats fans have seen before and know doesn’t usually end well.

With the Jets moving on to the AFC Championship for the second straight year, this time against the Pittsburgh Steelers, I will be planning my newly impartial Super Bowl betting at Sports Interaction. And you better believe I am rooting for a Pittsburgh and Green Bay Super Bowl. Literally.

(Sidebar: One thing I did notice as this weekend progressed was that all of the teams that had won as of the end of the Green Bay vs. Atlanta game were outdoor/coldweather teams. No domers, no teams from south of the Mason Dixon. Just northern, snow-blowin’ teams doing it during a wild winter season.)

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.

So, Boston fans, I know how you are all feeling. It’s an ugly feeling that is becoming all to regular around here.

Think about it.

The Brady Bunch have now given us the following seasons:

2007: We know how that one ends.

2008: Brady goes down 12 minutes into the season. Matt Cassell leads the team to a 11-5 season, miss playoffs.

2009: Brady Returns! New England trusts it will be a revolution! Woops, there’s Ray Rice four seconds into Wild Card weekend.

2010: No hopes for the season, maybe a .500 record expected. Oh, wait, Welker’s ok? 14-2 it is! And now this.

Awesome!

Well folks, 29 days until Red Sox pitchers and catchers report!

In the meantime, enjoy the Celtics’ hopeful run at Banner 18. Their recent history has mirrored that of the Patriots as well (See: NBA Championship 2010; Game 7) and hope that we do not have to deal with this feeling again so soon.

The Patriots were the favorite on the Super Bowl from BetUs as we headed into Week 17 and nothing changed after it. If anything, they just emphasized the point as they played their starters throughout most of the contest and hammered the Miami Dolphins 38-7.

As the score indicates, the game was completely lopsided and if anything, it was the Dolphins that looked like they were putting in a lackadaisical effort.Head coach Bill Belichick did decide to keep some players out as receivers Wes Welker and Deion Branch were out, while tight end Aaron Hernandez missed a second straight game with a hip injury.

But the biggest surprise of the day was seeing Tom Brady play at all – never mind into the third quarter. Brady is everything to the Patriots and why even risk an injury? It’s a debate that goes back-and-forth and the people who say he should play in these situations won this time as he came through the contest unscathed. But any type of scratch and the conversation would have a taken very different tone.

For example, running back Danny Woodhead suffered a head injury in Week 17 and is now questionable for the Patriots first playoff game in two weeks.

Nonetheless, the Patriots finished 14-2 this season and gave their head coach his fourth season with 14 or more wins, which makes him the first head coach ever to do so. Meanwhile, Brady’s interception-free streak continues at 335 passes and he put a stamp on his MVP candidacy. The Patriots also set an NFL record for the fewest turnovers in a regular season.

They’ll now await the results of the Wild Card to determine who they face after their bye week.

It’s been 3,303 days since the five-time All-Pro linebacker was a top choice out of Georgia, and the anchor to a preeminent New England defense.

It’s been 8 months and 1 day since I’ve stopped worrying about Seymour’s unhappiness in the locker room, if he was arriving late for mini-camp, or holding out for better contract negotiations.

It’s been 9 years and 16 days since fans swooned over David Terrell, and wanted his name called by the Patriots in the 2001 Draft.

It’s been ages since New England fandom has questioned Bill Belichick’s shot selection and defensive strategy.

It’s been eons since I’ve read something like this:

“Someone mentioned a 21-year-old lineman named Richard Seymour. He’s 6 feet 6 inches and 300 pounds. He can play over tackles or over guards and centers. He can play three downs, two outside, and one inside. He once covered 40 yards in 4.87 seconds. One of the most devastating comments about him is that he never takes a play off. Never. Imagine that. His belly is as flat as the plains. He is tall and fast.” – Michael Holley, Globe Staff, April 24^th, 2001.

There won’t be anymore whining of Patriots fans, wondering what he will look like on a transitioning NE defensive line. Young Seymour was ferocious and relentless. His scouting report says it all. No fancy emphasis needed.

You put Richard Seymour on your defensive line, and he’d compete with the crème de la crème, needing double or triple team coverage. A stud. Mammoth strength. Whopping potential. He was the Ferris Bueller of pranksters. Too good to be true.

Two years and a knee injury later, Seymour was more than effective in man-to-man coverage. After the rush of Super Bowl success, David could tackle Goliath. He was being dominated.

In the final days of Richard the III, there wasn’t much love left in the tank. He didn’t find the need to genuflect, hallow at the sacred ground, because he came here, and did what he needed to do. He was drafted, won three Super Bowl rings, and had enough of the winners attitude.

Jaded. He’d seen numerous coaches come-and-go, get their promotions with other teams, but he was still standing in Foxboro. Same old jersey number 93.

But when Richard Seymour was traded to the Oakland Raiders for a 2011 1^st round draft choice, he was offended. Irate is a better the word.  Disrespected by the franchise that brought him to the top of his game, and recycled him back into the NFL triage. Traded for a future top draft pick, someone who will want it more than he did.

He didn’t show up for days. They threatened to nullify the trade but it would cost him an automatic five-game suspension by due process of NFL-law. He filed a grievance, claiming he was “blindsided”  by the trade, and was still dealing with “personal issues”  back in New England.

He eventually showed up, and enrolled in the black-and-silver. He played defense off every JaMarcus Russell miscue. Maybe even shared a candy bar or two. The Raiders were miserable, and finished 2009 with a 5-11 record, good for 3^rd in the AFC West. In February of this year, Oakland gave him the franchise tag.

What have the Patriots done without Seymour? They’ve gotten lighter, younger, and more cooperative on team chemistry. They were able to draft players like Ron Brace and Myron Pryor, who are less likely to make an All-AFC roster, but more likely to make plays every Sunday.

What has Seymour done for the Patriots? Inadvertently recruited veteran DL Gerard Warren to New England, who was Seymour’s teammate last season in Oakland.

“It’s all business,” Seymour told Warren. “Come in. Play winning football. Have fun. Family environment. When you walk in through the doors, it’s all business. Very appealing.”

Thanks again, Big Sey. Thanks for the memories.

In the three-minute segment, host John Brenkus and his team of physiologists and ESPN lab technicians strap hypersensitive gizmos to McCourty’s body, measuring various levels of speed, torque, and inertia.

The results may surprise you. Testing with NFL elite rookies Jahvid Best, Ndamukong Suh, Tim Tebow, and Jason Pierre-Paul, McCourty reached a top speed of 19.6 miles-per-hour during his 40-yard dash.

Best, recently drafted by the Detroit Lions, ran a 4.35 at the NFL Combine, the fastest of any rookie running back. In Sport Science, Best maxed out at 18 mph. Yes, Devin McCourty is faster than Jahvid Best. It doesn’t stop there.

“Of all the skills a [Defensive Back] has to have,” asks Brenkus, “What’s the single most important?”

McCourty replies, “He has to be able to change direction. Fast.”

“Fast?”

“Fast.”

On the field, McCourty has a triple line of vision. Stepping back into coverage, a cornerback initially reacts to a receiver’s route, shifting eyes of an opposing QB, and ball release, all within a matter of seconds.

“You need quick feet,” says the Patriots 27^th overall draft pick. “You need to have straight line speed, and be able to go right, left, forward, or backwards.”

ESPN made him do just that. Devin’s next experiment sent him back-pedaling 20 yards, testing the speed of the Scarlet Knight. Through careful analysis, the ESPN lab discovered McCourty runs backwards 80% as fast as he runs forwards.

So how do you take your McCourty? Straight up with a 90-degree twist? It only takes him six tenths of a second to hit his pace. Dirty.

Role play. Acclaimed radio announcer Gil Santos reads:

3^rd quarter is heating up at Foxboro, with the Indianapolis Colts setting up on the Patriots own 20-yard line. Two tight-end set for the Colts, Manning alone with Donald Brown in the backfield. Slot receiver to his right, TE goes in motion. Manning takes the snap, play-action fake, Brown picks up the run-blitz for Manning as he rolls to his right. Holding, holding, fires towards Austin Collie …

For the time it takes Manning to choose a target on his five-step drop, it’s taken Devin McCourty 66 hundredths of a second to shift directions downfield. In hot pursuit of a game-changing play, McCourty has the pick-six in clear sight, faster than you can say, “Let’s Go Insurance Adjusters.”

A Special Teams maven, McCourty is an aggressive, physical rookie nickel back with speed and astute thinking. There is no doubt Devin is ready to impact this Patriots secondary. Fast.

“It was a long draft,” said Hernandez during a team conference call. “I was just happy regardless of where I got picked because it’s a dream come true.”
It’s not too often that a New England native gets to set up shop in the house of hero-worship, but it’s the sort of dream that manifested at a very young age.

Bristol High School coach Doug Pina knew he had something in Hernandez, and in January of 2006, his most talented athletes lost his father to surgical complications. Mr. Hernandez’ passing inspired Pina to help young Aaron, a junior at the time, who was already in the process of choosing colleges.

Pina passed along a tape to Gators head coach Urban Meyer. It didn’t take long for the famed UF coach to recognize a true talent. He extended the TE a visit to Gainesville, and Hernandez committed on the spot.

Meyer took him under his wing. Hernandez had monster potential, illustrated by the numbers he put up during his senior year at Bristol. Hernandez set a state record with 67 receptions and 1,807 receiving yards, to go along with 24 touchdowns and 42 tackles-for-a-loss.

An all-around, versatile, blocking-TE, with wide receiver hands and acrobatic athleticism, Hernandez worked hard under Meyer, earning him top slots on the NFL Draft board. Certainly well deserved.

Florida Tight Ends coach Brian White agreed. “Aaron has all the ability to be considered an elite tight end and one of the best, if not the best in America. He just needs to continue to improve.”

But the Hernandez story has recently hit a schneid. Before being picked up by New England, Hernandez fell three rounds in this year’s draft, and a lot of scouts wanted to know why. Allegations have since emerged of Hernandez’ involvement with marijuana and a failed drug test at the university.

After another media handicap, multiple sources confirmed that Hernandez tested positive for the drug during his junior season at UF. How many tests, no one is quite sure. But a number of NFL teams have stepped forward to contribute their two cents, including Albert Breer of the Boston Globe, who reported Monday that Hernandez “failed absolutely, positively, more than two.”

This isn’t the first time one of Meyer’s pupils has been caught “under fire” so to speak. Last season, top recruit Percy Harvin failed his drug test at the NFL combine, but that didn’t stop the Minnesota Vikings from making him a first round selection.

Recreational use of the drug has gained national attention in recent years, after famed running back Ricky Williams notably disappeared from the NFL to devote more time to his “smoking hobby.”

For the terminally ill, marijuana is a common herb reputed to cure a variety of afflictions, for Aaron Hernandez, one could pose a lot of questions.

Was this a case of mentor turning away from an apprentice? Or a protégé still self-handling the pressures of the NFL and the loss of his father?

Florida Substance Abuse Committee tests student athletes on a regular basis, and “issues a one game suspension for two failed tests, and an indefinite suspension after five.”

Hernandez missed the first game of the Gators 2009 regular season under ambiguous circumstances. If NFL teams failed to draft the top TE because of character issues, it’s their player to lose, and Belichick’s to gain.

Belichick constantly endorses Meyer and his players, it hasn’t stopped New England Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio from selecting three other Gator Alumni. The Patriots have been on the hunt for the perfect TE since the Ben Coates retired. Former top draft choice Daniel Graham has since moved on to the Denver Broncos, while Benjamin Watson has signed with the Cleveland Browns.

The Patriots drafted two top-tier blocking tight ends in this year’s draft, in their effort to provide more pocket protection for quarterback Tom Brady. New England hopes to re-invent the role of the “power tight end,” using Hernandez and 2^nd round pick Rob Gronkowski as significant, red zone weapons.

With players like Vernon Davis out in San Francisco, Antonio Gates in San Diego, and Dallas Clark in Dallas, the Patriots hope that both Hernandez and Gronkowski will follow suit, and supply great offense for New England.

Despite his loyalty to Drew Bledsoe, Hernandez is honored to catch passes from Tom Brady.

“I still can’t believe it, but I’m just glad I’m going to a team that has a great quarterback.”

It’s also a nice return for Brady, who will have some new, young faces surrounding him this season. Hopefully, Hernandez will bring out the best in his quarterback, and that Brady will respond in kind. Both QBS are known for their frozen-rope accuracy, and professionalism, defining characteristics that made Bledsoe an iconic sports figure just ten years ago.

Funny how everything in life, comes full circle.