Final Patriots Stat Check

More from the Boston Globe on the Patriots 2007 season:

Each week during the regular season, the Boston Globe's Patriots beat reporter Mike Reiss has looked at key statistics and noted where the Patriots ranked in each category.

Here is the way it ended this season:

Points scored
1st (589, 38.6 per game)

Points allowed
4th (274, 17.1 per game)
League leader: Indianapolis (262, 16.3 per game)

Turnover difference
3rd (plus-16; 31 takeaways, 15 giveaways)
League leader: San Diego (plus-24; 48 takeaways, 24 giveaways)

Third-down offense
2nd (92 of 191, 48.2 percent)
League leader: Indianapolis (100 of 203, 49.3 percent)

Third-down defense
4th (63 of 187, 33.7 percent)
League leader: Kansas City (65 of 208, 31.3 percent)

Red-zone offense
2nd (72 possessions, 50 TDs, 69.4 percent TD rate)
League leader: New Orleans (50 possessions, 36 TDs, 72 percent TD rate)

Red-zone defense
27th (41 possessions, 24 Tds, 58.5 percent opponents TD rate)
League leader: Philadelphia (55 possessions, 20 TDs, 36.4 opponents TD rate)

NFL Playoff Schedule

Got this from the Boston Globe ...

The Patriots opening game of the playoffs will be Saturday, Jan. 12, at 8 p.m., the NFL announced today.

Here is the complete playoff schedule through the first two rounds:

Saturday, Jan. 5
Washington at Seattle (NBC, 4:30 p.m.)
Jacksonville at Pittsburgh (NBC, 8 p.m.)

Sunday, Jan. 6
N.Y. Giants at Tampa Bay (Fox, 1 p.m.)
Cleveland/Tennessee at San Diego (CBS, 4:30 p.m.)

Saturday, Jan. 12
Seattle/Tampa Bay/N.Y. Giants at Green Bay (Fox, 4:30 p.m.)
Pittsburgh/Jacksonville/Cleveland/Tennessee at New England (CBS, 8 p.m.)

Sunday, Jan. 13
San Diego/Pittsburgh/Jacksonville at Indianapolis (CBS, 1 p.m.)
Tampa Bay/N.Y. Giants/Washington at Dallas (Fox, 4:30 p.m.)

The AFC Championship game is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m., while the NFC Championship game is the same day, at 6:30 p.m.

So, until the Patriots play again, I'm going to go watch the Patriots @ Giants game on my DVR again. Giddy up!

16-0

Wow ... just wow.

Our New England Patriots are a perfect 16-0 for the 2007 season. But, like Bill Belichick says, 16-0 is nice, but it doesn't matter when it comes to the playoffs. In Season #2, everybody starts 0-0 and no one can have a 1 in the loss column.

So, what did the Patriots do in setting the single-season record for most wins (since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978)? Here are some numbers:

• Tom Brady broke Peyton Manning's record for most touchdown passes in a single season with 50, both caught by WR Randy Moss. For the season, he finished with 4,806 passing yards, only 8 INTs and a passer rating of 117.2.
  
• Speaking of Moss, he set the single season record for most TD receptions at 23, breaking Jerry Rice's record set in the strike-shortened season of 1987. Of course, Rice likes to point out that he set the old record of 22 TD catches in 12 games and it took Moss 16 to set and break and the record ... whatever. A record is a record, Jerry ... give it rest. And no, I'm not being a homer about this ... I'd feel this way even if the record was set by someone not on the Patriots.
  
• Brady's 50 touchdown passes and eight interceptions set the NFL record for best touchdown-to-interception differential (plus-42). The previous record was held by Colts QB Peyton Manning, who was plus-39 in 2004.
  
• As a team, the Patriots scored 589 points this season, shattering the old record of 556 points set by the Minnesota Vikings in 1998 which featured ... WR Randy Moss.
  
• The Patriots broke their own record for consecutive regular season wins when they made it 19 straight regular season wins against the Giants Saturday.
  
• The Patriots tied an NFL record when 21 different players scored a TD this season.
  
• Brady and Moss paired up for a record 23 passing TDs this season. The previous NFL record was 18 by Miami’s Dan Marino and Mark Clayton in 1984 and by Green Bay’s Brett Favre and Sterling Sharpe in 1994.
  
• With 75 touchdowns this season, New England broke the NFL record of 70 touchdowns in a season, previously held by the 1984 Miami Dolphins.
  
• Wes Welker set a new Patriots team record with his 102d catch of the season Saturday night and passed Troy Brown. He finished the season with 112 catches and 1,175 yards ... wow!
  
• Brady set the Patriots single-season record for most passing yards in a season with 4,806. The record was previously held by Drew Bledsoe (4,555 yards in 1994).
  
• This is the first year the Patriots went undefeated in the AFC-East.

Just amazing.
And I noticed something about this win ... no one's talking about "Spygate" or "Belicheat" ... could we finally be turning the page on this ... please?!?

The Day After

Well, it's the day after Santa's big day and man, what a crazy time it was.

Joey's just getting the idea of Santa this year, so he was very excited knowing that Santa was coming. He seems to understand who Santa is but doesn't quite get the connection that Santa brings good kids presents. Still, when I got him out of bed on the 24th, he said, "Daddy ... Santa's coming and his reindeer and the chimney and presents and the tree and, and and ..." it went on from there.

So Christmas Eve we spent at my sister-in-law's house with Kell's family and had a great time, as always. Kell's brother, Paul, looks disturbingly like Jesus with his long hair and beard, so the jokes abounded all night because Paul couldn't be more opposite of what Jesus was reported to be ... LOL. The highlight for Joey was the Thomas the Tank Engine phone game he got from his Auntie Suzie and Austin which he has taken everywhere so far.

Anyway, we got home and got 44 Marion ready for the Big Guy. We wrote Santa a note that Joey signed and we put cookies and milk out for Santa to snack on. We also left some reindeer food (oatmeal and carrots) in a tin pie plate out on the porch. Joey was really excited doing that. He kept looking up at the sky and talked about the stars and how bright the full moon was that night.

The next morning, Joey came downstairs and couldn't believe his eyes ... Santa had come! He left a Little Tikes Cook & Learn Kitchen which was a huge hit. It talks to you and knows when you have the correct food in the pan or on the cutting board. Joey absolutely loves this thing and makes all kinds of creations for Mama and Daddy to try.

He also received a Little People Airport set and he likes using the helicopter and airplane to zoom around the living room. He also got a few Thomas the Tank Engine "take along" pieces for his collection and Hi, Ho Cherry-O! game, and lots of other stuff.

I gave Kell a pair of earrings from Silpada jewelry, an autographed Red Sox scorecard from Jerry Remy and Joey gave her a hard-sided glasses case for her new reading glasses.

Kell gave me a gorgeous Star Wars pop-up book which is really amazing, a Reebok knitted New England Patriots hat and a Patriots t-shirt ... very cool.

We went to my parent's house for Christmas day with Asha (my mom) and Papa (my dad) and my sister and her family. As always, everyone was very generous and Joey got a very cool racetrack/garage from Asha and Papa and a set of finger puppets, some Thomas stuff and train books from Auntie Beckie, Uncle John and his cousins Max and Jack ... among other stuff.

All in all a great day and another holiday spent with family. A lot of laughing and a lot of love to go around. Only 363 more days to go ... LOL.

Merry Christmas

Just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a very merry Christmas.

Here's hoping those serving our country are safe and will return home to their loved ones soon.

8 to the Bowl

So it's been announced that eight New England Patriots have been named to the Pro Bowl:

• Tom Brady
  
• Dan Koppen
  
• Matt Light
  
• Logan Mankins
  
• Randy Moss
  
• Asante Samuel
  
• Mike Vrabel
  
• Vince Wilfork

Which is nice, but you know that all of them won't care if they don't win the Lombardi hardware.

14 down, 2 to go

So the New England Patriots are now 14-0 ... only the second team in NFL history to do so. When the Miami Dolphins set the record in 1972, they played a 14-game regular schedule, so the Patriots can make history on Sunday when they host Miami and win.

And Sunday's win secured home field advantage for the Patriots throughout the playoffs.

The Patriots vs. NY Jets game was a mess and took the Pats' passing game out of the equation. It was nice to see RB Laurence Maroney take over as the featured back and have a good day on the ground (104 yards, 26 carries, 1 TD).

Still, you have to give the Jets' defense credit, too. They covered WR Randy Moss well and Brady couldn't force the ball into his hands as he's done in the past.

Speculation around the campfire is whether or not Bill Belichick and co. will start resting players in anticipation of the post season. Given that with a win over Miami this Sunday the Pats would be the only team to ever go 15-0 during the regular season, I doubt it.

Also, Brady is a very fierce competitor and wants to be behind center for every snap of every game. He's not about personal stats and accomplishments, but if he's close to setting some new record over the next two games, I'm sure he'll stay in.

"The Hall of Fame isn't church"

More is going to be written about the Mitchell report concerning steroid use in baseball and this article on espn.com looks at how voters for the MLB Hall of Fame would vote for Roger Clemens if voting were held today.

The story includes this gem:

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Ray Ratto refuses to draw a distinction between steroid offenders and players with other black marks.

"I would vote for Bonds on the first ballot, as I would vote for Clemens, because the Hall of Fame isn't church,'' Ratto said. "It's the history of baseball, and this is part of the history of baseball. I can assure you that Bud Selig will be voted into the Hall of Fame, and he is the commissioner whose name will be linked with the steroid era by first ignoring it, then profiting from it, and finally blaming others for it.

"I know that Cap Anson is in the Hall of Fame, and he was instrumental in the creation of the color line, which is way worse than PEDs. So this discussion ends up being an excuse for people with no institutional memory or understanding to claim a moral superiority they're not really equipped to display."

NFL QB Rankings

There's an interesting piece on espn.com that ranks the NFL's 64 starting and back-up quarterbacks.

The top ten, according to the article:

1. Tom Brady
   
2. Peyton Manning
   
3. Brett Farve
   
4. Tony Romo
   
5. Ben Roethlisberger
   
6. Carson Palmer
   
7. Matt Hasselbeck
   
8. Drew Brees
   
9. Donovan McNabb
   
10. David Garrard

What's cool, though, is that they take the list one step further and do an NCCAA Tourney bracket kinda thing and have a "playoffs" (first seed plays last, second seed plays next-to-last, etc.)

They give three rounds before the quarter finals, which ends up:

• Brady def. Brees
  
• P. Manning def. Hasselbeck
  
• Favre def. Palmer
  
• Romo def. Roethlisberger

Semifinals:

• Brady def. Romo
  
• P. Manning def. Favre

Finals:

• Brady def. P. Manning

Needless to say, my wife (who's a football fan) would be rolling her eyes right now. I thought it was kinda cool and it's my blog, so there ...

MLB's steroids era

So, the Mitchell report on steroid use in Major League Baseball is out ... now baseball fans need to figure out what to make of it. If you want to read all 417 pages of the report, you can view it here.

The numbers are staggering: 88 players named in the report, 62 of which were named by one former NY Mets clubhouse attendant; of those on the list, 32 players were active in 2007; 32 players on the list are All-Stars; 29 are pitchers; 16 players bought steroids even after the Feds raided offices in Florida and New York, and nine of the players were named in the BALCO investigation. Amazing.

If you're following this story at all, then you doubt have seen the media frenzy about those players listed in the report as steroid users, two of the biggest names being NY Yankees' pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.

Before I go any further, I should note that espn.com's Jayson Stark wrote an excellent piece that puts the report and its conclusions in perspective when he says that many of the allegations against the players are based on circumstantial evidence, especially the "evidence" against Clemens.

Even before I read Stark's piece this morning, I was thinking about this report while driving into work and I wondered what evidence exactly Mitchell and his investigators dug up when compiling their list. After reading more about the report this morning, it appears that at least some of his information is based on circumstantial evidence. Hoo boy.

Look, I'm not naive enough to think MLB players didn't "juice" in the past, there's written evidence in the form of orders and canceled checks to show that players did try to gain an advantage through steroids. And, frankly, I'm not the biggest fan of Roger Clemens, either. I admire his accomplishments as a pitcher and I don't think this report should in any way impact his chances of getting into the MLB Hall of Fame ... I just wish he conducted himself differently and didn't act like a prima donna. I mean, demanding a huge contract for only a few months work?!? He didn't even play a full season last year ... c'mon!

All that being said, I wonder how MLB is going to move on from this. In his press conference yesterday, MLB Comish Bud Selig said they are going to deal with punishing active players "on a case-by-case basis." What?!? Seriously, MLB isn't going to have a uniform way of dealing with players? Yeah, that'll work. You can just hear Major League Baseball Players Association union chief Donald Fehr lining up his lawyers from here. If Selig, et. al., really do go through with their "case-by-case" plan, this is going to get a lot worse before it even begins to get better.

The question is, will it ever get better? Clemens is already vehemently denying the charges, and why shouldn't he? Even if he is found to not have actually juiced at all, will anyone look at him or his accomplishments the same way? If he does get a plaque in Cooperstown, will any true fan ever be able to look at it the same way they would have had Clemens not been accused of using steroids?

And, my feelings about the NY Yankees aside, can you really look at their streak of World Series titles in the late 1990s in the same way? If you look at the list, you'll see it includes 22 current or former Yankees. Wow. Should those WS titles have an asterisk next to them? I don't think so ... too many other players were juicing during that time in baseball, so why should the Yankees be singled out?

Still, it's amazing that that many players were named from one organization. Does that mean that the NY Yankees as an organization sanctioned and/or condoned using steriods? Who knows.

And, of course, there are those on message boards (especially in NY markets) howling that there is a notable lack of Red Sox players named in the report and that Mitchell sits on the Red Sox Board of Directors. Coincidence? Well, take this for what it's worth because I'm a card-carrying member of Red Sox Nation, but I really don't think there's a link ... I think it would be incredibly stupid of Mitchell to leave Red Sox players out of his report because of his affiliation with the team. Maybe I'm giving him too much credit, but that's my opinion.

And it's not as if the Red Sox aren't represented in the list, there are former Red Sox players named, too ... most notably Mo Vaughn and, of course, Clemens (Vaughn alledgedly took steriods when he was with the Mets).

It's going to be an interesting remainder of the off season and I think we're going to hear about this report for a very long time. MLB baseball, "the national pastime" ...

Good lord, what a mess.

10 years, $275 million

A-Rod has just signed a 10-year, $275 million contract with the NY Spankees.

Amazing ... just amazing.

And disgusting ... no one is worth that much money to play baseball.

Truly, I'm at a loss for words.

Ellsbury signs with the anti-Christ

Apropos of nothing ... Red Sox rookie sensation Jacoby Ellsbury has signed Scott Boras as his agent.

Oy vey ...

Black Thursday for MLB

Well, former Senator George Mitchell has released his report on steroid use in Major League Baseball.

Thus far, no current Red Sox players have been listed as active users in the report. Former players Greg Gagne (who just signed a one year, $10 million deal with the Brewers ... LOL), Roger Clemens and Mo Vaugh have been listed, however.

One gets the feeling this is going to get a lot more ugly before it gets better.

Here's hoping, though, that this report leads to better testing and an overall cleaner and more honest MLB playing field.

The coolest thing ... EVER

So our son Joey turned three in September and more and more he's into his letters and reading. Well, he doesn't "read" per se, but recently he's been trying.

We were sitting at the dinner table last night and Joey has these bug flashcards that have a picture of a bug on one side and information about them on the other. Kell and I will usually tell him about the bug and show him how to pronounce and sound out the bug's name.

So last night, without provocation, he takes out the cards, and pointing with his finger, he says each letter in the bug name, then he tries to sound out the word. To our amazement, he actually did pretty well. It was the most amazing thing to see him try to read a word and sound it out the way he has seen on the reading shows he watches and the way Kell and I teach him.

A very cool parenting moment.

And Tom Brady said ...

Friend of mine sent me this today ...

Peyton Manning, Tony Romo and Tom Brady are killed in a plane crash after the Pro Bowl and appear before God ...

God asks Peyton Manning first: "What do you believe?"

Peyton thinks long and hard, looks God in the eye, and says, "I believe in hard work, and in staying true to family and friends. I believe in giving. I was lucky, but I always tried to do right by my fans."

God can't help but see the essential goodness of Manning, and offers him a seat to his left.

Then God turns to Tony Romo and says, "What do you believe?"

Tony says, "I believe passion, discipline, courage and honor are the fundamentals of life. I, too, have been lucky, but win or lose, I've always tried to be a true sportsman, both on and off the playing fields."

God is greatly moved by Romo's sincere eloquence, and he offers him a seat to his right.

Finally, God turns to Tom Brady: "And you, Tom, what do you believe?"

Tom replies, "I believe you're in my seat."

Snow job

Just saw this posted by Boston Globe Patriots beat reporter Mike Reiss on boston.com:

The long-range weather forecast indicates that snow could be a factor in Sunday's gave vs. the NY Jets. If that's the case, the Patriots would have history on their side, as they are 9-0 all-time in snowy games in Foxborough:

Dec. 4, 2005 — 16-3 win over the Jets

Jan. 16, 2005 — 20-3 playoff win over the Colts

Jan. 18, 2004 — 24-14 playoff win over the Colts

Dec. 14, 2003 — 27-13 win over the Jaguars

Dec. 7, 2003 — 12-0 win over the Dolphins

Jan. 19, 2002 — 16-13 overtime playoff win over the Raiders

Dec. 4, 1983 — 7-0 win over the Saints

Dec. 12, 1982 — 3-0 win over the Dolphins

Dec. 10, 1978 — 26-24 win over the Bills

Sweeeeeeet ...

Patriots vs. Dolphins

The Patriots host the NY Jets this Sunday, but I saw this piece on espn.com which compares the Patriots and Dolphins franchises ... which is like comparing a Bentley to a Yugo.

Best NFL touchdown celebrations

Saw this story on espn.com and couldn't agree more ... there's nothing like hearing the BOOM of 20 or so muskets going off at Gillette Stadium after the Patriots score.

It's a numbers thing

Oh, I'm sorry Anthony Smith ... you were saying something about a guaranteed Steelers' win on Sunday? Meet Randy Moss.

Been reading a lot about the Patriots and I've picked up a few bits and pieces about the insane numbers their offense has put up so far this season (all this with three games to go):

• Patriots QB Tom Brady has 44 TDs this season, four shy of Peyton Manning's 2005 record.
  
• Brady has more touchdown passes than the rest of the AFC East (31) thus far this season.
  
• Brady has more TDs than the combined totals of Brett Favre and Drew Brees (44).
  
• He has the exact combined TD totals of Peyton and Eli Manning.
  
• Brady has just five interceptions in 476 pass attempts. Dallas' Tony Romo threw that many picks in a single game this season.
  
• Pats WR Randy Moss has 19 TD catches and 1264 yards this season ... three TDs shy of Jerry Rice's record.
  
• WR Wes Welker has 93 receptions for 974 yards and 8 TDs.
  
• As a team, the Patriots are averaging 38.7 points per game ... the record is 38.8 points set in 1950 by the Los Angeles Rams.
  
• The Patriots thus far have an average margin of victory of 21.6 points. The largest average margin of victory by an NFL team (26.5 points per game) was set by the 1942 Chicago Bears.
  
• The Patriots have scored 503 points this season so far and are on pace to set a new NFL record for points if they average 17.7 points per game over their last three games. The record for points in a season is 556, set by the 1998 Minnesota Vikings ... a team, coincidentally, that featured Randy Moss at WR.
  
• With 65 touchdowns in 13 games, New England could break the NFL record of 70 touchdowns in a season if they score more than two touchdowns per game over the last three games.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's possible the Patriots could break a few of these records when the dust settles on Week 16.

A few more thoughts about Patriots vs. Steelers

OK, now that I've had some time to sleep and scan the stories being written about yesterday's game:

• I went to watch the game at a friend's house and the four of us agreed that we didn't think the Pats were going to cover the 10.5 point spread ... not after the way the defense had been playing the past two weeks against the Eagles and Ravens. Happily, we were wrong ... boy were we wrong.
  
• I didn't think much about it at the time, but in looking at highlights of the game, it seems pretty obvious the Patriots (especially QB Tom Brady?) went after Steelers DB Anthony Smith (who guaranteed a Steelers win). If you watch the highlights, Smith seems to be involved in a lot of the Patriot's offense plays in which something big happened ... especially when he was trying to cover Pats WR Randy Moss (which he failed to do).
  
• Heard a new expression last night that I really want to put on a t-shirt: "That was Moss-some!" Yeah, we said that quite a few times last night.
  
• I'll admit it, I've got a man crush on Pats WR Wes Welker ... this guy is unreal and always seems to be able to get himself in the right position to make a great play.
  
• Saw this quote on boston.com from Pats NT Vince Wilfork on the difference between yesterday's win and last Monday's win in Baltimore:
  
  "It might sound funny but I think we played with more emotion tonight. I think we really did. I could see guys running to the football, guys having fun on the field and I think [Richard] Seymour or [Mike] Vrabel, one of them turned to me and he was like ‘you know the problem is we [aren't] having fun’ and we always play good when we’re having fun. I think last week we lacked that. Today we didn’t lack it."
  
  
• Next up for the Patriots is the 3-10 NY Jets, then the 0-13(!) Miami Dolphins. Tom Brady needs four touchdowns to tie the single-season record for TD passes ... think he will get it over the course of these next two games?

13 - 0 ... but he was misquoted

Ohhhhh, I see ... Steeler's DB Anthony Smith was misquoted when he guaranteed a win against the Patriots tonight, according to a story on espn.com:

Smith said (his pre-game comments) weren't reported accurately.

"If I had been quoted right, it wouldn't have come out the way it did," he said.

Riiiiiight ... even though he was caught on tape guaranteering the win. Jackass ...

Smith was burned badly tonight, twice especially when the Patriots scored because of breakdowns in the Steelers' coverage ... of which Smith was responsible.

Patriots' QB Tom Brady numbers: 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 399 yards ... wowzers.

Pats win 34 - 13.

Next week, the 3-10 NY Jets ... can't imagine what the official line is going to be for that game.

Three hours to go ...

So one of the Pittsburgh Steelers has guaranteed a win today and now another Steeler is saying the Patriots' receiving core isn't as good as other teams, like Cincinnati.

As if New England didn't need even more reason to beat the Steelers today.

BTW, the line is still NE by 10.5 ... The Boston Globe is predicting 31-21 Patriots ... we'll see.

My guilty pleasure

The Boston Globe runs a regular column in which they ask readers to submit their guilty pleasure in life ... here's mine (it ran in today's paper).

Well done better than well said

This is why I love NFL football ... because of games like the New England Patriots (12-0) vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) this Sunday.

In case any of y'all have missed it, Steelers DB Anthony Smith has guaranteed a win against the Pats this Sunday:

"We're going to win," he said Wednesday. "Yeah, I can guarantee a win. As long as we come out and do what we got to do. Both sides of the ball are rolling, and if our special teams come through for us, we've got a good chance to win."

Um, yeah ... have fun with that.

For their part, the Patriots coaches and players have taken Smith's comments in stride and are concentrating on the preparing for the game.

What's interesting is the rest of the Steelers' reaction to Smith's comments ... they've all but distanced themselves from him knowing it was a stupid thing to say publicly (even if they all believe it).

In any case, when asked about Smith's comment, Patriots QB Tom Brady said: "Well done is better than well said."

Good point ... games are won on the field, not in the press.

As much as I want the Pats to win this game, if they don't, at least they'll lose to a good team. Losing to Miami or the Jets in the next couple of weeks would not be good for the team.

Also, here's hoping it's a good game Sunday. If the Pats are blown out in the first half (seriously doubt that will happen, but you never know), then I think that will be more disappointing than the fact that they lost.

Really not sure what to make of this game ... frankly, the Patriots' D is making me nervous. Lately, they can't stop the run and their pass coverage has been spotty at best. The offense can put points on the board, but can the defense prevent the other team from doing so enough to give the Patriots the W?

Not for nothing, but ... right now, the Patriots are favored by 10.5 (well, really 7.5 because they automatically get 3 points for being the home team). Wouldn't surprise me if that spread shrinks as the game gets closer.

If you can find them, maybe you can hire ...

... the A-Team. God, I never missed this show as a kid.

Bulletin board fodder

So the Pittsburgh Steelers, or at least Steelers DB Anthony Smith, has guaranteed a Steelers win this Sunday at Gilette Stadium when the Patriots host Pittsburgh.

Sooooo not a good idea to give Patriots' Coach Bill Belichick and the Pats even more reason to try and beat your team ... wow.

You think Belichcik and company were pissed before? This could be really ugly Sunday.

UPDATE: This was posted on the Boston.com website:

One of the main themes in the Gillette Stadium locker room today was Steelers safety Anthony Smith's guarantee of a win.

"I don't know if we've ever come out and predicted victory or anything, and we've won a lot of games," quarterback Tom Brady said. "Whether you predict it or not, you've got to show up on Sunday."

Said safety Rodney Harrison: "The game is won and lost between the lines, not in the media. We've been in this situation before, where guys are talking. It just doesn't matter what you say, it's what you do."

Added outside linebacker Mike Vrabel: "If you went back and documented every time someone called their own shot, I mean, what are the chances? You're going to win or you're going to lose. Either way I don't think that prediction will have much bearing on the outcome."

Elsewhere, fullback Heath Evans said that Smith's prediction would be proven correct if the Patriots don't improve their performance, while linebacker Chad Brown acknowledged the comments could be used as motivation.

Linebacker Junior Seau also commented, noting that such a guarantee would never come from the Patriots. He was asked if there is such a thing as bulletin-board material for teams.

"There definitely is," Seau said. "Obviously, there is obviously a build-up before the game and that's the way this started. There is going to be talk every week. We're not going to pay attention to that. We're going to try to do what we do every week, which is work. Hopefully that will be good enough come Sunday. Come Sunday, all the talk will be between the white lines. It always is."

Iron Man movie

GEEK ALERT! GEEK ALERT!

OK, I'll be the first to admit that I was a comic book collector when I was in high school and college (that is, until I had to decide between paying for tuition or the dozen or so comics I read every month ... damn you higher education!) ...

I had heard that Marvel was coming out with an Iron Man movie and I just saw the trailer ...

Oh ...

My ...

God!

Iron Man was always one of my favorite comics and I was really psyched to hear they were making a movie. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark (the lead role in Iron Man) is genius casting ... could not imagine anyone else playing that part.

As for other "comic book movies" ... loved the X-men (my all-time fav comic) and the Spiderman movies ... Fantastic Four? Meh, it was OK ... Daredevil? Yeesh. Hulk? Yeesh.

The first two Batman movies with Michael Keaton were good, the rest suh-huh-huh-ucked. But, the franchise made a huge comeback with Batman Returns with Christian Bale as the Dark Knight. Speaking of which, Batman 2 with Bale again is coming out next summer too ... giddy up!

Anyway, Iron Man comes out May 2, 2008 ... the countdown is on!

12 - 0

That's 12 down, 4 to go for the New England Patriots with a gutsy 27-24 win over the Baltimore Ravens last night in Baltimore. As much as last night's game was a real nail biter, I actually think it's more fun to have a close game like that than a blowout.

A few thoughts after the 12 midnight ending:

• The day after any Patriots game (win or loss), I like to go to the newspaper of the opponents' city and see how they covered the game. Here's the Baltimore Sun's take on last night's game or Sun columnist David Steele's take.
  
• The Ravens lost this game more than the Patriots won it. The Ravens had the Pats stopped at 4th and 1 with less than two minutes left in the 4th quarter last night and just before the ball was snapped, someone on the Ravens sideline called a time out! Good lord ... not good football on the Ravens' part. Had that not happened, the Ravens would've won. Wow.
  
• Speaking of 4th and 1 ... Pats QB Tom Brady did it again engineering a 13-play, 73-yard drive to get the ball in the end zone and win the game (it was his 21st game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime, the most in NFL history). He's becoming the John Elway of his generation. You just can't give Brady extra downs by making mistakes the way the Ravens D didn last night.
  
• The Pats Defense really needs to figure out how to stop the run. The Ravens' RBs had 166 yards on 37 carries. Not good. That kind of performance isn't going to win games in the post season.
  
• Pats WR Randy Moss needs to figure out how to get open. He's been virtually non-existent the past few games and the trend will likely continue for the rest of the season if the Pats can't figure out how to get him open again.
  
• Brady ended up on his kiester quite a few times in this game and still came out throwing as tho nothing happened.
  
• Speaking of throwing, Brady appeared to be too torqued up for this game. Even tho it was windy, he seemed to overthrow a lot of guys and was rifling short passes that made them tough (if not impossible) to catch, IMO.
  
• I just don't know what to make of RB Laurence Maroney. He had 13 carries for 44 yards and was good, but why isn't New England using him more? Bizarre ...
  
  Some overall kinda thoughts:
  
  
• I'm beginning to wonder if the Patriots are playing possum and not necessarily giving 100% in light of the impending playoffs. It seems as tho that since they clinched a playoff berth, they've let up a bit. I'm wondering if they're biding their time and just waiting out the season. Granted, they've faced two "better" teams the last couple of weeks in the Eagles and Ravens, but still ...
  
• For the love of god, will someone please tell NBC's Bob Costas to stop with the "The-Colts-should-have-beaten-the-Patriots" rap every time he talks about the potential for a 16-0 season?!? Hey Bob, the fact is the Colts didn't beat the Patriots ... it's irrelevant whether they "should" have beaten the Pats or not ... get over it!
  
• I almost hope the Pats do lose a game so this whole 1972 Dolphins and champagne BS can stop. I'm tired of hearing about it. I'm just saying ...
  
• Patriots' last four games of the season look like this: hosting the Steelers, Jets, Miami then traveling to the Meadowlands to face the Giants.

Opposites

Wow ... talk about heading in opposite directions.

As the New England Patriots march towards an unbeaten season, the Miami Dolphins still have yet to win a game ... daaaaamn.

All of this is making me a little nervous about the Dec. 23 match up between these two teams.

Of course, that is until I realize it's not as if the Fish are playing well and losing close games ... they're just a really bad team this season.

Saner heads have prevailed

Was very glad to see this story about the British teacher being pardoned by the Sundanese president yesterday.

Again, I understand there are differences among cultures, but when an incident like this goes this far, that's just insane, IMO.

Seriously ... people were calling for this woman to be executed. It's the 21st century, for god's sake.

Ellsbury, Johan and the Sox

OMG, please tell me this isn't true ...

Just saw this story on espn.com that quotes "sources" as saying that the Red Sox are willing to deal Jacoby Ellsbury to the Twins as part of a package for Johan Santana.

WHAT?!?

It's not as if the Sox are desperate for pitching. They've got John Lester and Clay Buckholz are potential starters for next season and therefore are trade fodder for any deal with the Twins and Santana.

As my wife said, "The Red Sox need a center fielder and Coco Crisp isn't it."

Couldn't agree more.

Ellsbury is a fan favorite and a definite star in the making. He was amazing in the World Series ... the kid is a future All Star.

IMO, the Sox would be making a huge mistake in trading Ellsbury ... Santana, as good a pitcher he is, isn't worth trading Ellsbury for.

Meanwhile (according to the story) the NY Spankees are about to pull their trade offer for Santan off of the table, which means a deal with the Sox is even more of a possibility (altho the Angles, Dodgers. Mets and Mariners are supposedly in the mix). Out of that list, which team would you think Santana would want to go to?

Oy vey.

Yeesh.

My guilty pleasure

My Xbox 360 ... I loooove this thing.

Right now, I'm playing through Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga.

There's nothing like hearing that Achievement "bloop" as you're playing thru a game (you fellow 360 owners know what I'm talking about).

My Xbox is really my only toy and my wife is very understanding ... LOL.

Other favorite games are Guitar Hero, the Half Life series and the Tom Clancy-based games.