SB Nation User Blog: JohnHannahRules

The New England Kinevals? American Patriators?

JohnHannahRules — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:11:58 -0000

File this under "thank god they kept it in-house."

Noted graphic artist Ken Carbone took a shot at redesigning three of what he felt were the worst graphic designs on NFL helmets. Number three? The "Flying Elvis" of your New England Patriots. Now, I've never been a fan of the new design. I'm very partial to old Pat Patriot, ready to snap the ball and rip off your face. But Elvis is so significantly better than what this professional dreamed up that it makes me glad to have him. Peter Fonda would be quite at home in this, but man! What a horrible football helmet. Just horrible.

Follow the link to Fast Company and read the universal panning this design gets in the comments. (Including some valid insight into what being a patriot means up New England way.) I can't say that any idea I'd come up with would be an improvement over what we already have, but I goddamnguarantee you that it'd be a huge improvement over this...this...monstrosity.

via Fast Company, KSK

Time capsule: Plunkett to Vataha keys victory over Colts, December 19, 1971

JohnHannahRules — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:15:27 -0000

A clear and cold late December afternoon in Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The sun struggled all day to bring the temperature above the freezing mark, and by game time the barometer rests around forty -- a fine football day. The bundled crowds assemble in the face of a light southerly breeze as Johnny Unitas, black high-topped cleats and buzz cut in place, warms up along the sidelines. Baltimore is in a fight for playoff positioning, trailing Miami by half a game in the standings in the regular season's final week.

The 38-year-old Unitas was nearing the end of an unrivalled career. He had been dueling for starts with Earl Morrall all season, but there was plenty of gas still in the tank.

The previous year marked the merger of the upstart AFL with big-brother NFL. The storied Baltimore franchise had been called to play the low-rent league frequently as a member of the new AFC East. In 1970, they defeated Boston in the first-ever meeting, 27-3, with Unitas throwing 3 touchdowns. In 1971 the Patriots became "New England," but the early results were much the same. Baltimore had walked all over the Patriots in brand new Schaffer Stadium back in October, 23-3. The lone Patriot score was a Charlie Gogolak field goal, courtesy of a 19 yard interception return by Patriots defensive back John Outlaw who picked Earl Morrell in the second quarter.

Here now in December, the 10 - 3 Colts had the Dolphins in their sights and 5 - 8 New England firmly in the rearview. Across the field from Morrall and Unitas, two kids in their early 20's were stretching for the kickoff: a speedy receiver from Stanford named Randy Vataha and his old college quarterback, rookie Jim Plunkett.

The game was an ambush. Playing with nothing on the line, the Patriots sprinted to the lead on the feet of their young guns. Plunkett connected with Vataha from 2 yards out to open the scoring. The Colts answered with a field goal and were driving again, moving across midfield when 3rd year pro Outlaw stepped in front of an errant Unitas offering and raced sixty yards up the field for a touchdown, the longest return of the season.

Coming out after the half, Unitas took his men in on a 31 yard strike to favorite target Eddie Hinton and it looked like the football universe would right itself. But the Patriots bounced right back. Two weeks previous, New England had helped the Colts with an upset victory over Miami, keyed by two Plunkett scoring throws and an interception return for six. The pattern would repeat this week. Plunkett found Vataha for an 88 yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Hinton and Johnny U would add one more to make it look better in the books, but the story had already been written. It was New England's first regular season win over an Original Franchise since the merger a year before.

Unitas and Morrell led the Colts through the playoffs with a win over Cleveland before meeting and losing to Miami, whose seeding advantage had Baltimore on the road for that game. Miami had corrected a tie from the first week with a final week win over the Packers. They ultimately lost to the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. Among his many honors, Unitas' 17 years with the Colts is still a team record.

Plunkett earned Rookie of the Year honors, though the team finished 8-6. He helped the Pats to three upset victories that year, leading with an opening day two-TD display against the Raiders to christen Schaffer Stadium. Plunkett would ultimately find himself in Oakland, also finding there the success that eluded both he and the team in New England.

John Outlaw was purged when Coach Fairbanks took over the New England squad, but found a home with the Eagles where he played for five more years.

Randy Vataha played six years with the Pats, ending his career with a one-year stint in Green Bay. After retiring, Vataha helped to found the USFL with an ownership stake in the Boston Breakers.

It would take the Patriots until 1980 to claw their series record with the Colts to .500 parity. In the decades since, New England has widened the split and the series now favors the Pats at 44-28, 2-1 in postseason play. The Colts have won four of the last five, however, including a playoff victory in 2006.

Much has changed in the league and with these franchises since that night in 1971, as the inimitable Johnny U was on his way out and Jim Plunkett on his way in. Goalposts were moved back and out of the way, and the Colts suffered an ignominious removal to Indianapolis, among other things. But just as the 1971 matches revolved around the quarterbacks, it was the rise of the quarterback position that turned these teams from sometime foes to full time rivals.

Peyton Manning was drafted in 1998 out of the University of Tennessee and immediately went to work on the history book, breaking rookie records left and right and throwing the ball all over the league. By the time New England drafted the unlikely Tom Brady in 2000, Manning had thrown for 52 touchdowns and almost 8,000 yards.

In 2001, New England's starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe was leveled against the Jets. Brady stepped in and started the rest of the year, leading the team to a Super Bowl victory. He also began to chip away at Manning's head start, with a 44-3 victory in the their first encounter.

The rest, you know.

Dan Shaughnessy, Randy Moss and the Dangers of Tenure

JohnHannahRules — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:20:16 -0000

I normally wouldn't bother to lay out a piece that takes rebuking a pundit as its jumping-off point. But what's the point of blogging if not to vent your spleen from time to time?

There's no game so perfect that Dan Shaughnessy won't take a leak on it in an effort to make himself seem relevant. Sunday's win was no gem, but rather than simply celebrating the beauty of Brady-to-Moss, Shaughnessy can't help but throw a few barbs at Randy, apparently because he doesn't like talking to the press.

He comes off as rude, ridiculous, self-important, and difficult.

Why not take a look in the mirror, Dan? 'Cause that sounds like a sportswriter I know.

Woe is the reporter who accuses Moss of going through the motions. Belichick and his minions are ever-ready to defend Randy with froth and fury.

Huh. I wonder why? Obviously, whatever Randy isn't to the media, he absolutely is to his teammates. There are no clubhouse cancers in New England and there haven't been for just under a decade -- even when they aren't going to the playoffs, the team presents a united front and guys who don't toe the line are run out of town. Asante could ball, but that didn't save him. Hobbs was serviceable, but he got run when he got too big for the team. I think it's safe to say that whatever else Randy Moss is, in that character is a likeable guy.

Just shooting spitballs here, but could the fact that Randy's entire life course was in some ways set by what other people said and wrote about him have something to do with the fact that he doesn't like or trust the media? Moss kicked a kid while he was down in high school. Read the media from the time, and it's clear that two black hoods jumped an innocent white kid. Spooked, holier-than-thou Lou Holtz pulled the ticket to Notre Dame (note: but not like a man. Apparently, Randy didn't fill out his form correctly).

Randy Moss has learned this much: The past does not stop. Year after year, it comes back to haunt, demand explanations, complicate things. It can shackle a man as much as it can a place, never allowing either to completely move on.

Cut Off from the Herd, S.I., August 25, 1997

I'm not typically one to defend the high and mighty athlete -- I figure, we pay and part of what we pay for is some of his time. But in fact that's not the case, really. We pay to see what he does on the field. Now the NFL mandates that players give the press some face time and some quotes. Time was, a guy like Randy simply wouldn't ever speak to the press and that would be that.

"We're never going to know Randy Moss," Shaughnessy sighs, whether with bitterness or longing one can never quite tell. Sadder still, Dan's just flat wrong. It's like watching a pathetic kid lob up a freethrow in the driveway, miss, and say, "I'll just never be good at basketball." Sigh, droopyeyes. Well, no, you won't -- not if that's your attitude.

"He not only knows what he’s doing, he knows what everybody else is doing," Belichick said. "He knows what the defense is doing and he usually knows what the quarterback is doing with the ball, based on all that information he compiles in a very short amount of time – a couple to pre-read and then maybe a half a second or second into the play." Moss: Mentally and Physically Superior

And he knows what you're doing, Dan. Sad thing is, it'd be easy enough to see what he's doing, too, if you took your job seriously. I guess this is what they mean when they differentiate between "reporters" and "columnists." Sadder still, it's the online "unprofessional" community that has done the majority of honest reporting on Moss the man. The print and corporate media seem more interested in reruns of Moss the boy.

Every article ever published about Moss's charity work -- whether it's "Links for Learning" or his charity bass tournament or his visits to kids in the hospital includes some version of the phrase "Moss doesn't like to publicize his charity work." But if you go look for it, it isn't hard to find. Just poke around Rand, West Viriginia and start asking questions.

Here's the thing: If Randy ever becomes a problem, he'll be ditched in a heartbeat. When his game slips, he'll be gone. Wants too much money? Out.

And in this corner, the Boston Globe and "columnist" Dan Shaughnessy, whose whiny, limp prose has been suffused with the tone of the put-upon, the schlemiel, the loser, the victim ever since he stumbled on the "curse of the Bambino" as a way to support a career -- not a career in sportswriting, but a career in professional collective self-pity that uses Boston sports as its McGuffin.

But until he does something actually illegal, the chances of him ever making way at the Globe for someone of Breer or Reiss' caliber is slim-to-none.

Colts Hobbled? Old Foe Indianapolis has a full infirmary

JohnHannahRules — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

This way to the hospital! Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders is among the several Colts suffering with injury as Indy heads into the meat of its schedule. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

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Back in early October, New England squeaked out a home win over the Ravens when a Joe Flacco pass bounced harmlessly to the turf off the chest of his receiver. Looks like the Colts had their Baltimore.

This past Sunday in Indianapolis, Texans' kicker Kris Brown missed a field goal as time wound down. The miss preserved a Colts' home victory in which Peyton Manning had to engineer yet another late-game scoring drive to overcome a furious Houston rally. After taking a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter, Indy surredered 17 unanswered points and the lead. Manning engineered an 8-play 60-yard drive midway through the fourth to go ahead and they survived with Brown's miss to keep their record pure.

Just as New England has hit the serious part of the year, so has Indy -- or what passes for it. Their early season schedule ranks as the easiest in the AFC and the Colts have treated it accordingly in racking up the wins. Nevertheless, losses have been suffered. Indianapolis will play host to New England with many of its most important players holding down the fort in the infirmary.

Veteran cornerback Kelvin Hayden is expected to miss the next 2 - 3 weeks with a sprained knee.

Cornerback Marlin Jackson is now on injured reserve after re-injuring his ACL last week in practice.

Defensive mainspring Bob Sanders has been placed on injured reserve with a torn biceps from the 49ers game.

Receiver Anthony Gonzales had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. A return date has not been specified, but it won't be next week.

These are the recent additions. Other denizens of the IR list include DB Nick Graham; OLB Tyjuan Hagler; DB Travis Key; backup TE Jamie Petrowski. Indy has been trotting out Matt Stover to kick as Vinatieri has undergone knee surgery and his return date is unknown.

WR Austin Collie left Sunday's game against the Texans with an injury.

No one playing in week 10 is at 100%, but it's worth noting that linebacker Gary Brackett and pass-rushing great Dwight Freeney have both struggled with actual hurts this year and are perhaps less fit than most other week-10 NFLers.

Of course, the obvious big hit is Sanders. Bob is an interesting conversation piece for connoisseurs of safety-play. You hear "for a player his size" a lot in those conversations, but it is undeniable that the Colts are a defense of a different character when he is on the field. Like Harrison used to do for the Patriots and like Belichick evidently hopes Seau will do now, Sanders has an electrifying effect on the Colts. Without him they are notably less dynamic.

None of this should in any way be thought to imply that the game will be easier. Peyton has his starting line intact and is making much hay with his recieving corps -- notably old friend Reggie Wayne and new toys Collie and Pierre Garcon. Oh yeah -- Dallas Clark still plays for Indianapolis, meaning Brandon McGowan has another peach of an assignment this week.

It is nice not to be the team with everyone hurt, however. A win at the Oilcan is always a slippery proposition.

Hidden Inches

JohnHannahRules — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:34:23 -0000

More photos » by Stephan Savoia - AP

New England Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski had four field goals in the win over Miami on Sunday. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

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"The inches we need are everywhere around us.
They are in ever break of the game
every minute, every second."

-- Coach Tony D'Amato, "Any Given Sunday"

The inches we need are everywhere sound bite

Every week, there are plays that waste inches and plays that scoop them up. Over the course of the game, thousands of variables collide and the outcome of the game could turn on any one of them. A holding call, an offside penalty. A broken shoelace, an angle of pursuit just a little too acute. A pass an inch too slow.

Watching the game, we see these moments go by. Sometimes you know they're big; often they fade into the background of a great win or a heartbreaking defeat.

Without question, the most prodigal of inches are penalties -- particularly mental errors that threaten to swing momentum. When your team commits a gaffe like that, the hero of the moment can be the teammate who grabs those yards back with a great individual effort. The hero of the moment may not make the cover story, but his colleagues will know the game turned on his timely work.

Despite some great individual performances by marquee players, this week's moment belongs to Stephen Gostkowski.

In the second quarter with the Patriots leading 10-3, the Dolphins uncorked their "pistol." On second and 8 from their own 22, rookie Pat White entered the game for the first time at quarterback. From a shortened shotgun set, White took the snap and raced in option formation around left end. Tully Banta-Cain, suddenly confronted with a defensive conundrum he hadn't faced since his college days, shot up field. White cut under and rambled for 33 yards.

Immediately, Patriot heads began to spin. Miami Offensive Coordinator Dan Henning, like a cagey old boxer, mixed combinations to thoroughly bamboozle New England's defense. Four plays later, White optioned right with a pitch to Ricky Williams who hit the gain line with a full head of steam and barreled into the endzone. The drive covered 80 yards in just under three minutes, and everyone with a rooting interest in the Patriots -- including the players themselves -- was experiencing a very acute and unpleasant attack of deja vu.

As Belichik huddled his defenders and began some intense sideline chalk-talk, Brady and the offense took the field with what suddenly looked like a very ordinary attack: shotgun passing and runs up the gut. In eight plays, marred by an offense pass interference call, the Pats ground down to the Dolphins 20. Gostkowski calmly drilled a field goal and the moment had arrived.

Last week in New Jersey, Ohio State product Ted Ginn, Jr. returned two kickoffs for touchdowns on runs totaling over 200 yards. Each return was a showcase of raw speed and athletic ability. The scores were the difference in the game -- which Miami won although the Jets statistically dominated. Already on Sunday he had a 37 yard return to his credit (stopped short by Gostkowski in a tackle that could itself have been the subject of this piece).

Now, with New England's defense still reeling on the sidelines and the momentum of the game very much in the balance, New England again needed to put the ball in Ginn's hands and risk the outcome. It was a brittle moment.

As the rest of the world watched, Gostkowski booted the kickoff out of the endzone for a touchback. Fan and player alike sighed with relief and began to shift attention to defense. But there was a flag on the play.

In a miscue in a line of miscues including Watson's drive-killing interference penalty, Bodden's drive-enabling defensive interference penalty and the general fugue that seemed to grip the defense, James Sanders had left too soon in pursuit. This infraction on the kickoff required a re-kick from New England's 25 yard line. Ginn and his blockers would have 75 yards to operate in, against a New England kickoff team that had been an adventure against even average return-men.

The coverage unit lined up again. Folks in the stadium tried to counter the sinking feeling in their bellies by leaning forward in their seats. Seventy yards away, Ginn wiped his hands and licked his chops: the holes were going to be there -- they had been before and they would be now. Everyone knew it. And they were probably right.

But Ginn never got his chance. Gostkowski struck through the ball and bloodlessly boomed a monster kick over ninety yards in the air and out of the back of the opposite end zone for a touchback. At a moment in the game when momentum was waiting to be grabbed, Gostkowski muckled on to it with one kick and handed it to his team.

Randy Moss would go on to have a monster day, with 6 receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown, climbing a couple of different all-time ladders in the process. But he was the first man on the sidelines to greet Gostkowski as the kicker jogged off the field. Everyone in silver and blue knew who the man of the moment was.

The defense responded by forcing a punt and the Patriots stole back the possession they had given away on an interception at the start of the game. With one second left in the half, Gostkowski came on again for a field goal and made sure that Momentum spent halftime in the home locker room.

When the story of the game gets told over the next few days, you likely won't see this play in many highlight shows. But it was the corner around which this Patriots' victory turned.

Week 9: Patriots 27 Dolphins 17, Postgame/Late Games Thread

JohnHannahRules — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:16:10 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

3 days ago: New England Patriots running back Laurence Maroney (39) runs into the end zone for a touchdown during the first quarter of their NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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Big-time divisional tilt, and the Pats performed when they had to.

Miami rolled out a couple of wrinkles to the catPhish this week, and it had an effect. A second quarter, 5 play, 80 yard touchdown drive had New England running around like a bunch of peewees, and a Joey Haynos reception from Ronnie Brown after what had been a tough goalline stand landed another 7 in the 'Phins ledger.

Pat White momentarily confused the lads, lining up at QB but running the old option (and taking a shot or two for his trouble). New England was having enough trouble setting the edge that they ultimately moved Big Vince out over stud LT Jake Long. It worked, sort of, but it didn't help the pass-rush much.

Speaking of the pass rush, it was still anemic. We can't seem to get pressure unless we bring a big-blitz. Pat Chung had one sack and one sick hit that doubtless helped Henne forget a little more of his childhood.

The Patriots, for their part, unveiled a recommitted Laurence Maroney who ran with a will and a punishing style that we've been longing to see. The line was opening holes and LOMO was finding them. Twice in the fourth quarter we started inside our 15. On the first series, Maroney and BJGE hammered us out to the 48 before we lost momentum.

That brutalizing was the key to escaping the box on the second deep-startng drive, as the 1st play was a play-action pass to Randy Moss for 17 yards that moved him into 17th all-time in career receiving yards.

Speaking of Mr. Moss, he had a couple of beautiful plays today against surprisingly game rookie corners. One was a peach of a one-hander down near the goalline -- a 37 yard reception that had us seeing 2007. The second was a no-soup-for-you special on a crossing route where he stiff-armed the defender and ran away for a 71 yard score. That TD moved Moss into 6th all-time. So a good day for Randy.

Henne made a real game of it, as his receivers dropped two catchable balls on Miami's 2nd-to-last possession (stupid penalties reared their ugly head throughout -- a glaring jump on the o-line at the end ruined what should have been a satisfying clock-killer of a drive).

All in all, an uneven day from the boys in blue. Great to see us running hard (24 for 109). The run defense was adequate considering the foe, but the defensive backfield got fooled a few times. I'm guessing Joey Porter will be blaming the officials, but I don't think he had a single tackle on the day. What's wrong J-Peezy? Nothing to say?

Key Late Games: Nuthin', really, until Pittsburgh and Denver kick off tomorrow at 8:30 (MNF).

Here's a thread for communal jibber-jabber:

GAME THREAD: New England Patriots v. Miami Dolphins, Foxboro, MA, Sunday November 8, 2009, 1:00pm

JohnHannahRules — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:47:14 -0000

It's a balmy 66 degrees and sunny at Gillette Stadium today, as your 5-2 New England Patriots prepare to host the 3-4 Miami Dolphins, a fierce intra-division rival who is playing better than its record. Beer is cold, crowd is hot.

Let's have at it: Go Pats!

Sunday Fish Fry Part 2: Man the Longboats! Patriots offense v. Dolphin D

JohnHannahRules — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:11:33 -0000

More photos » by Matt Dunham - AP

New England Patriots tight end Benjamin Watson (84), left, crosses to score a touchdown game at Wembley. Pats' tight ends could play a key offense role against the Dolphins this week. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

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The Dolphins will let you score. Well, they won't let you, but teams do seem to rack up the points on Miami. Even teams with rookie quarterbacks who ultimately lose. Miami allows just over 25 points per game, good enough for 23rd league wide and a tie with Jacksonville.

Their D ranks 18th overall when adjusted for strength of schedule. Not horrid, I guess, but not scintillating either. Since playing Buffalo, the Phins have surrendered 27, 46 and 30 points (Jest, Saints, Jest). But the question tonight isn't "how good is Miami generally," but rather "How good will Miami be against New England?" On paper, at least, the answer is "not good."

According to Football Outsiders, Miami has the worst pass defense in the league against Tight Ends. They're quite good against other receivers, but simply cannot seem to locate that skinny-looking lineman when he runs out for a pass. On a per game basis, they allow almost seventy yards receiving to the TE. That's a lot.

Sticking for the moment with FO's system, New England has one of the best tight ends in the league right now and two in the top 30. Ben Watson ranks 6th overall in his value over a replacement player. His per play value over an average player ranks him first in the league. While Chris Baker doesn't rank as high as Watson overall, both players suffer in the rankings somewhat because they aren't used all that often. Expect that to change on Sunday. Note, however, that Watson is listed as questionable.)

For the first time in its history, Miami is now starting three rookies in its defensive backfield. Young cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Sean Smith have been thrown into the fire this year, and have been described by Coach Tony Sparano as forgetful youngsters. In other words, they're cocky SOB's who remember their successes and instantly forget their mistakes. Perfect CB material, but young is young.

At the safety position Miami entered the season with maturity, and could have felt about as good as any team about the two rangers. Yeremiah Bell and Gibril Wilson were expected to be steadying hands on the tiller. The high-priced Wilson struggled, however, and Sparano boldly elevated rookie Chris Clemons against the Jest, the same week Davis got the full time nod due to WIll Allen's season-ending injury.

The upshot? Mark Sanchez went 20 of 35 for 265 yards. Ouch. Still, as the Phaithful will quickly remind you, they won. (Thanks, boys.) Although Smith was drafted to handle the tall guys, Cotchery torched him and now he gets Moss. There's no one in the league who can cover Welker.

Why they won is mostly to do with special teams (about which more briefly). But let's not rush to phase three. Our running game is average; their run D is average. (Though FO ranks our run game a defense-adjusted seventh, so it's more effective than given credit for.) But like I said in Part I, running isn't going to be the whole story and when Miami is on defense it isn't going to be half of the story. Injuries are why.

Nosetackle Jason Ferguson and old friend Channing Crowder are both listed as questionable for the game. Coach Sparano states confidence in Crowder's replacement, Reggie Torbor, but NT understudy Paul Soliai would be making his first start. (Bonus: Joey Porter still tender in the hamstringal region.) But those aren't the injuries I'm most interested in.

I know Matt Light doesn't have many fans anymore. But no one does very well against Jason Taylor, which is a left-handed way of saying Light does as well as anyone. Light will sit with a bum knee and rookie Sebastian Vollmer will get his second start. He did pretty well in his first shot of big playing time against Tennessee, but struggled against an underwhelming Tampa Bay from time to time. On Sunday he'll confront the toughest competition he's ever faced.

How he performs may well determine the outcome of the game. Just as safety play by the Patriots will key the defense, I think that our offensive success rides on how well Vollmer handles Taylor -- or fails to. Miami has been very frank about the need to get pressure on Tom. Indeed, it's the only way they'll likely accumulate enough of an edge to win (more, again, below). Expect them to bring the house.

Finally, the "more." The Jets dominated the game in every category last week, yet still came up short. Key plays by the defense were a big reason -- including one from JT -- but the numerical advantage came on the feet of Ted Ginn. The Patriots absolutely must contain him in the return game. If things are going well, GInn is going to get the ball a lot. New England can not afford to let him do a lot with it.

That's all I've got time for and I'm sorry. Blogging from the road isn't a joy, but I'll be back in time to watch the game tomorrow. Add your own analysis in the comments and thanks to you all for helping Marima and me keep the place warm for MaPatsFan. Family issues are front and center for him right now, so let's all hold him warmly in our thoughts. I'm sure we'll have him back before long.

Enjoy the balance of your weekend -- see you at Game Time!

Sunday Fish Fry, Part I: This Chowda not "Dolphin Safe," but pulling in the nets no easy task

JohnHannahRules — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:55:38 -0000

More photos » by Stephan Savoia - AP

New England Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather (31) with a pick-6 in London two weeks ago. Disciplined play from the safety position will be a key this week against Miami Dolphins. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

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Well friends, we're in it now. With the bye week in our rear-view, the true meat of the schedule is here. In what promises to be an absolutely brutal five week stretch, New England will face, in order: Dolphins, Colts, Jets, Saints and Dolphins. If that doesn't look like a sphincter-clenching run through the briar patch of the AFC, then you must know something about football that I don't. Or you're clueless and at this point I'm prepared to go with that. Other than the Steelers, the Pats will have played the class of the Conference by the time all is said and done, plus the best the NFC has to offer. Right now, we're 1-1 against better teams, with a squeaker over Baltimore and an overtime heart-breaker at Mile High (I hate playing in Denver).

High School, college or pro, the best teams discipline themselves to focus on only the next game. It is for the fan to agonize and prognosticate over what the future holds. But that's all part of the fun and the media are more than happy to help us along. Below the fold, I've swiped wholesale Tim Graham's first half/second half graph, analyzing the relative strength of schedules for the AFC East. Under the heading of "it figures," the 'Phins have the easiest road the playoffs. The hardest row to hoe belongs to your New England Patriots.

Take a gander, but this week we face the first game of our annual series against Miami. Since that's what's on the menu, let's get out our tartar sauce and lobster bibs and look at how to catch some Phish. Part I is a look at the Dolphins on offense and some of the challenges they pose.

(Note: Part I may also be the only part I get to, as I need to be on the road this weekend. But if it isn't, I'll be taking a look at the Miami defense in Part II.)

AFC strength of schedule: Weeks 9 through 17
Team	Opp. record	Opp. win pct.
New England Patriots	38-28	.576
Indianapolis Colts	38-29	.567
Kansas City Chiefs	35-31	.530
New York Jets	30-27	.526
Baltimore Ravens	34-31	.523
Houston Texans	29-28	.509
Oakland Raiders	29-28	.509
Denver Broncos	32-33	.492
Buffalo Bills	28-29	.491
Tennessee Titans	32-34	.485
Jacksonville Jaguars	32-25	.478
San Diego Chargers	31-34	.477
Pittsburgh Steelers	30-35	.462
Miami Dolphins	30-35	.462
Cleveland Browns	25-32	.439
Cincinnati Bengals	29-38	.433
AFC strength of schedule: Weeks 1 through 8
Team	Opp. record	Opp. win pct.
Cleveland Browns	38-20	.655
Miami Dolphins	33-19	.635
Tennessee Titans	32-19	.627
Oakland Raiders	34-25	.576
Cincinnati Bengals	29-22	.569
Baltimore Ravens	29-22	.569
Kansas City Chiefs	27-24	.529
Denver Broncos	26-25	.510
New York Jets	29-30	.492
Buffalo Bills	28-31	.475
San Diego Chargers	23-28	.451
Pittsburgh Steelers	23-28	.451
New England Patriots	22-29	.431
Houston Texans	25-34	.424
Jacksonville Jaguars	21-30	.411
Indianapolis Colts	17-33	.340

The two-headed monster: Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Coming out of Auburn, Ronnie Brown weighs 230 pounds. He's not slow, he doesn't shy away from contact and he's smart with the football. That's a good thing, because in the catPhish offense, he's the guy that makes ballhandling decisions. He'll throw, too. He's only 1 of 4 this year, but that one went for over 20 yards.

Unlike a team might do if it were running the 'cat as a gimmick, Miami will frequently pull quarterback Henne off the field altogether, rather than splitting him out wide. They do this for a couple of reasons: first, it discourages the corner blitz -- a quick way to stuff up the 'cat if you're asking a QB to get in the way. Second, because they trust Brown to throw the occasional pass, defenses can't load up against the run. They have to honor the pass at least a little bit.

That puts Brown on the field with Ricky Williams along with a full compliment of blockers.

The attraction of the single wing for most amateur teams that run it is the misdirection piece. It lets you move the ball effectively against bigger or faster defenses by using their superior ability against them. You can line up with a smaller line, or slower backs, and still grind out yards by getting defenders to chase players instead of staying home and playing their assignments. That's one way it works.

The other way it works is by taking that misdirection piece and complimenting it by smashing you in the mouth at the same time. That's what Miami does. As Vince Wilfork said, "They're not trying to trick you. They're going to try to run the ball." Their two-fisted, body-blow approach to running the ball is balanced with the much-maligned Ricky Williams.

I will say straight out: I am a fan of Ricky's. There are two reasons for this: First, when it came about that Ricky likes the reefer, the cry that went up condemning him was so loud and so strident that you'd have thought that he beat his girlfriend. Or obstructed a murder investigation. Or broke a teammate's jaw. Except all that he did was a) smoke weed and b) admit that maybe football isn't the most important thing in the world. In fact, it might not even be the most important thing in Ricky's world. Second, Ricky fought with and overcame social anxiety disorder, in public. So anything he does in the way of paying back the 'Phins on his contract, rehabilitating his image, or being a success, I'm willing to celebrate.

via blogs.philadelphiaweekly.com

Plus, he brings the wood. Ricky is averaging 5.4 yards per carry right now, more than he ever has. He's also catching the ball, with 15 receptions for an average of 12.3 yards per catch. As Belichick said, "I think either one of those backs could be the back for anybody." The Jets, the Saints and the 'Phins are the only teams that run more than they throw. They aren't fooling around.

The obvious implication is that you have to stop the run. At times, the Jets and the Saints had eight men in the box to do that. Can the Patriots follow suit, and will that work?

Phlying Phish: We all know Chad Henne is young. He's starting at least a year ahead of schedule, and he's struggling a little bit. But one thing that he has which Chad Pennington does not is a cannon. Henne can air it out if he gets the chance. We know our pass rush has been anemic, and we know that Miami has a good offensive line. Who is catching Henne's passes?

The Patriots match up well, in my opinion, against the Dolphins pass-catchers. The Dolphins' two leading receivers are Davone Bess and Greg Camarillo, with Ted Ginn Jr. in the number three slot. Ginn's troubles with route running and catching (you know, the two things receivers do) have been mentioned before. He's probably the most explosive return man in the East, though. Bess has had similar trouble of late, with two fumbles and a dropped ball in the last two games. Still, if Henne has a go-to wideout, it's probably Bess.

Don't sleep on Brian Hartline. He's only got 10 catches, but they've gone for 157 yards -- highest average on the team. He's the kind of gut-punch white slot receiver that always seems to kill us (see, Stokley, Brandon).

Patriot Pride: Defense used to be the name of the game in New England, forget what you heard from the press. During the second Super Bowl Run in 2003, New England enjoyed one of the finest defenses to play the modern game. That unit grew old as the offense matured and later days have seen lots of fireworks, but no championships. I believe the defensive side of the ball is on the way back.

There has been an enduring impression, created over the past few years, that the Patriots defensive backfield is weak. That is no longer true. I expect to see Brandon McGowan playing close to the line -- perhaps getting a "shadow Ricky" assignment -- in his key run support role. The Patriots will rotate corners through according to matchups, down and distance, and who seems to have the hot hand. I'm going to predict that UConn's own Darius Butler pulls down another pick and that Brandon Meriweather does at least one thing that blows your mind (in a good way).

That leaves the front of the house, and what is still something of a soft underbelly. I hope that someone shows that to the fellas, 'cause they're going to have to man up this week. If you grew up watching the Dolphins of Dan Marino, as I did, you'll remember a team with a questionable running attack and an erratic defense. Well, this is not your father's Miami Dolphins. These guys aren't going to carry the fight with the pass -- they want to run it down your throat.

The Patriots have been good against the run, but only when they're concentrating. The front 7 have yet to put together a complete game in that way, and every team we've played has seemingly had at least one drive where they ran through, over and around our guys. We can't have that this week, which makes it an even tougher time to lose Jarvis Green. Pryor, Wright and probably Brace are going to have to step up and match Wilfork and Warren.

I'm not worried about Mayo, but I am worried a bit about our outside linebackers. There isn't one among the five of them (Banta-Cain, Burgess, Ninkovich, Thomas and Woods) who hasn't had some trouble setting the edge this season. I think Ninkovich and Banta-Cain have been the most consistent in that regard, but maybe this is finally Thomas's week to show us the real deal. I hope so, because you don't want to see Ricky Williams get into the flat.

Special Note: Tyler Thigpen can throw and run, and Pat White can run and throw. If you're looking for the Dolphins to launch a surprise on the league by slashing the Pats like they did last year, I'd look for more passing out of the catPhish. White could be dangerous on some of Williams' sweep-style plays, particularly if he pulls up and chucks it. Vice versa for Thigpen out of Brown's customary slot. He's not averse to running outside the tackle.

Overall, I think this game will come down to our safeties. The Dolphins are going to break off their share of runs. The key will be to limit big plays and that goes to discipline in the middle of the secondary. Run-force is a critical role for the secondary as a whole, but a misdirection running attack is a great opening act for play-action passing. If Meriweather and McGowan can keep everybody on the same page while making their own correct reads, the Dolphins will eventually screw up. You can't win it all with a run game -- since the invention of the forward pass, no one has. Dan Henning has shown that he won't stick with it anyway, even if it's working. If our safeties have solid outings, we'll be able to keep the score down.

Then it will be up to our offense to hang up some points.

(For the record, I hadn't yet read Bruschi's Breakdown when I wrote this up. In it, he tips safety play as a key.)

Cole: Why are there so many bad teams around the league this year? Belichick: Here’s the only t...

JohnHannahRules — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:33:19 -0000

Cole: Why are there so many bad teams around the league this year?

Belichick: Here’s the only thing I’ll say: I think to have a really good team in this league, you have to make a lot, a lot of good decisions. You have to have a lot of good people, players, coaches, whatever. You need a lot of those. Conversely, to not be competitive, you would have to have a lot of bad decisions. One bad decision is not going to do it, one bad player is not going to do it, one bad coach is not going to do it. You’re going to have to collectively, over a cumulative period of time, make a long series of bad decisions and accumulate a lot of players who are substandard for their position. There have to be a multitude of things that go wrong.

Cole: Because you can keep yourself average for a long time?

Belichick: That’s the system. If you don’t have good players, you have money to spend on players. If you have a bunch of good players, you eventually run out of money and you can’t keep them all and somebody else gets them. That’s the system, it keeps everybody average. We’ve seen teams be really good just on coaching. We’ve seen teams be competitive with just a few good players.

Q&A with the Hoodie. An excellent interview with Yahoo!'s Jason Cole, the kind of peek under the hoodie that makes you hope he writes it all down at some point.

The media are going to focus on the juice, things in here like "everybody is available at the right price." But even the context of that quote reveals the complexity of managing a roster. Comedic.sans had some excellent points about this in comments the other day, and they were borne out perfectly in the quote above.

There's more -- what makes a quarterback, what makes a team, competition, priorities. It's a jam-packed quick-shot -- go forth and read it.

Mad props to bforce3, whose fanshot scooped this and I failed to see it. Well done, Pulpiteer.