I make it a point to take in at least one game a year, making the trek to Mecca, aka: Foxborough, MA.  I don’t think I could ever be a season ticket holder, not only due to the expense but the sheer amount of work it takes to get to a game.  My hat is truly tipped to those who have the dedication.

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I like Fireman Ed.  While he represents a team whose laundry I despise, I can appreciate a passionate, dedicated fan.  Unfortunately, Fireman Ed and his fellow fans are going to have long trip back home.  The New York Jets will lose today for a very simple reason: they’re not as good as the Patriots.

The 45-3 smackdown was a thing of beauty, something every New England fan cherished watching.  And for all the whining Jets players did about "running up the score", they secretly were embarrassed.  Yes, they want revenge, but if they think today's game will look anything like that game, they are sadly mistaken.  Belichick's had 2 weeks to cook up a gameplan that looks totally different or, better yet, looks the same but is totally different.  Ryan and his boys are simply not smart enough to contain it.

Every Given Sunday, I know, but the probability of a win is more in our favor than New York's.  Why?  We've gotten better since Week 2.  The offense is ridiculous.  Helmed by Tom Brady, they are literally firing on all cylinders.  Our lowly ranked defense has gotten better, too.  They're not the same defense as we saw in Week 2.  The Jets haven't gotten better.  Period.

The Jets' win against Indy was blind luck.  Sanchez looked awful.  If any Jets fan thinks otherwise, they're in denial.  He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.  If it wasn't for a very porous Colts defense, Ryan would be watching the playoffs from his "double wide" barko lounger.  Instead, he's coming to Foxborough, MA where all his bluster and smack talk do very little to help him on the gridiron.

Ryan may be an exceptional defensive mind, but there are simply too many weapons for him to defend against.  Bart Scott, with his "stupid is as stupid does" threat against Wes Welker has made sure the referees will be all over this one, so his D has lost a little mojo, in my estimation.  And Cromartie, well we don't need to go there.  Brady won't intentionally risk the gameplan to target Cromartie, but if he has a chance, he'll toast him.  And it'll be obvious to millions what a dipstick Cromartie is.

But the Patriots will win for one simple reason: they'll make fewer mistakes.  They haven't fumbled the ball since, what, Nixon was president and Brady is simply not throwing interceptions.  In addition, if New York makes a mistake, New England will capitalize.  There's nothing like marching down the field, having the ball ripped from your hands, and watching helplessly as the other team drives for a score.  That's why the Patriots will win.

Fireman Ed will have a long ride home.

"You know how I feel about stats," Belichick said. "Stats are for losers. The final score is for winners."

This now famous Bill Belichick quote, right after Randy Moss was accused of "mailing it in" after a 20-10 win against the Panthers on December 13th, 2009, has always resonated with me, in particular because I don't believe it to be entirely true.  Well, the stats are for losers part, anyway.  Of COURSE final score is for winners.  Anyway...

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I must admit, I always hesitate to talk about an MVP award with 25% of the season left.  In fact, I always bristled when other teams' fans would do so.  However, I think it's safe to say that Tom Brady is the #1 candidate for the NFL's Most Valuable Player award for 2010.

After the jump for my reasons.

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If you’re living under a rock, you may not know that Randy Moss has been waived by the Minnesota Vikings.  There could be any number of reasons why.  It could be his rambling love fest for the New England Patriots after his new team was just slapped by our boys.  Richard Hill did a very nice job of running down the skinny on this whole debacle, so I won’t rehash too much.  While Richard states, "Would I like to see Moss back in a Patriots' uniform? I wouldn't complain", I WOULD complain.  And loudly.  Here’s why.

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Sunday, I made my annual pilgrimage to mecca for New England football fans: Gillette Stadium in lovely Foxborough, MA.  Unlike our links guru, Marima, most of us live more than a stone's throw from this place of football worship.  In my case, about an hour and 30 minutes.  That's a little closer than Comedic.Sans, but far enough to make it a micro roadtrip.

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Dear friends,

By now, you've noticed a severe drop off in my story writing and participation on this blog.  It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to step down as head writer of Pats Pulpit.  It was, at the same time, an incredibly difficult decision and an incredibly easy one.

After MPF Sr. passed in November, 2009, my Mum has required almost constant care and attention.  The unfortunate reality is that the world doesn't stop, not for one second.  Simple, daily tasks became monumentally difficult and she just couldn't keep pace.  It was her children's turn to step in and help her; she did raise us, after all.  This was the easy part of the decision.  A son's duty.  It's that simple.  Combine family duties with a promotion at work and time has become a scarce commodity.

Now the difficult part.

I believe this to be a very cool community, one where knowledge, passion, and respect are required and practiced every day.  The writing, from not only co-writers but commentors, is second to none.  It's news worthy, but loaded with fan perspective - exactly what you want on a fan run site.  I have written many times that my stories were just the beginning, that the thoughts and comments you add to the story turn it into a living document, one with an ebb and flow if you will.  I always learn a great deal from your writings, a great deal.  I was never the sole authority, only the catalyst.  YOU made the story great.  I will miss this thing we've created.

Over the last 2 years, I have had the pleasure of writing and collaborating with many smart, passionate fans.  Outside of Pats Pulpit: Brian Galliford from Buffalo Rumblings, Matty I from The Phinsider, and John B from Gang Green Nation - my AFC East buds.  Spot on ya, guys.  From Stampede Blue, BigBlueShoe has been an enormous help.  We may be rival fans with vastly different styles and viewpoints, but we've always had a common goal.  Thank you.

No one can do this alone.  I've been lucky to have a number of co-writers to help balance out the stories and provide alternate viewpoints, the part I truly cherish.  NESilver (aka: KCGold) was a great ambassador and writer.  SlotMachinePlayer, along with his insane level of participation, took on Moderator duties (carrying the water, as JHR would say) as well as comic relief with "Steal This Thread" and "The Caption Contest".  Comedic.Sans, for a guy who lives soooooo far from the States, has one of the biggest football IQ's I know of, even if he spells funny. ;-)  Richard Hill is churning out an amazing amount of draft info and is a fine stats guru to boot; a big thanks for steering the ship these past several weeks.  JohnHannahRules has always been the gold standard of writing, a lost craft these days.  I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for stepping in when I needed it the most.  I hope to see you in print, my man!!  And Marima.  How could I ever thank her for all the participation and the tireless work she does, day in and day out, creating one of the finest links posts on this network, and the only Pulpiteer I've met!  I've been very lucky indeed to share the stage with such talent.

I won't be going away, just handing over the reins to a new head writer.  I hope to pop in, now and again, like visiting the first house I bought; those visits always make me smile.  This has been an enormously rewarding journey, one I count myself lucky for having undertaken.

Who knows, you may see me at training camp.  Any guesses as to what number I'll be wearing?

Happy Easter to everyone!  I hope you all have a chance to enjoy it with family and friends.  My Greek friend said she's been cooking for days and will have 50 people at her house.  Yes, she has help, but tells me she loves it because everyone's happy, loud, and having a good time.

A special shout out to our military men and women serving in harm's way.  Please come home safe.

Some pretty exciting news for us here at Pats Pulpit!  The good folks at Comcast have decided to sponsor this here blog for the rest of the regular season.  They've come to PP and many of the other NFL blogs on the network to help them get the word out about their new Red Zone Channel.  They obviously know that the best way to get to the best and most hardcore football fans in America is to go through the SBNation family of websites, and this site is no exception.  The fact that companies like this are coming to PP and to SBNation in general speaks volumes about how much the site and the community have grown over the course of the past couple of years, not to mention the power you, the members of sites like this, yield.

The concept behind the NFL Red Zone channel is pretty amazing stuff.  Whenever a team gets inside the 20-yard line, the channel will switch to that game, which will allow you to see basically every touchdown from every game.  If you don't want to shell out the money for the dish and pay for the NFL package, the Red Zone Channel was made for folks like you, particularly if you're outside of Boston's primary market as many of us are.

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As much as I'd like to drink the coolaid on a consistent basis, as much as I'd like to follow in lock step with Hoodie and the Front Office,  I can't right now.  Yes, I know we still have the draft and there's plenty of time for trades and movement and heaven knows what else.  But that's not making me feel warm and fuzzy right now.  Right now, I'm concerned.

This year, a number of teams turned their free agents into exclusive rights free agents by slapping tenders on them.  A tender is essentially an offer of contract, but ERFAs are, in essence, loaded with poison pills.  A tender is not as severe as franchising a player, but it can be close.  There are different levels of tender for RFAs, the ones at the top being expensive for an interested team.  Take, for example, G Logan Mankins' tender:

The Patriots [team stats] made it a near certainty their most pivotal restricted free agent will stay in their uniform, but they left the door open with two others.

Guard Logan Mankins [stats] was extended the highest RFA tender, ensuring any team wanting to pry the two-time Pro Bowler from the Patriots would have to give up first- and third-round draft picks.

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There aren't too many guys Hoodie gets nostalgic about.  In fact, there's very few: Tom Brady, Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, Troy Brown and we could probably add Kevin Faulk to that list after today.  Ian Rapoport reports the numbers:

It’s a one-year deal, which we knew, with the potential to earn $3 million. Faulk gets a signing bonus of $1 million, a salary of $1 million, and the chance to earn $1 million in incentives.

For a guy who will hit 34 in training camp, that's not a bad deal.  There were offers from the Redskins and Eagles, but did anyone really think "Mr. Third Down" would leave us for another team?  One of the most beloved Patriots, even by rivals, could never walk away from this team.  Never.  After 11 seasons, Faulk even pre-dates Belichick.  No, there's no way he was going to another team.

This was a nod of respect to one of the most respected players on the team.  A one year deal like this is usually reserved for a player who's going to retire after that year.  I think this is what will happen with Kevin.  Finish his 12th season in the NFL, and as a Patriot, while he's still on top.  This is a good deal for Kevin, the team, and us fans.  We get to watch Mr. Third Down for one more season.

Every time he runs or grabs an option, I'll pay that much more attention.  It could be the last time I see him do that.

I love this picture, I really do.  Taken after one of Benjamin Watson's touchdowns in the 2009 MNF season opener against the Buffalo Bills, the photographer captured the pure joy of a man who was "that close" to being cut from the team.  404 yards, 29 receptions, 13.9 YPC and 5 TDs on a team that doesn't really utilize tight ends for their reception abilities.  Not too shabby.  Benjamin, if 2009 was your last season as a Patriot, thanks for all the great memories.  You've been good to us.

If Watson does end up heading for the door, what happens now?  Chris Baker was cut, leaving Robbie Agnone and Rob Myers to fill the void (yeah, I had to look it up too, both FA-09 acquisitions from other teams who had cut them - not promising).  Sure, this team doesn't necessarily value big men with big hands, but this has got me a little nervous.  Have they got there eyes on some FA's?  Maybe they saw someone at the combine that could be a good draft candidate.  Who knows.

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It's clear the Patriots have made some good moves over the past few days.  Cleaning up some of their looming contract issues with key players was critical the health of the organization.  But with the myriad of free agents floating around out there, did they miss out on some talent that could've put us ahead of the pack?

Signing Vince Wilfork was huge, absolutely huge.  There is no question in my mind that this was THE BIGGEST issue for us to resolve.  The Big Man got a BIG payday: $18 million signing bonus, $40 million over 5 years with $25 million guaranteed.  He is now the highest paid NT in the business and it's well deserved.  And with half the teams in the NFL utilizing the 3-4 defensive scheme, tying up the best in the business was smart business on Kraft's part.

Tully Banta-Cain was another high profile signing.  A $6 million signing bonus and $19 million over 3 years if he hits his incentives makes him a wealthy man, too.  Tully came back to a one year "put up of shut up" deal in 2009 and proved himself.  He deserves to be paid.

And, as Mike Reiss reports, G Stephen Neal re-signed with a 2 year deal.  Now, all of the starting offensive linemen and their backups are on board.  Good.  But there's still a couple of looming issues out there.

Stephen Gostkowski, Logan Mankins, and Pierre Woods have tenders to varying degrees, but are not locks on the team.  Do we really need to go looking for another kicker?  But, the most imported free agent issue to solve, at least to this blogger, is CB Leigh Bodden.

Bodden, like Banta-Cain, inked a one year "let me show you something" deal.  And he DID show us something.  A far cry from what the multi-year Shawn Springs offered, Bodden is now getting his feet wet in free agency with Houston, Pittsburgh, and Seattle showing significant interest according to his agent.

Jarvis Green is garnering interest on the open market, a market where defensive ends are being snapped up right quick.  If they Patriots don't do something quick, they'll have made good signings with Wilfork and Banta-Cain only to have the defense slide back a bit without veteran Green.

As the Globe's Albert Breer points out, there are a few other things to tidy up but all of this is just keeping our head above water, putting our thumb in the dike.  Where's the high profile additions?  Why couldn't we scoop wideout Anquan Boldin?  A 3 year $25 million deal with $10 million doesn't sound that expensive to me and the Ravens jumped at the chance.  Boldin could've really stretched the field with Randy Moss.  Julius Peppers?  Way, WAY too expensive; his 6 year deal was over the top and we were right to let him go.

The Patriots haven't gotten better, just shored up what they already had.  And they're not done yet.  Are we really going to rely on the draft for success in 2010 or is Kraft, Inc. thinking more long term?  Do they have a few more things up their sleaves?

The plot thickens...

Like I've said numerous times before, Bill Belichick is much smarter than I am when it comes to football.  In fact, a lot of people are much smarter than me about football (co-writers on this site), but that's beside the point.  Hoodie is Yoda and I'm, well, a slug at the bottom of his shoe.  As masterful as he is, I still don't subscribe to the "In Bill We Trust" mantra.  There are some things that give me pause.  Like some of the recent player moves.

Logan Mankins: Tendered with a first and third rounder, Hoodie decided to protect a productive guard with the most expensive tender option available.

Stephen Gostkowski:  This one I get.  Assigning a second round tender makes our kicker that much less appealing on the open market.  "G Man" has been good for us.  Maybe he's not in the top 5 (ranked 19th in FG percentage and 10th in touchbacks), but Stephen has been solid for us.  Good move.

Pierre Woods: Woods was tendered at a very low level and could be easily scooped up by another team.  Tied for special teams tackles, what kind of message does this send to a versatile backup and ST resource?  I'm really not sure what Hoodie was thinking here.

Leigh Bodden: Sign.Leigh.Bodden.  Right now, the Patriots' most productive CB is playing the field and looking to see what he's worth.  Why, on earth, is Belichick letting him roam around?  Corner is a position we've struggled with for the past 2 seasons and letting our (arguably) best corner hit the bricks is mystifying to me.  Hoodie needs to lock this guy up.

Tully Banta-Cain: This is a feel good story if there ever was one.  TBC leaves the Patriots for a few years, comes back and turns out to be one of our most productive pass rushers.  With a $6 million signing bonus and $19 million over 3 years if he hits all of his incentives, I can only be happy for him.  He signed a 1 year "put up or shut up" deal, proved his worth, and is now being rewarded.  Congrats, Tully!

Julius Peppers: Rumor is we're going after the 4-3 DE and have made an offer.  If that's the case, I'm feeling better about our pass rush.  With TBC and Peppers, we could be getting closer to a dominant defense.  Oh, and Adalius Thomas might as well continue making barbeque sauce.  Or maybe he'll reunite with his former Ravens defensive coordinator, Jabba the Rex.

Gary Guyton: Solid move to tender him.  Guyton is a hard working kid who is ready when called on.  He was productive when Jerod Mayo was sidelined in the MNF opener against the Bills and has all the qualities and traits of a Belichick coached player.

Who did I miss?  Do you agree or am I talking smack?

It's cool when a rookie gets some love.  It's also very cool when said rookie can step in and take over one of the toughest offensive line positions: that of protecting the quarterback's blind side.  Matt Light, our "Mr. Reliable" at left tackle, had to soak in the whirlpool for a few games in 2009, so who did they call?  A 6-8 315 lb German named Sebastian Vollmer.  Here Vollmer, take over Matt Light's job and, by the way, you need to do it during one of the biggest regular season games, against the Colts, in Indy.

Sure, Sebastian had a little help with Dwight Freeney due to some very creative chip-and-runs by our wide receivers, but the young lad did a standup job of holding his own.  So standup that he ranked 5th in "Pass Blocking Productivity" among the Top 10 Left Tackles according, to ProFootballFocus.com, a stats website.

Vollmer's a steal at $310,000 compared to Matt Light at $4,250,000 and Sea Bass is tied up until 2012 while Light's contract expires after the 2010 season.  Considering how well Vollmer did and that he's insanely cheap, Matt Light has lost a bit of negotiating power.  I'm a diehard fan and very respectful of everything Light has done for this franchise, but bidness is bidness.

Some may call Colts President Bill Polian a master of team structuring and player acquisition.  It's hard to argue that given the success Indy has had over the years.  Some may call Bill Polian outspoken.  On his weekly radio show, he's not afraid to tell it like it is, with little regard for filtering his comments.

I simply call Bill Polian a putz.

The man's a highly placed FO guy in a winning franchise and he hasn't learned the golden rule: praise in public, punish in private.  Center Jeff Saturday is livid and he has every right to be.  While my "fan hate" is applied to Jeff and all his teammates, I still have a lot of respect for the man and what he's accomplished; that won't change simply because he doesn't wear my favorite laundry.

Post Super Bowl loss, Bill Polian firmly ensconced his star of fame on Putz Blvd. when he threw his offensive line under the bus:

Polian: "The offensive line, by our standards, did not have a good game. They were outplayed by the Saints' defensive line, I thought, pretty decisively."

Saturday's response:

Head to the 49-second mark here to hear Saturday’s review of Polian’s post-Super Bowl comments indicating the offensive line and special teams were the root causes of New Orleans' Super Bowl XLIV upset of the Colts.

"Hopefully he’ll go back and watch the film and tell us what he wants us to do better or that will come through [Jim] Caldwell," Saturday said.

Billy boy violated that cardinal rule mentioned above and to elaborate a bit, "Don't air your differences out in the media.  Don't let anyone in the organization find something out via that mechanism.  Have some respect for them and tell them to their face."

Contrary to what Polian says, the Colts were outplayed, outcoached, and out everything-ed during that game.  Sean Payton and his staff totally out manuevered the Colts.  It's typical of the loser to say, "they didn't win the game so much as we lost it."  Bullcrap.  Man up and get some sack.  Hoodie did when the Saints hammered our Patriots:

"(The Saints) do what they do," he said. "They were the better team; that was obvious. I talked about it all week; they're a very good football team. There's a reason they're 10-0, now 11-0. Tonight they were better coached, they played better. That's really all there was to it. They just did everything better than we did."

Yup, not a good way to endear yourself to your players, airing out your dirty laundry in the media.  Welcome to Putzville, Bill.  Here's your scepter and a plastic crown from Walmart.  Big surprise, it seems to fit pretty well.

I'll admit to a little Search Engine Optimization (SEO) craftiness with this title.  It appears that if I put mock and draft in the title, thousands of web hits will ensue.  We've hashed this over for weeks now and y'all have been great with your predictions, prognostications, and educated guesses (I think all those mean the same, but might as well cover all bases).

At any rate, it's this blogger's opinion, as it was last season, that we desperately need a pass rusher.  Remember the good old days when Mike "Mr. Everyting" Vrabel was in everyone's face?  It's also this blogger's opinion that it'll be tougher than usual to get the guy we want.  Why?  Approximately 50% of the league is now utilizing a 3-4 defensive scheme, says Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio:

One of the reasons those ideals are so hard to find these days — no matter the body type — is that more and more teams are playing a 3-4 defense these days. Caserio estimated that "half the league is employing some 3-4 type of configuration."

"It is becoming more challenging," he said, "because there are more teams that are essentially looking at the same pool of players, so it kind of limits your opportunities, because you realize you’re really competing really with the rest of the league on that front."

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I've always hated the NFL's overtime rules.  I won't go through every rule except for the most inane one: the first team to score wins.  There is little competition involved; it simply promotes marching down the field, getting in field goal range, and splitting the uprights.  There's no duking it out on the field, similar to regulation (it's always mystified me why the NFL didn't pattern their overtime after regulation).

When the Competition Committee meets this March 21-24, one of the items on the table is a rules change to overtime, initially during just playoff games.  The cynic in me has a few reasons why, but I'll leave that for later.  The proposed rules changes, as reported by ESPN, would be:

Under the new format, both teams would get the ball at least once unless the first team to get the ball scores a touchdown, Greg Aiello said. If the first team to get the ball makes a field goal and the other team ties the game, action would continue until a team scores again.

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It's no secret that one of my favorite non-Patriot tight ends is the Colts' Dallas Clark.  At 6-3 252lbs, Clark is setting the standard for hybrid TE/WR guys in the NFL, much like Wes Welker is setting the standard for quick, underneath slot guys.  The days of the huge, lumbering, bull rush tight ends are numbered.  Sure, you need a guy big enough to clear the way for running backs, but in the pass happy era we're in, more and more teams may look to tight ends to give QBs target options.  And they're usually cheaper than WRs.

Clark has the quickness of a WR, but possesses enough size to get busy when he needs to.  Such is the case with the current crop of ends at the combine.  Many of the top guys are in the 6-4 range and sitting at 240lbs.  And they're FAST.  I've been watching the combine, tight end 40's in particular, and these guys can move.  As an example, Dorin Dickerson just clocked a 4.4 40 yard dash.  At 6-1 222lbs he is lighter than most tight ends, but who cares.  Again, this is a pass happy league and speed and good hands may be worth more than an ability to push defensive lineman around.

With the Patriots receiver ranks looking very thin right now, do we go after more wide receivers in the draft or FA market?  Should we look for a young, fast tight end to draft?  Should we just leave well enough alone, feeling like everything is ok?

Every year at this time, NFL prospects descend on Lucas Oil Stadium in what could be called the largest job fair in the sporting world.  This is like speed dating, only you're talking to prospective teams about your future.  There's not only a physical aspect to it (a number of different drills we'll get to in a minute), but there's an interview process.  In 15 minutes, a team has to judge whether or not this prospect deserves a second look.

There's always a lot of buzz around this time.  Frankly, I think it's because everyone's desperate for SOMETHING NFL related, even if they're getting a hamburger instead of a filet.  At any rate, prospects run, jump, shuttle, throw, catch, and run all sorts of drills supposedly designed to give a team's scouting department some information about the player's abilities.  But some slip through the cracks.  For example, DE Vernon Gohlston impressed the hell out of coaches and front office stuff when he attended the 2008 combine.  He's been largely a bust for the Jets.  On the flipside, Wes Welker wasn't even invited to the combine and he turned out to be the best slot/underneath receiver in the game.

More after the jump...

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I'm heartbroken, almost sick to my stomach.  How can Mosi be dead?  It just doesn't seem real to me.  Mosi Tatupu was a running back for the Patriots from 1978 - 1990.  He had a brief stint with the Rams in 1991before retiring from football.  A perennial favorite at the time, "Mosi's Mooses" were present at every home game in "Mosi's Endzone".  I attended many a home game sitting in that endzone, in the rain and cold, just to cheer Mosi on.  He appreciated it:

"They are great fans, but just to have your own section is an honor," Tatupu said in a 2004 interview with the Globe. "It inspired me to play harder because they were cheering for me and backing me up."

Mosi never could stay away from the game, coaching high school ball at King Philip High in Wrentham, MA and coaching running backs at Curry College in Milton, MA.  His son Lofa Tatupu, a middle linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks, had the privilege of being coached by his dad.

I grew up watching Mosi.  He was such a great Patriot.  Let us hope that his untimely death at 54 focuses more attention on the toll this game takes on these human beings.  So sad.

After 9 seasons with the team that drafted him, LaDainian Tomlinson was released by the San Diego Chargers.  In all but 2009, he had yardage north of 1,000 and 3 seasons above 1,500 yards.  He's averaged 88.6 yards over his career and has a respectable average of 4.3 yards per carry.  Not too shabby.  But after an incredible 2006, his numbers have steadily declined.

Let's face it, LT acts like a whiny superstar.  How many picture can we conjure up of a helmeted Tomlinson, dark glass and all, "pouting" on the sideline?  Tons, and I mean tons.  But is LT the kind of talent that could give our backfield a kick in the shorts?

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