SB Nation User Blog: MaPatsFan

The Pro (Popularity) Bowl voting silliness

MaPatsFan — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:39:11 -0000

More photos » by Gretchen Ertl - AP

It's a good thing NFL Pro Bowl participation isn't determined solely on the voting intelligence of fans. I consider "us" to be intelligent fans, but those other idiots... It's a good thing players and coaches make up the other two thirds. There are a few obvious ones, like Peyton Manning topping the list for AFC quarterbacks. Ok, I can go with that one. His team is having a stellar season so far. Vince Wilfork tops the list for defensive lineman which makes perfect sense. Hoodie has moved him around so much this year that it truly shows his value to the team. I certainly hope they pay the man.

Now let's get into a little silliness. In particular the guy in the picture at..wait for it...fifth. Sure, if you go by touchdowns Wes doesn't deliver. But that's not his job. Yards per game: 105.3, receptions: 105, receptions per game: 9.5. And he did all of this while MISSING 2 GAMES!! The other bit of silliness, I'm sorry to say, is to put Randy Moss ahead of Wes Welker. It's clear the voters are going for "sensational" - big yards and touchdowns. Andre Johnson deserves the number one spot; he's blowing up the field. For receivers, the list should be ordered as such: Andre Johnson, Wes Welker OR Reggie Wayne at 2nd or 3rd; I think a case could be made for either.

It'll be interesting to see where the coaches and players go with this. Hopefully they think about which players give them the most trouble on the field. Just who might that be, pray tell?

Game Recap: Patriots defeat Panthers, 20-10 and find new identity

MaPatsFan — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:57:02 -0000

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

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"We knew he was going to shut it down," Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble told me after the game. "That's what we wanted to do him. That's what we did. ... He'd just give up a lot ... Slow down, he's not going deep, not trying to run a route. You can tell, his body language." Gamble continued ... "I know everyone who plays against him, they can sense that. Once you get into him in the beginning of the game, he shuts it down a little bit."

Uhmm... Didn't Chris Gamble's team, like, LOSE?!? These are very tall words from a guy who contributed yet another L to his team's record. When he's watching the Patriots in January, maybe he can take solace in Randy Moss' bad day against the Panthers. Yeah, that's the ticket. Until then...SHUT.YOUR.PIE.HOLE!! My personal opinion? Moss doesn't dog it so much as change his speed and rhythm to throw DB's off. Did he have a rough day against the Panthers? Yep. How about Miami? Sure. But when you're the ONLY deep ball threat on a team, the opposition comes gunning for you. That's a lot of weight to carry on your shoulders. Doggin' it? Please...

It was an ugly win but a win none the less. Would I have preferred stellar, blowout, 2007-type play? You betcha. Would I have loved to see Moss connecting with Wonderboy on a long bomb or two? Sure. Is it going to happen this year? I don't think it will. So what do we have? What's going on that leads us to a glimmer of hope for the current incarnation of the New England Patriots?

I wrote at the beginning of training camp that I was so tired of all the hoopla surrounding Tom Brady's return. I was so sick of the ESPN/SI/Whatever... lovefest that I wanted to vomit. Every rival blogger I corresponded with would ask me what I thought and my catch phrase was, "Cautiously optimistic." The media billed the return of Tom Brady as the Return of the King (my guess is the Hobbits were named Wes and Julian, but I digress). Bleh. In reality, this is a team that for the first 2/3 of the season struggled to be a 2007 incarnation of itself. The difference? There were many, but I'll give you 2: Jabbar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth.

Neither of them is a stellar receiver, but they were lethal as #3 and #4 guys. Put Moss, Welker, Gaffney, and Stallworth on the field and you likely witnessed grown men on the opposition soiling themselves. Technically, it's called "spreading the field". I called it a freakin' JSF aerial assault. The biggest threat today? Well, other than Wes Welker, who's making a case for the best wide receiver of 2009, you have ~~special teamer~~ Sam Aiken and rookie Julian "Broken Forearm" Edelman. Hmm... What could be wrong, what could be wrong?

I had every intention of writing a full fledged game recap with stats and play-by-play analysis and things and stuff, but my ADHD brain got in the way (did you know the third of an Aminor is a C?). Where was I... Recap, things, stuff... Oh Yeah! This is a team that has struggled all year to find its identity. The absolute "broadside of a barn" misses with Greg Lewis and Joey Galloway cost us dearly. The loss of veteran RB Fred Taylor cost us dearly. Playcalling lost its creativity. I truly felt like this team was a ship without a rudder. Until this past Sunday, that is. No, I'm not delusional enough think the ship has been righted, but I do think they're beginning to find their way. Why? Read on, my captivated friends.

For most of the season, we have complained this team can't finish a game. They wrack up a crapload of points in the first half and then fizzle out in the second. We've seen it time and time again in big games against the Colts and Dolphins, to name a few. And it was true. Our New England Patriots seemed to have ZERO staying power. This past Sunday, however, I saw something that gave me hope. It was a running game. Bill Belichick has finally realized that his passing attack is not what it used to be, that Tom Brady bombs to Randy Moss are not going to work. So he put Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, and Kevin Faulk to work. They ate turf, they fought, they grinded to the tune of 187 yards and 1 TD. Finally, coach Belichick didn't abandon the running game. Oh, and did I mention TE Benjamin Watson scored the other TD? I have been whining that Brady needs to find Watson more often and gets the ball to him for 6. Coach? Call me anytime. Keep it coming, would be my advice.

Only time will tell, but I think they're finally finding their identity. They're abandoning 2007 and facing the cold, hard reality of what they have to work with. Let's hear it for the 2009 Patriots!!!

Late Sunday afternoon Open Thread

MaPatsFan — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:44:47 -0000

Here ya go. I got Chargers and Cowboys. Indy and NO have basically clinched a bye and home field advantage for the playoffs. Ugh. I'd like nothing more than to face the Colts in the second round and beat them in their house. We'll see how it shapes up.

Quick Recap: Patriots defeat Panthers, 20-10

MaPatsFan — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:59:29 -0000

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

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A W is a W, however ugly it is. Randy Moss was essentially non-existant with drops more often than not. Maybe we can count him as productive as a blocker or decoy - who knows. All I know is Wes Welker is an absolute rock star. 10 receptions for 105 yards puts him over 100 receptions for the year...and he missed 2 games this season.

Offensively, I was happy to see us mix the run and the pass. Laurence Maroney with 94 yards and Kevin Faulk with 58 simply chewed up the clock and kept Carolina off balance. Defensively, things look a bit better. The defensive backfield had some nice blocked passes.

This game, overall, was too close. We needed some key Carolina penalties to keep the game going. Against a team with better fundamentals, it would've been a different story.

Open Game Thread: Panthers @ Patriots

MaPatsFan — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:41:28 -0000

Wonderboy is playing today. Was there any doubt? At any rate, our 7-5 Patriots host the 5-7 Carolina Panthers. Carolina has a 99% chance of NOT making the playoffs while New England's chances of blowing it are 22%. We need this win. We don't want to get into tiebreakers with the Fins. Let's do this.

GO PATRIOTS!!

Keys to Winning: Panthers @ Patriots

MaPatsFan — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 14:07:19 -0000

More photos » by Chuck Burton - AP

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4 late players sent home on Wednesday? One (Adalius Thomas) a healthy scratch for today? Tom Brady a little bruised and banged up? Trouble in paradise?

Much has been made of "Late Gate", of Bill Belichick's turning away of 4 players for tardiness. I'm sure our rivals will turn this into, "There they go. Here comes the downhill slide." Right. Like their own teams have never had discipline problems. Funny thing about speaking out on those matters. Chances are they're living in a glass house. Adalius Thomas was benched for today because Belichick thought someone else could give them a better chance of winning. It could be a little extra discipline for being the only one of the "Late Four" who spoke out about the incident. Randy Moss, considered by many rivals to be a hopeless curmudgeon, did the right thing and went about his business, keeping his mouth shut. Discipline stays in the building.

At any rate, this is about our upcoming matchup with the Panthers. More after the jump.

With QB Matt Moore in for Jake Delhomme, the Panthers have to rely on their backup QB to matchup against a riled up New England Patriots team...in their own house. This won't be easy for Carolina, hopefully. After 2 heart wrenching losses on the road (the first, a dismantling by New Orleans and the second, a heartbreaker to division rival Miami) I'm betting on Belichick being aggravated and unloading on his players this past week.

Carolina is going to pound the rock with QB Matt Moore under center. Running back Jonathan Stewart is freight train on legs at 5-10 235 lbs. And 120 yards, even against Tampa Bay, is nothing to sneeze at. And New England is ranked 15th in rushing yards per game. It would make no sense for the Panthers, ranked 27th in the passing game, to air the ball out. Yup, pound the rock with their 3rd rated rushing offense.

On our side, Julius Peppers is going to be a problem. Whether he's motivated or not by a huge franchise paycheck this year, I think he'll be interviewing for a job today. He knows there was talk about him moving to the Patriots this season, but the price tag was just too high. Julius would also have to be thick as a brick to be unaware of our troubles putting together a consistent pass rush. Great pass rusher and a team who desperately needs a good pass rush... hmmm.

You can bet the Panthers have been watching game film, especially the Miami matchup. Shutdown Randy Moss and you take away the deep ball, for the most part. Yeah, there was that 81 yarder to Sam Aiken, but it's almost a forgone conclusion that Brady will try to force the ball to Randy at one time or another. We need to spread the ball around a LOT more. Of course Wes Welker will be one of the primary targets. But is Moss the right early look? Sam Aiken needs to be in the picture and I believe Benjamin Watson needs to play a big role in this game. He's been underutilized this year, but has delivered consistently when asked to. I've said many times in these stories that he's our secret weapon, but always seems to get few looks from Wonderboy. Bill, are you listening? Throw to "Big Ben"!!

We're playing at home, the team is fired up, and we need this win to keep Miami at a distance. I'll go into serious mourning if we lose another Division title to the Dolphins with a tie breaker.

Prediction: Patriots, 28-17.

New England Patriots in the RedZone, sponsored by ComCast

MaPatsFan — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:17:23 -0000

RedZone...bleh. We continue to struggle in the RedZone with a 47.06% success rate. As explained in previous entries, keep in mind that a TD outside of the 20, like Sam Aiken's 81 yarder against Miami, does not count towards RedZone numbers. Under 20 numbers are good when you want to know how a team performs in a "compressed" situation, when there's less room to maneuver. And, as you may already know, a field goal inside the 20 is a RedZone "Fail".

This past week against Miami, the biggest RedZone "Fail" was a Tom Brady pick in the right-hand corner of the end zone. Yet again, we find Brady forcing the ball to Randy Moss. 2nd down and goal-to-go, Brady lofts a pass to Moss that Miami CB Vontae Davis, 5 inches shorter than Moss, manages to pluck out of the air. a) the ball should've been thrown higher where the 6-4 Moss could out reach Davis or b) it should've been to Wes Welker or Benjamin Watson. How about pounding the rock? Any way, second guessing...

Panthers @ Patriots: Friday's injury report

MaPatsFan — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:10:27 -0000

Friday's injury report from patriots.com:

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (7-5)
Out
Player	Position	Injury
No Players Listed
Doubtful
Player	Position	Injury
Butler, Darius	CB	Not Injury Related (Did Not Participate)
Pryor, Myron	DL	Chest (Did Not Participate)

Questionable
Player	Position	Injury
Brady, Tom	QB	Right Shoulder/Right Finger/Rib (Limited Participation)
Aiken, Sam	WR	Shoulder (Limited Participation)
Banta-Cain, Tully	LB	Shoulder (Limited Participation)
Edelman, Julian	WR	Forearm (Limited Participation)
Green, Jarvis	DE	Knee (Limited Participation)
Kaczur, Nick	T	Ankle (Limited Participation)
Neal, Stephen	G	Ankle (Limited Participation)
Taylor, Fred	RB	Ankle (Limited Participation)
Warren, Ty	DE	Ankle (Limited Participation)

Probable
Player	Position	Injury
Ninkovich, Rob	LB	Knee (Full Participation)
Springs, Shawn	CB	Knee (Full Participation)
Vollmer, Sebastian	OT	Head (Full Participation)
Watson, Benjamin	TE	Knee (Full Participation)

CAROLINA PANTHERS (5-7)
Out
Brayton, Tyler	DE	Concussion (Did Not Participate)
Delhomme, Jake	QB	Right Finger (Did Not Participate)
Doubtful
Player	Position	Injury
No Players Listed
Questionable
Player	Position	Injury
Diggs, Na'll	LB	Ribs (Limited Participation)
Jarrett, Dwayne	WR	Ankle (Full Participation)
Johnson, Charles	DE	Pectoral (Full Participation)
Probable
Player	Position	Injury
Muhammad, Muhsin	WR	Knee (Full Participation)
Munnerlyn, Captain	CB	Concussion (Full Participation)
Stewart, Jonathan	RB	Achilles (Full Participation)
Williams, DeAngelo	RB	Ankle (Full Participation)

Send 'em packing - why Belichick was right

MaPatsFan — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:54:13 -0000

More photos » by Steven Senne - AP

6 days ago: New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick takes questions from reporters during a news conference at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009. Belichick praised the Carolina Panthers as the Patriots look for a way out of their slump. The Patriots are to play the Panthers in Foxborough on Sunday, Dec. 13. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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Not unlike Bill Belichick, I manage people for a living. Well, it's not a pro football franchise and I don't have a boat and millions... you get the point. Like Bill, I deal with performance issues, family problems, strange requests, and motivational stuff. Sometimes it's a lot of work to keep the ship sailing smoothly and sometimes it's not. When you have key people on your team who are mature and lead by example, it makes a manager's job that much easier. And sometimes you have problems.

I've seen it time and time again. Many managers are not professional managers. That is, they didn't STUDY to be a manager. In the environment I work in, a large Fortune 50 company, people rise to the top in a technical ladder and are then "promoted" to manager; the thinking is if they can build widgets really well, they can manage people to build widgets. If the newly minted manager doesn't take some sort of management training, the percentages are rather high that they will fail miserably. Why? Because managing people is less about keeping track of all the tasks they're doing and more about leading them.

One of the hardest skills to learn is delivering negative feedback. Very few people thrive on confrontation; most times we shy away from it, but if you don't do it in a timely manner, it can fester. Such is the case with the Adalius Thomas, Randy Moss, Gary Guyton, and Derrick Burgess. The transgression was slight - missing an 8am meeting on Wednesday morning by minutes. Some have stated a fine would be more appropriate, that taking 4 key players out of practice for a day is actually punishing the remaining players. Those "some" are wrong, IMO.

As I mentioned above, things have a way of festering, of spreading like a bad cold. A manager needs to nip these things in the bud quickly. Why? Because others notice. You may not think they do, but they most definitely notice. First, they feel like they're commitment matters, that showing up early for a meeting is recognized as a good behavior. People will respond to that and continue that behavior. Second, and most importantly, it sets a tone. It sets a tone of what is tolerated and what is not allowed. By publicly flogging a few, the many quickly realize what's acceptable. Most of the time, they will elevate their performance as a response.

Hunger, fire, whatever you want to call it, is a carefully cultivated asset; it's an intangible that is so important to an organization. Like a campfire, it takes work to keep the embers glowing and the fire roaring. Sometimes you need to discard that "green" piece of wood that's dulling the fire, robbing the nice, seasoned pieces. Sometimes you need to send a message. Sometimes you need to raise the bar.

Bill was right. Let something like that go and it festers, spreading to the rest. Set a tone and those that are smart enough to hear it will learn. Others will not. And they'll be gone.

"You lose a Rodney Harrison -- who keeps the young guys in line, who's the vocal leader, a smart...

MaPatsFan — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:51:30 -0000

"You lose a Rodney Harrison -- who keeps the young guys in line, who's the vocal leader, a smart player who brings a toughness to the game -- you're gonna feel it," Johnson said. "He'd be pissed when we'd lose. And he wanted to see other guys get pissed and angry. Tedy (Bruschi) was the same kind of guy. They want you to show that you care."

Extra Points: Roads are clear this morning