SB Nation User Blog: tommasse

City of Champions

tommasse — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:08:01 -0000

Congratulations to the Boston Celtics -- the greatest one-season turnaround in NBA history and the 17th NBA championship in franchise history -- and to all the Boston-area teams and their fans for the greatest year in U.S. professional sports history.

Enjoy it, fans!

We are so fortunate to have teams like the Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox, Bruins, Revolution, and all the great college teams in our area. Once again, Boston is the Hub of the Universe!

'Graduating' from Pats Pulpit

tommasse — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 17:32:31 -0000

I've been trying to write this post for weeks.

I have decided to "retire" from Pats Pulpit. It was not an easy decision, and it's something I've contemplated for a long while -- since late October. I never would have finished the 2007 season, but for the Patriots' historic run. And even when that was done, it's been hard to let go. Even part way through my recent hiatus, I could hardly bear to admit it was time to move on.

But after three fantastic seasons (two with SB Nation), I owe you, the Pats Pulpit faithful, an explanation.

There are three reasons.

Time is not on my side. At this stage in my life, I simply have more important endeavors upon which to focus. Running a blog like Pats Pulpit and running it properly as it deserves -- as you deserve -- takes a tremendous amount of time.
My concept of a blog does not necessarily jive with the concepts others have. I tried to run Pats Pulpit as an alternative to the mainstream media. To compete as such, I was determined to provide thoughtful, professional, well-researched and well-documented writing. I chose not to shoot from the hip, and I took pride in spelling, grammar, readability, presentation. It's the way I was taught and trained as a professional journalist.
Unfortunately, that ideal takes time to the point that Pats Pulpit becomes a full-time job, and I already have one of those. And two full-time jobs leaves little time for the other commitments and diversions that make life worth living.
Huge effort, small return. This blends from the previous reason. Part of the reason I had to put in so much effort is that there were too few to share the burden. That's not to say there was no help at all. Guys like 6thround, Josh and MichaelMcCoy were tremendous assistants, and I appreciated their efforts. The problem for them as for me is that there has been little reward for the time and effort.
I had not the time nor the inclination to pursue advertising, and I'm not sure that would have made much of a difference. Any time I spent chasing advertising took away from the precious little time I had to write, and I didn't think it was worth the sacrifice. What little would have been available would have been even less by the time it was spread around to the deserving parties, and that would have been token. SB Nation, while headed in the right direction, barely makes enough to support the infrastructure and office personnel it takes to maintain this ever-growing network, and the network has been unable to compensate the bloggers. Perhaps that would have made it easier to "hire" assistants; it would have been nice, but I don't think it would have mattered in the long run.
Even then, I didn't get into this for financial reward. I got into this because I love the Patriots. And even more than that, I love football. There's more of a story there, but this isn't the time or the place. Suffice it to say that this was the one avenue that appeared to bring me closer to the professional game. When I was a journalist, there was little I enjoyed more than covering high school and college football. I hoped Pats Pulpit would lead to the opportunity to cover a pro team -- my pro team.
That was not to be. The Patriots and the league apparently see little value in "fan blogs." The traditional mainstream is sufficient for their purposes. While it's possible that it is to be, even next season, I cannot dedicate myself as I have and do justice to the site and to you the fans with the proverbial carrot always promised, never delivered.
And that brings us to the most important reason: It's just not fun anymore.
Even with the potential of financial compensation and obtaining media credentials, for me running this Patriots blog just isn't worth it if it's not fun, and there are too many outside influences that detract from the enjoyment of writing for the audience for whom this blog is intended. I guess it's too much to ask in today's society, to expect people to treat each other civilly and respectably.

And so that's it. I currently have a couple issues that I still need to resolve before I can entertain the thought of being active among you in this community, but I will be back to contribute from time to time, but I can no longer involve myself to extent I have over the last few years.

There are many people to thank, and like those people accepting any of the myriad back-patting awards, I fear I will forget some deserving party. For that I apologize.

Thanks to 6thround, Josh, MichaelMcCoy and InBradyWeTrust for their formal contributions.

Thanks to scsatr and mrbandw, who have been loyal readers and commenters since the Blogspot days, and RSNexile and RBooth who were among the first of the SB Nation incarnation.

Thanks to all the recent posters (too many to mention) who have really helped Pats Pulpit turn the corner and become a true community.

I hope you all stick around and keep it that way.

Thanks especially to Blez, the founder of SB Nation, who saw fit to bring me aboard the network to run its third NFL blog.

And thanks to Marc Normandin -- a rising writing talent, founder of SB Nation's Beyond the Boxscore, and a current contributor of Baseball Prospectus among other projects -- who first encouraged me to start a blog.

My best to all of you.

---- Tom Masse

p.s.: Go PATRIOTS!!

Recent hiatus .. keep the diaries coming

tommasse — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:33:03 -0000

You probably noticed that I've been scarce. Many apologies, but my scarcity will continue for a bit. With the swell of news, activity and general mayhem that go with a Super Bowl run and an unprecedented undefeated 16-game regular season, a lot of stuff got neglected. It's payback time, and I have much personal business to which I must attend.

The good news is that several of you have kept up the chatter in the diaries, and I thank you all for your efforts. Further good news is that Matt Miller, proprietor of SB Nation's Mocking the Draft, is going to post some food for thought in the coming days, focusing on the Patriots' draft prospects and free agency.

Even then, there's so much to talk about. Bill Belichick's statement denying team officials had anything to do with the alleged taping of the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough prior to the Super Bowl and his apology for the ridiculous distraction it has caused. The futures of Randy Moss, Asante Samuel, Donte' Stallworth. The signing of T.J. Slaughter and possible signing of Zack Thomas. The inane $100 million lawsuit and the ramifications that has ambulance chasers everywhere drooling with idiocy and dollar signs in their eyes.

So let's hear it. Those who pull together some "newslike" presentations will have their diaries promoted to the main section for all the world to read.

Remember, I won't be doing this forever. This is your community. You make it what it is. Only your participation will allow it to survive.

Thanks again for all your participation, and Go PATRIOTS!!

Open Thread: 2008 Pro Bowl

tommasse — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:46:14 -0000

Your New England Patriots, despite quarterback Tom Brady and wide receiver Randy Moss dropping out, are represented by several players in today's Pro Bowl. Hardly ever an interesting game, the only "all-star" game that takes place after a sport's season is further diluted by the number of elected players who skip it.

- - - vs. - - -

The last few Pro Bowls have been high-scoring, turnover-riddled, no-defense borefests, and there's no reason to think this one will be any different.

Enjoy the game if you watch, and feel free to comment below.

Redskins hire Jim Zorn; Josh McDaniels stays put

tommasse — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 01:36:04 -0000

Word this evening is that the Washington Redskins have hired former Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach (and former quarterback) Jim Zorn to be their head coach, this two weeks after hiring him as offensive coordinator.

Why do we care? Because the Redskins were rumored to be interested in hiring Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for the job.

It appears McDaniels will be around for a while now, especially if Randy Moss remains in a New England uniform. A couple years with Tom Brady and Moss and he'll be hailed as an offensive genius, no matter how much or how little he has to do with their success, and he'll get a head coaching job soon enough.

Jim Zorn Hired as Washington Redskins Coach

tommasse — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:06:24 -0000

Update [2008-2-9 19:51:21 by Skin Patrol]: I'm attaching a poll here, question: Are you happy with Jim Zorn as the new Head Coach? Make sure you justify your vote in the comments section. Update [2008-2-9 19:48:21 by Skin Patrol]: I believe the Times had it pretty early at their 360 Blog. Commenters have mixed views on Zorn. A sampling: Want to know how ***king stupid this really is? Note: I didn't add the fucking *s. Now for the positive: Jim Zorn is an outstanding choice. Where am I at? Just excited to have a head coach, and he'll get his chance to make a believer out of me. Congrats again. Update [2008-2-9 19:41:24 by Skin Patrol]: Per the Official Site: Jim Zorn, a veteran coach of 20 years and a renowned former NFL quarterback, today was named Head Coach of the Washington Redskins, succeeding Hall of Fame Coach Joe Gibbs, who retired Jan. 8...

Zorn, who signed a five-year contract with the team, spent seven seasons as quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks under Head Coach Mike Holmgren, where they shared in playoff trips for the past five seasons and one Super Bowl appearance.

His elevation to head coach at the Redskins adds his name to Holmgren's "family tree" of quarterback coaches who moved into the head coaching ranks, joining Andy Reid (directly from quarterback coach to the Eagles head coach), Jon Gruden, Marty Morninwheg and Steve Mariucci.

Update [2008-2-9 19:38:58 by Skin Patrol]: Jim Zorn is the new head coach, diary posted by tom (our Patriots blogger -- his work can be found at Pats Pulpit) and promoted to front page. Story also at ESPN and Redskins Insider, who also notes that John Palermo is our new D-Line coach. The long search for a head coach appears to be over, though now we have to find a new offensive coordinator. So, so strange, as the final list inevitably felt like Meeks or Fassel or Mooch. Instead we get Zorn. Doug Farrar's thoughts on our ~~offensive coordinator~~ head coach are all the more prescient now. Huge congrats are due Jim, who went from a qb coach in Seattle to the head coach on the other coast in what must feel like record time. Start posting your thoughts on who we should pursue for the OC job. By JOSEPH WHITE
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Washington Redskins hired Jim Zorn as their coach Saturday night, a surprise ending to a monthlong search for a replacement for Joe Gibbs, The Associated Press has learned.

Zorn will be introduced at a news conference at 3 p.m. Sunday, according to a person who was informed of the Redskins' decision. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because a formal announcement had not been made.

Zorn, a former Seattle quarterback, has been the Seahawks' quarterbacks coach for the last seven years. The Redskins hired him to be their offensive coordinator on Jan. 26 while continuing their search for a head coach.

Poll

Are you happy with Jim Zorn as the head coach?

I still don't know what the shit is going on.

145 votes

Yes.

143 votes

No.

49 votes

337 votes | Poll has closed

Time to move on .. Patriots STILL the best in the NFL

tommasse — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 02:06:52 -0000

Time to Move On
Patriots Still Consistently the Best

If you're still "mourning" the New England Patriots' Super Bowl XLII loss, stop it. Remember who we are: We're fans of the best week-in, week-out football team in the National Football League.

Sure, it really stinks that New York beat them Sunday. Sure, it would have been unbelievable to have celebrated the only undefeated 19-win season in history, the greatest single season ever (and it arguable still is).

But this team -- your team -- still is the envy of every team in the league and their fans. Thirty other teams didn't go to Phoenix. Thirty-one other teams weren't on history's doorstep. Thirty-one other teams were never within 40 seconds of 19-0 and probably never will be. Still only three teams have more Super Bowl wins than New England, and only one of those has won since the year 2000 (Pittsburgh). Thirty-one other teams have won no more than one Super Bowl since 2000; your New England Patriots have won three, and were just a couple plays from five.

Yes, the Giants won Sunday, and deservedly so. They outplayed and out-coached New England. Tom Coughlin's staff devised a fantastic game plan, and the players executed superbly. But don't believe for a second that they're a "better team" because of it.

The Giants are certainly better than their 10-6 regular-season record, but they're not remotely an 18-0 team. I said before the game that New York was probably the worst matchup for New England. I said in my 5 Questions with Big Blue View before the game that if the Patriots and Giants played 10 games, the Giants would win at least 4. They're 1-1.

But let's remember what happened this season:

The Patriots beat 5-0 Dallas in just the fourth meeting of teams with records of 5-0 or better.
The Patriots beat 8-0 Indy in the first-ever meeting between teams with records of 8-0 or better (New England was 9-0).
The Patriots beat six of the 11 other playoff teams during the regular season (and it would have been seven if Indy didn't fold in Week 17).
Including the playoffs, the Patriots beat 7 of the teams with the top 9 records in the league. The other two were Green Bay, who they didn't play, and themselves.
The Patriots broke dozens of the most coveted team and individual single season records, including most points scored, most touchdowns, most consecutive wins, most wins, largest point differential, and so many more. It's an impressively long list.

Your New England Patriots are currently the odds-on favorite to win Super Bowl XLIII. At 3-1, no one else is even close. The Chargers are 11-2, Colts are 12-1 and Cowboys are 14-1. (The Giants are 25-1. Does that sound like the "better team"?) The Patriots are as low as 2-1 and as high as a whopping 4-1. Other books have the Colts or Cowboys second, but never at better odds than San Diego's 11-2 above.

You'll hear people say, "But the Ravens almost beat them," or something similarly ludicrous.

Right, and then the Ravens got crushed by Indy, but Indy lost to San Diego, and New England beat the Chargers. Also, the Ravens allowed the Dolphins their only win of the season, and New England crushed Miami twice. It's a nonsense argument. Any team can beat any other any given Sunday. This past Sunday was New York's given Sunday.

And for those people talking about a "Manning Dynasty," as if that counts, as if the Colts players care if the Giants have Super Bowl rings or vice versa, remember this:

Archie Manning + Peyton Manning + Eli Manning = 2 Super Bowl wins
Tom Brady = 3 Super Bowl wins

But this is a team sport. Since 2000:

New England = 3 Super Bowl wins
Rest of the league = 5

Yeah, Sunday stunk. But the 20 weeks before were sweet, sweet, sweet. Upset about Sunday? Absolutely. Devastated? No where near what the coaches and players probably feel.

But would I rather be a fan of any of the 31 other NFL teams this decade? Not .. a .. chance.

As it does every year, the new pursuit of perfection starts today.

Poll

What will you remember about the 2007 New England Patriots?

All the individual records

43 votes

They were 40 seconds from 19-0

660 votes

Beating the "best of the rest": Colts, Cowboys, Giants, Redskins, Steelers and Chargers (2x)

46 votes

All the team records

51 votes

800 votes | Poll has closed

DB Willie Andrews charged with pot possession

tommasse — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:05:16 -0000

New England Patriots defensive back and special teamer Willie Andrews was charged with marijuana possession in Lowell this morning. Andrews, who was stopped by Lowell police at 9:30 a.m., was also charged with driving an unregistered vehicle.

Andrews, 24, was drafted by New England in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL draft. In his second year on the team, Andrews saw limited action on special teams and returned four kickoffs, including one for a touchdown.

The Patriots release the following brief statement:

The conduct of our players is very important to the New England Patriots. We are aware of the report regarding Willie Andrews, but will not comment publicly on pending legal matters. As is our policy, team discipline will be handled internally.

Super Bowl XLII: 2nd most-watched program ever

tommasse — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:39:23 -0000

The early ratings our out. Super Bowl XLII between the New England Patriots and New York Giants was the second most-watched TV program ever.

The 97.5 million viewers beat the old Super Bowl record of 94.08 who watched Dallas beat Pittsburgh in 1996 and was second for any program of any kind to the final episode of "M*A*S*H" broadcast in 1983, which garnered 106 million viewers.

Postgame, Super Bowl XLII: New England 14, New York 17

tommasse — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:18:03 -0000

Outplayed, Outcoached in SB XLII
Patriots Pursuit of Perfection Falls One Game Short

Asante Samuel dropped a Super Bowl-clinching interception. Ellis Hobbs fell down on the Giants' winning touchdown. Matt Light false started .. twice. Laurence Maroney ran backwards on kickoff returns .. twice. The pass blockers missed countless assignments. Tom Brady threw several bad passes. Jarvis Green let Eli Manning escape his grasp.

There's two sides to that coin. Manning escaped Green, and that was amazing in itself. David Tyree's catch on the other end will be one of the all-time great Super Bowl highlights. The Giants defense, especially the line, overpowered the Patriots offensive line.

14 - - - 17

"They have some great pressure schemes, obviously some great pass rushers," Brady said. "Once we kind of got the idea of what they were doing, I thought we handled it much better but we just didn't get the ball in the end zone enough."

Before Manning found Tyree to convert that big third down, the Patriots defense forced a 4th down on the Giants' 37. Brandon Jacobs just barely gained the first down. After Plaxico Burress scored the final touchdown, cornerback Corey Webster tipped away a deep ball to Randy Moss that would have put New England in field-goal range.

The new 'The Catch' -- New York Giants receiver David Tyree uses his hands, fingers, helmet to make one of the great catches in Super Bowl history against one of the great safeties in NFL history. New England's Rodney Harrison was unable to jar the ball loose.

Photo courtesy: The Boston Globe / Associated Press

There were a lot of "almosts" too. Hobbs almost intercepted Manning in the end zone on the Giants' first drive (ended in 3 points). Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled, and Pierre Woods almost had the recovery. Still not sure how he didn't. Samuel had the biggest almost -- that was right in front of Tyree who made the new "The Catch" on the next play.

New York made the plays. New England didn't. The Giants won the game -- they earned it -- more than the Patriots lost it.

"They are a very good defensive football team," Bill Belichick said. "They played well. They made some plays. We made some plays. In the end, they made a couple more than we did."

The coaching battle was indeed the master chess match I predicted, and Bill Belichick may have made the costliest error. The decision to go for the first down on 4th-and-13 from the Giants' 31 on the opening possession of the second half will forever be questioned. It was a 14-play drive that covered 48 yards.

All season the Patriots converted those 4th downs in that no-man's land between a near-too-long field goal and too deep to make a punt worth it. Converting the first down, maybe scoring a touchdown, maybe going up 14-3 early in the third quarter on a long drive, maybe a back-breaker, certainly demoralizing.

Only if ...

It didn't happen.

Bad play call? Should they have punted? Go for the field goal?

It would have been a 49-yarder. Stephen Gostkowski's season-long was 45 yards (at Dallas). His career long is 52 yards, kicked in late November 2006 at home against Chicago. This was a controlled environment, indoors, no precipitation, no wind.

Gostkowski had earlier booted a kickoff out of bounds, another big mistake, and maybe a factor in deciding whether to attempt the 49-yarder or go for the first down.

The Giants did not turn that turnover on downs into points, but the change in the game was palpable.

Too much of this -- Giants defensive end Michael Strahan pressures Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the second quarter. The New York defense's constant harassment of Brady was one of the major storylines of Super Bowl XLII.

Photo courtesy: The Boston Globe / Reuters

After netting back-to-back 122-yard games, Maroney gained just 36 yards on 14 carries (2.6 average). He scored on a 1-yard touchdown plunge, and he had one excellent kickoff return, but he reverted to that indecisive rookie-like entity, tentatively stutter-stepping looking for holes, running backwards, instead of driving forward and taking what was available.

Ultimately, the Patriots ran the ball just 16 times (Maroney just 6 times in the second half) and threw it 48.

"We had a great season, we just didn't win the game," Brady said. "Tonight doesn't take away from anything we have done over the course of the season. We had a great year. It is just unfortunate that tonight turned out the way it did. The Giants certainly deserve it."

"It's definitely tough. It's a heartbreaker," Richard Seymour said. "At the same time, we understand what it is. It's a game. Give the Giants all the credit in the world. They made the plays when they needed to and it's unfortunate, but you have to take the good with the bad.

"Make no excuses about what happened here today. They came out and they made the plays. Eli was spectacular. He didn't go down in the rush. We had him several times and he came up big for them. They're well coached. They did it."

That's class.

Neither team rushed the ball that well. Combined they set a record for fewest rushing attempts (42) and fewest rushing yards (136) in a Super Bowl. Of the Patriots' 22 first downs, only 3 came rushing. Of New York's 17, only 4 came on the ground.

Both teams converted 50 percent of their third downs: New York was 8 of 16, New England was 7 of 14. The Patriots went 0-fer on fourth downs: two failed attempts.

The officials enforced 4 penalties for 36 yards against New York and 5 for 35 yards against New England. Lost in that are the "unofficial" yards lost due to penalty. Russ Hochstein's holding on an early 4th quarter kickoff officially goes down as 10 yards, but it sent the Patriots from their own 30 to their 11. For some reason, Gostkowski's kickoff out of bounds didn't count as a penalty, but it is a penalty and it gave the Giants the ball on the 40. That's a lot of "unofficial" yards.

Not enough of this -- New England defensive tackle Le Kevin Smith sacked New York quarterback Eli Manning, but it was a rare highlight for the Patriot defensive front seven.

Photo courtesy: The Boston Globe / Jim Davis

The Giants dominated the clock in the first half (19:27 to 10:33). The Patriots returned the favor in the second half, resulting in a very close game-end margin, the Giants with the slight edge, 30:27 to 29:33.

Despite what you'll read elsewhere, Belichick did cross the field to congratulate Tom Coughlin. The truth rarely gets in the way of a good story.

Brady has a record 100 career Super Bowl completions. He also threw the most pass attempts (48) in a Super Bowl without an interception.