A Plea to Peyton Manning

Manning has been benched but insists he can still play (Washington Post)

Please, Peyton Manning, don't come back next year. Don't go all Brett Favre on us.

We know you're a gunslinger, but don't try to make one last heroic stand. You're out of bullets. You won't go out in a blaze of glory--you'll go out with a whimper, like a sick dog who has to be put down.

This year you tried to prove that your putrid finish to last year was a fluke. Instead, this year proved that it wasn't.

Next year will be more of the same, probably even worse. You'll try to show you still have something left in the tank, when clearly you don't. You're too slow. Your arm's not strong enough. Your reflexes aren't sharp enough.

Don't give us another year of missed passes, ugly interceptions, and wobbly throws, Don't cloud all our great memories of you with the sad sight of you hanging on too long. No more games like the one you had against Kansas City.

Nothing good will come of your stubborn return. You have nothing left to prove. You're a Super Bowl champion and the greatest quarterback of all time (statistically speaking). You don't need to take any more big hits, not when you have a surgically repaired neck. Not when a guy twice your size could shut your lights off.

Nobody blames you for coming back this year. You were so good last year. You wanted one more ring so little brother Eli, an inferior signal-caller in every regard, wouldn't finish with more than you. A return to form seemed possible.

It didn't happen. It usually doesn't for 39 year-olds. So what makes you think it will at 40? At some point, you just have to admit you can't do it anymore. We've reached that point.  You've been replaced by Brock Osweiler. Brock. Osweiler.

If you have a shred of dignity, you'll stop sulking, mentor the new kid, and call it quits after this year. You won't try to latch on with another team that will give you a chance. You'll bow out gracefully on your own terms, rather than be forced out when you fall apart again next year. Then you can get on with the rest of your life, which I'm sure will involve lots of commercials.

Please, Mr. Manning, don't make us suffer through another season of you stumbling around the pocket. Don't subject yourself to any more criticism. Just do us all a favor and just walk away.

NE Mauls Miami, Clinches AFC East

For the 12th time in the past 14 years, the New England Patriots are AFC East champs.

The Patriots clinched the division crown with their 11th win of the season, a 41-13 mauling of the Miami Dolphins at Gillette. The first half was very close, with New England taking a 14-13 lead into the locker room. The Pats then proceeded to explode for 24 third quarter points--most in franchise history--by scoring on four straight possessions. The Dolphins were unable to counterattack, getting shutout in the second half as New England sailed off to another easy home win (the verage margin of victory in their last four home games: 25.75 points)

Tom Brady tossed both of his touchdown passes in that prolific third quarter; the first to Rob Gronkowski and the second to Julian Edelman. Brady finished the day with 287 yards on 21/35 passing. He was also New England's second-leading rusher with 18 yards on three attempts (Jonas Gray escaped from Bill Belichick's dog house long enough to rack up 62 yards on the ground).

Today's game featured another solid effort by the New England defense, which allowed fewer than 15 points for the third time in four games. The Pats picked off Ryan Tannehill twice and forced three fumbles, none of which were recovered. The Patriots D should have another strong outing against the Jets next Sunday.

Pats Blast Bears

Brady was in top form in the Pats' rout of the Bears this afternoon (CBSSports)

It was another glorious fall afternoon in Foxborough as the New England Patriots walloped the Chicago Bears 51-23.

The game was over by halftime, at which point the Patriots already led 38-7. Tom Brady continued his recent resurgence with one of the best games of his career, highlighted by five touchdowns including three to his favorite target Rob Gronkowski. The others went to Brandon LaFell and Timothy Wright. Brady was remarkably accurate, completing 30 of his 35 pass attempts for 354 yards as he tore Chicago's secondary to pieces. Of the five passes Brady failed to complete, four were dropped by his receivers.

Brady looked even better in comparison to Jay Cutler, who was absolutely miserable in the first half. Cutler lost a fumble and was picked off in the closing minutes of the first half, with the fumble recovered by Rob Ninkovich for a crushing touchdown. By the time Chicago's signal caller got his act together in the second half it was far too late, with two of his three touchdowns and the majority of his 227 yards coming in garbage time. I wonder what Brandon Marshall has to say after this one.

With the win New England moved to 6-2 to remain one game ahead of the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East. After a shaky September the Pats were unbeaten in October, winning all four of their games. They'll look to extend their home winning streak to 14 against Peyton Manning's Denver Broncos next Sunday.

Manning Sets TD Record

Manning torched the Texans for 4 TDs and 400 passing yards 

With a 25-yard touchdown pass to Julius Thomas yesterday, Peyton Manning notched his 51st TD pass of the year to set a new single season record. Fittingly enough, the guy Manning passed is arguably his biggest rival as well as the quarterback he is most often compared to: Tom Brady, who notched 50 during New England's undefeated 2007 regular season.

The record-setting TD was Manning's fourth of the day against Houston's defense. It came with about four and a half minutes remaining in the fourth and made the score 37-13 in Denver's favor. An absent-minded Thomas dropped the history-making ball as he went to celebrate, but thankfully Eric Decker (who hauled in a pair of Manning touchdowns earlier in the quarter) retrieved it and stuffed it in his jersey for safe-keeping.

Manning will try to add to his record on Sunday in Oakland as the Broncos, who clinched the AFC west with their win over Houston, look to clinch the top seed in the AFC (and thus secure homefield advantage throughout the playoffs). He'll also attempt to topple Drew Brees's record for most passing yards in a single season, set in 2011 (Manning needs 265 to tie). He has a great chance to do both against a soft Raiders defense.

Whatever happens in Week 17, Denver's 37 year-old signal-caller is a sure bet to take home the MVP award, which will be the fifth of his distinguished career and provide more ammunition for those who believe he is the greatest quarterback of his generation, if not all-time.

Thankful for Tucker

Tucker has made 33 consecutive field goals

Like millions of Americans, I play fantasy football. "Play" is the wrong word, I think, because it implies that there's actually some degree of fun involved. Personally, I find fantasy to be much more frustrating and agonizing than it should be. Drafting is fun, trades are fun, and winning is fun, but that accounts for 10, maybe 15 percent of the fantasy season  I've wasted way too much time scouring the waiver wire, pouring over projections and tinkering with my roster.

Then Sunday rolls around and it becomes a full-blown obsession. I compulsively check my phone from one o'clock onward, watching the points pile up (or not), rooting for my players to score and hoping the other guys' don't. Fantasy consumes my entire day. When I win, it's more of a relief than anything, especially when ESPN pegs me as a 25 point favorite. When I lose, I go back to the drawing board and try to determine where I went wrong.

For much of the season, my most glaring weakness was my kicker, which is strange considering there are plenty of good kickers to be had on the waiver wire since nobody carries more than one. Well, after whiffing on multiple kickers, I've finally found my guy, and just in time for the playoffs.

I've heard fantasy football teams compared to dreams in that they're only interesting to the person talking about them. You snagged Philip Rivers off waivers? Great. Took Aaron Rodgers with your first pick? That blows.

So if that's the case, then you probably don't want to hear my ramble about my kicker issues and how I solved them at the season's 11th hour. That's fine. Feel free to stop reading and check out some of my other content (hint hint: it's mostly baseball), or click off my blog altogether.

But maybe you've had your own kicker-induced headaches/nightmares/frustrations this season. Perhaps you're still looking for a solution. I probably would be, too, except that I've found the answer to my kicker woes. His name is Justin Tucker.

Quick backstory: last year I was undone by Mason Crosby, who converted just 21 of his 33 field goal attempts (63.6 percent). By the time I realized the error of my ways and swapped him out for Dan Bailey, it was already too late. I finished 8-7, narrowly missing the playoffs because I lost or tied several games that would have been victories with a merely capable kicker.

This year I was determined to avoid making the same mistake. Let Crosby be someone else's problem, I told myself. I would avoid outdoor kickers (who must contend with rain, snow, and gale-force winds) like the plague. Not surprisingly, Matt Bryant was my draft day selection. At the time, I was pretty happy about that. Bryant led the league in field goal percentage a few years back and has been one of the NFL's most consistent kickers over the past decade. I figured Atlanta's Matt Ryan-helmed passing attack would give him plenty of scoring opportunities.

Before long, my master plan had been reduced to ashes. Ryan's top two receivers--Roddy White and Julio Jones--both got hurt, and Tony Gonzalez, as great as he still is, can only do so much at this stage in his career. Atlanta's offense sputtered and Bryant's role was greatly diminished. As a result, in ESPN leagues he ranks 20th among kickers in points scored, meaning he's not worthy of a starting spot in my ten-team league. Before long I was looking to the waiver wire for help.

I settled on Garrett Hartley of the New Orleans Saints. Unlike Atlanta, the Saints have one of the league's most explosive offenses. On top of that I already had Drew Brees, so I figured it made sense to get Hartley's extra point every time he threw a touchdown and would settle for field goals when Brees's drives fell just short. While my logic was sound, Hartley's been far from automatic, missing eight of his 30 attempts thus far and ranking 19th at the position, exactly one spot higher than Bryant. That wasn't going to cut it, and when New Orleans' Week 7 bye came around I found myself in need of a new kicker.

I scooped up Nick Novak, San Diego's kicker, and he's been pretty good (eighth). Unfortunately, he was on my team for all of two minutes before I cut him in favor of Detroit's David Akers, who paced the NFL in field goal attempts four out of the past five years.  The opportunities just haven't been there for him this year (only 20 attempts), and as a result he ranks 30th among kickers. I rode him out for three weeks, then cut bait just before Thanksgiving.

By this point I was extremely fed up with myself. Nothing was working. I was in the playoff hunt and couldn't afford to let a kicker sink my season. Desperate for a stable solution, I decided to go out and grab the best kicker on the waiver wire, regardless of team, reputation, or schedule, and settled on Baltimore's Justin Tucker, who was coming off a 15 point game against the Jets. Nicknamed "Mr. Automatic," Tucker hasn't missed a field goal attempt since Week 2. That he had several favorable matchups in front of him (Pittsburgh, Minnesota) made him even more attractive. I was instantly rewarded with a 19 point performance against the Steelers. Tucker won me over. He had me at hello. I committed to him for the rest of the season, even as he was held without a field goal versus Minnesota in Week 14.

Now, thanks to his incredible performance against Detroit last night (six-for-six, connecting from 49, 53, and 61 yards out), Tucker has leapfrogged Stephen Gostkowski and Matt Prater to become fantasy's top-scoring kicker. I have to say, after putting up with subpar kickers all season long, it feels good to have the best. One less thing to worry about as I prepare for my postseason. Now if I could only find a halfway decent wide receiver...

Chiefs Finally Fall

The Kansas City Chiefs, probably the worst 9-0 team in NFL history, are undefeated no more.

It took 11 weeks before they were finally beaten. Fittingly enough, KC was dethroned by the Denver Broncos, the second best team in the NFL entering last night's game as well as the least team to beat the Chiefs (in 2012). This time KC fell behind early and never led, allowing Denver to go on to win 27-17.

Kansas City's top-ranked defense was unable to put much pressure on Peyton Manning, who completed 24 of his 40 pass attempts en route to 323 yards and a touchdown (to Julius Thomas). Alex Smith was solid but less effective, completing 21 of his 45 pass attempts for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns, one to the recently arrested Dwayne Bowe and another to Anthony Fasano.

Denver's defense played paricularly well, holding Jamaal Charles scoreless and not allowing any of KC's receivers to log more than 60 yards. The Broncos' D also sacked Smith three times and forced two fumbles, recovering one of them.

Now that Denver has knocked off the Chiefs, expect the Broncos to go about their business of winning the AFC West.

Brady Back for More

Tom Brady agreed to a contract extension with the New England Patriots yesterday that will tack on an additional three years and $27 million to his current contract, a four-year, $72 million deal that runs through 2014.

The extension ensures that Brady--aka the new Brett Favre--will remain with the Patriots beyond his 40th birthday, satisfying his desire to play for another five years (at least). While paying athletes millions of dollars in their late-30s/early-40s usually isn't the wisest way for a team to invest its resources, Brady has shown no signs of slowing down.  Last year the two-time MVP amassed 4,827 passing yards and 34 touchdowns while posting the lowest interception percentage in the league.

The 35 year-old is still one of the premier play-callers in the game, and that's not changing anytime soon. As long as New England surrounds him with weapons such as Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd, there's no reason to think he can't remain effective as he puts the finishing touches on his Hall of Fame career.

The best part is that Brady, always a team player, graciously took a pay-cut that frees up $15 million in salary cap space over the next two years. The hometown discount provides New England some much-needed financial flexibility as it pursues key free agents such as Welker, Julian Edelman, Danny Woodhead, and Aqib Talib.

13 Super Bowl Predictions

1. There is a missed field goal (looking at you, David Akers)
2. Frank Gore rushes for a touchdown (or two)
3. Joe Flacco unleashes a TD pass longer than 50 yards
4. Ray Lewis's career ends with a whimper when he doesn't find the end zone and is held below 50 rushing yards
5. Ray Rice, on the other hand, has a huge game 
6. Colin Kaepernick does it in the air and on the ground, racking up multiple touchdowns and more than 300 all-purpose yards in the process
7. Beyonce kills it during the halftime show, and Jay-Z makes an appearance as well
8. The ads won't be that funny
9. There is a surprising amount of offense for what is supposed to be a battle between two of the NFL's top defenses
10. Randy Moss does not record a catch
11. Bernard Pollard gets hurt and justice is served (for Patriots fans, at least)
12. Michael Oher doesn't have any penalties called on him
13. The 49ers win

MVPeterson

With the 2012 NFL regular season officially in the books, it's time to look back and determine who earned the title of the league's Most Valuable Player. There are three standout candidates, all with compelling cases, all worthy in their own right. Each one enjoyed tremendous individual success over the past 17 weeks and helped his team reach the postseason, but one rose above the pack and is the frontrunner to win the award.

3. Tom Brady
Brady once again guided the league's most prolific offense by getting the most out of New England's deep arsenal of weapons in Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd. The two-time MVP amassed 4,827 passing yards--the second highest total of his distinguished career--and limited his mistakes, posting the lowest interception percentage in the league. His name is plastered over the NFL leaderboards, for the 35 year-old placed in the top five in nearly every passing category. Tom Terrific is a longshot to take home the trophy but has the best chance to win more valuable hardware: another Super Bowl ring.

2. Peyton Manning
After sitting out all of 2011 and getting released by the Colts (fortunate to draft a good replacement in Andrew Luck), the 36 year-old field general came back and added another MVP-caliber season to his Hall of Fame resume. Even more impressively, he single-handedly transformed a mediocre offense that used to rely on Tim Tebow's miracles into one of the league's most dangerous passing teams that outscored every team not named the Patriots. Eli Manning's big brother threw for 37 touchdowns, posted the league's second highest passer rating (behind only reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers) and completed 68.6 of his 583 pass attempts--tied with Matt Ryan for the best rate in the NFL--all while leading Denver to a 13-3 record and the top seed in the AFC. Although Brady's stats are neck and neck with Manning's numbers, Manning's season was more valuable because his supporting cast was not quite as deep nor talented as Brady's receiving corps. However, you could make the case that neither one was the top quarterback last year since Drew Brees accrued the most yards and TDs, Rodgers boasted the best passer rating and Luck led the most game-winning drives.

1. Adrian Peterson
The NFL's leading rusher and MVP favorite rebounded from a down 2011 plagued by injury to have a historic year. Peterson racked up 2,097 rushing yards, falling just nine yards short of Eric Dickerson's single season record. AP also led the league with with 2,314 total yards from scrimmage (rushing and receiving yards combined) while helping 10-6 Minnesota clinch a playoff berth with its 37-34 win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 17. With his eye-popping numbers and timely late-season surge, Peterson is the clear-cut choice for this year's MVP.

Patriots-Jets Live Blog

7:49 PM: Sanchez fumbles as he reaches back to throw and New England recovers. The referees review the play just to be sure, and the ruling on the field stands. With their 29-26 victory secure, the 4-3 Patriots now lead the AFC East.

7:41 PM: Gostkowski comes through again! His 48-yard field goal gives New England a three point lead in overtime. Now the defense has to finish the job.

7:31 PM: New England wins the toss and will receive the overtime kickoff. Hopefully the momentum from their game-tying drive carries over.

7:30 PM: Brady gets Stephen Gostkowski into field goal range after three quick passes. Gostkowski shanked the game-winning touchdown against Arizona in Week 2, but this time he splits the uprights and forces overtime. Redemption.

7:25 PM: Folk drills another 43-yard field goal. New York has scored 13 unanswered points to take the lead. The Pats have 97 seconds to make some magic happen. Let's go.

7:18 PM: McCourty fumbles on the kick return. Jets recover with 2:01 to play. I think I'm gonna be sick. Tebow, the miracle worker, comes in. He's been nowhere near as effective this year as he was last year. He doesn't scare me.

7:16 PM: Stephen Hill drops a wide open pass that would've given New York a first down, so the Jets have to settle for 43-yard field goal from Folk. Game is tied at 23, but Brady has three timeouts and more than two minutes of clock to work with. I like New England's chances.

7:10 PM: Three and out for Brady and company. Jets will get the ball back with more than four minutes to rally. Plenty of time to mount a comeback, even for Sanchez and his short passes.

7:03 PM: Sanchez threads the needle, hitting Dustin Keller in the end zone to cap a 92-yard drive on 14 plays. New England leads 23-20. I start having flashbacks to last week's fourth quarter meltdown in Seattle. Trying to block them out.

6:46 PM: Start of the fourth quarter. New England leads 23-13.

6:40 PM: Brady hits Gronkowski again for their second touchdown of the game. Gronk has been giving New York's defense fits all day.

6:36 PM: Patriots respond with solid drive of their own. Weird play where Hernandez fumbles and Jets recover in the end zone for a touchback.  Belichick challenges the play. It's overturned because Hernandez was already down.

6:19 PM: Jets open the second half with a drive that culminates with a 21-yard field goal. New England leads 16-13.

6 PM: Halftime.

5:57 PM Nick Folk's 54 yard field goal is good. New England leads 16-10 despite having a mediocre half on offense. On the other hand, their defense looked quite good.

5:52 PM: Sanchez running the hurry-up offense. No huddles.

5:50 PM: Two minute warning.

5:46 PM: Sanchez moving the chains with short passes. He seems afraid to throw it deep even though New England has a horrible secondary.

5:40 PM: Patriots unable to add to their lead. This game is still too close for comfort.

5:29 PM: Sanchez struggling with accuracy on this cool, fall New England day. No surprise there. The Patriots record their first interception in three weeks.

5:20 PM: New England has been running the ball much more this season to make their offense more well-rounded. The Patriots are averaging 152 yards per game on the ground, most since their 1983 season. Brady sacked for nine yard loss on third down, leading to punt.

5:18 PM: Shonn Greene fumbles handoff, which Sanchez kicks, giving the Patriots their first safety since 2006. The Pats lead 16-7 and have already scored on offense, defense and special teams.

5:10 PM: End of first quarter. Patriots lead 14-7.

5:08 PM: Brady delivers a perfect bomb to Brandon Lloyd off the play-action, but Brandon Lloyd can't hang on. Disappointing. It's always so frustrating when the quarterback makes an excellent pass, but the receiver wastes it.

5:04 PM: Jets fumble, but recover. Sanchez fails to convert one of his signature slant passes on 3rd and 3, so the Jets punt it away. No offensive rhythm for New York so far in the early going.

4:57 PM: The announcers talk about how Rob Gronkowski isn't playing at 100 percent. Moments later, he hauls in a misplaced ball by Brady and dives into the end zone with his fourth touchdown catch of the season. A depleted Gronk is still a beast.

4:52 PM: Mark Sanchez sacked and the Jets punt the ball away. Hopefully Brady's second offensive series is more productive than his first.

4:46 PM: New York's lead is short-lived. McCourty returns the kickoff for a 104-yard touchdown against the team that led the league in kickoff coverage last season. It is just the eighth kickoff return of his career. Game tied at 7.

4:44 PM: Announcers refer to the Patriots defense as "vulnerable." That's putting it nicely. The Jets score on their first drive. New York leads 7-0.

4:26 PM: First play, first down for New England. 11-yard pass from Tom Brady to Shane Vereen. Vereen, whose status for today's game remained uncertain for most of the week, touches the ball on the first three possessions. It will be interesting to see if he plays a big role in New England's offensive attack today.

4:26 PM: Jets win the coin toss, but elect to kick off. Touchback.

Patriots Bludgeon Bills

Stevan Ridley (#22) goes to work against the Bills (CSNNE)

The New England Patriots throttled the Buffalo Bills last Sunday by a score of 52-28.

Here's the thing; at the beginning of the fourth quarter the game was tied, 21-21.  Do the math.

And while you're crunching those numbers, take a look at this one.  580.  That's how many total yards Bill Belichick's offense accumulated; 333 in the air and 247 on the ground.  All those rushing yards are what really impress me, especially since the Pats have built their offense around some guy named Tom Brady (you know, the handsome man who does all those Ugg advertisements).  New England's young running-backs Stevan Ridley and Brandon Bolden both delivered monster performances as they turned this game into a track meet.  Ridley piled up 106 rushing yards on 22 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns, while 22 year-old rookie Brandon Bolden totaled 137 yards on 16 carries and scored during New England's fourth quarter rampage.

The game was a tale of two very different halves.  Ridley opened the scoring to give the Pats a first quarter lead, but Ryan Fitzpatrick fired a pair of TDs to tight end Scott Chandler during the second quarter while Buffalo's defense kept New England off the board. The Bills padded their lead to 21-7 in the third after Fitzpatrick connected with Donald Jones on a 68-yard bomb, and Pats fans began bracing for the possibility that their team would lose its third consecutive game in a row for the first time since 2002.

Then the Patriots offense, which had been dormant much of the game, went bananas.  Bonkers.  Absolutely nuts. Brady, who had some trouble locating his helmet at the beginning of the quarter, took care of business himself by slinging a 17-yard TD pass to Danny Woodhead and rushing for the game-tying touchdown.   The score was tied at 21, but not for long. Brady initiated the fourth quarter bloodbath by finding Rob Gronkowski to take the lead. Ridley and Bolden rushed for touchdowns to put the game out of reach before Fitzpatrick ended New England's 35-0 run with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Brad Smith.  Brady responded by notching his third passing TD of the day with a 25-yarder to Brandon Lloyd. Stephen Gostkowski punctuated the scoring with a 30 yard field goal to seal New England's first 50 point game since October 18th, 2009, when they creamed the Tennessee Titans 59-0. Their 31 fourth quarter points were more than 24 other teams (including the Bills) scored during Week 4. They scored five consecutive touchdowns, six in the second half and seven in all.

The defense was shaky again, allowing 438 total yards to the Bills a week after giving up 503 to the Ravens. Give them credit for forcing six turnovers--four interceptions and two lost fumbles--and recording three sacks, but at the same time realize that this game could have, and probably should have, been a lot closer than the final score indicates. They've allowed way too many passing yards to Fitzpatrick and Joe Flacco, so they have me worried about their Week 5 match-up with Peyton Manning's Denver Broncos.  It's disappointing to see them struggle like this because the D looked very good in Weeks 1 and 2 against the Titans and Cardinals.  Granted, they're an average defense at best and are going to have their fair share of ups and downs, but it would be nice if they could find some consistency going forward.

Still, after what happened in last week's Sunday night loss to the Ravens, it sure felt good watching the Pats vent some frustration by running up the score against their AFC East foes.  Both teams now sit at 2-2, as do the New York Jets following the 34-0 beatdown they suffered at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.  The Bills have now lost 17 of their past 18 meetings with the Patriots.

Patriots Topple Titans

The boys are back in town

I must say, it's great to have a winning team to root for again in Boston.  Time to put this miserable summer of baseball behind us and focus on football!

Yesterday afternoon the New England Patriots kicked off their 2012 season by topping the Tennessee Titans 34-13.  The home team took an early 3-0 lead following a 28-yard field goal from Rob Bironas, but from that point forward it was all New England.

Tom Brady, as always, led the way.  The three-time Super Bowl champion eclipsed 40,000 career passing yards, becoming just the 14th quarterback in NFL history to do so.  He put together another stellar game, notching 236 yards on 23-of-31 passing to go along with a pair of TDs, one each to Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.  Combined the tight-end tandem hauled in 12 of Brady's 13 targets for 119 yards.

Running back Stevan Ridley also shone for the Patriots by piling up 125 rushing yards on 21 carries and scoring a touchdown.  He even snagged a pair of passes for good measure.  I know it's only one game, but Ridley represents a clear upgrade over BenJarvus Green-Ellis.  He's quick, explosive and fun to watch; there were times yesterday when he made Titans defenders look terrible.

On the other hand, New England's defense played a great game against the Titans, limiting them to only one touchdown.  Even more impressively, they managed to hold Chris Johnson to just four rushing yards on eleven carries.

For Tennessee, 24 year-old quarterback Jake Locker looked a little shaky in the first start of his career.  His 229 yards on 23-of-32 passing were almost identical to the numbers posted by his counterpart, but the sophomore threw just one touchdown (to Nate Washington) and turned the ball over twice, including a fumble that rookie Dont'a Hightower promptly returned for a TD.  Several of his pass attempts were wild, but overall he did make some nice plays and had a decent performance until he departed in the fourth quarter with a left shoulder injury.  Matt Hasselbeck replaced him.

New England has won nine consecutive season openers, the longest active streak in the league.  Next week they take on the Arizona Cardinals at home.

Pats Dump Denver

It was a big day in the NFL. The hopeless Colts, who haven't enjoyed the sweet taste of victory since four time MVP Peyton Manning went under the knife, finally managed to win a game when they topped the playoff-aspiring Titans (who couldn't afford to lose this one) 27-13.  On the other end of the spectrum, Aaron Rodgers and his reigning Super Bowl Champs watched their 16-0 dreams disappear in Kansas City. 

And in Denver, Tom Brady and his boys battered the Broncos, 41-23, out west to clinch a playoff berth with the AFC East title.  The win marked New England's sixth in a row and snapped the Broncos' six-game ride.

8-6 Denver, notorious for starting slow and finishing strong, came out guns blazing in this one but quickly fell apart.  Their running game punched holes through the Patriots' poor defense, and the fighting Tebows stormed to a 16-7 lead early in the second quarter.  The Pats were missing tackles left and right, but the D pulled themselves together and after that it was all New England. The Pats responded with 20 points of their own before halftime and never looked back.  They wouldn't allow any second half heroics from Tim Tebow. who broke Denver's dry spell with his second rushing TD early in the fourth and trimmed New England's lead to eleven, but a BenJarvus Green-Ellis touchdown iced the game and dashed any hopes for a fifth straight Tebow miracle.

Tebow was the hot topic heading into the game and played reasonably well, but his normally stout defense sabotaged him, as did a sloppy performance from Denver's special teams.  Meanwhile, Brady (23/34, 320 yards and two touchdowns) proved once again why he is one of the game's elite.  Even as Belichick leaned on his rushers more than usual today, Brady still managed to put up his typical stellar numbers.  His preferred targets, Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski, were quiet but he compensated by connecting with Aaron Hernandez (huge game) and Chad Ochocinco (first score in over a year) for a pair of scores. 

New England boosted its record to 11-3.  They return home for the final two tilts of the regular season against the Dolphins on Christmas Eve day and the Bills on the first day of 2012.  Both opponents are sub .500 and the Pats should beat them, regardless of their postseason status.

Pats Clip Colts

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Patriots were coasting.  They'd thoroughly routed their winless rivals and, armed with a commanding 31-3 lead, just had to cruise through garbage time to earn their ninth win of the season.  All they had to do was play out the string, literally.

But then a funny thing happened.  The Colts, without Payton Manning yet again and sleepwalking their way to another defeat, suddenly came back to life quicker than a zombie in "The Walking Dead." Stand-in QB Dan Orlovsky rallied his troops with a pair of TD passes to Pierre Garcon (who enjoyed a monster day by hauling in nine passes for 150 yards) while Indy's D put the screws on New England's devastating offense and kept them off the scoreboard in the fourth. By the end of the game they'd dominated the final fifteen minutes and had somehow managed to cut New England's lead to a single touchdown.  And with every Patriot fan in Gillette sweating bullets, Deion Branch thankfully recovered the onside kick and Tom Brady took a knee to hold on for the win.

New England's defensive struggles and fourth quarter meltdown aside, this afternoon's game was just business as usual for the Pats.  Brady did his thing, leading the air attack with a very efficient 29/38 for 289 yards and a couple touchdowns to Rob Gronkowski (who made it a hat trick with a rushing TD) while keeping Wes Welker happy with eleven receptions and 110 yards.  New England didn't get much on the ground from BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who managed to score despite finishing the day with just fourteen rushing yards on six carries.  Even New England's much-maligned defense performed well for the most part, holding to Colts to just a second quarter Adam Vinatieri field goal before collapsing like a house of cards at the end.

The Pats take on the Redskins (4-8) in the nation's capital next Sunday as they continue to benefit from a soft schedule down the stretch.  New England will be gunning for its tenth victory of the season, and should get it there.

Pats Crush Chiefs

"It's not how you start; it's how you finish."

Last night, the Patriots proved this old saying still rings true by shaking off a slow start to clubber Kansas City by a score of 34-3 at Gillette.  The Chiefs drew first blood on Ryan Succop field goal and the Pats failed to score during the first quarter, but KC's slim lead proved to be short-lived.  New England's defense put the clamps on, not allowing another Kansas City point for the rest of the game, and it was only a matter of time before New England's powerful offense finally kicked into gear and pummeled the Chiefs D.  By the end of the third the game had gotten out of hand, and Kansas City never mounted a serious comeback (or posed much of a threat after the first).

Many were looking forward to an intriguing matchup between Tom Brady former backup, Matt Cassel, but the quarterback duel never materialized as Cassel went down with a season ending injury prior to the game.  His replacement, Tyler Palko, couldn't exploit New England's shaky defense and may have had a case of the jitters in his first career start, as he lobbed three interceptions (two to Kyle Arrington) and failed to score.  Brady, on the other hand, had a pretty quiet evening by his lofty standards, attempting only 27 passes (completing 15) for 234 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Rob Gronkowski.

New England improved its AFC East leading record to 7-3.  They travel to the City of Brotherly Love to play the Michael Vick and the Eagles (4-6) this Sunday.

Patriots, Offense Bounce Back

The last month or so has been pretty rough on New England and its potent offensive attack, which had scored at least 30 points during its first five games but then failed to top 20 over its next three.  The Patriots rely so heavily on their passing game that they really struggled when defenses started keying in on Wes Welker, Chad Ochocinco went AWOL and Deion Branch didn't pick up the slack.  Consequently, Tom Brady's numbers took a hit and more often than not the team found itself kicking the ball away or settling for short-range field goals.

New England is #1...in the AFC East at least

But last night marked a return to form for Brady and his bunch, who beat the Jets (in New York this time) for the second time this year to reinforce their 30-21 triumph at Gillette during Columbus Day weekend.  In front of scores of veterans Tom was terrific once again, needing only 26 completions to total 329 yards and a trio of touchdowns.  Rob Gronkowski, who leads all NFL tight ends in six-pointers since the start of last season, hauled in two of them (Branch snagged the other) while Ochocinco contributed 65 yards on just two catches.  Stephen Gostkowski banged home three field goals, including a beautiful 50 yarder to get the scoring started in the first.

New England only led 13-9 at the half, but proceeded to pour it on after the break.  They started pulling away in the third by tacking ten points onto their lead while the defense held Mark Sanchez (306 yards, 20/39, one TD and two picks) and the Jets scoreless.  New York trimmed the lead to seven early in the fourth on a Sanchez-Plaxico Burress connection, but the Pats responded with two touchdowns of their own to put the game away.  The defense does deserve some credit for keeping New York off the board in the first and third quarters, whereas New England scored in all four.

The 37-16 win vaulted New England (6-3) into first place in the AFC East and proved they, not the Jets nor Bills (both 5-4), are still the top-dog in the division.  The Pats return home for their Week 11 Monday night tilt with a thoroughly mediocre Chiefs squad (4-5) in their last game before Turkey Day.

Patriots Fall to Giants

When Tom Brady slung a perfect fourteen yard pass to Rob Gronkowski (redeeming himself after a pair of drops on the previous two plays) in the middle of the endzone to give New England a 20-17 lead with just over a minute and a half remaining in Sunday's brawl (every time you turned around someone was fighting) between the Patriots and Giants, it looked like another classic Brady comeback was complete.  All the Pats had to do was hold off Eli Manning who, contrary to his own belief, is not now and never will be an elite quarterback, and his boys for another 96 seconds, and the win was theirs.

But that task proved too difficult for the much maligned Patriot D to handle as they helped New York, minus their top rusher Ahmad Bradshaw and leading receiver Hakeem Nicks, move 80 yards on eight plays with a devastating pass interference call against Sergio Brown.  Manning made a few nice passes (and his fear of the sack led to more than a couple ugly heaves off his back foot), but managed to come through with a touchdown pass to Jake Ballard with fifteen seconds left that secured a four point Giants victory, their sixth in seven games.  New England, meanwhile, has lost consecutive games for just the third time since the beginning of the 2003 season.
 
It was a weird game; no one scored, at all, in the first half, as series after series stalled and ended in punts.  Gostkowski uncharacteristically shanked a 27-yarder with three seconds left in the first half, and New England's high powered offense, suffering through its third straight subpar performance, was so incapable that the Gillette crowd showered them with boos after a Brady incompletion in the third quarter.  Both offenses finally got on track after that, but it ended up being too little, too late for the home team.

Brady, sacked and picked off twice, was not his sharpest in this one but still put together a solid performance, throwing a pair of TDs while notching 342 yards on 28/49 passing.  Manning also got two touchdowns of his own and went 20/39 for 250 yards.  After a couple down weeks Wes Welker returned to form, racking up 136 receiving yards on nine catches, while Gronkowski snagged the aforementioned six pointer and finished the day with 101 yards on eight receptions. 

The Patriots, now 5-3, will play New York again in Week 10 when they head to MetLife Stadium to battle the Jets,  also 5-3, on Sunday night.

Steelers Edge Pats

Last Sunday in Pittsburgh the Steelers brought their trademark tough defense and handed New England, fully rested after a bye week, just its second loss of the season.

Tom Brady, the reigning league MVP who is making another solid case for himself thus far, had only suffered one career defeat against the Steel City's black and yellow before Sunday but found himself smothered and stifled all afternoon.  He notched a pair of touchdowns but was limited to a season-low 198 passing yards.  The Steeler D's constant pressure and excellent coverage of his receivers (Wes Welker and Deion Branch were non-factors) preventEd Brady from getting in a groove, and the offense stalled, especially since Pittsburgh's defensive line virtually eliminated New England's mediocre running game.  As a result, the high-powered Patriot offense was shut out in both the first and third quarters.

New England trailed the entire game but made a last-ditch comeback attempt by pulling to within six with 2:35 remaining after an Aaron Hernandez TD, but Pittsburgh foiled their drive with eight seconds left by sacking Brady and recovering the ball for a safety after Troy Polamalu batted it into the endzone.

On the other side of the ball, the Patriots defense was not sharp and allowed Big Ben Roethlisberger to throw for two TDs and almost twice as many yards as Terrific Tom.  Pass coverage has been a legitimate issue with this defense all season long, and Sunday's game was definitely a step in the wrong direction after their tremendous effort against the Cowboys during Week 6.

The Pats look to bounce back at home against Eli Manning and the Giants.

Patriots 30, Jets 21

Green-Ellis eludes New York's defense

In their first meeting since the Jets sent the Patriots packing back in January, New England avenged its playoff loss to their hated rivals from New York last Sunday at Gillette.

The offense, for the second week in a row, proved it could put points on the board without relying on Tom Brady to heave the ball up the field.  Undeterred by New York's defense, the Patriots scored at least 30 points for the thirteenth consecutive regular season game.  Brady led the way with another solid effort, throwing for 321 yards on 24 of 33 passing but with only one TD to Deion Branch in the third quarter to show for it.  Top receiver Wes Welker snagged 124 yards on just five catches, but didn't quite find the endzone. 

Instead, the Pats gave the ball to Green-Ellis and let him do his thing, which on Sunday amounted to a pair of touchdowns and a career high 136 yards on a whopping 27 carries.  Boy, talk about moving the chains.  Ellis has been the unquestioned star of New England's ground game thus far, and can always be counted on when Brady and his receivers hit a rough patch. 

But the real story for New England was its improved defense, which has really picked it up over the past two games despite ranking among the league's worst.  It shut New York out in the first quarter, managed to hold Mark Sanchez to a meager 166 yards and limited the Jets to 255 net yards (New England had 446 by comparison).  Hopefully the D has turned a corner and can continue to get better as the season progresses.

The win moved the Pats to 4-1 while dropping the Jets below .500 to 2-3.  Dallas (2-2) comes to town on Sunday.

Patriots Pillage Raiders

Wes Welker scores his fifth TD of the season

In last week's loss against the Bills, the main issue for the Patriots was Tom Brady's four turnovers.  A repeat performance was unlikely, though, and Brady bounced back by not allowing a single turnover by tossing two touchdowns on 226 yards as he passed Joe Montana for the ninth spot on the career passing TD list.  Next up on the list is Vinny Testaverde, whom Brady trails by just one touchdown.

Brady's numbers dipped a bit from the season's first three games as the Patriots focused more on their running game.  Critics had argued the Pats were becoming a one-dimensional team by relying so heavily on Brady, making him throw the ball 40+ times a game, but yesterday's 31-19 victory over the Raiders showed New England can still get the job done on the ground.  Green-Ellis continued his fine season by rushing for a touchdown and 75 yards on 16 carries, while Stevan Ridley made the most out of his ten carries by running for 97 yards and a touchdown.

Wes Welker enjoyed another monster game by racking up 158 receiving yards and a touchdown on just nine catches.  On the other side of the ball, the defense, which has been somewhat disappointing to date, effectively suppressed Oakland's running game, a 30 yard run from Jacoby Ford notwithstanding.  And while they allowed Jason Campbell to throw for 344 yards on 25/39 passing, Safety Patrick Chung came up with a big interception in the end zone late in the first half to preserve New England's 17-10 advantage. 

The Pats improved to 3-1 on the young season with the victory, and they'll have to be at their best when the Jets (2-2) come to town this holiday weekend for a divisional clash.  The game will be on CBS at 4:15.