Typically it’s reserved for a defending champion, but New England has been targeted for their success over the decade. Hanging a loss on the Pats, even two years after the undefeated regular season, still means a lot.

And to get that win, teams will try everything in order to show they measure up to one of the league’s best teams. That’s why Miami unveiled the Wildcat last year against the Pats. They know the road to the AFC East crown went through New England.

Even though the Dolphins are the defending AFC East champions, and bragged they hold the crown until some team knocks them off, they knew a win over the Patriots supports their boast.

Continue reading "Pick Six Week Nine"

New England signed free agent veteran cornerbacks Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden. Miami went the younger route and drafted Vonta Davis and Sean Smith.

Being division neighbors means they play almost the exact out of division opponents, save for Denver and Baltimore for the Patriots and San Diego and Pittsburgh for the Dolphins. Otherwise they both play the AFC South and NFC South.

Most of these teams feature large wide outs that are very tough to handle without the proper equipment: Atlanta’s Michael Jenkins (6’4” 217), New Orleans’ Marques Colston (6’4” 225), and Houston’s Andre Johnson (6’3” 225) to name a few.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff Week 9"

A slew of division match-ups are highlighted in this week’s NFL schedule. First place is up for grabs in the NFC East and one team hopes to avoid falling further behind the Colts in the AFC South. What games should you be watching? Find out in the Opening Drive of week nine!

(4-3) Baltimore Ravens at (5-2) Cincinnati Bengals

With the Ravens, Bengals and Steelers all making a case for their place atop the AFC North, this game will go a long way in deciding the final two. If Baltimore is swept by Cincinnati, they’ll drop back to .500 while the Bengals and Steelers fight it out. The Ravens dominated Denver in the second half of last week’s game, thanks to Joe Flacco’s efficiency with the football. He’ll need a repeat performance if he’s going to keep up with Carson Palmer, who is playing on a Pro Bowl level. Both offenses have depending on a balanced attack, so look for each defense to shut down the run.

Continue reading "Joes Opening Drive Week 9"

The Patriots are a versatile team, capable of adapting each week to attack their opponents biggest weakness. This week's opponent, the Miami Dolphins, present a number of challenges, the most obvious of which is their Wildcat offense. Miami also bears the hallmark of any Bill Parcells team, they are big and physical. So how will the Patriots attack and defend the Dolphins, our thoughts, Hoodie style below.

DEFENSIVE GAMEPLAN

As always, it all starts with defense. Even without Jarvis Green the Patriots have a number of versatile defensive lineman. We all know the number one threat is the Dolphins running game, out of the Wildcat or a regular formation, so our number one goal is to shut down Ronnie Brown and Rickey Williams and make Chad Henne beat us through the air.

Continue reading "Donning the Hoodie Patriots Defense vs Dolphins Offense"

Today's injury report should provide some insight as to what's up with Adalius Thomas. Thomas was healthy for last Thursday's bye week practice but was missing yesterday for unknown reasons. I only say unknown because there was no injury report yesterday. Hopefully things will be clarified today by either Thomas' presence at practice or the injury report that will be released at 4pm EST.

While AD has been in Belichick's doghouse the Patriots could really use him on Sunday to help defend against Miami's run game. As I wrote yesterday Derrick Burgess looks like he's ahead of Thomas even on the 3-4 OLB depth chart, but dealing with the Wildcat as an OLB is an entire different set of skills.

Continue reading "More Drama for Adalius Thomas"

(5-2) Dallas Cowboys 38
(2-5) Seattle Seahawks 17

What’s with teams not wanting to tackle Cowboy receivers? Miles Austin and Sam Hurd have just been embarrassing defenders left and right. Tony Romo has put his team in a position to take first in the East following their next game, which comes against rival Philadelphia. In Seattle, injuries abound for the second straight year. There is no way this team could fight for a division title.

(4-3) Baltimore Ravens 30

Continue reading "Joes Final Drive Week 8"

No one needs to be reminded of the Dolphins Wildcat offense, nor how hard it is to defend, and with Adalius Thomas already falling down the depth chart before missing practice on Tuesday, Burgess will likely be thrust into the fire of stopping Ronnie Brown and company.

For an outside linebacker in the 3-4 decisions must be made in an instant. Should he drop into coverage? Should attack the passer or set the edge for a run coming in his direction?

For someone like Burgess who has limited experience doing anything other than pinning back his ears and attacking the quarterback this week could pose quite a challenge.

Continue reading "Patriots Burgess Will Play a Key Role Vs Dolphins"

Tom Brady has had three months of football without missing so much as a practice. While he showed some signs of rust in September, he also flashed the icy cold composure that won him three Super Bowls. The fact is that the Patriots, at 5-2, are under the radar, and their best players are just starting to get healthy and play their best.

The defense is young and still unproven in big games, and the injuries on offense have left them thin at running back and wide receiver. Hopefully they will get Matt Light back sooner than later, they will need him with the top-flight pass rushers that the Pats are about to face like Joey Porter, Dwight Freeney and Calvin Pace.

Continue reading "The Real Season is About to Start for the New England Patriots"

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This weekend Denver faces yet another stiff challenge, and four division match-ups make the Opening Drive! Oh yeah, and some guy named Favre returns to the second team he played for. No big whoop. Let’s analyze! 

(6-0) Denver Broncos at (3-3) Baltimore Ravens 

For the past few games, we’ve all said “this will be the week the Denver Broncos lose.” So far those prognostications have proved worthless, as Josh McDaniels’ team is still undefeated. Kyle Orton has played efficiently if nothing else with nine touchdowns and only one interception (a half-ending throw-up) to his credit. This Sunday he faces a Ravens squad who has lost three straight and is in danger of falling out of the division race. With Cincinnati and Pittsburgh both off this week, Baltimore has a shot to climb out of their hole, but they need to hold a team to under 30 points sometime this season. 

Continue reading "Joes NFL Opening Drive Week 8"