Football... I'm So Glad That It's Back

I was a glutten at the trough this past weekend, gorging myself on football. It wasn't easy, either.

We're in the process of tearing up the house (again), and I had to run cable to a new location late Saturday night, creating a temporary Mantown in my wife's beloved, and deliberately low tech, living room. The good news is, once she sat down on the couch in front of the Samsung, she was glad I did it. After all, she's a football fan too, and in the tighter quarters of the living room the TV looks even more impressive. Sometimes it pays to be sneaky...

So, we were all set for the feature attraction on Sunday, the Pats vs. the Bengals, and we weren't disappointed. Brady looked sharp, and Wes is back and in fine shape, how great is that? I was really pumped that he scored the first TD of the season, very fitting.

Another standout on the offensive side of the ball was Brandon Tate, talk about turning on the afterburners, and the new tight ends contributed much more than I expected, both from a blocking and catching perspective.

I was also reasonably pleased with the running game. Straight Ahead Fred and company performed well. It's more about just being able to run when you need to, than it is about breaking the big ones. On that count, I don't think we're going to miss Maroney very much, but this is an older group, and it's a very long season...

The defense started off ferocious. Guyton and McCourty contributed in a big way, and everyone was hitting like they meant it. The question is; can they sustain that energy and build on it? Cincy started gaining some traction in the second half, but you can chock some of that up to them being a good team who started off poorly. Only time will tell. Let's just hope a lot of that energy and momentum carries over into this week.

Speaking of this week, how bout them Jets?

They really stunk it up on Monday night. When the pressure is on, Sanchez is not "The Sanchise". Dumping the consistent Jones for LT, who can make big plays, but isn't consistent (Hmm, kind of like Maroney...), puts just enough weight on the boy wonder to tip the scales in a bad way. Did you see him sail those passes? Yikes!

Plus the whole "Hard Knocks" thing was a huge mistake for them. It may be compelling TV, but you can't mold a football team on a reality show. You can forge a few clowns, but they've already got their fill of Bozo's. Whoever OK'd that deal needs his head examined. Most memorable quote from the show, given by Rex after he excoriates them for not being serious;

"OK, let's go get some snacks."

All that being said, the Pats have to play hard and stay sharp tomorrow, because the Jets can be a tough team to play if they're on the mark. Their defense always matches up well with the Pats, think Revis, and the Jets will bet the farm and blitz right from the get go.

I don't want to see any of those QB sammiches like they layed on Flacco on Monday night to start the game off (or at all!). Gotta have Hernandez and Gronkowski in there to block on the first series. Gotta be the more physical team. Simple as that. If they control the line from both sides, they should crush them.

A good, quick, drubbing, that would be sweet. Then Rex can concentrate on getting some snacks.


That is all.