Patriots Win AFC East!

The Patriots were in rare form today as they handed the Jaguars a 35-7 defeat and clinched their 7th AFC East Division Championship in the last 9 seasons.

Both the offense and defense came to play, and the team as a whole seems to finally be performing up to its potential. While some will cite a weak schedule as the main reason for their current success, I think that it’s only a small factor. There are no gimmes in the NFL, and had the Patriots continued their lackluster ways in these last two games, we could still be battling with the Jets for a playoff spot. Don’t forget that this is the same Jaguars team that gave Indy a run for their money just last week.

There’s been a steady uptick in the play on both sides of the ball, and that’s how you want it this time of year. You want to roll into the playoffs with a full head of steam. The keys to playoff victory are execution and desire, regular season records are meaningless.

I’m hoping that Brady and the rest of the starters are in for at least the first half next week against the Texans. Actually, I’d like to see them in until the game is well in hand. I’m of the opinion that nothing good comes from sitting out your star players this late in the season. You can’t tell me that sitting Peyton and allowing the Jets, the Frickin Jets… to break Indy’s streak was a good thing for the team. Old Peyton looked mighty unhappy on the sidelines, and that unhappiness might be a little seed that blossoms into frustration and doubt as the stress of the playoffs looms.

So, good job men. Congratulations on the victory, and thanks for the new hat for my collection. Just don’t be losing focus or letting your foot off the gas anytime soon, there’s still a lot of football ahead.

That is all.


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Patriots Go 11 And 5 But Miss Playoffs

The Patriots finished off their regular season with a 13-0 win over the Bills and an 11-5 record, but it just wasn’t enough for a playoff berth in the hotly contended AFC.

The Dolphins clinched the AFC East Division Championship when they beat the Jets today, even though they finished the season tied with the Pats at 11-5 overall and 4-2 in their division, by virtue of a conference record tie breaker (Dolphins 8-4, Pats 7-5).

Chances of a Patriots wildcard spot went down in flames today also, when the Ravens beat the Jags, finishing 11-5 and clinching one of the two wildcard spots by virtue of the same conference record tie breaker (Ravens 8-5). The Colts had already locked up the other spot.

Although I’m bitterly disappointed that the Patriots season is over, especially since the craptastic Cardinals made the cut with a 9-7 record, I have to give the homeboys credit. They did way better than we could have expected this season, and had really jelled into a first level team, finishing off their impressive 11-5 season with a 4 game winning streak. I’ve said before that I’ve seen some pretty bad Patriots teams in my day, and this isn’t one of them.

Kudos to Matt Cassel for a season well played. He grew into his roll a little more each week, and was playing like a veteran down the stretch. He’s certainly a better quarterback than most that will start next week. The Patriots stable of standout receivers helped out a great deal, but it still comes down to on field decisions, and the kid is getting very good at them. He becomes a free agent now, and I hope he does well for himself and gets the payday he deserves.

That being said, if Brady is the least bit questionable for the start of next season, the Pats have got to franchise him. 14 mil for one season isn’t too shabby...

So, thanks to all the players and coaching staff. They gave us their all, even though the season looked dismal from day one. Hey, it sucks having the season end so early, but if we know anything about this team, it’s that they’ll be back next year with a vengeance.

For now, I’m holding out hope for a Falcons-Dolphins Super Bowl showdown. How can you not love Ryan and Pennington? It would sure beat an all Manning Bowl. I'd have to smash all my TVs if that happened.

It Wasn't Pretty But They're 11 and 0.

The Patriots became AFC Eastern Division Champs for the 5th year in a row by virtue of a Bills loss today, but things didn't go quite so smoothly on the field.

The Pats pulled off a squeaker against the Eagles, beating them 31 to 28 in a back and forth game that came right down to the wire. The Eagles played inspired football and A.J. Feeley had the game of his career, but the Pats persevered. Brady led them on a 69 yard scoring drive in the 4th to retake the lead and the defense sealed the deal with a pair of interceptions on the last 2 Eagle possessions.

It was a tight game but I don't for a minute believe the post game comments from the NBC porks that the Eagles have shown the rest of the league a blueprint to beat the Pats. The defense was flat tonight, although they came through when it counted, and Moss was not himself. The Eagles secondary had a lot to do with his performance but you could see that his timing was off. He was jumping to soon on the high throws and he seemed to be looking over the wrong shoulder on a couple of plays. Hey, the guy is an amazing receiver, tonight just wasn't his night.

The double coverage on Moss did open up Welker, who had a big night and really pulled our nards out of the fire. That guy is a mean motor scooter. Game balls have to go to both Welker and Samuel.

On to Baltimore to face the Ravens on Monday Night Football. This should be good. There was some jawing earlier in the season between Adalius Thomas and Ray Lewis. I just don't like that guy and would love to see him get shut down.