| New England Patriots | ||
| Dane Fletcher LB | Probable | Thumb |
| Patrick Chung S | Probable | Hand |
| Danny Woodhead RB | Questionable | Ankle |
| Sebastian Vollmer T | Questionable | Back |
| Matthew Slater WR | Questionable | Ribs |
| Jerod Mayo LB | Questionable | Knee |
| Kyle Love DT | Questionable | Back |
| Aaron Hernandez TE | Questionable | Knee |
| Albert Haynesworth DT | Questionable | Back |
| BenJarvus Green-Ellis RB | Questionable | Toe |
| Julian Edelman WR | Questionable | Ankle |
| Ras-I Dowling CB | Questionable | Hip |
| Sergio Brown S | Questionable | Chest |
| Leigh Bodden CB | Questionable | Thumb |
| Josh Barrett S | Out | Thumb, hamstring |
| Mike Wright DE | Injured-Reserve | Concussion |
| Myron Pryor DT | Injured-Reserve | Shoulder |
| Dan Koppen C | Injured-Reserve | Fibula |
| Rich Ohrnberger G | Injured-Reserve | |
| Bret Lockett S | Injured-Reserve | Groin |
| Kyle Hix T | Injured-Reserve | Undisclosed |
| Christian Cox LB | Injured-Reserve | Neck |
Monday, October 24, 2011
The only other writing option for a bye-week would be a creative one. Thus, I have chose to highlight one of the overlooked aspects of the game this week, health. Here is what the Patriots injury-report looks like. Hopefully, the bye-week will help to get as many healthy players back on the field as possible for the big game at Pittsburgh. Not to mention, during this valuable time, the Pats will be spending extra time practicing, watching film, and preparing in all ways for the Steelers on the road.
Expect most of these players to have a chance to play against the Steelers. There are plenty of decisions that will have to be made however, by the training staff and coaches. Having 100% all around health on a NFL team is unheard of, and sometimes it is debatable if players are actually healthy or if they are playing with pain. However, the Patriots are in pretty decent shape and should have all of their key players ready for the Heinz Field showdown.
The New England Patriots are currently enjoying their off, or "bye" week this week. They did not play yesterday, which means I have no game-play to analyze. And I have already previewed their next game at the Steelers. What is there left to do? I will list my Top 10 teams in the league from best to worst. Here are my NFL Week 8 Power Rankings.
#1 Green Bay Packers- Aaron Rodgers and the Pack continue to impress with stingy defense, great play-calling, and an offense that has been untouched so far.
#2 Your New England Patriots- With a tough fought win over Dallas, and now a confident young defense, you better believe the Patriots will be AFC favorites if they can beat Pittsburgh this week.
#3 San Francisco 49ers- I really like what the 49ers are doing and where they are headed. One of their most impressive wins came over the previously undefeated Detroit Lions. Look for Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore to continue what they have been doing.
#4 Baltimore Ravens- I'm kinda sick of seeing them up in the Rankings every year. I better get used to it because like the defense, Ray Lewis isn't showing any signs of stopping.
#5 New Orleans Saints- Expect the Saints to go on a run with an easy schedule towards the end of the season with their high-powered offense lead by Drew Brees.
#6 Buffalo Bills- The Bills have already proved that they are playoff material, but can they be the elite of the elite?
#7 New York Giants- The Giants have won too many big games to not be in the top 10.
#8 Houston Texans - Arian Foster may carry the Texans all the way into the playoffs, plus I don't see other teams in their division that will be major competition, especially the win-less Indianapolis Colts without star Quarterback Peyton Manning.
#9 Detroit Lions- The Lions are in a bit of a slump; their rank will continue to fall unless they can get back on track.
#10 Pittsburgh Steelers- Never count the Steelers out, especially with the type of veteran leadership they have on both sides of the ball.
#1 Green Bay Packers- Aaron Rodgers and the Pack continue to impress with stingy defense, great play-calling, and an offense that has been untouched so far.
#2 Your New England Patriots- With a tough fought win over Dallas, and now a confident young defense, you better believe the Patriots will be AFC favorites if they can beat Pittsburgh this week.
#3 San Francisco 49ers- I really like what the 49ers are doing and where they are headed. One of their most impressive wins came over the previously undefeated Detroit Lions. Look for Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore to continue what they have been doing.
#4 Baltimore Ravens- I'm kinda sick of seeing them up in the Rankings every year. I better get used to it because like the defense, Ray Lewis isn't showing any signs of stopping.
#5 New Orleans Saints- Expect the Saints to go on a run with an easy schedule towards the end of the season with their high-powered offense lead by Drew Brees.
#6 Buffalo Bills- The Bills have already proved that they are playoff material, but can they be the elite of the elite?
#7 New York Giants- The Giants have won too many big games to not be in the top 10.
#8 Houston Texans - Arian Foster may carry the Texans all the way into the playoffs, plus I don't see other teams in their division that will be major competition, especially the win-less Indianapolis Colts without star Quarterback Peyton Manning.
#9 Detroit Lions- The Lions are in a bit of a slump; their rank will continue to fall unless they can get back on track.
#10 Pittsburgh Steelers- Never count the Steelers out, especially with the type of veteran leadership they have on both sides of the ball.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
After a hard fought win over the Jets in Week 5, New England will host Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots are starting to get a little healthier with tight-end Aaron Hernandez and others back into action. Like many other teams, I'm sure the Pats cannot wait for the bye week to mentally and physically regroup and have extra practice and preparation.
Anyways, on Sunday, the Patriots will try to improve to 5-1 on the season, and stay in the hunt for first place in the division.
Currently, the Pats have won 19 straight regular season games at home, and few would expect this to end against a mistake-prone team that always seems to lose games themselves instead of being outplayed. The Cowboys have been viewed as the team that often shoots itself in the leg, and unfortunately for Cowboy fans, I find it extremely hard to believe that they will somehow overcome all of that and beat a top 5 team. The Patriots simply have too many weapons on the field, and they are known for capitalizing on turnovers. Unlike last week, there isn't any one match-up that could solely change the outcome of the game or is worth focusing on.
In my opinion, this week, the major priority for both teams is controlling the line of scrimmage.
For example, if the Patriots are able to do this the way they did against the Jets, they will win this game by double digits. But if we see unlikely turnovers, mishaps, and Brady going down on multiple occasions, then the Cowboys will have a chance to steal one at Gillette.
However, I don't see these things happening, so I will predict that the Patriots will win 40-24.
Anyways, on Sunday, the Patriots will try to improve to 5-1 on the season, and stay in the hunt for first place in the division.
Currently, the Pats have won 19 straight regular season games at home, and few would expect this to end against a mistake-prone team that always seems to lose games themselves instead of being outplayed. The Cowboys have been viewed as the team that often shoots itself in the leg, and unfortunately for Cowboy fans, I find it extremely hard to believe that they will somehow overcome all of that and beat a top 5 team. The Patriots simply have too many weapons on the field, and they are known for capitalizing on turnovers. Unlike last week, there isn't any one match-up that could solely change the outcome of the game or is worth focusing on.
In my opinion, this week, the major priority for both teams is controlling the line of scrimmage.
For example, if the Patriots are able to do this the way they did against the Jets, they will win this game by double digits. But if we see unlikely turnovers, mishaps, and Brady going down on multiple occasions, then the Cowboys will have a chance to steal one at Gillette.
However, I don't see these things happening, so I will predict that the Patriots will win 40-24.
Once again, my prediction was almost spot-on. The New England Patriots defeated the New York J-E-T-S Jets, by a score of 30 to 21, to improve to 4-1 on the season, and stay tied for first place in the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills. I said that the Pats were going to win by a touchdown, 31-24. Close, but no cigar. Anyways, there is definitely a lot that Pats fans, and anyone else for that matter, could have learned from the classic divisional rivalry. Here are my headlines.
#1 The Law Firm
With what was without a doubt his best performance in a Patriots uniform so far, BenJarvus Green-Ellis proved that there is still hope for a consistent rushing attack on offense to help out Tom Brady. He rushed for 136 yards on 27 carries and 2 very timely touchdowns. His longest carry went for 15 yards, and he was the main reason the Patriots were able to close out the game late in the 4th quarter. With his ground and pound attitude, the Pats were able to run out the clock and hand big mouth Rex Ryan another loss. That has to be one of the sweetest feelings in sports. Notice to other NFL teams, if the Patriots running game keeps doing what it did against the Jets, look out.
#2 An Overview
As expected, Brady and the receivers did well. Welker had yet another impressive game, as he caught 5 passes for 124 yards, most of them coming against arguably the best cornerback in the league, Darrelle Revis. Deion Branch and Aaron Hernandez were also key contributors. The defense wasn't great, but got the job done when it needed to. Each week of this season has showed us a little bit of what the identity of this team will be down the stretch. After 5 weeks, this is how I would sum up the Pats in simple terms: Brady and his weapons, a potential running game, timely but not great defense, average special teams, a team that does not make many mistakes, is very well coached and disciplined, and will surely capitalize on opposing teams' miscues. This looks like a pretty good formula for winning in the playoffs, but only time will tell how far the Pats can go.
#1 The Law Firm
With what was without a doubt his best performance in a Patriots uniform so far, BenJarvus Green-Ellis proved that there is still hope for a consistent rushing attack on offense to help out Tom Brady. He rushed for 136 yards on 27 carries and 2 very timely touchdowns. His longest carry went for 15 yards, and he was the main reason the Patriots were able to close out the game late in the 4th quarter. With his ground and pound attitude, the Pats were able to run out the clock and hand big mouth Rex Ryan another loss. That has to be one of the sweetest feelings in sports. Notice to other NFL teams, if the Patriots running game keeps doing what it did against the Jets, look out.
#2 An Overview
As expected, Brady and the receivers did well. Welker had yet another impressive game, as he caught 5 passes for 124 yards, most of them coming against arguably the best cornerback in the league, Darrelle Revis. Deion Branch and Aaron Hernandez were also key contributors. The defense wasn't great, but got the job done when it needed to. Each week of this season has showed us a little bit of what the identity of this team will be down the stretch. After 5 weeks, this is how I would sum up the Pats in simple terms: Brady and his weapons, a potential running game, timely but not great defense, average special teams, a team that does not make many mistakes, is very well coached and disciplined, and will surely capitalize on opposing teams' miscues. This looks like a pretty good formula for winning in the playoffs, but only time will tell how far the Pats can go.
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