Pick Six: Week 16 posted by Randolph Charlotin

1. We often hear how good offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia is. On Sunday, we saw exactly why. LT Matt Light was scratched from the game minutes before kickoff. LG Logan Mankins slid over to fill the spot and reserve Donald Thomas stepped in for Mankins. When Mankins went down with a knee injury, rookie Nate Solder flipped from right tackle to left and Marcus Cannon, another rookie, took over on the right side. It wasn’t a smooth transition, as QB Tom Brady was sacked three times in the first half, but Scarnecchia’s half time adjustments led to one sack allowed and 86 of the team’s 119 rushing yards. Patriots fans should be Tebowing in honor of Scarnecchia. Eh…on second thought…maybe not. But coach Scar deserves praise from Patriot Nation.

2. Like the Boston Bruins scoring goals with less than a minute between them, New England players are grouping statistics. DT Vince Wilfork recovered a fumble for a second week in a row. LB Jerod Mayo picked up his first two sacks of the season. And Brady rushed for two touchdowns after a one-yard plunge last week.

3. Talking about Brady, he broke two personal records on Sunday: passing yards in a season and rushing touchdowns in a season. And he still has one game left to go to add to both totals.

4. DE Shawn Ellis was elevated to starter to replace Andre Carter, who was placed on injured reserve. Ellis rewarded the decision with his first sack of the season. Ellis will be paid $4 million this year. Carter will get $2.25 million. One is a bargain, the other a bust so far. Don’t you hate to say New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan was right?

The Final Drive: Week 16, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

It was a Christmas Eve of meaningful NFL action as all the remaining playoff spots were nearly filled and draft orders are beginning to finalize. Miss any of the action? No need to worry, because the Final Drive starts right now!

Indy… what are you doing??? After all the speculation, you could single-handedly win yourself out of a franchise quarterback. Knock it off. (Or play more scrubs.) To Houston, I say congratulations. You’re in the playoffs. Now get ready to go home before anyone else.

This was about as disappointing a loss as you could find on Sunday. For a division-leader that could have locked up their playoff berth to lay down to a team that had nothing to play for is unacceptable. The Teebs magic was all used up apparently as Timmy tossed four interceptions, two of which were boomerangs. I wish I had been able to watch this one. It would have felt SO good.

It was looking awkward when the ‘Phins were up 17-0 at halftime, but Brady rallied and made sure his team clinched a first-round bye. I’m expecting the Patriots to take the number one seed in the AFC, but I don’t feel very confident about their postseason chances.

PFFT. I’m glad this turned out to be less of a game, because if it had been overly dramatic I wouldn’t stop hearing about it all week. And the rumors that the Jets aren’t completely sold on Sanchez for next year? Frosting on the cake baby. And this picture of Jacobs and Ryan jawing afterward? Weird.

Hours Before Kickoff: Week 16 posted by Randolph Charlotin

For pretty much all season, the Patriots had the worst pass defense in the league. If the two-week trend continues, they will have a league worst rush defense to match.

The Denver Broncos repeatedly gashed the D for 252 yards. The week before the Washington Redskins plowed their way to 170 yards. What was a decent run defense for 13 weeks became generous, as if they have the Christmas Sprit.

Despite allowing more than 400 total yards per game, New England allows 21.2 points per game, 15th in the NFL.

Bend but don’t break? You got it. It’s been good enough for an 11-3 record. But will this work in the playoffs?

B.B.D.B. defense is typically a recipe for failure in the playoffs. Sure the defense can take advantage of lesser teams by forcing turnovers or red zone field goals. It worked so far, though not without some close calls.

Think about some of the teams that had good offensive games against New England. Denver, notoriously slow starters, put up 16 points with just 16:10 elapsed. Washington almost tied the game on the final drive, but still poured in 27 points. Indianapolis made the fourth quarter look like 7-on-7 drills as they scored 21 points. Buffalo buried New England under 34 points. And Miami couldn’t match New England’s firepower as they petered out at 24 points in the season opening shootout.

Only Denver has a winning record of the group, but ranks 20th in scoring at 20.9 points. The other teams are a combined 17-40. Defensive flexibility was good enough for four wins out of five against those teams.

The Opening Drive: Week 14, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

After the Big Ben-flavored drama on Thursday night, week 14 in the NFL season keeps on trucking in Sunday’s slate of games. While some will take a first glance at most of the games and shrug them off as meaningless, there are some hidden contests that could be much better than fans may expect. Plenty of options for “Trap of the Week.”

Houston’s been running along surprisingly smoothly since the loss of Matt’s Schaub and Leinart. However, T.J. Yates won’t have the home crown behind him as he takes on a desperate Bengal squad this week. I’m not sure the Texans will have enough success on the ground to make up for Andre Johnson’s absence.

Boom. Trap it up. New Orleans is on the road after a pretty convincing whupping of the Lions last week. Tennessee is very quietly eking their way into the AFC playoffs with all-around solid team play. New Orleans may be trying to keep pace with the Niners, but they don’t NEED this game like the Titans do. Drew Brees could have one of his famous “Throw for 345 yards, 3 TD’s and 3 INT’s” days, giving the Saints points, but not a win.

Joe's 2011 Thanksgiving Day Preview posted by Joe Anello

It happens every year. Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, football and food comas. Unfortunately, you’ll want to pay attention to all three games today as they all feature teams with something to prove. It’s time for a breakdown of the holiday’s action!

(10-0) Green Bay Packers at
(7-3) Detroit Lions

Hey, remember when this looked like it could be a match-up between two undefeated teams? …That would have been AWESOME. Despite Detroit’s faltering along the way, this is still shaping up to be a tremendous game, with lots and LOTS of scoring. Green Bay has no need to run the ball and Detroit doesn’t have the ability to run, so expect 40 passes on the day for each quarterback. It’ll be a shoot-out to start the day.

(3-7) Miami Dolphins at
(6-4) Dallas Cowboys

Turkey Day Trap! Miami’s won three in a row and get to play on the road… where they’re actually better off. Dallas is coming off a dramatic but emotionally taxing win over the Redskins in overtime, so they might be taking these formerly 0-7 ‘Phins lightly. It won’t light up the scoreboard as much as our early game, but it could go right down to the wire.

The Final Drive: Week 11, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

There are plenty of close games to discuss from the week 11 slate, some with interesting consequences for the division races involved. The Final Drive. It’s on.

So… this time the glove works? Man Stafford, get it together! Same goes to Cam Newton and the Panthers. Eventually you guys are going to have to win a game in order for anyone to take you seriously.

Successful or not, you have to admire the balls on Raheem Morris to go for two onside kicks on the defending champions. These amount of points and yardage the Bucs were able to rack up on Green Bay make this Lions-Packers Thanksgiving game all the more interesting.

WTF Buffalo. What is your deal? You start off 4-0 and then drop 5 of 6? To make it worse, they’ve dropped these last few in tremendously embarrassing fashion, all but ensuring they’re headed for another collapse. Shame on you for fooling us Buffalo.

My trap prediction apparently rang true. Kudos to Dallas for escaping with a divisional road win, tying them with the Giants, who tripped up in a home loss. Don’t ask me to ever pick anything in the NFC East again though.

The Opening Drive, Week 7, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Week seven in the NFL features the annual London affair, an early battle for the AFC South, and Kyle Boller starting at quarterback. (And it’s not 2003. I know. So odd.) The Opening Drive gets you ready for the day’s action!

Atlanta’s in danger of falling WAY behind in the South if they drop another game this early in the season. No Jahvid Best for the Lions means Maurice Morris starts for the Lions. Which in turn means NO running game whatsoever. So that Falcons D has to think about covering Calvin Johnson. It’s a good idea.

These two teams are lining up to take the AFC South crown with little to no resistance from the rest of their division. This game could go a long way in establishing who emerges as the front-runner in a mediocre division.

“Tim Tebow Time.” I’m more excited about never saying that phrase again more than I am about this game. Can you imagine if he loses to the winless Dolphins? Hilarious.

I REALLY want to see Philip Rivers and the Chargers demolish this Jet defense. If the Jets slip to below .500 in their division, they begin to slip off the playoff precipice. This feels like a “Mark Sanchez bounces back so he can disguise how awful he really is” kind of game, but I can’t take the Jets at all.

The Opening Drive: Week 3, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

We’ve got some week three action on tap in the NFL! Division rivalries, rookie quarterbacks, and a crapper of a Sunday-nighter are on deck. Let’s start The Opening Drive!

(2-0) Houston Texans at
(1-1) New Orleans Saints

Arian Foster’s going to be sitting this one out, so but the Texans’ running attack won’t miss as much of a step as you would think. Though to be frank, I’d be shocked if there’s more than 15o yards rushing between these two offenses. What would be the point? If you want aerial assaults, this is the game for you. I can’t believe in Houston yet… but I might start feeling differently if they can take it to the Saints on the home turf.

Man, we just barely missed out on the utter boredom that would’ve been a week without Michael Vick in the NFL. You should feel lucky. Vick’s return from a concussion means he’s completely cleared to play, but against the Giants’ front four he could be in trouble again this week. That Eagle offensive line is way too suspect to keep Vick safe in the pocket. Philly’s only saving grace is that the Giants are too inconsistent on offense to keep up.

Rookie fight! I don’t even want to talk about the match-ups. I just want to discuss Blaine Gabbert’s hair finally getting the spotlight it deserves. …But if Cam Newton can figure out how to throw for 400 yards and win, perhaps that spotlight gets re-directed.

Pick Six: Week 1 posted by Randolph Charlotin

1. QB Tom Brady’s regular season streak of pass attempts without an interception came to an end at 358. It was the only blemish on a career night. He completed 67 percent of his passes for a career high 517 yards and four touchdowns. Please note I said in the preview that Brady is getting older, not he’s old.

2. And the winner of the safety sweepstakes is…Josh Barrett! The former Denver practice squad player started the game with Patrick Chung. Barrett had an unspectacular night with four tackles. But he did bite on an underneath route that opened up WR Brian Hartline for a 10-yard touchdown reception. Whether it’s Barrett, Sergio Brown, or maybe a veteran signed this week, it will be the most scrutinized position on the team.

3. Rookie Report: Nate Solder started at right tackle in place of the injured Sebastian Vollmer. He did alright for being thrown into the fire. Solder did give up a sack and was flagged for holding OLB Cameron Wake. That’s par for a debut.

4. Rookie Report, Part II: Whether he started or not, CB Ras-I Dowling saw a lot of action. The second round pick out of Virginia did well for someone who barely saw the field during the preseason. He defended WR Brandon Marshall on a pass in the end zone, preventing a completion.

5. With Dowling getting plenty of action, Kyle Arrington was the loser in the exchange as he was demoted. But the former Hofstra product still has his knack for being in the right place at the right time as he came away with an interception off of a deflection.

6. The heir apparent to former LB Mike Vrabel isn’t the player wearing Vrabel’s former number 50. LB Dane Fletcher was deployed as a short yardage tight end and was even targeted by Brady on the play. Fletcher didn’t catch the ball because the play was well defended. But even if he did, Fletcher probably wouldn’t had scored. A reception without a score means Fletcher’s ratio would be behind Vrabel’s perfect 10-for-10.

Hours Before Kickoff: Week 1 posted by Randolph Charlotin

Quarterback Tom Brady said he would like to play until he’s 40. Head coach Bill Belichick is already assembling his contingency plan.

Everyone thought life without Brady in 2008 would be a catastrophe yet they won 11 games with Matt Cassel leading the way. Belichick is not expecting another serious injury to Brady, but for the first time in years Belichick kept three quarterbacks on the roster.

The day will come when Brady hangs it up. When he does, either Brian Hoyer or Ryan Mallett could inherit the team. With Brady’s clock winding down, Belichick is showing more urgency to win another Super Bowl with Brady.

New England drafted 25 players in 2009 and 2010, an indication that the Pats were rebuilding through the draft. Finding quality prospects to develop remains a priority, but the activity in free agency reflects a desperate win now approach.

DT Albert Haynesworth. DEs Andre Carter and Mark Anderson. WR Chad Ochocinco. Veteran players New England hopes fresh starts reinvigorates their careers. All are expected to play big roles this season.

But will the changes work? The new defensive line had mixed results in the preseason. It showed signs of being disruptive in the first two games, but couldn’t get consistent pressure against Detroit and the New York Giants ran at will with second and third stringers all night.

Ochocinco, without the benefit of the off-season to learn the offense, has struggled finding his role on the team.

That’s not the only trouble spot for the offense. The offensive line is a question mark, even after re-signing LT Matt Light and LG Logan Mankins.

Dolphins introduce emotional Philbin (AP)

New Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin stood at a lectern, swallowed hard and began to talk about his son's recent drowning. His wife and their five surviving children sat to the side with somber expressions reflecting a loss worse than any game. Moments later everyone was laughing as Philbin joked about his good fortune in becoming a first-time head coach. [read full article]

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The Miami Dolphins introduce coach Joe Philbin

New Dolphins coach Joe Philbin is set to chew up opponents with an'attacking' style. [read full article]

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Alex Marvez discusses Joe Philbin being hired by Miami Dolphins

Dolphins peg Philbin as new head coach, partly because QB mayfollow. [read full article]

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Broncos' McCoy meets with Dolphins again (AP)

Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy is meeting again with the Miami Dolphins about their coaching job, which will wrap up a second round of interviews by the team. McCoy met Thursday in New York with owner Stephen Ross and general manager Jeff Ireland. Joe Philbin and Todd Bowles were interviewed Wednesday in New York, where Ross has an office. [read full article]

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Dolphins interview Joe Philbin again

Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin is having asecond interview for the Miami Dolphins' head-coaching job. [read full article]

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