Tag: New England Patriots (Page 24 of 72)

      NFL investigating Broncos – Spygate style

      November 27, 2010 /
      LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Head coach of the Denver Broncos Josh McDaniels speaks to the media during a press conference prior to the start of a team training session at The Brit Oval on October 29, 2010 in London, England. The Denver Broncos will play the San Francisco 49ers at Wembley Stadium on October 31. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

      Apparently Josh McDaniels wasn’t paying attention when his former boss Bill Belichick got caught for “Spygate 1” because now McDaniels’ Broncos are involved in “Spygate 2.”

      The NFL is investigating whether or not a Broncos’ employee videotaped a 49ers’ walk-through practice at London’s Wembley Stadium in Week 8. The team’s director of video operations Steve Scarnecchia is currently on a personal leave of absence as the team and the NFL investigate the situation.

      And surprise, surprise – Scarnecchia is a former Patriot as well.

      From the Denver Post:

      McDaniels and Scarnecchia both previously worked for the Patriots, Scarnecchia between 2001 and 2005 and McDaniels between 2001 and 2009 before being hired by the Broncos. In 2007, the Patriots were found to have videotaped New York Jets coaches sending in signals during a game between the two teams, which is against league rules.

      McDaniels hired Scarnecchia to run the Broncos’ video operations shortly after he accepted the job in January 2009.

      The NFL’s current investigation revolves around practices held by the Broncos and the 49ers on Saturday, Oct. 30, in Wembley Stadium. Both teams were allotted time to hold walk-through practices at the stadium that day. It was the only time while the two teams were in England that they would have used the same facility to practice on the same day. Teams normally bar anyone not associated with the team from watching practice. Taping another team’s practice could result in a severe penalty from the NFL.

      That must have been some crappy film because the 49ers wound up beating the Broncos, 24-16. If you’re going to get caught filming another team, you might as well win the Super Bowl like the Patriots did. Don’t tape someone in a regular season game and then lose to them the next day in rather lackluster fashion.

      What are the chances that the Broncos blame Scarnecchia for the entire thing? “Oh, we didn’t know he was doing that. He acted on his own. Dude has always been crazy. We almost had to fire him for stealing printers, so yeah, it figures that he would do something like this.”

      It’ll be interesting to see if anything comes out of this. The Broncos aren’t the Patriots and McDaniels isn’t Belichick. The Patriots lost their first round pick in 2008 because of “Spygate 1,” but they didn’t miss a beat. They’re still winning, they’re still in contention and it’s almost like the “Spygate” thing never happened. But if the Broncos lose a first rounder, you can bet that it’ll affect them at some point in the future.

      External Sports, NFL

      In rare outcome, Peyton Manning costs Colts a potential victory

      November 21, 2010 /
      FOXBORO, MA - NOVERMBER 21: Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts walks to the huddle against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on November 21, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

      As he drove the Colts down the field in the final minutes at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, you got the sense that Peyton Manning was on the verge of silencing an already stunned Foxboro crowd.

      The Colts, who trailed the entire game, were down 31-21 with roughly 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But Manning found Blair White on a 5-yard touchdown pass to cut the Pats’ lead to 31-21 midway through the quarter and then he hit White again on an 18-yard touchdown with just under five minutes remaining to put the Colts within a field goal.

      After his defense shut down Tom Brady and New England’s offense, Manning methodically began to drive the Colts down the field. Facing a 1st and 10 at the New England 24-yard line, Manning dropped back to pass but the pressure caused him to shift his feet and his pass sailed on him. Patriot cornerback James Sanders then leapt into the air and snagged the interception to preserve a huge win for the Patriots.

      It’s rare to see Manning cost the Colts a potential victory. Granted, even if Indy tied the game they still would have had to play the Patriots in overtime. But they had stolen the momentum and if they had won the coin toss, there was a good chance Manning would finish the Patriots off in the extra frame.

      But Manning never gave them that opportunity and while legions of Colts fans will give him a mulligan, it was a disheartening outcome to say the least.

      And it wasn’t Manning’s first interception either. He was picked off a total of three times on the night and despite throwing for 396 yards and three touchdowns, those three turnovers proved costly for the Colts. Now Indy is tied with the Jaguars (who have already beaten the Colts this year) atop the AFC South.

      As for the Patriots, this win was huge because the Jets apparently have no intentions on losing another game the rest of the year. Both teams are 8-2 and jockeying for position not only in the AFC East, but for the No. 1 spot in the conference. With six games remaining, it’s going to be a thrilling finish in both conferences.

      External Sports, NFL

      NFL Week 10 COY power rankings

      November 21, 2010 /

      Definitely a balance of power shift here. But that’s why the NFL is so great.

      1. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs—Look at the standings in the AFC South (Falcons 7-2, Saints and Bucs 6-3). And ask yourself, “Did I see this coming?”

      2. Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders—Tied for first in the AFC West with the Chiefs. Really?

      3. Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs—A bad showing in Denver, but still exceeding expectations in a big way.

      4. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—Seriously, no one expected 4-5 at this point and real contention, much less with a rookie quarterback.

      5. Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles—Does anyone else think the plan all along was to run Donovan McNabb out of town and then eventually start Michael Vick?

      6. Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks—Is anyone going to give the Seahawks’ new coach credit for having them in first place on November 21?

      7. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots—Follows up a crushing loss to Cleveland with a thumping of the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

      8. Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears—After they started 3-0 and then Jay Cutler was assaulted by the Giants, a tailspin ensued. But now it’s all bright and sunny in the Windy City.

      9. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—Okay, so after five wins in a row, the crap hit the fan last Sunday against Dallas. But Coughlin has this way of making his team look Super Bowl bound most of the time.

      10. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons—It’s almost like no one is paying attention to this team, but they are serious contenders.

      External Sports, NFL

      NFL Week 10 MVP power rankings

      November 21, 2010 /

      Well, this sure got interesting, didn’t it? Michael Vick had an MVP type game, maybe the greatest game statistically for a quarterback in NFL history on Monday night against Washington. There is no argument here — Michael Vick is the MVP, and he’s going to have to have a total collapse in the next few games for anyone to claim that perch. Injury? Even if he’s injured Sunday and misses the rest of the season, Vick is still the MVP, because of this past game and because of his entire body of work this year, which is absolutely sick.

      1. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—In just six games, Vick has thrown for 1350 yards with 11 TDs, 0 interceptions; and 44 carries for 341 yards rushing with 4 more rushing scores. Most of all, he makes the Eagles a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

      2. Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons—He hasn’t played a game since we last did this, so why penalize him except to let Vick take the top spot?

      3. Tom Brady, New England Patriots—Did you see Brady screaming at his offensive linemen in the middle of a rout of Pittsburgh on the road? Dude is not messing around.

      4. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers—Quietly has his team contending again, despite guys off the street to throw to.

      5. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Like Rivers, Manning is getting it done without a strong receiving corps.

      6. Eli Manning, New York Giants—Little brother deserves love too. Why? The Giants are 6-3 and he has 19 TD passes. And half of his 13 picks were not his fault.

      7. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons—Yeah, we’re QB heavy, but aren’t the real voters?

      8. Arian Foster, Houston Texans—On pace for 2202 all-purpose yards and 20 touchdowns.

      9. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—Off last week, so we’ll let Matthews and his 11 sacks hang out here some more.

      10. Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos—Really? 48 catches for 968 yards? That’s a ridiculous 20.2 yards per catch

      External Sports, NFL

      Patriots hand out road map on how to beat Steelers’ defense

      November 15, 2010 /
      New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady waits to go onto the field to face the Pittsburgh Steelers for the first quarter of their NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania November 14, 2010. REUTERS/ Jason Cohn (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Entering Sunday night, most pundits would have agreed that the Steelers’ front seven is probably the best in football. Observers know that Pittsburgh can be had through the air (as long as you stayed away from Troy Polomalu), but that was if you figured out a way to neutralize their pass rush, of course.

      Well, Tom Brady and the Patriots figured out a way to neutralize the Steelers’ rush in a lopsided 39-26 victory in Pittsburgh on Sunday night. And not only that, but they laid out a blueprint on how other teams can do the same.

      Chris Collinsworth said it best during the broadcast when he mentioned how the Steelers “like to play in a phone booth.” They want teams to try to line up and run the ball right at them. And when they stop the run, they want their opponents to be one-dimensional so that defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau can disguise where the pressure is coming from and frustrate the quarterback.

      But the Patriots turned their game with the Steelers into a track meet. Brady spread the ball out, worked the middle of the field, found receivers on the outside for quick gains and often set his offense up with short down-and-distances all night. His offensive line was also outstanding, as they picked up the Steelers’ blitzing linebackers and allowed Brady to work through all of his progressions.

      Defenses can’t give any quarterback time to throw. When they give someone like Brady time, they might as well be signing their own death wish.

      Granted, not every team can do what Bill Belichick’s Patriots can do. But the NFL is a copycat league and you can bet offensive coordinators that have the unenviable task of facing the Steelers over the next two months will be dissecting that tape. Pittsburgh won’t play that bad defensively every week, but suddenly they look a little vulnerable on that side of the ball.

      External Sports, NFL

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