Tag: New England Patriots (Page 29 of 72)

      This is why people are high on the Jets

      September 19, 2010 /
      New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) celebrates with Jets' Jerricho Cotchery (89) after they connected on a touchdown pass against the New England Patriots during the third quarter of their NFL football game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, September 19, 2010. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Outside of maybe the Cowboys, there wasn’t a potential 2010 playoff contender that looked worse than the Jets in Week 1.

      They couldn’t run the ball, they couldn’t capitalize on turnovers, Mark Sanchez thought the checkdown was an actual play in the Jets’ offensive playbook…

      The Jets were bad. And when an over-hyped team plays bad, they’re going to hear about how overrated they are for the rest of the week, which the J-E-T-S certainly did.

      But in typical Rex Ryan fashion, the Jets just gave everyone the middle finger after taking it to the Patriots 28-14 on Sunday. Only in today’s NFL can a player like Sanchez look so hopeless one night and then six days later outplay a three-time Super Bowl winner. After looking pitiful on Monday night, Sanchez finished 21-of-30 for 220 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions today, while Tom Brady threw for 248 yards on 20-of-36 passing with two touchdowns but two picks.

      Sanchez’s QB Rating after the game was 124.3.

      Brady’s? Seventy-two point five.

      Yeah, that’s about right.

      Sanchez was helped by the fact that the Jets rushed for 136 yards and the defense forced three turnovers. Brady and the Pats were just 1-for-3 inside the red-zone and held the ball for roughly five minutes less than the Jets.

      If there was ever a statement game early in the season, this was it for the Jets. They’re still 1-1 and they still have a long way to go before they can even think about reaching the lofty expectations that Ryan set for them, but this was a huge win today. No doubt about it.

      External Sports, NFL

      Belichick names Maroney full-time starter. Nah, just kidding – he traded him to Denver.

      September 14, 2010 /
      New England Patriots running back Laurence Maroney (39) spikes the ball in the endzone after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on November 8, 2009. The Patriots defeated the Dolphins 27-17. UPI/Matthew Healey Photo via Newscom

      There have been times over the course of the last couple of years where it looked like Laurence Maroney was finally going to turn the page in New England.

      Like the time when he rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries against the Bengals his rookie year – a performance that earned him both FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week and Diet Pepsi Rookie NFL Player of the Week honors.

      Or like during the 2007 playoffs, when he compiled 244 rushing yards and two touchdowns in two games before being limited to 36 yards on 14 carries (with one touchdown) against the Giants in the Super Bowl.

      But whenever it appeared that Maroney was ready to make more out of his career, injuries, inconsistent play or Bill Belichick’s desire to keep Corey Dillon, Kevin Faulk or Fred Taylor relevant would get in his way.

      After receiving zero action in the final two preseason games this year, Maroney appeared to be in Belichick’s doghouse for good. And even when Belichick insisted that his former first round pick was still in the Patriots’ plans, you got the sense that Maroney wasn’t long for New England.

      On Tuesday, Belichick shipped Maroney and a sixth rounder to Denver in exchange for a fourth round pick. Maroney will now be reunited with Josh McDaniels, who was his former offensive coordinator in New England. He joins a backfield that also includes Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter, although the latter has shown signs of decline, which is probably why the Broncos felt the need to acquire Maroney.

      Maybe now that he’s out of Foxboro, Maroney will start to live up to his first round status. He’s still going to have to split carries, but at 25 he has plenty of time to turn things around if he can make the most out of the situation.

      In New England, Belichick is now relying on the combination of Taylor, Faulk and Sammy Morris in the running game. Should be interesting.

      Knowshon Moreno owners can relax. He’s the clear RB1 in Denver. If anything, the main guy hurt by Maroney’s arrival is Correll Buckhalter, who may not get as many reps if Maroney thrives with the Broncos. I think the big benefactor from this trade is probably Fred Taylor, who is now even more cemented in as the Pats‘ RB1. Maroney was up-and-down while in New England, but he clearly has some talent and he was still a threat to Taylor’s touches. Now Taylor will surely be the main ballcarrier while Kevin Faulk takes all the third-down and receiving duties. It looks like BenJarvus Green-Ellis (5 carries on Sunday) is next in line for carries if Taylor were to go down.

      External Sports, NFL

      Randy Moss vents frustrations again about contract

      September 13, 2010 /
      EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - SEPTEMBER 02: Randy Moss of the New England Patriots looks on against the New York Giants on September 2, 2010 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants defeated the Patriots 20-17. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

      Following the Patriots’ 38-24 win over the Bengals on Sunday, Randy Moss took the time to once again express his frustrations over not receiving a contract extension offer from New England.

      From the Boston Herald:

      “If you got a boss, you would like to feel appreciated,” Moss said. “This is the last year of my contract, and there hasn’t been anything discussed, there has not been anything said, not a letter, not nothing. I’m not saying that I want to stay here, but I love playing here. If the future of my job lets me go to another team, then that’s what it’s gonna be. Right now I have a contract with the New England Patriots [team stats], I’m going to play my last year out and do it to the best of my ability.

      “I don’t want anything negative to come out of this, like it usually does. It’s not that I’m mad or trying to be disgruntled. I’m not here to disrespect the organization. I’m not disrespecting my teammates, but this is my first time talking and I wanted to get that out there.

      “If the opportunity presented itself later in the season for me to be a New England Patriot, I would accept that, but if it doesn’t, I must leave. I’ve already shown that I can play at a high level at age 33. For me to be offered a contract after the season is over, I think that would be a smack in my face, and I don’t even want to get into that.

      “It’s like if you work for somebody, sometimes you want your boss to tell you that you’re doing a good job. You want to be appreciated, and me personally, I don’t think I’m being appreciated. I take my job very seriously and I want to let the fans, the real fans of the New England Patriots, know that I’m not here to start any trouble, I’m here to play my last year out of my contract.”

      If I were in Moss’s shoes, I would probably feel frustrated about the situation, too. He’s been a great Patriot over the years and his numbers certainly warrant him receiving a new contract. He’s also been on his best behavior since arriving to New England and has become one of the team’s most viable offensive pieces.

      That said, I just can’t shake the fact that he basically stole money from Oakland for two years before the Patriots rescued him. So does New England owe him or does he owe New England? In other words, is he justified for venting because of what he’s done for the Pats or should he just be quiet, honor the rest of his contract and hope for an extension in the offseason?

      I could go either way, although at this point I would advise Moss to temporarily move on. He’s said his peace on the matter and now the Patriots know how he feels. There’s no sense bringing it up again, although I understand it’s tough sometimes with the media always poking and prodding for a headline.

      External Sports, NFL

      Bengals defense an absolute mess against Patriots

      September 12, 2010 /
      FOXBORO, MA - SEPTEMBER 12: Quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots throws a pass during a the NFL season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals at Gillette Stadium on September 12, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

      I know Tom Brady and the Patriots looked great Sunday in their 38-24 victory over the Bengals, but let’s hold off on the 2007 comparisons for right now. I did one “#Patriots” search on Twitter following the game and I would have had to use a calculator to count the number of times I saw a reference to New England’s ’07 season.

      Uh, the regular season that is. No fan wants to bring up how that season ended for the Pats.

      Before we crown the Patriots 2010 AFC Super Bowl representatives, let’s be realistic. The Cincinnati defense they faced today was downright atrocious.

      As expected, the Bengals had zero pass rush and that’s an area that will be a problem for them all season unless someone steps up. Their front four was swallowed whole by New England’s offensive line and didn’t impact the game whatsoever.

      Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s playcalling was also uninspiring. He was way too predictable when drumming up blitzes, which allowed Tom Brady to recognize where the pressure was coming from and either check off to another player or complete crossing patterns over the middle.

      The end result was the Bengals getting gashed for 376 total yards, including 258 passing and 118 rushing. Believe it or not, Cincinnati’s offense bettered those numbers (428 total, 341 passing, 87 rushing), but it didn’t matter once the Pats took a 31-3 lead early in the third quarter and was on cruise control from there on out.

      For a team that is expected to compete for a division crown this year, this was a highly unimpressive start for the Bengals.

      External Sports, NFL

      Why the Jets are overrated

      September 10, 2010 /
      New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan stands on the sidelines in the fourth quarter in week 1 of the NFL Preseason at The New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on August 16, 2010. UPI /John Angelillo Photo via Newscom

      Bill Simmons picks the Pats over the Jets in the AFC East this year, and here’s why:

      First, I seem to be the only person who remembers that the Jets were 9-7 last year. You’d think they went 19 and minus-3. Second, I don’t trust the Sanchize even a little. Not a smidge. Unless he was trying to get us drinks from a crowded bar and the bartender was a cute female. Third, all the fuss about New England’s admittedly shaky defense obscured its explosive offense: The Pats are loaded at receiver and tight end, they have Brady, they can chuck the ball with anyone and they’re pissed off that nobody is picking them. And fourth, I’m a huge homer. So there.

      I forgot that the Jets lost seven games last year…hmm…

      Through five or six episodes of “Hard Knocks,” Rex Ryan does seem to be full of bluster, and Sanchez looked fairly brutal in the preseason. They’ll have a strong running game and a good/great defense, but I’m not sure that makes them the Super Bowl favorites that they seem to think they are.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, Humor, News, NFL, Rumors & Gossip

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑