The ESPN pre-game show just finished talking about the "best team in the AFC". The conclusions I draw are that they are all flawed, injuries have made a big difference, and the best team may not end up with the top seed (or even a bye).
I hate listening to Chris Berman. Please never let him near a baseball commentator's booth ever again. That being said, he made a comment I very much agree with. No matter how flawed the Patriots defense is, and that Pittsburgh, Baltimore, or Houston may be a better team; the Patriots may end up with the #1 seed in the AFC. Reason: the schedule is the easiest in the NFL from here on out.
I have a post called, "NFL Predictions" that I have not published. Part if it is predicting the playoff seeds. Here is the AFC prediction;
1. New England Patriots
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Houston Texans
4. Oakland Raiders
5. Pittsburgh Steelers
6. NY Jets
The Ravens hold a tie-breaker over the Steelers. Houston should be able to get to 10 wins, even with their back-up QB. The Raiders should win the AFC West with nine wins. The Jets win enough games and the Bengals lose enough to determine the #6 seed.
ESPN just got done talking about the Eagles. I'll say this, a team could do worse than having Vince Young at backup QB. They'll need 10 wins for a playoff spot. That means running the table, and I don't see it happening. They still have the Patriots, Jets and Cowboys on the schedule.
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| The Eagles best chance to make the playoffs |
From The Globe: Here are the Patriots inactives.
"The Patriots have just released their list of inactive players for tonight's game. They are QB Ryan Mallett, S Patrick Chung, CB Devin McCourty, RB Kevin Faulk, LB Dane Fletcher, LB Jeff Tarpinian, and LB Brandon Spikes."
As usual, DB is the big problem. Linebacking is thin as well. Ross Ventrone is active (probably leads the league in transactions). Marcus Cannon is active for the first time. The Chiefs Matt Cassel is on IR, so he's out for the season.
Projected Defensive Lineup, also from The Globe:
"Patriots defense: LE Shaun Ellis, DT Vince Wilfork, DT Kyle Love, RE Andre Carter, OLB Rob Ninkovich, ILB Jerod Mayo, OLB Gary Guyton, CB Antwaun Molden, CB Kyle Arrington, S James Ihedigbo, S Sterling Moore."
Yikes!
A couple of thoughts:
Kyle Love is turning into a solid player.
The Patriots have had to move Jarod Mayo back inside because Brandon Spikes and Dane Fletcher can't stay healthy.
DB's that have been cut / hurt include: Merriweather, Sanders, Butler, Dowling, Boldin, Chung, and McCourty.
I bet Julien Edelman sees action as a nickel DB.
ESPN's C'MON Man - Eagles DeSean Jackson would get my vote. One week after being told to stay home for missing a meeting (my guess is there is a pattern of questionable behavior), his taunting penalty could have cost his team the game. Great talent, questionable character. No wonder the Eagles hesitate at signing him to a long term, big money deal.
Welcome back Romeo Crenell.
That's a lot of pregame words. Let's kick this one off...
1st Quarter:
15:00 - KC won the toss and will receive. Patriots probably would have deferred anyways. Tyler Palco is the Chiefs QB. Went to Pitt.
14:54 - Didn't know he was left-handed.
14:25 - Almost threw it to Andre Carter.
14:13 - Edelman was in at DB on 3rd down. That didn't take long.
13:36 - After KC punts, it's the Patriots ball. Ben Jarvis drops a screen pass on 1st down.
12:52 - No Glen Dorsey. ESPN introduces defense as a nickel. Intentional grounding on Brady. 4th down. Patriots will punt. Bring on Zoltan the punter.
Flip station is Penguins - Islanders. Sidney Crosby has 1 goal and 2 assists in his debut. Bruins 1, Canadiens 0 about half way through their game.
12:15 - James Ihedigbo down on the field. Ross Ventrone in. Not sure how far we are from Edelman playing with the first team defense.
11:55 - Chiefs exploit Patriots secondary right away.
11:40 - Patriots have to use a defensive timeout. Might as well tell Tom Brady he can't have any timeouts because the defense is going to need them all to cover alignment and personnel problems.
10:46 - I think I'm looking at the Patriots "Donut Defense". Hole in the middle.
9:44 - Nice stop by Love and Mayo on 3rd down.
9:07 - Delay of game as Chiefs line up on 4th down. I'm with Gruden. Why didn't they go for it?
8:48 - Chiefs punt. Welker fair catch at the 10 yard line.
Is the Superdome really called the "Mercedes-Benz Superdome"? Google says...Yup. I've been there. It's not a Mercedes. Except maybe Jay's old 1980's tank that went from 0-60 in, well never.
6:55 - That one was a little ahead of Gronkowski, but looked like it could have been caught. Brady is 1-5. Three and out.
Penguins beating Islanders 5-0. And just had a shot hit the goal post.
Meet Tyler Palko. Yup, he was cut by the UFL and AFL, whatever those are. I know what they are...
5:50 - 3rd and 2 for Chiefs. Field position was set up by Javier Arenas punt return. Chiefs bring in "Wildcat" formation to get 1st down. Gruden is on it. Chiefs tempo can exploit Patriots "defense".
4:15 - Thomas Jones makes a nice cutback run down to the 5 yard line. 1st and goal.
2:44 - Nice job by Andre Carter to stop QB draw. I guess it was by design, Gruden says so. Ok.
1:30 - Ryan Succup 26 yard field goal. Chiefs 3 Patriots 0.
The Patriots offense needs to step up. They should be able to move the ball on Kansas City and give their defense a break.
1:30 - Onside kick attempt. Chief recover. Was it touched before 10 yards. That's the call. Not sure I like the risk-reward factor on this one. Mike Turico says surprise onside kicks are 50% successful. I didn't like the decision.
0:55 - Patriots get a 1st down; working the short field. Nate Solder is an imposing fullback, lead blocker.
Chiefs 3, Patriots 0.
2nd Quarter:
Back to the onside kick. Failure gives the Patriots too much of an advantage, when, you are leading and have momentum. Don't do anything that messes with that.
15:00 - Brady fumbles, Chiefs got it. Momentum stifled.
13:42 - Palco to Bowe. 1st down. Edelman is logging more snaps on defense.
12:23 - Anderson and Carter get Palco.
12:13 - Chiefs will punt. Downed at the 6 yard line.
Was looking for notes on Edelman playing full-time on defense, but been reading Red Sox notes, since the Patriots are not doing much worth writing about. Sandy Alomar, Jr. will not be manager. Craig Shipley out as VP (want to know more about this). Gene Lamont is getting invited back. Bobby V wants the job.
9:48 - Sebastian Vollmer just got turnstiled by Chiefs defensive end Tamba Hali. Patriots punt, Arenas returns to Patriots 44.
8:39 - Nice run by Thomas Jones negated by hold (holding Edelman).
8:12 - Edelman makes the tackle on 3rd down. Chiefs will punt. Patriots ball on the 15 yard line.
Was that Badger porn in the ESPN commercial with Hannah Storm and the Wisconsin Badger?
6:45 - Brady to Hernandez. Out to the 31. Then again to the 40. 2nd and 1. Time to go deep?
5:37 - Nope BJGE runs for the first down. Zero career fumbles. Nice. Branch has hamstring issue, Herald says Dan Connolly out at center (not sure why). Update - groin injury.
4:18 - Blitz, Brady to Gronkowski wide open, runs over a DB, 52 yard touchdown. Review, extra point good. Patriots 7, Chiefs 3.
3:31 - Thomas Jones has had a pretty productive career. No Jamal Charles, so he still gets his carries. Runs for a gain of 3 or so.
2:01 - INT by Arrington. Was behind the receiver and tipped to Arrington. Down at Patriots 46.
1:57 - Two-minute warning.
1:57 - Woodhead. Well executed screen.
1:43 - Gronkowski catch. What's the flag? Defensive holding. Play stands. The Patriots tight ends are such effective weapons. Makes me wonder why they didn't get more out of Ben Watson.
0:59 - 1st and goal on the 6. False start, 5 yards and 10 sec. run-off.
0:29 - Brady runs to the 3. Scary. Timeout at 0:18. Defense did not waste anymore timeouts, so the offense has one left in the half.
0:18 - 3rd and goal. 3 yard line. KC timeout after seeing Patriots formation.
Bruins 1, Canadiens 0. Final.
0:18 - Nice defense of Welker but Derick Johnson. Ruled incomplete pass.
0:10 - Gostkowski 21 yard field goal. Patriots 10, Chiefs 3.
Halftime. Patriots 10, Chiefs 3.
Berman appears to be wrapping it up, so I can switch back to ESPN now.
3rd Quarter:
15:00 - Patriots get the ball first. Woodhead brings it out to the 15 yard line.
14:46 - Backside screen to BJGE. 25 yard gain. Nice beginning.
13:39 - Behind Gronkowski. Like the idea, just missed it.
12:15 - Hernandez, first down.
Chiefs have lost Eric Barry, Jamal Charles, Tony Moeaki, Glen Dorsey, Matt Cassel - probably other key players. No wonder they are headed to 7-9 or 6-10.
11:45 - Ben Jarvis is making some nice runs.
11:08 - Woodhead's turn to run it a couple times.
11:02 - Wow. What a play by Gronkowski. Lucky to be ok after landing on his neck / back of the head. 19 yard TD reception. Patriots 17, Chiefs 3.
Surprise. Zero receptions for Welker. Not a surprise. Zero receptions for Ocho.
9:24 - Edelman 71 yard punt return for a TD. That play was made at the beginning when he dodged a few would-be tacklers. Patriots 24, Chiefs 3.
Julian Edelman has a punt return TD, a tackle on defense, plays on the coverage team, is normally a wide receiver who played quarterback in college. Just sayin'.
6:33 - Chiefs running a bunch of short slants and runs. Blah.
5:35 - Just when I say that, they run for a first down out of the Wildcat.
4:47 - Back to blah. Pass is behind the receiver, who tips it, picked by Arrington. Arrington now has 7 INT's, leading the league.
4:05 - Woodhead and BJGE making some yardage on the ground. No rushes for Stevan Ridley so far.
3:23 - Brady to Branch.
2:05 - Two more nice runs by Ben Jarvis. Offensive line is taking over, even though this game is over.
0:03 - Hernandez couldn't handle the throw in the end zone. Catchable ball. 19 yard field goal by Gostkowski is good. Patriots 27, Chiefs 3.
4th Quarter:
Announcers are discussing Mrs. Kraft, who passed away this summer. The Kraft Family is loved in New England, and Mrs. Kraft's legacy is one of philanthropy and giving back to the community.
13:09 - Arrington is down on the field with an apparent arm injury. Looks ok after the commercial break.
12:02 - Should have been intercepted in the end zone by Moldin. Patriots defense has played well tonight, albeit against a poor offense.
10:50 - INT by Phillip Adams. That's all on the QB. Threw it into the end zone when there were three Patriots near the intended receiver.
Not sure what to think about "New Year's Eve". Will probably pass on it, or watch it some December on tv. May wait to watch the Muppets movie at the dollar theater. Saw "Anonymous" a couple weeks ago. It's entertaining, but file it under the category of sensationalized Shakespeare conspiracy theory.
9:54 - Patriots go three and out.
I doubt there is a blueprint for defending Wes Welker in this game because, from what I'm seeing, it's giving up too much. 14 targets to Gronknandez and a balanced ground game (4.9 yards / carry) have offset Welker and the lack of big plays by wide receivers.
6:42 - 4th and 12. Chiefs go for it. Incomplete pass. Patriots ball.
5:47 - Welker makes his first catch. Matt Light down. Flexing foot / ankle on the sideline.
Offensive line got off to a poor start, but has done well as the game progresses.
5:08 - Welker again.
5:02 - Showing Marcus Cannon on the field. Great to see. He and Nate Solder could be together for a long time. Shane Vereen also seeing action.
4:12 - Brady sneak for 1st down keeps the clock moving.
NBA to NFL piece was amusing. Truth is, if most of the guys mentioned specialized in football, they could probably have played in the NFL. James, Rondo, Howard, Nash, Bryant, Noah, Griffin, etc.
2:41 - Vereen to the 2 yard line.
I bet they run it in after the two-minute warning. I'd prefer to take a knee. College football encourages running up the score because teams need to impress voters to gain a higher ranking. In the NFL, a win's a win. No need to run it up.
Mike Turico is encouraging Kansas fans to change over to KU playing in the Maui Classic. BTW - Kansas City is in Missouri, but has the Kansas fan base.
1:11 - Brady to Hernandez for a 1 yard TD. Flag. Illegal shift and personal foul on the play. No TD.
1:01 - Vereen runs it in. 34-3 Patriots.
ESPN is discussing if it's ok to continue to score in the final minutes of a blow-out. Gruden doesn't have a problem with it. Second string needs reps. too. This one is over.
Final Score: Patriots 34, Chiefs 3.
Five Stars:
Gronkowski
Edelman
Arrington
Mark Anderson (1.5 sacks)
Mayo
A couple of thoughts:
Kyle Love is turning into a solid player.
The Patriots have had to move Jarod Mayo back inside because Brandon Spikes and Dane Fletcher can't stay healthy.
DB's that have been cut / hurt include: Merriweather, Sanders, Butler, Dowling, Boldin, Chung, and McCourty.
I bet Julien Edelman sees action as a nickel DB.
ESPN's C'MON Man - Eagles DeSean Jackson would get my vote. One week after being told to stay home for missing a meeting (my guess is there is a pattern of questionable behavior), his taunting penalty could have cost his team the game. Great talent, questionable character. No wonder the Eagles hesitate at signing him to a long term, big money deal.
Welcome back Romeo Crenell.
That's a lot of pregame words. Let's kick this one off...
1st Quarter:
15:00 - KC won the toss and will receive. Patriots probably would have deferred anyways. Tyler Palco is the Chiefs QB. Went to Pitt.
14:54 - Didn't know he was left-handed.
14:25 - Almost threw it to Andre Carter.
14:13 - Edelman was in at DB on 3rd down. That didn't take long.
13:36 - After KC punts, it's the Patriots ball. Ben Jarvis drops a screen pass on 1st down.
12:52 - No Glen Dorsey. ESPN introduces defense as a nickel. Intentional grounding on Brady. 4th down. Patriots will punt. Bring on Zoltan the punter.
Flip station is Penguins - Islanders. Sidney Crosby has 1 goal and 2 assists in his debut. Bruins 1, Canadiens 0 about half way through their game.
12:15 - James Ihedigbo down on the field. Ross Ventrone in. Not sure how far we are from Edelman playing with the first team defense.
11:55 - Chiefs exploit Patriots secondary right away.
11:40 - Patriots have to use a defensive timeout. Might as well tell Tom Brady he can't have any timeouts because the defense is going to need them all to cover alignment and personnel problems.
10:46 - I think I'm looking at the Patriots "Donut Defense". Hole in the middle.
9:44 - Nice stop by Love and Mayo on 3rd down.
9:07 - Delay of game as Chiefs line up on 4th down. I'm with Gruden. Why didn't they go for it?
8:48 - Chiefs punt. Welker fair catch at the 10 yard line.
Is the Superdome really called the "Mercedes-Benz Superdome"? Google says...Yup. I've been there. It's not a Mercedes. Except maybe Jay's old 1980's tank that went from 0-60 in, well never.
6:55 - That one was a little ahead of Gronkowski, but looked like it could have been caught. Brady is 1-5. Three and out.
Penguins beating Islanders 5-0. And just had a shot hit the goal post.
Meet Tyler Palko. Yup, he was cut by the UFL and AFL, whatever those are. I know what they are...
5:50 - 3rd and 2 for Chiefs. Field position was set up by Javier Arenas punt return. Chiefs bring in "Wildcat" formation to get 1st down. Gruden is on it. Chiefs tempo can exploit Patriots "defense".
4:15 - Thomas Jones makes a nice cutback run down to the 5 yard line. 1st and goal.
2:44 - Nice job by Andre Carter to stop QB draw. I guess it was by design, Gruden says so. Ok.
1:30 - Ryan Succup 26 yard field goal. Chiefs 3 Patriots 0.
The Patriots offense needs to step up. They should be able to move the ball on Kansas City and give their defense a break.
1:30 - Onside kick attempt. Chief recover. Was it touched before 10 yards. That's the call. Not sure I like the risk-reward factor on this one. Mike Turico says surprise onside kicks are 50% successful. I didn't like the decision.
0:55 - Patriots get a 1st down; working the short field. Nate Solder is an imposing fullback, lead blocker.
Chiefs 3, Patriots 0.
2nd Quarter:
Back to the onside kick. Failure gives the Patriots too much of an advantage, when, you are leading and have momentum. Don't do anything that messes with that.
15:00 - Brady fumbles, Chiefs got it. Momentum stifled.
13:42 - Palco to Bowe. 1st down. Edelman is logging more snaps on defense.
12:23 - Anderson and Carter get Palco.
12:13 - Chiefs will punt. Downed at the 6 yard line.
Was looking for notes on Edelman playing full-time on defense, but been reading Red Sox notes, since the Patriots are not doing much worth writing about. Sandy Alomar, Jr. will not be manager. Craig Shipley out as VP (want to know more about this). Gene Lamont is getting invited back. Bobby V wants the job.
9:48 - Sebastian Vollmer just got turnstiled by Chiefs defensive end Tamba Hali. Patriots punt, Arenas returns to Patriots 44.
8:39 - Nice run by Thomas Jones negated by hold (holding Edelman).
8:12 - Edelman makes the tackle on 3rd down. Chiefs will punt. Patriots ball on the 15 yard line.
Was that Badger porn in the ESPN commercial with Hannah Storm and the Wisconsin Badger?
6:45 - Brady to Hernandez. Out to the 31. Then again to the 40. 2nd and 1. Time to go deep?
5:37 - Nope BJGE runs for the first down. Zero career fumbles. Nice. Branch has hamstring issue, Herald says Dan Connolly out at center (not sure why). Update - groin injury.
4:18 - Blitz, Brady to Gronkowski wide open, runs over a DB, 52 yard touchdown. Review, extra point good. Patriots 7, Chiefs 3.
3:31 - Thomas Jones has had a pretty productive career. No Jamal Charles, so he still gets his carries. Runs for a gain of 3 or so.
2:01 - INT by Arrington. Was behind the receiver and tipped to Arrington. Down at Patriots 46.
1:57 - Two-minute warning.
1:57 - Woodhead. Well executed screen.
1:43 - Gronkowski catch. What's the flag? Defensive holding. Play stands. The Patriots tight ends are such effective weapons. Makes me wonder why they didn't get more out of Ben Watson.
0:59 - 1st and goal on the 6. False start, 5 yards and 10 sec. run-off.
0:29 - Brady runs to the 3. Scary. Timeout at 0:18. Defense did not waste anymore timeouts, so the offense has one left in the half.
0:18 - 3rd and goal. 3 yard line. KC timeout after seeing Patriots formation.
Bruins 1, Canadiens 0. Final.
0:18 - Nice defense of Welker but Derick Johnson. Ruled incomplete pass.
0:10 - Gostkowski 21 yard field goal. Patriots 10, Chiefs 3.
Halftime. Patriots 10, Chiefs 3.
Berman appears to be wrapping it up, so I can switch back to ESPN now.
3rd Quarter:
15:00 - Patriots get the ball first. Woodhead brings it out to the 15 yard line.
14:46 - Backside screen to BJGE. 25 yard gain. Nice beginning.
13:39 - Behind Gronkowski. Like the idea, just missed it.
12:15 - Hernandez, first down.
Chiefs have lost Eric Barry, Jamal Charles, Tony Moeaki, Glen Dorsey, Matt Cassel - probably other key players. No wonder they are headed to 7-9 or 6-10.
11:45 - Ben Jarvis is making some nice runs.
11:08 - Woodhead's turn to run it a couple times.
11:02 - Wow. What a play by Gronkowski. Lucky to be ok after landing on his neck / back of the head. 19 yard TD reception. Patriots 17, Chiefs 3.
Surprise. Zero receptions for Welker. Not a surprise. Zero receptions for Ocho.
9:24 - Edelman 71 yard punt return for a TD. That play was made at the beginning when he dodged a few would-be tacklers. Patriots 24, Chiefs 3.
Julian Edelman has a punt return TD, a tackle on defense, plays on the coverage team, is normally a wide receiver who played quarterback in college. Just sayin'.
6:33 - Chiefs running a bunch of short slants and runs. Blah.
5:35 - Just when I say that, they run for a first down out of the Wildcat.
4:47 - Back to blah. Pass is behind the receiver, who tips it, picked by Arrington. Arrington now has 7 INT's, leading the league.
4:05 - Woodhead and BJGE making some yardage on the ground. No rushes for Stevan Ridley so far.
3:23 - Brady to Branch.
2:05 - Two more nice runs by Ben Jarvis. Offensive line is taking over, even though this game is over.
0:03 - Hernandez couldn't handle the throw in the end zone. Catchable ball. 19 yard field goal by Gostkowski is good. Patriots 27, Chiefs 3.
4th Quarter:
Announcers are discussing Mrs. Kraft, who passed away this summer. The Kraft Family is loved in New England, and Mrs. Kraft's legacy is one of philanthropy and giving back to the community.
13:09 - Arrington is down on the field with an apparent arm injury. Looks ok after the commercial break.
12:02 - Should have been intercepted in the end zone by Moldin. Patriots defense has played well tonight, albeit against a poor offense.
10:50 - INT by Phillip Adams. That's all on the QB. Threw it into the end zone when there were three Patriots near the intended receiver.
Not sure what to think about "New Year's Eve". Will probably pass on it, or watch it some December on tv. May wait to watch the Muppets movie at the dollar theater. Saw "Anonymous" a couple weeks ago. It's entertaining, but file it under the category of sensationalized Shakespeare conspiracy theory.
9:54 - Patriots go three and out.
I doubt there is a blueprint for defending Wes Welker in this game because, from what I'm seeing, it's giving up too much. 14 targets to Gronknandez and a balanced ground game (4.9 yards / carry) have offset Welker and the lack of big plays by wide receivers.
6:42 - 4th and 12. Chiefs go for it. Incomplete pass. Patriots ball.
5:47 - Welker makes his first catch. Matt Light down. Flexing foot / ankle on the sideline.
Offensive line got off to a poor start, but has done well as the game progresses.
5:08 - Welker again.
5:02 - Showing Marcus Cannon on the field. Great to see. He and Nate Solder could be together for a long time. Shane Vereen also seeing action.
4:12 - Brady sneak for 1st down keeps the clock moving.
NBA to NFL piece was amusing. Truth is, if most of the guys mentioned specialized in football, they could probably have played in the NFL. James, Rondo, Howard, Nash, Bryant, Noah, Griffin, etc.
2:41 - Vereen to the 2 yard line.
I bet they run it in after the two-minute warning. I'd prefer to take a knee. College football encourages running up the score because teams need to impress voters to gain a higher ranking. In the NFL, a win's a win. No need to run it up.
Mike Turico is encouraging Kansas fans to change over to KU playing in the Maui Classic. BTW - Kansas City is in Missouri, but has the Kansas fan base.
1:11 - Brady to Hernandez for a 1 yard TD. Flag. Illegal shift and personal foul on the play. No TD.
1:01 - Vereen runs it in. 34-3 Patriots.
ESPN is discussing if it's ok to continue to score in the final minutes of a blow-out. Gruden doesn't have a problem with it. Second string needs reps. too. This one is over.
Final Score: Patriots 34, Chiefs 3.
Five Stars:
Gronkowski
Edelman
Arrington
Mark Anderson (1.5 sacks)
Mayo
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