Chad Boyd

Not sure if can even call what I saw in Buffalo yesterday a game.   It was an absolute massacre of the Bills by the Pats.  56-10, you have got to be kidding me.  The Bills offence and defence was absolutely malled by the Pats on a very cold day in Buffalo.

 Let me start off by saying that the whole experience yesterday was incredible.  We arrived at Ralph Wilson Stadium at about 4 o’clock and wasted no time getting into the tailgating.  Our very gracious Buffalo hosts cooked up some great burgers and mixed up a great concoction of So-Co and Cider that helped keep us warm.  The atmosphere was great, tons of Pats fans and of course Bills fans jostling each other in a friendly sort of way.  I think no one had a doubt of who was going to win, even the most die hard Bills fans were hard pressed to give any sort of meaningful response to the taunts of the Pats fans.  We knew the Pats would win, the only question was going to be by how much.

It didn’t take long to figure that out.  The Pats came screaming out of the gate and just started picking apart the Bills secondary.  It seemed like Brady had forever to find his target, who even if he was covered was no match for the Bills secondary.   The Pats have such an awesome mix of weapons I just don’t know who is going to stop them.  You have Moss taking care of the long plays, stretching the field, overpowering defenders, you have Stallworth for the mid routes, Welker taking care of the short-mid routes, then Watson and Evans taking care of the shorter routes.  Just so overwhelming.

Growing up, and even to this day, I am a huge fan of the Madden football games, but like any Madden player knows, it is pretty easy to put together a good team and just score at will on the other team.  That my friends is exactly what I thought of when watching the game yesterday.  It was like a Madden game, it was a video game and the Pats were running up the score against the computer trying to pick up Madden points for another pack of cards.

When the Pats’ offence was lining up I was looking up and down the line trying to figure out where the hole was, and you know, I couldn’t.  Right across the line, I knew that the Bills couldn’t cover everybody and Brady would find someone in man or hit someone on a seam pass.  Whatever play the Pats called it seemed to work. 

Without taking anything away from Brady or his set of stellar receivers I think one think is really important to mention and that is the Pats o-line, the big hogs down in the trenches.  They definitely get overshadowed by the big gunners, but without them, Brady wouldn’t have the time he has to find that open man or Watson would have to stay in to block along with Evans limiting the number of downfield receivers.  They are the key to that time without a doubt.

One thing I am a little concerned about is the Pats ability to run.  Yes, they throw up big numbers and the dominate passing, but Laurence Maroney didn’t impress me much (okay he was injured), but the O-line almost seemed to crumble sometimes on running plays.  Maybe they looked that way because the Pats normally look so dominant passing the ball, and a three yard run pales in comparison.  We will have to see, although then again, in the 3rd quarter, The Hoodie seemed to be making a statement by really getting Evans and Eccles into the running game.  Evans especially had some good hard nosed runs picking up some nice yardage.

As for the defence, well what can be said?  They are good, there is no doubt, 10 points against is not bad at all (then again, it was Losman chucking the ball around like a kid on a sandlot).  But they did get to Losman a fair bit.  I want to say they do what they have to do, but I think that is selling them short.  They made some big plays from time to time and they are no doubt capable of stepping it up when needed.  It will be interesting to see what happens going forward on that side of the ball.

So, all of that having been said, and after seeing them in person, I would be willing to put money on the Pats running the table in the regular season, just so dominating.  But whether they actually make it to the Super Bowl and win it, I honestly have to say, I have my doubts.  Why?  Three reasons.  First, their running game, will it be there to run out the clock in the playoffs when the games are tighter.  Second, their defence, they really haven’t played much as the Pats offence has dominated and hung on to the ball, can they do what they do when the TOP swings the other way?  Third, can they win the close one?  The regular season, is the regular season, the playoffs are the playoffs.

Whatever happens though, it is fun to watch Pats beat the computer every time out.

Chad Boyd

Well sports fans welcome to the new and improved Sportstalkbuzz.com. I have
to tell you all that I am really excited to have the chance to blog about
the New England Patriots. I have been a fan of theirs since about 2000, so
despite some peoples’ belief to the contrary I haven’t jumped on the band
wagon.

On to the game, I am also really excited to report that I am actually going
down to Buffalo this weekend to watch the Pats play live. It is going to be
a great time, and I will tell you all about the weekend on Monday. For the
game, I am not counting the chickens before they hatch that is for sure.
This might actually be a close game. The Pats have won nine in a row, but
guess what? The Bills are on a roll too having won 4 straight and they are
picking up steam.

That said, I just finished reading some facts about the Pats on their
official website and I have to say, things still don’t look too positive for
the Bills. The Pats have been on a roll against the Bills since 2000 having
won 13 of 14 meetings and the last 8 straight.

Plus, New England is coming off a bye week and got a chance to rest up and
recover. The injury report out of Foxboro is pretty light, so they should
be in great shape. Buffalo is also looking pretty good on the injury front,
but that said, just cause a player isn’t showing up on the report, doesn’t
mean he isn’t hurting.

I think the greatest advantage for the Pats coming off the bye is extra time
to prepare and make those small adjustments that will make a difference,
especially as the season wears on and other teams have had ample opportunity
to analyze the film and figure out what is what. Expect to see some new
stuff in Buffalo this weekend.

Will the Pats stay undefeated? Believe it or not, I think that this weekend
might prove pretty dangerous for the perfect record. The reason why I say
that is, they have two tough games in particular coming up (well okay,
really only one against Pittsburgh, the other one I am thinking of is
Baltimore and their defence which isn’t what it used to be, but could still
pose some problems). The Pats might be taking this one a little light,
although, after reading the press clippings from the interviews, it doesn’t
sound like they are. But the bye week no doubt may have crimped the flow.

Okay, folks, I will be back to you on Monday with a full report on the game
and Buffalo as I am leaving tomorrow at 3:30.

Go Pats!

Chad
 

Chad Boyd

Hello Good People.  I hope all of you football fans out there are hanging in, we are getting into the heart of the season now and it is getting pretty exciting (especially for yours truly as my New England Patriots are poised to run the table, look out Miami you are about to say bye bye to your perfect season, this is especially delicious as my good buddy Chris Lee is a huge Miami fan, nothing like kicking a man when he is down - Favre has beaten Marino’s passing records, some of them, now it is time to take the one last thing Miami has, the perfect season, go Pats go!).

Now, on to the NFC West.  Things I think are beginning to stablilize out there, at least that is the sense I am getting in reviewing what is happening with the teams.

First off, as always are the Cardinals and their QB injury report.  As you all likely know by now, Warner hurt his elbow last week and had to be replaced by Rattay - wow, did not see that coming or rather, did not want to see that coming at all.  By the sounds of the various news reports out there it looks like there is a slim chance Warner might be back this week, although I would emphasize the word slim chance.  That said, the Cardinals do have enough other weapons to keep it close this week against a resurgent Redskins team.   The Cards if you have noticed are middle of the pack in most of the major stat categories (Offence, passing, rushing, defence).   Of course so are the Redskins, with the exception of their defence which is ranked 3rd.   Of course those stats don’t mean much unless you compare who they have played, after considering that, they both appear to have had relatively equal schedules.  Long story short, this game is going to be decided by a 6 points or less, in favour of the Redskins.

Next up this week is the 49ers.  Not looking good in San Fran, although there is two pieces of sort of good news, first Smith may be back in the lineup, I said it was good news, not great news, it isn’t like they convinced Joe to come out of retirement, second it looks like there is a chance that Vernon Davis will be back to see at least limited action as well, at least that is what my sources have told me.  I don’t think the return of these two are going to make a difference in an otherwise lackluster season (deadlast in the league in total offence and passing and26th in rushing), but what this will do is help in the future giving both of these guys more development time.  I get the feeling that Vernon Davis is just going to bust out soon and turn into a monster at TE, his skills are just too good for that not to happen.

They face off against the 4-2 Giants and I think that this one has a good chance of getting ugly early.   I really don’t think little Manning’s confidence will get beat up by the 49ers and will likely increase a fair bit by the end of it, beating up on awful teams can sometimes do that and that is exactly what is going to happen this week in New York.  Also, watch out for the Giants pass rush to take full advantage of a bad offence and rack up some big time sacks.  Chance of a shutout?  Maybe.  Chance of a blow-out?  Highly likely.  If I had the Giants D in a fantasy league I would be starting them, along with their QB, RB, WRs, and TEs.  Okay, maybe it won’t be that bad, but San Fran is really going to have to pull something out of a hat to take this one or even keep it close … remember on any given Sunday …

Next, up St. Louis visits Seattle.   This should be a cake walk for Seattle, but they have lost two big veteran leaders so far this year.  Fullback Mack Strong had to retire, and I would have to say that must be pretty demoralizing for the team.  I have always thought of Fullbacks as being those quiet, unheralded yet gritty leaders on a football team and when a team loses one, it really shakes out across the board - they are like the catchers of baseball, not flashy, always steady, the rock on which an offence can rely, that, plus most teams only carry one maybe two fullbacks has a big effect too especially when you have to replace one mid way through a campaign.

The other leader they lost was DT Chuck Darby.  That is going to leave a bit of a whole in the line for sure, although, the kid they will likely be starting in his place has seen action in every game Seattle has played this year, so he isn’t completely green.  Probably good that he will get his first start against woeful St. Louis.

St. Louis might be getting a little better as some of their players beging returning from the injury ward.  Bulger should suit up, Bruce should also be back and there is an outside chance that Stephen Jackson will also return (I can’t believe he can even stand after partially tearing is groin three weeks ago - tough guy).  But that having been said, I would be willing to bet without any sort of offensive line those guys will be hurt again before too long.

My guess here is that it might be closer than people think, but not that close, Seattle by 2 touchdowns to take the outright lead in the NFC West.

Have fun on Sunday.