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Super Bowl LI weekend was a crazy one, in the best way possible, for me as a native Houstonian. I spent a good majority of my weekend with the New England Patriots ‘ front office staff, and in the midst of the frenzy I just had to ask about what it was like to work with the one player no one can ever seem to hear enough about – Tom Brady.
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I have a friend, Jake Haas, whose motto throughout college was, “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.” Mr. Haas was not so much referring to his academic career, but to the countless drinking/video games that we partook in during our time receiving a higher education.
Much like in Mario Kart (N64 is THE only version), cheaters have a better chance of winning and if the short cut doesn’t work, you can always use another shortcut later in the race. Obviously, Tom Brady and the Patriots have played a couple of races on the Mario Kart circuit.
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We used to go for a different kind of movie. Historically, America has revered the Hollywood leading man that spoke with his actions and not his words. The strong and silent type who didn’t wax poetic, but instead just took charge. Talk was always cheap, or so the romantic narrative went.
Movies evolve and so then the characters that the audience demands.
This all does not apply to Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, someone perfectly content in playing football really well and not talking about that. He isn’t a character but his own man. Any rational person would at best respect someone who takes pride in his work and doesn’t feel the need to draw attention to himself.
Many people in the media are not rational.
There are things that have to be written, damn it.
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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is emerging as one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. After avoiding a sophomore slump with a stellar second season, Luck entered the NFL’s Most Valuable Player discussion in 2014. Although his yardage total dipped from 4,374 yards to 3,822 from year one to year two, something more important was also cut in half:
Luck threw just nine interceptions in 2013, as opposed to 18 in 2012. in 2014, his yardage increased to 4,761, and he’s thrown 40 TD passes to just 16 interceptions. Again Luck’s INT decreased.
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In 1997, the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots came together for a Super Bowl in New Orleans. In 2007, the Pack finished a couple plays short of joining the NE Pats in the NFL title game once again. This season, a Packers-Patriots finale could very well happen; and it’s becoming a trendy pick to actually forecast this scenario.
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The New England Patriots are a shining example of a team that suffered a “good” loss. New England’s historically embarrassing loss to Kansas City in week four has proven to be the wake-up slap the Patriots needed to turn their season around from a disappointing 2-2 start. Since that loss, New England has gone 5-0, winning all but one of those games by double-digits. [Read more…]
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The New York Jets lackluster play is more frustrating than normal because this team has shown that they have talent. Behind all of the penalties, turnovers, and play calls that will make your head spin is a team that has managed to keep every game close. This is a team that was actually beating up on the Green Bay Packers 21-3 at one point.
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This NY Jets defense contains arguably Rex Ryan’s best pass rush since he came to New York in 2009.
Through the years, he’s been able to call defensive gems against the likes of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. He did so against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers back in 2010, but the offense faltered and the Jets were shutout 9-0. Rodgers went just 15 of 34 for 74 yards and 0 touchdowns in that one.
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If there’s one category Rex Ryan is dominant in, it’s his ability to make rookie quarterbacks look like they don’t belong on the field. With a 7-3 record against rookie quarterbacks, Jets fans should look forward to seeing Derek Carr step out onto the MetLife Stadium turf with the Oakland Raiders. Some NFL pundits wonder whether Derek Carr should even be on the field this weekend.
Say what you will about Matt Schaub and his 2013 pick-six plague over the course of 10 games, but he has been slinging the ball on NFL defenses since 2004. The Jets secondary that will run out onto the field this Sunday would’ve been one of the worst secondaries that Schaub has seen throughout his 128 career starts. With Dee Milliner all but ruled out for Sunday, Ryan goes from Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie to Kyle Wilson and Antonio Allen.
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Most teams in any sport would be happy with three consecutive trips to the conference championship that includes one trip to their sport’s finals.
But the New England Patriots aren’t most teams.
Bill Belichick isn’t most coaches, and Tom Brady isn’t most quarterbacks. But neither of these guys are going to be happy with anything less than a Super Bowl win this season.
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The Dominique Easley era has officially begun in Foxboro after Thursday night’s NFL Draft first round saw the Patriots draft Easley, a 6’2″, 288 pound defensive lineman, with the 29th overall pick.
Injuries to Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly decimated the Patriots’ interior line last season, and Easley is expected to step right in and play- especially with Wilfork coming back from Achilles surgery.
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It’s happening. The day has finally come where the play calling in the NFL resembles my own play calling from back when I first started playing Madden.
First and 10? Streak to the endzone. Second and four? Streak to the endzone. Third and short? Streak to the endzone.
Okay, it might not be that drastic. But if it hasn’t been apparent in the past decade or so leading up to this season, it should be clear to everyone now that the NFL is a passing league.
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