He is one of the few Manny defenders left, and he brings up really good arguments that put most of the new pink hats in Red Sox Nation to shame. He is one of the few the rightly criticizes the bum moves the Red Sox make, and a lot of what he said when he mentioned losing Manny and losing Texiera would hurt this team for a long time to come is finally coming to fruition.

Danny From Quincy, I hope ou get your own show someday. You put a lot of WEEI hosts to shame, and you call them out when they are wrong. They hate it, and always say so, but forget that people like us waste our days listening to them. So its good to see someone who tells it right for a change.

This team has tried to build its image away from the zany players of old, but those players, those Mannys, those Pedros, they were the reason we were winning. In 2004 and 2007, those Duquette players helped us win a championship, with the Lucchino players playing a huge part as well.

Theo Epstein has made bad move after bad move after bad move. The difference is that Dan Duqette left him a huge amount of talent to place role players around. Now that they are gone or falling off the chart (David Ortiz), the Red Sox think they can have this “formula” for producing great teams.

What the hell is this goddamn formula? We cry about how the Yankees spend money, but our team is currently paying the MLB luxury tax. JD Drew & Mike Cameron make $23 million combined. We gave up Manny Ramirez for this? We gave up Jason Bay for this?

It was documented that in the post-steroids world there would be less influential hitters that teams will find. Why the hell did we decide to overlook three of them in the last two years ( Ramirez, Bay, Texeira). Why, because they were too expensive? Who the fuck do the Red Sox think they are, the Minnesota Twins? Then spend like the Twins and put a quality fucking team on the field.

We drop players and say they are too expensive, and we pick up players for a boatload of money who become complete busts! This is reminiscent of when Duquette waived bye to Clemens and Vaughn (which, in fairness to their careers post-Sox, none of us knew about their PED use), but used the money on Steve Avery, Jose Offerman, Brett Saberhagen-post-prime, David Cone-post-prime etc. He thought having one ace and building around him with cheap role players was the way to go. Wrong! Clearly wrong.

Hell, during that time, in their same division the Blue Jays had two dominant pitchers AND a dominant hitter (Clemens, Pat Hentgen, Jose Canseco) and they still couldn’t get to the promised land.

The Red Sox of current are doubly-worse. They are dropping superstars in favor of role players who make a ton of fucking money. Who would you rather have: Darren Lewis & Troy O’Leary, or JD Drew & Mike Cameron? The latter, yea, but would you pay an extra $18 million? Fuck no. You couldn’t say that to my face without blinking into a seizure for lying to yourself.

Dan Duquette learned from his mistake, as he had gone in the market in 2000 to get Mike Mussina ( but ended up with Manny Ramirez instead). But it was too late, and even before that free agent signing, the Yawkey Trust didn’t spend like the current owners did. So Duquette had to work on getting those bargain role players.

But don’t fool yourselves Red Sox fans. $8 million contracts are not bargains. Having the 2nd highest payroll doesn’t seem like you are developing a team around bargains. We told Manny to fuck off because we couldn’t pay him, we told Jason Bay to fuck off too. We essentially told Red Sox fans we got nothing for Ramirez, since the guy we traded for bounced. And now our hitting is atrocious, we have trouble playing against the Royals, and our payroll is the highest it has ever been.

Red Sox nation, if you are going to vote Scott Brown in on the pretense that he will stop government overspending, you have to do the same and vote Epstein out of the Nation. He is ruining this team, and it is only a matter of time before people realize they have bought $10,000 season-ticket packages to watch a team that may end up looking like the Mets.

I am currently the only member of the RedTeaParty. Join me and lets razz on Red Sox management to start making more good moves than bad moves. There is no excuse for a bloated payroll and expensive seats if Epstein is going to call this season a bridge period. Epstein, go fuck yourself. If we are going to have issues with government overspending, why is Red Sox Nation being hypocritical when it comes to the Fenway Cash Cow?

Let our voices be heard. #RedTeaParty, Unite!

There was an earlier article on CSN talking about Rondo working on his shot with Mark Price last year. One of the things we all have to remember; Rajon works really hard at his game. It seems he comes off as standoff-ish and he has had some fisticuffs with his own teammates during games, but you can’t doubt his heart.

Whether you like him or not, his activism has been a blessing for many communities; helping him achieve the goals of helping children get food is the least you can do as a sports fan.

Stand up to hunger; altruism is the greatest gift you can offer. Chad Johnson will match your donation, so it is a double win-win situation if anyone is interested in donating to feeding our young children. Donate to Chad OchoCinco’s cause today.
Donation Link

This in-game blog of the Patriots and Jaguars will be updated every 30 minutes or when anything happens that is important. Hopefully this insights will help other people with their analysis for their blogs.

In-Game Blog Update

2 minutes into 2nd quarter: 14-0 Patriots

The Patriots are playing an amazing game. Brandon Meriweather has been a beast, making an amazing tackle on Maurice Jones-Drew that held Jacksonville to a 4th & 1 in their own territory.

Jack Del Rio took the Belichickean route and went for it on 4th down, but the play was thwarted as the run play to the right was swarmed by Patriots players who got behind the offensive line. Patriots responded with a Tom Brady pass to Tight End Chris Baker. The play was a little controversial since Baker had pushed away his defender to get to the ball. The pass interference may have been overlooked since both players were pretty physical going down the field.

Tom Brady looks good, the defense looks amazing ( considering Vince Wilfork isn’t playing ), and it doesn’t seem the Jaguars are doing anything to stop this onslaught.

40 seconds left in 2nd quarter: 28-0 Patriots

There is so little to talk about with the Jaguars because they don’t seem to have any answers against the Patriots defense. Tully Banta-Cain has been a beast, pressuring David Garrard.The Pats defensive front seven seem to be holding ground in the middle of the field; this has kept run plays from getting too big with so many people holding their ground in the backfield, and has nullified any successful pass plays in the flat.

3rd quarter 12:54 – Jaguars 4th&1 on their own 37

Jack Del Rio goes for it again after the previous run play on 3rd down was stopped for no gain by another great play by Meriweather. Considering the score, and the playoff hopes on the line, they probably will be going for it on every 4th down for the rest of the game.

3rd quarter 10:35 – Jaguars with ball around Pats 25

David Garrard is still doing very well, considering their offensive line isn’t blocking the Patriots real well. The Patriots are extremely weak up the middle, but the Jaguars no longer can exploit since the passing game needs to get some plays going to get back into this game.

The interception in the 1st half changed the game; the lead allows the Patriots to experiment with their pass-rush. No one in the middle of that defense is hitting 250-270; if the Jags can get back in this game, that is a huge weakness they can exploit it.

3rd quarter 0:40 – Patriots Ball at the Jacksonville 25 (28-0 Patriots)

David Garrard had his drive go all the way down to the Patriots 7 yard line. The quarterback pressure by the Patriots defense was very good, but Garrard was efficient, and a couple of run plays up the middle exploited the smallness of the Patriots line.

But Shawn Springs took advantage of a bad throw by Garrard and intercepted the ball next to the goal line. The Patriots go down-field, and the Brady-Moss-Welker complex did its work. Everything culminated with Brady throwing a great pass to Moss, who moved around his defender and lounged his arms to get the ball past the touchdown plane. It was Randy Moss’s 3rd touchdown reception of the day.

The play was challenged ( since the ball may not have crossed the plane ), but the touchdown ended up standing. The crowd is ecstatic at this point, as they are chanting “Randy! Randy!” on the extra-point kick.

4th quarter 12:37 – Patriots Ball around midfield (35-7 Patriots )

The Patriots are still playing, but they are involving Fred Taylor in their run packages now that the game is way past over.

He looks real good, and the running back depth that the Patriots will have going to the playoffs looks incredible.

On the previous Jaguars drive, David Garrard scored a touchdown after avoiding the Patriots pass-rush on a collapsed pocket. He went on the sideline to tend to his leg, which he may have injured during the play.

End of game

The Patriots were so dominant in all facets of the game that there wasn’t much insight into many of the Jaguars players. David Garrard did play well if you take out the two turnovers; the game would’ve been much different if these interceptions didn’t happen.

The Patriots defense looked really good, but also had the good luck of having the lead, which kept Maurice Jones-Drew from affecting the game much ( 16 carries and 3 receptions ).

Belichick called another amazing game with his ghost defense and blitz packages, and although I think Moss had an “ok” game ( I am a Moss defender, so this isn’t maniacal criticism like you witness on ESPN or in Boston the last few weeks ), his bandwagon picked up some passengers today.

Laurence Maroney wasn’t in the game much; not sure if there was an injury involved or if they feel they wanted to spread the ball around to the other backs.

Game Insights:

@Tom Brady, @Patriots Offensive Line, @Patriots Coaching: Don’t believe the hype that will occur post-game; this game was pretty easy for Tom Brady. He hasn’t had to do a lot of work; the offensive line should get the game ball since he is getting a comfortable 4-6 protected pocket. The running game has been effective due to the line as well. The WR of the Patriots are blocking real well, and the running backs are getting a lot of yards once they reach the 2nd level of the defense.

@Mercedes Lewis: left the game early with an undisclosed head injury, and didn’t return.

@Brendan Meriweather: He played a great game, made a lot of tackles at the line of scrimmage, had an interception, and covered his zone well. Very underrated part of the Patriots defense; when he shines, the Patriots are usually dominating on D.

Mini-Trends:

The Patriots “Ghost Defense”:  Belichick is utilizing his “ghost defense” ( where the line is one or two down-lineman with linebackers walking around in no fixed position ), and he is using it more with two down-lineman on the far right and far left gaps ( the five gaps ) with a medley of linebackers in the middle.

This is the newest variation of this ghost defense, where in the past he has used it with one down-lineman in the middle or no lineman at all. I am unsure if this has been used with any other coach in the NFL, although Eric Mangini and Rex Ryan have employed semblances of this defense in the past few years.

It is unclear if this might be a continuing trend; he has done this before when he had healthy linemen, so I don’t think this defense has been used the last two weeks only due to the injuries to Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren. Wouldn’t be surprised if they

Trends

Tully Banta-Cain – Great Pass-Rusher: I think it is safe to say that Tully Banta-Cain is a great pass-rusher for the Patriots. He comes off the edges real well, he can get pressure when he is lined up in the middle as well. He is small, but he has the burst of speed and maneuvers to get to the QB. If you told me he was going to be the Patriots best pass-rusher in July, I would’ve laughed. He has come a long way.

Valuable Information Elsewhere

• Tom Brady & Vince Wilfork Injuries
• Game Boxscore
• Randy Moss Quotes
• David Garrard Foundation

- Tomm Looney on Fox Sports JT The Brick Show Tuesday 12/22/09

And with the pass deflection to push the Patriots a 4th & 2 with two minutes left in the Patriots-Colts game, the heartbeat of all fans involved with this amazing Sunday night game pounded fast and furious. Peyton Manning has a chance to take his team down the field to win the game. The Patriots have a chance to make a stop, and a chance to prove to the NFL that the 2007 magic is alive and well.

But, wait. Tom Brady is relaying signals from the sideline. The punt team has not come on to the field. There is two minutes left on the clock, and Bill Belichick, with his team on their own 28 yard line, makes the most historic coaching decision ever made on the gridiron field. He decides that destiny comes on this play; gain the 1st down, and the Patriots will make their mark, and the message will be passed along through the national media outlets.

Lose the first down, and the Colts will begin their road as the newest team of destiny. The new undefeated argument. The new 2007. The best quarterback. The team of the decade. The greatest coach of all time. And everything that is football, that is greatness, that is gridiron history, that is sport debate; Bill Belichick made the decision to control destiny itself.

And the Patriots walked up to the line of scrimmage, and everyone who was watching it, could not believe what was happening before their eyes. History was being made on so many levels, and yet the story itself was simple: Get the 1st down, and keep Peyton Manning off the field.

The Colts defense stepped up their game, and before this historic play, were keeping the potent Patriots offense at bay in the latter half of the 4th quarter. Their safeties were close in on the line. The linebackers were close as well. There were 22 players no more than 10 yards from each other, and they all knew that this was it. The Colts had an momentum advantage, but meaningless without this stopping them right here. Destiny is in front of them, and they can control it, embrace it, become it.

The Patriots offense, with so much destruction it wreaked upon the Colts secondary, had become mortal, and susceptible to mistakes. They nonetheless, had the chance to control destiny. To mold the identity of greatness for the NFL. The ability to control the talking heads of playoff scenarios, the fear of the red,white, and blue uniforms, the praise of the last pick in the draft over the first, the ballsiest coaching call in history: They can control it with moving the chains just two more yards.

Did it matter that Kevin Faulk was only a foot short? Did it matter that Tom Brady had an open target down field? Did it matter that Peyton Manning took advantage of the short field to prevail over his rivals?

It all matters to the history of this great game, to the people who spends hours arguing the greatest plays, players, playoffs, and predictions. It matters to the struggling print industry that can relay sports stories to the local community. It matters to the 10-year old with a Jared Allen jersey, watching the game with the parents. It matters to the game, the past game, the future game, and the destiny of the two teams who were involved this amazing Sunday night.

Bill Belichick, who will catch harsh criticism, have fans doubt his legacy, leave many fans with heavy hearts and watered-eyes as they start a new week. Bill Belichick made it matter, because he made the decision to have one play decide the destiny of two teams, one rivalry, millions of fans, and the narrative of the NFL itself.

If there is any positive that can come from anyone that is a Patriots or a Bill Belichick fan, it is the fact that this decision represents so much to sports in such a finite moment. A moment where Tom Brady could’ve gained a first down, a moment where Peyton Manning becomes the most dominant force in the AFC, a moment where the narrative of football is changed forever. Bill Belichick gave us this story, this story within a story, the ability to control destiny itself.

And with one play, tomorrow will forever be so much different than any sports fan could’ve ever imagine. The future is exciting, and I thank Belichick for making the most maniacal instinctive that any coach has ever made. The future is exciting, and with one play, the narrative of football changes. Thanks Bill; I cannot wait until the next chapter.

Oh yes, you heard my ego loud and clear. I plan to see my opponents crushed. I love to see the smack talk dwindle to petty excuses of injuries, bye weeks, and Mark Sanchez.

I came up to week 1 with probably the best team in a 10-team league, with the 2nd best name ( 3-4 Stunner ). I am also credited with the best name, for I changed it to “Team Beast” after I traded away Phillip Rivers in exchange for Frank Gore.

My team looked looked like the fantasy team of destiny:

QB – Peyton Manning

WRs – TJ Houz ( can’t spell his goddamn name ), Steve Smith ( NY ), Reggie Wayne

RBs – Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore

TE – Dallas Clark

Week 1, I was sure of sweeping the league. By week 4 with a 2-1 record, I laid back to wait for the playoffs to come to me. But, with week 7 coming to a close, I could have a 3-4 record by the end of tonight’s game, and a whole slew of smack talk to enjoy as the best team in my league falls into the fantasy cellar.

This may be happening to you, right? You have an amazing team, you score 130 points, and you lose because the Jets decides to give up 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns in one quarter to the Dolphins! Maybe the total opposite is happening, and you somehow manage to squeak out multiple victories upon a San Fransisco defense scoring 35 fantasy points, or Tom Brady playing back-to-back college teams.

For you, with the bad luck of having to lose in fantasy because of the illogical & stupendous, I feel you. For the rest of you, who somehow are undefeated and somehow your quarterback is David Garrard, this top five is for you. I need to get my anger out, so here are my top five most annoying things for week 7. Add your own to the comments; let us all tell our stories.

#5: Matt Cassell: Fall From Grace Sad Annoying )

This is just hilarity that Cassell his contract contains more millions of guaranteed money ( $28 million ) than his QB rating on Sunday ( 25.3 ). If you are from Boston, you probably remember those pink hats who would call up WEEI and call for keeping Matt Cassell over Brady. I say we should trade those “Patriot” fans to KC, so they can suck it up with Matt.

He’ll be a better QB someday with a better team, but if you thought he was worth your 4th,5th,6th, or even 7th round, or even your starting job, he might ( or has already ) cost you the playoffs.

10 for 25? If I had him starting and seen this, I would Ryu dragon punch the next stranger on the street. I would be mad enough that I would have fire coming out of my fist!

Tom Brady and Wes Welker. Fantasy domination

#4: The Patriots, Breaking My Fragile Heart ( Annoying Great )

” But the Patriots, Red? I thought you liked the Patriots?”

What is annoying about the team is that they have faced off against two atrocious teams, play near-average, and have their players come off with scores of points.

Yea, if you had Tom Brady on your team, you didn’t even have to prepare the last two weeks. If you lost any of the last two games and you had Tom starting, you deserve to lose every game going forward.

The worst thing about it is if you are facing a fantasy opponent who has Tom Brady and/or Moss and/or Wes Welker, you didn’t stand a chance this week. Tom Brady played a horrible game, and still managed to rack up fantasy points. Wes Welker AND Tom Brady is on the same team somewhere in Fantasy-land, and whoever faced them this weekend is probably finishing up their Zoloft prescription.

#3 Frank Gore comes back, and Alex Smith is the Fantasy Hero. (  Annoying )

WTF?!? Alex Smith comes out of nowhere, and racks up points. But Frank Gore comes back, fresh as a baby’s cheek, and gets only 32 yards against a soft Houston Texan run-D? I didn’t get Frank Gore so Smith can start an aerial assault on the NFL.

For the former number #1 pick, great friggin’ game! Welcome back.

#2 Yahoo FINALLY Gets an Autosuggester for Player List  ( great previously annoying )

Remember those days where it took seven clicks and four pages to find Marion Barber? Well now, Yahoo Fantasy Football ( and probably the other sports too ) have an autosuggestion function that suggests the players for you while you type.

Now its much easier to look at statistics, and make stupid decisions that will destroy your team even faster.

#1 Watching a Kicker ( David Akers ) Make or Break Your Week ( Annoying! )

So, in my fantasy matchup this week, I had Gore tally up five points, and it has left me with only a 5.75 cushion going into Monday Night Football. The only other player between me and my opponent that is playing is David Akers.

I hoped that my Monday night would be filled with the freedom to go food shopping, drink a couple of brews, hone my mediocre writing skills, or walk around in my undies around my house singing Creedence Clearwater Revival ( should mention that this would go hand-in-hand with the beer ).

But now, I am fully clothed, nervous, and checking the weather in Washington D.C. to see if there is precipitation heavy enough to keep the bastard kicker off the field. And with the kicker, THERE IS NO LOGIC.

Akers will need 6 points to win. He can kick two field goals. He can kick a field goal, and three extra points. He could kick 6 field goals, blow my team out of the water, but the Eagles could still lose 27-18 ( funny score, I know, it cracked me up too ). In normal circumstances, with offensive players, you could root for them to screw up or excel.

With the kicker, I have to hope for a complete shutout, or for a ridiculous red zone efficiency that would keep him off the field. These are not the memories I want to accrue in my youth to pass down to my children. I don’t want to meet Akers, who is probably a great guy, in the future and always have in the back of my head,” This guy ruined my team in 2009″.

Most annoying thing about fantasy football this week. Do you have one? I would love to hear it.

QB – Peyton Manning

WR – Reggie Wayne

WR – TJ Hou-wizzie

WR – Steve Smith ( Of the NY Giants Flavor )

RB – Frank Gore

RB – Adrian Peterson

TE – Dallas Clark

Kicker & Defense: New England Patriotas!

You would think, after seven weeks, that my team would be 4-3? 5-2? Undefeated? This is a 10-team league, so there is a lot of depth. But let’s be honest; has any of us seen a team like this, and expect a 3-4 record?

I am getting killed this week, because my opponent has Tom Brady. This is the only day where he isn’t getting any love from me.

The Titans are a winless team who really didn’t show up for last Sunday’s game.  If anything the next two weeks of pounding the Pats will do on these hapless teams is no-news in my book.

On a fantasy level, you must be drooling if you have Brady or Moss on your team. Maroney has now become an eligible bachelor at the halfback position now that Sammy Morris has gone down and Laurence discarded the North-South game.

I am waiting for the Brady-Moss connection deep, but in a game that counts. For now, I care more about the Mad Men teacher than I do about the Foxboro favorites.

Sorry Brady, I will wait until Brees and Manning enter the Patriots storyline. Happy Halloween.