Red Mosquito

Coach wrote:

Peeps wrote:did they change their name to the bengals yet?

We need a few more things to go badly....odds are they will, and we'll be in tiger stripes (or prison ones!) by September. Go New England!

i loved how the bengals came out and specifically made the point that hernandez wasn't on their draft board, like they knew he was too big a risk for them... that draft was the same offseason that they signed pacman jones. what a laughable franchise. great job with that benjarvus green-ellis signing, bungals.

can somebody explain to me how dennard can beat this drunk driving charge? is it b/c he didn't take the breathalizer?

Every time I get excited for football, I think about the Hernandez debacle and that poor (victim's) family. Ugh. What an asshole.

i'm finding it harder and harder to get excited for the NFL... kind of like I've lost that loving feeling for MLB.

elliseamos wrote:i'm finding it harder and harder to get excited for the NFL... kind of like I've lost that loving feeling for MLB.

so bring it on back

i'm hearing alot of talk (sports talk radio) about this season being like that of '06 when the #1 & #2 targets left town (branch was traded to SEA and givens left as a free agent). it was also mcdaniels's first official season as OC. i'm just hoping it means they'll run the ball more. just from looking at the team's fortune in seasons when they've run at least 45% of the time, it seems like an easy formula. it's clearly not foolproof, and obviously getting to the super bowl is no small feat, but if their offense becomes more balanced, i wouldn't mind.

Spoiler: show

year/ptotal/patt/p%/ratt/r%
'12/1191/641/53.8/523/43.9 - lost to BLT in AFCship
'11/1082/612/56.5/438/40.4 - choked against NYG in Super Bowl (after BLT choked in AFCship)
'10/0986/507/51.4/454/46 - lost to NYJ in 1st round (after benching Welker for opening drive)
'09/1076/592/55/466/43.3
'08---------no brady---------
'07/1058/586/55.3/451/42.6 - choked against NYG in Super Bowl
'06/1055/527/49.9/499/47.2 - choked against Colts in AFCship (after trading Branch & letting Givens go)
'05/1031/564/54.7/439/42.5
'04/1035/485/46.8/524/50.6 - Super Bowl over Eagles
'03/1042/537/51.5/473/45.3 - Super Bowl over Panthers
'02/1031/605/58.6/395/38.3
'01/1001/482/48.1/473/47.2 - Super Bowl over Rams

I think you're on to something. I think Ridley and Vereen are both underrated, and with all the turmoil at WR and TE they will pick up the slack to continue to make the team dangerous.

Green Habit wrote:I think you're on to something. I think Ridley and Vereen are both underrated, and with all the turmoil at WR and TE they will pick up the slack to continue to make the team dangerous.

i don't expect much out of leon washington (but that's exactly what i said of woodhead when he got to NE), but I'm thinking either Blount or Bolden could also be a productive RB for this team.

Vereen will be a really key player and I'm interested to see how they use him. He catches the ball like a WR and has nice burst as a runner. I wouldn't be surprised if him and Ridley are on the field at the same time on certain plays.

that would be interesting, orpheus, putting both on the field at the same time. the trend seems to fit that vereen would replace woodhead as the go-to guy, but interestingly, vereen only had two more receptions than ridley last season (8 to 6 respectively).

looking at the individual carries over the years, the team's three top rushers were (carries in paranthesis):

'12 - Stevan Ridley (290), Danny Woodhead (76 car, 40 rec 5th on team), Shane Vereen (62)
'11 - Benjarvus Green-Ellis (181), Stevan Ridley (87), Danny Woodhead (77 car, 18 rec 5th on team)
'10 - Benjarvus Green-Ellis (229), Danny Woodhead (97 car, 34 rec 5th on team), Fred Taylor (43)
'09 - Laurence Maroney (194), Sammy Morris (73), Fred Taylor (63), Kevin Faulk (62 car, 37 rec 3rd on team)
'08 ---no Brady, no stats---
'07 - Laurence Maroney (185), Sammy Morris (85), Kevin Faulk (62 car, 47 rec 3rd on team)
'06 - Corey Dillon (199), Laurence Maroney (175), Tom Brady (49), Kevin Faulk (25 car, 43 rec 3rd on team)
'05 - Corey Dillon (209), Patrick Pass (54), Kevin Faulk (51 car, 29 rec 4th on team)
'04 - Corey Dillon (345), Kevin Faulk (54 car, 26 rec 6th on team), Tom Brady (43)
'03 - Antowain Smith (182), Kevin Faulk (178 car, 48 rec 2nd on team), Tom Brady (42)
'02 - Antowain Smith (252), Kevin Faulk (52 car, 37 rec 4th on team), Tom Brady (42)
'01 - Antowain Smith (287), Marc Edwards (51), Kevin Faulk (41 car, his 31 rec were 3rd on the team)

I think they'll definitely both get more carries and receptions this year. I really like both players. Vereen was pretty amazing in that game against the Texans.

Is it wrong that I want this team to be horrible this year and for the foreseeable future?

darth_vedder wrote:Is it wrong that I want this team to be horrible this year and for the foreseeable future?

yes, if you want to hate a team the obvious choice is either balt'more ravens or the san fran 49ers.

Orpheus wrote:Vereen will be a really key player and I'm interested to see how they use him. He catches the ball like a WR and has nice burst as a runner. I wouldn't be surprised if him and Ridley are on the field at the same time on certain plays.

Yeah, this should happen. A lot of the RBs have been lining up as WRs, during camp. My money's on Shane and Leon getting the bulk of the reps, if it's in the plans. 81 used to come out of the backfield in a similar fashion.

I like what I'm hearing about Sudfeld, too.

Self wrote:

Coach wrote:

Self wrote:

4/5 wrote:

Coach wrote:This was a "perfect storm."

1. You have the Pats coaching staff, which has been enamored with Tebow.

2. You then have Bob Kraft, the owner, who sees $$ signs with this.

3. Publicity - don't forget there's a big rivalry between the Red Sox and Pats for media attention in this town.

4. Kraft's mentor is Jerry Jones....he's taking a page from his book on this one.

5. The deal is cheap and the Pats can back out.

You really think anything besides #1 and, more importantly, 5 are at play here?

I'll take #5 over #1. If they were "enamored" with Tebow, it never would've taken this long to sign him.

perhaps enamored is too strong of a word - I'd say McDaniels and Belichick were very, very, very, very interested.

I think it's time to put the pipe away, Coach. And, if you still think the Pats feel the need to "out-headline" the sox, you might as well pick the pipe back up because it doesn't fucking matter anymore.

This piece in today's Herald further emphasizes the rivalry for attention in the media between the Sox and Pats:

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/lo ... n_for_fans


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The admission by Larry Lucchino yesterday on Boston Herald Radio that the Red Sox view the Patriots as a rival is less a bombshell and more a timely reminder of the enormous impact played by sports in this region.

If this golden age of sports is one byproduct, unintended or 
not, of some fierce competition 
between John Henry and Robert Kraft for the worship of local fans, then let’s keep stirring the pot between the two.
When the fans win — right now, they’re romping — then bring on the gridiron, diamond, parquet, ice and even newspaper battles.

When Lucchino was asked about a remark by an out-of-town losing Boston Globe bidder that the Red Sox hate two institutions, the Yankees and the Patriots, he answered in the singular.

“The answer is no, I don’t hate the Patriots,” the Red Sox president said. “Are they rivals of ours? To be sure. Do I root for them? Yeah, I do. I’m also a Pittsburgh Steelers fan from my youth, so I guess I have to plead guilty to that, too, so I guess it creates a bit of a conflict come playoff time.

“I think there is room for several successful franchises in this sports-crazy town and area of New England. I’m glad we have them. I’m also a Celtics fan. I’m also a Bruins fan, and if you are not a fan of all these major sports teams in Boston there is probably something wrong with you because they’ve offered great product for several years.”

John Henry understands, and Robert Kraft may be on the verge of understanding, what happens when that great product suffers.

When the Red Sox wandered away from their winning core philosophy the last couple of years, they paid the price. They missed the playoffs for three straight seasons, and TV ratings suffered before their sellout streak came to a screeching halt.

The Red Sox needed a quarter-billion-dollar mulligan, courtesy of last year’s blockbuster trade with the Dodgers, and then a rededication to a disciplined approach to right their ship, and they have: The 2013 Red Sox team has an inside track on a playoff berth and the farm system is replete with blue-chip prospects.

In the wake of injuries, free-agent departures, the Aaron Hernandez murder case and the realization that Tom Brady may not be quarterback at 50, the still hugely popular Patriots have enough to worry about.

That Kraft once considered buying the Globe and then Henry did so is a fascinating plot twist. Henry needed to announce that he will not steer the Globe’s coverage of the Red Sox, since he grasps that readers around here can sniff out bias as easily as they can turn their backs on losers.

Boston supports its four sports teams and its two newspapers for many reasons, but the bottom line is that when institutions compete, a winning product is all that matters.

Rivalries are good.

They sell.

And when they do, fans win — to be sure.

Coach wrote:Henry needed to announce that he will not steer the Globe’s coverage of the Red Sox, since he grasps that readers around here can sniff out bias as easily as they can turn their backs on losers.

so i'm suppose to believe he wasn't steering the sox coverage already?

elliseamos wrote:

Coach wrote:Henry needed to announce that he will not steer the Globe’s coverage of the Red Sox, since he grasps that readers around here can sniff out bias as easily as they can turn their backs on losers.

so i'm suppose to believe he wasn't steering the sox coverage already?

For real. If Kraft was so worried about the sox, he coulda just bought the paper himself. Pretty sure he has $70 mill in loose change. Look at the ratings, Coach. Kraft and the NFL don't give a fuck. Henry, the sox, and MLB should. That's why the O's threw a hissy fit when the Ravens asked them to move their game for the opener.

Maybe Kraft also had 81 commit murder and Dennard get an OUI. Headlines, baby.

elliseamos wrote:

Green Habit wrote:I think you're on to something. I think Ridley and Vereen are both underrated, and with all the turmoil at WR and TE they will pick up the slack to continue to make the team dangerous.

i don't expect much out of leon washington (but that's exactly what i said of woodhead when he got to NE), but I'm thinking either Blount or Bolden could also be a productive RB for this team.

Well, that first preseason drive appears to have proven us right.

And then yikes, Vick made the Pats' DBs look horrible.

Who the hell is Kenbrell Thompkins?