Bill Belichick long ago had enough of the rancor-driven spirit leading into assorted “Tuna Bowls,” “Battles of the Bills” and “Border Wars.” The fact he and Bill Parcells aren’t pitted on anyone’s undercard this week gave Belichick a chance to reflect openly with me about his respect for Parcells. “Out of all the strengths that Bill has, his ability to take an organization that’s really pretty bad and turn it around is the one that stands out to me,” Belichick said on Wednesday. “He did it with the Giants (in the 1980s), wins two Super Bowls. He goes to New England in 1993, takes a really bad team to the playoffs in one year then to the Super Bowl in ‘96. The Jets. He gets there in 1997, they go to the AFC Championship game a year later. Dallas, they were bad for three years (5-11 each season from 2000-2002) then they go to the playoff his first season there. I don’t think anybody does it better and I’ve learned a lot being around him whether on his staff or watching him do it with other teams.”

Belichick believes Parcells’ ability to diagnose problems and apply treatment to a diseased organization is unparalleled. “You look at what you have, you look at what you need and then you figure out how to get it,” says Belichick. “That’s what he does a great job of — knowing the big picture. He knows what he wants, he knows what he needs, he knows where it is and he goes and gets it. And he does it pretty quick.”

The Patriots have held workouts for several different free agents, including veteran long snapper Joe Zelenka, kickers Mike Nugent and Connor Barth and punter Tim Masthay.

How bad were the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday as they were trounced by the New England Patriots across the pond at Wembley Stadium in London by the score of 35-7? Bad enough that this long time NFL observer kept looking for John McKay when the cameras focused on the Bucs bench. McKay of course was the first head coach when Tampa Bay entered the NFL and had to suffer through 26 straight losses before his team got their first win. This edition is only 0-7 so far; however the NFL campaign is not yet half over this team may not have bottomed out yet.

The Patriots were not the juggernaut that they were last week in their destruction of the Tennessee Titans by a score of 59-0. But they far outclassed the hapless Buccaneers; New England quarterback Tom Brady had another great game despite throwing two interceptions. Brady completed 22/32 pass attempts for a total of 308 yards and had 3 touchdowns to go along with the 2 picks.

On the other side of the field and the spectrum was Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Johnson who seemed to be having a foggy day in London town. Back in 1983 former Bucs coach John McKay said that his staring QB was a nice kid; but so was his wife and she was not a quarterback. That phrase could easily apply to Johnson who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but behind center at Wembley Stadium.

The Buccaneers QB was 9/26 for an unimpressive 156 yards. He did have one touchdown but threw three interceptions including one that led to the Pats scoring the first points of the game. Josh Freeman came in at the QB position in the second half and was 2/4 on pass attempts for a total of 16 yards.

This game was as lopsided as the final score indicates as New England dominated in every category conceivable. The Patriots scored their first touchdown with 12:26 to go in the first quarter as Brandon Meriweather intercepted a Gibson pass and took the ball 39 yards into the end-zone. After Pats kicker Stephen Gostkowski put the ball through the uprights New England led 7-0 and never looked back.

Brady hit three different receivers for touchdowns in the contest. He threw a 14 yard pass to Wes Welker with 2:16 left in the first. He connected with Sam Aiken for a 54 yard touchdown with 11:18 in the second quarter. The last TD of the day for Brady was in the third quarter as he hit Benjamin Watson with a 39 yard pass. The Patriots also got a touchdown via the rushing game as Laurence Maroney went one yard to get into the end zone for his team in the fourth.

The only time Tampa Bay scored was with 1:14 left in the first half as he threw a 33 yard pass to Antonio Bryant with 1:14 left in the first half. After the point after by Bucs kicker Shane Andrus the Patriots lead was down to 21-7 going into the half. If the Buccaneer could have mounted any kind of offensive threat they still could have been within striking distance. But the team on the field in the Tampa Bay uniforms did not have the capability to do that.

New England is now 5-2 and have next Sunday off as they have their Bye week. They will host the Miami Dolphins in two weeks. Tampa Bay is still winless on the season with an 0-7 record; they will also have their Bye week next Sunday and then will host the Green Bay Packers in two weeks.  

© Copyright 2009 thesackattack.net

During his brief unemployment before rejoining the New England Patriots today, veteran outside linebacker Tully Banta-Cain was in demand. Banta-Cain fielded interest from the Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans, according to a league source. Ultimately, Banta-Cain opted to stick with the Patriots.

The mystery behind Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas and his being on the inactive list for Sunday’s game didn’t get any clearer yesterday. Thomas was a healthy scratch for the first time since his rookie season with the Ravens in 2000, missing the 59-0 beating of the Titans at Gillette Stadium. He wasn’t on the injury report all week leading to the game and was not at the stadium Sunday, according to a league source.

This was not a football game it was a mugging as the New England Patriots stole the pride, dignity and most likely lunch money of the hapless Tennessee Titans Sunday as they pummeled them in Foxborough 59-0. The Titans showed why they are now 0-6 in this NFL campaign as they put up about as much of a challenge to the Patriots as a “Pop Warner” team of eleven year olds. It was the largest margin of victory that the New England franchise has had in their history.

Tom Brady who had shown flashes of the 2007 NFL MVP during the team’s previous five contests was back to being vintage “Tom Terrific” in the match-up. Brady set an NFL record by slinging five touchdown passes in the second quarter alone. By the time the contest reached the half at snowy Gillette Stadium, New England had a 45-0 lead. Brady threw for 380 yards six touchdowns connecting with Randy Moss for three and Wes Welker for an additional two.

Even the Patriots running game was effective as running back Laurence Maroney had a great day racking up 123 yards on the ground including a 45 yard touchdown run in the first quarter.  New England back-up QB Brian Hoyer took over in the blow-out for Brady in the third and was 9/11 for 52 yards and scored a touchdown with a one yard run into the end zone with 11 seconds on the clock. This was one of those days that the New England Patriots could do absolutely no wrong.

Subsequently the Tennessee Titans seemed to be able to do everything wrong as both Kerry Collins and Vince Young were totally ineffective behind center. Collins was just 2/12 with one interception and Vince Young was 0-2 and threw a pick as well. Tennessee’s running game was somewhat more effective as running back Chris Johnson carried the ball 17 times and accumulated 128 yards. However he never made it into the end-zone and his teammates only added an additional 65 yards for a total of 193 yards on the ground for the afternoon.   

The Patriots and their fans needed a game like this after being shut down last Sunday in Denver from half-time onward and losing the contest to the Broncos. Although their record and play on the field may be a very bad indicator the Titans are still an NFL franchise and the fact that New England was able to dominate in the manner in which they did has to boost the team’s confidence and ego.       

The Patriots now have a record of 4-2 and are all alone at the top of the AFC East as the New York Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills in overtime 16-13. They will be heading across the pond next Sunday as they will  face off against the  Tampa Bay Bucs at Wembley Stadium in London. (I wonder if they will have Pat The Patriot on their helmets as they have for the last two games or if it will be the return of Elvis Patriot?) The Titans will have a week to re-group and lick their wounds as they have the Bye week next Sunday.

© Copyright 2009 thesackattack.net

Head coach Bill Belichick admitted on Monday that the Patriots need to get wide receiver Randy Moss more help. “They played a lot of the game in some type of coverage over the top to Randy and tried to squeeze off everyone else,” Belichick told the Boston Globe. “We got to do a better job of running the ball and we got to have a better job of having everybody contribute to the passing game. That’s the long and short of it.” Moss caught one pass from quarterback Tom Brady in Sunday’s loss to Denver, while also catching one pass from Kyle Orton on an interception at the end of the first half.

Some potential free agent running back options for the Patriots.

1. Ahman Green – The 32-year-old Green, a four-time Pro Bowler, still wants to play. He averaged 4 yards per carry last year for the Texans, but was placed on injured reserve because of an incentive-laden deal and then released in February. He almost hooked on with the Rams in August.

2. Dominic Rhodes – The former Colt and Raider was a surprise cut by the Bills. He is still only 30 and has been successful in a backup role during his career. Plus, the Patriots love to collect former Raiders.

3. Tatum Bell – Bell has a career 4.9-yard per-carry average, but is viewed as a product of the Broncos’ interchangeable running game under Mike Shanahan. You know he is in football shape because he is in the UFL with the Florida Tuskers.

4. T.J. Duckett – The 28-year-old Duckett was dumped by the Seahawks in August, when they signed Edgerrin James. At 254 pounds, he is a pure power back who could add another element to the offense.