I am downright giddy.  260 days of waiting.  Catching nuggets in the Sunday paper.  Reading Peter King every Monday morning.  Listen to Sirius NFL radio.  Finally, finally!  New England Patriots football has arrived.  Thank the lord and savior Jesus Christ.

The weekend mind dump and a prediction for the only game that counts tonight:

·         I never liked Jake Delhomme anyway ever since he taunted McGinest following Delhomme’s tying of the score in the 4th Quarter of SB 38.  What comes around goes back around again.

·         Let’s not sit for the Canton bust just yet, Mark Sanchez.  Same goes for you Rex.  Looking forward to your 430p press conference next Sunday boys.

·         By the way Sanchez, you look like Vince from Entourage.  That makes Rex…Turtle.

·         The Red Zone channel will hurt my marriage at some point.   I even went for a walk with my wife during the 4pm games yesterday to cover up my love for the Red Zone.  I am strongly considering having an affair with the Red Zone. 

·         Belichick is going to sign someone after tonight’s game – just so he doesn’t have to guarantee the salary for the year.

·         Let’s remember Drew Brees was facing the worst team in the history of the NFL.  At home.  On kickoff weekend.  Settle down.

·         “Miami, this is Houston, come in over?”  Parcells, “Houston, we have a problem.  We actually have to play an NFL schedule this year.”

·         Would Belichick trade his kid on the black market if he thought it would make the team better by making him focus more on coaching?  I think he would in a heartbeat.

·         Colossally bad teams in 2009:  Rams, Browns, Bills, Raiders.  Load up your fantasy guys against these teams this year and cruise to the title.

·         Giants are going to be very tough to beat for the third straight year. 

·         Dallas and SF flying well below the radar. 

·         Greg Jennings will be the number one WR in the NFL by week 6.  Mark it down. 

·         Every time I hear “Sixburgh” I want to vomit into a diaper filled with diaherria.

Let’s all be honest there is really only one game that matters tonight and that’s the first one.  Brady is going to come out with something to prove and despite some rustiness will do just that.  Moss and Welker will be Moss and Welker.  All eyes will be on the defense.  After reading Jackie MacMullan’s Globe article on Mayo I am wondering if the Genius is up to something. 

When BB cut Milloy 5 days before the 2003 season it sent shockwaves through the team and league.  Milloy came in and destroyed NE in Buffalo Blue 5 days later.  Everyone knows what happened after that.  One overlooked bit of information was that the move made NE a better team.  Rodney was a better player and leader at that point than Milloy was.  Pure and Simple. 

On this Seymour deal is there another Rodney lurking out there?  Myron Pryor or Ron Brace or Mike Wright?  I don’t think so, but after reading MacMullan’s piece and the glowing praise heaped upon Mayo by Vrabel, Bruschi and Harrison and knowing he was hurting badly last year – perhaps Mayo is the replacement.  Switching to the 4-3 and allowing Mayo to dominate and roam freely as MLB might be this year’s Lawyer Milloy replacement.  And the thought of being able to add future value and shed some salary simultaneously – must have been too difficult to pass up for the Genius. 

Let’s hope the theory is right.  The defense needs a lift to its old dominating self.