Hey gang,

as is getting common with New York bloggers, they routinely get in touch with me to do Q&A exchanges.  Below is the first of one such exchange with Madison Square Garden's Game On.  Enjoy.

It's fairly obvious to me that Bill Belichick is a genius, as if he was Professor X wearing a hoodie. Can you give us some insight as to how he's pulling off a playoff run this year?

"Patriots All Access" is a show put on by one of our local TV stations and they do a segment called "The Belestrator". Belichick runs through some plays and, about halfway through, it starts sounding like martian to me. ;-)

The real masterminds behind this team are both Belichick and VP of player personnel, Scott Pioli. Combined, they are very savvy at structuring a football team to win AND, most importantly, finding guys who will fit into the system, young or old. Take, for example, BenJarvus Green-Ellis. An undrafted free agent, he was assigned to the practice squad where we thought he would wallow in obscurity. Whoodah thunk we'd lose our top 3 running backs Maroney, Morris, and Jordan. Aarrgghh!! Suddenly, he's starting and doing well.

The key to Belichick's success is finding guys that many other teams overlook. Wes Welker anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Is it safe to call Matt Cassell a poor man's Chad Pennington? I do not mean this as an insult, as I like Chad's play a lot. He seems to be well equipped to "manage" games despite having the same amount of picks as he has TD throws. What should we expect to see out of Cassell on Thursday?

The mistake many make is comparing the 2008 Cassel to the 2007 Brady. That standard is WAY too high and unachieveble by all but a handful of QBs in the league. Look at Brady's 2001 numbers after he was elevated from clipboard to under center with Drew Bledsoe's injury. Very, very similar.

Sure, he's not throwing a lot of TDs. I've been concerned for a while he doesn't have the long ball with Moss, such a deadly weapon, but I did see flashes of it in the Colts' game (Jabar Gaffney drop) and with the Bills (Wes Welker, believe it or not!), but the key is playing to Matt's strengths. Most assuredly, you can sense the coaching staff guiding him and giving more control as he's gotten more comfortable. 6-3-1 is the sack count for the last 3 games. That shows 2 things: the O line is stepping up and, more importantly, Matt's more comfortable in the pocket.

You will see a lot of slants and options to Wes Welker and RB Kevin Faulk to move the chains. You will see gobs of running from RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis. You will see Moss turned inside. And, you may see a long ball to Moss or Gaffney.

New England seems to be challenging the Giants for the lead league in most running backs used in a single game. How as the running back-by-committee style of play gone for you? What are the styles of each runner? Any glaring weaknesses?

Prior to all of the injuries, I was stoked. Starter Laurence Maroney is a bit tentative at the line, but warms up as the season progresses. Sammy Morris is decisive, for good or for worse, and slices through. LaMont Jordan, at 5-10 230 lbs, is a power back best utilized in the second half when defenses are tired. He blasts through holes and will make a DB pay for hitting him. Kevin Faulk is our perennial "everything man" and is one of the most dangerous third down backs in the league. And then... Maroney was IR'd with a shoulder injury and Morris and Jordan have been out for the past 3 or so games. In comes rookie BenJarvus Green-Ellis along with an expanded role for Faulk.

Thank goodness these guys have turned out to be a strong unit because it's given Cassel some time to develop a relationship with his receivers. Chastised in 2007 for having no running game, I'm glad the Patriots have such depth in this area because it's proven to be a godsend given all of the injuries.

With a bunch of injuries, you'd expect the defense to be a little more like the Raiders and a little less like the Titans. But the Pats have one of the better defenses in the AFC. What's happened to keep that side of the ball so good?

I won't lie - having one of the easiest schedules in the NFL has helped. But, the team is certainly structured for success. Anchoring our 3-4, you have a pro bowl defensive line in Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, and Richard Seymour. OLBs Adalius Thomas and Mike Vrabel have been awesome at creating pressure and shutting down the corners. That is, until Thomas was IR'd with broken arm. ILBs Tedy Bruschi and rookie Jerod Mayo are doing well holding down the middle with some team leading numbers from Mayo.

It's the DBs that worry me. I hate to say it, but I miss Asante Samuel (FA, gone to the Eagles in 2008). The CBs have been very inconsistent, in my mind. And with the loss of IR'd vet SS Rodney Harrison, our safety situation is weakened as well. We've been doing ok, as evidenced by the Bills' game, but I'd like to see us have a strong DB presence in addition to the pressure we're generating in the backfield.

Do you enjoy rooting for evil? Why or why not?

Rooting for evil...ahh, the NY vs. NE think comes out, ehh? Born and raised in NE, I've lived here all of my life. The thought of rooting for anyone other than the Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox and Bruins is about as foreign to me as Manhattan Clam Chowder (btw: tomatoes in clam chowder is the true definition of evil).

2007 was a great year and a difficult one for us Patriots fans. A historic season (well, except for that one game) with lots of controversy, they'll be plenty of homers who will dismiss Spygate and support their team with blinders on. I'm somewhat in that category (hey, I'm a fan!), but I do recognize how rival fans could rally around these issues and use them to fuel their hatred.

So, to answer your question about rooting for evil, that's a perception. It's hard to root for something that's not there.

After a loss to AFC South rival, the Tennessee Titans, the 3-4 Colts are out to prove something.  Guess who's in the way?  Yup, Matty and the boys.  There are  problems on each side of the ball, but to sum it up - not firing on all cylinders.

For the Patriots, the most obvious place to start is at quarterback.  The team, having enjoyed an impressive run over the Brady years, is suddenly without all that experience at the helm.  I say experience because I think Cassel is beginning to show flashes of the things that make top tier field generals who they are.  In the Broncos game, Matt ate fertilizer for 6 sacks.  St. Louis?  3.  Different teams and different defenses, most assuredly, but what I saw was a young QB getting a bit more comfortable in the pocket.  Why do I believe this?  I saw the ability to move vertical in the pocket vs. get jittery and go sideways.  He was stepping INTO the pocket, giving him the momentum to throw the ball.  And he hung there.  I recall one throw where a defender was a millisecond away from crushing him before he let go of the ball.  Earlier in the season, he would've been shaken and gone sideways.

The DBs worry me.  With Rodney Harrison gone, we've lost the defensive on field coach so important to that group.  Brandon Meriweather is doing a decent job, but he's not there yet.  He's not putting himself in the box as much as Harrison did.  Our CB situation is a little shakey as well.  Jonathan Wilhite got torched when he had assistance from Meriweather; he simply didn't turn around.  Ellis Hobbs suffered a couple of those as well.  I simply don't see the swagger so important to that position.  Remember Asante?  Swagger up the wazoo.

On the positive side, Randy Moss is getting better on the inside routes.  I still cringe everytime I see him turn inside, but his footwork has progressed, very Welker-like.  Richard Seymour and Adalius were HUGE at generating pressure, something we haven't seen for a while.  They made the corners difficult to get around, ultimately containing the Rams to 90 yards on the ground.

In my mind, Kevin Faulk was the game MVP.  With 60 yards rushing and 47 yards receiving, he was all over the field and a major threat whenever he lined up, which was often due to the battered RB corp.  Quite simply, he does what has to be done, including pulling in a beautiful floater from Cassel for a highlight reel TD catch.  Just awesome.  I leave you with that image.

In what can only be described as a mediocre showing overall, the New England Patriots were able to pull this one off.  I guess a W is a W, but I was hoping to see a number of things fixed after having 2 weeks to do so.  That being said, I do believe Cassel looked far better in this game than against Miami.  He was scrambling at times (more on that later), but he seemed to be making good receiver choices (if you discount not seeing Moss uncovered in the end zone).  At any rate, let's get into it.

Offense

• Cassel and Receivers - The bye week seems to have done Matt and the receiver corps some good.  The 66 yarder to Moss was a thing of beauty, something you'd see wonderboy throw.  Matt and the WRs went 22 for 32 with 2 interceptions throwing up 233 yards in the process - not bad.  Matt seems to be making better decisions and picking his receivers well.  That one bomb to Moss that turned into an interception was underthrown, but I'll give him that if it's all part of developing a long ball with The Real (Talented) #81.  Welker quietly puts up 8 for 73 while Gaffney does 3 for 35 very important grabs.
• Running game - Only putting up 144 yards rushing, the running backs were having a tough time with 43 rushing plays and a paltry 3.3 yard average.  Maroney was a disappointment with 10 touches and only 26 yards while Sammy Morris managed 16 touches and 63 yards.  Kevin Faulk went 7 for 32, but had the only 2 TDs for the running backs.  He was "Mr. Big Play" when the Pats needed it.  Jordan balanced Morris' precision with steamroller efficiency.
• Offensive Line - A better defense would've ground Cassel into the turf.  JHR has a better analysis in the postgame thread, but they have got to stop letting LBs and DBs into the backfield.  In addition, they're allowing defensed to jam the line and force RBs to work harder.  Maroney is bouncing off the line looking for holes; I can't blame that totally on him and gotta spread some of the demerits to the O line.

Defense

• Speed Package - According to the Boston Globe's Mike Reiss, the Patriots are sometimes employing a "speed package" which utilizes 1 DL, 4 LBs and 6 DBs.  I'll have to keep my eye out for this one.
• Third Down Conversions - Holding the 49ers to a 1 for 9 third down conversion efficiency, the defense was able to keep the Patriots' offense on the field for 40 minutes vs. the 49ers 20 minutes.  I always harp on this as a difference maker; In my mind, third down efficiency is the mark of a good offense and keeping low, the mark of a good defense.
• Defensive Backs - Both Rodney Harrison and Brandon Meriweather managed 1 big interception apiece, but the DBs seemed perplexed by the 49ers WR, Isaac Bruce.  Bruce came up with 2 TDs.
• Frank Gore - I said in my game preview that the Patriots had to contain Gore and they couldn't manage it, giving him 12 touches for 54 yards.  This is a D-line/linebacker issue.  They need to jam the line and plug up those holes or guys like Gore with chew them up.

Special Teams

• Stephen Gostkowski continues to absolutely spank the ball on kickoffs, putting the ball in the endzone with 3 touchbacks.  His 35 and 40 yard field goals were money.
• While G-Man is doing great, punter Chris Hanson continues to infuriate me.  A 25 yard out-of-bounder and a touchback are just not cool and situations like this.  His accuracy needs to improve or Belichick will be exercising more kickers.
• Ellis Hobbs continues to show he's one of the most solid and dangerous return men in the game.  He may not be a top 5 CB, but let's see Asante Samuel average 28 yards per return with a long of 35.  Way to go Ellis.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, it's preseason game #3.  The Pats host the Iggles at Gillette Stadium and one of the questions on my mind will be, "Will we see Asante Samuel on the field?"  The answer is...a qualified yes.  Injuring his hamstring in the first day of training camp, the rumor and worry mill started cranking out OMG!! OMG!!  bullcrap everywhere.  At any rate, even though he's wearing green, I still thank him for all he's done for the Patriots.  And no, I don't think that ball in the Superbowl was catchable by Samuel.  Just one man's opinion.

As usual, our resident Pig Pile Prognosticator is running down the O-line with the skill of a katana wielding swordsman (his hakama is a little metro, though).  I will, however, speak in generalties about our 300 pounders.  Coach Belichick?  Please do not, under any circumstance, put #12 behind the line as of yet.  They need to spend time, you know, joking and snapping towels at each other before I feel warm and fuzzy that they can protect wonderboy.  Send Matty * 2 and Kevin "Mohawk" O'Connell into the fray.  Lambs to the slaughter.  Like the first guys in line, marching into battle, it's all for a good cause.

I'll be watching a few things:

Quarterbacks - #2 spot is Cassel's job to lose, plain and simple.  With Wes and Randy to pitch to this past Sunday, there can be little excuse.  Granted, he did fair better statistically, coming up with 6 of 10 receptions for 57 yards, but he failed to march the team down the field like we'd expect a quality backup to do.  O'Connell went 6 of 15 for 61 yards, neither hurting nor sealing his chances.  Cassel has to mount and sustain a drive to be a valid choice when Brady is out.  Is asking for another #12 too much!?

Running Backs - Horrid at TB with a whopping 56 yards to their credit, what happened?  I was all over this group of guys in the preseason as the dudes that would save it all.  The second coming after the aerial assault of 2007 was going to be the running game and I was let down.  Much of their lackluster performance could be due to a fragmented O-line, too.  Laurence and the boys need to step it up a bit.

Defensive Backs - Uhhm...Was this the "I'm in Jello" mime game?  Both Ellis Hobbs and Fernando Bryant were playing so soft I thought I was watching a Charmin commercial.  And the safeties weren't much better.  Granted, John Lynch was practically suiting up on the plane ride from Mile High Stadium, but let's show 'em school is in session with teacher's Harrison and Lynch presiding over the lecture.

Linebackers - After a good showing against Baltimore, our LBs all but fell apart.  Mayo and Crable failed to impress and made some rookie errors.  Ok, I'll relax because Bruschi and Vrabel didn't fair so well, either.  C'mon guys!  Go get some.

Tom Brady - Grab a bowl of popcorn, a perfectly chilled beverage, and your favorite section of couch in front of your 400 foot ginormous TV and chuckle at how secure your job is.  Stay at home and relax.  Think about how lucky you are that you're not experiencing the same woes as your counterpart in the midwest (props to JHR).

 
via cache.boston.com 

As many of you know, Mike Reiss is a sports reporter for the Boston Globe and scribes about the goings on with our favorite team, the New England Patriots. Mike's fact-based writing style provides us Patriots nuts with great reference material; you will often see him quoted here, more so than any other reporter.

I knew Mike Reiss was prolific, but I realized just how crazy he was during the Goodell/Specter press conferences.  Reiss's Pieces , Mike's Patriots blog, was being updated constantly with the goings on.  I think it really connected us fans with what was happening at the time.

I've done enough jabbering.  Let's get to the Q&A.

A Colts blogger of ours did an excellent analysis suggesting it will take time for the Patriots's new acquisitions to add value to the defense.  Have Belichick and the front office done enough to fill the gaps between the old guard (Bruschi, Vrabel, Seau) and the new guard (Crable, Mayo) while our rookies come up-to-speed?

Reiss: Time will obviously tell, but I'm going to say a definitive "yes" right now. One area that stood out to me at recent organized team activities was the versatility among many of the defenders, and how the Patriots have a lot of different parts that will allow them to do different things. I could be way off on this, but I think this defense is going to be a lot more dynamic than we've seen in recent years. I sense they're going to try some new things -- a little 3-4, a little 4-3, different sub-package combinations -- and I wonder how much the influence of new secondary coach Dom Capers is playing into that. It might be stuff that we don't see for a few weeks and then all of a sudden it pops up. In terms of the new defenders, I think Fernando Bryant looks like he's a starter at one cornerback spot. I also envision Jerod Mayo and Victor Hobson teaming up with Tedy Bruschi to provide a 1-2-3 combo at inside linebacker. I wouldn't be surprised if Brandon Meriweather is in the starting lineup at safety and much improved, with Tank Williams a major factor in sub packages, bridging the gap between safety and linebacker. On paper, the Patriots might be a bit weaker on the back end of the defense (it hurts to lose Asante Samuel), but I think they'll be stronger in the front seven. Overall, this rates as one of my top storylines going forward -- how will this defense be re-shaped? I might be reading the tea leaves wrong, but it's one reason I particularly enjoy following a Bill Belichick-coached team. Good luck figuring out what's coming next.

The Red Sox won the World Series, The Patriots narrowly missed having a perfect season and the Celtics are inches away from a championship. Have we become spoiled?  Are our expectations now too high?

Reiss: Can I turn this question over to safety Rodney Harrison? Entering his 15th NFL season, Harrison was asked this exact question at the Patriots Charitable Foundation Golf Tournament on Monday. His answer: "No question, fans are spoiled. Having a baseball team, world champions. A football team. Now possibly with our basketball team. Just a great legacy and history of winning championships around here. Hopefully it continues." As for my own opinion, I think Harrison is probably right in some respects. I'd just add that it seems to me that many fans realize this is a great era of sports in town that we'll be reflecting upon fondly when we all look back. Given all the ups and downs of the Patriots since their inception -- not just wins and losses, but ownership instability and off-field incidents -- I don't think any long-time Patriots/football fan who lived through that can ever really be considered spoiled.

Tom Brady won't be around forever.  Do you think the Patriots see something in Kevin O'Connell indicating he's the future of this franchise?

Reiss: I don't know if I would word it that way. Obviously, a team wouldn't draft a player in the third round, specifically a quarterback, if it didn't think it had a chance to be a big part of the future of the franchise. But in this case, I think it's as much as being a No. 2 as it is the possibility of being a future starter. More than 60 quarterbacks started at least one game last year in the NFL. That's an astronomical number, and a reminder of the importance of the backup spot. Can Matt Cassel be that guy? I don't think anyone knows the answer, because it's a question that can only be answered if he's thrust into that role, and he hasn't been. So in that case, I like the idea of improving your odds by adding a highly touted player to the mix. I also like the idea that Cassel's contract expires after this season and the team gives itself built-in insurance. That's just smart long-range planning. I'd also point out that there have been positive signs from Matt Gutierrez, a rookie free agent who signed with the club in 2007. The Patriots have been fortunate that Tom Brady has been an ironman, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't prepare for the possibility of having to call on a backup.

There's been a lot written about Chad Jackson and his return to full time play. Do you think he could be the Donte Stallworth replacement we're looking for?

Reiss: Yes, but I don't have the highest confidence at this point. Maybe it's that I caught out of the corner of my eye Jackson running the wrong route in the weekend mini-camp, when there wasn't a defense on the field. I don't want to base my opinion solely on that -- it would be short-sighted to do so -- but I also know there needs to be a trust and bond that develops between quarterback and receiver and that doesn't seem to be there at this point with Tom Brady and Jackson. That's what training camp is for, and it's probably fair to say that's why Jackson will be one of this camp's most intriguing stories to follow.

It's early and there's been limited access to Patriots voluntary camps (ie: Passing Camp), but which new acquisition do you see as adding value quickly?

Reiss: Not including the obvious choice of first-round pick Jerod Mayo, cornerback Fernando Bryant would be at the top of my list. I also think Victor Hobson is going to help, and people will be looking back and saying 'How could there not have been more interest in the free agent market for him?' The third name I'd add to the list is Tank Williams; much of today's game is played with offenses calling on three- and four-receiver packages, and he adds value as an extra defensive back who has linebacker-like skills.

A big Thank You to Mike Reiss for his time and thoughtful answers.  Very cool, Mike.  Don't forget to check out Mike's articles as well as Reiss's Pieces at boston.com