Hallelujah!!! Boom, baby!!! With my #83 pressed and ready to go, I'm crawling out of my skin to get this pahty stahted. Sunday, September 7 @ 1:00pm heralds in the start of the Patriot's and Chief's regular season. The Patriots, coming off of an 18-1 2007 host the Arrowheads who are rebuilding after a disappointing 4-12 season.
Looking to augment their now 19-0 regular season winning streak, New England comes off of a rocky preseason full of injuries, roster maneuverings and dad's talking about their kid's foot. But enough about preseason. Let's get on with regular season chatter and get ready for some football.
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Even though the Chiefs were 4-12, DO NOT discount their best in the league third down defense. Teams only converted 31.3% of the time. This is where we need our new RB, LaMont Jordan, to pound the rock. I'd also like to see some options to LaMont and of course, our own best-in-class Kevin Faulk. Smashmouth is the way to handle a defense like this.
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We need to neutralize TE Tony Gonzalez and WR Dwayne Bowe. If Tony stays underneath, this will be a test for our OLB's and new corners. Bowe ranked 24th in the league and pulled down a respectable 70 passes for 995 yards and a 14.2 yards per carry. Let's have our corners throw off his timing a bit; a little bump here and there never hurts.
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QB Brodie Croyle, ranking 31st among quarterbacks, has struggled through an 0-6 record end of the season. He's young, but Brady had 2 rings by his age. I want to see rookie OLB Shawn Crable batting down passes and rookie ILB Jerod Mayo in his face, forcing Brodie to rush his decisions.
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Protect...Tom...Brady. The offensive line is on my list of things to watch. Lots of injuries, newly returning vets and a rotating door of prospects has me worried.
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Special teams were a concern of mine, allowing some run backs in preseason that shouldn't have gone as far as they did. On the flip side, CJ Jones showed some promise as a return guy, so I'd like to see that one work out. He really had to work for his spot and I like hard working kids.
All in all, it's about shaking off the dust from preseason and dispelling the myth that an 0-4 record is an issue. Let's not forget that our starting QB hasn't taken a snap in a preseason game. Yeah I know, Tom is Tom, but it would've made me feel a whole lot better to see a few Brady to Moss or Brady to Welker lobs.
What are you looking for?