Tag New England Patriots

2012 Divisional Preview: Denver vs. New England

Danny Vinik Leave a comment

This is the second of four posts this week examining the Divisional matchups in the NFL Playoffs. Check back during the next day for more previews:

Saturday’s second Divisional game (kicking off in just three hours) features the Broncos travelling across the country to take on Tom Brady and the Patriots on CBS. Led by Tebow’s best performance of the year last week, Denver stunned Pittsburgh to earn a trip to Foxboro. The Patriots, meanwhile, watched the Wild Card games from their homes, trying (and seeming to fail) to recover from a grueling season. New England and Denver faced each other once this year with the Pats ending the Bronco’s six-game winning streak by a convincing 41-23 scoreline. Here’s a look at the matchup:

Offense: Anyone else not believe in  Tim Tebow now? Sure, he still hasn’t proven himself as an NFL quarterback, but with God on your side, you don’t need NFL-caliber skills. Tebow threw for 316 yards last week including a 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime to set up this week’s matchup with New England. Running back Willis McGahee struggled last year against a physical Pittsburgh defense, running for just 60 yards on 19 carries. While the Patriot’s defense is terrible, Tebow struggled at times in the teams’ first matchup this year and the Broncos turned the ball over three times. They must protect the ball with their lives if they want to have a chance tonight.

For New England, the offense starts with Tom Brady. Brady broke the single-season record for passing yards, only to come in second to Drew Brees this year in passing yards. Nevertheless, Brady had a tremendous year, though he turned the ball over at a slightly higher rate than in previous years. Wide receiver Wes Welker was Brady’s favorite target this year as the two connected 122 times for over 1500 yards. However, when the Pats enter the red zone, look for Brady to go to his next-favorite target, tight end Rob Gronkowski who caught 17 touchdown passes this year. On the ground, the Patriots use Benjarvus Green-Ellis and Stevan Ridley to offer a different look, but this offense starts and ends with its start quarterback. Continue reading “2012 Divisional Preview: Denver vs. New England” →

Advertisement

Daily Sports Roundup 1/5/08

Danny Vinik 3 Comments

Besides actual games today, there hasn’t been much news in the world of sports, but let’s look at some stories anyways:

Brady Named NFL MVP: Not surprisingly, Tom Brady was named NFL MVP for the first time in his career. Brady had one of the greatest seasons by a quarterback in NFL history. He had a single-season NFL record 50 touchdown passes, a league-leading 4806 yards passing, and only 8 interceptions. He also led the league in completion percentage and passer rating at 68.9% and 117.2 respectively. He received 49 of 50 votes with Brett Farve receiving the other vote (likely from a Green Bay reporter). Brady led the Patriots to a perfect regular season and hopes to continue into he playoffs

Wild Card Weekend: The Redskins visited the Seahawks and Jacksonville travelled to Pittsburgh in the two wild card games today. In the first game, the Seahawks led the Redskins 13-0 entering the fourth quarter when the game became a circus. 2:22 into the 4th quarter, the Redskins had taken a 14-13 lead and recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. After Washington kicker missed a 30 yard field goal, Seattle drove down the field, scored, and completed a 2-point conversion to take a 21-14 lead. When Redskins QB Todd Collins threw his first interception of the year, Marcus Trufant took it 78 yards back for a touchdown. Another interception by Collins with 30 seconds left in the game ended it. The Seahawks defeat the Redskins 35-14. In the other Wild Card game today, the Jaguars have used an interception return for a touchdown and a 96 yard kickoff return to give themselves a 21-7 lead at the half. Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw 3 interceptions in the first half and he is going to need to have a great second half for Pittsburgh to stay in this game. Continue reading “Daily Sports Roundup 1/5/08” →

Daily Sports Roundup 1/3/08

Danny Vinik Leave a comment

A big day in sports today so here we go:

Dolphins Bringing Back Williams: Based on a letter from the Dolphins, Ricky Williams’s agent said that Bill Parcells and Miami are going to renew Williams’s contract for the 2008 season. Williams has served multiple suspensions for failed drug tests and when he was finally allowed to play this year, he tore a pectoral muscle after only six carries. His rehab is supposedly going well though. It must be for the Dolphins to bring him back for another year. Ricky Williams is always a risk, because there is no way of knowing what he will do next. Yet, the Dolphins were 1-15 this season so even if Williams falls apart, they can’t get much worse

Roy Williams Replacing Taylor in Pro Bowl: The late Sean Taylor was elected to the Pro Bowl as a starter to honor his memory. Dallas Cowboys’ safety Roy Williams gets the honor of replacing Taylor in the Pro Bowl. It was a great move by the NFL to let Taylor be elected a starter and I’m sure they will remember him during the Pro Bowl. “I appreciate being the first alternate to go. We are going to do something special for Sean and his family. … It’s an honor to be going in his place” said Williams, who was the 12th Cowboy selected to the Pro Bowl, a league record. Though the Pro Bowl is never that entertaining of an event, it will be interesting to see how the NFL, Roy Williams, and the rest of each team handle Taylors’ absence.

Athletics Send Swisher to White Sox: The Oakland Athletics sent outfielder Nick Swisher to the Chicago White Sox for three minor leaguers. The A’s were hoping to compete next year in the AL West, but have completely changed routes. They sent ace pitcher Dan Haren to the Arizona Diamondbacks less than a month ago and now have dealt away their best hitter. They received 9 prospects for both of those players and have begun rebuilding again. If Oakland ever decides to put some money into their team, watch out. Billy Beane has already shown he is excellent at drafting prospects and building a farm system. Think of what he could do with some money. Continue reading “Daily Sports Roundup 1/3/08” →