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2012 Patriots Draft Recap

For starters, this year was unlike any other as the Patriots moved UP in the first round not once, but TWICE! So without further ado, let’s get to the picks.

Round 1, Pick #21: Chandler Jones, DE/OLB, Syracuse – I love this pick, I love this player, I love the move up to get him. Jones was a player that I was hoping the Pats would be able to pick up and for the first time in my life I predicated a Patriots 1st round pick correctly. Jones is a beast and with some coaching he should be a beast coming off the edge in both the 3-4 and the 4-3 and getting after the passer.

Round 1, Pick #25: Dont’a Hightower, ILB/OLB, Alabama – At first, I was very confused by this pick. When looking at his measurables, Hightower seems like a Brandon Spikes clone. However, when you see him on tape you can really get a glimpse of his versatility and his pass rush skills. He is a weapon that can line up all over and make plays.

Round 2, Pick #48: Tavon Wilson, CB/FS, Illinois – This was the real head-scratcher of the draft. Most experts had him listed as a late round prospect and there were tons of other really good players available. There were a lot of teams that had Wilson in for visits so perhaps the experts just missed on this one, but it certainly was surprising. Seems like a really good character guy who can contribute right away in a few different areas. Certainly someone to watch.

Round 3, Pick #90: Jake Bequette, DE/OLB, Arkansas – A Big guy who played in a tough college conference and can really rush the passer. Will compete to get in rotation of edge players this season.

Round 6, Pick #197: Nate Ebner, FS/SS, Ohio St. – This made a lot of people go to google because this guy came out of nowhere. In college he mostly played rugby, but when he did decide to join the football team he made an impact on special teams. He is fast and he knows how to hit. I think he will be great on kickoffs and punts getting down the field and laying some hurt on the ball carrier.

Round 7, Pick #224: Alfonzo Dennard, CB/FS, Nebraska – If Wilson was the reach of the draft for the Pats, then Dennard was certainly the steal. Very talented, but some recent off field problems (punching a cop in a bar fight) caused his stock to plummet. He is a battler who makes life tough on opposing wide receivers. If he can get his act together, he could be a productive player.

Round 7, Pick #235: Jeremy Ebert, WR, Northwestern – The one offensive player drafted the Patriots, it comes as no surprise that he is in the Wes Welker/Julian Edelman mold (short, white, and quick). Very productive player who will provide depth and compete with players like Edelman for a roster spot.

While some of the picks later in the draft might be really unorthodox, that is often Bill Belichick’s style. Sebastian Vollmer comes to mind as a player that nobody thought should be a 2nd round pick, but the Patriots selected him and now he is their starting right tackle. So time will tell how this draft pans out, but the exciting first round has to give every Pats fan some hope. It seems like they really tried to add some depth and athleticism to their defense, which was desperately needed.

*UPDATE*

Some Undrafted players that have signed on with the Patriots already:

1. Jeremiah Warren, OG, South Florida
2. Markus Zusevics, OT, Iowa
3. Brad Herman, TE, Iowa

2012 NFL Mock Draft (Round 1)

1. Colts – Andrew Luck

2. Redskins – RG3

3. Browns – Trent Richardson

4. Vikings – Kalil

5. TB – Mo Claiborne

6. Rams – Justin Blackmon

7. Jags – Fletcher Cox

8. Miami – Ryan Tannehil

9. Panthers – Poe

10. Bills – Reilly Reiff

11. KC – Mark Barron

12. SEA – Luke Kuechly

13. Cards – Michael Floyd

14. Dallas – Melvin Ingram

15. Philly – Quentin Coples

16. Jets – Upshaw

17. Bengals – David DeCastro

18. SD – Mercilus

19. Bears – Jonathan Martin

20. Titans – Gilmore

21. Bengals – Kendall Wright

22. Browns – Weeden

23. Lions – Dre’ Kirkpatrick

24. Pitt – Hightower

25. Broncos – Michael Brockers

26. Texans – Stephen Hill

27. NE – Chandler Jones

28. GB – Nick Perry

29. Ravens – Andre Branch

30. SF – Cordy Glenn

31. NE – Harrison Smith

32. NYG – Fleener

Early Patriots Draft Thoughts

As usual, the New England Patriots have set themselves up nicely with 2 first round picks and 2 second round picks in this year’s NFL Draft. It is still a month away and of course the Pats love to trade their picks and move around, but here are some players I will be keeping an eye on for the Patriots at the end of the first round:

 

1. Andre Branch, DE, Clemson

2. Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois

3. Chandler Jones, DE, Syracuse

4. Nick Perry, DE, USC

5. Jared Crick, DT, Nebraska

6. Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi St.

7. Kendall Reyes, DT, UCONN

8. Devon Still, DT, Penn St.

9. Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina

10. Harrison Smith, S, ND

 

These players are all on the defensive side of the ball which is clearly where the Patriots need the most improvement. A pipe dream for me, selfishly, would be if they could somehow trade up and draft Luke Kuechly the linebacker from Boston College, but as I said it is not a realistic wish.

MY 2012 Boston Red Sox Starting Lineup

I am still recovering from the loss of the Super Bowl, so I am sorry for my absence. I will now try to drown myself in Red Sox lineup tinkering to forget my sorrows. Now I realize that injuries to Carl Crawford and others will change this in real life, but for MY starting lineup I am going under the assumption that if everyone were healthy this is how I would roll the team out:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury (L), CF

2. Dustin Pedroia (R), 2B

3. Adrian Gonzalez (L), 1B

4. Kevin Youkilis (R), 3B

5. David Ortiz (L), DH

6. Cody Ross (R), RF

7. Jarod Saltalamacchia (S), C

8. Carl Crawford (L), LF

9. Jose Iglesias (R), SS

Now I understand that the controversial thing here is hitting Crawford in the 8 spot. My defense to that move is that he underperformed last year so let him work his way from the bottom up and earn a better spot in the order. Also, hitting at the bottom with players like Iglesias, Ellsbury, and Pedroia after him can be an advantage when it comes to steals, hit and runs, and bunting situations. Also, I like having Iglesias starting in the majors because his glove is so good plus it allows Mike Aviles to play the “super sub” role.

Bench: Kelly Shoppach (C), Nick Punto (IF), Mike Aviles (IF/OF), Darnell McDonald (OF)

Starting Rotation:

1. Jon Lester (L)

2. Josh Beckett (R)

3. Clay Buchholz (R)

4. Felix Doubront (L)

5. Alfredo Aceves (R)

Again, there is a little bit of controversy in the starting rotation as I have left Daniel Bard out. I would leave him in the bullpen for the first few months and then add him to the rotation later in the season to limit his innings since it will be his first year as a starter in the big leagues.

Bullpen: Matt Albers (R), Andrew Miller (L), Mark Melancon (R), Franklin Morales (L), Daniel Bard (R), Franklin Morales (L), Andrew Bailey (R)

 

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Sweet Revenge

“An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” 

- Mahatma Gandhi

All due respect to Gandhi, but I completely disagree. I think every Patriots’ fan in the world is in agreement with me when I say that an eye for an eye is exactly what the doctor ordered for Super Bowl XLVI. Just a few years after having their perfect season spoiled in the Big Game by the New York Giants, New England gets a rematch for the Lombardi Trophy on February 5th. Redemption. Revenge.

 

The Pats’ have a few things going for them heading into the game:

1. Tom Brady will NOT have back-to-back terrible games, he will bring it in a big way.

2. The defense has steadily improved to at least respectable and has a knack of making the big play.

3. MHK. Robert Kraft’s late wife has given this team a special feel all season long.

 

Of course, even if New England does win it will not change what happened a few years ago. They were one game away from cementing many things in stone: best coach in history, best quarterback in history, best season in history, best team in history. All gone due to numerous flukey, heartbreaking plays (I still wake up with nightmares of Eli scrambling and completing passes to David Tyree’s helmet). This is a new team, trying to create their own reputation and gain back some of the prestige they lost on that awful night. However, it would be sweet, sweet revenge to be able to instill just one one-hundredth of the pain in Giants’ fans that we felt at the end of Super Bowl XLII. I can not wait to see Tom Terrific, Coach Satan, and Bobby Kraft holding up the trophy in a wave of confetti in a little over a week. Revenge is a dish best served cold…to obnoxious New York Giants fans.

I think Maximus said it best:

 

Despair? Outrage? Disappointment? Welcome Back Red Sox Nation!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away Boston was not the triumphant city of champions that it is today. The Patriots were a pre-Belichick joke, the Celtics consisted of Paul Pierce plus a bunch of stiffs, and the Bruins…well, I actually can’t recall if the Bruins even existed. The king of all these sports lackeys (no pun intended Jon) was the almighty Boston Red Sox. Much like a woman, the Sox were great at getting your hopes up, taking your money, and leaving you feeling crushed and heart broken. Sorry ladies, maybe that was a bit harsh. After all, I don’t think all the woman in the suburbs of Boston combined have caused as many heart attacks as the Red Sox. The key to these masters of pain was not only the continued losing, but in the way they did it. They had a knack for getting your hopes up and then crushing you back to earth just when you had allowed yourself to believe again. Boston was not the city champions, it was the city of failures. “Red Sox Nation” was not a bunch of naive fair-weather fans (a.k.a. “pink hats”), but instead consisted of angry, critical, baseball-savvy, die-hard, blue-collar sports fanatics. They loved nothing better than to call in to sports radio and bitch and moan about the players and managers that continually let the city down. Boston was a big black hole of negativity…and it was far better than this blind faith and optimism we find ourselves surrounded by today.

When a team is awful, let alone a whole city full of team’s, obviously the fan base dwindles. The only ones left are the true die-hards; the fans who stick around through all the years of futility just for the slim chance of one day reaping the joy that comes from long-awaited success. Over the past decade, these Boston fans have gotten quite the return investment on all the years they put in rooting for losers. The Patriots have become the class of the NFL (3 Super Bowls), the Red Sox are a juggernaut (2 World Series), and even the Celtics and the Bruins have each won a recent championship and sit at the top of their leagues. No fans deserved it more, as Bostonians got to celebrate time and time again. However, as each team continued to succeed, more and more people started jumping on the bandwagon. These fans had not stuck by their teams while they struggled and they considered the games and gear mere novelties instead of aspects of true fandom. Thus, prices skyrocketed on everything from tickets to jerseys to ball caps and more. Also, instead of having raucous crowds full of die-hards at games, Boston was stuck with at least half the audience more interested in getting on the Jumbotron or texting their friends than they were in watching the game. This swell of fake fans who know nothing about the actual teams they pretend to cheer for, has had a disturbing trickle-down effect on the city as a whole. Long gone are the days of criticism and negativity, replaced by unwavering (and unquestioned) faith in the local teams. Instead of asking the hard questions, reporters stand wide-eyed asking Tom Brady about his wife or his hair or sympathizing with Tito Francona about the tough job he has as a baseball manager. A city once known for its tough media has gone soft.

Rick Pitino once said of Boston, “the negativity in this town sucks.” Sorry Rick, but I disagree. The optimism in this town sucks. It was the negativity that defined us as a great sports city; A city that bled with their teams, a city that cared for their teams, and most importantly a city that gave everything to their teams. Don’t be like New York or L.A., go back to your roots. It is the undying passion of this city that separates it from those other big-market towns. It is the undying passion of this city that has been swept away by a wave of success carrying a bandwagon full of fake fans. It is the undying passion of this city that is fighting to take Boston back for the true fans.

Who Would You Rather Be?

This is a new little segment I’ve started here on the blog called “Who Would You Rather Be”. For the first matchup I’m bring some serious heat, especially if you are a fan of football and hot chicks…ok so that makes everyone. I’m going Old School Vs. New Skool, Legend Vs. Prodigy, I’m talking Tom Brady Vs. Aaron Rogers.

 

First, let’s go with on the field. Aaron Rogers is the new number 1 QB in the NFL, leading the Pack to a Super Bowl win this past season. I will be the first person to admit that I am a huge Rogers fan and that he might be the best of the best right now. However, let’s not forget that this is his first championship and Mr. Brady still has 3 rings to his name. Not to mention 2 league MVP’s, 2 S.B. MVP’s, and the record for most TD passes in a season. So while Rogers is a beast, his game is just beginning. Not real close when you look past the flavor of the month and look at the career. Gotta go with Brady.

Next, inspect the off-field lives of these guys and you might see polar opposites. Tom Brady is classy and sophisticated, goes to Presidential proceedings, could easily a politician himself someday. He has the famous model wife and the famous actress ex, kids with both, and seemingly is Captain America. Never an off field problem or even anything interesting really, other than that he can pull some of the best chicks in the world. Rogers, likewise, has not had off field problems, but that beard is anything but clean. He talks and walks like a surfer dude, has new rumors of banging chicks left and right every day, definately parties hard, and has that whole shadow of #4 in his history. Still, personally I’d rather be juggling Erin Andrews and the rest of my harem of hotties than warming up bottles and shit. Tough choice, but I’m going with Rogers.

Overall, this was a battle of epic proportions, but it came down to 2 major components for me: Ass & Rings. Now with all the hot chicks these dudes have been layin over the years, it was just to close to call (even with Rogers getting the advantage of being single). So it all came down to glory to me, and Brady and his patented screaming fist pump come up on top any way you slice that pie. So who would I rather be: Tom Brady.

He Got Game

I’m a man, maybe not the most imposing one, but a man none-the-less. Yet as I sit here typing this I can’t help but still be wiping a few tears from my eyes. An emotional moment here in my living room, I’ve never been more jealous than I am right now of the Celtics fan lucky enough to be in The Garden right now. Ray Allen has just made history, first tying and then breaking the all time 3 point record in basketball history. With former record holder Reggie Miller on hand, as well as Ray’s Mom and other family, we got to see a glimpse of emotion that we rarely see from the NBA sharp shooter.

Ray was once a co-star of Denzel Washington’s on the big-screen, but the court is truly where is finest performance is. A sure-fire Hall of Fame player, as well as H.O.F. person, Ray is close to any Boston fan’s heart. The old cliche’ “It couldnt’ve happened to a nicer guy” truly applies  in this case. Congratulations to Ray Allen for this historic accomplishment, keep shooting that “J”!

To Err Is Human

”If you can make God bleed, then people will cease to believe in him.” - Iron Man 2

 

The New England Patriots are the luckiest franchise in all of sports; not because of their Super Bowl victories or their talent level or their coaching staff, but because of their fans. They have a fan base that almost blindly, almost cult-like, follows and believes Brady, Belichick, et. all to a fault. Atleast they did until this past weekends playoff loss to the New York Jets caused each fan from Rhode Island to Maine and every where in between to question the mantra that had so smoothly slipped off the tongue in years past: In Bill We Trust.

The New York Jets are the ultimate villain team: they talk sh*t (Bart Scott), they have questionable character players (Antonio Cromartie, Braylon Edwards), unlikable stars (Mark Sanchez, L.T.), and a Head Coach who never shuts up unless he is asked about his foot fetish videos with his wife. The week leading up the game was almost unbearable for any Pats fan, having to listen to the garbage coming out of the Meadow Lands every day while our team did the “Patriot Way” and kept their mouths shut. Everyone was in anticipation of a blood bath on the field to shut them up.

That blood bath never happened, and in fact the Patriots lost, breaking hearts all over Patriots Nation. I could dissect the game and analyze all the questionable calls (the fake punt, benching welker, the lengthy drives, etc.), but I want to take a look at the bigger picture. I want to take a look at the last 3 post season games for the Patriots: this year’s loss to the Jets, last year’s loss to the Ravens, and the Super Bowl loss to the Giants. There are some eerie similarities between all three that any New Englander might not want to look at, but it is time to stop blindly following this team and realize that they are not the same force that once won 3 Super Bowls in 4 years.

In all three games, the problems were the same:

1. No Pass Rush

2. Can’t Stop Run

3. #2 Lead To Succesful Play Action

4. #3 Lead To Average QBs Having Great Games

5. Recievers Did Not Work Enough To Get Open

6. #5 Lead To Brady Holding On To Ball Too Long

7. #6 Lead To O-Line Giving Up Sacks.

8. No Adjustments During Game

While each of those 8 points is troublesome, #8 should be the most worrisome simply because it calls into question the two main cogs in this “Dynasty”: QB Tom Brady & HC Bill Belichik. For so long these two men have been heralded as among the best who ever lived at their respected positions, and certainly that is true. However, it is time to admit that neither is what they used to be, or atleast appeared to be: infallible. They now make mistakes, they now can be questioned, they have lost 3 straight post-season games. Now, does this mean that they are washed up? Of course not, but it does mean that expectations (and personnel) needs to change. The veterans surrounding this team (especially at the WR position and on the defensive side of the ball) have either moved on or aged too much. The young guys for the most part have shown promise, but still lack experience and that Super Bowl pedigree.

Fans still look at this team as the same team that dominated the early part of this decade simply because the two lead guys (Brady and Belichik) are still there. What people need to realize is that football is the ultimate team sport, and while the faces of this franchise may be the same, the heart beneath is very different, and thus expectations must be lowered. Fans must realize what the rest of the NFL has known for a few years now: that these are no longer the God’s of their sport, but men just like every other team.

But with a slew of draft picks and money to spend, it’s time to make the long climb back up Mt. Olympus.