NFL clears Broncos' Welker: "It was a legal hit"

The National Football League today issued it's verdict in the crunching hit put on New England Patriots' cornerback Aqib Talib by Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker - and it wasn't what Patriots' coach Bill Belichick wanted to hear.

"It was a legal hit." Dean Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating, announced during a segment of NFL Network's NFL Total Access.

Of course, in the letter of the law it was legal so no fines or suspensions will be forthcoming against the diminutive ex-Patriots' slot receiver, but that doesn't mean that the story is going to go away.

On Monday morning, a casually dressed and unusually calm looking Belichick, who had the opportunity to sleep on the subject before addressing the media, did so, and with out prompting but with direct promulgation started his customary press conference monologue by calling out Welker for purposely taking out his best cover corner with a vicious pick...

...calling Welker's hit that knocked Talib out of the game "a deliberate play by the receiver to take out Aqib. No attempt to get open," then qualifying his statement with, "It's one of the worst plays I've seen."

Belichick also prompted the league by saying he'd let them handle the discipline, while Denver coach John Fox responded by saying  "We were not doing anything with intent.", then taking a jab at Belichick, to the laughter of beat reporters,"Our receivers always try to get open."

Just about every writer and fan in the civilized world and parts of Maine have issued their opinion, the vast majority of them favoring the receiver that Fox calls "a great player, (with) high integrity,", but those who have a dissenting opinion have been heard from as well.

"It was really uncalled for," Seattle Seahawks' cornerback Walter Thurmond said after watching the replay. "The receiver ran right into the guy. I don't know the extent of the injury Talib had, but I thought we were supposed to protect football players in this league now. I guess not. I guess that only goes one way."

Which gets to the crux of the matter.  Receivers are protected by rules that penalize a defensive player for hitting a defenseless receiver - there are fines and suspensions awaiting those who do.  Talib was concentrating on receiver Demaryius Thomas when Welker skirted by his teammate and slammed into Talib, forcing the corner from the game.

Jim Leonard of the Buffalo Bills quipped that it appeared that Welker was on a "Suicide Mission".

In a criminal law case, part of the prosecution's tasks is to prove that the accused intended to commit the crime, intended to injure - and no one can say for sure what Welker's intentions were.  But the National Football League doesn't have to prove intent, just whether the action broke one of their rules...

...and in the spirit of the rule, Welker is clean.

Teacher! Aqib Talib called me a bad name!

Being a reporter for an unabashed tabloid like the New York Post, one would think that Bart Hubbach would be used to people telling him to get out their faces, and most likely being referred to as someone who has carnal knowledge with someone's mother.

Talib told me to "get out my face, motherf*****" and was about to leave the locker room before a Pats official forced him to stop and talk.
— Bart Hubbuch (@HubbuchNYP) January 19, 2014

So why would Hubbuch be so butt-hurt about being addressed in that manner by an obviously distraught New England Patriots' cornerback Aqib Talib following New England's 26-16 loss to the Denver Broncos in Sunday's AFC Championship game?

After all, this is the same guy that called out CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora after the national writer posted a piece in regard to, among other things, how Jets' General manager John Izdik "has rid this building (MetLife Stadium) of many of its most willing off-the-record sources, and that Idzik has yet to endear himself to a media corps seemingly hostile to his very arrival, and you have a bona fide tabloid fight on your hands,."...

...the ensuing twitter war between the two akin to a playground shoving match between third grade sissies - but an incredibly entertaining exchange that painted ultimately Hubbuch as a wannabe that La Confora sarcastically panned should "Keep championing journalism on the back page", then following up with "I can't compete with that."

In keeping with that spirit of playground tattle tale journalism, Hubbuch shot off another tweet regarding Talib, perhaps displaying his true agenda in dealing with injured corner:

In violation of the league's media policy, Aqib Talib said he isn't talking to the media. (cc: NFL office)
— Bart Hubbuch (@HubbuchNYP) January 19, 2014

Teacher!  Aqib just called me a bad name!

Most media outlets are siding with Hubbuch's interpretation, which goes to show how much research the typical blogger will do before essentially committing plagiarism and taking a yellow journalist's word on everything - instead of taking the stance that Larry Brown of his like-named website Larry Brown Sports wrote:

"People usually don’t say “get out my face, motherf—er” unless they’re prompted in some way, so it’s possible that Hubbuch is leaving out a detail."

Given Hubbuch's history of getting in people's faces, Brown is most likely correct - and given that people who tattle to the teacher usually leave out a detail or two, like maybe he started the confrontation...

He does, after all, work for a tabloid.

Welker taking out Talib his best contribution to Broncos' title

Missed opportunities.

When New England Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib went down with a knee injury in the second quarter of the AFC Championship game on Sunday, hearts all over New England sank - because memories are long when it comes to bad losses.

Brady and the passing game was out of sync until it was too late

Since winning their last World Title after the 2004 season, the Patriots and their fans have endured just about every big game gut punch that there is, from David Tyree's velcro-helmet catch to Wes Welker's drops to Talib being knocked out of last season's conference title tilt, so they could be excused for being a bit fidgety.

And Broncos' quarterback Peyton Manning could be excused for going right to work on the rest of the New England secondary.  But in keeping with their mode of operation for the season, the Patriots defense bent plenty, but more times than not didn't break...

...allowing just 13 points in the first half and an equal number in the second - the 26 points allowed a plenty good enough effort for the New England Patriots offense to top, right?

Not on this day, not with the Patriots' offense out of sync from the very start, not without a running game and certainly not with quarterback Tom Brady under siege and off target - and by the time they found any rhythm the Denver Broncos were all but on the plane and headed to New York.

The Broncos' 26-16 win on Sunday afternoon in Denver was more a matter of of poor execution on both sides of the ball and even worse offensive play calling - the entire game a synopsis of everything that went bad for New England during the course of the season.

Injuries, of course, were the main story line all season, and the injury to Talib on what was essentially a pick play by former Patriots' receiver Wes Welker was his greatest contribution on the day, a blindside shot to the ribs that ended the Patriots' shutdown cornerbacks' game before it really even got started.

The defense had no answer for Denver's passing game after that, but did what they had to do to give the team a chance - getting off of the field on third down just as often as not, and holding the potent Denver offense to three field goals in five red zone trips, yielding just two touchdowns overall.

The problem being not so much the amount of yardage given up to set to the red zone, and not even the amount of time they allowed Denver to eat up on those drives - rather, the offense failing to generate any momentum or points when they got their opportunities until the game had been all but decided.

It's not as if the Patriots receivers weren't open - they were - but in calling just 16 running plays, the offense had no balance and the pass rush started getting to Brady.  He was sacked just twice, but those came in the most critical of circumstances, both ending drives and taking them out of field goal range...

...but he was upright most of the game - mostly because Denver was respecting the run even if New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels didn't - but started taking a beating after releasing throws as the offensive line started to tire from hand-to-hand combat with the Broncos' pass rushers, many off-target on wide open throws down the field.

When Brady did start to connect he was razor sharp - of course, the Broncos had a three score advantage by that time and was playing off-coverage to prevent the long throws downfield - the same throws that Brady missed the opportunity on earlier in the game.

But in the end, it was loss of Talib that doomed a Patriots' team with no continuity or balance on offense - and Patriots' fans can't help but think that Wes Welker put the fork to them one last time - taking out their best pass defender away from the play.

It doesn't matter if it was an illegal pick, nor that a flag was not thrown - because breaking Talib was the beginning of the end for New England, and that's worth a five-yard penalty any day of the week.

New England Patriots on Paper: Improved Patriots defense is Broncos' own fault

"What happens this year will be determined by what happens in the next five weeks. This is where this team and every other team will define itself."

Bill Belichick - November 25, 2013

That certainly is the way things panned out - as always, Bill Belichick constantly reminding everyone each season that he builds his teams to be at their best after Thanksgiving - though no one thought the team's identity would be that of a smashmouth, old-school entity with a circa-1970's feel to it...

...the Patriots' recipe for success nothing more than fundamentally sound execution and brutish trench play that permeates the lineup from the inside out - injuries that would have finished any other team just setting the stage for a long line of unassuming depth to become impromptu heroes.

Linebacker Jamie Collins is the latest to stand up and be counted, though it is to be remembered that he has just one great game under his belt - but what a game it was.

To be sure, the 6' 3", 250 athletic freak had one of the best performances ever by a Patriots' linebacker in last Saturday's divisional round playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts - and, indeed, one of the best performances by a linebacker ever in the history of the National Football league if the folks at Pro Football Focus are to be believed.

Jamie Collins' +7.9 grade last weekend was the fourth-best game we've ever graded for a 4-3 OLB https://t.co/idD5V2NTQj
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) January 18, 2014

But was his game an anomaly in that everything just went right for him, or did the Patriots just unleash him at exactly the right time?  A better question may be, have the Patriots finally discovered their true identity, and Collins is merely part of it?

As good as the rookie linebackers' game was against the Colts, it certainly isn't the first time he's shown up positively for the Patriots, demonstrating his potential and how far he had closed the gap on the learning curve in the weeks leading up to the trouncing of the Colts, with his best statistical game of the season prior to that against - you guessed it - the Denver Broncos in late November.

But Collins' recent emergence is just the latest chapter in a 2013 season that got stranger and stranger as the games wore on, until a monstrous entity slowly took shape during the month of December - a team that seemingly became stronger the more players that they lost.

Against the Broncos in week 12, the Patriots played the entire game in the 4-2-5 Nickle - and got absolutely gouged in the running game.  So some may find it curious that the Patriots will probably come with the same approach in the AFC Championship game on Sunday...

...not necessarily daring Denver to run against a soft or light front, but daring them to run against a run defense that is exponentially better than it was seven weeks ago.

And that's the way it's supposed to work, right?  Your team gets better as the season wears on - and the Patriots obviously have on defense, but for this unit to be operating at peak efficiency going into the conference title tilt after losing linebacker Jerod Mayo and nose tackle Vince Wilfork - defensive captains, both - as well as tackle Tommy Kelly, and all for the season, is crazy talk.

Yet here they are with an identity of a suddenly fast, athletic, pressure-based unit that will take away what the opposition does best, then hold their own with everything else - and the entire thing was brought together by the very team that now has to deal with the monster they helped to create on Sunday at Sports Authority Field in Denver on Sunday afternoon.

After the Broncos stomped the Patriots' run defense on November 24th, there didn't seem to be a sense of urgency to do anything different with the run defense, as the Patriots' are a game-plan specific team that had sacrificed ground acqusition in order to take away quarterback Peyton Manning's passing game...

...but on the other sideline, the defensive coaching staff were in full panic as starting defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson went down with a dislocated hip during the game, leaving rookie Sylvester Williams as the starter and no real viable depth behind him.

Word got to Patriots' coach Bill Belichick the following day that the Broncos had tangible interest in signing an under-the-radar defensive tackle from New England's practice squad named Sealver Siliga, who had been on Denver's practice squad for two years before they traded him to Seattle and eventually ended up in Foxborough...

...and since practice squad players are considered free agents and are available to be signed by anyone who was willing to keep them on their active roster for at least three games, Belichick had little recourse but to promote Siliga to the active roster to keep Denver from stealing him.

The story from that point has been well documented as Siliga has not only fortified the middle of the Patriots defensive line, but his ability to shed blocks and take on double teams - and not to discount what rookie Chris Jones brings to the field along side of the huge nose tackle - suddenly granted the linebacking corps a little autonomy to become the playmakers that they were supposed to be.

No longer did they have to wildly fire middle linebacker Brandon Spikes into an uncovered gap and hope that he guessed right, because now they had a nose that dictated which gap was to be filled - and with Spikes being a downhill run-stuffer but a liability in pass coverage considered a two-down linebacker, he would come out of the lineup in favor of Collins as the nickle linebacker.

Suddenly, Collins' other-worldy athleticism - which was evident in his special teams play and flashed a bit in his limited defensive snaps through the first ten weeks of the season - came into play more and more.  His average of nine snaps per game through the Carolina loss tripled from the win over Denver on, reaching it's zenith in the win over the Colts last weekend.

So going forward into the AFC Championship, the Patriots figure to give the Broncos the same nickle look, but expecting much better results.

The line is set with Siliga and Chris Jones manning the middle, flanked by Chandler Jones as the primary pass rusher on the blind side with Rob Ninkovich on the strong side, Collins and fellow athletic freak Dont'a Hightower covering the second level, Collins with the responsibility for Broncos' Pro Bowl tight end Julius Thomas and Hightower keying on the dangerous Knowshon Moreno, who caught 60 passes out of the backfield this season.

It remains to be seen how well Collins stays on Thomas in the pattern, though his work on Coby Fleener of the Colts is encouraging, but one area where Collins will have a decided advantage over Thomas is in the running game, where Thomas' skill set falls far short of blocking a talent such as Collins or Hightower - and could be a possible tip-off to the Patriots in identifying run vs. pass.

The Patriots' secondary is as healthy as they have been all season.  Their four best corners are all solid, as are their three best safeties, so defending the receivers is mostly a matter of matching up and staying dedicated to the scheme - also a departure from the first meeting when strong safety Steve Gregory was out with a broken thumb and starting corner Alfonzo Dennard exited the game early with his bum knee...

...all the while Aqib Talib dealing with a chronic hip malady - but he did an admirable job in press coverage on Denver's Demaryius Thomas in the first meeting, as did rookie Logan Ryan on Eric Decker, as did much-maligned slot corner Kyle Arrington on that Wes Welker guy.

Obviously, Belichick had built a roster that featured enough quality depth to endure the losses that the Patriots ended up suffering, which is a testament to his foresight and superior talent evaluation - and now they have put themselves in the position to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl if they can beat the Broncos on Sunday afternoon.

And when the Broncos lose, they have no one to blame but themselves - for it was their lack of foresight that set lit the fire under this Patriots' defense.

Belichick's "Due Diligence" on display with scout team

"Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things."

Sir Isaac Newton

Bill Belichick lives by the mantra of "Due Diligence".

His truths lie in causing the disheveled to become orderly, the chaotic to the systematic, the absurd into the reasonable - and to turn those truths into weapons that confuse his adversaries...

...which in coach-speak means leaving no stone unturned in preparing his New England Patriots for their weekly battles against both foe and attrition - his micro-managing style so permeating of the organization, his influence so complete, that one can not speak or think of the Patriots without having simultaneous conjuring of Belichick's nefarious glare.

Universally recognized as the best game-planning and on-the-fly tactician to ever roam an NFL sideline, he is also known as a master innovator, certainly at least one step ahead of his contemporaries - his matter-of-fact demeanor often confused for arrogance, his manipulation of everything from the injury reports to press releases causing him to be viewed with the same fear and loathing as one would the NSA.

So, should it come as little surprise that when speaking of Belichick, anyone that has had to deal with him on a personal level recants their tales with a nervous chuckle and a paranoid peripheral glance, choosing their words as carefully as a child would to avoid a stern punishment.

But all that is, is an acknowledgement that Belichick is so thorough with his preparation that on game day it appears he knows what's going to happen before it actually does, his influence on the team and their adversaries such that he is perhaps the most hated - yet most iconic - figure among fans of the other 31 NFL teams.

Jealousy?  Perhaps, and this sentiment is fostered to the point that whenever Belichick does something that makes no sense on the level of multiplicity that Newton was referring to, his detractors figure he must have finally gone over the ledge into the megalo-maniacal realm that all evil geniuses eventually fall into, and which Patriots' fans dismiss with a shrug and the axiom, "In Bill we Trust".

A perfect example is his usage of the team's practice squad, an eight-man unit comprised of what are essentially developmental-type players, a well of untested depth that a coach can dip into in the event of injury and, particularly in Belichick's case, to simulate an impending opponent's most dangerous weapon in an attempt to give his own players a real-time feel for what they will be facing in an upcoming game.

Case in point, two and a half weeks ago Belichick signed journeyman wide receiver Greg Orton to the teams' practice squad - an under-the-radar move at the time now prominently on display on the Patriots' practice field, a virtual mirror image of Denver Broncos' wide receiver Demaryius Thomas...

...a 6' 3", 205 pound pass catcher who has lined up across from shutdown corner Aqib Talib to give the second-team all pro a living, breathing avatar in which to prepare for Thomas - and though his 4.49 speed is nowhere close to the world-class speed Thomas possesses, Orton's other physical attributes and, perhaps more importantly, his ability to mimick Thomas' mannerisms come into play in Belichick's meticulous preperation.

And it doesn't hurt that Orton spent the last two seasons as a member of the Broncos' practice squad who was released in August and was worked out by the Patriots in early November.  Orton's size also translates well to that of New England's injured rookie receiver Aaron Dobson, though he is unlikely to fill Dobson's role on the playing field this Sunday - but one never knows.

"I don't know where he finds these guys," former Dallas Cowboys executive Gil Brandt told the Wall Street Journal this week "Every week, they bring in someone. Same height, same speed. It's like they practice against your twin brother."

But it's not too hard to figure out where he finds these players, as his mantra of "Due Diligence' leaves no stone unturned in player evaluation, Belichick constantly bringing in players for workouts, stocking his rolodex with all of their attributes and, of course, their phone numbers.

There are numerous examples of the ostentatious head ball coach preparing his charges for their next opponent using journeyman free agents as inexpensive "temps",  it's record of success speaking for itself - and it has to, because Belichick is less than forthcoming when it comes to discussing - well - anything, and his players are similarly instructed.

"Our big thing is taking the practice field and bringing it to the game," safety Kyle Arrington offered as indulgently as a Patriots' player dares, "The saying here is 'practice execution means game reality.'"

And with an overall record that is 110 wins over .500 for his Patriots' career, there are few in the football world that doubt his genius but many that question his tactics, for no coach in the history of the National Football League can boast such a legacy...

...and as it is true that the many that question stratagem are just in fear what they do not understand, in reality Belichick works in these ways to simplify the process, giving his team the best chance of success in the limited time between games that they have to prepare - and if that causes the bad guy to be confused, that's where Belichick's approach gives his team the upper hand.

In Bill we trust.

New England Patriots on Paper: Alley Cats

"I don't bother chasing mice around
I slink down the alley looking for a fight
Howling to the moonlight on a hot summer night
Singin' the blues while the lady cats cry,
"Wild stray cat, you're a real gone guy."

Stray Cats - 1981

Indeed, slink down that alley looking for a fight - it's the survival of the fittest, a turf war that decides who becomes the overlord and who is relegated to that of a subservient fool.

Most people don't understand the stray cat mentality, and the people that do are either vicious thugs or defensive backs - both need short memories and razor sharp instincts, and the best of the best defend their turf without passion or prejudice, because neither can afford to have those things weighing on their brains.

Cool cat Talib will fight Thomas all game long

Thugs are one thing, and New England Patriots fans have had to deal with their share of them, but the play of their defensive backs - indeed, the play of entire defense - has all but rendered the Patriots' Summer of Pain a distant memory.

This is a strong secondary, the most talented and deep secondary since - well - ever, and are as healthy as they can be heading into Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos.

Despite the hype to the contrary, the Broncos offense is not a breathtaking high-flying tightrope act that moves the football at will - but just like any other team in the National Football League, they certainly are capable of being such if given the opportunity.

What makes the Broncos' offense so efficient is that they have the personnel to force a defense to defend the entire field, which opens up opportunities to exploit the opposition's weaknesses - but to level the playing field against them isn't just a matter of taking away the running game, or focusing on their top receiving threat or even getting to quarterback Peyton Manning.

No, there's not some ancient secret to slowing down the Denver Broncos' offensive juggernaut - rather, there is an approach that is so simplistic that it seems as if it couldn't possibly work - but the body of work that is the 2013 season tell us otherwise.

And it all starts at the line of scrimmage.

Not necessarily just with the bigs, not just with containment or setting the edges either, but by laying the hammer down at every spot on the line - and utilizing the five-yard cushion or alley in which defensive backs are legally permitted to make contact with a receiver.

And the Patriots just may be in a better position to do just that than they were seven weeks ago when a combination of foul weather and Patriots coverage scheme held Manning to a miserable 150 yards.

Many variables went into those season-low numbers - the gale-force winds for one, winds that Brady had no issues penetrating with his tight spirals but Manning could not with his crazy moth-in-a-porch-light wobblers - but the ones that he did let off the chain were challenged by a physical Patriots' secondary, starting in the alley.

But the Patriots were hurting in the secondary, with Alfonzo Dennard and Steve Gregory on the skids and Aqib Talib and Kyle Arrington nursing lower-body injuries and trying to play through them - leaving rookies, cornerback Logan Ryan and safety Duron Harmon to make the starts, and rookie linebacker Jamie Collins filling in underneath with limited experience...

...yet they continuously mugged the Broncos' receivers at the line of scrimmage, disrupting their patterns and, coupled with the high winds were able to shut down Manning.

There are no such issues this week, not if Saturday's performance against the Indianapolis Colts is any indication.  Ryan is now looked upon as a rising star while Harmon's playing time is steadily increasing as a more sure-handed option to spell either Gregory or safety Devin McCourty, and Collins has been unleashed and is making plays all over the field.

Rookie Logan Ryan shut down Decker in their first meeting

Talib and Dennard appear to be as healthy as they are going to get - so it's all hands on deck for the Patriots' pass coverage, no issues being physical at the line, which is good because giving the Broncos receivers free release or allowing them to sit down in a zone is asking for trouble...

...particularly when it comes to tight end Julius Thomas, who did not play in November's instant classic - spelled by reserve Jacob Tamme, who ended up being the most productive receiver on the field - and who, in fact, was one of the main reasons why linebacker Dont'a Hightower was benched in the game, Manning using Tamme's route running to constantly pull Hightower out of position.

But the emergence of Jamie Collins and greater experience for Harmon should negate that advantage for the Broncos, though Manning is sure to test those rookies - but probably will steer clear of Ryan, as he was able to completely shut down wide receiver Eric Decker.

In fact, the entire Broncos passing game was shut down by a combination of the elements and the Patriots' secondary - banged up as they were - and perhaps the biggest reason why was their ability to manhandle Denver's receivers at the line.

One way that Manning will probably look to counter New England's physical secondary is to run bunch formations with Welker flanked on both sides by receivers Demaryius Thomas and Decker, and Julius Thomas lined up on the opposite side, running a comeback route as a safety valve - the tight alignment of the formation producing natural picks to rub out one of the defensive backs.

But the Patriots can take that advantage away from the Broncos by jamming each one of them at the line, in theory and on the field causing the receivers to pick each other - Denver will run out of this formation, which is a staple of their offense, but with the stout presence of Sealver Siliga at the nose and Hightower in the middle of the nickle, New England can take that away too.

The common theme for this defense is for them to be aggressive, disguising their coverages to a certain extent, but not doing anything fancy - hitting Manning's pass catchers in the mouth as they try to release off the line of scrimmage, taking full advantage of the five-yard cushion and taking away his ability to dictate to the defense.

"That was my first time playing him when we played them earlier in the season." cool cat corner Aqib Talib said earlier this week, "I just read my keys and play football, man. I just play regular, man. I didn’t try to do nothing extraordinary because I was playing Peyton Manning. Just read my keys and played regular.”

In the end it comes down to fundamentals, stopping the run and jamming the receivers - taking control of the line of scrimmage and turning that five-yard buffer zone into a back alley where the Patriots' defensive backs will try to turn the Broncos' passing game into a street fight...

...and given the swagger that the Patriots' secondary have gained and earned to this point in the season, these street-smart stray cats may well rule the Broncos' home turf.

Old-school numbers suggest Patriots will meet Seahawks in Super Bowl

Ah, the 1970's.

Even then we called classic rock, "Classic Rock" - because we knew.  We knew that the 70's was destined to be a decade of turmoil and change that would launch America into a new industrial revolution, and give us just enough strength to survive the absurdity of the 80's.

Bands were hardcore - no screwing around with synthesizers or lip-syncing, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin led to Bachman Turner Overdrive, Rush and AC/DC - then merged into whatever that was in the 80's, but that was ok because we had our vinyl and our 8-tracks, and the music of the 70's steadily influenced bands popping up in the 90's...

Who wouldn't want to see Brady get another crack at Sherman?

...Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine - all have their roots based in the decade that gave us Watergate, the suffix "-gate" attached to every single act of dark malfeasance since, and even the world of professional football could not escape it's icy grip, as even the new century has reduced itself to the 70's lexicon when referring to indiscretions on the part of the New England Patriots and New Orleans' Saints.

Sadly, "Spygate" and "Bountygate" have joined with the Vince Lombardi Trophy as just about the only things identifiable of the  post-merger decade.  For instance, just about every team has changed their logo, just about every one has left their old stadiums for new digs and the old-time tough players of that long-ago era are either dead, dying or writing autobiographies.

But just like with music, the old-school style of football that dominated the decade hasn't been forgotten and is in fact enjoying a renaissance of sorts - and while the high-flying passing games that put up gaudy numbers on the stat sheet and on the scoreboard will always have it's place, the power running games that defined the 70's are on the comeback trail...

...because that's what wins championships - but not all by themselves, for championship teams have balance, where the run sets up the pass, and the pass compliments the run

Powerful running teams have always won championships as part of an overall balanced offense combined with an adequate defense, and that hasn't changed since the inception of the modern-day NFL - so a quick glance at the contestants of both conference championship games paints a pretty clear picture of why they are playing for their respective titles:

Denver Broncos:         #15 Rushing offense (461 attempts for 1873 yards)
                                  # 1  Passing offense (675 attempts for 5444 yards)
                                  # 1  Scoring offense
                                  #22 Scoring defense

New England Patriots:  # 9  Rushing offense (470 attempts for 2063 yards)
                                    #10 Passing offense (628 attempts for 4087 yards)
                                    #  3 Scoring Offense
                                    #10 Scoring Defense

San Francisco 49ers:    # 3 Rushing offense (505 attempts for 2201 yards)
                                    #30 Passing offense (417 attempts for 2979 yards)
                                    #11 Scoring offense
                                    #  3 Scoring defense

Seattle Seahawks:        # 4 Rushing offense (509 attempts for 2188 yards)
                                   #26 Passing offense (420 attempts for 3236 yards)
                                   # 8  Scoring offense
                                   # 1  Scoring defense

From this quick glance, one could reasonably expect that we will see the Seahawks and the Patriots in the Super Bowl, based purely on offensive balance and the scoring numbers, setting up what would be an epic battle in the big game...

...which is all purely bullshit, of course, because numbers rarely translate to the field of battle they way we want them to - but around the time you put the kids to bed on Sunday night, we should know if these numbers have any meaning at all.

And even then, it may all be just coincidence.

New England Patriots on Paper: Force feed Broncos steady diet of pigskin

“We like to win.  So, whatever we need to do to win really is good with me. Win running, win throwing, win shutting them out, win outscoring them, win in the kicking game - whatever it takes. We just have to find a way to do it this time of year. Every team we play is good. Every game is bigger than the next. We just have to try to find some way to come out on top next week. That’s really all it is.” - Bill Belichick

Well, O.k. then.

The oftentimes cryptic coach of the New England Patriots offered up that short soliloquy in response to a question about the swing of balance in the offensive play calling the past month - a move to a power-based running game that has allowed his charges to dominate their last three opponents.

A signature departure from what we've witnessed from this Patriots' team for the past decade, a period filled with high-style and aesthetically pleasing form, but sadly devoid of championship function and silver trophies.

As a result, there's nothing fancy about the New England Patriots these days, much to the chagrin of the milk and cookies crowd.

Those are the folks that want to see "Tommy Gun" in the shotgun, throwing for 350 yards and three scores, while the whiskey drinkers like the grinding, ram-it-down-their-throats physical style with quarterback Tom Brady under center, taking the snap and handing the ball to one of his power backs, already scheming the next play before the whistle blows.

That's the way it's been for the past three games, power running behind a physical offensive line bolstered by the play of two unheralded tight ends while Brady stays upright and fresh and not nearly as grumpy or schitzo as he was before offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels realized that he's got a pretty damned good running game.

It's been here the entire year, this rock 'em sock 'em ground game, just mismanaged at times, and it's no secret at all that when the Patriots run the ball effectively - and, most importantly, run it consistently - the record speaks for itself.

New England has averaged 129 yards per game on the ground this season - in their 12 wins, the average was 141, but in the 4 losses it was 94.  while the passing game stayed pretty consistent, not varying too north or too south of par with a median of 255 yards per game - overall a nice latter day balance - but the balance in the past three games has been skewed to the power running game, and the results have been devastating for the opposition.

In the past three games, the Patriots are averaging 214 yards per game on the ground while throwing for just over 150 - those are circa late-70's numbers, smashmouth numbers.  Cunningham and Grogan numbers.  The numbers that the Patriots' Erhardt/Perkins offensive concept begs for.

That said, the power running game is not going to win this championship all by itself but what it can do - and what it has been doing - is taking a lot of the heat off of Brady in the pocket and off of the receivers in the pattern - which is fortunate because, let's face it, Brady's pass catchers need all the help they can get creating space.

Julien Edelman went from an oft-injued afterthought in the offseason to putting up Welker-esque numbers, a stand-up talent that has stood tall and taken some wicked beatings to emerge as the top receiving option on the team - the rest of the cast a lesson in what can go wrong with human physiology when confronted with the game of football.

Gone are tight end Rob Gronkowski and rookie speedster Josh Boyce, while rookie deep threat Aaron Dobson has been nursing a bad foot and fellow rookie Kenbrell Thompkins has fallen off the face of the planet - leaving tough-as-nails but limited Danny Amendola, concussion prone mid-season pick up Austin Collie and butter-fingered third down back Shane Vereen to hold down the fort with Edelman.

The prognosis isn't that inspiring, but when one factors in that Brady is the one throwing the bullets and the Denver Broncos are without their top cover corner - not to mention their best pass rusher - the playing field levels out a bit.

Of course, it remains to be seen where the Broncos' defense concentrates, but with only two choices at their disposal, it's a matter of pick your poison when it comes to defending the Patriots.  The first school of thought is to try and take away the powerful two-headed rushing attack that is LeGarrette Blount and Stevan Ridley and leave their short-handed secondary to deal with the small and quick New England pass catchers...

...the second option is to try to limit the dangerous Patriots' running game without sacrificing a safety over the top, blitzing Brady at every opportunity - but given the health of his receivers, there's probably no need for anything more than a high safety, which is good for the Broncos because they could use a safety in the box to help the depleted front seven.

Gone are tackle Kevin Vickerson and end Von Miller - rookie Sylvester Williams and 10th year veteran Shaun Phillips in their stead respectively, putting greater responsibility on nose tackle Terrence Knighton and the linebacking corps of Nate Irving, Wesley Woodyard and Danny Trevathan to disrupt the running game at the line of scrimmage.

About 70% of New England's designed running plays hit the line of scrimmage between the guards, where the Patriots have gouged their last two opponents for 335 yards on 50 carries, an average of 6.7 yards per carry - of course, this number is skewed due to Blout's 73 yard run against the Colts, but take that away and the Patriots run a respectable 5.4 yards per carry.

This is problematic for the Broncos in that if they have to stack the box with an extra safety, it leaves their corners on an island and the likes of Vereen or even Edelman covered with a safety - and with the Patriots possessing one of the best play-action quarterbacks in the NFL, well, it's pretty easy to see where that path leads.

The key for the Broncos is the play of Knighton, who was handled pretty well in the November matchup between the two teams, the Patriots finding success with Brandon Bolden the lead back ripping off runs at a clip of eight yards per carry striaght up the middle while Vereen joined Bolden in having good success off tackle.

But unless the Broncos commit some early turnovers and allow the Patriots to gain an early two score lead, prudence dictates that the passing game should be more involved - because while it's true that the running game has been integral in setting up the play action pass, starting off drives with an equal number of passes is going to help the running game be more efficient.

Since the inception of the power running game in Baltimore three games ago,  New England has run the ball on nearly 70% of their 1st down snaps, so switching that up to more of a balance of run/pass should also help balance the offensive play calling as a whole - and make the offense just that much more unpredictable.

Like Bill said, he just likes to win and he doesn't care how it happens, as long as it does - and with a full week to prepare for the Broncos this time, better weather and, hopefully, not the atrotious first half they suffered through in the first meeting this season, it is reasonable to assume that his game plan will be plenty good enough to win the game...

...if the players can execute the plan, the Patriots should be on their way to MetLife Stadium as the AFC's representative in the Super Bowl.

New England Patriots on Film: Stingy defense leads the way in second half

Five minutes into the second half on Sunday's Divisional Round playoff game, the Indianapolis Colts had narrowed a tenuous New England Patriots' nine-point halftime lead to six courtesy of a Adam Vinatieri 21-yard field goal...

...but the goal line stand that precipitated the try for three generated a series of events that turned an obvious momentum advantage for Indianapolis coming out of the locker room into a level playing field - but just until the physical Patriots started to wear down the Colts, turning a tight match into a rout with frightening speed and surgical precision.

Linebacker Jamie Collins receives kudos from teammates after his pick

There is a very good reason why Bill Belichick likes to defer possession of the football until the second half kickoff - it's an opportunity that makes sense to leverage junkies in all walks of life, the chance to blow your opponent out of the stadium if he can score going into the locker room for halftime, then score again coming back out.

The opportunity to double up on scoring without giving the bad guys a chance is a prospect that the afore mentioned leverage junkies find impossible to resist, and in a perfect world would administer the desired punishment and light some crooked numbers on the scoreboard in rapid succession.

However, the Patriots had already blown the front half of the daily double with a special teams gaffe that lent itself as the identity of the first half, but also had a couple of heroes step up to keep the damage of the potentially fatal mistake to a minimum.

But the energy that the Colts had drawn off of the turn of fortune - regardless of the points they left on the field - had engulfed the entire team, so it really came as no surprise that Indianapolis was able to hold New England to a three-and-out on their initial possession of the second half, and subsequently drove straight down the field...

...quarterback Andrew Luck completing passes of 40 yards - an acrobatic, finger-tip grab while going to the turf by T.Y. Hilton - and to tight end Coby Fleener for another 16 to get the Colts deep into the New England red zone, but a pair of running plays netted just one yard as defensive tackle Joe Vellano put his stamp on the game, and what started as a first and goal from the four-yard line was suddenly a third and goal from the three.

Luck took a three step drop and tried to loft one to Fleener along the right sideline of the end zone - but a lot of posturing and more than a little hand-fighting between the sophomore tight end and his rookie counterpart, linebacker Jamie Collins, ended with Fleener on his ass and the ball wobbling harmlessly on the field turf and Vinatieri's field goal cut the Patriots' lead to six rather than the desired two.

By the time the Patriots got the ball back, their lead that was once 14-0 and 21-7 was now 21-15 and the Patriots' offense had turned the ball over on a botched punt and resultant safety then gone three and out twice, but offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was sticking with his commitment to his power running game, starting every drive to that point in the game except one with a running play...

...setting up the beautifully executed play action pass from quarterback Tom Brady to a wide open Danny Amendola for 53 yards on the first play of the ensuing possession, every player on the field biting on the play action fake to running back Stevan Ridley - the play allowing New England to escape from deep in their own territory to the Colt's 35 - Ridley blasting into the end zone five plays later, a successful two-point conversion increasing the Patriots' lead to 14 points once again at 29-15.

Which lasted all of 1:10 in game time, Luck hitting Hilton deep for 46 yards and then LaVonn Brazill in the end zone for 35 and a seven point deficit, and when the Patriots went three and out again Indianapolis was in prime position to tie the game, provided they could drive the field once again...

...but a Collins sack stymied one drive and a Vellano "trip" sack on the ensuing Colts' possession stoned another - the Patriots getting the football back at their own 27 yard line and just into the final quarter - and one LeGarrette Blount 73-yard burst off right guard later the Patriots had their 14-point lead back at 36-22.

The Colts would get no closer, never really threatened to score, Blount's run and several wasted opportunities serving as back-breakers, interceptions by Collins and Alfonzo Dennard ending potential drives before they could evolve into any points.

Much will be made of the power running game in the second half - and for good reason - but it was the Patriots' defense clamping down after giving up the easy touchdown pass that was the difference in this game, forcing three punts - two of them the three-and-out variety - and picked off Luck twice, allowing only 51 yards from midway through the third quarter on.

So now a defense that had lost three veteran starters and was breaking in no less than five rookies will have the Patriots playing for an AFC title next Sunday - and if they play as well against the Denver Broncos as they have the last three games leading up to the title tilt, that defense will be in the Super Bowl.

Welcome back to the Patriots' Bandwagon

"The Patriot Way is in itself a self-fulfilling prophesy, a set of standards and clichés conceived by the media to explain how a franchise that had been downtrodden and the doormat of the NFL for many years suddenly became the organization to which all other organizations were compared - a set of coattails created for fans and journalists to ride as far as the good times last, and then a springboard from which to jump as far overboard as they can when they perceive the ship is about to sink." - Foxborough Free Press July 18, 2013

Skip Bayless is an unrepentant fan of the human experience in sports.  Steven A. Smith is a reluctant sounding board to most anything that Bayless says.

Brady and the Patriots have proven all detractors wrong

But together on their ESPN show "First Take" on Monday morning the odd couple found middle ground as it pertains to the New England Patriots - and at the same time recanted a story being told over and over around the country this morning, much to the chagrin of Patriots' haters and Broncos' supporters alike:

The New England Patriots are the scariest team in the final four.

The Patriots have evolved into a mid-70's power running team that has first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady to fall back on in these playoffs, a notable departure from the past decade where the Patriots rode Brady's arm.

This is a New England team that relies on depth, builds it's team from the inside out and has the best game planning and on-the-fly-tactician in the game of football as their head coach.  They are dynasts, overlords of the AFC and are one win away from reaching the Super Bowl for the sixth time since Bill Belichick assumed the throne 13 years ago.

In making the trip to Denver for Sunday's title tilt, The Patriots will be playing in their eighth AFC Championship game in that span and their tenth overall - trailing only the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders for the most appearances all-time, and can tie the fabled Steelers' franchise for the most championships by winning their eighth.

But history means nothing in this game - not their first appearance following the 1985 season nor their last appearance last season - not even New England's epic comeback victory over the Broncos less than two months ago means a damned thing, because destiny chooses it's own heroes and doesn't rely on legend or lore.

This New England Patriots' team has an identity now.  They didn't have one in October, and that's important to remember going forward - even as Bayless boasted and Smith conceded on Monday morning, and to see and hear Steven A. Smith issuing a concession speech to Skip Bayless made for powerful, must see TV...

And, yes.  Smith capitulates to no one, so his actions should signal that the Patriots' bandwagon - which journalist and fan alike was jumping from this past summer and well into the season like rats fleeing a sinking ship - is filling up again.

Even Ron Borges, the notoriously grimy Belichick hater has slithered back on board, though reduced to childish dribble about the impending "Brady vs. Manning" matchup, which followed the "Brady vs. Luck" blather - which is actually far and away better than that evil piece he helped write for Rolling Stone Magazine that should have finished him as a writer.

But, if his little bout with plagiarism seven years ago didn't stop him, then his behavior this season certainly shouldn't - and there were enough fans and journalists riding the wave of negativity, blinded as they were by the allure of their own twisted agendas, that he will ultimately be forgiven and, eventually, forgotten.

Except, that is, by anyone keeping score, which includes Patriots fans who know the difference between practicing due diligence and hiding behind unnamed sources.

And there are many keeping score, but as long as the Patriots continue winning all will be welcomed back aboard the express - but it's gone beyond the point of no return, the point wherein a journalist or fan can say "I told you so", because the New England Patriots are playing for a title on Sunday - and win or lose, they've already proven their detractors wrong.

The New England Patriots are five point underdogs to the Denver Broncos going into this Sunday's AFC Championship game, and the initial betting line provides us with everything we need to know about how the Patriots are viewed in the minds of the true experts.

When referencing the old axiom that home field advantage is worth three points, that says that the experts think that the Broncos are only two points better than the Patriots - and by game time, particularly with news that the Broncos' already shaky pass defense lost starting cornerback Chris Harris to a torn ACL, the point spread should probably be down to that three point advantage.

But the Patriots are the better team in this matchup, which is a far cry from what was predicted of them in mid-July, and in the days leading up to the showdown at Invesco Field, every two-bit journalist in New England is going to tell you why...

...including this scribe, starting on Tuesday when we take a look at the Patriots secondary's matchup against the high-flying Denver passing attack.

"The Patriot Way doesn't mean perfection.  The Patriot Way means doing your best, striving to realize the zenith of their profession - along the way affording opportunity to players who may have lost their way - if it doesn't work, then it didn't work.  Not every idea does, but every once in a while a gem emerges as a result of the given opportunity that no other team could absorb without falling apart.. "  Foxborough Free Press July 18, 2013

New England Patriots on Film: Lady Luck, Andrew Luck (no relation) and the Ghost save Pats' bacon in first half

When the football flew over Ryan Allen's head, time stood still.

Eyes fixated, no exhaling - Long snapper Danny Aiken's play this season has been flawless, solid to the point that Patriots' fans were lamenting the fact that their team couldn't pick up a first down at midfield with a little over two minutes remaining in the first half...

Indy's Pendleton (61) couldn't handle the ball, denying the Colts a TD

...not even pondering that a routine play, a connection that Aiken and Allen had made without issue 76 times in the regular season, would prove to be a pivotal play in the Divisional round playoff game between the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts.

The ball sailed so far over Allen's head that he hardly made an effort to jump for it, instead turning and running after the ball, which had hit the ground and was now skittering toward the end zone - the Colts' punt return unit in hot pursuit.  Allen fielded the ball cleanly at the Patriots' two yard line and turned his focus upfield, looking for a way to get the ball as far away from the end zone as he could.

Out of the corner of his eye, Allen spotted teammate Tavon Wilson, who was trying to keep a trio of Colts' defenders from reaching the rookie punter, and attempted to lateral the ball to the reserve safety - but the ball never got there, Colts' linebacker Kelvin Sheppard blowing up the attempt by nailing Allen squarely in the chest, defensive tackle Jeris Pendleton reaching for the ball that was suspended in mid-air...

Of course, Pendleton never did get a grip on the ball, his forward momentum causing him to strike the ball instead, slapping it cleanly through the back of the end zone - thus starting a series of plays that ultimately helped the New England Patriots beat the Colts on Saturday night in rainy Foxborough.

What Allen should have done was to kick the ball through the back of the end zone - which is where the ball ended up anyway, fortunately for the Patriots - and the Colts were awarded a safety on a play that could have very well ended up as a touchdown instead.

Leading 21-10 at the time and with 2:28 remaining in the first half, the Patriots had a 4th and 2 at their own 48 and were content to punt the ball and try to pin the Colts deep in their own territory - and why not?  The defense had been playing well and the Patriots had the ball first to open the second half, just stop the Colts on a long field and get into the locker room with an 11 point lead.

But instead it was now 21-12 and, by rule, the Colts would get the ball after Allen's free kick from the 20 yard line - which he boomed nearly 70 yards, but came off the field in pain, grasping his right shoulder, the result of getting steamrolled on the punt that went awry.

Allen was taken immediately to the locker room, missing Colts' quarterback Andrew Luck trying to hit receiver LaVonn Brazill on a deep pass that was nearly picked off by Alfonzo Dennard, and the short pass over the middle that was intercepted by linebacker Donta' Hightower, ending a promising-looking Colts' drive that seemed destined for 3 points at the very least...

"Ghost" scared up a great punt

...giving the Patriots decent field position on their own 36 with over a minute left to play in the half - but two straight running plays yielded but four yards, and between the Colts stopping the clock and Shane Vereen dropping a sure first down on a wheel route down the left sideline, the Patriots were forced to have to punt the ball back to the Colts with just under a minute left.

Which was an issue, given that, with Allen in the locker room, the Patriots were fresh out of punters.

In the past, Patriots fans have seen quarterback Tom Brady quick-kick for 30 or so yards, but there was no way that coach Bill Belichick was going to expose his franchise quarterback to what figured to be an all-out Colts' rush, so he instead sent place kicker Stephen Gostkowski out to field the snap from Aiken...

...this one on the money and Gostkowski nailed it for 53 yards, Colt's returner Griff Whalen unable to get much of a return due to the remarkable height on Gostkowski's boot and special team's demon Matt Slater's excellent coverage - forcing the Colts to play it safe and run the clock out, preserving New England's nine-point cushion going into the intermission that could have been much smaller...

Up next: Part 2 - Running to daylight

Patriots' punk Colts; punch ticket to AFC Title tilt

Blount ran for 166 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday night (David Silverman/NEP)

Three yards and a cloud of dust.

That weird black dust that erupts from the field turf at Gillette Stadium when a ball carrier makes a cut, the rain falling all over New England on a gloomy Saturday night having little effect on the tiny rubber tire pellets that form the base for the synthetic turf.

The New England Patriots came into their Divisional round playoff game with the Indianapolis Colts with the mindset to run the ball, counting on their new found power running game to carry the load - and it didn't really seem to matter if it wasn't picking up huge chunks of yardage, just so long as it was moving forward...

...and it was a certainty that if quarterback Tom Brady kept turning and giving the ball to LeGarrette Blount, the big man was going to break one - and that happened with just under 13 minutes remaining in the game, a 73 yard burst off right guard that Blount took to the house to blow open a close game, the Patriots eventually winning going away, 43-22.

With the victory, the Patriots advance to the AFC Championship Game for the third consecutive season, and await the winner between the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Denver.

A Chargers' win would bring the Title tilt to Foxborough for the third strait year, while a Broncos' victory would set up a a match between the top two seeds in the AFC next Sunday at Invesco Field in Denver.

The Patriots' 235 rushing yards were 37 more than what Tom Brady would reap through the air, and the 45 rushing attempts 20 more than came out of Brady's hand - following a recipe that has earned New England three decisive victories in a row.

For their part, the Colts were game, their defense limiting New England's running game to just 3.1 yards per carry through the first three quarters, but completely wilted in the face of New England's physical run blocking in the final frame, eventually giving up 5.2 yards per carry while being shoved around like playground sissies.

Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 331 yards on a 20 for 41, two-touchdown performance but was also picked off four times, interceptions by Dont'a Hightower and rookie Jamie Collins sandwiched between a pair of Alfonzo Dennard thefts.

Dennard started the onslaught on the third play of the game, picking off Luck at the Indianapolis 30 yard line and returning it all the way to the two, where Blount hammered his way into the end zone for the first of his four scores on the night to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead just 1:15 into the game.

After the New England defense held the Colts to a three-and-out on the ensuing series, Blount finished off a 10 play, 74 yard drive walking into the end zone from two yards out for his second score of the game and a 14-0 Patriots' lead.

Luck got the Colts on the board on their next possession, hitting receiver LaVonn Brazill for 38 yards to get Indianapolis within seven, but New England responded with another long drive, Blount taking a page out of legendary Patriots' running back Sam "Bam" Cunningham's book with a 2 yard leap over the middle of the Colts' defense to build their cushion back to 14 points.

An Adam Vinitieri field goal and a safety on an airmailed snap on a punt formation gave the Colts the final points of the half and a little momentum headed into the locker room at the break, trailing just 21-12 - but when the Patriots came back out for the second half it did so without punter Ryan Allen, who suffered a shoulder injury while attempting to make a play on the botched punt snap...

...placekicker Stephen Gostkowski handling the punting duties for the remainder of the contest and Brady assuming the role of holder on kicks - and both would be tested as the Colts asserted their will and made a run at New England in the third quarter.

Gostokowski punted after a three-and-out and Indianapolis responded with a field goal to cut the Patriots lead to one possession, then the teams traded touchdowns to close out the third, New England nursing a seven point lead heading into the final frame.

That's when Blount and the Patriots' offensive line took over the game.

Blount followed a Michael Hoomanawanui surge and a kick out block by Logan Mankins and rumbled for 73 yards for a score just into the fourth quarter, then Ridley followed up Collins' first NFL interception with the dagger, a one-yard blast that accounted for the final points.

The New England defense was as stout as one could want, holding the Colts to 69 yards in 21 carries on the ground and although the pass defense gave up over 300 yards to Luck, his absurd accuracy on the deep ball on full display, fitting balls into tight man coverage, then picking apart the zone looks...

...and the pass rush managed to sack Luck three times, and he routinely took nasty hits releasing the balls that he did manage to get away - building a close relationship with Patriots' linebacker Jamie Collins who sacked him once, nailed him as he released three other times in addition to his 4th quarter pick that left no doubt as to the outcome of the game.

New England's offensive line enjoyed another stellar performance - despite giving up two sacks and the suddenly nimble-of-foot Brady squirming out of a couple of others, the pass protection was generally workman-like, but the run blocking was nothing short of dominant, particularly down the stretch as the Patriots ran right into the teeth of the Colts' weary run defense.

The Patriots are asserting their will on both sides of the ball, their physical play overwhelming their opponents- beating them down and taking away their will, and one more effort like that will find them at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey early in February with a chance to win their fourth trophy...

Sadly, Landry "embodies the culture" of Colts

"Since high school, I've been writing 'Suicide Mission' on my chest. I don't know how I'm going to come out. I don't know. I'm going to lay my body on the line - right on my chest. Right over my tatts. In black Sharpie."

LaRon Landry knows a lot about concussions.  After all, he's dished out enough of them.

So many would consider it poetic justice that the player known to his fans as "Dirty 30", a play on his jersey number mixed with his history of cheap shots and even cheaper talk, suffered a concussion during the Indianapolis Colts' come-from-behind win over the Kansas City Chiefs last Saturday.

Nothing calculated, nothing premeditated - just an inadvertent knee to the helmet that staggered the seventh year strong safety as he made a tackle.

Landry practiced for the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday, one step closer to being cleared to play on Saturday night against the New England Patriots in the divisional round of these 2013 playoffs - a team with which his has a sordid history...

...particularly on a Thanksgiving Day game in 2012, a game known more for The New York Jets' Mark Sanchez' "Butt Fumble" in an embarrassing loss to the Patriots - Safety Steve Gregory had picked up Sanchez' fumble and returned it for a touchdown as part of a five touchdown second quarter blitzkrieg that left the Jets stunned and Fireman Ed turning in his shield.

And with the score 28-0 and the Patriots on their own 44 yard line with a little over three minutes left in the first half, quarterback Tom Brady dropped back to pass, spotted receiver Julien Edelman wide open down the field after shaking Landry - then a Jet - and launched a 56 yard scoring strike to finish out the Patriots scoring for the half and driving a dagger into the Jets' chances of victory.

On the Patriots' first possession of the second half and with a first down at the Jets' 46, Brady pitched the ball to Edelman on a reverse, the demure receiver turning the corner already at full speed - when in came Landry, his helmet-to-helmet shot knocking Edelman out cold, a filthy display of vengeance for Edelman burning Landry just one possession earlier.

Now Landry is a Colt, the result of a four-year, $24 million investment that General Manager Ryan Grigson felt was absolutely necessary to change the culture of the Indianapolis defense:

We’re ecstatic about this signing. We feel LaRon is an absolute game changer and a true impact player. We’re talking about a 220-pound safety that runs 4.3 and plays to that speed. His approach to the game and his style of play are lights out and embody the culture we’re building on the defense and this team in general.” - Grigson

And, yes.  That statement says all you need to know about how this Indianapolis defense is constructed - a centerpeice that hasn't played a full season in four years, missing time with injury and suspension, his 2013 season an encapsulation of his career.  Landry played just 12 games, logging an impressive tackle total of 95 but with only two passes defended.

For his part, Landry insists that he is not a dirty player, that he plays within the rules that the NFL sets in order to insure player safety.

"I read the critics and all the hate. I feel some way towards it, but certain things you can't disclose to the public about how you really feel about it. But I take it to heart, because I'm really not a dirty player at all. I'm a passionate player and I do anything to win." - Landry

When he's not delivering crushing blows to turn an opponent's brain to oatmeal, he jawing about Head-hunting and taking guys out at the knee - something that has had him at odds with just about every opponent he's ever faced since being the #6 overall selection in the 2007 NFL Draft for the Washingto Redskins.

"I could just make a great tackle. But me, I'm full-speed all the time. I only know one way to get it done. That's my style. I don't understand when it comes across that I'm trying to injure guys, trying to blow their knees out and do this or that. Man, that's a legal hit. Don't blame me. I'm playing within the NFL's system." - again, Landry

Seems that we heard that line from a certain Cleveland Browns' safety named T. J. Ward when he ended Patriots' tight end Rob Gronkowski's season a little over a month ago with a "legal hit" to Gronkowski's knee.

Players like Landry - they are football's equivalent of a goon in Hockey.  Prized for their aggression, intimidators are typically less gifted at skill areas of the game than their teammates, and tend to bounce around from team to team. - Landry is on his third team in as many years, his abrasive nature leading to a mutually agreed-upon divorce from the Redskins, then scoffed at the New York Jets' offer to keep him after last season. 

"Anything that happens on the field. If you need a big play, I love that. I mean, please throw it my way. Please do that. Even if the outcome is bad, I love a challenge, I love competition." 

Hear that, Brady?  Edelman?  Don't get suckered in to Landry's ploy, but by all means go after him when the time is right.  Not after his head, but over his head - burn him deep when the opportunity presents itself - and it will, because Landry isn't a football player, he's a goon, a self-professed head-hunter who is perpetually on a "Suicide Mission"...

...but watch out for your knees, and for God's sake don't duck your head - because as long as Landry is healthy and in the game, he's on his Suicide Mission, and he won't think twice about taking you with him.

And for the Colts, apparently that's worth six million dollars a year.

Heavy rain, strong winds on tap for Saturday night at Gillette

Rob Ninkovich says he'd rather play in snow than in the rain, but rain - heavy, cold, and wind-driven - is what he and the rest of his New England Patriots will have to face this Saturday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

Oh yeah, the Indianapolis Colts will cause a few issues, too.

Blount and the running game will be at a premium in the rain and wind

The Colts and the Hometown Pats will kick off their divisional round playoff game in conditions much the same as what the Patriots' experienced in their season-finale against Buffalo two weeks ago, something that doesn't sit well with Ninkovich.

"When you're in the rain, you're like 10 pounds heavier when your shoes are full of whatever," Ninkovich said. "The snow obviously has some challenges in itself with footing and being on the field and stuff like that, but when it's wet, you're wet from head to toe."

Rain is one thing, but when combined with sustained winds close to 20 miles per hour and gusting to over 30, it places a premium on the running game - as well as for getting a fast start and an early lead, as being forced to throw the ball to get back into a game is not an ideal scenario for conditions likely to be seen most of the day and into the nighttime hours.

Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady braved strong winds and much colder temperatures in late November when he staged perhaps the greatest comeback in franchise history, throwing two touchdown passes into the force of a driving, icy wind that Broncos' signal caller Peyton Manning couldn't handle.

It remains to be seen how Colts' quarterback Andrew Luck deals with the adverse weather conditions, but the volatility of the New England winter give the Patriots one of the best home field advantages in the league.

"We've played in it all, so it just helps us for whatever we're in, we're in. If it's snowing, if it's raining, we've experienced it all." Ninkovich said.

The forecast from the National Weather Service is calling for temperatures in the low 40's at gametime, with heavy rain and the afore mentioned gusty winds that will take the wind chill factor into the mid-20's by the 4th quarter.

The probability for poor throwing conditions puts a premium on the running game, where the Patriots have enjoyed a boon in recent weeks with running back LeGarrette Blount rumbling through the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills in successive weeks, while the Colts have relied on Donald Brown to carry the load.

But the key is how Luck and his receivers handle the wind and the rain. 

The football world already knows how Brady and the Patriots handle the conditions, so the pressure is all on Luck and the Colts' coaching staff to somehow level the playing field - but they have their work cut out for them as they are all about to find out why Gillette Stadium is such a tremendous homefield advantage for the Patriots.

New England Patriots on Paper: The Spirit of '76

The New England Patriots are experiencing a renaissance.

As are their fans, though this brief period of awakening conjures a time far earlier than most fans care to remember - the glass half-full crowd fondly reminiscing the 2004 championship team with Corey Dillon grinding out yards and Ty Law shutting down the opposition's top receiving target...

Blount's running style conjures memories of the 1970's Patriots' teams

...while the glass half empty people recall with horror the 2006 squad that went 12-4 after losing their top receiving talent in the offseason and making due with castoffs, then losing to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Title game despite carrying a 21-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.

And while the Patriots did lose their top receiving talent from last season, and have a grinding running game that has gained traction the last couple of weeks of the season, and also have a shutdown corner that can take away the opposition's top receiving talent, the 2013 edition of the New England Patriots are unique.

Unique in it's ability to morph into whatever they need to be to succeed.

In the first quarter of the season, the Patriots posted a 4-0 start - albeit perhaps the ugliest undefeated start in NFL history, as the offense struggled to break in the new group of pass catchers and the coaching staff struggling to identify what a comfortable balance looked like, falling back on a stout, deep defense that kept the opposition in check just enough for the offense to pull out the win...

...the second quarter a quagmire of pain, veteran starters on both sides of the ball dropping like flies, the offense still struggling for an identity, losing for the first time on the season, first to the Cincinnati Bengals in monsoonal rains and then to the rival New York Jets in overtime - only a miraculous last-second win over the New Orleans Saints keeping them from a three-game losing streak.

The win over the Saints giving pattern to the third quarter of the season, a protracted "feeling out" period that saw a streak of improbable comebacks from impossible deficits following a blowout of Pittsburgh and a disputed loss to the Panthers...

...leading into the final quarter of the season, where an identity finally formed into a winning combination - offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels finally accepting the fact that the Patriots were a smashmouth, physical running team whose passing game fed off of the grinding play action.

And that's where they sit now - a team that has discovered it's identity in it's ability to control the line of scrimmage by running the ball on offense and stopping the run on defense - exactly the old school approach that makes this team different from any other Patriots' team since the franchise's first taste of success in the mid-to-late 1970's...

...the Fairbanks' teams, the teams that ran the ball 65% of the time, the teams that took pleasure in ramming the ball down the opposing defense's collective throat - a style that lacks flash but is full of substance, perhaps unappealing to new-age fans but palate-pleasing to the old school crowd.

Can the Patriots win a title with such an approach?  Statistics tell us that no one can run the entire playoff gauntlet being that run-heavy, but given that this Saturday's opponent, the Indianapolis Colts, rank 25th in the NFL against the run while ranking 13th against the pass, New England could get to the AFC Championship game riding the legs of LeGarrette Blount and Stevan Ridley...

...and to advance to the Super Bowl in that manner might not be that difficult either, provided the running game opens up the play action effectively - and given that the big game will in all likelihood be played in some sort of adverse weather conditions where violent ground acquisition is key, the power running could very well carry the New England offense to the promised land.

In the end, like it or not, the New England Patriots have carved out an identity of a power-running, play action offense with a complimentary opportunistic defense that should have their secondary healthy and intact and a refocused front seven that is much better against the run than their ranking of 30th in the league would have you believe.

Boring to some, but for those that got our indoctrination to the game of professional football by watching the likes of Sam Canningham, Andy Johnson and Don Calhoun running behind John Hannah, Leon Gray and Dr. Bill Lenkatis, nothing could be more beautiful...

New England Patriots on Paper: Direction of Linbacker corps is clear

It's Dont'a Hightower's time.

All season, the physical freak of nature has been taking his lumps just as anyone who is learning on the fly would - and now that the middle of the defense has been deprived of downhill run-stuffer Brandon Spikes for -well - at least the rest of the season and maybe forever, it's time for the sophomore linebacker to make this defense his.

And he can do just that by being what he is.

Humbly, the second year linebacker out of Alabama admitted to trying to do too much to compensate for the loss of weak side linebacker Jerod Mayo when the defensive captain went down for the season with a torn pectoral muscle in mid-October, putting himself in an awkward position - but he needn't beat himself up over it, because he's been in an awkward spot since arriving in Foxboro.

His struggles are well documented - the low point of his season a benching in the Patriots' miraculous come-from-behind win over the Broncos - so there's really no reason to revisit them, rather, if the defense is going to fulfill it's obligation to help this team win a title, it's time to stop pointing the finger at Hightower and utilize his talents in an appropriate manner.

Hightower is a middle linebacker.  He is a highly intelligent consummate professional who should be leading this defense - and while he already wears the green dot and calls the plays on defense, the one thing that needed to happen for him to take the next step in the progression was to fill the role he is destined to play.

The Patriots' placed Spikes on the injured reserved list this week, ending his season of pain - and while it is being speculated that 4th year linebacker Dane Fletcher is the favorite to fill Spikes' electric shoes, the job should go to the man who was tabbed by just about every draftnik in existence as a natural in the box...

...the man that Sports Illustrated tabbed as a "dominant run-defending linebacker who could play in the middle of a conventional defense or a 3-4 alignment." and the same man that the draft experts at NFL.com boasted "has looked the part of a starting middle linebacker in the NFL - Hightower can do many of the same things that Oakland's Rolando McClain or New England's Brandon Spikes did working as the physical inside presence of a defense."

And now, Spikes is gone.  It's Hightower's time.

Spikes was the emotional leader of the defense - the vocal, trash-talking, purely energizing spazoid with a style that can only be properly referred to as that of Adam Sandler's on-the-field character in the film The Waterboy - a two down force that came out on obvious passing downs.  Hightower can be better.

The middle linebacker position is commonly referred to as the Quarterback of the defense, and not only is the Alabama product intelligent enough with the natural leadership qualities for the position, but the "incredible athleticism for a man his size" that we always hear when someone is speaking of Hightower becomes explosive and violent within a defined box.

He can't cover receivers one-on-one, is completely out of place chasing them down sideline-to-sideline and struggles setting the edge from ballcarriers. He doesn't possess a quick backpedal but he can sure as hell patrol the middle of the field in a zone and knock the chocolate out of receivers trying to cross underneath the coverage.

Fletcher is decent in coverage and rookie Jamie Collins is flashing more and more ability as an edge defender every week.  Hightower needs to be in the middle.  The position begs for his combination of skill, awareness, read-and-react discipline and overall aptitude.

Spikes is gone, most likely never to return - and despite his infectious energy and knack for blowing up plays in the backfield, the Patriots aren't going to pay him what he's going to be able to get as a two-down linebacker elsewhere.  Hightower is an upgrade, and if the Patriots use him for what he is, they could have their middle linebacker of the future right now, in the present.

"I just need to do my job," Hightower said on Tuesday. "I don't need to make a tremendous catch, I just need to do my job - make sure everybody's lined up, make sure everybody's got the right communication. After that, playmakers will make plays."

Sounds like he's ready.  Time to give him the job.

http://www.nepatriotslife.com/2014/01/new-england-patriots-on-paper-direction.html