Tag Archives: Devin McCourty

December 10, 2010 · 7:06 AM

Pats vs. Da Bears

No idea why the videos were uploaded backwards, but once you get past that you’ll enjoy the funny.

Now on a serious note. The Pats are going up against the Bears this Sunday in Chicago. The game that was supposed to be at 1PM was moved by the NFL to 4PM so the nation can see the game. A game that has the AFC East leading Patriots (10-2) going up against the NFC North leading Bears (9-3).

Last time they met was in 2006 at Foxboro. You want to watch the game? Click Here. The Pats won their last match-up 17-13. That year the Bears went on to the Super Bowl as the Pats lost in Indy in the AFC Championship game.

Flash forward to this weekend.

The Bears have losses against the Giants (when the Giants weren’t playing well), the Seahawks (6-6 and leaders of the putrid NFC West), and the Redskins (who suck).

The Bears haven’t had super tough opponents this season. Looking at their schedule and it doesn’t seem too tough. In fact it could be argued that the Pats would be undefeated playing that schedule.

The Bears are of course anchored by their defense. Specifically their run defense. They have the second best rush defense in the league. They’re middle of the pack against the pass (13th). If I remember correctly the Pats already played the #1 ranked rush defense (Steelers) and BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for 87 yards averaging 4.8 yards a carry. Just saying.

The Patriots defense have become ball hawkers. They confuse quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Mark Sanchez and manage to pick them off. Something tells me that going up against Jay Cutler who likes to just “sling it” is only going to help this defense. I’m guessing McCourty will have yet another pick as he pushes very strongly for defensive rookie of the year consideration.

The Pats are a road favorite giving three points. I’m guessing a huge defensive game (just like I did on Monday) that will end with the Pats on top.

Back Monday with a recap.

Karate CHOP!

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November 29, 2010 · 7:09 AM

I Was Pretty Close

So I posted a quick post Thursday morning after my 10K race (1:11:41.30 and a better second half of the race than first for reference) saying that the Pats and Lions were going to have a high scoring game and that the Pats would win 38-30.

Well, when I tuned in (I had early dinner) the Pats were down 14-3. I did a double take. Benjarvus Green-Ellis bowled over a defender and all of a sudden the Pats were only down four. I felt a little better. But a late Detroit field goal had the Pats down seven at the half.

But as we’ve all seen since Thursday afternoon, it was a tail of two halves. This was a criticism of the Patriots for the past few years; they didn’t make halftime adjustments. Whether it was Bill’s ego or they were making the wrong adjustments, there were several games (most recently against the Browns) where the Pats came out in the second half and continued to be inept.

Well, that didn’t happen Thursday.

The Pats came out and tied the game after the half. The Lions scored again to go up seven but the Pats tied the game on a 79 yard pass to Deion Branch. Somehow I was on the edge of my seat (in the car) thinking that the fourth quarter may be disastrous.

Thankfully the Pats had three touchdowns to the Lions zero in the fourth and they pulled out the victory in what looked like a beat down; final score 45-24 final. Devin McCourty looked like a worthy first round pick as he picked off Shaun Hill twice. Brady had a perfect quarterback rating on the day with two touchdowns apiece to Branch and Welker. Benjarvus Green-Ellis also had two scores.

So the offense sputtered to start the game but thanks to a five touchdown second half, looked like world beaters. I was off on my score prediction, but I’m certainly OK with it when the Pats are running up the score.

Next up is the Jets on Monday night. Meaning another Sunday without the Pats coming up. So long as the Pats continue to win, I’ll ignore the fact that my fantasy team (now renamed to the Shitty Mc-Lose-A-Lot) is in a free fall out of the playoffs.

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October 25, 2010 · 5:57 AM

An Ugly Win Is Still A Win

About 11 minutes left in the game, up by 17, you had to be pretty confident in the Pats ability to win the game. Right?

Well, it was like a snowball effect from there and it got scary.

The Chargers march right down the field in four minutes and then recover an onsides kick to keep possession. With the Pats clinging to a 10 point lead they watched San Diego march right back down the field and score again. In seven minutes it went from a 17 point lead to a three point lead.

Then the Pats had the failed fourth down attempt near midfield gave the Chargers the ball back with a minute and a half left on the clock. At this point “WTF?” was a question so many of us were asking.

But the defense managed to keep the Chargers back. The Chargers shot themselves in the foot with a delay of game penalty and they missed the 50 yard field goal attempt that would have tied the game.

The penalty was just another in a series of stupid mistakes made by the Chargers. The player just leaving the ball on the field after not being tackled, the failed backwards pass that was ruled a fumble and Pats recovery, and of course the beautiful interception by rookie Devin McCourty.

For all that we were nervous about the defense, it was the offense that had us very nervous yesterday. They couldn’t connect on anything. It was painful. Brady wasn’t on the same page as his receivers, at all. Get a haircut, hippie. The team managed just 179 yards passing and rushing combined. Awful, awful stuff.

But like I said in the headline, an ugly win is still a win. This team has road wins against the Dolphins and Chargers not to mention are 3-0 in what many deemed the tough stretch in their schedule so far. Vikings this coming weekend and the defense should be licking their chops with Brett Favre lining up under center. Let’s just hope the offense figures it self out by then.

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September 2, 2010 · 5:12 AM

Another One Bites The Dust

I want to make sure you have the song in your head while you read the column.

So here’s the rundown thanks to our friend Mike Reiss over at ESPN Boston:

Josh Barrett — Reserve safety was already injured (shoulder) when claimed on waivers from the Broncos; he was placed on season-ending injured reserve Aug. 31.

Leigh Bodden — Starting right cornerback is placed on season-ending injured reserve Aug. 31 with a torn rotator cuff.

Nick Kaczur — Five-year starter at right tackle has missed most of the preseason with a potentially season-threatening back injury.

Bret Lockett — Reserve safety, whose primary contributions come on special teams, would have been on roster bubble; he was placed on season-ending injured reserve Aug. 31 (chest).

Darryl Richard — Second-year defensive lineman, who projected to land on the practice squad, was placed on season-ending injured reserve Aug. 31 (foot).

Ty Warren — Starting left defensive end is placed on season-ending injured reserve Aug. 13 (hip).

Kade Weston — Seventh-round draft choice, who projected to the practice squad, was placed on season-ending injured reserve Aug. 24.

Of those players, really only three of them really stand out to me.

We’ll start with Ty Warren. After Richard Seymour left and there was a giant void at the right defensive end and pressure put on Warren. Now with Warren out for the season the team is relying on the likes of Gerard Warren to fill in for him while super sub Mike Wright is the man in charge of filling the void on the other side. Not instilling my confidence in the teams pass rush.

Next is Kaczur. With Mankins still holding out Kaczur was the insurance policy. Now Dan Connolly is the man trying to fill the void. The Pats could easily solve this issue by re-signing Mankins to a long term deal, but that’s not likely. The offensive line is very thin. Look for the team to possibly make a move prior to the season opener to get another body on the roster.

Finally the most recent, Bodden. After a decent season last year the team brought him back in the off-season. Now he has a torn rotator cuff. That means that second year man Darius Butler and rookie first round pick Devin McCourty are shaking out as the starters.

Scary.

With the team’s pass rush certainly in question with Warren out and the game against St Louis not instilling any super confidence in anyone you have to wonder how the inexperienced defense backs will play.

Will the offense be able to carry the team to 10 wins again?

All I know is that if they stumble out of the starting block it’s going to be a very long season.

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July 29, 2010 · 5:46 AM

Onto The Re-Signings

I know you’re asking “who’s the guy in the photo?” and it’s a fair question. That’s Shawn Crable. He’s the Patriots third round pick from Michigan taken in the 2008 draft that never played a down for the team (thus I have to use a college photo of him). He’s also a player the Pats cut yesterday following two years of sandy vagititus that makes Laurence Maroney look like an iron man.

The Patriots also signed first round pick Devin McCourty yesterday a day after signing second round pick Brandon Spikes. That means that as training camp begins today every one of the Patriots draft picks is under contract and on the field. A great step in them learning the system, obviously, is that they’re out there practicing.

With all the draft picks out of the way it seems the only thing left is re-signing Logan Mankins to a longer term deal and…oh yeah, working out a long term deal for your franchise quarterback.

Tom Terrific isn’t going to hold out of camp. He’s too important a cog in what’s going on in Foxboro. Mankins on the other hand hasn’t made an indication at this point if he’ll hold out of camp. Sure he missed the team’s off-season mini-camp in June, but it could be a case of no news is good news.

The vault which is the operations part of the Patriots organization has been mum on the Mankins contract talks so it could be that the two sides are working out a deal and none of us are the wiser. Or it could be that the Pats are holding their ground on the $1.54 million offer on the table after Mankins refused to sign his restricted tender.

Mankins not being in camp will mess with the Pats’ offensive line. Matt Light is old and should be moved to the right side tackle spot or even inside to guard. Without Mankins there to shore up the line, it’s unclear how Light will be in the mix.

Bottom line, it’s the first day of camp and I couldn’t be happier. Anyone who’s never taken the trip down to Foxboro should go check it out. It’s free. With all the restaurants and shopping around Gillette you can make a full day of it.

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