Brandon Vincent's Carolina Panthers friend's fan blogs

1. He’s gone from cancer diagnosis, to enduring chemotherapy, to full remission, and activation from the physically unable to perform list. On Monday night, Marcus Cannon took another step in his recovery when he played his first snaps against Kansas City. Cannon entered the game in the fourth quarter and played right tackle. Opposite Cannon was Nate Solder, playing left tackle in place of Matt Light, who was injured earlier in the game. Might this be a glimpse of the future Patriots O-line?

2. Also seeing his first career action was RB Shane Vereen. He had eight carries for 39 yards and his first career touchdown. It was a good debut for the rookie after being sidetracked by a hamstring injury. Included in his evening was a nifty 19-yard scamper. Hopefully we see more of Vereen and fellow rookie RB Stevan Ridley as the season winds down, even if it is in garbage time.

Continue reading "Pick Six: Week 11"

The vision is almost a reality. It didn’t work the first time, but the personnel is better now.

For the sixth time this season the Patriots scored at least 30 points. They rolled up 389 yards of total offense. In 9 of 10 games the Pats gained more than 370 yards of offense. New England is second-rated offense in the NFL and third in points scored.

New England is one of the best offenses in the NFL, and they’re doing it primarily with a two tight end offense. It’s not the first time they tried this way. It’s just working this time.

Back in 2006, WR David Givens left as a free agent and leading receiver Deion Branch held out for a lucrative contract and Patriots wouldn’t pay.Without the top two passing options unavailable, New England added Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney. The biggest adaptation was shifting the focus to tight ends Daniel Graham and Benjamin Watson.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 11"

1. The Tom Brady we know and opponents fear is back, for one game at least. After a slow start, Brady regained his form and orchestrated a masterpiece in the second half as he threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns. Switching to a no-huddle attack really sparked the offense in the second half as two scoring drives came from the change of pace. The second drive included Brady connecting on 7-of-7 passes.

2. A few first: First starts for LB Jeff Tarpinian and safety Sterling Moore. LB Rob Ninkovich scored his first touchdown with his second interception of the night. Ninkovich likes his interceptions in pairs as this is the second time he picked off two passes in a game. The first time was last year against Miami. LB Niko Koutouvides recovered his first career fumble on the muffed punt in the third quarter. And with CB Devin McCourty unable to finish, WR Julian Edelman finished the night at cornerback and recorded his first tackle. And to think that Edelman was a college quarterback before the Patriots drafted him.

Continue reading "Pick Six: Week 10"

Many Patriot fans were happy to hear DT Albert Haynesworth was released on Monday. The big slug was a waste of space and wasn’t worth the 2013 fifth round draft pick head coach Bill Belichick traded for Haynesworth-less.

Now Patriots Nation is hoping for the other trade acquisition, WR Chad Ochocino, to receive the same fate.

Not so fast, Pats fans.

Ochocinco has fallen well short of expectations after nine weeks. He’s averaged one catch per game. It seems Ochocinco made more mistakes good plays, from false start penalties to running poor routes or plainly running the wrong routes.

Yes, yes, and yes. But Ochocinco was he on the field for about a dozen snaps on Sunday. It was the most he played in a game this season. Ochocinco was targeted five times. One incompletion was his fault, as Ochocinco bent a deep corner route out. The other four were lack of timing between Ochocinco and QB Tom Brady.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 10"

I took a while to think about it. After careful internal debate, I reached the conclusion that I did not want DT Albert Haynesworth on the team:

“…the day Haynesworth is no longer on the Patriots can’t come soon enough for me.”

That was posted on August 2nd, about a week after head coach Bill Belichick acquired Haynesworth from the Washington Redskins for a meager 2013 5th round pick. Four months later, my wish came true as Haynesworth was cut a day after another impact-less game.

Actually, Haynesworth had an impact, a negative one. In the third quarter, Haynesworth offered zero resistance on a RB Brandon Jacobs 10-yard touchdown run. This wasn’t what Belichick brought Haynesworth to New England to do.

Truth be told, the main reason I refused to accept Haynesworth was because of his lengthy rap sheet from numerous run-ins with the law. But Haynesworth the player was a factor as well:

Continue reading "Revisting "Taking a Pass on Haynesworth""

1. Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien is schizophrenic. A week after running the ball just a dozen times and utilizing the tackle-eligible just three times, the Patriots rolled out the heavy lineup 18 times. Three times Nate Solder and Ryan Wendell we called in to run block. The latter personnel group gained six total yards on three carries.

2. Déjà vu sucks. New York Giants QB Eli Manning won his first regular season game over the Patriots. It’s his second straight win over New England and he won both games with last-second game-winning drives.

3. WR Chad Ochocino saw the most action in one game all season long, but finished with no receptions. Part of it was the lack of timing between Ochocinco and QB Tom Brady as Brady overthrew Ochocino a few times. But Ochocinco cut a flag pattern short in the second half. If he ran the pattern towards the pylon instead of turning towards the sideline, it would had been a reception.

Continue reading "Pick Six: Week Nine"

It was a solid return to action for running back Kevin Faulk. Just activated off the physically unable to perform list, Faulk was his same old versatile self after recovering from ACL surgery last year.

Faulk started in place of BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who is nursing a toe injury. Faulk led the Patriots in rushing yards and attempts with 6-32 totals.

Yes, that’s right, six attempts. Exactly half of the Patriots’ attempts on the afternoon.

Meanwhile Danny Woodhead and Stevan Ridley did not have a single carry between them.

12 rush attempts with the depth available is inexcusable. Woodhead’s career yards per carry is 5.2. Ridley, in limited action, is averaging 6.4. They are more than capable.

The only explanation for keeping them out of the backfield was the pass-first game plan. The coaching staff trusts Faulk at blitz pickup. Understood, but Woodhead capably handled that responsibility last year while Faulk was injured.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 9"

1. It was great to see some familiar faces. RB Kevin Faulk, DT Brandon Deaderick, LB Jerod Mayo, and OT Sebastian Vollmer all returned to action. Faulk, in his first game since being activated off of the physically unable to perform list, started the game in place of BenJarvus Green-Ellis.

2. Maybe because Green-Ellis wasn’t 100 percent, New England ran the ball just 12 times. It is the lowest attempts since 2007 when the Pats rushed nine times against Pittsburgh.

3. New England’s offense is so good, not even the Patriots defense can stop it! Pittsburgh served the Pats a taste of their own medicine by first running a short passing offense for the first couple of drives and then kicking off the second half with a no-huddle attack.

4. As the Steelers ran 27 offensive plays in the first quarter, New England had one three and out. It was the first time the Patriots didn’t gain a first down in the first quarter since 2003.

Continue reading "Pick Six: Week 8"

There are dozens of reasons why a draft prospect’s stock drops. Slow 40 time, out of shape, lack of ideal size, character problems.

Diagnosed with a form of cancer.

Marcus Cannon was an imposing offensive tackle for TCU projected as an NFL guard. He was agile for a big man and had great strength. Cannon was rated as a second round pick.

But during his physical at the NFL Combine, doctors discovered Cannon had non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a treatable cancer with a 90 percent recovery rate. Cannon immediately was marked a health risk and his stock plummeted.

Cannon had to wait until the fifth round when the Patriots selected him with the 138th pick. To New England, getting a player with a second round grade so late in the draft was a value too good to pass up, even if Cannon doesn’t play a snap in 2011.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 8"

Some of the players featured in the 2011 New England Patriots calendar has been S Brandon Meriweather, S Brandon McGowan, RB Laurence Maroney, WR Randy Moss, and DE Ty Warren. Moral of the story: Trust souvenir calanders to track the days, not the roster.

There are always surprises after teams complete roster cuts following training camp. It was no different for New England, but the general opinion was some of the players cut would sign with other teams.

Several ex-Patriots didn’t spend much time in the unemployment line. The relevant question is whether New England is better off without these players. Comparing the production of these players with their new teams to how the Pats have done after six games, the overall evaluation says no.

And just to sate you curiosity, the calendar ends with WR Wes Welker and QB Tom Brady. They’re not going anywhere:

Continue reading "Better Off Without Them"