|
Recent Comments
Monarch on Seau hints at comeback dan fonseca on What's happened to Silva? art on Belichick on Wheatley Ken Pittman on Belichick on Wheatley larry on Belichick chats about Mayo mark on Pats expect Walsh-Goodell meeting to exonerate them from charges of spying at Super Bowl XXXVI Brian on Pats expect Walsh-Goodell meeting to exonerate them from charges of spying at Super Bowl XXXVI John on Pats expect Walsh-Goodell meeting to exonerate them from charges of spying at Super Bowl XXXVI JP on Patriots announce ticket prices for 2008 season Mike from FL on Hobson signing confirmed To comment on any posting, click on the word 'Comments' at the end of the item. |
 |
| Projo PatsBlog |
|
|
Main page | September 17, 2007 » September 16, 2007
Sammy Morris scores in 4th quarter
Posted by Mary Murphy FINAL: Patriots 38, Chargers 14BY SHALISE MANZA YOUNG FOXBORO – Well at least we can assume the San Diego Chargers weren’t cheating. And if they were, it might be time to fire their spy. Because for all the talk about Sunday night being a revenge game for the Chargers against the New England Patriots, they didn’t exact a whole lot of it against the team that upset them in the playoffs on their home field eight months ago. If anything, the Patriots were out to prove that their win at Qualcomm Stadium in the AFC Divisional round wasn’t luck or a fluke. And that everyone who thinks they need to cheat to win is wrong. New England dominated from the opening snap of the game, getting a 38-14 win in their 2007 home opener at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots won the coin toss, Ellis Hobbs brought the opening kickoff out to the 31-yard line, and from there Tom Brady was at his surgical best, methodically picking apart the San Diego defense and putting all of his weapons on display. For the second straight week, New England scored on their first drive. Brady went to tight end Benjamin Watson on the first two snaps, for gains of nine and six yards. Then Randy Moss had back-to-back catches totaling 13 yards. After an incompletion, Kevin Faulk displayed great blitz pickup on linebacker Stephen Cooper (a Massachusetts native and UMaine product), giving Brady ample opportunity to find Wes Welker for a 34-yard pickup. On the next play, Watson was as lonely as the stinky kid in the cafeteria in the right side of the end zone to put New England on the board. But it wasn’t just on the offensive side of the ball that the Patriots exerted their will on the defending AFC West champions. The Chargers’ first play from scrimmage – a pass from Philip Rivers intended for rookie receiver Craig Davis, ended up in the hands of Rosevelt Colvin. As they staked their way to a 24-0 halftime lead, the Patriots’ offensive game plan was pass-heavy, basically taking the Chargers’ stellar front seven out of the equation. In the opening 30 minutes, Brady went 17-for-23 for 193 yards, with two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Colvin, whom the Chargers accused of standing outside their locker room and chanting “the lights are out now!,” a reference to Shawne Merriman’s sack dance, after New England’s playoff win, did a lot more talking last night. And he did plenty to back it up. In addition to the first-play interception, he also strip-sacked Rivers twice, with one of those fumbles recovered by defensive lineman Vince Wilfork. After helping Mike Vrabel and Ty Warren finish off a fourth-quarter sack, Colvin lingered on top of Rivers, and the two continued to have words for a few more moments. Adalius Thomas also got in on the act, showing off his basketball skills, plucking a high Rivers pass out of the air and toting it 65 yards for the longest interception return touchdown of his career. But New England’s standout play wasn’t just in pass defense. The team held reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson to just 43 yards on 18 carries, just 2.4 yards per attempt. In the first half, San Diego was 0-for-4 on third down, foreshadowing Bill Belichick’s notion earlier in the week that if you could get the Chargers to third down – the ‘Bolts were the best team in the league on first- and second-down last year – you can have success against them. For the game, the Chargers were 2-for-7 on third down (28 percent). With Tomlinson, who earlier in the week took a jab at New England, claiming the team lives by the motto, “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying,” stymied, the Gillette Stadium crowd took great glee in letting him know just what it thought of him as the night wound down. In their own way, the Patriots let the Chargers know how they feel about them too.
Posted by Art Martone Moss scores again
Posted by Mary Murphy Thomas Touchdown
Posted by Mary Murphy Belichick welcomed
Posted by Mary Murphy The Hooded One feeling the loveHey all -- Bill Belichick -- resplendent in his grey cutoff hoodie with long sleeves underneath -- was just flashed on the JumboTron here and received a brief but rousing ovation from the Gillette crowd that's filtering into the stadium. Belichick raised his arm to acknowledge the fans.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Game inactivesThe list of inactive players has just come out, and New England will be without offensive lineman Stephen Neal, who was listed as questionable with a shoulder injury that he suffered in practice this week, and defensive lineman Mike Wright, who is battling a knee injury. Tight end David Thomas (foot), who was not listed on the injury report, is inactive. For the Patriots: 3QB Matt Gutierrez For the Chargers: 3QB Charlie Whitehurst
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Belichick not going anywhereHey all -- For the past couple of years, Bill Belichick's contract status has been as closely guarded as the so-called nuclear football. But with the coach under fire and whispers that his videotaping episode might lead to his departure from New England, somehow the organization's best-kept secret has been leaked. espn.com's Michael Smith reports that Belichick's contract with the Patriots has been extended through 2013. It is unclear, Smith writes, how long the extension is and when Belichick's previous contract was set to expire. It's a savvy p.r. move for the team to let this information get out; this week, the N.Y. Post wrote that team owner Robert Kraft felt the spying charge was "the last straw." So it's six more years of the hoodie... shalise
Posted by Shalise Manza Young Welcome to Gillette StadiumHey all -- We are here at Gillette Stadium, where the Home Opener is less than three hours from getting underway. As expected for the first game of the season in Foxboro and with this being such a big game on so many levels, traffic was a bear. The lot we can see from our spot -- the one between the north end of the stadium and Route 1 -- is packed, with dozens of pop-up canopy tents mixed in among the parked cars. There's not any player activity yet on the field, just security personnel and television types dotting the perimeter of the surface. We'll have more updates as the game gets closer. shalise
Posted by Shalise Manza Young |
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 |
RSS feed
|
CATEGORIES Adalius Thomas
|