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Konichiwa, homey

Randy Moss's sense of comic timing is impeccable.

At his press conference last night, Moss was asked what he thinks of the international coverage his team has received -- the questioner was a journalist who flew in from Japan.

"I've never been in that situation to know that we're worldwide but it's a good feeling," Moss said.

"I can't speak that language, but just tell 'em we said wassup man and we appreciate the support."

Classic.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:20 PM to Randy Moss | Permalink | Comments 0

Game story: Pats 38, Giants 35

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – It was one throw.

One long, beautifully executed pass play.

But its completion, aside from being a thing of beauty, was historic.

In one pass from Tom Brady to Randy Moss, the New England Patriots staked their claim to the NFL’s first 16-0 regular season, Brady became the first quarterback in league history to throw 50 touchdown passes in a season, and Moss caught his 23rd score of the year, also a record.

And the 65-yard Brady-to-Moss bomb wasn’t intended for Moss when New England broke the huddle. Facing third-and-10 at their own 35 after Brady underthrew Moss a bit on a go route down the right sideline on the play before, the play called for Brady to hit Wes Welker for the first down.

But the Giants’ defense trapped Welker, and Brady checked to Moss, who was wide open this time, having run past safety James Butler and with corner Sam Madison apparently hurt on the play.

Pass, catch, run, touchdown, 16-0.

New England’s 38-35 win over the Giants last night was every bit as hard-fought as several of their wins were seemingly easy. New York travels to Tampa Bay next weekend for its opening playoff game, but the Giants had no intentions of taking the night off and letting the Pats waltz to their 16th victory.

New York became the first team this season to score on their opening drive of the game against the Patriots, and just the fifth club to get a touchdown in the first quarter. The Giants led the game at halftime, 21-16, and by 12 points with less than eight minutes left in the third quarter.

As they have done all season, however, New England made plays when it needed to, from hard-earned second-half touchdown runs by Laurence Maroney, to a timely interception by Ellis Hobbs, to Mike Vrabel’s recovery of New York’s onside kick after it drew within three points with 64 seconds to play.

The offensive line deserves a great deal of credit in this one too: without Stephen Neal and Nick Kaczur and facing a dangerous defensive line, the patchwork unit held up well, as Brady was sacked only once and hit twice.

“All the credit goes to the players,” Bill Belichick said. “They stepped up and made a lot of outstanding plays at critical times in the game, especially in the second half and in the fourth quarter. They came through like they have all year.”

While it was their 16th in 16 tries this season, the win was also New England’s NFL record 19th consecutive regular season win, eclipsing the mark of 18 they set over the 2003-04 seasons.

Belichick isn’t big on singling out players, but Moss is one player who has come through game in and game out. The 10-year veteran has cherished his football rebirth, and last night said he sensed great things from the moment he arrived in Foxboro.

“I’m very blessed and fortunate to be in this position, to do what I love to do, and that’s play football,” Moss said. “There are some opportunities in life that you don’t want to pass up, and I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to play for the New England Patriots.”

The formerly mercurial receiver began the season with four straight 100-yard receiving games, and with an even 100 on six grabs last night, finishes with nine overall, totaling 1,493 yards and the record 23 touchdown passes. His teammates started lauding him as a leader, and NFL observers scratched their heads – Randy Moss had never been described as a leader and good teammate.

But he knew, clearly, that even his worst day with the Patriots was better than his best with Oakland, where he spent two stormy losing years.

Last night, he spoke words most veteran Pats never would, but they rang true:

“Hats off to us. As a football player, as a fan of the game, my hat’s off to this organization.”

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:30 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Perfectly Happy

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Bill Belichick was excited.

No kidding, he really was.

Which shows you just how big a deal it was that the Patriots beat the Giants, 38-35, Saturday night and became the first team in NFL history to go 16-0 in the regular season.

"That was some way to finish the season," Belichick said. "It is really exciting to be a part of this football team.

"We feel good about what we've accomplished. Pretty soon, we're going to have to turn the page and move on, but I am happy for the players. You work all year to try and win every game, and to win them all is great. I'm very happy about it."

Joy was evident throughout the New England locker room Saturday night at Giants Stadium.

"It's been a special year," said wide receiver Wes Welker, who, in his first season with the Patriots, set a franchise record by catching 112 passes. "It means a great deal. We talked about playing winning football one game at a time, and that is what we've done so far, and what we need to continue to do."

"We always got everyone's best shot," said veteran defensive end Richard Seymour. "I think that is what makes it so special.

"It wasn't something we talked about a whole lot. It was great to do it. I don't know how to put it in perspective at this point. It's something that, when you walk away from the game one day, you will be able to look back upon and say: 'That was a special team.' It's great to be among the elite."

But there's no looking back for the Patriots now. Instead, they'll be focusing on their AFC semi-final playoff game two weeks from now at Gillette Stadium.

"The only thing we can do with it being a historical season," said record-setting wide receiver Randy Moss, "is enjoy it for 24, or more than 48, hours. We have a tough game in the second round of the playoffs. There's no telling who we're going to play, but you know it's the playoffs and anything can happen. It's one game at a time and, if you lose, you're out.

"Like I said, I think we can enjoy this for what we've accomplished for no more than 48 hours, then we get down to the nitty-gritty and get ready for the playoffs."

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 2:08 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Moss Silences Critics

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It wasn't surpassing Jerry Rice that made Randy Moss happiest, it was silencing his critics.

"I don't think me breaking Jerry Rice's record was special," Moss said at his post-game press conference. "I think shutting you guys up was really what made it special

"After all the negativity, and all my critics, I think this reall yis a good feeling, to be able to come and have a season like this."

At the age of 30, and coming off the worst season of his career with Oakland, Moss had a season for the ages, breaking Rice's record by catching 23 touchdown passes -- two of them coming in the Patriots' come-from-behind, 38-35 victory over the Giants that enabled New England to become the first team in NFL history to finish the regular season 16-0.

Moss had 98 receptions for a league-high, 1,493 yards in his first year with the Patriots and their star quarterback, Tom Brady.

"My mindset," said Moss, "was to come here and have a hell of a season. I knew what they had here -- the coaching staff, the guys, the success they've had here over the years. Now, what the numbers would be, I really didn't know. I just wanted to come here and play some good football."

Moss has played great football all year, and was terrific once again against the Giants. He scored the Patriots' first touchdown on a 4-yard pass from Brady on the first play of the second quarter, and then put the Pats ahead in dramatic fashion in the fourth quarter when he hauled in a 65-yard scoring bomb.

Only the play before, Moss had tried to come back on an underthrown pass by Brady that would have been good for 50 yards, but couldn't quite hang on to the ball.

"I tried my best to come back and get it, because I saw one guy -- I don't know if it was the cornerback or the safety -- fall, so I knew it was my change to try to get that catch and move the offense a little closer to the end zone.

"But I missed the ball and jogged back to the huddle, and the very next play, they called a play was really designed for Wes Welker to go out and get the first down, but the corner and the safety trapped Wes, and tried to trap Tommy into throwing the ball there and getting the ball picked off. But Tommy made a good read."

Moss made a bad decision after catching his first touchdown pass, drawing a penalty for excessive celebration after dancing in the end zone and then spiking the ball emphatically. That proved costly for the Patriots as, kicking off from their own 15, they were victimized by Domenik Hixon, who returned the ball 74 yards to a touchdown.

"I don't usually dance," Moss said. "But I decided to try to have a little fun. This week, it was the 'Tootsie Roll.' I kind of got in trouble with coach Belichick, but, hopefully, he'll look past that.

"We're grown men," Moss continued, "but we're still little kids at heart. I love what I do in between the white lines. I'm very blessed and fortunate to be in this position."

And the Patriots are very blessed and fortunate to have Moss playing the wide receiver position.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 1:37 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Giants take positives from loss

In the Giants’ locker room after the game, the buzz word was “momentum.”

As in, New York feels it has good momentum going as it prepares for a first-round playoff game in Tampa Bay next weekend despite the loss to New England.

“This is a pretty good momentum builder coming out of a game like this,” defensive lineman Justin Tuck said. “We are still disappointed because you don’t want to lose, but I think it gives us the gauge that we wanted.”

Backup center Grey Ruegamer: “It is a great momentum builder, but we still lost. So I’m pretty ticked off about that. When you play a team like that, you want to gauge yourself and you want to win. We played to win and we just came up a little short at the end. We lost but we are in the playoffs.”

Safety James Butler, whom Randy Moss blew past on his way to touchdown number 23: “The way we played tonight is definitely a momentum-builder going into the playoffs. But you still want to win this game. There are a lot of positives that we can take out of tonight’s game. We were hustling, we were aggressive, and we were playing hard-nosed football tonight. And that is the same kind of attitude and intensity that we have to bring into next week’s game.”

But linebacker Antonio Pierce apparently didn’t get the momentum memo.

“It is a confidence builder,” he said. “That is the best team in the league, probably hands-down in the regular season. I thought we played toe-to-toe with those guys. But you have to play four quarters. You have to play (darn) near perfect against them.”

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:15 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Vrabel As Replacement For Brady

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- "Mike Vrabel is a guy who I'm not surprised by anything he's able to do."

So said Richard Seymour after Vrabel put the finishing touch on the Patriots' perfect season by cleanly catching Lawrence Tynes' onside kick at the New York 41 with just over a minute remaining, preserving New England's historic, come-from-behind, 38-35 victory.

The players sent on to the field when an onside kick is expected are known as the "Hands" team. And, if you're surprised that a linebacker would be on it, well, you haven't been watching Vrabel in his seven seasons with the Patriots.

Vrabel has a great pair of hands, as he's demonstrated time after time playing tight end in goal-line situations.

He has caught 10 passes for the Patriots over the years, and all of them have been for touchdowns. Two of them have come this season, and two others were in Super Bowls -- one against Carolina, the other against Philadelphia. He once had two TD catches in one game -- against the Jets in 2005.

But it's on defense that he primarily earns his paycheck. He leads the team this year with a career-high 11-1/2 sacks. Although he doesn't have an interception this year, he has had 10 since coming to New England from Pittsburgh as a free agent in 2001.

"He's a football player," Seymour said. "He makes a lot of plays. If Tom Brady were to do down, he could probably step in and play quarterback."

He also has 10 career interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 1:08 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Nice job, but...

Some things are just harder for some people to let go of than others.

After New England’s win over Miami last night to seal an undefeated regular season, the always-outstanding Dolphins media relations staff sent out some quotes from members of the 1972 Miami team, which went a perfect 17-0 in winning Super Bowl VII.

Head coach Don Shula, quarterback Bob Griese and a few other players all sent their congratulations to the Patriots for their accomplishment, with several noting that they know New England’s quest doesn’t stop at 16-0.

But then, at the bottom, was Mercury Morris. Morris has repeatedly said that he’ll welcome the Pats to his “neighborhood” when they start to move their things in next door. But apparently, 16-0 isn’t close enough for Morris:

“My feeling about it is as consistent as it has been all year. It doesn’t matter to me whether or not they win them all because it doesn’t affect anything we’ve done,” he said. “When all the dust clears, the best they can do is stand beside us, and in the end, that’s not a bad thing. I will welcome them to the neighborhood with my Mr. Rogers sweater on, but first they have to get to the neighborhood.”

Guard Bob Kuechenberg also offered reluctant good wishes.

“They’ve done a heck of a job thus far. But now the exhibition season is over and the real season begins. Obviously, if they can win their first playoff game, beat an even more dangerous Colts team, and then Brett Favre or the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl, I will be the first to take my hat off to them. If they can pull it off, they will have earned it,” he said.

“But my heart is dead set against it. The ’72 team is uniquely immortal in American sports and I don’t want us to lose that special place. We will forever be immortal, and if they win every game in front of them, then they will join us among those ranks. They will have deserved it and I will congratulate them. But something in my heart makes me feel that we accomplished something so special that it forever sets the standard of excellence in sports.”

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:57 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

As Good As It Gets

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- "It doesn't get any better than that," said Tom Brady, flashing that winning smile.

It surely does not get any better than 16 wins in 16 games -- a perfect record in what, so far, has been a perfect season for the Patriots and Brady, their just-about-perfect-in-just-about-every-way quarterback.

"My job," Brady said Saturday night, "is to figure out what's going on out there, and get the ball to the open guy."

Nobody has the game of football figured out better than Brady, who rallied his team from its largest deficit of the season -- 12 points, midway through the third quarter -- to not just a thrilling, but a truly historic, 38-35 victory over the Giants.

He threw 42 times and completed 32 of them, for 356 yards and two touchdowns, without an interception. The two TD passes brought his season total to 50, breaking the NFL record of 49 set by the Colts' Peyton Manning in 2004.

Brady broke the record in dramatic fashion -- with a 65-yard bomb to Randy Moss four minutes into the fourth quarter that gave New England a lead it never relinquished.

"Individual records," he said, "aren't as important as what I experienced tonight. What I'm most proud of is that, playing a playoff team on the road, and down 12 points in the second half, we found a way to come back and win. That showed toughness and character."

Brady has both of those attributes in abundance, along with a highly-accurate right arm, self-confidence that inspires his teammates, and an absolutely brilliant ability to find whatever receiver is open.

Which is what he did on the long, touchdown pass to Moss.

"The play was designed to go to Wes Welker," Moss said. "Tom made a great read.

"My job," said Moss, "was to clear out an area so Wes could get the ball for a first down. But two DBs tried to trap Tommy into throwing that ball."

Seeing Welker double-covered, Brady spotted Moss racing past strong safety James Butler, near the right sideline, and hit him in stride.

Just one play earlier, with an onrushing lineman about to bring him down, Brady had underthrown Moss on another deep route.

"I wish I'd made a better throw on that one," he said, shaking his head.

The next one, however, couldn't have been better.

Like the quarterback himself, it was as good as it gets.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 12:26 AM | Permalink | Comments 0