photo by Kaitlin Waldron

This is what every football fan waits for, Championship Sunday. This is when the AFC and the NFC battle to see who will represent their respective conference in the Super Bowl.

New England Patriots

Today at 3:00 PM the 14-3 New England Patriots take on the 13-4 Baltimore Ravens. This will be a pound and ground type of game as the Ravens who have the number two run defense and the Pats have the 31st worst pass defense.

In order for the Ravens to win they will need to get to Tom Brady and put him on his back early in the game. They need to stop his passing attack as he has weapons that can ground and pound with the best of teams. He has two book ends that can destroy you. You can double team one of them but the other will kill you. These book ends are Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

In the run game the Pats have Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis (the law firm) He has never fumbled the ball in his career, I just hope I didn’t jinx him. Ben Jarvus will need to put his head down and move quickly through that tough Ravens front defensive line in order to open up the secondary. I hope Stevan Ridley gets to play as he has some decent speed and can run to the outside. He had 4 rushes for 21 yards against Denver so lets hope he can have a break out game. Look for Danny Woodhead to weave and bob in and around the defensive line.  Wes Welker and Deion Branch are two other scrappy wide receivers who have proven they are winners.

On the linebackers the Pats will need a big game from Jerod Mayo, Dane Fletcher and Brandon Spikes to stop the run. The secondary is the teams weakest link. Patrick Chung and Devon McCourty will need to play the game of their lives to stop Smith and Bouldin. The Pats pass rush will need to be effective as it was last week against the Broncos.

photo by Bob Carney Photography

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens will need to give Ray Rice some nice blocks along the Pats defensive front line to open big holes for Rice like they did in 2009. The Pats will need to get to Flacco like the Steelers did in this photo taken by my good online friend Bob Carney, Bob is an avid Steeler fan like I am a Pats fan.  Too bad the Steelers got Tebowed.

Ray Lewis and Ed Reed lead the defense this week in Ed Reed’s biggest game as a pro. Reed was not a member of the Ravens Championship team in 2000-2001 season. Pats head coach Bill Belichick LOVES Ed Reed. I think he will be hampered today with his sprained ankle. As great as Ray Lewis is he has slowed up a bit and the Pats will take advantage of that as they work the middle of the field with Wes Welker and their book end tight ends.

I look for rookie Torrey Smith to have a good day as the Pats almost drafted him this year. Anquan Boldin has lost a step or two and he could factor in this game as well. Watch the Ravens front line defense especially Haloti Ngata as he tries to stuff the run. Terrell Suggs is another big play player as he has no respect at all for Tom Brady .

My Bold Prediction is that the New England Patriots will defeat the Baltimore Ravens 31-20.

photo by Kaitlin Waldron

Tonight at 8:00 PM the 13-3 New England Patriots will kick off against the 9-8 Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. Denver’s shocking victory last week over the injured and battered Pittsburgh Steelers earned them the right to come to Foxboro to take on the Patriots.

Denver will need to get off to a quick start like they did in Week 15 by running the ball down the Pats throat. Tebow will need to play better than he did against the Steelers if he hopes to have a chance to beat the high powered Pats. The Broncos also must not turn the ball over like they did at home. The Broncos Linebacker Von Miller and Defensive End Elvis Dumerville will need to pressure Tom Brady and force him out of the protective pocket that he loves to hang out in.  If the Broncos can rattle Brady early and put points on the board at the same time then the Broncos may make it a close game.

The Pats will need to get off to a very fast start as opposed to the last few weeks of the regular season when they found themselves having to come from behind in order to win. In the playoffs you are one and done if you lose. I see the Pats winning the coin toss once again and deferring to the second half. This gives them the ball to start the second half. This also allows them to try and control the clock at the end of the first half to try and score going into halftime.

The Pats need to come out and start strong at defense and stop Tebow on their first possession. If the Pats can do that look for the Pats to go to an upbeat fast pace offensive march down the field. If the Pats can jump out to an early lead I think Tebow’s inexperience will force him to pass a lot and that is not his strong point.

The Pats have a losing record against the Broncos and I think the Pats will win big tonight, 38-17 and then the Pats will be at home against the winner of Sunday’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans. I would love to see the Texans win that game. The Ravens are undefeated at home this year and are amongst the elite defenses in NFL history.

***UPDATE***

Patriots win 45-10

They lost the coin toss. They started off very fast and kept Dumerville and Miller off of Brady.

Brady breaks the record for most TD’s in a half in the Playoffs.

NE Patriots

Patriots vs  Broncos

The New England Patriots travel to Denver to take on the red hot Denver Broncos led by the polarizing Tim Tebow. Tim has led his team to 6 straight victories and has a 7-1 record this year for the Broncos after taking over for Kyle Orton. Tebow has led the Broncos to 4 fourth quarter comeback victories after playing sub par football for the first 3 quarters.

Why is Tim Tebow so polarizing?

Good question. I guess it’s because he wears his faith on his sleeve. He praises God openly on the field and has shown nothing but great leadership through out this winning streak. He doesn’t get emotional like a Tom Brady and gets in your face if you mess up. Tebow will pat you on the back and tell you not to  worry about it.  Laid back kind of QB.

What do the Patriots need to do to beat Denver today?

One, they will need to stop the run by McGahee who seems to have been rejuvenated here in Denver. Also, Tebow will scramble and is a bull when he runs for his life by opposing linemen. He is a big dude who resembles a tight end and is hard to bring down. I look to see Tebow doing a lot of scrambling today and the Pats will need to contain him. They don’t want Tebow to run ram shod over them all afternoon.

Two, While the Pats are on offense they will need to protect Brady especially his blind side. Defensive End Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller are two players to keep and eye on and hopefully we won’t hear their names a lot. Another Pats nemesis has been Champ Bailey.

Three, Tom Brady and the Pats will need to score early and score often. If they can build an early lead lets say they get up 21-3 early this will force Tebow to throw the ball more and hopefully will give the Pats Kyle Arrington and Devon McCourtey chances to pick Tebow off.

The Patriots have the worst secondary in the league and quite possibly the worst passing defense in league history. Yes, league history. They are pathetic against the pass and they usually play zone so they give up a lot of yards but when it comes down to the opponents getting inside the Red Zone they shut them down. They have a bend but don’t break mentality.

Who cares how may yards you give up as long as they don’t score Touchdowns.

Look to see Brady go to his tight ends and Wes Welker a lot today. Deion Branch will be out and the Pats will need to have Danny Woodhead pound for some big yardage along with Ben Jarvis Green Ellis. Brady and Belichick are 1-5 against the Broncos and playing in Mile High this game may be a little too close for comfort.

My Prediction-

The Tim Tebow phenomenon will come to a grinding halt and the Pats will win big 38 – 13.

Patriots win 41 to 23

photo by Keith Allison/Flickr

This afternoon at 4:15PM the N.E. Patriots will take on the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium in an epic AFC match up of two of the NFL’s most prolific offenses in the last 10 years.

Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning is a match up of two future Hall of Fame QB’s whose statistics are rivaled by few.

I love statistics and let’s take a look at this years stats between the two.

Tom Brady has a slight edge over Peyton Manning in pass completion percentage 64.5 vs 64.2. They rank 6th and 7th in the league.

Tom Brady ranks 11th in total yards with 2,176 and Peyton Manning ranks 3rd with 2,633.

Brady has 17 Touchdown passes and Manning has 16 so far this year. Both have thrown 4 interceptions.

Colts have a slew of injuries and the Pats are fairly healthy. The biggest challenge today will be if the Pats can get to Manning before he slings it down field. This will be a big test for the Pats secondary as they are very young.

I have a feeling Matt Light and Sebastian Vollmer will have their hands full with Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis today. Two bookends that can reek havoc in the backfield.  How many sacks will these two giants get today?

With Joseph Addai out I wonder if his replacement Donald Brown will run ram-shod over the Pats.  In years past it always seems the replacement backs usually kill the Pats.

I look to see the Pats have a great game today on the ground and in the air. Last year they should have won in Indy but the infamous 4th and 2 play ended their chances. Brady seems to be working on all four cylinders and I look for him to have another great game. Last week was awesome but Big Ben is no Peyton Manning and the secondary is going to need to play lights out if the expect to keep the Colts in check.

I love our two tight ends in Aaron Fernandez and Steve Rob Gronkowski who both can catch and run in the open field. Veteran Alge Crumpler has done a great job in helping these rookies become 1st year phenoms.

Wes Welker and Deion Branch should have great games today as well and Ben Jarvis Green Ellis should run right up the gut of the Colts defense for big yards. Danny Woodhead, who is the smallest running back I can remember, is one tough cookie. Would love to see him do some damage.

Pats need a big victory here as it looks like the Jets will be victorious as well.

Pats 35 Colts 31

They felt bad for us and I think that’s why they invited us back. I have always enjoyed college football and Penn State and Michigan have been two teams I have always followed over the years.

Being in Happy Valley at State College, Pennsylvania is a great time as we saw over a 1,000 campers tailgating a few days before the big game. The part I love the most is watching the student body cheer for their team as they all wear white and they call it a white out. It is pretty impressive what a sight. I also enjoy their cheer. The student body yells out “We are” and the rest of the fans follow with “Penn State”.

This was a great game for Penn State fans as they were ranked number 3 in the country coming into this game only behind Alabama and Texas. At the end they didn’t disappoint their fans.

The first half was all Michigan as they stormed out to a 17-14 lead and then the second half Penn State put a whooping on Michigan by shutting them out and scoring 39 unanswered points between the 2nd quarter and the final few minutes.

This Saturday Penn State travels to Ohio State to take on the mighty Buckeyes who are ranked number 9 in the country and will have home field advantage. Ohio State walloped Penn State at Penn State last year so Penn State will look to revenge that loss and stay on top of the polls.

Penn State will need to come out at the start of the game like they did at the second half of the game against Michigan if they have any chance of winning.

This will be a great game.

They did a nice job and one thing to remember is don’t roll a ball near a sand trap as they have grown the rough quite long and it is pretty gnarly if your ball lands there. The greens were in great shape and the fairways were decent as well.

The course is not that long and not that difficult. It’s a fun course to play and I always enjoy playing there. The last two times I have played there in tournaments we have finished 2nd this year and 1st a few years ago. It’s always a great feeling to win.

But, remember it’s not all about winning it’ sjust a lot of fun to just be out there playing.

[Show as slideshow]

A few key players are on the unable to play list and one is key wide receiver Wes Welker also linebacker Mike Vrabel and saftey Rodney Harrison.

Will the Pats miss wide receiver Donte Stallworth? I guess time will tell.

Go Pats!!!

We started off on Hole 16 and Pete led off followed by Steve then me and then our anchor Peter Currier. Currier and I had great drives with our 3 woods. We didn’t use driver because of the water hazard in Driver range. I hit a five iron on the green pin high to the left. We had four shots at birdie but we let it slip by the hole and settled for par.

On 17 Currier and I hit 3 wood again and we were in great position to attack the pin. We screwed up and had to take a mulligan, which we bought 4 of them, I took the approach shot and then landed about 15 feet left of the flag. Currier sank the last of our putting attempts as the ball just trickled in the hole.

Well this started us on a tear of 6 more consecutive birdies. The key to this was we hit all the fairways and greens in regulation until we hit the par 3 6th hole and we missed the birdie putt. We got the birdie train back on course at the 7th. On eight my drive was straight up the middle and 160 yards out, Currier’s 6 iron approach shot landed a foot from the hole and it was an easy tap in for birdie.

We had par’s on 9,10 and 11.

As we reached the par 5 twelfth hole which is a very easy birdie hole we talked about previous years as how some groups had eagled this hole and how this would be a good goal for us. I hit driver and we ended up using my drive and then Currier was lat to hit and hit his utility club through the green and on the back fringe of the green. Luckily the pin was back and we were only about 15 feet away. We figured the putt would break left to right. Pete led us off with his putt which went left to right and then back to the left and dropped in the center of the cup for our first eagle. At this point we felt we were in good position for first.

On thirteen the course has the markers way up for this easy par 4. I hit 5 wood to about 7 feet from the hole and Pete and Steve both missed but gave me a perfect read and I sunk the eagle putt to take us to 13 under par. What a feeling I had never had back to back eagles before. Even tho the second Eagle was a short one it still was a two on the card.

We parred 14 and then finished the round with a birdie on 15 and ended with a 14 under par 58 to take first place by 2 stokes.

All in all it was a great sunny warm day and we also won a few raffle prizes to top off the day.

We’ll see how we play today and hopefully we will do real well. We are playing at Windham Country Club in Windham, NH

Today I’ll tell you about hole # 1

It is very short and a lower handicap player should use no more than a 3 wood off the back tees. I see so many players hit driver and get themselves in a lot of trouble.

So if you set up your shot right you’ll be able to to come into this green with a short iron.

From the back tees it plays about 350 yards and trees abound the right side and the left has a line of trees and a road that is O.B. which leads to the clubhouse.

A long sand trap hugs the left side of the fairway at about 150 yards out and many a tee ball finds it way in the sand. The right front of the green is also guarded by a large bunker and the green is firm and slopes front to back. So, a nice lofted approach shot is necessary.

The course is 6500 yards from the back tees.

Next I’ll break down the next few holes for you.

Golf Season is here and the Atkinson Resort and Country Club is a great place to spend a few relaxing hours golfing.

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We started at the earliest point on the calendar we can. Some years we have been extended out due to weather conditions. This year was bright and sunny but awfully windy. Our first group started at 3:50 and it was about 44 degrees. We were the 3 rd group and when I finished it was 38 degrees.

At times while standing on the green you had to brace yourself from being pushed by the wind. I also had to switch hats from my golf hat to my winter knit hat to keep my ears warm. Decked out with a nice heavy sweater and an extra large wind breaker and walking the course I stayed fairly warm. I also used my winter golf gloves to keep my fingers from freezing.

I started off this year in the B division as I missed out the A division by .3 points. I played Bob Sasso and he fought me tooth and nail. We started on the back nine as we usually play the front nine on odd numbered days and the back nine on even days.

We halved the 10th hole with bogeys and the 11th, a par 3, Bob got closest to the pin and sank the birdie putt to go one up. We halved 12 and 13 and then my wheels fell off as I hit my tee shot out of bounds on 14 and re-teed and hit the next one out of bounds too. In our league, to speed up play you must take a drop from the point the ball went out of bounds and you are hitting 6. Bob drew his 5 wood around the corner and was in the fairway about 150 yards out. A great shot and his approach shot put him about 15 feet away as he made par. The kicker was I was giving him a shot. I know found myself two down on holes and 7 strokes down.

As we teed off in the gale winds on 15 we had to use 7 and 8 irons as opposed to 9 irons or wedges that we normally would use in warmer weather. I ended up parring the par 3 113 yard hole which play d more like 145 yards due to the gusty winds. Bob found the sand trap and struggled to get out as he proceeded to card an eight (snowman) on the par 3, luckily I was able to get back 5 strokes and finally win a hole.

I teed off on 16 with a 3 iron which normally I would use a 5 or 6 iron. Bob used a utility wood and was in good shape but his approach shot found the water short of the green. Bob double bogeyed and I parred and we were all square now in our match.

As we were standing on the 17th tee we decided we’d both hit driver and we laughed about it as the trouble areas are not grown in yet and we felt if our shots strayed we would be safe. My tee shot was pulled left and it hit the cart path and I got a lucky bounce as it almost reached the green. My approach chip shot came up shot and Bob also had a bad chip shot. We both lagged up our approach putts to within 6 feet for Bob and a bout 3 feet for me. Bob missed and I had a golden opportunity to win the hole but I pushed an easy uphill putt to the right and walked a way with a bogey.

We went to the 18th all square and a gale force wind pushing us off the tee. I was able to reach the green in regulation and Bob did too but Bob was out about 50-60 feet away and I was out about 8 feet. Bob’s approach putt left him past the hole by about 6-7 feet. My birdie putt was short by about a foot and Bob gave the par. Bob ended the match by pushing is par putt and I won the match 1up and by one stroke. A hard fought win.

It was great to be back on the golf course and to start a new golf season with great friends.

Brady sets up in the shotgun as Randy Moss spreads left with Wes Welker in the slot and Laurence Maroney in the backfield. Brady takes the snap and drops back in the pocket. Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora put pressure on the pocket and Brady slips to the outside to evade Umenyiora. Strahan cuts off the run as Brady scrambles, He looks deep down field for Moss then left to Stallworth, Welker slides across the middle and Brady pumps and fires a perfect spiral to the leaping Randy Moss as he one hands the pass and stumbles into the red zone as he’s tripped up by a Giant’s defender.

It’s first and goal on the Giants one yard line. In comes Mike Vrabel and Junior Seau.

This is some of the action we will see and hear Sunday as the Patriots will be the home team in Super Bowl XLII. The New York Giants are coming off a ten game road winning streak, an NFL record, as they come into Glendale, Arizona as the visiting team. One of two streaks will come to an end Sunday night.

All the talk leading up to Super Sunday has been Brady’s high ankle sprain. Is he injured or is he not? Is this another one of Bill Beiichick’s mind gameshe’s playing with Tom Coughlin and the Giants?

The Patriots will be plotting and scheming against another Manning this day, as brother Eli takes center stage and brother Peyton will sit in the stands and squirm and grimace as brother Eli tests his skills against the undefeated 18-0 New England Patriots.

In their last meeting in week 17 the Giants came to play, with nothing to lose they put forth a game plan that catapulted them to the Super Bowl. Eli has been on fire as he looks more like an All Pro instead of the also ran QB that started off poorly in September and October.

The Giants will be ready and so will the Pats. Only one team can prevail and one team will go home with their heads hung low. I feel both teamsshould hold their heads high as they are the only two teams remaing to fight for the ultimate prize in the National Football League. They both deserve to be there in Arizona on Sunday.

Each team has plenty of weapons to thwart the other teams strengths. Each team also has their weaknesses that the other will try and exploit.

The Pats wide receivers are tops in the league and their running game is coming around in the playoffs as Laurence Maroney has averaged 122 yards in each of the playoff games. He hasn’t played much this year as the Pats have assaulted the opposing teams through the air.

This team has a lot of weapons and teams just never know where they will be coming from. The Giants are going to have to play flawless football on Sunday in order to bring home the ultimate prize.

The Giants boast a strong defense as Michael Stahan and Osi Umenyiora will put pressure on Brady for sure and Patriot fans will be watching every step Brady makes as he scrambles a few times out of the pocket. PLaxico BurressI believe will be the key to the Giants success on Sunday as he also is an extraordinary athlete and a deep threat much like Randy Moss is for the Patriots.

The Giants also feel they have a great running back in Brandon Jacobs. Some feel he’ll plow through the Pats and chew up a lot of real estate. His statistics just don’t prove that in my eyes. Other key players to watch for the Giants are Amani Toomer and Kevin Boss. Eli Manning is definitely going to have to play the game of his life in order to play toe to toe with Tom Brady and the undefeated New England Patriots.

New England Patriots 34

New York Giants 17

The Patriots team will end this season 19-0 and will be sitting in the kitchen with Mercury Morris and the ’72 Miami Dolphins.

They traded for Randy Moss and signed Wes Welker and Dante Stallworth to shore up the receiver crew. On defense they acquired Baltimore Ravens linebacker Adalius Thomas.

The Patriots played the San Diego Chargers in week two this season in what was billed as a smack down rematch from last year and with all the hype over Spygate, viewers were wondering just how much this would affect the Patriots. With only two games left we all know now that this Patriots team is special and the Spygate incident only helped fuel the fire that ignites this record breaking streak to get to the Championship Game.

After the Pats blew out the Chargers in week two the Chargers have put together a very nice winning streak of their own. They have piled up 8 straight wins and come into New England a little banged up. Their quarterback Philip Rivers has a slightly torn ACL in his right knee. Rivers is optimistic he will play Sunday. Tight end Antonio Gates has a toe injury and is doubtful for tomorrow. LaDainian Tomlinson has a slightly hyperextended left knee and is probable. Just yesterday Shawne Merriman was listed as questionable due to the flu. This injury report is probably a tit for tat for Bill Belichick’s injury reports. Patriots Tackle Matt Light has the flu too. Merriman and Light will do battle on Sunday as they usually match up together as Merriman puts pressure on Brady.

Belichick loves to play cat and mouse with injury reports, as we all know Tom Brady is always on the list listed as probable with a shoulder injury. Ya Right!!!

The Chargers are going to have to play flawless football if they expect to keep up with this high powered offensive juggernaut of Brady to Moss, Welker, Stallworth, Gaffney and Kevin Faulk and don’t forget Ben Watson. When the Pats get close to the goal line look for Brady to toss a sleeper pass to Mike Vrabel (look for #50 coming into the game at this point) who usually plays linebacker on the defensive side of the ball.

A big question for Charger fans is whether or not the Chargers can effectively put pressure on Brady. They need to force Brady to throw quickly and rattle his cage early and often. The downside to this is that the Pats front offensive line is one of the best offensive front lines this franchise has seen since the early days of John Hannah and Leon Gray. If Brady has time to unload that pin point accuracy he has had all season look for this to be a long day for Charger fans.

Look for the Pats to come out in a spread offense and possibly a no huddle attack early on. The weather should play a factor in this game if the winds pick up like it is expected to. Once the Pats take control early they will unleash Laurence Maroney who is extremely well rested this season, as the Pats have dominated by going to the air. Once Maroney and the Pats have established the ground game look for them to dominate time of possession and keep the Chargers off the field.

Last week a lot of people thought the Jaguars would have run the ball effectively against the Pats to take time off the clock and keep Brady off the field, but we all know that didn’t work either.

The Chargers have the best running back since Barry Sanders in LaDainian Tomlinson and due to his knee he will not be as effective as once thought.

Four players did not play in week two that will be impact players in this game. For the Chargers we have Chris Chambers and Antonio Cromartie and for the Pats they have Rodney Harrison and Richard Seymour.

I look for the Pats to win and go on to their sixth Super Bowl appearance.

As a true Patriot fan we will not look ahead to Super Bowl Sunday until this Sunday’s 60 minutes of football has ended in Victory.

I’m looking at the stats and with that said:

Patriots 37

Chargers 21

The Patriots are one game away from “PERFECTION”. If they win tomorrow night they will become the first team in NFL history to reach the pinnacle of 16 wins and 0 defeats in the regular season.

This game has brought a lot of discussion as to whether or not the New York Giants will or should rest their players for the playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

I think the Giants will play their hardest and their starters for at least the first half. If the Pats open the game up early and take a big lead look for the Giants and the Pats to rest their starters in the second half.

The Patriots are destined to break a few NFL records and I feel they will break the following records tomorrow night.

• Most points by a team in a regular season 556 (held by the 1998 Vikings Randy Moss was on that team: They need a TD to break it.
• Most Touchdown passes by a quarterback 49 (held by Peyton Manning) Tom Brady has 48 and will break this no problem.
• Most Touchdown receptions 22 (held by Jerry Rice) the amazing thing about this stat is that Jerry Rice did this in the strike shortened 1987 season in 12 games. Randy Moss has 21 and Brady will get this stat out of the way early on.

The Patriots last week broke the record for most touchdowns in a season ironically against the team that held the record, the Miami Dolphins who had 70 and now the Pats have 71.

If you are a Pats fan don’t take this game lightly as the Giants are a good team and have a couple of great defensive ends in Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora who collectively have 22 sacks between them. The Pats know how to prepare as they have defeated all the rest of the teams in this division.

Look for the Pats to open the game up early in the air as Brady will march down the field and score the first touchdown with a pass to Randy Moss. The Pats will need to stop the Giants running attack but the Pats defense against the run ranks 10th in the league and the Giants are ranked 4th in rushing on offense.

The Pats rank 4th in total defense and the Giants 6th.

This won’t be that easy but it will depend on what happens early on. The Pats will go for the records and will go undefeated and the Giants will not be able to stop them.

New England Patriots 34

New York Giants 17

Weather forecast is dry and 44 degrees at game time and breezy and 37 by the end of the game.

GO PATS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

View my pre game synopsis at the Active Rain Real Estate Network.

The Pats started off pretty well as they stopped the Dolphins on their first possession. Then Brady and the Pats marched down the field and Brady hit Moss on an 11 yard pass play for their first score.

As the first quarter neared the end Laurence Maroney scampered for 51 yards to the Dolphins 28. Maroney’s longest run of his career. A few plays later Brady hit Moss from 1 yard out to bring Moss to within one catch of tying Jerry Rice’s record of 22 Touchdown catches.

The Dolphins go three and out as they start the second quarter. The Pats have a third and one and Brady hands off to Laurence Maroney and he jets off tackle and rumbles for 59 yards this time and scores. Breaking his career long 51 yards just a few minutes earlier. He sure did cover a lot of real estate so far in this game.

On the Dolphins next series they went three and out again and were forced to punt. In is first game back and probbaly his last regular season game at Gillette Troy Brown was to receive this punt. I don’t know what happened but the ball hit his face guard and was ruled a muff as the Dolphins recovered. Thank goodness the Dolphins went three and out and Wes Welker went in to field this punt.

A little more than half way through the second quarter Brady hits Jabbar Gaffney for a needle threading 48 yard touchdown pass. The Dolphins defender missed the interception by a whisker. Credit Gaffney for keeping his eye on the ball.

At the half the New England Patriots 28 Miami Dolphins 0

The second half was boring as all get out. The Pats could barely muster a decent drive.

The Dolphins barely threatened the rest of the game except for a drive that left them on the one inch line as quaterback Cleo Lemon tried to get the ball over the pilon at the goal line but failed. The Pats made a great oal line stance again.

The Dolphins finally mustered up a score to make it 28 to 7. Cleo Lemon hit Greg Camarillo for a 21 yard touchdown pass.

After that the game was quite boring. The Pats took Brady out at aound the 2 minute warning.

The Pats broke the single season touchdown mark with 71 breaking the Dolphins record set in 1984 with 70. Tom Brady has tied Dan Marino’s 48 touchdown passes and needs one more to tie Peyton Manning’s 49 and two to break it.

The Pats have scored 551 points this year and only need 5 more to tie the Vikings. Weather permitting next Saturday night this should not be a problem. All they need is two field goals or one touchdown to break the record.

The road to perfection travels to New York on Saturday evening at 8:15 PM on the NFL Network. Most New England fans will be able to watch the game on local TV. Thank goodness we have Direct TV.

The Pats can lose this game and still save face as their goal is to win the Super Bowl.

I will be really bummed if they lose to my childhood team Giants. The Super Bowl is the ultimate prize.

I have actually done a couple of these things, can you guess which ones I have done?

The Pats received the opening kick off and really didn’t do to much with it on their first series. The Pats punted and pinned the Jets to their own 3 yard line. On the next play Richard Seymour broke free and drilled Jets quarterback Kellen Clemens and forced him to throw an errant pass and Eugene Wilson snagged it and took it in the end zone to score the games first touchdown. The first quarter ended with the Pats ahead 7-0.

The second quarter saw the Pats kick a field goal and go up 10-0.

Then about half way through the second quarter Patriots punter Chris Hanson had his first career punt blocked and David Bowens returned it 34 yards for a Touchdown.

The Patriots were nearing the end of the half and with a minute and five seconds left Laurence Maroney plowed in the end zone from a yard out.

At the half Patriots are ahead 17-7.

The third quarter was sloppy as neither team was able to put points on the board.

The fourth quarter saw a see saw back and forth as the Jets kicked a 33 yard field to narrow the score to 17-10. Then with a little over three minutes to go in the game Steven Gostkowski kicked a 34 yard field goal to pretty much ice the game. The Jets threatened in the waning moments but Junior Seau sacked Chad Pennington to clinch the game.

Final Pats 20 Jets 10.

There had been so much hype before the game as to whether or not the Pats would run up the score. The other controversy was whether Bill Belichick would shake Eric Mangini’s hand or not. He did it with a great big smile. He also hugged Kerry Rhodes and a coach from the Jets.

See there is a soft side to Bill Belichick. Next up the 1-13 Miami Dolphins at New England.

View my Pats Jets pre-game report.

At this point I thought the Pats were going to demolish the Eagles like they did against the Bills last Sunday when they won 56-10. The Pats kicked off to the Eagles after Samuels interception and the Eagles controlled the ball for almost the whole first quarter. The Pats did get the ball back after the Eagles scored to tie the game at 7-7 and the Eagles recovered an onside kick but to no avail. Heath Evans plunged in for a 1 yard touchdown to put the Pats up 14-7.

The Pats then kicked off and the Eagles went in on a nice pass play from A.J. Feeley to Greg Lewis for a 28 yard touchdown. 14-14.

The two teams battled back and forth and as we got close to the end of the game with the score 31-28 in favor of the Pats. The Eagles were marching down field and A.J. Feeley threw an ill advised interception to Assante Samuel again in the end zone to basically seal the game for the Pats. I was surprised he threw it to that receiver as opposed to someone coming across the middle as that type of play had worked for the Eagles most of the night. That was just plain old bad play calling.

The TV game announcers were saying that this is a blue print for other teams to use against the Pats. Yeah they lost and that is a blue print to use? Shouldn’t they use the Pats offensive and defensive schemes to use as a blueprint? I would wouldn’t you?

The Pats will be eating Humble Pie all week as Belichick will tell them they aren’t as good as they think and as people have been writing about them in the press and on blogs around the country.

The Pats will take the win and take what they did wrong and use it to defeat Baltimore next Monday Night.

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving it always makes me think of those Thanksgiving days where our whole family with aunts, uncles and cousins would head down to Victory Field and watch Watertown play Belmont in the annual Thanksgiving day rivalry. These games were the best games of the year as you were playing your arch rivals.

As I grew up and went to High School I went to Ashland High in Ashland Mass. and our arch rivals were the Hopkinton Hillers and we were the Ashland Clockers, mighty mighty Clockers. Yes, I typed it correctly, Ashland Clockers as that is where the first electric clock was made. Also, Hopkinton is where they start the Boston Marathon. The four years I lived in Ashland I would go and watch the runners pass by on route 135 in Ashland.

So, Thanksgiving day football rivalries have really become a staple in Massachusetts and I also know High School Football is real big in Texas, but, what I don’t know is Thanksgiving day football big in your town and state?

*** UPDATE*** 

Watertown was defeated by Belmont 20-12 at Watertown.

Ashland defeated Hopkinton  34-26 at Hopkinton, this was Ashland’s first winning season since 1998.