Farwell To The Big Bang Clock As Patriots Cut Down to 53-Man Roster

The rumors had been in the air since training camp started and now it's official: the New England Patriots are done with the Big Bang Clock himself Brandon Meriweather.

The two-time Pro Bowler (what a joke) safety was the biggest named to be cut today as the Pats whittled their roster down to 53 players. By no means is the roster final since the NFL being the way it is and Bill Belichick being how he is, expect a million more moves during the regular season.

To put it simply, Meriweather's time in New England had run out. No doubt, the franchise was sick of his off the field antics not to mention his inconsistent play on it. The former University of Miami star could make a big hit in one series then get torched for a touchdown on the next one.

The fact that Patrick Chung and Sergio Brown figure to be the starters on Monday, September 12 when they open in Miami with Josh Barrett and James Ihedigbo as the likely backups tells you all you need to know about how far Meriweather had fallen.

He played big minutes in the preseason games and appeared clueless (big surprise) that he was on the bubble in terms of the roster. Good riddance, let some other team deal with that clown.

Other players released today with a quick summary of why I think they're gone.

Sammy Morris-Classy veteran got squeezed out after Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley were drafted. A little long in the tooth and injury prone didn't help his chances.

Brandon Tate-Tony Simmons, Chad Jackson, Bethel Johnson. New England always has an obsession with fast receivers who have terrible hands. Predictably Tate's time here ended since they figured out in a few years that he'd probably never be a good receiver. Plus, with the new kickoff rules, his value on kickoffs has mostly vanished there.

Eric Moore-One of the more surprising cuts, the Pats seemed to like him since they brought him in last season. With Andre Carter, Mark Anderson and Shaun Ellis on the team, the need to have Moore was lessened dramatically. He'll find a job somewhere else.

Landon Cohen and Aaron Lavarias-two defensive linemen that were lucky to make it this far. Preseason heroes in every sense of the phrase that I just coined.

Niko Koutouvides-like Ricky Brown (released earlier this weekend), the local product couldn't stick around long enough to make the opening day roster. Too bad.

Markell Carter-rookie will likely be put on the practice squad you'd have to think. Showed some promise and was a late-round pick so don't be shocked to see him stick around.

Tiquan Underwood-Devin McCourty's BFF from Rutgers was a late addition to the team and his most notable contribution was his hightop fade. Kid N'Play must be pissed he is without a job.

Thomas Austin-offensive lineman I've never heard of.

Eric Kettani-no name running back that has already been put on the practice squad.

Ross Ventrone-The Ventrone brothers are like Rudy. Belichick loves them but they'll never do anything in the NFL. The world needs ditchdiggers too.

Alex Silvestro-a defensive end that I never saw do anything. Thanks for coming out.

Lee Smith-not the famous MLB closer, Smith was a bit of a surprise to be cut since the Pats used a middle round draft pick on him.

Will Yeatman-reports indicated that he made the team as a third tight end but I guess not. I'd say he'd be on the practice squad but apparently other teams will snatch him up before then.

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Happy Halloween from the Minnesota Vikings

As expected, the Minnesota Vikings coming to Gillette yesterday was similar to the circus coming to the TD Garden.

There was plenty of media coverage and in the end, the team with more substance (the Patriots) beat a team loaded with way more talent (the Vikings) but completely held back by their joke of a quarterback (Brett Favre) and powerless, enabler of a head coach (Brad Childress).

New England (6-1) won their fifth straight game overall, 28-18 over Minnesota (2-5) and surprisingly Favre (22 of 32, 259 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) didn't cost them the game. However, since he couldn't win, he still had to get some attention and he successfully did that by acting like he was dead after a fourth quarter hit.

His pathetic 41-year old body was dragged off the field and he was laid on the training table. My buddy compared it to the Undertaker of WWF fame cause once the Vikings scored on the next play after he left, he raised his arm then sat up like nothing happened. Sure, he had a nasty laceration on his chin (which required eight stitches) but I feel no pity for the biggest fraud in sports and possibly on the planet.

Nobody with the Vikings has the balls to sit him down when he clearly can't help this Super Bowl contender as they fade faster than Randy Moss (1 catch, 8 yards) in crunch time.

Ah yes, it was Moss' return to Gillette after his surprising trade four weeks ago. The only thing more predictable than Favre's attention whore tendencies are seeing Moss completely disappear against our average secondary. Moss is done, over the hill, case closed.

He opened the field up for his teammates but he can't be counted on to do anything other than that anymore. It's all reputation with him now, his skills have really diminished. Seeing him reflect on his days as a Patriot after the game was strange but that's typical for his post-game stream of consciousness diatribes.

Adrian Peterson (92 yards rushing, 50 yards receiving) is still the best running back in the NFL, sorry Chris Johnson, but for the most part, the Pats contained him. He started off the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run to start the second quarter. It's a moot point since he probably would have gotten in on the next play (third down) but it didn't look like he broke the plain since Jerod Mayo (14 tackles) met him in the air and sent him flying back with a shoulder thump.

New England answered on the next drive with a 3-yard touchdown run by everybody's favorite folk hero Danny Woodhead (58 yards).

Childress had a chance to take a 10-7 lead into halftime but decided to predictably run up the gut with Peterson on fourth down late in the second quarter and he was stuffed.

Ryan Longwell gave the Vikings a 10-7 lead on their first drive of the third quarter with a 24-yard kick.

That's when the luck and bounces started to go the Patriots' way. Brandon Tate caught a 65-yard touchdown pass from Brady on a broken play. Brady had absolutely nobody to throw to but he bought time with a spin move and then found Tate (101 yards receiving) wide open on the sideline after his defender bit on a short pass.

After that, Percy Harvin (6 catches, 104 yards) had a reception ripped from his hands by Devin McCourty, who returned it 37 yards. How much of a stud is McCourty? Nobody knew who he was when he was drafted late in the first round this April but he's proven to be a solid all-around football player: he can cover, tackle and play special teams. What's not to like about him?

From there, it was the BenJarvus Green-Ellis (career-high 112 yards rushing) show. He used the short field to get a 13-yard TD run which put the Pats up 21-10 late in the fourth quarter.

Minnesota was in the red zone halfway through the fourth quarter when Favre got crushed by bum Myron Pryor. On the next play, Tavaris Jackson threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Naufahu Tahi and then found Harvin for a nice grab in the corner of the end zone on the two-point conversion.

I'm not dumb enough to say Tavaris Jackson is the answer but how long can the Vikings stick with Favre? This season is pretty much a wrap already unless they win out or go on a crazy run (which is quite unlikely).

The Pats iced it with a long, clock-killing drive, including a 16-yard catch and run by Woodhead on third-and-12. Green-Ellis put it away with a 2-yard touchdown run, his first two TD game of his career.

Don't look now but New England is in first place in the AFC East, thanks to the Packers' shutout of the Jets, and they have the best record in the NFL. That doesn't mean anything in the middle of the season but it's crazy how much progress they've already made this season.

The Patriots go to Cleveland next Sunday afternoon to play the Browns. I'm not going to break out my Super Bowl DVDs quite yet but this season is quickly starting to feel like one of those magical years.

oh hello NFL regular season

It's probably because the 2010 Boston Red Sox have been out of the race for basically all season but I can never remember being more excited for an NFL season to start.

I have absolutely no idea what to expect from my New England Patriots but therein lies some of the excitement I guess.

Yesterday afternoon was about as good a start as you could ever dream of: New England beat a playoff team (Cincinnati Bengals) 38-24 at Gillette Stadium.

Where to begin the plethora of highlights? Tom Brady, the NFL's highest paid player, looked awesome spreading it around (25 of 35 for 258 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions).

Wes Welker played his first real game since the 2009 regular season finale, racking up eight catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns, looking nothing like a guy recovering from ACL surgery. Even Fred Taylor (71 yards rushing) and the ageless Kevin Faulk (70 total yards) had a spring in their old steps.

The Patriots had a defensive touchdown (a 59-yard interception return from Gary Guyton) and a 97-yard kickoff return by Brandon Tate. All this led to a 31-3 lead and a cruise control second half which led to the tighter final score.

With so many young guys and new names, particularly on defense, New England looked very promising. Pat Chung led the way with 16 tackles (12 solo), rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez had a 45-yard catch and rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski capped the scoring with a 1-yard back of the end zone grab.

Carson Palmer's numbers (34 of 50, 345 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception) look nice but he didn't do anything when it mattered and the outcome hung in the balance. Ditto for Chad Ochocinco (12 catches, 159 yards, 1 touchdown) and Terrell Owens (7 catches, 53) who are well on their way to a 8-8 season that nobody will ever remember.

Welker fittingly caught the first pass of the 2010 season and finished the first drive with an easy nine-yard catch and run for a score. Stephen Gostkowski's 31-yard field goal put the Pats up 10-0 after the first quarter.

Welker added a four-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter along with Guyton's awesome individual effort.

Mike Nugent hit a 54-yard field goal to get the Bengals on the board late in the second quarter.

After Tate's kickoff return, Cincy finally scored two touchdowns (a one-yard pass to Jermaine Gresham and 28-yard pass to Ochocinco).

Gronkowski's touchdown sealed this one before Cedric Benson wrapped it up with a one-yard run.

The Dolphins eeked one out on the road over the Bills yesterday afternoon and the Jets begin their season tonight with a game at the Baltimore Ravens.

New England travels to the New Meadowlands on Sunday (4:15 p.m.) for an early AFC East showdown.

Randy Moss had five catches for 59 yards but he made headlines for his bizarre 14-minute post-game press conference. I have already seen too much coverage of it so I don't feel like I have to talk about it like everybody else.