Jermaine Cunningham Suspended 4 Games By The NFL For PEDs, It All Makes Sense Now

We all thought Patriots defensive end Jermaine Cunningham would be cut in this past preseason, so it was somewhat of a surprise that not only did he find himself on the initial 53-man roster out of training camp but he was actually making a few plays. Today, he was suspended without pay by the NFL for four games after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs so I guess we know we he morphed from a complete bust (2nd round pick, 2010) to a bust.

It's not like he has been setting the world on fire (23 tackles, 2.5 sacks) but at least he was playing (in 2011, he had 1 tackle in 9 games) and when he got a chance, stepping up once in a while. He had appeared in all 11 games for New England in his third season out of Florida. He becomes the second Patriot (rookie running back Brandon Bolden was the other) suspended this season for PEDs. Bolden can return next Monday and then appear in the game on Sunday, December 10 vs. Houston. Cunningham can return on Monday, December 24 and appear in the regular season finale against Miami on December 30. He'll miss this week against the Dolphins, next week against the Texans, the Niners and Jaguars.

Cornerback Aqib Talib was also popped for PEDs (Adderall) when he was employed by Tampa Bay earlier this season. Not to speak in hyperbole but the NFL is currently fighting an epidemic of PEDs, Seahawks cornerbacks Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman also tested positive last weekend and they could be facing a four-game suspension although they appealed so they can play on Sunday. Brandon Spikes was caught two years ago in his rookie season.

For our purposes, Cunningham's absence is bigger than you might think at first blush. It all depends on Chandler Jones' status since he didn't play on Thanksgiving against the Jets due to an ankle injury. Cunningham is the first sub for the defensive ends so if Jones is out again on Sunday (1 p.m., CBS) at the Dolphins, it means that veteran Trevor Scott along with rookies Justin Francis and Jake Bequette will see much more playing time.

The best part of these failed drug tests is that we almost never know what the player got caught taking. Wouldn't it make more sense to be transparent and tell everyone what it was? Oh well, maybe it was just some Adderall for Cunningham (wink wink, nudge nudge). Let's just hope that the most important players on the Patriots are only drinking milk every night and maybe the occasional protein shake. Enough with these suspensions, no playoff team can withstand too many of them.

UPDATE 11/28: 7th-round draft pick Jeremy Ebert, a poor man's Julian Edelman, was resigned to the practice squad while fullback James Develin (formerly a defensive lineman at Brown) was activated to the 53-man roster today.

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Patriots Get Up Big (31-7), Hang On For 31-21 Win Vs. Peyton & The Broncos

The bottom line is that Tom Brady and the Patriots improved to 9-4 all-time against Peyton Manning. New England (3-2, 1-1 home) beat his new team-Denver (2-3, 0-2 away) 31-21 this afternoon at Gillette Stadium in a contest that went from blowout to somewhat of a nail biter thanks to two TDs by the Broncos.

For everything that the Pats did right, building up a 31-7 lead late in the third quarter, they had to sweat it out a bit in the fourth quarter after Stevan Ridley (28 carries, 151 yards, TD) ruined his perfect day with a costly fumble. Thankfully, Willis McGahee (51 rushing yards, 51 receiving yards) was in a giving mood as well, Rob Ninkovich forced his second fumble of the game and Jermaine Cunningham fell on it to wrap it up.

Manning (31 of 44, 345 passing yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT) and Brady (23 of 31, 223 passing yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) had solid performances but Denver overshadowed it with three costly fumbles and New England put up 251 rushing yards as a team. When's the last time the Patriots had more rushing yards than passing yards in a game?

Brandon Bolden (54 yards rushing) and Danny Woodhead (47 rushing yards, 25 receiving yards) were sprinkled into the playcalling wisely by Josh McDaniels. Wes Welker (13 catches, 104 yards, TD) scored his first touchdown of the season with his mortal enemy Julian Edelman still sidelined with a hand injury.

Demaryius Thomas (9 catches, 188 yards) is a beast and Peyton is helping him become one of the NFL's top receivers but he needs to cut down on his fumbles. Today's fumble after a 43-yard catch and run was his third consecutive game with a fumble. Props though to Patriots cornerback Sterling Moore who chased him down (after getting beaten deep), knocking it loose then recovering it.

The other fumble was from Manning and Vince Wilfork recovered it after Ninkovich drilled Peyton. Jerod Mayo (13 tackles, sack) also played well for the Patriots defense that was superb, until the last quarter or so. Broncos linebacker Von Miller had eight tackles, two sacks, five tackles for loss and a pass deflection.

Welker's 8-yard touchdown catch were the only points of the first quarter. Denver tied it at seven early in the second quarter after Devin McCourty's standard pass interference (not turning his head at all) penalty put the ball on the 1-yard line. Joel Dreessen caught the 1-yard score from Manning.

Of course with all the weapons New England possesses in the running game at the moment, Shane Vereen would be the one to get a 1-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter that made it 14-7. It was his only touch of the game and first score of the season. The Pats could have gone up two touchdowns heading into halftime but they were stuffed twice on runs at the goalline and had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.

In the third quarter, Brady got in on the fun with a 1-yard sneak and Ridley's touchdown had everybody thinking about the two Patriots blowouts vs the Broncos last season. If nothing else, Peyton is not Tim Tebow which means Denver still had some hope to rally. Eric Decker made an amazing 2-yard touchdown catch late in the third quarter and Brandon Stokley (yes, he's still in the NFL) cut it to 31-21 with a 5-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots' tour of the NFC West continues on Sunday (4:05 p.m., CBS) with a game at CenturyLink Field against the Seahawks (3-2, 2-0 home). Seattle has a big homefield advantage although we all know they should have lost to the Packers in Week 3's debacle that was the swan song for the replacement refs. Pete Carroll's team doesn't have many weapons on offense and rookie quarterback Russell Wilson has struggled but their defense is legit and their home crowd makes a ton of noise so that game won't be easy by any means.

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Patriots-Redskins Injury Report

You know that the New England Patriots (9-3) haven't had a big game in weeks since it seems like nobody is talking about them at the moment.

With the NBA's bumbling moves and the Bruins in full swing not to mention the holidays around the corner, it is totally understandable why people have mostly stopped paying attention to the Pats during the weeks between games.

This Sunday should be no different than the last few games because New England plays at the Washington Redskins (4-8). You remember who Washington's quarterback is right? None other than Rex Grossman and if he should get hurt or falter, John Beck is his backup. So yeah, that's why nobody should fear Mr. Tan himself Mike Shannon or his garbage team that is playing out the string as usual.

As far as injuries go, Washington's list is a short one. Defensive tackle Chris Baker (quad) and safety LaRon Landry (groin) have both been declared out. Everybody else on their injury report is probable and I don't bother to mention those. Let's also not forget two of their best players: left tackle Trent Williams and tight end Fred Davis, who will miss Sunday's game and the rest of the season due to failing a drug test (reportedly for marijuana).

The Patriots have declared offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer (back/foot) out. Linebacker Jermaine Cunningham (hamstring), who you probably forgot still existed, is doubtful. Following the pattern of the last few weeks, Bill Belichick has listed a double-digit amount of Patriots players (12 this time) as questionable.

Cornerback Kyle Arrington (foot), safety Patrick Chung (foot), center Dan Connolly (groin), wide receiver/cornerback Julian Edelman (back), linebacker Dane Fletcher (thumb), safety James Ihedigbo (shoulder), cornerback Devin McCourty (shoulder), wide receiver Matthew Slater (shoulder), linebacker Brandon Spikes (knee), running back Shane Vereen (hamstring), offensive lineman Ryan Wendell (calf) and running back Danny Woodhead (abdomen) are all theoretically 50/50 to play at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday at FedEx Field.

The players I'll be keeping an eye on the most for New England that are questionable have to be Chung and Spikes. They've both missed big chunks of time and are two of the Patriots most talented defensive players. New England's playoff hopes will likely fall on their shaky defense to make a few plays/stops here and there. Those are guys that can get that done.

I'll update this tomorrow and/or Sunday when I hear who is going to be out as well for both teams.

Another note: Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo was fined $25,000 on Friday for his hit on Colts quarterback Dan Orlovsky. Apparently, he hit him in the head or neck area but since there was no penalty on the play, I honestly don't remember it. This was the biggest fine received by a Patriot so far this season.

UPDATE 12/10: The Pats have resigned defensive lineman Eric Moore, who was on the team for a while last season, and placed Cunningham on IR. Moore was signed by New England at this time last season and even though he was completely unknown, he was a solid pass rusher (something they desperately needed).

He was cut in training camp so he's spent the season with Virginia's UFL team. Some thought rookie defensive end Markell Carter would be activated off the practice squad but apparently Belichick doesn't think the raw project is quite ready yet.

Cornerback Sterling Moore was released and cornerback Malcolm Williams was activated from the practice squad. Also, Chung (5th straight game), Connolly, Spikes and Vereen.

UPDATE 12/11: Third quarterback Ryan Mallett and defensive lineman Gerard Warren are the other Patriots who are inactive for today.

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