On Second Thought, Maybe We Shouldn't Have Been So Worried About The Rams

In hindsight, we can all chuckle now that we were scared that the Patriots might actually lose to the Rams this afternoon at Wembley Stadium in London. All week, we created this false hype in our minds since New England (5-3, 3-2 away) has played painfully uneven football so far in 2012.

That all changed today as they punished St. Louis (3-5, 3-2 home) 45-7 in a game that didn't even feel that close. For whatever reason, the Pats enjoy their trips to the UK: this victory made them 2-0 there and they've outscored opponents (Tampa Bay in 2009) 80-14. Even better, in Bill Belichick's last two games against Jeff Fisher (formerly of the Titans), he has beat him to the tune of 104-7. Haha wow.

Week 1 seems like so long ago and that was a blowout of the Titans while New England also took out Buffalo in convincing fashion (52-28 in Week 4) but for all intents and purposes, today was the first time they put all three phases together: offense, defense and special teams. The crazy part is that they spotted the Rams a 7-0 lead as St. Louis went down the field on its first drive and when Sam Bradford (22 of 30, 205 yards, TD, INT) hit Chris Givens for a 50-yard TD, we all wanted to punch a hole in the nearest TV or wall.

No worries as the Pats proceeded to score touchdowns on their next five drives and end the game with 45 unanswered points. Tom Brady (23 of 35, 304 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs) had his best performance of the season and ditto for Rob Gronkowski (8 catches, 146 yards, 2 TDs) who more than covered for Aaron Hernandez's absence. Stevan Ridley ran for 127 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries while Brandon Lloyd caught a pair of touchdowns.

The combination of a banged up/horrible offensive line and an injured/awful wide receiver core made the Rams the perfect combination as the Patriots' defense built up some confidence. Blitzing Bradford and pressuring him also help immensely. Rookie Alfonzo Dennard had his second interception in two weeks while fellow rookie Tavon Wilson intercepted former Jet Kellen Clemens in garbage time.

It got so bad, that I pleaded on Twitter for running time and the blind hope that Belichick would sit some of his starters lest they run the risk of a needless injury. You can exhale in that case since it looks like Wes Welker's (6 catches, 48 yards) ankle will be OK. I've never been so happy to see Ryan Mallett than I was in the fourth quarter today.

Lloyd's 19-yard touchdown catch tied it at seven midway through the first quarter. Shane Vereen scored on 4th and Goal from the 1-yard line early in the second quarter. Gronk's 7-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter was followed by his best celebration (imitating a Buckingham Palace guard) before his signature spike. A flurry of penalties by the Rams gifted Ridley a 1-yard score with 10 seconds left in the second quarter. At that point, down 28-7, St. Louis might as well have packed their bags for the long flight home.



Think of the second half as extended garbage time since New England finally learned how to step on a team's throat and put them out of their misery-something they couldn't against Baltimore, Seattle or the Jets. Lloyd caught a 9-yard touchdown pass on the Patriots' opening drive and later Stephen Gostkowski got some work with a 26-yard field goal. Gronk had one more highlight for his new legion of fans: a 14-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.

I wouldn't take too much out of this one game-the eternal lesson of the Any Given Sunday NFL-but it felt nice to see the Patriots look like their old selves again for however long. They improved to 1-2 against the NFC West this season. After some delayed travel due to Hurricane Sandy, New England will come home tomorrow and then they get a week off.

UPDATE 10/30: The Patriots released linebacker Bobby Carpenter, who had played in four games on special teams since being re-signed on October 2.

As my friend Jim Nantz said during the telecast, the bye week couldn't come at a better time. They have played eight games (half a season), they have a week off then they play eight more. Thanks Roger Goddell! When we next see the Pats, Sandy will be long gone, ditto for Halloween and the presidential election. Buffalo travels to Gillette on Sunday, November 11 (CBS, 1 p.m.).

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Week 9 Patriots-Rams Injury Report, London Style

This whole week has been out of whack since the Patriots and Rams had to fly across the globe to London for Sunday's game at Wembley Stadium (1 p.m., CBS). Today, the injury report came out and New England wasted no time to declare seven guys out already (you only have to designate seven on gameday).

Running back Brandon Bolden (knee), safetys Patrick Chung (shoulder) and Steve Gregory (hip), cornerback Ras-I Dowling (thigh; also placed on season-ending IR for the second straight season), tight end Aaron Hernandez (ankle), defensive end Trevor Scott (hamstring) and linebacker Tracy White (foot) all skipped the trip to the UK. The good news for them-minus Dowling-is that since the Patriots' bye week is next week, they'll have an additional week to rest and recover.

The Rams have been in London since Tuesday but only tackle Rodger Saffold (knee) and defensive end Eugene Sims (knee) have been ruled out so far. Five guys on St. Louis are questionable: wide receiver Danny Amendola (shoulder), defensive tackle Matt Conrath (knee), linebacker Mario Haggan (thigh), tackle Wayne Hunter (back) and tight end Mike McNeill (knee).

11 Patriots are questionable but I don't know how many more will sit since technically they've already reached the required amount. Defensive tackle Ron Brace (back), wide receivers Julian Edelman (hand), Brandon Lloyd (knee) and Wes Welker (ankle), tight end Rob Gronkowski (hip), linebackers Dont'a Hightower (hamstring) and Jerod Mayo (elbow), guard Logan Mankins (calf), center Nick McDonald (shoulder), cornerback Sterling Moore (knee) and tackle Sebastian Vollmer (back) are all 50/50 in the eyes of the NFL but not New England.

Load up on your supplies of Fish & Chips and London Pride (a local brew) as we get set for the Patriots' second game in London in the last four seasons.

UPDATE 10/27: Cornerback Malcolm Williams was promoted off the practice squad to the 53-man roster. He'll play tomorrow as he takes Dowling's spot.

UPDATE 10/28: Amendola, Hunter, Conrath, quarterback Austin Davis and Haggan are all inactive for the Rams.

Mankins has also been declared inactive for the Patriots, meaning Donald Thomas will start. Yikes.

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Devin McCourty Named AFC Special Teams Player Of The Week

The Devin McCourty roller coaster was in full effect on Sunday in the Patriots' 29-26 overtime win against the Jets. He moved to safety-where he become more effective late last season-and returned a kickoff 104 yards for New England's first touchdown of the game. Oh and he fumbled another kickoff late in the fourth quarter that should have the reason they lost.

Luckily for him and Patriots fans, they were facing the Jets so New York only managed a field goal to put them ahead 26-23 after his ghastly miscue. For the first kickoff return for a touchdown in his career (and New England's first in over two years), today he was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

When Jeff Demps was put on IR in the preseason, things did not look good for the Patriots' kick return game. Luckily, McCourty has done a good job in that respect. He has been their main kick returner and averaged 28.3 yards on 12 returns so far this season.

New England (4-3) is getting ready to hop across the pond for their game on Sunday (1 p.m., CBS) against St. Louis (3-4) at Wembley Stadium. It's the second time (2009) that the Patriots have invaded the UK. That time, they blew out the Buccaneers 35-7. That Tampa Bay team was a joke and at the time, New England was playing better than now.

The Pats have opened up as a seven-point favorite but they were a 10.5 point favorite against the Jets last weekend. What I'm saying is that at this point, you can't overlook almost any team on their schedule. Expect a closer than expected contest. Some more good returns by McCourty and keeping him at safety would help the Patriots' cause.

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Book Your Flights To The UK: Pats vs. Rams At Wembley Stadium On October 28, 2012

Totally out of nowhere late last night on Twitter, I saw a tweet that the New England Patriots would face the St. Louis Rams in London, England next season.

When I went to bed, I hoped that bad dream would disappear but sadly the teams confirmed it today. The Patriots and Rams will play on October 28, 2012 at London's famed Wembley Stadium.

This will be the second time in four seasons that New England will travel to the UK, after they went there in October 2009 and trounced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

There are only a few things that the NFL as a whole has been wrong about in the last decade: Thursday night games and this joke of a trip to England. Take it from somebody that studied abroad in college: nobody in Europe, the UK or England gives a shit about the NFL. They don't understand it and they never will.

So what's the point of the NFL still making that trip every year? Well like everything in pro sports (and life), it revolves around money and expanding markets. I also read this morning that apparently St. Louis is locked into London games for the next three seasons. Haha I guess people in Europe and the UK can't get enough of Sam Bradford, Steven Jackson and new Rams head coach Jeff Fisher.

Next season's game will count as a home game for St. Louis so New England will still have its usual eight home games in 2012. However with the time changes and travel times, the games in London are much more of a burden and a novelty to teams than a reward for the players and coaches.

“We are honored to be selected for this year’s game and eager to return,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in an NFL press release. “We had such a great experience during our last visit to London. We are proud to have great support from our fans when we are on the road. The United Kingdom is home to some of our most passionate Patriots fans, including the UKPatriots, who are among our most active fan clubs overall, not just overseas. We look forward to another memorable experience.”

There are rumors of the NFL permanently moving a franchise to the UK or Europe which is insane. The NBA has had similar rumors in the last few years and I have to say, give me a break. An exhibition game or trip here or there is one thing but moving a team there? Haha that is such a joke, I don't even know what to say.

If you need me, I'll be saving up my pounds (English currency) to get to London next October for that Pats-Rams game (two days before my birthday!).

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