Matt Light To Be Honored At Halftime On Monday Night During Patriots-Texans

There is no other way to say it, the next two weeks for the Patriots are going to be awesome: they play two consecutive nationally-televised games as they host the Texans (11-1) on Monday night (8:30 p.m., ESPN) and then the Niners (8-3-1) on the following Sunday night (8:20 p.m., NBC). Since Houston is in the AFC and the current No. 1 seed, it's not an understatement to say that Monday night is the biggest game of the regular season for New England.

With that in mind, it's nice to hear that the team is treating it like such and pulling out all the stops both on and off the field for their fans. Today it was announced that retired offensive tackle Matt Light will be honored at halftime on Monday. Kevin Faulk was similarly feted earlier this season. Light officially retired in May after playing his entire NFL career in New England (2001-2011). What's more, he revealed that he had competed while battling Crohn's disease.

I have no doubt that this will pull in Monday Night Football's biggest rating of the season (at least so far) since it is the best matchup. They've been cursed with a bunch of crappy games but that certainly won't be the case on Monday at Gillette Stadium. It's a huge contest in terms of playoff seeding in the AFC since a Texans win would basically ensure that they get the top seed and a bye while the Patriots would have to scrap for the second seed at best. Conversely, if New England can beat Houston, not only would it make it possible to get the No. 1 seed but more importantly, they could gain plenty of confidence knowing they beat the Texans and got one step closer to home-field in the AFC playoffs.

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Thank Tom Brady, The 2012 Patriots Bye Week Is Finally Over!

I don't know about you but as a serious creature of habit, I found myself basically lost yesterday afternoon. With no Patriots game to look forward to, watch and write about, I spaced out while watching other NFL games. Don't get me wrong, the NFL is by far the best professional sports league in the U.S. but it's a big difference when your team is not playing. All I cared about yesterday was fantasy points and that's no way to live.

Thankfully, we can quickly put that all behind us. On Sunday (1 p.m., CBS), the Bills (3-5)-who lost 21-9 in Houston yesterday afternoon-visit Gillette Stadium to take on the Patriots (5-3). When we last saw them in Week 4, New England went to Buffalo and embarrassed the Bills 52-28. The Pats opened up as an 11-point favorite and despite playing down to competition for most of this season, they pretty much always beat the Bills (usually in blowout fashion) and leave them in the cellar of the AFC East.

My two nuggets of Patriots related information for today: 1) former legendary running back Kevin Faulk will be honored at halftime of Sunday's game. Hopefully the bozos at CBS give us a taste of it. Look for a similar ceremony for former offensive tackle Matt Light later in this season. 2) The Patriots-Colts (5-3) game in Week 11 (the following week) on Sunday, November 18 was flexed by the NFL from a 1 p.m. kickoff to 4:25 p.m. That move was made since rookie quarterback Andrew Luck and Indianapolis are already way better than anyone could have expected. Who knew Colts-Patriots games could be relevant again so soon?

UPDATE 11/6: Former Alabama linebacker Jerrell Harris was added to New England's practice squad.

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For His Next Career, Matt Light Will Attempt The Impossible: Make ESPN's NFL Coverage Watchable

I won't lie and tell you that I enjoy ESPN's NFL coverage or that I even watch it (by choice). If i'm tuning in to shows about the NFL, it's gotta be the excellent NFL Network. Sure, sometimes it'll be on at the gym or I flip over to ESPN during commercials of other things I'm watching. Still, it is basically awful with the legions of former players (Cris Carter) and coaches (Herm Edwards) masquerading as clowns.

Into that mess steps former New England Patriots offensive lineman Matt Light. After retiring this spring, Tom Brady's old left tackle was looking for a new career as I'm sure he's not ready to sit around the house all the time or endlessly play golf and talk about the glory days.

From ESPNBoston.com and ESPN PR
"Three-time Super Bowl champion and former New England Patriots offensive tackle Matt Light is joining ESPN’s NFL analyst team. A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Light will appear on NFL Live, NFL32 and SportsCenter. He will also contribute features to Sunday NFL Countdown.

Light, who visited ESPN as a guest NFL analyst in May, will make his debut Monday, July 23.

“Matt is a great addition to our ESPN team because he sees the world and the game of football from a refreshingly different perspective than most,” said Seth Markman, ESPN senior coordinating producer for NFL studio shows. “He has an engaging personality and he’s unafraid to offer honest opinions, which fans will appreciate.”

Light said, “I'm really looking forward to joining the ESPN family and getting a chance to see the game from a different side. I'm obviously depending heavily on my rugged good looks and ability to avoid run-on sentences to succeed in this new role.”

You'll remember that former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi is also a fixture of ESPN's non-stop football coverage so it's not all bad. Light has a pretty solid sense of humor and the Purdue graduate seems like a smart guy so let's hope that he can mold both of those strengths into a quality on-air persona. Lord knows there is enough one-note NFL commentators (hi Tom Jackson) littering the airwaves.

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A Million Reports Say That Matt Light Will Retire This Offseason

As it turns out, when Matt Light got wasted and shirtless after the Patriots lost to the Giants once again in the Super Bowl last February, he knew he was walking away from the NFL for good. In that case, it's a little more forgivable that the normally reliable pro had a night more suited for Rob Gronkowski.

It hasn't been officially recognized yet by the Patriots, he's still listed on the active roster on their team website, but multiple reports today stated what many believed all offseason: Light will retire before next season begins.

By nature, offensive linemen are always underrated and unappreciated in football. The saying goes that you only notice them when they make a mistake: give up a sack, get called for a penalty or can't block a guy, leading to a loss of yards for a running back.

At left tackle, Light was a three-time Pro Bowler (2006, 2007, 2010) and he was part of a team that won eight AFC East division championships, five AFC Championships and three Super Bowls. The Patriots won the first three Super Bowls that he played in (2002 vs. St. Louis, 2004 vs. Carolina, 2005 vs. Philadelphia) but lost the last two (2008 vs. Giants, 2012 vs. Giants).

Coming out of Purdue in 2001 (2nd round, 48th overall), Light will go down as one of the best linemen in franchise history and he's a sure bet for the Patriots Hall of Fame in a few years. He protected Tom Brady's blindside for that entire time while also being a go-to guy for the media and a team leader. He was classy, well-spoken, tough and he possessed a great sense of humor.

New England drafted Nate Solder last season with the obvious plan to replace Light, who appeared to be on his last legs. All Light did in 2011 was go out and have one of his best seasons as a pro. It's a shame that he couldn't go out on the highest note: with one final Super Bowl ring. However, I really respect that he wants to go out while he's still a great player rather than hang around for way too long like most pro athletes do. He must be ready to move on to the next challenge.

It was easy for a while to say that Light couldn't block speed-rushers like Indy's Dwight Freeney but we'll see what life without Light is like beginning in August. I'm sure Brady must be depressed since not only does he lose one of his most trusted teammates, but it means that only him and Kevin Faulk (likely to retire as well) are the only players left from the three Super Bowl winning squads.

Thanks for everything Matt, Patriots fans will never forget all you gave to the organization both on and off the field. Best of luck with the next step in your life.

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Patriots Pledge Two More Seasons Of Matt Light In Foxborough

Good news for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as his left tackle Matt Light has reportedly agreed to a 2-year deal to stay in New England.

There were rumors that Light (a 10-year veteran of the Pats) was heading to the Seahawks, Steelers or Chiefs but New England made the right decision by keeping him rather than forcing rookie first-round pick Nate Solder to have to take that coveted spot. With the lockout and hyper speed training camp, it would have been taking a huge risk to assume Solder could handle the most important task on the offensive line.

Light, a three-time Pro Bowler (including 2010), started all 16 games last season for the Patriots at left tackle. During a 10-year career, Light has played in 140 games (starting all but two). He was picked by the Patriots in the second round of the 2001 draft.

This is the best of both worlds as Light rightfully keeps his job while serving as a mentor for Solder, who is the left tackle of the future. The Purdue product is a true pro, a respected member of the community and the leader of the offensive line; Brady has to be a happy man (even a little more than usual) with this firmed up.

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