Patriots Hang On 16-9 In Home Opener, Raiders Self-Destruct In Most Raiders Way Possible

It's only Week 3 of the 2014 NFL regular season but I am already going weary of describing a Patriots win as ugly and unfortunately, I think that will be a habit all season long. Of course, what's most important is that New England (2-1) came out on top of Oakland (0-3) 16-9 this afternoon at Gillette Stadium in their home opener. Still, we all know all that matters around here is the postseason and bad habits that creep up now will be nearly impossible to eradicate by then against quality opponents.

The good news is that I think that the Patriots' defense could be the best that they've had in years. For the second game in a row, they held their opponent to a single-digit point total and this time, they spiced it up but not allowing the hapless Raiders to get into the end zone. Clearly, Minnesota and Oakland's offenses are two of the worst in the NFL but we have to be positive about something, right?

New England's offense is the most worrisome aspect of their team, by far. Where to begin with their myriad problems? The offensive line stinks, they only allowed two sacks today but Tom Brady (24 of 37 for 234 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs) was hurried and knocked down numerous other times. The lack of weapons is also downright scary.

Julian Edelman (10 catches, 84 yards) is Brady's only trusted receiver with Rob Gronkowski (3 catches, 44 yards, TD) still working his way back into form and Brandon LaFell/Danny Amendola/Aaron Dobson (inactive again) nowhere to be seen. The running game carried the Pats last Sunday in Minnesota but today, they combined for just 83 yards on 29 carries. Yuck.

Against almost any other club, this would have gone to overtime. Luckily, it was the Raiders so when rookie Derek Carr (21 of 34 for 174 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) drove them near the goal-line, they had a touchdown run by Darren McFadden called back for a holding penalty on a lineman. Naturally, on the next play his pass was deflected and intercepted by Vince Wilfork (his 3rd career interception, 2nd vs. Oakland).

The only points in the first quarter came from a 49-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski. The Pats went up 10-3 in the second quarter with a 6-yard touchdown catch by Gronk and Stephen Gostkowski's 21-yard field goal to end the half after they couldn't punch it in from near the goal-line.

Janikowski's two field goals in the third quarter (37, 47) helped rack up the fantasy points for fans. Gostkowski hit two more field goals (20, 36) in the dull fourth quarter as New England continued to falter in the red zone (another main issue).

This contest set football back about 20 years so be thankful that it didn't drag on any longer. New England gets an extra day to prepare for their first nationally broadcast game of the season: next Monday (8:30, ESPN) at Kansas City (1-2). The Chiefs looked terrible in Week 1 (26-10 loss to Titans), almost rallied vs. Denver in Week 2 (24-17) before finally putting it together this afternoon with a 34-15 win over the Dolphins (1-2). Predictably, Miami has played poorly since that big Week 1 win over New England.

If Jamaal Charles misses another game, I like New England's chances to go into Arrowhead Stadium and pick up what would be a nice road win. Kansas City's defense is depleted and Alex Smith is the type of game manager that will put up good numbers vs. New England but probably won't beat them especially now that they have Darrelle Revis.

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Week 3: Patriots vs. Raiders Injury Report

The traveling freak show that is the Oakland Raiders (0-2) makes a rare stop at Gillette Stadium on Sunday (1, CBS) to face the Patriots (1-1). In their 2014 home opener, New England is by far the biggest favorite in the NFL this weekend and with good reason, as usual the past decade the Raiders are a complete disaster. Oh and that joker with the bowl cut up above is the late Al Davis' mysterious son Mark that hit the genetic lottery (well kind of) and he's now the current owner of these losers.

The injury report was released this afternoon with six Patriots listed as questionable, one Raider already out and seven others questionable. Defensive lineman Michael Buchanan (ankle), Jamie Collins (thigh), Alfonzo Dennard (shoulder), safety Don Jones (hamstring), Shane Vereen (shoulder) and center Ryan Wendell (knee) are the guys on New England who could be out for what should be the easiest win of the season. Collins, Dennard and Vereen are the most notable; the first two were out last week in Minnesota while Vereen is a new addition.

UConn safety Tyvon Branch returns to New England with Oakland as a starter but his fellow Husky alum linebacker Sio Moore (ankle) has already been ruled out. The Raiders who are most in danger of missing out on this beating are cornerback Chimdi Chekwa (knee), Maurice Jones-Drew (hand), offensive tackle Matt McCants (knee), linebacker Nick Roach (concussion), cornerback Carlos Rogers (knee), defensive lineman Antonio Smith (back) and wide receiver Rod Streater (hip). Jones-Drew, Rogers and Smith are all former stars that might be washed up (why else would they come to Oakland?).

Sunday could be the last summer like day of the year in these parts so enjoy it but check in for my update before kickoff regarding the inactives.

UPDATE 9/21: The Patriots inactives are Dennard, Jones, Wendell, DL Zach Moore, WR Aaron Dobson, OL Josh Kline and RB James White. The Raiders inactives are Chekwa, Jones-Drew, Moore, Roach, QB Matt Schaub, OL Matt McCants and OL Tony Bergstrom.

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Chandler Jones Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Coming off their 30-7 win over Minnesota on Sunday, this afternoon Patriots (1-1) defensive end Chandler Jones was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. His signature play-the blocked field goal and 58-yard return for a score-didn't even count towards this most coveted award but he still had the resume with six solo tackles, two assists, two sacks and one run stuff.

It was fitting that Jones picked up the first honor of the 2014 regular season for the Pats since other than cornerback Darrelle Revis, Jones is arguably their most important player on defense. It's too simplistic to say that New England lost to Miami (33-20) because Jones didn't play well (4 solo tackles) but you have to note that moving him from inside (in a 3-4) to his more natural position on the outside as a pass rusher allowed him to succeed.

Still only 24 years old in his third pro season, Jones had six sacks his rookie season and 11.5 last season; he also has four forced fumbles and one recovered fumble in his brief career. I don't think he's a Hall of Famer by any means but he has the ability to be a Pro Bowler that gets double digit sacks every season and those guys don't grow on trees, particularly if the defense is anything close to what it was against the overmatched Vikings.

The offense hasn't looked good for the most part through the first two games but this is definitely the week for Tom Brady and Co. to wake up: vs. Oakland (0-2) at Gillette Stadium in their 2014 home opener. If the Pats struggle at all vs. the Raiders, you'll know that something is seriously wrong with their offense. It's nearly impossible to predict NFL games but Vegas clearly knows something as they've installed the Pats as a 15-point favorite (highest in the league).

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Patriots Defense Decides to Show Up, New England Wins In Oakland

In a league that changes from week to week, let alone year to year, in a weird way you have to give the Oakland Raiders credit for never changing in many aspects: they roll through mediocre quarterbacks and head coaches like nobody else, they covet fast wide receivers that are better suited for track events in the Olympics, they are always near the league leaders in penalties and despite their terrible record the last decade, their convicts-I mean fans-still dress up in their finest Halloween costumes and show up at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Oakland (2-2) is no longer a joke, I'll give them that much, but they basically lucked out in drafting running back Darren McFadden (75 yards rushing, 48 yards receiving). The New England Patriots (3-1) bounced back from last weekend's debacle in Buffalo for a satisfying 31-19 win this afternoon on the West Coast.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (16 of 30, 226 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions) didn't put up nearly as much fantasy points as he had the first three weeks but he also didn't have any turnovers after throwing four interceptions against the Bills.

To call New England wide receiver Wes Welker (9 catches, 158 yards, 1 TD) a one-man band would be kind. He was targetted on nearly half (14) of Brady's 30 attempts and only Chad Ochocinco (2 catches, 26 yards) recorded more than one catch in the win. In other words, please come back soon Aaron Hernandez (who missed his second straight game with a knee injury).

Oakland's latest flavor of the month QB Jason Campbell (25 of 39, 344 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) is the same average guy he was all those middling years in Washington with the Redskins. Don't let his numbers fool you either, he piled up a ton of yardage and got his only touchdown on a garbage-time drive that cut it to 31-19 with less than a minute remaining in the game.

Campbell had two unforgivable mistakes that the Pats were able to take advantage of. First, he threw an awful interception right to safety Patrick Chung in the end zone during the second quarter. As if that wasn't bad enough, he threw his second pick in the fourth quarter to that noted ballhawk Vince Wilfork (haha second in three games for Big Vince).

The most notable development of this game was New England's dedication to the running game, something they are usually allergic to in most cases. Would you believe me if I told you, they had 30 rushing attempts to go with Brady's 30 passing attempts? Youth and high school football coaches across New England just got massive erections reading that. See, you gotta get a 50/50 run, pass split!

The beneficiaries of the Patriots' running game were rookie running back Stevan Ridley (10 carries, 97 yards, 1 TD) and BenJarvus Green-Ellis (16 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD). Ridley has the size (5-11, 225 pounds), strength and moves that the team has lacked since Corey Dillon retired. No, I'm not saying after four games in his NFL career that he'll come anywhere close to Dillon's career output but Ridley is an obvious talent that they've lacked for years.

That also put to bed (for one week) the common feeling around the NFL that as Raiders linebacker Rolando McClain opined last week "the Patriots are a finesse team." They still love their passes but at least they proved they can run it against a physical team.

New England also got a glimpse of former star defensive lineman Richard Seymour (who was dealt to Oakland two years ago in one of the worst moves in Pats history). Seymour was fired up as evidenced by the way he tossed Brady on New England's opening drive. Other than three solo tackles and three penalties (one that was declined), Seymour wasn't heard from too much.

All week, Patriots fans were scared to death of seeing McFadden and Michael Bush (26 yards rushing; 55 yards receiving) run all over the place. Somehow, the Pats defense was able to put it all together. They hemmed them up by tackling well (usually a big issue) and forcing Campbell to win it which he clearly couldn't do.

Everyone's favorite scumbag kicker Sebastian Janikowski opened the scoring with a 28-yard field goal on Oakland's first drive. Brady and Welker answered as the former found the latter with a 15-yard touchdown strike on New England's first drive, the PAT made it 7-3 for the visitors.

It's safe to say that Welker is 100% recovered from his brutal knee injury of two seasons ago. He looks like the same guy that is basically unstoppable for opposing defenses and he's already found the end zone five times this season.

Bush began the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run for the Raiders, the PAT made it 10-7. Green-Ellis responded with a 1-yard TD run of his own. Stephen Gostkowski added the PAT on that score then drilled a 44-yard kick with six seconds left in the half, giving the Pats a 17-10 lead.

Ridley took all the air out of the Coliseum with a beautiful 33-yard scamper to put New England ahead 24-10 early in the third quarter after the PAT. Janikowski had the Raiders' only points of the frame with a 26-yard kick after they stalled in the red zone.

Brady put it out of reach early in the fourth quarter, finding Deion Branch for his only catch of the game-a 1-yard touchdown grab. Gostkowski's PAT gave New England an 18-point advantage (31-13).

Rookie receiver Denarius Moore caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Campbell with 28 seconds left in the contest. It was totally inconsequential to the outside world but it made me happy since I grabbed him off the waiver wire in a fantasy league and gave him a spot start (thanks for reading about my fantasy team).

The only downside to this win is that Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo (knee, MCL) and running back Danny Woodhead (ankle) left with injuries and never returned. Good luck figuring out how long (if at all) those guys will be out. I will say that Mayo's looked more serious as he was carried off by teammates while Woodhead hobbled to the sideline. The last thing the Patriots defense needs is their signal-caller (Mayo) to miss significant time. Woodhead also brings plenty of value in his versatility (catching screens and running between the tackles).

Things should pick up another notch next Sunday as the New York Jets (2-2) limp into Gillette Stadium. Rex Ryan and his team were rocked tonight in Baltimore (34-17) but you know they'll get up for next weekend's early AFC East showdown. New York's defense is still very solid but their offense is off to a particularly slow start with quarterback Mark "Cantchise" Sanchez looking as overmatched as ever thanks to a terrible offensive line.

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Welch Promoted From Practice Squad, Ventrone Released; 3 More Declared Out

As I said last week, you never know what you're going to get in terms of the bottom of the New England Patriots' roster once gameday rolls around.

Today, the Pats announced that offensive lineman Thomas Welch was promoted from the practice squad while safety Ross Ventrone was released (expect him to go back to the practice squad, where he spent the first two weeks of the 2011 season) after getting activated for one week of glory against the Bills.

Welch was a 2010 seventh-round draft pick of New England, who was active in Week 1 against Miami before being released and re-signed to the practice squad (get the picture?).

With Sebastian Vollmer out tomorrow against the Oakland Raiders, rookie Nate Solder is expected to start at right tackle and Welch will add some depth to the offensive linemen.

Ventrone's release likely signals that safety Patrick Chung is healthy enough to play after missing last weekend's game in Buffalo with a hand injury. This is a good thing, the Patriots desperately need his playmaking ability and hard hits. Hell if he can tackle, he'll be a huge improvement over Josh Barrett and Sergio Brown.

The other roster news that broke today is that cornerbacks Leigh Bodden (groin) and Ras-I Dowling (hip) have been declared out for tomorrow. Albert Haynesworth is also out, meaning that New England will need to designate one more inactive before kickoff against Oakland.

Devin McCourty will start opposite either Kyle Arrington (it's gotta be him) or Antwaun Molden. Phillip Adams will be coming off the bench as a substitute for the cornerbacks.

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Patriots-Raiders Injury Report Update

The New England Patriots (2-1) flew out to Oakland tonight ahead of Sunday afternoon's game against the Raiders (2-1).

On every Friday of the NFL regular season, teams release their first injury report for the upcoming game. The Pats are always playing Jedi mind tricks with the opponent by putting a million of their guys on it. So without further ado, here's this week.

Tight end Aaron Hernandez (knee), tackle Sebastian Vollmer (back) and defensive lineman Mike Wright (concussion) have all already been ruled out for New England.

Cornerbacks Kyle Arrington (chest), Leigh Bodden (groin), Ras-I Dowling (hip), safety Patrick Chung (hand), defensive lineman Shaun Ellis (knee), linebacker Gary Guyton (hamstring), defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth (back), wide receiver Taylor Price (hamstring) and offensive lineman Ryan Wendell (calf) are all questionable for the Pats.

Safety Josh Barrett and linebacker Dane Fletcher are probable with thumb injuries.

For the host Raiders, cornerback Chris Johnson and wide receiver Louis Murphy are out. Linebacker Ricky Brown (who was in camp with the Pats), wide receiver Jacoby Ford, safety Michael Huff, safety Michael Mitchell, fullback Marcel Reece and defensive end Matt Shaughnessy are all questionable.

Oakland safety Jerome Boyd, quarterback Jason Campbell, cornerback Chimdi Chekwa, safety Matt Giordano, linebacker Quentin Groves, running back Darren McFadden and cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke are all probable.

Hernandez and Vollmer being out just like last week is bad news for the Patriots. Likewise, if their already thin secondary is missing a few cornerbacks it could be a long day although Campbell and the Raiders don't really like to throw it/don't have great receiving options.

Chung and Haynesworth are the questionable guys for New England that could potentially have the biggest impact if they suit up.

Huff is one of the more underrated safeties in the league so Oakland will no doubt hope that he's in the game while Reece is a good blocker that springs holes for McFadden-currently the NFL's leading rusher.

Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow night if we hear them. Otherwise, it's a mad scramble on Sunday afternoon as you set your Fantasy Football lineups and try to figure out who's available (not that any of these players affect that) on your teams.

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"How to ruin a once proud franchise" by Al Davis

It's hard to imagine two professional sports teams taking a more divergent path than the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders after they met in the 2001 playoffs. The Patriots pulled out that controversial game in overtime, a springboard to their first of three Super Bowl titles in four seasons.

Sure the Raiders made the next Super Bowl but they lost that to the Bucs and then since then they've been living on NFL's version of skid row with the Detroit Lions.

How else can you describe such a putrid franchise after yesterday's joke of a game in Oakland?

After two weeks on the west coast, the Patriots (9-5) came home with a 49-26 win that wasn't anywhere near that close.

New England scored on its first three drives and led 21-0 with 3:43 left in the first quarter.

The Raiders (3-11) certainly scored some points of their own but the outcome of this one was decided in the first half.

Matt Cassel's dad died unexpectedly last week but any thoughts of that being a distraction were quickly erased as Cassel set a career-high with four touchdown passes. He finished 18-for-30 for 218 yards and an interception (which clanged off stone hands Ben Watson who was wide open).

Even more impressive was the Pats three-headed rushing attack that for one day at least resembled the Giants' vaunted trio.

Sammy Morris (14 carries, 117 yards), LaMont Jordan (12 carries, 97 yards) and Kevin Faulk (45 yards rushing, 66 yards receiving) ran through the biggest holes in California, this side of your garden variety porn stars.

Faulk began the barrage with a 7-yard catch and run for a score (with a great block from Wes Welker).

Ex-Raider Randy Moss (5 catches, 67 yards) got his revenge for a couple wasted years of his life by hauling in a 20-yard pass from Cassel.

Morris made it 21-0 with a 29-yard run.

Oakland got on the board late in the first quarter when JaMarcus Russell hit Johnnie Lee Higgins with a 56-yard TD.

Welker (6 catches, 69 yards) scored a rare TD with a 13-yard catch.

Then on back-to-back plays, the Raiders and Patriots had kickoff returns for touchdowns.

Justin Miller (91 yards) did the honors for Oakland while Ellis Hobbs (95 yards) answered for New England.

In the third quarter, Moss' second TD (9-yards) put the Pats up 42-14 and sent many of the Raider faithful back to their various prisons and rehab facilities.

Still, in a driving rainstorm and watching their team get embarrassed, there was something very captivating about fans sticking it out. They are called many things but Raider fans are not frauds.

Russell (17-for-31, 242 yards, interception) completed his erratic day with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Curry.

In garbage time, Jordan (another ex-Raider) scampered 49 yards (longest run of the year for New England) and rookie stud Darren McFadden (46 yards rushing; 68 yards receiving) ran in from 11 yards away.

There were only two bad things yesterday for the Patriots. Left tackle Matt Light left the game and appeared to have seriously injured his shoulder. Also, the Jets and Dolphins both hung on to win close games, meaning the Patriots are still tied with those two teams.

Only two games remain and the Patriots have to win out. They might not even make it if that happens but it would be surprising nonetheless.

The Cardinals, who have already clinched a playoff spot and are terrible on the road (especially on the east coast) come to Gillette next weekend. Hopefully Mother Nature helps the Pats out with some classic New England winter weather.