Should Have Got That Surgery Done Earlier Boss

Just days after having abdominal surgery, Tully Banta-Cain has been informed that he will be released by the Patriots on Thursday. Adam Schefter of ESPN broke the news on Twitter earlier this morning.

The move is not surprising, especially when you consider that Banta-Cain is due to miss training camp, the preseason and perhaps the season opener. This release is clearly due to Banta-Cain's negligence in dealing with his abdominal injury.

As I detailed yesterday on this blog, Banta-Cain and the team doctors agreed that the injury would not require surgery. However, Banta-Cain apparently reinjured his abdomen recently which tells me that he wasn't working out early on in his off-season.

Banta-Cain is currently under contract for both this year and next, so the release has to be because of the surgery. However, the Patriots are now even more desperate for an outside linebacker, as Tully had 15 sacks in the last two seasons. I think Banta-Cain had some sort of commitment issues, which may have led to his departure the first time around.

Of course there's always the chance that he comes back for less money (something the Patriots love to do) but right now, he appears to be done in Foxborough.

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Banta-Cain Undergoes Surgery, Out 4-5 Weeks

Patriots outside linebacker Tully Banta-Cain underwent surgery on Friday to repair an abdominal injury. A source confirmed this to ESPN last night and estimated that it would be 4-5 weeks before the veteran pass rusher would be ready to play.

Banta-Cain will most likely miss training camp and the preseason and may miss the Patriots' season opener on September 12th at Miami.

The injury and subsequent surgery could not have come at a worse time for both Banta-Cain and the Patriots, as the NFL Lockout is reportedly ending today. If the league and the NFLPA can reach an agreement today, training camps could open as early as this Wednesday with the Pats reportedly being one of the 10 teams to start on the first day.

Some have wondered why Banta-Cain waited so long to get the surgery done. I personally believe that the lockout is partly to blame. After suffering the injury late last season, team doctors said that surgery was not required. Apparently, Banta-Cain reinjured his abdomen during recent workouts. One can't help but wonder if this injury would have came back had the NFL offseason schedule proceeded as usual, with mandatory OTAs and offical team workouts. I would imagine that this conditioning issue will manifest itself with many teams as camp opens up.

Banta-Cain played in 15 games last season and recorded six sacks, mostly coming off the bench in special packages.

If Banta-Cain is to miss any significant time past the initial 4-5 week estimation, the Patriots will look into acquiring a veteran OLB who can get to the QB and mentor some of the Pats' younger pass fishers like Rob Ninkovich and Jermaine Cunningham, who will fill in while Banta-Cain is out.

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Patriots find a pass rush, beat the hapless Bills

Once again, it wasn't pretty (at all) but the Patriots beat the Bills yesterday 17-10 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

It was New England's (9-5) first true road win since their only other win away from Gillette was in London.

They also received two early Christmas presents as the Jets lost to the Falcons and the Dolphins lost in overtime to the Titans. The Patriots are two games up in the AFC East with two games to play.

The two things to take away from yesterday (besides how pathetic Buffalo is) were the reappearance of Randy Moss off milk cartons and post office walls. Plus, the Pats non-existent pass rush stopped by and sacked Ryan Fitzpatrick and Trent Edwards a combined six times.

Tully Banta-Cain led the Patriots' defense with three sacks, while Derrick Burgess, Gary Guyton and Mike Wright also recorded sacks. Finally, Jonathan Wilhite had an interception.

Buffalo (5-9) looked like world-beaters on their opening drive as they held the ball for 14 plays and 9:24 but they stalled in the red zone and were forced to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Rian Lindell.

Without Vince Wilfork (one of the NFL's best) and Ty Warren (a very solid defensive end), the Patriots defensive line was completely pushed around on that first drive.

Rookie Ron Brace (4 tackles) started in the middle for New England and Wright (6 tackles, sack, 2 tackles for loss) subbed for Warren. Brace proved why he's been inactive much of the season while Wright continued to get everything out of his limited ability.

Moss (5 catches, 70 yards) put the Pats up 7-3 in the second quarter on one of Tom Brady's (11 for 23, 115 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) only good throws: a perfect 13-yard strike to the back of the end zone that Moss controlled and tapped his feet down before going out of bounds.

Laurence Maroney (23 carries, 81 yards) gave New England a 14-3 lead with 24 seconds left in the first half. Nobody will ever credit him until he has an injury-free, solid season, but Maroney is slowly becoming the weapon he's shown glimpses of in the past.

Buffalo couldn't get out of its own way as they had 10 penalties in the first half-an NFL record this season-and finished with 11 overall for 124 yards.

Stephen Gostkowski's 30-yard kick put the Pats up 17-3 but the Bills made it close when Lee Evans caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick.

The Bills recovered the ensuing onside kick but rookie Aaron Maybin was offsides so they chose to kick it deep and they never saw it again.

Jacksonville comes to Gillette next Sunday and then the Patriots wrap up the regular season at Houston in two weeks. If New England wins on Sunday, they'll clinch the division and would have to think hard about resting Brady since he's clearly banged up and not himself. He has an interception in four straight games.

If the playoffs started today, the Broncos would be coming to Gillette in the Wild Card round. Not a bad matchup.

Thank God for the Jets

After a week of seemingly every person in the world weighing in on Bill Belichick's absurd fourth down call in the loss to the Colts, it was refreshing to see the Patriots stomp the Jets 31-14 at Gillette Stadium yesterday.

No team in the NFL has as much false confidence as New York (4-6) and their fat clown of a head coach, Rex Ryan. The fact that the Jets had beaten the Patriots (7-3) 16-9 back in Week 2 was more fuel to the proverbial fire.

This game was not nearly as close as the score would indicate since Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez threw four interceptions and lost a fumble. It was 24-7 at halftime and New York cut it to 10 points (24-14) in the third quarter but the outcome wasn't in question after the first half.

Wes Welker, who didn't play in the Week 2 meeting, was his usual unstoppable self. He set a career-high with 15 catches for 192 yards and he added an 11-yard end around for 203 total yards. There is no discussion, he is the best slot receiver in the NFL.

Darrelle Revis is undoubtedly one of if not the best cornerback in the league and for the second time this season, he neutralized Randy Moss. Straight Cash Homie was limited to five catches for 34 yards. He did manage a 4-yard touchdown catch on a quick slant in the first quarter but his biggest contribution yesterday was as a decoy. For instance on one play, three Jets defenders went to Moss leaving Welker wide open for a 43-yard catch.

Tom Brady had his fifth straight 300-yard game, passing for 310 yards and a touchdown. Laurence Maroney continued his fraudulent streak of five straight games with a touchdown as he scored twice and ran for 77 yards. Just in case you were getting a little confidence in Maroney, he fumbled again to remind you of his goal-line fumble against Indianapolis.

The Patriots defense got consistent pressure on Sanchez and as a result, he threw three terrible picks. New England cornerback Leigh Bodden had three interceptions including one he took back 53 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Tully Banta-Cain was the other standout defensively for the Pats as he had two sacks and forced a fumble.

The Jets caught a huge break late in the first half as they blocked a punt and returned it four yards for a touchdown. Sanchez and the offense finally moved in the ball on the first drive of the second half as he found Jerricho Cotchery with a 29-yard strike.

New England's offense scuffled in the second half and couldn't really move the ball (outside of Welker) but Maroney put it away with a 1-yard run with five minutes left in the game.

The Saints (10-0) blew out the Bucs yesterday which sets up a juicy Monday night game next week at the Superdome against the Patriots. It will be a good measuring stick for both teams and also an indicator if the NFC should be taken seriously or not.

With the Bengals and Steelers both losing yesterday and the Chargers winning, four teams in the AFC find themselves 7-3 as they try to get the No. 2 spot (and the all-important bye) in the playoffs.