No Seriously, What the Hell Did We Just Watch?

I have seen plenty of ugly football in my life, I used to cover high school football in Massachusetts after all, but tonight's Patriots-Jets debacle at Gillette Stadium was a new low. The Patriots (2-0) beat the Jets (1-1) 13-10 in their 2013 home opener that set the game of football back at least 20 years and made me want to huff ether.

How wretched did New England play against one of the worst teams in the NFL? Well I'm happy you asked. They had nine first downs, went 4 for 18 on third down conversions and only gained 232 total yards. Just like on Sunday when the Pats were lucky enough to be lining up against the hapless Bills, once again this evening they were rewarded by the NFL schedulemakers since there are only a handful of teams that would have lost to the Patriots with the level they played at.

New York lost because they had four turnovers (3 interceptions by rookie quarterback Geno Smith and a fumble by wide receiver Stephen Hill). Tom Brady (19 of 39, 185 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) had one of the most mediocre games of his legendary career and it's easy to see why: Julian Edelman (career-high 13 catches, 78 yards on 18 targets) was his main weapon in the passing game. A confluence of factors contributed to this being such a stinkbomb: short week, no Danny Amendola or Rob Gronkowski, poor execution and lack of chemistry. That about covers it, no?

Rookie Aaron Dobson was left wide open and as a result of New York's boneheaded blitz call, his first NFL catch was a 39-yard touchdown. After Aqib Talib forced a fumble on Stephen Hill's (4 catches, 87 yards) 33-yard catch and recovered by Devin McCourty. He returned it 44 yards to the New York 8-yard line but the Pats had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski. Foreshadowing!

Nick Folk got the Jets on the board with a 37-yard field goal later in the first quarter and Gostkowski's 30-yard kick in the second quarter turned out to be New England's final points. That's right, the team that won this pig orgy didn't score for the final 34:55. New York made it somewhat competitive as Bilal Powell had a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter which cut it to 13-10. As you can see, neither squad scored in the listless fourth quarter. I feel bad for the poor saps that paid all that money to go to this awful game, get stuck in traffic for hours then sat through that complete with buckets of rain. Fun times!

Obviously the Patriots' defense was the key to the win: they had four sacks (2 for Chandler Jones and 1 for Tommy Kelly and Michael Buchanan), three interceptions (2 for Talib and 1 for Alfonzo Dennard) and they took advantage of the fact that they were playing a rookie quarterback for the second week in a row.

Smith did his part to piss the game away by tossing all three of his picks in the fourth quarter that some people call winning time. Dobson (3 catches, 56 yards on 10 targets) and KenBrell Thompkins (2 catches, 47 yards on 7 targets) were never on the same page with Brady. That's not to say that every throw was perfect to them but they each had numerous passes clank off their hands. There are reports of Amendola being out until Week 6 which is a scary proposition. I don't know who the Pats could get at this point but they need a dependable veteran that knows their system and can jump right in (Brandon Lloyd?) to help out the rookies-Josh Boyce didn't even get a snap for some reason.

With a very rainy night and nobody to throw to besides Edelman on like 5-yard catches, you figured that Stevan Ridley (16 carries, 40 yards) would get plenty of yards assuming (big if) he didn't fumble. There was no Shane Vereen so this was mostly Ridley in the running game but for the second straight contest he was held to under 50 rushing yards (granted Sunday he would have surpassed that if he hadn't gone to the doghouse).

Knock on wood, it seemed like the Pats made it through this game relatively unscathed despite the short week and quick recovery time. The best thing I can say for them is that now they get a couple extra days off before they host the Buccaneers (0-1) on Sunday, September 22 (1, Fox). For what it's worth, Tampa Bay lost to the Jets in Week 1 (on the luckiest sequence) which is good news for the Patriots. They need as much time as they can get to try and improve this sorry offensive unit.

UPDATE 9/14: It was a quiet day in Foxborough after last night's nailbiter vs. the Jets. The Patriots re-signed rookie guard Josh Kline to the practice squad and released offensive tackle R.J. Dill.

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Red Sox Outlast Rays 7-3 in 10 innings thanks to Carp's Pinch-Hit Grand Slam

Tune into a Red Sox game on almost any given day or night and odds are that this season you'll them do something spectacular. Tonight, Boston (89-58 overall, 42-33 away) beat Tampa Bay (78-66 overall, 44-28 home) 7-3 in 10 innings at Tropicana Field. Koji Uehara (4-0) set a team record as he has now retired 34 consecutive batters while ho hum Mike Carp cranked the first pinch-hit grand slam in extra innings in Red Sox history.

The win put Boston 9.5 games up on the Rays which means that the race for the AL East is all but officially over. It also helps that the Red Sox are 12-6 vs. Tampa Bay this season with just tomorrow night's game remaining in the regular season at least. Ryan Dempster (5 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts) was OK but the real story in terms of pitching for the Red Sox was Franklin Morales (1-2-3 6th), Uehara and Junichi Tazawa (scoreless 10th inning).

The Rays handed the Red Sox their first two runs in the third inning when Wil Myers bungled Mike Napoli's sinking liner into a two-run double. Daniel Nava's (2 hits) ground out scored David Ortiz (2 walks, 2 runs) to make it 3-0 good guys. David Dejesus got Tampa Bay on the board in the home half of the third with an RBI double. Evan Longoria (double, walk) cut it to 3-2 with an RBI double in the seventh and former Red Sox great James Loney tied it with a solo homer off Brandon Workman in the eighth.

Roberto Hernandez (don't call him Fausto Carmona) had the honor of giving up Carp's ninth home run of the season, which came on the first pitch he saw. Batting leadoff for the second straight game, Dustin Pedroia reached base three times (2 singles, walk, 2 runs). Boston has already clinched another series win and they continue to open up their lead on other AL contenders (5 more wins than Detroit and Oakland) for the best record in the league.

Jake Peavy (11-5) takes on Jeremy Hellickson (11-8) tomorrow (7:10, NESN) in the series finale. The Rays desperately need a win since they've gone 3-7 in their last 10 games and the Yankees have pulled within a game of their spot as the second AL Wild Card. What's more, the Indians and Orioles are only 1.5 games back and the Royals are just two games behind Tampa Bay.

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Week 2 Injury Report: Patriots vs. Jets

It's hard to believe but the Patriots will be playing another game a little more than 24 hours from now. New England (1-0) welcomes the Jets (1-0) to Gillette Stadium for the first installment of their yearly double dose of AFC East hatred. It is also New England's 2013 home opener. For the last few days, we've been focused on all the Pats injuries and now we know the status' of Shane Vereen (wrist) who is out until at least Week 11 while Danny Amendola (groin) and Rob Gronkowski (back/forearm) are both doubtful as expected.

For the Jets, three players have already been ruled out: defensive lineman Quinton Coples (ankle), wide receiver Jeremy Kerley (concussion) and quarterback/punching bag Mark Sanchez (shoulder). Everyone else on New York is listed as probable so we won't bother with them. We'll have to wait until tomorrow night (8:25, NFL Network and ABC) to see what other four guys are inactive for Rex Ryan's squad.

In addition, eight Patriots are questionable: Brandon Bolden (knee), Aaron Dobson (hamstring), Nate Ebner (ankle), Duron Harmon (hamstring), Matthew Slater (knee), Zach Sudfeld (hamstring), Will Svitek (knee) and Leon Washington (knee). Slater and Sudfeld are the ones I'll be keeping a close eye on since they played vs. Buffalo on Sunday afternoon. The other six guys didn't suit up against the Bills but I expect Dobson to play since Amendola will be on the sideline.

I'll update this tomorrow before the opening kickoff. In other Patriots roster news, they picked up rookie defensive lineman Chris Jones off waivers from Tampa Bay. To make room for him, they waived offensive lineman Josh Kline who I feel like has been involved in a million moves over the last few weeks.

UPDATE 9/12: The inactives for the Patriots are Bolden, Amendola, Svitek, linebacker Steven Beauharnais, Gronk, Sudfeld and Jones. The inactives for the Jets are quarterback Brady Quinn, guard William Campbell, tackle Ben Ijalana, tackle Oday Aboushi in addition to Coples, Kerey and Sanchez.

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Red Sox To Unveil A Statue at Fenway Park for Carl Yastrzemski On September 22

I'm a sucker for a good statue (think Red Auerbach in Faneuil Hall) and I think one of the things that makes the New England sports teams so special is their collective rich history of championships, iconic players and classic games. That's why I was psyched to learn this morning that the Red Sox have decided to add a bronze statue of legendary Hall of Famer outfielder Carl Yastrzemski outside of Gate B. It will be unveiled before the September 22 game vs. Toronto and located next to the Ted Williams and "The Teammates" (Williams, Johnny Pesky, Dom DiMaggio and Bobby Doerr) statues that have already been there for years.

This is what makes us appreciate all the annoying aspects of Fenway Park, when the goofy Red Sox owners make a right decision like this once in a while. You can't replicate things like this in cookie cutter ballparks that populate MLB. If I owned the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots or Red Sox, I would be doing stuff like this all the time. You don't need statues of everybody but find a way to remember the top players/coaches/teams. Not to get all warm and fuzzy but this is what connects younger generations (like mine) to great players like Yaz that we never got to see with our own two eyes but have always heard about.

Yaz had a remarkable run, spending all 23 years of his brilliant career in Boston. He was an 18-time All-Star, seven-time Gold Glove winner and he captured the Triple Crown in 1967 when the "Impossible Dream" Red Sox reached the World Series.

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Mike Napoli and Will Middlebrooks Named American League Co-Players of The Week

All of the intrigue about the Red Sox making the playoffs this season has been taken away, not that I'm complaining, as they have put some serious distance between themselves and the rest of the American League: 7.5 games on Tampa Bay entering tonight with both idle, four more wins than Oakland and five more wins than Detroit for the best record. Boston only has 17 games left in the regular season, meaning the AL East crown and home-field advantage is a formality at this point.

Two of the main catalysts of their recent surge have been third baseman Will Middlebrooks and first baseman Mike Napoli. This afternoon, both were named AL co-Players of the Week. Over those seven games, the Red Sox went 5-2 and scored 56 runs. Both guys put up video game numbers: Napoli hit .467 with .577 OBP and 1.143 SLG. Not to be outdone, Middlebrooks hit .464 with .500 OBP and eight runs scored. Each player slugged four home runs (including a grand slam) and nine RBIs.

The last time two Red Sox shared this honor was in April: Napoli and reliever Andrew Bailey, remember him? If they want to go anywhere in the playoffs, Middlebrooks and Napoli will be a key part of their gameplan. We know that Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and to a lesser extent Shane Victorino will get on base. Jacoby Ellsbury is sidelined indefinitely with a broken bone in his foot so who knows when he'll return. On paper, Boston doesn't have the most imposing lineup until you see them in action. They wear pitchers down and run up high pitch counts to get them out early and face the weak middle relievers.

What makes this so impressive is that Mike and Will went through serious slumps at various times this season, so bad that they made you wonder if they'd ever bounce back to be productive in 2013. Middlebrooks was sent down to Pawtucket (Triple-A) for a month and a half but since he returned to the Red Sox on August 10, he's hit .368 with 1.055 OBP, six homers and 16 RBIs. He'll never be Paul Molitor in terms of bat control and being impossible to strike out but he definitely addressed his biggest flaw: chasing bad pitches out of the strike zone plus swinging and missing way too often.

From July 31-August 26, Napoli looked lost: he hit .188 with 38 strikeouts. He's already struck out 172 times this season, meaning he's going to set a new Red Sox single season record so it's pointless to get him to change his softball swing. That's who he is, all or nothing basically every time he steps to the plate. You just have to hope that he continues his hot streak since the Red Sox certainly enjoy his power. The good news is that throughout his career he's been a solid performer in October: in 32 games, he's hit .272, .373 OBP and .457 SLG with five homers and 19 RBIs.

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Shane Vereen Broke A Bone In His Wrist, Welcome Back From the Doghouse Stevan Ridley!

Fortunes change so quickly in the NFL since there is an absurd amount of injuries every week. That's why talk of a longer regular season is always borderline insane, if there were any more games teams would be left with a totally shredded roster and who wants to see practice squad bums playing in December and January?

This is a long-winded way of saying that the Patriots (1-0) could have their hands full in Week 2 with the Jets (1-0) on Thursday (ABC & NFL Network, 8:25) because reports surfaced today that promising young running back Shane Vereen (159 total yards vs. Buffalo) broke a small bone in his wrist on the first play of the game so he'll be out for a few weeks following today's surgery. Oh and rookie tight end Zach Sudfeld (a temporary starter) pulled his hamstring, why he sat out the fourth quarter, so his availability is in doubt too.

The ripple down effect of this means that Stevan Ridley will have to get his head out of his ass and hopefully stop fumbling all the time. After he coughed the ball up twice yesterday (one wasn't technically ruled a fumble cause replays were inconclusive) in the first half, he didn't see the field again all afternoon. Ridley has plenty of talent, this is the same guy who had 1263 rushing yards and 12 TDs last season. He was even on his way to a good game in Buffalo, with nine carries for 46 yards before his bad habit bubbled up yet again.

Should Ridley struggle, there are other options: Brandon Bolden, LeGarrette Blount and Leon Washington. Granted, they are low on the depth chart for a reason. The injury reports will come out tomorrow so we'll get a better idea if the Pats will need to sign another tight end assuming Sudfeld is out. If he can't play, New England would be left with one healthy tight end on the roster: Michael Hoomanauwanui. Yikes.

Even with these injuries, the Patriots will be heavily favored against the Jets in their 2013 home opener at Gillette Stadium but these setbacks won't help an offense that looked very shaky against a mediocre at best Bills squad that they absolutely own.

UPDATE 9/10: Undrafted rookie defensive tackle AJ Francis was re-signed to the practice squad. To make room for him, rookie wide receiver Quentin Sims was released. The Pats put Vereen on injured reserve, designated to return which means at the earliest he can play in Week 11 (they have a bye the week before). To take his roster spot, they re-signed tight Matthew Mulligan who was with the team last week before the latest cut.

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Beating The Bills Doesn't Mean Much, The Patriots Have Plenty of Work To Do

You know that as a fan base we are truly spoiled when we can look at a season-opening win on the road, against a divisional opponent that featured a last-minute drive and think, man the Patriots really played poorly. Such is the world we live in where 23-21 victories over the Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium fill us with more frustration and anger than joy. Stephen Gostkowski's clutch (for him) 35-yard field goal with five seconds left was the difference.

This is more than us being miserable bastards, after all of New England's recent history of being regular season heroes then losing in the postseason, these games take on a more sterile look and feel. A function of being in the AFC East (one of the worst divisions in pro sports) is that the Pats are basically a lock to win it and/or make the playoffs every season that Tom Brady (29 of 52, 288 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and Bill Belichick are employed in Foxborough.

It was a sloppy contest with both teams combining for five turnovers and Buffalo getting whistled for 10 penalties (75 yards). New England started off well, leading 10-0 after the first quarter, and ended strongly (outscoring Buffalo 6-0 in the fourth quarter) so it was the second and third quarters that were bizarre even by wacky opening day standards.

I will resist the urge to draw final conclusions off of one game but there were certainly some trends to keep an eye on. Danny Amendola (10 catches, 104 yards) might be made of glass but when he can drag himself onto the field, he has great hands and Brady already seems to have built a connection with him. Conversely, preseason All-Stars Kenbrell Thompkins (4 catches, 42 yards; 14 targets) and Zach Sudfeld (0 catches, 1 target) looked like the undrafted rookies they are rather than the preseason standouts that everyone went overboard praising.

Bills rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel (18 of 27, 150 yards, 2 TDs) was predictably up and down. He showed the ability to run (19-yard carry) and sling it (witness the beautiful 18-yard TD pass to Stevie Johnson) but he also lacked touch on some of his easier throws.

Bigger picture, three of New England's obvious storylines coming into this season only got further muddled: 1) their defense got no pass rush (0 sacks, 4 QB hits); 2) Stevan Ridley (2 fumbles, 1 lost) has a case of fumbilitis that might be fatal; 3) outside of Amendola, who can Brady confidently throw to?

Julian Edelman (7 catches, 79 yards, 2 TDs) and Shane Vereen (101 yards rushing; 58 yards receiving) were the unexpected (but not really) workhorses for the Patriots. New England's defense looked solid (albeit against the Bills and a rookie QB that nobody fears), it's not a leap to say they only really gave up seven points since the Bills got a 74-yard fumble return for a TD by Da'Norris Searcy and a gift interception (off Sudfeld's stone hands) that set them up with a short field for another 18-yard touchdown pass-this time to rookie Robert Woods. Jerod Mayo had 15 tackles (12 solo) and Kyle Arrington forced two fumbles that were recovered by Tommy Kelly and Rob Ninkovich respectively.

To state the obvious: Brady really missed Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. The good news is that the former should be back in a few weeks when the competition ramps up (sorry Jets and Bucs). Amendola's groin injury is a worry heading into Thursday's (8:25, NFL Network) home opener vs. Jets (1-0). Playing two divisional games on such a short schedule to begin the season seems cruel but I'm not Adrian Gonzalez so I won't complain.

The Jets should be 0-1 but thanks to an all-time bonehead penalty, they were able to kick a last-second field goal of their own for an 18-17 win vs. Buccaneers that they didn't deserve. Oh well, the Pats will face another rookie quarterback-Geno Smith-who started his pro career by going 24 of 38 for 256 yards, one touchdown, one interception and 47 yards rushing. The Patriots and Bills won't cross paths again until Week 17 at Gillette Stadium, you know by then that Buffalo will be playing for nothing but pride and a high draft pick.

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