I simply don’t know what to make of the NFL anymore. I don’t care who you are, what your level of expertise is or how long you’ve been doing what you’re doing, there’s no way you’re hovered anywhere near 70% on correctly picking winners this year. It’s just impossible.

Vegas has recouped all their money and then some from the Patriots’ remarkable run last season, and one has to think they’re in on this. How can all these games end up so far off the general perceptions of them? The NFL has truly succeeded in having more parity than any other professional sport.

But that’s not what we’re here to talk about. We’re here to discuss how fantastic I’ve been in predicting everything that’s happened this season in the fantasy universe. And, now that we’re finished with that, we can get on to everything I missed:

Here’s what I got wrong:

1. Santana Moss, WR - Washington Redskins… Sort of…

He’s responded to me stating his washed-upedness with a terrific half-season so far, averaging over five catches a game and over 82 yards. But despite his yardage (658, 5th in NFL) and touchdowns (5, T-2nd), he submitted two awful performances in two consecutive weeks that almost made my points about him totally valid. In week 5 he didn’t register a catch, then came out in week 6 with a two catch, 22 yard performance. After this I thought my prediction had materialized exactly, but he recovered very well from this dip. However, with his hamstring ailing him as week 9 approaches, we’ll soon see what he has left for this season.

2. Michael Turner, RB - Atlanta Falcons… Sort of…

This is another guy who started of great, but has come very hard back down to earth. At the the semi-halfway point, he is still one of the highest rated fantasy football players in the game, with 655 rushing yards and five touchdowns. However, his receiving stats (3 catches for 11 yards) make him all but a liability in Point Per Reception (PPR) leagues. His stats are also slanted by the fact he broke out with an outrageous 220 yards in week 1. However, after we learned how absolutely pitiful the Detroit Lions would be this year, this achievement was diminished somewhat. There is also something to be said for the improvement of this team as a whole. With a reliable, talented quarterback leading the team and a group of hardworking players on the defensive and offensive side of the ball playing to the best of their abilities, running games can sometimes be good by association. Since his week 1 performance, Michael Turner has averaged only 73 yards per game with four scores in six games. He is averaging 4.5 yards per carry for the season, but since the first game, he’s averaging an entire yard less, only 3.5 ypc for the other 6 games. Not exactly ideal for a #1 fantasy back.
If you haven’t noticed, my ridiculous ego is preventing me from admitting total misses so far. We’ll see later if I can find something more complete that I missed.

3. Benjamin Watson, TE - New England Patriots

Speaking of total misses… I suggested that after the first 7 or so tight ends were taken, Tony Scheffler of Denver and Benjamin Watson from New England would be premier bargains and put up numbers comparable to the best tight ends in the league. Swing, and a miss. Not just a miss, a Jason Varitek, swinging at a change-up down and away from a great right-handed pitcher type of miss. After seven games, Big Benjamin has seven catches for 70 yards, or 1 catch for 10 yards per game. Yeah I’m going to go ahead and admit I missed that one. I will make the small point that tight-end loving Tom Brady has been injured all season, but nothing excuses that type of output. My apologies.

4. Who I told you to pass on…

In my reach for/pass on columns, I suggested that it was worth waiting and/or passing on Steve Smith and Calvin Johnson. Both guys are in the 30 catch/300 yard area, Smith having 4 touchdowns and Johnson 5. A healthy Jake Delhomme has contributed to Steve Smith’s consistency, and Calvin Johnson emerged much more quickly than most people including myself imagined. Now with Roy Williams in Dallas, he’s forced more into the spotlight than ever before. He’ll certainly see tougher coverage, but the guy’s so talented I’m not sure it will make one bit of difference. Whoops…

And now everyone’s favorite part… What I Got Right…

1. Kickers

Okay, okay. I know everyone who knows anything about fantasy football knows to avoid kickers until the second-to-last or last round, but this year’s crop of kickers is so unbelievably lop-sided I feel like it needs to be mentioned here. Let’s take a look at the top kickers in my commissioned leagues (3 points for most field goals, increasing with distance, and negative points for missed chip-shots and extra points):

1. Joe Nedney, SF

2. John Kasay, Car

3. Rian Lindell, Buf

4. Shaun Suisham, Was

5. John Carney, NYG

Alright, not a bad list. In fact, after the first couple of weeks, most of these kickers were owned in most Yahoo! leagues (the fantasy page I most often use). However, in their pre-rankings, and the kickers most often drafted early and often, these are the kickers, in their pre-ranked order.

1. Nick Folk, Dal

2. Shayne Graham, Cin

3. Adam Vinatieri, Ind

4. Nate Kaeding, SD

5. Stephen Gostkowski, NE

Not a match in the top 5? Okay, it happens. Let’s continue…

6. Josh Scobee, Jax

7. Rod Bironas, Ten

8. Phil Dawson, Cle

9. Neil Rackers, Ari

10. David Akers, Phi

Not a match in the top 10? Now that’s getting a tiny bit out of hand, but, I suppose it still happens. Moving on…

11. Mason Crosby, GB

12. Jeff Reed, Pit

13. Josh Brown, StL

14. Ryan Longwell, Min

15. Robbie Gould, Chi

16. Kris Brown, Hou

(No… I’m not kidding…)

17. Mike Nugent, NYG

And finally…

18. Shaun Suisham, Was

17 (SEVENTEEN!) kickers were pre-ranked higher than any of the top five highest-scoring kickers in the NFL so far. Not only that, but Suisham’s still only the fourth highest actual ranking kicker this season. Here’s where the rest of the guys fell in the preranks:

26. Joe Nedney, SF (Ranked #1)

23. John Kasay, Car (Ranked #2)

21. Rian Lindell, Buf (Ranked #3)

24. John Carney, NYG (Ranked #5)

The icing on the cake? Adam Vinatieri (Pre-Ranked #3 in kickers) is currently ranked #30 out of 30. That’s right. Dead… Last… You can’t make this stuff up.

2. My Draft Diary

Despite wasting 2 high picks on Tom Brady and Carson Palmer, I was able to get (In a PPR league!) Frank Gore, Reggie Bush, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Greg Jennings, Lee Evans, Chris Johnson (in the fourth-to-last round), picked up Chad Pennington and Matt Ryan as free agent backups at quarterback and am currently in 1st place in that league. In addition, my choice to pick up P-Will, Antonio Cromartie, DeMeco Ryans and an assortment of the best defensive players in the game has provided me with a squad of IDPs that can outscore anyone’s offense on any given week. I should give lectures on IDP, PPR leagues I swear to god.

3. Pass On: Willie Parker, Marvin Harrison, Tony Romo, Adrian Peterson

A few things: I realize Parker and Romo were only bad decisions so far because of injuries, but I don’t care, I’m taking credit for them. Marvin Harrison was a truly bad player to reach for this season. Finally, remember that I didn’t say pass on Adrian Peterson, I simply said to pick LDT first. I made a point of stating his higher potential value in PPR leagues, and his lack of competition with Michael Turner now gone. Adrian does not catch passes like LDT, has one serious knee injury in one year of playing, and has Chester Taylor to compete with still. You’re doing well if you got Peterson, you’re doing better if you got LDT.

4. Reggie Bush

First, I need to vent. My two highest paid players on my auction league team were Tom Brady and Reggie Bush. Both injured, and both would have had us in the top three in that league right now, without a doubt. Reggie Bush again (since this is a PPR league) was one of the top-scoring running backs, and our low-money picks such as DeSean Jackson, Derrick Mason and Chris Perry (we got decent performance out of him before benching him when he became ineffective and lost his job. We also only need to start one running back weekly) gave us plenty of points per week to contend seriously. Now, with the injury to Bush, I’m calling Shenanigans for everything and vetoing every trade for no reason because I’m just so angry at fantasy sports. It’s really sad to see, and I hate myself for it. But, what would you do?

Before I take off, here is the mid-season summary for you. The top five players at each position, and their stats in my PPR, IDP league (Overall Fantasy Ranking in Parentheses):

Running Backs:

(3) Reggie Bush - 294 yards rushing, 2 TDs. 42 catches, 366 yards, 3 TDs. 285 return yards, 3 TDs.

(4) Marion Barber - 611 yards rushing, 5 TDs. 32 catches, 276 yards, 2 TDs.

(6) Frank Gore - 629 yards rushing, 4 TDs. 32 catches, 311 yards, 1 TD. 1 2-point conversion.

(10) Clinton Portis - 944 yards rushing, 7 TDs. 11 catches, 77 yards.

(15) Matt Forte - 515 yards rushing, 4 TDs. 29 catches, 223 yards, 2 TDs.

Quarterbacks:

(1) Drew Brees - 2,563 yards, 15 TDs, 7 Ints.

(2) Philip Rivers - 2,038 yards, 19 TDs, 6 Ints, 2 2-point conversions.

(5) Aaron Rodgers - 1,668 yards, 12 TDs, 4 Ints. 113 yards rushing, 3 TDs.

(7) Kurt Warner - 2,089 yards, 14 TDs, 6 Ints.

(9) Jay Cutler - 1,862 yards, 13 TDs, 7 Ints. 84 yards rushing.

Wide Receivers:

(8) Santana Moss - 42 catches, 658 yards, 5 TDs. 114 return yards, 1 TD.

(11) Andre Johnson - 56 catches, 772 yards, 2 TDs.

(12) Roddy White - 43 catches, 679 yards, 5 TDs.

(13) Larry Fitzgerald - 43 catches, 661 yards, 5 TDs.

(18) Greg Jennings - 37 catches, 685 yards, 4 TDs.

Tight Ends:

Jason Witten - 46 catches, 549 yards, 2 TDs.

Antonio Gates - 30 catches, 403 yards, 5 TDs.

Chris Cooley - 40 catches, 451 yards, 1 TD.

Tony Gonzalez - 33 catches, 369 yards, 3 TDs.

Owen Daniels - 32 catches, 395 yards, 2 TDs.

Defensive Teams:

Chicago - 114 PA, 14 sacks, 1 safety, 10 Ints, 6 fumble recoveries, 5 TDs, 2 blocked kicks.

Tampa Bay - 114 PA, 14 sacks, 12 Ints, 3 fumble recoveries, 4 TDs, 1 blocked kick.

Philadelphia - 131 PA, 23 sacks, 1 safety, 8 Ints, 7 fumble recoveries, 2 TDs, 1 return TD.

Tennessee - 87 PA, 18 sacks, 12 Ints, 4 fumble recoveries, 2 TDs, 1 blocked kick.

Green Bay - 151 PA, 12 sacks, 13 Ints, 1 fumble recovery, 5 TDs, 1 blocked kick, 1 return TD.

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Don’t forget to email all fantasy questions and/or comments to bobby@sportsomedy.com

Hey so I’ve never written a pick ‘em article, but damn straight, my views are better than yours! read up sa son! Home team in CAPS!

Tampa Bay (+2.5) over DALLAS

Dallas is a mess with Brad my Johnson is too old to work at the helm. Tampa’s D is 4th in the league having given up only 15.3 points per game, none of those TDs have been via the run game. Despite Marion Barber’s aptitude for goal line scoring, Dallas will need to be successful throwing the ball here, and they won’t get it done.

Washington (-7.5) over DETROIT

Washington hasn’t been too impressive in games they are supposed to win big *cough* St. Louis *cough* but don’t expect Detroit to contain Clinton Portis in this one. The lowly Lions Defense are last in points per game and touchdowns allowed, and Dan Orlovsky is their QB. Skins take it and cover.

Buffalo (-1.5) over MIAMI

Looking at these 2 teams on paper, it’s tough to choose a side here. Rush/pass defensive YPG are almost identical. Same on the offensive side of the ball. Both teams have 7 passing TD’s to 3 INTs. So if offensively and defensively these teams are evenly matched, and there’s no major discrepancy in turnover margin, what’s the deciding factor? Miami is last in the NFL in kick return yard average. That means poor starting field position for the fish and with a 25th and 26th ranked offense in third down percentage and plays from scrimmage, respectively. Look for the Bills to be 6-1 after this weekend. Also, I called it here - Roscoe Parrish returns a punt for a TD in this one.

NEW ENGLAND (-7) over St. Louis

I can’t justify this pick. The Pats should win this game, not by 7 though. Oh well, I’m a homer.

NEW ORLEANS (+3) over San Diego in London for no good reason!

Averaging over 400 YPG and converting 48% of 3rd downs, the Saints offense is a force majeure. Bush won’t play this week, and Marques Colston was ineffective last week in his first game back, but look for him to have a bounce back week. San Diego allows 366 YPG per game themselves, and that plays right into Drew Brees’ hands. If New Orleans doesn’t allow distractions this week with the Spruce Deuce and defensive end Will Smith having been fingered as dopers, and keep their turnovers in check (-4 TO margin), they should win this one walking away from the battered and inconsistent Norv Turner All Stars.

Kansas City (+13) over NEW YORK JETS NEW YORK JETS (-13) over Kansas City

I’m going to take the points on this one. The Chiefs are barely a franchise with Yancy Thigpen at QB and LJ riding the pine yet another week for his poor behavior, and Brett Favre should have all day to throw, should the Jets need to put one in the air. Look for Thomas Jones to have a big day, and Leon Washington to have a career day catching screens and returning kicks in this one. He’s my top fantasy sleeper this week. On second thought….

Atlanta (+9) over PHILADELPHIA

This time I really am taking the points. This is a good matchup despite what the experts will tell you about the Eagles blitz on a rookie QB. Matt Ryan has looked unphased so far this year, and the Falcons have allowed only 7 sacks this year. That’s tied for 4th in the NFL, with the Saints’ Drew Brees. Compared to Matt Cassel, who turtles while he’s watching film, let alone playing in the game, Matt Ryan looks like he’s going to be a great NFL QB. The Eagles, with their 3rd ranked defense in sacks, couldn’t touch JT O’Sullivan in San Francisco, and they won’t get to Matt Ryan enough to keep the ball out of the hands of big-play wideout Roddy White this week. Toss in the Falcons 2nd ranked ground attack and Atlanta becomes a legitimate opponent. The Eagles win it, with Westbrook back in the lineup and DeSean Jackson turning into a go-to guy for Donovan, but not by 9. In fact, I’d really like to watch this game, FOX.

CAROLINA (-4) over Arizona

Did you see what Carolina did to New Orleans last week? I mean, did you see it!?! Enough of that. I think the home team advantage is too much for the Cards to overcome. Carolina is 4-0 at home, and although Arizona’s passing game is a beast (especially if Boldin returns on Sunday), I like the Panthers to win this one. Look what they did to the Saints. I mean, did you see what they did to the Saints last week!?!

BALTIMORE (-7) over Oakland

It’s tough to take the Ravens by 7 over any opponent, especially with a rookie under center. I’m going to do it though. McGahee looks better each week, and as always, it’s hard to argue with Baltimore’s defense. Best against the run, 4th against the pass, and 2nd overall. Oakland, in contrast, will need to run the ball (5th overall on the ground so far) if they expect to contend in this one. The Ravens are 7th on offense between the tackles and Oakland’s front 7 (or will need to bring their A game, if they have one. I’ll take the birds in this one.

Cleveland (+7) over JACKSONVILLE

The Browns seem to be pulling it together here in the midseason. Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards are back on the right page, and even without Kellen Winslow who’s nursing a sore ego, it looks like this team can move the chains. Unfortunately for the Browns, their pass defense looks fantastic. I say unfortunately, because it’s success stopping the pass has a direct correlation to teams not needing to put the ball in the air. They give up 146 yards per game in the running game, and MJD and Fred Taylor should have a great day. Look for a high scoring game in this one with it coming down to yet another Josh Scobee field goal. I say… *flips coin* he hits it.

HOUSTON (-9.5) over Cincinnati

How Houston can continually draw such large spreads is a tribute to the terrible teams the Oilers… err.. Texans have faced this year. These Bengals would be better off in the zoo than free in the wild as they are now. I just can’t pick them to get it done. Note to fantasy players: I am not using Matt Schaub in any league this week, so he’ll be a good play for you. Only when I sign him does he suffer first quarter injuries or unknown pregame illnesses.

New York Giants (-3) over PITTSBURGH

This should be a good one. Pittsburgh can’t protect the quarterback, and Santonio Holmes is out with a case of “I can’t stop hitting my girlfriend.” Willie Parker is still sidelined, and don’t expect Mewelde Moore to repeat last weeks performance against the G-men this Sunday. The Steel-Curtian Defense is tops in the NFL and the Giants will need to do a good job in blitz pickup to protect Eli. Despite the 2 strong defenses, expect to see a lot of scoring, a lot of Manning face, and a New York victory.

SAN FRANCISCO (-5) over Seattle

Who cares? I’ll be watching though. It’s the only 1:00 game aired here in Portland.

TENNESSEE (-4) over Indianapolis

Speaking of Manning faces, you should see your share of that in this Monday Night Matchup! This one is an exciting matchup. The Titans haven’t looked this good since they lost to the Rams in the Superbowl. Chris Johnson and Lendale White put up incredible numbers against KC last week, and will continue that against Indy this week. Without Bob Sanders, the Colts defense is garbage. Tennessee boasts the 3rd ranked defense in the NFL and it will be enough to keep the re-emerging Indy offense at bay. As usual, turnovers will be the difference maker on Monday Night Football!

Well that was much longer than I expected. Enjoy the weekend!

Chris

Season (51-46)

Tampa Bay (+2 1/2) at Dallas

Ecstatic that Roy Williams (my highest paid receiver on my auction league team) was traded to pass-happy Dallas before last week, I left him on my roster expecting the biggest week of the year from him. Of course, in my euphoria I forgot that receivers usually take a couple of weeks to get used to the system and plays of a new team, and the standout wideout was held without a catch. With Brad Johnson starting again this week for the ‘Boys, Williams is probably not the best start again, but I just can’t help but do it. However, if he’s held without even one catch again this week, I’m going to go steal some seating out of the new stadium and use it as patio furniture. I swear I will follow through with this threat this time…

Pick: Buccaneers

Washington (-7 1/2) at Detroit

With Dan Orlovsky running the Detroit offense again this week, Roy Williams gone, and a rookie and washed-up veteran competing for the chance to run behind a terrible offensive line, Detroit is a disaster. Detroit is a National Disaster Area. I honestly can’t say that they’ll win another game this year, and they certainly won’t keep it close against a legitimate NFC East contender.
Pick: Redskins

Buffalo (-1 1/2) at Miami

With losses to Houston and Baltimore in the last two weeks, it seems that Miami has found out you can’t just keep continually running option and direct snap plays and win in the NFL. Now, they’ll have to find another crazy play to run 9 times per game in order to win a few more games this season. This week, they will still be in the planning stages.
Pick: Bills

St. Louis (+7) at New England

After stomping all over Denver last week, every “expert” on ESPN picked St. Louis to beat the Patriots this week. I wholeheartedly disagree. However, with the losses of Sammy Morris for an undetermined amount of time and Rodney Harrison for the season, I do think they can’t beat this increasingly on-fire St. Louis team by more than a touchdown.
Pick: Patriots

San Diego (+3) at New Orleans @ London, England

After sending a floundering Giants team and a 1-15 Dolphins team to London last year, the NFL’s schedulers chose to send two of the more dynamic and fun-to-watch offenses to England this time around. Unfortunately they’ll be missing quite possibly the most physically gifted player in the game in Reggie Bush, out with a knee injury. In case they’re wondering how he got injured, I sent out a memo telling them it was my fault, because I drafted him to my jinx-tastic auction league team along with Tom Brady, Donte Stallworth and James Jones.

Pick: Saints

Kansas City (+13) at New York Jets

Does anyone have any idea who is playing quarterback for the Chiefs anymore? Anyone? Seriously… If someone emails me the answer to this question I just may change this pick. But without Larry Johnson, I’m feeling confident the Jets should roll over this hapless team.

Pick: Jets

Atlanta (+9) at Philadelphia

Okay, I know Philadelphia is a very good team, and they’re at home and coming off a bye, but isn’t Atlanta a good team too? Matt Ryan has proven he’s the real deal, the defense is playing very well, the team is 4-2 and Michael Turner is one of the top players in the fantasy universe. Is having Philly favored by 9 points over a team that’s coming off a bye reasonable? Can’t be, right? Yeah. I’m definitely going to lose this pick for no reason whatsoever.
Pick: Falcons

Arizona (+4) at Carolina

These teams are both nice surprises this season, but I still have no idea what to make out of either of them. Some days they look like the ‘07-’08 Giants-type, could-go-to-the-Super Bowl-by-surprise type teams, and some days they look like the confused, turnover-prone teams they were in the past few years. In conclusion, I’m going to close my eyes and point to a team right now.

Pick: Panthers

Oakland (+7) at Baltimore

As much as I hate the team, I’d have to say that Baltimore’s defense is playing as well or better than any defense out there right now except for maybe Tennessee or Chicago. Therefore, I’m betting they’ll hold a terrible Oakland team to few enough points to cover this spread. Then again, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they got blown out. God I hate the NFL this season. Has there ever been a season so hard to predict? Granted spreads are always hard to predict, but usually I can pick winners at a pretty high percentage. This season, I’m doing almost as well in my spread picks as I am on picking actual winners! There is something seriously wrong with that. Or… perhaps I just have no idea what I’m doing.

Pick: Ravens

Cleveland (+7) @ Jacksonville

After a tough six game stretch to open the season which put the Jaguars at 3-3, they start a much easier three game stretch against Cleveland, Cincinnati and Detroit before playing Tennessee and Minnesota the next two weeks. If the Jags plan on making the playoffs this season, they better take care of these weaker teams while they have the opportunity. In my opinion, they’re just lousy enough to beat up on Cleveland, at home, after a bye.
Pick: Jaguars

Cincinnati (+9 1/2) @ Houston

With Caron Palmer likely done for the year, this may be one of the worst NFL seasons in terms of their marquee players of all time. Before the official halfway point in the season, Tom Brady is out for the season, as is Carson Palmer (most likely), Tony Romo is missing significant time, Reggie Bush will also miss a large portion of time with a hurt knee, and perhaps worst of all, Brodie Croyle AND Damon Huard are out with injuries! What a disaster of a season…Pick: Texans

New York Giants (+3) @ Pittsburgh

I really, really, really hope I don’t have to watch these two teams I hate play each other on Sunday. If there is a God of football TV scheduling, he will not let this happen. Since Pittsburgh’s home stadium still gives them an advantage over almost anyone, I’ll go with them. Despite their best receiver being suspended do to Ricky Williams disease.
Pick: Steelers

Seattle (+5) at San Francisco

If Bobby Engram doesn’t start catching passes soon I’m gonna lose my mind. That is all I have to say about this game.
Pick: 49ers

Indianapolis (+4) at Tennessee

This is the most dangerous time for Tennessee. They are playing a very good team in Indianapolis, and more importantly, everyone has started to take note of their increasingly special season. Everyone knows they’re the only undefeated team left, and the national sports media is starting to talk at length about their crazy-good defense as well as their phenomenal running game. This is just about the time things start to come apart at the seams for these teams. Coach Jeff Fischer needs to keep his team grounded now more than ever to ensure they continue on their successful track which may just lead them to the Super Bowl this year. Ha! I just ultra-jinxed them. Time to pick the Colts!
Pick: Colts

Last Week:

BP: 6-8
LVK: 8-6
Season:

BP: 47-52
LVK: 52-45

P.S. I know these ‘for the season’ numbers don’t add up… I’m going to have to go back and add them up again soon, but because of pushes, and an inability to keep track of these through my yahoo fantasy picks league because of picking differently on the site than I did on this page, it was different. For right now, this is close enough…

Fare thee well, Boston Red Sox of 2008.

It was a great ride, but in the end, the ‘08 Rays were simply too much to handle for the Boys from Boston.

All started well when Dustin Pedroia placed an offering from Matt Garza into the center field bleachers in the first inning.  However, things started looking serious soon afterward.  Instead of letting the first inning score get to him, Matt Garza buckled down and submitted a dominating post-season performance worthy of a plaque on some executive’s desk before it’s moved to Portland in two years.

In the end, there were 4 key factors in the Rays’ ALCS victory:

1.)  Injuries to key Red Sox players.

Mike Lowell being forced out of the series due to a hip injury was much more damaging than originally thought.  Although our Gold-Glove first baseman was forced to move to third base, which he played with Gold-Glove precision anyway), having to install Mark Kotsay into one’s every day lineup is not an ideal situation.  This was never more apparent than with no outs in the ninth inning, no outs and the tying run at home plate in the form of Mark Kotsay.  After nearly popping out to third base on a failed bunt attempt (what he’s attempting to do by bunting with one man on, down by two runs in the ninth inning of an elimination game, the world may never know), Kotsay chopped a ground ball toward the Rays dugout for strike two.  After taking two unhittable heaters, one high and one outside, he then stopped to admire a third one right down the middle of the plate for strike three.  Thanks for playing, Mark.

The other injury that hurt the Sox tremendously was Josh Beckett.  I stand by my comments in the ALCS preview that there is no better playoff pitcher in baseball than Beckett when he is healthy.  But, because we saw an ailing and/or recovering JB in the playoffs, he was beaten into a bloody pulp in his first attempt, only to come through with a gritty win in game 6.  With a healthy JB, the Red Sox would have been heading back to Fenway with a 2-0 advantage instead of the tie they ended up with.  Nothing affected the series more than the series’ single best pitcher being rendered almost completely ineffective.

2.)  Terry Francona being Manny

Instead of the sage-like wisdom and brilliant move after brilliant move we’ve become accustomed to seeing from Terry Francona in the playoffs in recent years, we saw stubbornness and simple bad planning.  From sticking with a clearly ineffective Josh Beckett approximately two innings too long in Game 2, to starting Alex Cora in the deciding game of the ALCS over Jed Lowrie, nothing seemed to work out as planned for the normally ingenious Francona.  In addition, I’m still seething about his insistence on keeping a Jason Varitek in the lineup in key situations whose struggles could only be compared to a senior citizen fighting off a pride of lionesses.  I’m all for having faith in your veterans, but when your captain finishes the series hitting .038, you’re doing something wrong.

3.)  B.J. Upton Deciding to Play

If I had a nickel for every irate fantasy owner of B.J. Upton this season who had to watch him ring up almost as many home runs in 11 games as he did in the previous 162.  By the time the Red Sox forced an improbable Game 7, one couldn’t throw a match head 102mph past the bat of B.J. Upton.  He was just too dialed in.  And, as Sox fans know from having a Manny/Papi combination for the last few years, when one part of your lineup is hitting that well, the whole group gets better.

4.)  Matt Garza being Josh Beckett

Where did that come from?  After having a very decent season, but nothing extraordinary by any standards, he excelled in the ALCS, keeping the Red Sox from ever building any momentum that would help them to steal the game.  As much as B.J. Upton deserves and will win the MVP for the series, Matt Garza absolutely deserves consideration for his contribution to the series victory.

So as we bid farewell to the Red Sox of ‘08, we have high hopes for the future of this franchise.  It may be the last we’ll see of Jason Varitek (and our team batting average will thank the Sox brass for this), but we have a fantastic foundation of Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jed Lowrie, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon and Justin Masterson to lean on for the future.  The ‘09 Sox will be back, make no mistake.  And this time, we won’t inexplicably bench Jed Lowrie for Alex Cora simply to attempt to confuse the opposition.

For tonight’s game 6, I decided to create a running blog about the event. I figure it will probably be either one of the best or one of the worst games I have ever seen.
It’s now 7:30PM EST and the pregame is getting started. As a preview we have already been reminded of the heroics of game 5… crazy game. P.S. Why is Gabe Gross starting again in right field? I think we all know he basically blew the game for TB on many levels on Thursday.

7:39pm: Constant references to Curt Schilling’s “Bloody Sock” game are obviously going to be plentiful tonight. For those of you over 21, drink every time they reference Big Schill or the Cal Ripkin dubbed “embarrassing” nickname of “Big Game James”. Which makes me wonder, how does a player in his third season, first with a winning record as a team, get a nickname defining him as clutch? Have the Ray’s really played many “Big Games”? P.S. I never really noticed until this fall evening, but Beckett kind of looks like a scarecrow… maybe it’s just me.
7:44pm: I don’t like Tom Verducci. Sports Illustrated better fire him and TBS should be taken off the air for letting him talk. Writers should stay behind their word documents and not be allowed to talk in front of a camera. Where are the Rem-Dawg and Orsillo?

Ok, fine, I will shut up until the game starts.

7:56pm: Um… hello? Why am I watching a “Bloopers” show?

8:29pm: Holy cow… heart attack city. TBS played “The Steve Harvey Show” of all things with “Technical Difficulties” from 7:45pm until now… We missed basically the entire 1st inning. Is this even fair to anyone? Upton homered (for the 7th time this post-season, one shy of tying the record) in the first and was followed up by a walk of Pena and a DP ball hit to Lowrie by Eva… sorry, Evan, Longoria, I would tell you how Beckett looks but I haven’t seen anything yet…

8:34pm: YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK! Answered the Upton homer with one of his own!

8:35pm: JDDDDDDDDDDD… oh foul, I will be back… ok, a single’s ok too.

8:38pm: Also noted in my preview, Bay and Kotsay come up big in the first with back to back singles.
8:43pm: Where in Wade Boggs’ name did all of these fans come from? The commentators are now trying to make up for the “technical difficulties” by doing an “instant replay” of the first inning… Thanks but I think your contract was just revoked.

8:49pm: 1-2-3 2nd inning for Beckett, I didn’t see the homer so I will call this a positive start for “Big Game Beckett”… wow, that’s way more catchy than the other one.

8:56pm: Big double by Papi down the first base line to the corner. Pedroia to third, Shields is throwing a lot of pitches low for balls. RBI for YOOK(!), he’s out on a fielder’s choice. 2-1 Sox.

9:03pm: Back to back walks by Shields with Papi on third. Still tossing balls low and has no place to put my homeboy Kotsay. Shields looks like a kid who just stole from the candy store, scared and ready to run,

9:05pm: OK, thanks for making that pick look bad. Did I say homeboy? I meant paperboy. Get me my Sunday… Sportsomedy, paperboy! P.S. Shields has already thrown 68 pitches. Time to warm up that already spent bullpen?

9:20pm: Beckett gives up one walk after hitting Bartlett in the arm and no hits, including a bouncing ball back to him from the bat of BJ Upton.

9:21pm: PLEASE, between the “technical difficulties” and the commercials of that fat guy impersonating people, I want to hurt myself. I think he is pushing it a bit these days, some of his impersonations leave me wondering who he is trying to be.

9:23pm: To add to the weirdness of this game, home plate umpire Darrel Cousins is coming out of the game to seek medical attention after being hit by a ball to the clavicle (I had a male nursing major [whom shale remain nameless] as a roommate in college) in the top of the 3rd inning.
9:31pm; Craig Sager wears the ugliest suits of all time. Who is his tailor and is it the same guy who told the naked Emperor that his clothes were made of the “finest linens”?

9:37pm: After a 14 minute delay, we are back to baseball. We will see how this effects the pitchers.
9:45pm: Shields seemed to come off of the delay positively. Doesn’t hurt that he also pitched game 1 in which the new umpire also was active behind the plate, so he has a good idea of what he is looking for in the strike zone.
9:49pm: Scroll across the bottom of the screen states that once again free Tacos will be available to America for the first stolen base of the World Series. It is meant to be for the Sox, no one else’s name fits like Jacoby (Tacoby Bellsbury - genius).

9:57pm: End of the 4th, Beckett gave up a hit and a stolen base to Crawford but The Paperboy, Mark Kotsay, made a great pick up and shuffle to Beckett at first to get the last out (the ever-useless Cliff Floyd). He may be the best outfielder to play first base on a daily basis that I may have ever seen. I just decided that is Kotsay’s new nickname, you can tell friends that he is called that because “he delivers” but we know the truth.
10:03pm: Double by JD over the head of Gross, further proving that Gross is the worst right fielder of all time. Or maybe it is only when JD is up? Bay flies out, onto the bottom of the inning with Shields only a few pitches from the 100 mark.

10:08pm: Lots of talk about Beckett starting to show his injury. Okajima is up in the ‘Pen. Dionner Navarro singles, Ben Zobrist will come in for the barrel-dwelling Gabe Gross, I didn’t see that coming, I swear.

10:13pm: Navarro thrown out trying to steal second. We fat men should never bother trying to steal anything if it doesn’t involve food (i.e. see 9:49pm).
10:14pm: Jason Bartlett, of all people, ties the game with a solo-shot. Too bad Navarro wasn’t still there huh? That’s only his second home run ALL YEAR.
10:17pm: How much gum can one manager chew? Tito’s going to hurt himself. Inning over, Beckett is most likely done for the night. I would have to say he came up and pitched better than most people expected today. We had to hope he would have gone deeper, but hey, had he done that, my pre-game article would have had a flaw.

10:25pm: Dinger by the ever-struggling Jason Varitek to put the Sox up. Follow up by Coco Crisp’s 3rd hit of the night and ending Shield’s night and bringing in J.P. Howell. I have been waiting to see how Thursday night’s game will effect this bullpen all day, let’s find out (said in the Tootsie Roll Pop commercial’s owl voice).

10:31pm: Stat shows 5 errors in the last 3 games for TB… Wow. Oh yea, that was preceded by a Bartlett mis-throw to Pena at first to keep a 2 out inning alive. Bringing up Papi.

10:33pm: Papi comes up big with a 2 out (surprise surprise) single to bring in Coco and go up 4-2.
10:40pm: We were right; Okajima will come in to start the 6th inning with a 4-2 lead. And the TB fans have officially executed the first full name chant I have ever heard “BJ UPTON… clap clap clapclapclap… BJ UPTON”… what is that?! Thankfully he grounded out quickly, let’s see what else these newly acquired, quick-witted fans can come up with.
10:50pm: Oki escapes the 6th without any real threats. Longoria walked but it ended there.
10:55pm: The Paperboy (c’mon, you like it) moves Jason Bay to second on a fielder’s choice after Bay was hit on the leg. Howell will come out of the game calling Balfour to the mound. Apparently, they want to use everyone that the Sox roughed up just 2 nights ago.

11:06pm If you are wondering, Balfour walked his first batter but popped out Tek to end the Sox at bat.

11:15pm: 7th inning over. Oki got through two with no issues what-so-ever. Sox still have a 4-2 advantage but the numbers on the board that strike me the most are 10 hits for the Sox and only 4 for the Rays. I think this Rays team is deflated after a tough loss Thursday and not being able to get ahead in this game.

11:20pm: Balfour gives up a lead off walk to Coco bringing in Chad (Knuckle Dragford) Bradford.
11:27pm: Double play ball hit by Youk(!) to bring us to the bottom of the 8th. In a direct attempt to sound like a national commentator, “This is when a team wins or loses” (HAH!)

11:30pm: Masterson will start the 8th inning. This kind of pressure is just cruel to this young player who played at the minor league level as a starter for half of the year, then started 9 games for the Red Sox before being converted to a reliever.

11:32pm: Bartlett gets plunked in the exact same questionable place as where Beckett hit him. He hasn’t been shown but I have to believe Papelbon is warming up and almost ready to come in.

11:33pm: There’s Pap, almost warm.

11:37pm: Is there anything scarier than seeing the combo of Upton/Pena/Longoria coming up when you are a pre-rookie in a win or go home game with a man on base and up by 2?

No.

11:40pm: 2 of 3 down, both on pop flies, 8th inning over. one more inning to go and we are headed to a decisive game 7 and the biggest plague of media of all time to hit us all day on the Lord (Brett of Farve)’s Day.
11:46pm: Bradford got 2 quick outs, Trever Miller comes in and gets The Paperboy out with one pitch. Bring in THE PAP!

11:52pm: Longoria grounds out to Lowrie. 1 out.

11:55pm: Crawford strikes out swinging. 2 outs.

11:56pm: Aybar lines out to third, SOX WIN!

As promised, this was a great game. The use of Beckett and the bullpen was nearly what I expected and the offense produced the way they needed to in order to make this happen. Matt Garza deserves everything he has coming to him tomorrow evening.

Lester will take the mound tomorrow night and I think we all know who the favorite will be in that game.

BUFFALO (E) over San Diego

San Diego will be exhausted from beating up on the Patriots all day last Sunday, in addition to travelling cross-country to Buffalo. Since the Bills are also coming off of a bye, I’d put the preparation and sleep issues on the side of the New York team in this one.

New Orleans (+3) over CAROLINA

People are looking at this game to be the highest scoring game of the season. I simply see more points being scored for the Saints. Drew Brees is turning into Tom Brady-lite: Turning formerly unknown wideouts into pro-bowl caliber receivers. Look for Lance Moore, Devery Henderson and Angus McLeoud to have enormous games. Don’t look it up, that last name is imaginary.

CHICAGO (-3) over Minnesota

Sportsomedy’s pick to be the most boring game of the day. Even more so than Tampa Bay/Seattle.

Dallas (-7) over ST. LOUIS

In case you forgot, I’m never picking St. Louis again. I’d also like to thank Mr. Jones for making a completely ridiculous trade of his entire 2009 draft for a 27-year-old star receiver to be his #3 guy after T.O. and Witten. However, since this will help my 2008 fantasy auction league tremendously, I applaud this to the bitter end. Now after losing Tom Brady in week 1, and trading DeSean Jackson for Steve Slaton recently, I think we might have a chance at this one. Yeah… I’m delusional.

HOUSTON (-8 1/2) over Detroit

Detroit is awful. Detroit minus Jon Kitna is beyond the pale. Detroit minus Jon Kitna and Roy Williams is New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Take their opponents at all point spreads.

Indianapolis (-1) over GREEN BAY

Green Bay’s defense is so porous that I looked for a good two hours for something that would make this game close enough to have a one point spread. All I came up with is Addai being out with an injury and Green Bay’s home field advantage. Enough to keep this game close? Not in the cheese state’s wildest dreams.

Baltimore (+3) over MIAMI

I may have to rethink that “Most Boring Game” title.

San Francisco (+10 1/2) over NEW YORK GIANTS

This is the game where New York’s defense will finally be exposed as a fraud. You heard it here first.

New York Jets (-3) over OAKLAND

This game is interesting because we will get to see arguably the two most intriguing rookies of this year battle it out in Darren McFadden and Vernon Ghoulston. And… that’s about as interesting as this game gets.

Pittsburgh (-9 1/2) over CINCINNATI

Cincy is in “Bad as Detroit” territory with Carson Palmer out and T.J. Houshmandzadeh ailing as well. They may even have to rely on recently unsuspended/underage alcohol-providing/underage kid-punching/would-be star wideout Chris Henry to score this week.

Seattle (+10 1/2) over TAMPA BAY

I take that back. Nothing could be worse than watching a Seneca Wallace-led offense against a maddeningly incompetent Tampa Bay offense. Most boring game of the week right here.

KANSAS CITY (+8) over Tennessee

I know Tennessee has the greatest defense in the history of the world according to every expert in the game. But, I can’t see them scoring enough, and keeping down the Chiefs to the point of an 8 point difference. Yeah. I’m going to lose this pick.

Cleveland (+7) over WASHINGTON

Cleveland is slowly starting to pick it up after a pitifully slow start, so 7 points is too much for me.

Denver (+3) over NEW ENGLAND

If I could even pretend that New England had someone capable of stopping Brandon Marshall, I’d be all over this game. But… Well… I’m at a loss.

Last Week:

Bobby: 7-7
LVK: 8-6

Season: 

Bobby: 41-44
LVK: 46-39

Pre Game-6

You will have to excuse the last article posted, the excitement in my veins was overwhelming.

Game 6 of the ALCS is tonight and that means only one thing for the Boston Red Sox, win or go home.  Obviously the momentum has shifted in the favor of the good guys in a big way and this is a team that that statement is most true for.

With a lineup filled with All-Stars, MVPs, Gold Gloves, Rookies of the Year, you have to believe that the Red Sox will come out with the big bats this evening.

But the real question will be the health of one Joshua Beckett. With his 6’5”, 222lbs of Post-Season thunder, Beckett will need to show that he is not the same pitcher who blew starts in both the ALDS and ALCS game 2. An oblique injury has put player after player on the DL for years but Beckett and team skipper, Tito Francona, have reiterated time and time again that Beckett is ready to go.

Many people have discussed the issue of whether or not the Sox should be switching things up and put Wonder Boy Jon Lester in tonight’s game. This makes about as much sense as the Full House episodes when Uncle Jesse’s last name switched from Cochran to Katsopolis, HAVE MERCY!

Putting Lester in tonight’s pivotal game 6 would be great… for today. In our society of Brittney Spears, Terrell Owens, and Sesame Street (bet you never thought you would hear those 3 uttered together), everyone wants instant gratification. Let’s say hypothetically we play Lester tonight and get the win, well what’s the plan on game 7? Throw Beckett in an even more pivotal game and unload the bullpen right before you start the hypothetical World Series?

Playing Beckett in game 6 is a great idea by the master-mind of Tito Francona (no I am not on the Red Sox payroll, although suggestions can be sent to bostonredsox@… Just kidding). In game 6, you have the ability of knowing that your bullpen is fresh coming off of a day off. If Beckett has a rough start, feel free to unload the bullpen throughout the game. If it comes to a game 7, that only works in the favor of the Red Sox as the only team between the lines with playoff experience that didn’t start last month. Going into game 7, you have Lester taking the mound who can give you 7 innings, winning or losing, and you can easily bring back a Wakefield or Matsuzaka is worst comes to worst in the late innings (assuming you used every single relief pitcher tonight).

Another crazily overlooked fact in this post-season has been the clutchiality (yes I made that up) of the new guys on this team. Namely Jason Bay and Mark Kotsay. It seems like every time those 2 have gotten up this post-season, they have gotten on base. It is not always a double off the wall or a dinger over the Monstah or even a catwalk shot, but they get on base… problem is that the backside of the lineup hasn’t brought them in.

Personally, I would like to see the lineup move around a bit. I know it’s a little late for it now but putting Kotsay in the 2 hole would really be only switch I guess. You cant move Papi and YOOK(!) out of the 3 & 4 slots.

But we are straying from game 6. “Big Game James” is on the mound for TB. Can you really be known as “Big Game” when your team is in their first post-season and you are only pitching in your 3rd season? Not to mention, isn’t this the first year the Rays have ever had “Big Games”?

Either way, I think it will be a bit of a shoot-out but the Sox will come out on top. Thank god because I want nothing more than to punish Matt Garza tomorrow night after seeing his “SHHHHHH” antics on Thursday night while the Sox were getting blasted (before the 7th inning).

Sox in 7… you heard it here… as long as Bobby posts this before the game and it all comes true and factual rather than prediction.

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Crack, first runner on base… BAM, 2-0… just like that. The Boston Red Sox and their Japanese ALCS game 5 starter were going down quickly as they had each of the games previous to this one. Fast forward through the usual Upton/Pena/Longoria shots out of the park and you have yourself a 7-0 ball game coming into the 7th inning.
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Things looked bleak for the almighty Red Sox, the favored team even though the Rays have outplayed them all year. I had gone through all of the stages of DABDA, known to most as GRIEF.
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-          Denial: This wasn’t happening. The Boston Red Sox do not get outscored in a game, let alone a series by a 36-13 margin and counting.
-          Anger: What in the name of Bill Buckner (its ok, you can say it now) do we need to do to win, we have All-star caliber players from 1-9 and all over the starting 5.
-          Bargaining: It’s ok. If we lose tonight, we get a couple spots ahead in the draft, and now we can make the moves we need and Papi and Lowell can get healed up in the offseason, all will be good.
-          Depression: This is the point when I said “I just don’t care” and played first person shooter games with the sounds of the game behind me. I couldn’t watch the beating anymore.
-          Acceptance: I work in a job where I speak to people nationwide on a daily basis. I make fn of them because we have the Sox, Pats, and C’s and they have the 76ers, Lakers, and any other team our teams make look silly. So, I started coming up with exaggerated things to respond to the harassment with. It started with “There’s no explanation for it”, “That game was ugly”, “At least its over, I couldn’t watch anymore anyways”. After the 7th inning when Papi blasted a 3 run homer to right, it was “At least they made it exciting in the end there” and “But how about that Papi!”.
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The rest is history.
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In the 7th inning, the Red Sox started a comeback that even the signs at Fenway couldn’t predict. Many people knew the Red Sox could pull of 3-1 deficits in their sleep, but 7-0… that’s almost unheard of in a clinching ALCS game.
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With the Little Scooter Who Could (DP, Pedroia the Destroya, whatever you prefer to embellish his 5’9” frame with) getting a clutch single with 2 outs, the feeling of the “Old Fenway” was back. The magic was back. Up walked Big Papi, David Ortiz, with the fans (the ones who didn’t leave in the 6th inning… when did THAT start?) rocking Fenway so hard that you couldn’t even hear the bass of his walk up music. Out rang the chants, “PA-PI! PA-PI!” and for the first time all post-season he had that “I’m gonna make love to that ball” look in his eye. A couple of spits in the glove later, we had ourselves a 7-4 ballgame.
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That moment was followed up by masterful relief pitching and more run production by JD (where YOU been since June) Drew and CoCo (the greatest name in baseball) Crisp. Leaving a tied score of 7-7 going into the 9th inning.
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Pushed by the fact that the announcers throughout the game and forgone the idea that the Sox could come back, it all seemed surreal.  Constant statements like “Barring a miracle” were made and numerous shots of Theo Epstein in the box were shown while they commented “What does he have to do to get (a 95 win team) to be more successful?”
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With a sailing single over Gabe Gross’ head in the 9th inning by JD Drew, the Sox had won it. Whether you are a Bostonian, Tampa Bayan,  Hawaiian, or Buddhist, that game felt good. And everyone knows that the feared Sox were put right back where they needed to be mentally, in the driver’s seat. Coming back from 7-0 will hurt the losing team and give tremendous momentum to the winning team.
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Let’s hope they can pull the comeback. Boston’s livelihood depends on it, we haven’t won a championship since June (Thank you C’s).
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About the writer: If you couldn’t tell, I am a diehard Boston fan and my comments and diatribes are completely unbiased.

Well now I don’t know what to think.

In a game the Red Sox were all but certain to win, Jon Lester finally crumbled under the weight of his own emerging greatness, and Matt Garza submitted a phenomenal start that can only be described as “I want to punch that guy for not doing that all year while he was on my fantasy team.”

Now the Tampa Bay Rays have changed the dynamic of this series. Instead of the Red Sox having a decisive 2-1 advantage with known Ray-Hunter Tim Wakefield toeing the rubber tonight, they are on the upside of that score, with Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Sonnanstine going for them, who has not given up a run to the Red Sox in his past two starts, giving up only 7 hits and striking out 12 in 13 innings.

How things can change from one game. This was the one game the Red Sox absolutely had to win in order to put the series comfortably in their passenger seat for their leisure cruise to the World Series. Now, this series projects to be a dog-fight, slug-fest, pitchers-duel on a night-by-night basis to the bitter, bitter end. And, it will be bitter.

Now, after tonight’s drubbing at the hands of Mr. Sonnanstine (It was him, in fact, that showed up, and not his evil alter-ego), the Red Sox stand one defeat from spending the winter in frigid defeat.

What makes this series tough to stomach is the sudden uprising of this Rays team.  If they had, say, had a great season this year, either winning the division or just the Wild Card entry to the playoffs, then lost in the first round, it would have been a great season.  Then, next year, they could have won the World Series and at least you wouldn’t have felt so bad about it.  Now, all we’re stuck with is this paralyzed feeling of anger and fear that this may be the end of the Red Sox mini-dynasty.

Last season, when the Red Sox came back from a 3-1 deficit, Josh Beckett was at the top of his game (and when he’s healthy, there is no one better in the playoffs), and the Sox still had incredible luck with player health.  In their current situation, we have our Gold Glove (and possible MVP) Kevin Youkilis playing out of position, valuable #5 hitter and stellar defender Mike Lowell in the hot tub with a defective hip, and newcomer Mark Kotsay playing first base every game for some reason.  Josh Beckett is hurt and completely ineffective, and for some reason Tim Wakefield has lost his mantra against the boys from Tampa.  That all adds up to one glorious American League Pennant for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ouch.

At the very best now, the Red Sox will be heading back to Tampa down three games to two, and facing both Scott Kazmir and Matt Garza with a stadium full of body-painted bandwagon fans that scream at inappropriate times and, I’m getting a sneaking suspicion, they don’t understand the game of baseball at all to boot.  I wish you the best of luck, my favorite team.  You’ve done great getting out of the holes you’ve dug for yourselves in recent playoff series, let’s hope you’ve got another one left in you.

Last night, after watching my beloved Patriots take the whooping of a lifetime from a Chargers team in sky blue underwear, I began reflecting on the past 14 months of football.  At several points last season, particularly near the end, I thought to myself that I was witnessing something mystical.  Something miraculous.  Something I’ve never seen and will never see again. 

The realization of the odds of seeing a team that had it together so perfectly as the 2007-2008 Patriots did is the reason the loss in the Superbowl hurt so badly.  It wasn’t just that we lost the championship, it was that we lost the perfection.  It was recognition that what we were watching wasn’t magical or mystical, and it wasn’t something we’d ever get to witness. 

It took us months to recover, and by opening day we hadn’t given up on the perfect season.  We didn’t do it last year, but the pieces were still in place (minus Samuel and Stallworth, but plus Jerod Mayo).  We were ready for another run at it.

Then Tom Brady went down in week 1 versus the Chiefs.

Experts wrote us off.  We even wrote ourselves off.  Can Matt Cassel lead this team to the playoffs?  The dream of perfection wasn’t even a consideration anymore.  It had literally vanished in the form of an ACL/MCL tear in the left knee of #12.

Now it’s October 13th, and I’m one day removed from watching my Patriots be dessimated by a sub-.500 San Diego team and finally the reality of what we didn’t witness and will never witness has engulfed me.  Today feels like February 4th, 2008 all over again.