Don't Disrespect The Pats D

Taking a look at the Pats D this year the biggest question mark is the secondary. The line is strong the linebackers added Mayo and Crable and look to be devastating with Bruschi, Vrabs, and A Thomas returning and Seau ready for a call any moment. Some say the cornerback position is the weakest on the team. I say it doesn't really matter when you have two of the NFL's hardest hitting safeties of all time on you roster checking luggage in between the hash marks. What receiver will even think of running an in rout or slant with the likes of Rodney Harrison and John Lynch covering the middle of the field? How can you even think of running up the middle now? This is Dangerous!

Some food for thought if you are a reciever facing the Pats this year...

Lynch's career fine highlights: He earned three $7,500 fines for unnecessary roughness between 2001-04 before being nailed with a $75,000 fine in ’05 for a helmet-to-helmet hit that knocked out Colts tight end Dallas Clark.

Jacks up Dallas Clark at :11 sec



Highlight Reel:


Rodney: as of 2002, had racked up over $200,000 in fines by the NFL. Voted on by peers as SI's dirtiest player of the year 2004 & 2006. wikipedia.com
And he can Still hit:

August and Everything After

I was two seconds away from writing the Sox obit yesterday, but something told me to wait, back off that ledge. I don't know if it was the eve of "Maddenoliday", but something made me think this ain't over, Nothings Over. Hell if the Sox could run the table in '04 why not '08? Beckett proved again why he has surplanted Big Schill's balls for this team. Dale n' Holley asked a caller yesterday who starts game one of the playoffs for the Sox. Lester? Dice K? NO Beckett! everyone should know by now that winning back-to-back in baseball is harder than beating Michael Phelps in a race to the dock at summer camp. The extra stressful post-season seems to take a toll on the winning team and the injury bug plagues the champs year after year. Look at the 2005 Sox for proof. Suddenly the Sox injuries Papi, Wake, and Lowell are catching up with them. BUT, and this is big the same is happening at a far more destructive rate to the, GULP, first place Rays. With Crawford potentially out till Sept. and their undoubted rated rookie/spark plug Longoria out at least 3 weeks with a fracture, the Sox are in line to catch the Rays. It at least gives the Sox some hope of taking the East and not having to be the wild-card which isn't so bad these days, but playing at Fenway is too much for any visiting team to handle in October.

Some say the Rays are comperable to the "Impossible Dream" Sox team, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Look no further than the three game sets in September (@ Fenway 8th-10th & @ Tampa 15th-17th ). With four games to catch the Rays the Sox can easily put together a string of wins and shave down that lead. It will take some timely pitching (Beckett, Lester, Dice K) and some team chemistry (adding Bay and calling up Lowrie). Don't get me wrong this is not the best Sox team I have seen and I still miss the sh*t out of Manny, but they are forming a nice chemistry and if they can put together a nice 8-10 game win streak it is possible they win the division; I'm not even thinking Wild Card here folks.

So strap on your dancing shoes and enjoy this next few weeks of baseball in Boston. Because, it could be a long fall without the Sox in the playoffs...who am I kidding the Pats asskicking tour will be up and running Sep. 7th, but it would be nice to have the Sox in our lives again during the depressing as hell New England fall. Remember things were not always this way and count our blessings.