48 Hours Later: The State of the Patriots 12/10/19

by Brian Murray, posted in NFL

Well.. the Pats lost. It was an excruciatingly frustrating game to watch. Ugly offense, abominable officiating, and a disappointing performance all around for a Pats team that has now dropped two in a row to division leaders. Sure, the Pats have struggled in years past, just last year for example, they were at one point 9-5 and written off by the masses. But this time around it just feels different. The frustration from Brady is palpable, nobody seems capable of stepping up, but then again.. the real season hasn’t started yet. So, all frustration aside, let’s dive into the game a little bit.

The Offense

First and foremost, I want to come right out and say – boy was I wrong about how the game would go. I predicted an optimistic 31-24 victory.. wrong. I predicted that Sony Michel would be relied on throughout the game.. he had 9 carries. I predicted that this could be the game that Mohammed Sanu finally stepped up and established himself as the number two receiver.. wrong again.

I saw two main problems with the Pats offensive attack yesterday and they aren’t new problems. The offensive line allowed rushers to disrupt Brady all night long, and there was no reliable second option for Brady to target.

On the offensive line, I have to say it was just disappointing all night long. Shaq Mason has not had a good year after putting together a great season last year and getting paid, and Isiah Wynn, while an upgrade from Marshall Newhouse (no idea how that guy lasted as many weeks as he did) has not lived up to the 1st round draft pick we used on him. To top it off, we’re on our third string center, who unfortunately had to go up against Chris Jones, one of the premier defensive linemen in the NFL. All in all, not a great performance, and it certainly affected Brady’s ability to throw.

On the receiver side, Edelman continues to be an absolute stud. The dude is 33 years old, constantly takes big hits, but somehow continues to put up huge numbers. He’s currently on a streak of 43 games in a row with at least 3 receptions for 25 yards or more. Unreal is the only way to put it. Other than that though, there are zero positives to speak of. Our first round draft pick, N’Keal Harry, was a non-factor. Our de-facto 2020 2nd round draft pick, Mohammed Sanu, whom everyone said was an “ideal fit” in New England, was a non-factor. And our rookie UDFA, Jakobi Meyers, who has admirably worked so hard to put himself in this situation, cannot catch a ball. I mean Brady threw him a perfect back hip ball in the end zone, Meyers turns to catch it, the ball hits him square in the chest and drops straight to the ground. I don’t catch many balls anymore, but when I do, I like to use my hands. I guess the only thing we can do from here on out is pray that someone puts it together and steps up.

It’s simply too easy for competent defenses right now. Blitz Brady, double Edelman, and you’ve got at least a 75% chance that the Pats do nothing.

The Defense

I was 0-3 on offensive predictions, and I was 0-1 on my defensive predictions as Jason McCourty hardly played in his return to the lineup.

I think the defense played great minus the busted coverage play in which Mecole Hardman scored the TD. This is the second week in a row Johnathan Jones has gotten beat deep, but other than that he played well and did a good job containing Tyreek Hill.

It was a tough first half to watch as the Chiefs held the ball for much of the half and had long methodical drives down the field. However, the Pats regrouped after the break, and held the Chiefs to three points, 97 yards, and allowed Mahomes a measly 57 yards through the air in the 2nd half. That second half performance alone deserves a football version of the Bronze Star or something.

The Officials

Name one other profession in the world (other than commissioner of the NFL and NCAA) where you can make so many blatant mistakes and keep your job. These dudes shouldn’t even be allowed to ref Pop-Warner football.

A Look Ahead

We’re onto Cincinnati. Which is eerily similar to the 2014 blowout in Kansas City.

It’ll be interesting to see if the offense can handle a 1-12 Bengals team. I’m sure the defense will ball out, but if the offense can’t get it done again the panic button will definitely be out from the garage and placed right in the living room.

Keep the faith.

LFG

What’s in the Bag 2020: Grad School TJK

by tjkgolfer, posted in Golf

More than once a year, I’m definitely the type of golfer to want to purchase new equipment, upgrade my technology, and just enjoy the fruits of TaylorMade Golf. With that being said, if something works for me, there’s no way in heck I’m taking it out of my bag. That’s the purpose of this post—to give other an insight into what I will be playing with at the beautiful Kinglsey Club Golf Club in Northern Michigan this year, as well as a few tournaments. This post will cover more than what is simply, “in my bag”—it will cover pretty much everything I use on the course at any given time. Please be aware, though, I’m a through-and-through TaylorMade guy. So take this opinion with a grain of salt.

Driver: 2019 TaylorMade M6. My biggest issue in 2019 was driving accuracy (no surprise). After taking a dreaded loss to Grad School JPF in the Kaplan Cup, I decided to switch things up. I knew that if I was able to significantly increase my driving accuracy, I’d be able to get green in regulation on 80% of my approach shots. At the beginning of 2019, I was running a Project X HZRDUS Black 75g extra stiff shaft in my driver. It worked out pretty well. I was hitting about seven or eight of fourteen fairways—not too horrible. I was shooting in the mid to low 80’s, but knew I was missing a piece to my game. So boom. I went to my local golf equipment specialist and we discussed putting in a 3-wood shaft. Yes, no joke. We flirted with the idea of cutting down my extra stiff shaft, or putting in a softer shaft with a higher flex point. But in the end, I swaped my driver shaft for a 3-wood. And what happened? The first round out I hit eleven of fourteen fairways. I immediately fell in love. Was I losing much on my drive? Not really. I lost about 10ish yards per drive, but a sacrifice I will always take and just club up on my approach. So the shaft for 2020 is the Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Silver TiNi 65g stiff 3-wood shaft.

3-Wood: Oddly enough, my 3-wood is actually my #1 club in the bag at the moment, and has been the last two years. It’s a TaylorMade 2017 M1 15° 3-wood head with the Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Silver TiNi 65g stiff 3-wood shaft. Straight up. No draw or fade favor.

3-Hybrid: Yup. I go 3-wood, then 3-hybrid. Why? Well I have about a 15 or so yard difference, and I am uncomfortable shooting a 3-wood in the rough, and an iron is too short, so this is my answer. I don’t use it often, but when I do, it’s in the rough or on angulated fairways where my 3-wood will fade or draw hard. 2017 TaylorMade M1 19° 3-hybrid head with the Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Silver TiNi 60g stiff 3-hybrid shaft. Straight draw favor.  

2-Iron (Driving Iron): This is a new addition to my bag as of 2019. I’ve used it for about half of the season, and I’m in love. It’s a 2018 TaylorMade UDI (Ultimate Driving Iron) with a Project X HZRDUS Black 75g extra shift shaft. Bent 2° up. Standard loft. Love it.

4-PW Irons: So I play irons 4-PW. They are my pride and joy. TaylorMade P770’s with KBS Tour FLT 120g stiff shafts. Looking at the P760’s, and they hit about the same—with the addition of SpeedFoam technology. But hey, the P770’s work for me so I’ll keep them another season of two until the milling or grooves wear out. High launch, high spin. Bent 2° up. Standard loft.

Wedges: Brand new edition to my bag—put in the last few rounds of the season. And, woah. Seriously. I highly recommend these wedges. They are the TaylorMade Hi-Toe (copper finish) wedges, in 52°, 56°, and 60°. Great workability and offer high spin. All with KBS wedge shafts.

Putter: Here we go. I knew you were all waiting for this, and here it is. The best putter I’ve ever had: the 2019 TaylorMade Spider-X in copper finish. 33 inches. Standard lie and loft. The 2.0 Pistol grip from GolfPride make it slightly thin feeling at times, but this is an absolute money maker. I get more control, feel, and top spin on this putter than I ever had before. With this putter, I was pretty much feeling good from six feet in. It’s a great feeling when you stick it within ten feet knowing you easily have an 80% chance of making the putt. This will never be replaced.

Balls: I exclusively use TaylorMade Project (a) golf balls. Just give them a try—you won’t regret it. Less expensive than the TP5 or TP5X and the same quality and specifications.

The Extras:

  • Glove: TaylorMade TP Flex
  • Shoes: Nike Tour Premiere White Out
  • Bag: TaylorMade Flex Carry Fairway Bag

President’s Cup Preview 2019

by tjkgolfer, posted in Golf

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last month or so, today begins the 2019 President’s Cup hosted in Australia. The President’s Cup features the United States vs International teams both made up of 12 outstanding golfers. The 2019 United States team includes: Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Matt Kuchar, Xander Schauffele, Webb Simpson, Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Tiger Woods, Gary Woodland, Tony Finau, Patrick Reed, and Rickie Fowler. They will be facing a “not-so-stacked” International team featuring: Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Marc Leishman, Abraham Ancer, Haotong Li, C.T. Pan, Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Adam Hadwin, Sungjae Im, and Byeong Hun An.

While the United States team seems to be the absolute favorite in recent history (losing only once in the last 25 years), 2019 leaves a gray area where we have lots of speculation in how the United States will play. There are a few main factors that make me think we may have a tough challenge this year. First, perhaps the best United States golfer in the last five years dropped out—Brooks Koepka. And for some reason, Tiger Woods chose Rickie Fowler to replace him. Why did he do that? I’m not quite sure. The format for the President’s Cup is four-ball, foursome matches, and singles. To be completely honest, Rickie Fowler is not the greatest match player, so slotting him in place of Koepka may be fatal.

The States team also includes Kuchar, who was great at last year’s Dell Technologies, and even had a chance to win the FedEx Cup. However, he is by no means the most consistent player on Tour—in fact, he is spotty at best. The United States is also bringing in five rookies to the President’s Cup, which could prove very beneficial, or just down-right horrible.

On the flip side, The United States boast Tiger Woods, Gary Woodland, and Justin Thomas. All of which are coming off phenomenal placings at the Hero World Challenge. Tiger Woods, well, he needs no introduction. The man is simply the greatest golfer in the history of the sport (yes, I did just say that). Gary Woodland played almost flawless golf at the Hero and his green-reading ability will hopefully carry over into this week. And last but not least, there’s Justin Thomas. Thomas is quite reasonably the best match player on Tour—even taking down Rory McIlroy in last year’s Ryder Cup.

Overall, even with the bad taste of Patrick Reed in everyone’s mouth, the 24 hour travel to Australia, and the potential rise that many of the International team members boast, we can expect to see a fairly dominant United States team taking down Matsuyama and the International team this week.

A Pair of Under-The-Radar Bowl Games

by jonesg17, posted in NCAA Football

Air Force (10-2) vs. Washington St (6-6) Cheez-It Bowl (Dec 27th) Phoenix, AZ

The name value of this bowl alone piques my interest along with the infamous 2018 version of the Cheez-It Bowl, a barnburner that featured TCU defeating Cal 10-7 where there were nine combined interceptions. I would like to guess that this year’s game will be a lot different with both teams bringing two of the most explosive offenses in the country, but each doing so in drastically different ways.

Air Force Falcons

The Cadets from Colorado Springs will roll into Phoenix off a 10-2 campaign with their only losses coming to Mountain West champion Boise State and possible Commander-In-Chief Trophy winner Navy. Since head coach Troy Calhoun took the helm in 2007, this is his third 10-win season and the first time he has won seven conference games.

What makes this matchup so intriguing is the fact Air Force runs the triple option and Washington State runs the Air Raid. Air Force ranks 3rd in the country in rushing yards per game only behind Army and Navy. Led by Junior QB Donald Hammond III and the three headed monster of Kadin Remsberg, Timothy Jackson and Taven Birdow, the Falcons have no shortage of weapons out of the backfield. What makes this offense so hard to defend is that all the backs are utilized with regularity as all of them have over 100 carries this season. They will match up against a porous Cougar defense that ranks 113th in the country in total defense. Air Force is also the least penalized team in the country averaging under 4 per game.

Washington State Cougars

Mike Leach’s squad has disappointed this year falling to 6-6 after a very successful 11-2 season last year, capped with a victory in the Alamo Bowl. This will be a fifth straight bowl appearance for the Cougars and they’re looking to win back-to-back bowl games for the first time in program history. This is also the first time the cougars have won fewer than 8 games since 2014.

As long as Mike Leach is the head coach you know the team will throw the ball, and throw the ball a lot. The Washington State passing game is as potent as ever with Senior QB Anthony Gordon shattering the PAC 12 passing record set in 2018 by his predecessor Gardner Minshew. Gordon’s ability to throw the ball was on display all season but never more than the September 21st meltdown loss to UCLA. Gordon threw for 570 yards and record 9 touchdown. The Cougars also feature a multi-purpose back in Max Borghi who has over 1,300 total yards and 15 touchdowns. They will be matched up against an Air Force Pass defense that ranks 40th nationally.

Key to the Game

This game will come down to the Air Force offense and their ability to chew clock and punch it into the end zone. Both teams will run up the score and if Air Force is able to limit the amount of possessions Anthony Gordon has they will be in good shape to take this game.

#15 Notre Dame (10-2) vs Iowa State (7-5) Camping World Bowl (Dec 28th) Orlando, FL

The Camping World Bowl will feature two teams falling short of 2019 expectations. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish came into the season with CFP expectations or worst case a NY6 appearance. Having their third 10-win season in a row, I would still call it a very successful season in South Bend. Iowa State came off 2018 with an Alamo Bowl appearance and tied for third in the Big 12. Many expected them to make the jump and play Oklahoma in Arlington, TX for the conference title and end up in the Sugar Bowl. Losing 5 games by one or two points makes it very difficult to move up that ladder and instead Baylor is in New Orleans.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Even though Notre Dame plays on NBC every weekend it seems like they have flown under the radar this season as far as the national spotlight. They fell in their two biggest games of the year and after they were embarrassed in Ann Arbor on October 26th, everyone put them on the back burner. Don’t be fooled though, this is still a very good team. The Irish come into this game having won five in a row and are 6-2 against bowl-bound teams in 2019.

The Fighting Irish boast one of the better dual threat QB’s in the country in Ian Book. His 33 passing touchdowns are tied for sixth in the country and adds four more on the ground. His favorite target is senior WR Chase Claypool who has 891 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season. Overall the Irish offense is above average and they rely on their 21st ranked defense to step up and generate turnovers. They are tied for 3rd nationally with a +15 turnover margin and their ability to protect the football has propelled them to their 10-2 record.

Iowa State Cyclones

Matt Campbell has done one of the most impressive jobs as far as building a competitive program. He has taken a perennial big 12 doormat to three straight winning seasons and as many bowl games. Since the Big 12 moved to 10 teams in 2012, Iowa State had never had a recruiting class finish higher than 8th in the conference according to 247sports class rankings. Counting 2017 as his first full year of recruiting, he as finished 7th, 7th , 6th and currently is ranked 4th for the recruiting cycle of 2020. He is building a winning culture in Ames and it is starting to show.

The MVP of this Iowa State team has to be Brock Purdy. As only a sophomore, he is closing in on 4,000 passing yards this season with 27 touchdowns. He was described as a pocket passer out of Gilbert, AZ but he has 8 rushing touchdowns this year as well. With a team that ranks 9th in the country in passing offense the Cyclones will need Purdy to drive this offense if they are to compete with a fundamentally sound Notre Dame squad.

Key to the Game

The winner of the game will be the winner of Brock Purdy and the Cyclones pass offense vs. The Notre Dame pass defense. Checking in as the 3rd best in the country, Purdy will have his hands full against Kyle Hamilton and the ball-hawking Notre Dame secondary. If Purdy is able to play like he has this season it would not shock me to see Iowa State pull off the upset.

Why LSU Undoubtedly Deserved the #1 Seed

by colewest86, posted in NCAA Football

Yesterday, Sunday, December 8th, the College Football Playoff selection show released the top-4 playoff teams to compete for a national championship. The rankings were:

  1. LSU
  2. Ohio State
  3. Clemson
  4. Oklahoma

The selection show did not hold as much drama this year, as the top-4 were generally agreed upon since Utah lost to Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship. However, the one spot that surprised some people was that LSU jumped Ohio State for the #1 spot. LSU beat Georgia 37-10 in the SEC championship to surpass Ohio State who beat Wisconsin 34-21 in the Big 10 Championship. Some college football fans did not agree with the committees decision, but here is why LSU undoubtedly deserved to be ranked #1.

1.Ranked Wins

LSU’s wins against final ranked opponents (opponents currently ranked in the top-25) were more impressive than Ohio State.

LSU’s wins vs final ranked opponents:

  • #5 Georgia
  • #9 Florida
  • #12 Auburn
  • #13 Alabama

Ohio State’s wins vs final ranked opponents

  • #8 Wisconsin (twice)
  • #10 Penn State
  • #14 Michigan
  • #21 Cincinati

While both teams had incredible wins over final ranked wins, it is apparent that LSU has the edge. The win over #5 Georgia gave LSU the boost over Ohio State since the Buckeyes have no top-5 wins, and not as many top-15 wins as LSU.

2.The Final Statement

In the past, it is obvious the College Football Playoff Committee takes in account teams’ “final statement” on their last game of the regular season

In 2014, Ohio State jumped a spot to get in the College Football playoffs over TCU because they made a statement by beating #11 Wisconsin 59-0 in their final Big-10 game. Ohio State made a statement to the committee on why they should be in the playoffs.

LSU put a beatdown on Georgia this past weekend 37-10. From the the start of the game, LSU got the lead and only added to their lead posting almost 200 more total yards than Georgia, and winning the turnover battle. It was 34-3 in the fourth quarter, and all the fans knew this game was just about over.

Meanwhile, Ohio State beat Wisconsin this week, but did not put on as impressive of a performance. Ohio State was down two scores at halftime, and had to climb their way back to beat Wisconsin. While Ohio State’s win over Wisconsin was very impressive, it was not dominant like LSU’s win.

LSU winning in a dominant fashion showed the committee their final statement, on why they should be the #1 need.

LSU will go on to face Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, while Ohio State will go one to face Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.

Tiger Woods and 83? G.O.A.T. Status?

by tjkgolfer, posted in Golf

Tiger Woods. The name alone is enough to send shivers down the back of any golfer. A name that many know, even though they may not be golf or sports fan themselves. In contrast, many avid golf fans know that Tiger Woods currently ties the record for the most PGA Tour wins in golf history with another all-time great—Sam Snead. However, it is fair to note that in those 82 wins, Snead only has 7 Majors. Tiger Woods, on the other hand, has 15 Major wins—second only to Jack Nicklaus. Tiger Woods has also achieved 10 Player of the Year awards, been given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, holds the lowest career scoring average in Tour history, and is one of five golfers in history to win all four majors in his career (Woods has actually won each major at least three times).

With all those accolades in mind, Tiger Woods is without a doubt, the greatest golfer to ever walk the course. But will the G.O.A.T ever achieve 83 Tour wins? Well, he just barely missed it this past weekend at his self-hosted tournament: the Hero World Challenge. In the short answer, yes. I firmly believe this is the “year of G.O.A.T.’s” and that Tiger will in fact put away the sought-after 83. But that now begs the question, how many wins can Tiger achieve? 85? I don’t see why not. 90? Eh, maybe. The real answer comes in two schools of thought: Tiger’s durability and the upcoming competition.

Most fans of the sport are aware that Woods has a history with back problems. In fact, it’s fair to say that Woods will never be the same golfer he was prior to his scandal in 2009. The scandal led to a downright spiral of the great golfer, and since then, has had a number of issues that seem to stem from the incident 10 years ago: the “at-home” issues, the DUI, and the injuries. All of these played a role in hindering Tiger from competition for a number of years—potentially costing him a highly coveted record.

The second school of thought noted is competition. It’s no secret that Tiger Wood is 43 years old and that there are younger, stronger golfers in the field: Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Justin Thomas. Not to mention the “up-and-coming” stars such as Matthew Wolfe, Cameron Champ, Joaquin Niemann, and Viktor Hovland. These youthful golfers not only have the ability, the strength, and the “it” factor to win, they have the passion and determination to make a name for themselves. Heck, Rory McIlroy still has the hunger and has the “something to prove” mentality as he needs to win a green jacket. The one downside to being the G.O.A.T. is that once you’re at the top, there’s nothing left to “prove” per se—he’s done it. He’s achieved nearly everything. The one other thing that is getting in Tiger’s way is the aspect of fatherhood. Tiger Woods used to spend every waking moment at the golf course practicing and playing. However, now that his children are growing up, his priorities have undoubtedly shifted. His focus is now on being a better father, and as bad as it is to say, may be a downside to his career.

Tiger Woods has achieved things in sports that may potentially never be surpassed. He is a once-in-a-century golfer. He is the greatest athlete of all time, arguably in any sport. But is this great golfer’s career coming to a close? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

Tournament Review: Hero World Challenge 2019

by tjkgolfer, posted in Golf

Founded in 2000 by the G.O.A.T. himself, Tiger Woods, the Hero World Challenge based in the Bahamas features 18 of the World’s Top 50 golfers. Held each December, this PGA stop provides great competition due to the prerequisites required to compete—and this year did not disappoint. In the opening round on Wednesday, although coverage seemed to be spotlighted on our tournament host, Gary Woodland and Patrick Reed both carded -6 (66) to share the lead.

The second round showcased a hard-fought battle between Patrick Reed and Gary Woodland, both tied from the day before. Reed’s approach shots seemed to get the best of Woodland—who was unable to match Reed’s pin-seeking short and mid game. Reed simply outshined on Thursday carding another 66 with the solo lead at -12.

With the beginning of the third round, the leaderboard showed Gary Woodland, Jon Rahm, and Henrik Stenson all within four shots of Reed. Due to the obvious elephant in the room, Reed was forced to take a two-stroke penalty on the 11th in a greenside bunker, forcing him off the top of the leaderboards and taking a nice 74 for the day. Meanwhile, Gary Woodland played flawless golf to shoot a 68—leading Henrik Stenson by one. With similarly carded rounds, Stenson and Woodland shared highlights on Friday—but were unable to do enough damage to stop Rahm, Thomas, Woods, and Reed from being three shots behind the lead.

Our final round was pretty much a career highlight reel for Henrik Stenson. With phenomenal approach shots, long putts, and tap-in eagles, Stenson made me think he had won last year’s FedEx Cup. Although Rahm, Stenson, and Reed all carded final round 66’s, nothing was ripping that $3.5 Million purse from Stenson’s hands.

Patrick Reed: A Hope for Average Golfers?

by tjkgolfer, posted in Golf

If you got a chance to see the World Hero Challenge yesterday, you most likely heard of Patrick Reed’s little “mulligan move” on the 11th hole. In a greenside bunker, Reed took advantage of the PGA’s new rule change. Well within the new PGA rules, you may in fact ground your club in a bunker, however you cannot improve your lie in any way. Patrick Reed decided to just give the middle finger to professional golf and not once—but twice—moved sand to obtain a better lie on his shot.

This just begs the question, if I “pulled a Reed”, could I play on the PGA Tour? Better yet, could any average golfer play to the likes of a Top 50 golfer in the world, if they were to “pick-and-clean” every shot? Heck, I may as well just put a tee on the fairway and see how low I can go. Patrick Reed may be my new idol, because he makes me feel like I really do have a shot to be a PGA Tour professional. In fact, it makes me think I may be able to just cheat my way through Q School and see if I can’t make the Top 25 in the money list to jump on stage every Thursday through Sunday on NBC. This new fad, “pulling a Reed”, burns at my core because it makes me wonder how many other times a Top 50 player in the world like Patrick Reed has knowingly cheated off camera. And we all know darn well that if we did not have televised coverage, and no replay, you can be certain Reed would never have been called out and would never self-penalize himself with a two-stroke penalty.

All in all, I feel safe tonight knowing I can take my overly expensive golf clubs that are way beyond my golfing ability, and dress up in all TaylorMade apparel just to sign up for Q School with the intent on cheating my way through the ranks of the PGA Tour, sponsorships, endorsements, and winning the 2020 FedEx Cup.

Pats vs. Chiefs Preview and Keys to the Game

by Brian Murray, posted in NFL

Everyone knows about the recent struggles of the New England Patriots. Tom Brady is “deteriorating”, his receivers struggle to get open, and the run game is inconsistent at best.

Despite the national narrative that the Pats are out-manned, untalented, and stand no chance against the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill, there is just cause for optimism.

Where would one find this optimism you ask? Well simply press the home button on your dopamine delivery device, I mean your phone, and open up the calendar.

It should say December 7. Key word here being December. Historically, the Patriots dominate in December. And yes, they lost last week on December 1 to the Texans, but it was only the first day of the month so it wasn’t really December yet. Plus with half the team battling the flu, I’ll give them a pass for that ugly loss, but that’s a conversation for another day.

In all seriousness though, the month of December has been good for Patriots fans (and so have a lot of other months -ie. early February). Since Tom Brady became the Patriots starter in 2001, the team is 54-10 in the month of December. Sure, this doesn’t really mean much for the X’s and O’s of tomorrow’s game, but it’s important to remember that the Patriots of years past really started to get it together during this month.

Cause number two for optimism is where the Pats will play this game. Foxborough, Massachusetts to be exact. The Pats undoubtedly play better at home, the defense and the offense are more comfortable, and Gillette stadium has not been kind to young QBs. During the Belichick era, QBs under the age of 25 have never won on the road in New England.

Similarly to my first point, this has nothing to do with the game plan tomorrow. I just hope you can think about these facts as you wake up from your nightmare of Tyreek hill streaking down the sideline for a 75 yard touchdown.

Keys to the game:

This season has been a defensively driven year for the Pats, so I’ll start there.

Containing Patrick Mahomes

Obviously, Mahomes is a generational talent and nobody has quite cracked the code to slowing him down. His numbers have slowed down a bit in his return from his knee injury (less than 200 yards passing in his last two games) but I’m sure Mr. Mahomes has had this one circled on his calendar for awhile and is itching to upend the whole “young QB’s don’t win in New England” narrative. I think the Pats need to put pressure on Mahomes, but on top of that they need to do their best to not allow him to scramble. When number 15 is outside of the pocket, there’s arguably nobody as good at extending plays and improvising. With the Ferrari level speed of the Chiefs receivers, Mahomes can afford to run around and wait for someone to get open. So, put pressure on Mahomes, but keep him in the pocket.

Pats DBs vs. Chiefs WRs

Last week against the Texans I think the Pats secondary had one of its worst games. Aside from Stephon Gilmore (Gilmore for DPOY), the Texan’s WRs, TEs and Deshaun Watson had a good day. They were effective down the field, especially in the middle, and had a long touchdown pass against one on one coverage with Johnathan Jones. Jones has been a top ten DB this year so I’ve got nothing against him, but what I’m hoping for is the return of Jason McCourty. Out the past couple weeks with a groin injury, his absence has left the Pats with a bit less depth, versatility, and speed. If McCourty is able to go this Sunday, he’ll play an instrumental role in containing Mecole Hardman and some of the other Chiefs WRs.

Brady’s trust and communication with his WRs

It’s been a revolving door at the position of wide receiver for the Pats this year. At week two it looked like they’d assembled a QB’s dream of pass catchers. Now in week thirteen, we’ve got two rookies playing substantial snaps, and a banged up veteran in only his 5th game with the team. Last week the receivers struggled to create separation, and seemed to miss some audible signals from Brady. It may take more than a week to iron out these issues, so I’m expecting to see a healthy dose of Sony Michel in this one. But, you never know what you’re gonna see when it comes to the genius in the hoodie.

If the Pats are going to succeed in the air this week, it’s going to be from the slot. The Chiefs D has not been good against slot receivers this year, and that lends itself well to a Pats offense who loves some speedy slot guys. Obviously, Julian Edelman will be a focal point of the passing attack, but that means he’ll also be a focal point of the defensive game-plan. I expect to him doubled for much of the game until somebody else can step up. Hopefully, Sanu is healthy enough to take the next step in his development with Brady (maybe get some new receiver gloves as well) and Dorsett doesn’t miss anymore signals from 12.

Prediction:

This is a big week for the AFC playoff picture. If both the Pats and Bills pull out wins, the Pats will be back in first place for the AFC, and retain the top spot in the division.

Pats 31 – Chiefs 24

LFG

Utah Lost and It’s my Worst Nightmare

by Jeremy Fernando, posted in NCAA Football

Utah lost. Oh no. As someone who is an avid SEC fan and in a league full of big 12 fans (specifically Baylor graduates) it will be my worst nightmare if Baylor manages to make it into the top 4. The apocalypse, armageddon and the rapture sound more appealing than Baylor getting into the CFB playoff.

Listen, do I respect Matt Rhule and the job hes done with this Baylor football program? Yes, absolutely. You’d have to hate a comeback story to not. However, this isnt exactly a pg story. We all know why Baylor’s program came to a crashing halt and in all reality it wasnt too long ago.

For the Baylor fans in the audience who were in bible study while I was doing extracurricular activities on my friday nights, save me the holier than thou speech. Before I get too much hate I want to say I have the utmost respect for Baylor University. In fact, 2 of my best friends and fellow contributors are Bears alum and they are 2 of the best gentlemen I’ve ever met. Doesn’t matter to me though. The football program should have received the death penalty 3 years ago and now they are back from the dead.

Bottom line: all I’m saying is my life will be imminently worse if Baylor wins tomorrow afternoon. For the first time in my life, Boomer Sooner.