Sunday, January 29, 2012

WEEK TWENTY CONFERENCE ROUND VS. BALTIMORE RAVENS W 23-20

well kids, we’re going to the super bowl.
 
from the totw archives, 10/18/10: you can't blame the baltimore ravens for hating the patriots. every year, it looks like they're going to beat us, and every year, we snatch the victory from their hands right at the last second. this sunday was no exception...with yet another improbably win. sucks to be a raven. 
 
now let’s hope that’s the last bit of history repeating we see this season!
 
it was a nerve-wracking, nail-biting, turn-my-back-on-the-tv-and-pray kinda game against the ravens last sunday, and it took a lot of perseverance and a little luck for our patriots to squeak by with the win. still, squeak we did – and now we’re going to indy. who’da thunk?
 
there’s something about the ravens that sets tommy off-kilter, and our fearless quarterback barely mustered 239 yards – with two interceptions and no touchdowns. the only consolation in watching tommy struggle is knowing that he’s even more frustrated by it than i am. at least he always gets fired up and gets in the ravens’ faces. ray lewis really should know better.
 

in i heart wes welker news, wes got engaged this week! since he still has that stupid mustache, i’m not that bummed – though i’d rest more easily knowing the super bowl had his undivided attention. besides, i suspect tommy’s more jealous than i am!
 

it was our defense that kept us in this game against the ravens, and that’s where i’m headed with this week’s totw. but first, honorable mention goes to stephen gostkowski. most of us were disappointed to “walk away with a field goal” on several drives during this game...but given cardiff’s miss and our winning margin, stephen’s perfection (3/3 FG) should be both noted and commended. nevertheless, this week’s tommy is going to sterling moore. i know he just got it a few weeks ago, i know he’s rookie, and i know there were other cases to be made...but if not for moore’s push-out of evan’s touchdown reception very late in the fourth, we’d have been eating crow instead of raven. sterling indeed.

 
we play the giants in the super bowl next sunday, and i’ll have more on that in the tommy of the bye. in the meantime, our pats leave for indy today, so think your happy patriots thoughts in full force. look how effectively that worked last weekend!
 
have a great week, and go pats!
 
love dav

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

WEEK NINETEEN DIVISIONAL ROUND VS. DENVER BRONCOS W 45-10

holy patriots!
 
and that’s what we call bradying, kids. our fearless quarterback was perfect for the first 11 minutes of the game against the broncos, going 8/8 for 138 yards and two touchdowns. by the end of the first quarter, he had more touchdown passes (three) than tebow had completions, and he ended the half tying an nfl record with five. tommy was so on fire, he was actually breathing smoke!
 

wes welker was pretty fired up himself, and he got the ball rolling, literally, with a dive-and-roll catch for the first touchdown of the night. with so many weapons on our offense, it seems like wes might get lost in the shuffle, but tommy still hearts him just as much as i do.

 
everyone on the team stepped up this week, and there were several noteworthy performances. collectively, our defense looked tighter than they have for much of the season, branch made a great play on a long pass, and hernandez delivered one hell of a hit on the defender trying to return an interception. still, when you throw six touchdown passes, you damned well better clinch the award that’s named after you. so, this week’s tommy goes to tom brady, for putting on a performance for the record books and reminding us why we’re the luckiest fans in the nfl.
 

we play the ravens in the first game on sunday, and it’s going to be our biggest test of the season. in spite of our winning record against them, the ravens almost always outplay us, and their defense is definitely more formidable than denver’s. if our patriots play at the same level they did on saturday, i’m cautiously optimistic, but it’ll probably be a close one. we’re getting down to the wire here, kids, so don’t hold back! send your happy patriots thoughts in full force, and hopefully the next totw won’t be the last!
 
have a great week, and go pats!
 
love dav

Saturday, January 14, 2012

WEEK EIGHTEEN – FIRST ROUND BYE

hey kids-
 
every season , there’s one totw that arrives on the morning of the next week’s game – and this is it. let’s do this!
 
after all was said and done last weekend, the denver broncos emerged as the patriots’ first opponent, and it’s good news for two reasons: we quite recently beat the broncos handily – and while we were in a similar position with the jets last year and lost that first playoff game, i feel cautiously optimistic about our chances against a quarterback with way more hype than actual playoff experience. secondly, the steelers always try to kill our players, literally, and any time we can avoid that, it’s a good thing. tom brady agrees, and he was so happy, he was skipping with glee!

 
wes decided to grow his mustache again for the playoffs, and while i heart him, because i hate it! i hear gronkowski is also getting in on the action- so stay tuned. this could turn into the i heart aaron hernandez at any moment!

 
sometimes, a clear tommy-of-the-bye recipient emerges, but no one did, so i almost awarded it to our fearless quarterback by default. however, i realized while writing this that i’m really excited about tonight’s game.  in spite of our 13-3 record, i’ve watched this team struggle all season and have often thought this just isn’t our year...but now, it really feels like anything could happen. so, i hearby award the tommy-of-the-bye to the 2011 new england patriots – for driving me crazy all season long but giving me hope in january (when it counts!).

 
i know you’ve been practicing your happy patriots thoughts all week – but let’s put in one final push before tonight. i shouldn’t have to remind you that a win equals more games, which equals more totws!
 
have a great day, and go pats!
 
love dav

Sunday, January 8, 2012

WEEK SEVENTEEN VS. BUFFALO BILLS W 49-21

hey kids-
 
our patriots started the year and ended the season on a winning note in a not-so-rare fall-behind-early performance that happily turned into a rare blowout. now that our pats have mastered coming back from big deficits, it’d be awesome if they started working on other skills – like, say, winning some playoff games.
 
in spite of the slow start, our patriots finished big and had a slew of broken records to show for it. our fearless quarterback set the bar, surpassing marino’s single-season passing record with 5,235 yards (putting him second all-time behind drew brees) and throwing his 300th career touchdown pass (tying him for fifth place). with tom brady at the helm, anything can the happen...and something amazing probably will. here he is, looking firmly in control and ready to direct our team into the post-season. you show ‘em, tommy!

 
from the looks of this photo, the bills must not have known that wes welker led the nfl in receiving yards this season – with 1,569 on 122 receptions. if all his coverage looked like this, he’d have broken rice’s record for sure! nevertheless, it was an extraordinary season for wes, who not only found new ways to excel as a patriot – but also found new ways of making me heart him!

 
both of our tight ends had banner days again, with gronkowski getting in on the record-breaking action and setting the single season receiving record for tight ends with 1,327 yards. still, this week’s tommy is going to a backup defensive player. sterling moore has played just five games in the nfl, but he managed to pull down two interceptions in this game against the bills, one of which he returned for a touchdown. while it might not have been record-breaking, it was a fantastic performance from the rookie cornerback and a bright spark for a struggling defense. way to aim high, sterling.

 
we’re on the bye this week while denver and pittsburgh slug it out today, and we’ll be on tap for the later game next saturday evening. we’ve been bounced in our first playoff game for the last two years in a row, so while our pats are using this week to tighten up and get focused, let’s all practice our happy patriots thoughts. don’t worry – i’ll remind you again in the forthcoming tommy of the bye.
 
have a great week, and go pats!

love dav