Reflection Time

First, I apologize for not posting in the days after the Superbowl. It was a weird few days. If I had to compare it to something it would be like the feeling of calmness you have after several bad things happen almost in succession in your life (like you get a letter saying you owe back taxes, then look up to see your significant other complain about the car making bad noises, then hear a crash as you realize your step-son has just destroyed a hutch by assuming his weight could be supported by holding on to the small glass doors that enclose it). When it's one thing at a time you can get upset. But when it's several things almost at once, then you just smile and a wave of eerie calm pours over you as you grab a beer from the fridge and sit down in your most comfortable chair and put it completely out of your mind for 5 minutes.

That's how I felt about the Superbowl. There was so much garbage with spygate, perfection chatter, and hyperbole that all came crashing down when the game was over that all I could do was smile deliriously.

Now that it's been a few days, it's time to "move on" as Belichick said with 2 seconds left on the clock.

In the end, I enjoyed this season immensely. It was a thrilling ride and the climax was a Greek tragedy. But there is a light at the end of that tunnel.

The Patriots were one Asante Samuel interception away from winning the Superbowl. There will be some big changes in the offseason, but there is no reason to assume we won't be seeing the Patriots go deep in the playoffs again next season.

Until then we have the Celtics and Red Sox to cheer on (even if KG and Schilling aren't exactly making us feel warm and fuzzy right now).

I'll be updating the blog as news comes up throughout the offseason, so I hope you'll check back periodically. Evil Patriots was a much more successful blog than I thought possible because of all of you visiting and commenting throughout the season.

I will definitely be posting once per week, so if you enjoyed the blog, I'd encourage you to check back or subscribe to the RSS feed.

Evil Vanquished

If you're too young to know what all the whining was about regarding the 86 Red Sox...well now you know.

Unlike every other game this year where the Patriots were down at some point in the second half, I never felt like they were really going to win this game. For a brief moment when they scored their final touchdown, I felt like things were setting themselves right in the universe and the Patriots would shut down the Giants for the win. Just incredible really.

A few quick hits:

1. The Giants were the best team this post season and got better every single game.
2. Eli was as good as Brady was bad on 3rd down.
3. Goats: Matt Light, Brady, Ellis Hobbs
4. Everything was un-Patriots like - penalties, bad play calling, bend and then break defense in the end, inaccurate throws, you name it.
5. If the Patriots had won, Wes Welker (who tied Deion Branch's SB record with 11 catches) would have been the MVP.
6. Pretty much everyone who is headed to the Pro Bowl next week from the Patriots came up small tonight.
7. It was a great season regardless. If you can avoid media of any kind in the next week, you'll come around to feeling that way too.


Reasons this loss was worse than the 86 Red Sox:

1. Mercury Morris has a platform to gloat on again
2. The entire country will see this as a karma thing.
3. Best Team Ever become cautionary tale.
4. 19-0, 4 in 7 years, best QB in history....all gone.
5. Losing to a New York team
6. Ditka, Easterbrook, Plaschke, Norman Chad, Dr. Z, and many more
7. It's difficult to gloat about an evil team when they get vanquished.


That's it for me tonight. Good season. Spring Training is right around the corner.

Hear Lots of Evil See Lots of Evil

It's the Saturday before the Superbowl. All of the tired story lines are being put to bed and everyone is now exhausted and just ready to get this game going. Ex-players and current players seem to be picking the Giants a lot more than the media members are, which is not surprising because they're awful at analyzing other teams.

But just before the game gets under way, there is a giant wet blanket set to drop on the Patriots' instead of confetti if they win tomorrow. You can be certain that ESPN editors will be setting half its writers on the "winning the Superbowl" plot line, while the other half will be spending even more hours on the new angle of SpyGate that has been opened with the tapioca-eating Senator from Pennsylvania (a member of the Warren Commission who certainly knows about covering things up).

A month from now there will finally be enough pressure on former Patriots' video assistant Matt Walsh (heretofore referred to as Benedict Arnold) to provide whatever evidence he has of taping the Rams' walkthrough in Superbowl XXXVI and whatever else he can talk about.

If taping the Jets in week 1 was the start of a moral outrage and asterisk campaign, how do you think this will end?

The good news? The World Champion Red Sox will be in training camp by the time that happens.

But for now, I'm putting this out of my mind, will certainly ignore Joe Buck's 50 references to it tomorrow, and will enjoy the game. After that, this Evil Patriots Blog will grow more powerful than you can possibly imagine...because it looks like we'll be able to make it relevant during the entire off season.

I was initially disappointed in this whole thing from yesterday...now I'm embracing it and riding the big "eff you" all the way to another Superbowl win.

In an ideal world, NFL Films would capture Tom Brady at the end of the tunnel turning to his teammates and yelling "You tell them I'm coming! And hell's coming with me!" as he runs out leading his team into the lion's den of hatred and vitriol.

So embrace your inner Evil Patriot and root for the dynasty tomorrow to take everyone down with them....

Breakdown and Prediction for Superbowl XLII

Everyone knows that the Patriots are “beatable.” There has existed a “blueprint” for beating them since they played the Colts in Week 9. The Giants have won 10 straight road victories, which, according to some columnists, make them the hottest team in the league. 99% of the columns you’ve seen this week have been on how the Giants can beat the Patriots. So here below are the factors that the Patriots probably have to execute to win the game. Why only probably? Because they prove time and again that they can find new, surprising ways to win and the Giants are playing a road game, which means they can execute the blueprint by playing the most flawless game in the history of the NFL.

1. Mindset: The Patriots are supernaturally focused, unbelievably well prepared, and are obsessively driven on doing their job. The Patriots have been in Superbowl-like pressure games since Week 9 and have a ton of guys that have already been to, and won Superbowls. The Giants have three guys who have been to a Superbowl.

2. Control the Line of Scrimmage. In the regular season match up, the Giants recorded 1 sack while Brady completed 32/42 passes for 356 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT. They did that with the Pats starting right tackle and starting right guard out for that game. They are both back and will be better at handling the outside rushers. Left Tackle Matt Light will be matched up against Osi Umenyiora, which is a match up in favor of the Giants. One thing the Patriots like to do is use Kevin Faulk in the backfield for protection on Brady's weak side, and then roll him out for a short screen pass. This delays Osi, and it opens Faulk up just past the defender. If the Giants don't bring extra defenders from Brady's weak side (left side) you can expect to see a lot of screens to Faulk and Maroney.

3. Moss Factor: Randy Moss has problems getting off the line of scrimmage when he's manhandled, which I’m sure comes as a great shock to you. The Giants beat him up in their match up, as did the Jaguars and Chargers in the playoffs. We've all noticed offensive holding is no longer being called in the NFL, and the same can be said for defensive holding that occurs in the first 5 yards from scrimmage, which is what you have seen in replays on how Moss gets held off his routes. I have no statistical evidence to suggest Moss will come up big here, but it’s his first Superbowl and on the biggest stage, I don’t see him quitting on routes or allow corners to clutch and grab him at the line through the whole game. But if the Giants do contain him that means they rolled safety coverage to him and opened up the game for ultra-speedy Welker (on turf now) underneath, and Stalworth down the sidelines.

4. Environment. The Patriots have not played in weather above 45 degrees since Week 9 at Indy. Many of their road/home games featured high winds, including the regular season finale, and both playoff games in Foxboro. Why is that important? Because you can't air it out 40+ yards when the wind is swirling at the Meadowlands or Gillette Stadium. But in the wind-less, warm confines of the dome in Arizona, Brady will be in the same kind of environment he enjoyed for the first 9 weeks of the season. Remember what happened then? In addition to weather, the crowds at the Superbowl who can afford $1000+ for tickets are notoriously quiet. There will be no noise factor such as the one in the week 17 match up to force Brady to go to a silent count. This opens up the audible and communicating blitz reads clearer.

5. Take Away the Giants’ Strength. If you were to sum up how Belichick game plans for opponents you could just say “he will take away whatever it is that you do best.” How did the Patriots attack the Giants a month ago? They took away the strength of the Giants offense by limiting Brandon Jacobs to 66 yards on 15 attempts. This time Ahmad Bradshaw is back and should help build up those numbers if the Giants choose to go that route. Remember that Eli had the game of his life, passing for 251 yards with 4 TD's and 1 ill-timed interception on 22/32 attempts. Can he duplicate those numbers? Not with a game plan formulated over two weeks to disguise defensive packages and confuse Eli.

6. Red Zone defense. The Patriots are back to playing the kind of defense they did in winning Superbowls in 2001, 2003, and 2004. They "Bend but don't break." This means that offenses will get their yards against them, and if they don't make any stupid mistakes (turnovers, penalties), they'll get in the red zone. But the red zone is where the Patriots have excelled in the last half of the season and in the playoffs. Why? Because you have your very talented and smart, but also old/slow linebackers playing in a smaller field which allows them to cover everyone. The Patriots will be happy to give you the field goal, because they feel they can score touchdowns every time they get in your red zone.

7. Coaching. Check.

8. Intangibles. Brady or Manning down 7, with 2 minutes left in the 4^th quarter with the ball on their own 20. Which QB do you want?

9. Opponent had their game of the year against you and they still lost? Check.

Here is how I see this game playing out:

1^st Quarter: The Patriots and Giants are both limited on offense, but the Patriots will get one TD by the end of the quarter. The Giants will own time of possession by running Jacobs and Bradshaw and mixing in short passes. They will likely get a field goal out of one of their two drives. 7-3 Patriots

2^nd Quarter: The Patriots go to a hurry up offense (this could happen from the start) and score 10 points in this quarter. The Giants also score a touchdown to keep it close at the half. 17-10 Patriots.

3^rd Quarter: The Patriots adjust to the pressure and coverage schemes and strike quick and often. The Giants continue to have success in the running game and short routes, but aren’t getting anything over the top. By the end of the quarter the Giants are down 21 points and will be forced to abandon the run, culminating in an INT at the end of the quarter for Eli. 31-10 Patriots.

4^th Quarter: The Patriots shove Laurence Maroney down their throats, mixing in a couple of deep balls (1 or 2 being successful). Bradshaw takes a quick screen and turns it into a long touchdown run to give them some hope. Then the Patriots give the ball back to Maroney and Faulk, take 8 minutes off the clock and finish it off with a jump ball to Moss in the end zone. Giants don’t get a garbage time touchdown as Junior Seau forces a fumble of Eli and the Patriots recover, run once or twice, then kneel down. As they look up at the scoreboard and see Patriots 38 Giants 17, Belichick turns to Director of Personnel Scott Pioli to start discussing what to do with the #7 overall pick in the draft and who to target in free agency.

MVP: Tom Brady

X-Factor: Donte Stalworth

Enjoy the game. It won’t happen like that at all because no one ever seems to be right in how these things play out. But it should be a fun game. If the Giants pull off the upset, nothing will hurt as much as seeing an orgasmic Mercury Morris rap his way to bashing the Patriots. But if the Patriots win, the nation of Patriots’ haters will turn into those zombies from 28 Weeks Later, foam at the mouth, and rage against the cheating, classless, dirty players from New England. And that would make me happy most of all.