Time Out for Sports Talk: Could the Patriots Beat Cony High?
Todd: Well, the Rams are the defending Class B state champs, while the Pats are a big hot mess. I’m looking for any excuse to avoid talking about that debacle in Kansas City. So here are some other thoughts on my mind…
As someone who dabbles in public address announcing and has also done some sports play-by-play, I have always admired great voices in broadcasting. So I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge two longtime classic voices that were both sadly silenced last month.
First, it was odd watching the 40th season premiere of “Saturday Night Live” last weekend and not hearing the dulcet tones of Don Pardo introducing the cast. The 96-year old Pardo was employed by NBC for an astounding 70 years, likely to never be topped in terms of longevity.
Then there’s legendary Yankee Stadium PA announcer Bob Sheppard, who was the voice of the pinstripes for nearly 60 years. Sheppard’s time with the Bronx Bombers didn’t quite reach the length of Pardo’s time at the Peacock, but it was quite unique. That’s because Sheppard officially ‘retired’ when he introduced Derek Jeter one final time last week (just before #2’s last game-winning hit), more than four years after he passed away in 2010. We have the outgoing Yankee shortstop to thank for keeping ‘The Voice of God’ around.
Sticking with baseball, it’s already time to say goodbye to two of this year’s MLB postseason participants, as the Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland A’s were both eliminated in the single-elimination Wild Card game. For the Athletics, their loss ended a two-month slide (22-34) that ought to catch heat for GM Billy Beane. Who else would trade their cleanup hitter with their team was in first place? If there were plans to make a Moneyball 2 movie, I think I’d have Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt switch roles based on Beane’s recent track record.
It was perhaps fitting that Jon Lester started Oakland’s final game of the 2014 season. Beane acquired the former Red Sox ace for the sole purpose of postseason success. But the Athletics barely hung on to make the playoffs and then were one-and-done, losing for the 13th time in their last 14 postseason elimination games. Now Lester heads to free agency and the A’s are left with nothing, not even a compensatory draft pick when Lester signs elsewhere.
OK, reluctantly on to Patriots. Unfortunately I have no answers about that 41-14 not-even-remotely-ready-for-primetime performance last Monday night, only questions.
First, did the fans at Arrowhead actually reclaim the Guinness world record for loudest sports stadium (142.2 decibels)? Even all that noise couldn’t keep me from falling asleep in the second quarter.
All kidding aside (gotta find a laugh somewhere), why in the last two Pats games against Oakland and Kansas City—two teams whose defenses have given up large chunks of yardage on the ground—did Josh McDaniels opt to start both games calling three straight passing plays (leading to two straight three-and-outs)? Particularly on Monday night, why would the Pats try to pass more than run early on (when the game was still close) but only dress three wide receivers?
I understand why Bill Belichick opted to reshuffle the offensive line and starting two rookies (Bryan Stork and Cameron Fleming), but I go back to McDaniels play-calling and ask why didn’t the Pats try to establish the run game early on and ease the rookie linemen into their expanded roles? Perhaps more running could have set up some play-action passing?
About Number 12…was this loss the beginning of the end for Tom Brady? I’ll actually answer this question. There’s no doubt that Brady’s skills have eroded some, which is natural for a 37-year old quarterback who’s been around 15 seasons. But they shouldn’t be diminishing this fast. The line has given him little time to throw and his receivers don’t have enough time to get open, a big reason Brady is struggling on his deep throws. Say, maybe they could activate a few more WRs next week. The bottom line is that Brady can no longer carry the Pats on his back, and Belichick shouldn’t expect him to.
Let’s not forget about the Pats’ D. Monday was only the third time in the Belichick era the Pats have allowed 41 points (2005 vs. SD, 2012 vs. SF) and the first time the defense allowed 300 total yards to an opponent before halftime. Not what I expected. Last week I said that they’d need to force turnovers to win and they failed to force a single takeaway.
Will the defense have a different look and aggressiveness Sunday night in Foxboro against the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals when Brandon Browner returns from his suspension? Can Darrelle Revis blanket AJ Green for four quarters? Will the offense be able to move the ball against a defense that held them to six points (and 1-for-12 on third down) when they played each other last year?
I say things will look better than last week (they have to, right?), but not enough for the Pats to defeat an opponent of this caliber. Bengals 26, Patriots 14.
My other game picks (2-1 last week, 5-4 season): Cowboys over Texans, Lions over Bills and Colts over Ravens.
Mike: That game on Monday night was about as bad of a disaster I've seen in a long, long time. The Patriots weren't just beaten, that happens, but they were utterly and completely destroyed!
They never seemed to have their heads in the game, and it was disturbing to watch. Brady threw a couple of picks that looked like a third-string high school player would have thrown, and there was no fire there at all. I'm not sure if this was just a blip we'll forget about during another playoff run this season, or a sign that the end of the run is coming.
For as fun as this run of football success has been, it has to end sometime, logically we all know it. I don't think we're going to see a 2-14 debacle by any means, but suddenly, a division that many thought was all locked up is very much in play as the other teams in the East now have some hope that the Pats are struggling.
New England was my Super Bowl pick this season, and I'll admit I partially made that pick because I'm a homer (D'Oh!) but also because I thought they were one of the strongest teams in the AFC. I'm not so sure about that now.
In fact, to answer the question in our headline, I think Cony might give the Pats a game...
Getting on to this week, I usually never pick against the Pats after a loss, since history shows that they simply don't lose two in a row. But I'm going against the trend this time, I think the Bengals are playing very well this season (as evidenced by their undefeated record) and I don't like what I see from the Patriots at all. I hope I'm wrong on this one, but I have Cincinnati winning 21-13.
For my other picks (2-1 last week, 7-2 season): Chargers over the Jets, Seahawks over the Redskins and Eagles over the Rams.
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