Time Out for Sports Talk: On to Cincinnati…and some File Maintenance

Todd: As in life, most aspects of sports fandom tend to come full circle, like this week’s headline.  Two years after Bill Belichick uttered those three words in looking ahead to the Pats’ next opponent, the cliché becomes fact, as TB12 and friends get ready to host that team from the Queen City.  More on that in a bit.

Seriously, what is up with New England pro sports teams and Ohio the last 7-10 days?  Pats-Browns, Pats-Bengals, Sox-Indians, even Bruins-Blue Jackets.  It’s been a stretch of Buckeyes and Beaneaters matchups, producing mixed results.

First (contrary to Belichick’s m.o.), a look back to last week’s Pats win in front of a ‘home’ crowd in Cleveland.  I previously referred to this as a ‘scorched earth’ game, and Tom Brady did not disappoint in his return, passing for over 400 yards and 3 touchdowns.  The first four games now almost feel like some weird dream to me.  Hopefully Tom stays upright so Pats fans don’t have to return that world again this season.

Another triumphant return was the success of the two-tight end offense, thanks to new guy Martellus Bennett.  Put Bennett and Rob Gronkowski on the field together (didn’t realize they are practically the same size in both height and weight) and the Pats can run practically any type of play, from having them both block on a power run to splitting them out wide for a deep pass.  It’s the type of no-huddle offense that will appear unstoppable when all the cylinders are clicking.

Also returning to make an impact was Rob Ninkovich, who himself returned to the linebacker position where he began his Patriot career.  Adding him to the Collins/Hightower duo makes that group even more formidable and gives the defense another look.

Quick aside on the Browns—Clevelanders may have plenty to celebrate these days between their championship Cavs and ALCS-bound Indians, but if you’re a football fan living in that region, forget it.  Five different quarterbacks in five weeks?  The Browns are such a mess at the position that they’ve probably considered giving Johnny Manziel a call.

Turning to baseball, guess that road through Sox-tober hit a pothole large enough to swallow the team whole.  If you read our predictions last week, I not only can’t believe the Sox lost to an undermanned Cleveland squad, but got swept in the process (also can’t believe the one former Red Sock I forgot to mention last week—Coco Crisp—provided the knockout punch).

Where to begin placing blame?  The Sox only hit .214 as a team, but similar lack of production three years ago didn’t seem to stop them from winning a World Series.  To me the biggest culprits were Rick Porcello and David Price.  The pair combined for 39 wins and over 450 innings during the regular season, but neither could get through five innings in Cleveland last week.  If the Sox had any kind of deep postseason run in them, those two had to lead the way and both failed miserably.

As for Price, his postseason woes continue, now sporting a 0-8 record in nine career playoff starts.  While I still stand by my opinion that Dave Dombrowski needed to go out and add Price to a shaky starting rotation, the longer the lefty goes in his career without winning a postseason start, the more likely it may never happen.  Kind of like wishing Clay Buchholz will put together a season of making 30 starts and pitching 200 innings (and yet, Clay will probably be back frustrating us again after the team picks up his option for 2017).

The abrupt end to the Sox’ season also became a sudden end to the career of David Ortiz, who will never be forgotten by any Sox fan who has watched this team over the last fourteen seasons.  Big Papi was an incredible hitter who always had a knack for coming through in the biggest moments and helping a previously bedeviled franchise win THREE World Series championships.  Thanks for that, Papi.

While I think it may be possible for the Sox to find a hitter to replace most of Ortiz’ production, I doubt they will find someone as clutch a hitter and have the presence in both the lineup and in the clubhouse that #34 did.  For that reason, I am quietly concerned how many of the stars on this team, both young and old, will perform next year and beyond.

And while I’m mildly surprised Dombrowski was willing to bring back manager John Farrell for another season, I’m not at all surprised Farrell wasn’t also offered an extension.  I think JF will be on a relatively short leash next year—if the Sox aren’t in first place in June, expect DD to have by then found a suitable replacement.

How about some quick puck talk?  Seriously Bruins fans, did any of you think they were going to win their opener in Columbus last night?  Just remember this—the B’s dropped their first three games at home last year and just missed out on a playoff berth.  I think winning their first three on the road this year (which is now possible) will be enough to get them into this year’s playoffs after a two-year absence.  The fact that team expectations seem so low may well play into the Bruins’ favor this season.

Finally, back to the Patriots for this week’s prediction.  I have feeling some fans are looking past Cincinnati, but even without some of their offense ailing they are a better team than you think.  I don’t think the Pats will need to resort to using magnets to affect the coin toss, nor will they need ‘Bonkowski’ to score five touchdowns.  But this game should be competitive to the end.  Patriots 28, Bengals 21.

Mike: Wow was I wrong about the Red Sox. I actually thought they were going to show up for the playoffs.

But oh well, at least they had a ton of David Ortiz celebrations as they backed out of the season. So we've got that going for you, which is nice.

But we got our revenge on Cleveland by pounding that poor excuse for a football team into the dust, and the road to The Most Awkward Trophy Presentation Ever© is wide open.

And now, we go back to Ohio to deal with the Bengals. Once again, I see this as less of a game, but an exercise in watching the Patriots destroy an opponent. Patriots win 35-17.

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