Forget the Jets, the Pats have a game on Sunday
When exactly did Boston-area sports talk radio become All-Jets, All The Time?
Is their missing the playoffs really that newsworthy?
Do we really want to listen to talk about Mark Sanchez, Tim Tebow, Rex Ryan, Mike Tannebaum, and their cap situation for more than five minutes, never mind for three days?
Maybe it's due to the Pats next opponent, Jacksonville being a 2-12 team that nobody seems to be interested in talking about the Jaguars. Something tells me however that if the Pats play a 2-12 Jets team next year, then sports talk radio will have plenty to talk about the upcoming game.
I took a wander over to a Jaguars website, Big Cat Country, and found a little - but not much - about their thoughts on Sunday's game. Most of the discussion seems to be focused on:
- Should the Jaguars draft another quarterback?
- Should the Jaguars trade fro somebody's backup QB?
- Should head coach Mike Mularkey be fired?
- Should the Jags hire Tony Dungy/Jon Gruden/The Ghost of Vince Lombardi/etc. as head coach?
- The Jaguars have made 88 roster/practice squad/IR moves since the season started (what's that, about one-third the number the Pats have made?)
Here is what I do know:
- Jacksonville ranks 29th, allowing 27.4 points per game
- Jacksonville ranks 31st, allowing 394 yards per game
- Jacksonville ranks 25th, with 10 interceptions on defense
- Jacksonville ranks 32nd, allowing 148 yards rushing per game
- Jacksonville ranks 31st, scoring 15.6 points per game
- Jacksonville ranks 31st on offense, averaging 284 yards per game
- Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are not going to look past this game because they are pissed after losing last week
This Day In Patriots History
December 19, 1971:
New England Patriots 21, Baltimore Colts 17 at Memorial Stadium
Jim Plunkett threw two touchdown passes to Randy Vataha – one for one yard, one for 88 yards – as the Pats upset the Colts in Baltimore. The Patriots picked off Johnny Unitas twice, once by Steve Kiner and one by John Outlaw. The interception by Outlaw came just before halftime, and he returned it 60 yards for a touchdown to give the Patriots a 14-3 lead. Unitas came back with two touchdown passes to Eddie Hinton in the second half, but the 88-yard TD to Vataha in the 4th quarter turned out to be the game-winner.
Vataha finished his rookie season with 51 receptions for 872 yards and 9 touchdowns; they all turned out to be career highs, as was the 88-yard reception. Plunkett was 10-for-17 for 170 yards for this game, but more importantly were the two touchdowns against zero interceptions. Plunkett, who was also in his rookie year, finished with 19 touchdown passes, 2nd most in the NFL in ’71.
December 19, 1982:
New England Patriots 16, Seattle Seahawks 0 at the Kingdome
The Pats defense forced six turnovers as they shutout their opponent for the second straight game. Tony Collins rushed for 103 yards and added another 21 yards receiving, and John Smith kicked three field goals. Overall the Pats out-gained Seattle 249 yards to 53 on the ground, and 393 yards to 171 overall. Mike Haynes had two interceptions, and Roland James and Rick Sanford had one pick each. The victory improved New England’s record to 4-3 in the strike-shortened season with two games remaining in the regular season.
December 19, 1993:
New England Patriots 20, Cleveland Browns 17 at Municipal Stadium
Fullback Kevin Turner made a critical play to key a victory got the second time in the ’93 season. With Eugene Chung and Mike Arthur throwing key blocks, Turner weaved 49 yards on a draw play in the game-winning 4th quarter drive, moving the ball from the Pats 29-yard line to the Browns 22. Seven plays later Leonard Russell scored from 4 yards out for the lead and the win. It was the longest run of Turner’s NFL career, and his 63 yards rushing was his single-game career high as well. Turner also had a 6-yard touchdown reception. The game marked the first time in the season that the Pats won back-to-back games.
Drew Bledsoe was only 19-for-47 for 210 yards with that one touchdown pass, but Bill Parcells said that the rookie played his best football of the season in the final ten minutes. On the game winning drive Bledsoe completed a 9-yard pass to Ben Coates on 3rd-and-5 and a 4-yard pass to Turner on 3rd-and-1.
The Pats defense came up big in the 4th quarter also. Browns’ QB Vinny Testaverde, who had two touchdown passes in the first half, was picked off by Maurice Hurst and by Dion Lambert. For Lambert it was his first and only interception as a New England Patriot.
The game marked the first time that Cleveland head coach Bill Belichick lost to the Patriots, and also the first time that he and Parcells met as opposing head coaches. In 1991 Belichick’s Browns beat the Pats in Foxboro 20-0, and in 1992 the Browns won 19-17 in Cleveland; both of those New England teams were coached by Dick MacPherson.
December 19, 1999:
Philadelphia Eagles 24, New England Patriots 9 at Veterans Stadium
Third-string quarterback Koy Detmer threw three touchdown passes as the 3-win Eagles upset the Pats in Philadelphia. The loss, couple with Buffalo’s victory over Arizona that night eliminated the Patriots from the playoffs.
Drew Bledsoe was 23-for-39 for 331 yards, but threw four interceptions and no touchdowns; that made it 15 interceptions thrown by Bledsoe over his last six games. The Pats also fumbled the ball five times, losing it three times; in all the Pats turned the ball over seven times.
Troy Brown was the lone bright spot for the Pats with five catches for 105 yards; he also had 45 yards on four punt returns.
December 19, 2010:
New England Patriots 31, Green Bay Packers 27 at Gillette Stadium
Dan Connolly grabbed a squib kick kickoff and rumbled 71 yards in one of the greatest kickoff returns in the history of the National Football League, sparking the Patriots to a 4th quarter come from behind victory in Foxboro. It is the longest kickoff return in NFL history by a lineman.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored on a 33-yard run and Tom Brady threw touchdown passes to Aaron Hernandez. With that Brady set an NFL record by throwing two or more touchdowns with no interceptions in seven consecutive games.
Connolly ran his kick return to the four yard line to set up the first touchdown pass to Hernandez just before halftime; the Packers were attempting to avoid a long return by Brandon Tate, who had returned two kickoffs for touchdowns earlier in the season. Less than three minutes into the second half Kyle Arrington intercepted a Matt Flynn pass and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown to give the Pats a 21-17 lead. Green Bay went back up 27-21 but a Shayne Graham field goal and Brady’s second TD to Hernandez gave the Pats the lead back with 7:14 left to play. On Green Bay’s final drive Tully Banta-Cain sacked Flynn and Vince Wilfork recovered the fumble to seal the win. Dane Fletcher, Eric Moore, Rob Ninkovich and Devin McCourty each had a sack on Flynn also.
With the victory Bill Belichick moved ahead of Mike Holmgren into sole possession of tenth place with his 175th win as a head coach in regular-season and playoff games.
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