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Random Notes - January 1, 2003

The final Sunday was bittersweet for the Patriots. On the positive side, they won the game that almost everyone in New England thought they couldn't win. On the negative side, the win was not enough to enable the World Champions to get into the Playoffs and defend their title. On the positive side, New England's win knocked the hated Dolphins out of the Playoffs. On the negative side, the win knocked the even more hated Jets into the Playoffs. On the positive side, we can take solace in the fact that the 9-7 Patriots did not really deserve to make the Playoffs. On the negative side, neither did the 9-7 Jets, who the Pats outscored by a combined 61-37 in their head-to-head battles this year. On the positive side, Kevin Faulk has emerged as a major offensive and special teams weapon. On the negative side, the Pats need to upgrade in at least six positions on the offensive line and defensive front seven.

When the Buffalo Bills choked away their Week One game with the Jets, I just knew it would somehow come back to haunt the Patriots.

I am totally sickened by the collection of ingrates that called WEEI Sports Radio the week before the Dolphins game to vehemently bash the Patriots. Have you clowns forgotten what happened last January? We're all disappointed and the team deserves some criticism, but some of you are completely out of control. The Patriots suffered one injury after another this season and still managed a 9-7 record and came within a third tie-breaker of winning the division title. Yes, they could have and should have been better this season, but after last year, no one has any right to rip this team. If the Patriots are so upsetting to all of you digruntled fans, maybe you should root for another team. I hear that the Detroit Lions are accepting applications.

Speaking of the Lions, Matt Millen is now 5-27 as Detroit's General Manager. This is very surprising. That is about three more wins than I thought the Lions would have under Millen through two seasons.

Question: Which of these players is the All-Pro Quarterback?

A. Chad Pennington -- 3,120 yards, 22 TD's, 6 INT's
B. Tom Brady -- 3,764 yards, 28 TD's, 14 INT's
C. Peyton Manning -- 4,200 yards, 27 TD's, 19 INT's

Well, the answer is (C). Hard to believe.

Isn't it about time that Dave Wannstedt is inducted into the Bad Coaches Hall of Fame? The Dolphins have the best defense in the AFC and this season picked up an 1,800 yard running back, yet Wannstedt still couldn't get the 'Phins into the Playoffs in the mediocre AFC. Against the Patriots, the Dolphins had the ball on first down with 2:30 left in the game and ahead by three points. Ricky Williams had sliced through the Pats defense like a hot knife through butter all day. What does Coach Dave do? Three straight incomplete passes and a late Christmas present for the New York Jets.

I think we now know that Jay Fielder did not get accepted to Dartmouth because of his brain. Against the Patriots, Fiedler used a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty with his team on its own 1/2 yard line. Jay, next time you are in that situation, save the timeout and take the 9 inch penalty. While I'm on the subject, is there anything on the planet more overrated than the Ivy League? Well, maybe the 2002 Notre Dame football team.

Adam Vinatieri improved his career field goal accuracy to 81.7% by hitting 27 of 30 this year. He has never missed a field goal inside a dome (27 for 27) or in overtime (11 for 11). Last season, he made the greatest clutch kick in NFL history when he nailed the game-tying field goal in the snow against the Raiders and then topped it all off by winning the Superbowl on the game's final play. Vinatieri's numbers compare favorably to all of the game's top kickers of all time, many of which played the majority of their games inside dome stadiums.

Clearly, the Patriots have several holes to fill. They need a big, physical receiver, a couple of offensive linemen, two new linebackers, another interior defensive linemen and some depth at cornerback. But most of all, they need a pass rush specialist. The Patriots have ended each season for the last 15 years needing to fill this patricular hole and each year they failed to deliver. Please, for the love of Andre Tippett, do what it takes to find us a legitimate pass rusher.

My 2002 NFL Awards

Biggest Choke -- No, not the Dolphins. It's the New Orleans Saints who lost their last three games to teams with a combined record of 11-32. Two of those games were at home! Last year, the Saints lost their final four games by a combined score of 160-52 after heading into Week 14 with a record of 7-5.
Most Amazing Play -- Michael Vick's 50-yard TD run through the entire Vikings defense in overtime.
MVP -- Rich Gannon, by a landslide. I wonder who whiny Raider fans will blame this year if Oakland blows it in the Playoffs?
Rookie of the Year -- Jeremy Shockey. With all due respect to Shockey's old teammate Clinton Portis, 74 receptions for 894 yards from a rookie tight end is quite amazing.
Player I'd Most like to Club Over the Head with a 2 by 4 -- Jeremy Shockey. Shockey is as arrogant as he is good. As usual, Miami = No Class. Lifetime Achievement Award in this category goes to Randy Moss. Nothing sums up Moss better than the game against Atlanta last month when, as the Vikings were frantically trying to tie the game (or take the lead) with under one minute left in the fourth quarter, Moss strutted around showing off for the crowd and pointing to his biceps after a catching a five-yard pass. Winning the game was obviously the last thing on Randy's mind.
Most Amazing Current Streak -- Brett Favre is now 35-0 in games where the kickoff temperature is 35 degrees or less. Unreal.
Most Amazing Streak to End -- Tampa Bay's win over the Bears was their first in 22 games when the gametime temperature is below 40 degrees. This will be a huge confidence boost for the Bucs if they have to travel to Philly for the NFC Championship Game.
Most Improved Patriot -- Kevin Faulk. Faulk rushed for 5.2 yards per carry and caught 37 passes this year, but I suspect that he will become much bigger part of the offense next season. He also returned two kickoffs for touchdowns this season.
Most Disappointing Patriot -- Donald Hayes. Hayes averaged 59 catches for the Carolina Panthers over the past two seasons, but hauled in only 12 passes for a meager 133 yards this year.