Heat Have Wrong Big Three II:

On the first day of December I proclaimed the Miami Heat to have the "Wrong Big Three"  (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh). I discredited this Heat team by speaking to the fact that they do not have the defensive personell to contend for a title. Also speaking to the fact that they have all the talent in the world to win any one given contest, but not a seven game series against The Boston Celtics or Chicago Bulls. Yet after this proclamation of a faulty "Big Three" Miami  soared to new heights, winning 21 out of 22 games, before crashing back to earth in a 1-5 skid.

The Heat again began to ascend with an eight game winning streak until they matched up with the Celtics. Boston clinched the season series between the two rivals with their thrid win over Miami this year. After picking themselves up from the Boston defeat, the fickle world of professional sports fans and media revised their thoughts on the Heat (considering them title contenders once again). This is due to an upswing in the Heat's play as they have beaten the  L.A. Lakers and San Antonio Spurs in recent times. The knock on Miami this year has been that they cannot beat any of the top teams in the NBA. Now that they have (beaten two of the best), people who were ripping them during their five game losing streak, are ready to praise them, and ride their coat tails to promise land.

To say that as a (unoffical) sports analyst I have never been fickle is not true, nor was that my intention to imply that. I am simply saying that all season long I've remained steadfast on my stance that the Miami Heat will fail in the posteason. Of all the top seeded playoff teams in the East and West, Miami is by far the most depthless and has glaring weaknesses at point guard, power forward, and center. This team has incredible offesnive talent; with two of the best slashers to ever play the game (James and Wade) that are surrounded by potent three point shooters. However, asisde from Miami's offensive prowess this team's interior defense is simply not there.

Chris Bosh does not play effective interior defense and as great as LBJ and D-Wade are, they just are not big enough to defend centers and power forwards. The only interior defender to speak of and respect is Udonis Haslem, but he has only played thirteen games this season (due to injury). Zydrunas Ilgauskus, Juwan Howard, Jamaal Magloire, and Erick Dampier has to be the worst and oldest front line in the NBA, and leaves the Heat more than vulnerable inside. To escape the Eastern Conference playoffs you will need to defeat the Celtics or Bulls in a series. You will need size on the defensive end and an elilte point guard to slow down Derrick Rose and or Rajon Rondo.

The Heat lack the qualifactions to eliminate the Bulls or Celtics in the postseaon, because their greatest strength is attacking the basket. Lebron James is the greatest slasher in the game today. A man who uses his strength, power, and speed to penetrate into the paint and "slash" to the basket. James is their best player and driving to the basket is his most prized skill. The reason this does not serve his team well against the Bulls and Celtics is because both of those teams have great size and stalwart defenses.

Boston (when healthy) has the biggest paint clogger in NBA history in Shaquille O'neal, Jermaine O'neal, Kevin Garnett, and not to mention another seven footer in Nenad Kristic. Do the Celtics miss Kendrick Perkins in this area? Of course they do. However, as long as the O'neals can return and team up with KG, Miami would have no chance to dominate the paint. Chicago is similarly poised to stall the Heat's main attack with a stout front line of Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer. Perhaps an even greater challenge for Miami would be trying to hinder Rose or Rondo, and Mike Bibby certainly can't do that.

The Miami Heat will be a great team within the next two to three years if they keep their "Big Three' intact and add defensive minded and capable players. Of all the star players that have won championships in NBA history, they never did it alone. You need a "team" to win in Basketball, whether you are Michael Jordan or Larry Bird you need your role players, team depth, and you need interior defense. When Dwyane Wade won his championship with the Heat he had a true team. A team with Shaq O'neal and Alonzo Mourning anchoring the defense, Gary Payton distrubuting the ball, and of course the brillant play of Wade himself. The 2010/2011 Miami team is the polar opposite of the last South Beach champions.

Maybe the Celtics or Bulls won't even play Miami in the playoffs, but if they do the Heat are in too deep with the wrong Big Three.

Sources

http://www.espn.com/

http://www.basketball-reference.com/

Images
www.google.com
www.si.com



Separation Anxiety

My first reaction to the trade of Kendrick Perkins was outrage and confusion, as it seemed the Celtics gave away their best defensive player for no reason. Some would say Kevin Garnett is the Celtic’s best defense player, but Perkins has youth and has not yet reached his full potential . Garnett is the defensive leader unquestionably and is the more versatile defender, however Perkins is that enforcer down low. Perk is someone who can defend any center or power forward in the league with his brute physicality. Yet  what seemed worse than losing their best interior defender in KP-43, was disrupting team chemistry.

This trade makrs the end of the starting five that had never lost a playoff series, and a tight knit group that played for one another. This trade disrupts such a close relationship between a group of men that won a championship together. Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, and many others in the organization saw Perkins come into the league out of high school at age 18. Perkins would grow into one of the best centers in the NBA and help raise the Celtics' 17^th Championship Banner. Kevin Garnett's comment: "it feels like we lost a family member" tells you just how close these players are. Now it is time to say goodbye to a part of this team, a key cog in the Celtic machine that churned out a championship and  nearly another, falling short in game 7 of the NBA Finals.

You have to feel for Perk who suffered a horrible season ending injury in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, and you've got  respect how hard he battled to rehab and get back out on the court this season. It is time to say goodbye to what so many of us thought was the strength of the 2010-2011 Boston Celtics, the Bigs. The front line of big men Shaquille O’neal, Kendrick Perkins, and Kevin Garnett that was going to nullify the size of the Lakers, Orlando’s Dwight Howard, and any other front line in the NBA. However, after simmering for a few days on this trade, I've come to understand that we are all just suffering from a little bit of Perkins separation anxiety.

The fans of Boston and his teamates loved Kendrick Perkins and it is sad to see him go, but its time to remember to trust Danny Ainge. A risk taker indeed at the General Manager position, but don't forget he is the magaican who transformed a 24 win team into NBA Champions (seemingly overnight). Yes, the vaunted front line is no more, and yes the team chemistry has taken a major blow, and yes the Big 5 will never have a chance to defend their title, but they are better now. Many (including myself) believe that if Perkins does not tear his ACL in Game 6, that the Boston Celtics would have prevailed over the Lakers. In that series the victor of each game won the battle of the boards, and the Celtics were outrebounded  easily without Perkins in Game 7. This was the mission in the off-season: To overload the team with size and rebounders, and never be out muscled by a bigger team again.

Danny Ainge added free agent centers Shaq and Jermaine O'neal, and drafted 7'0 Semih Erden from Turkey. This was done so that never again would his team lose the rebounding battle in a playoff series. This was also in conjunction with the return of a healthy Perkins, but now he and Erden have both been traded away. The reason why this trade seemed so outlandish at first is because it seemed that Ainge had abaonded his plan of amassing rebounders.

Ainge cleared out roster spots for a reason and now the Celtics have added Troy Murphy, who is a proven rebounder and a skilled offense player to boot. The Celtics also replaced Semih Erden with another seven footer in Nenad Kristic, and had inside knowledge on the health of the O'neals. Shaq will be returning soon and Jermaine is on his way to being back on the court by the end of March. In the end these trades made the Celtics a much better offensive team, restored team depth, and finally ended  the two year search for a replacement of James Posey.

In the 2007/2008 Championship winning season the Celtics had a wing player in Posey that could defend the Lebron James' and Kobe Bryants' of the NBA. In addtion they had someone reliable to knock down clutch outside shots. Most importantly they had a player who could spell Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, keeping the veterans fresh for closing out games. Yes, it does remain to be seen if Jeff Green can execute this very role, but he possesses superior atlethic talent (that Posey never had). Also, Green is taller, longer, bigger, and is starter material, as Posey was always a bench player. Taking nothing away from Posey who Iis an elilte sixth man, Green is simply a suped up verison of J.P. who averages more points, rebounds, and has serious untapped potential (in only his fourth year). Green averages 14.2 points per game along with 5.7 rebounds and was the third scoring option behind two superstar players on the Thunder.

The Celtics have improved greatly with these new acqusitions, and as sad as it feels to say goodbye to Kendrick Perkins, this team is better. The Celtics unquestionably got weaker on defense, but at the same time became exponetially better offensively. With big men Kristic and Murphy (who are  forever more skilled than Perk offensively)  the number one defense in the league (91.3 ppg) may have lost some muscle, but the team has gained rebounding, outside shooting, inside scoring, and most importantly healthy bodies.

 It is importnat to remember that Kendrick did decline a contract offer from Boston eariler in the season and he got a far more lucrative from Oklahoma City (36 million over four years). He is also going to a great Western Conference team that was in desperate need of a defensive center like Perkins. Once the Separation anxiety subsides and the wins start rolling in, fans and teammates alike will move on.

Sources:

http://www.espn.com/

http://www.weei.com/

Photos:

http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi

New England Nightmare

A 19 yard reception by Danny Woodhead, an 11 yard rush by Brandon Tate, a pair of solid gains to Rob Gronkowski, a seven yard rush by Woodhead, followed by BenJarvus Green-Ellis's short rush to the Jets 28 yard line. Pause right there. Does this not sound like any Patriot touchdown drive this season? Efficiently moving the ball down the field using a balanced attack of short passing and running with a variety of different weapons? This seemed like any other opening drive where the New England Patriots score first and set the tone for the rest of the game.

To me this was an absolute red flag for concern when the Patriots nonchalantly charged up the field only to turn the ball over. Was Tom Brady over confident in this drive or did he really through that errant of a pass? The pass was in no way close to being completed and once intercepted, changed the entire course of the game.
          

Some Patriot fans have already called for the dismissal of Brady and Bill Belichick (which is truly preposterous) and others have said it was the worst they've ever seen Brady play. All great coaches and players lose, and they don’t win every season. The standard for Belichick and Brady has ascended to such an expectation that when they lose it seems catastrophic. I hope that this calling for  the head of Brady and Belichick is nothing more than shock induced jabber. I am as shocked as anyone that the 14-2 Super Bowl bound Patriots lost at home, especially after all the talk from New York. However, there should be no misconceptions about Brady and Belichick, and also let there be none about why this game was lost. The following three key plays and other aspects are why this nightmare of a loss became a reality. 
          

         1) The Brady Interception: Tom Brady had not thrown an interception in 339 pass attempts, and had not thrown one since October. This was so bizarrely uncharacteristic of Brady because it was such a horrible throw. It seemed almost expected that they would score on the opening drive as a statement; get ahead early and have Mark Sanchez to try and beat you (throwing 30-40 times). Without a running game, a truly stout defense, the best receiving corps in the AFC, and the Patriots beating themselves, the Jets lose this game

2) The Patrick Chung Failure: The Jets led the Patriots 7-3 in the closing minutes of the first half. The Patriots have just suffered another failed third down conversion, and are “forced to punt”. Patrick Chung calls his own audible to run a fake punt on fourth down, and upon doing so fumbles the football. Chung recovered the ball and attempted to run, but was tackled well before the first down.

The failed fake fun play represents a prime example of the uncharacteristic errors that the Patriots committed. In this last loss the Patriots committed 6 penalties for 44 yards, and they turned the ball over on downs twice. This proved to be significant because it was a shift in momentum for the New York Jets.

      Occurring in the closing minutes of the first half, and only using four plays and thirty-three seconds the Jets went up 14-3. A botched play on fourth down was followed by a pair of strong rushes of 6 and 16 yards, finally being capped off with a fifteen yard touchdown reception (accompanied by two missed tackles) that marked a demoralizing end to the first half.

3) The 59 yard Jerricho Cotchery Catch: The second half begins with the Patriots and Jets trading a pair of punts each before the New England offense finally showed signs of life cutting the score to 14-11. An 80 yard scoring drive was ignited by a thirty seven yard strike to Gronkowski and a pair of clutch Deion Branch receptions (especially on 3^rd & 9). To this point in the game the New England defense had only allowed fourteen points and 217 yards. Their counterpart (the offense) could only muster 3 points on 146 yards, placing the defense under a lot of pressure. Also keep in mind that one of the Jet drives began in New England territory (after the failed fake punt). The Patriots defense had given them a great chance to win, but then committed a grave error (shattering the “bend don’t break defense”). The defense bent, and broke on Jerricho Cotchery’s 59-yard reception, that would be followed by a crushing, but an admittedly spectacular touchdown grab by Santonio Holmes. This touchdown placed New England behind the eight ball being down ten with thirteen minutes left in the game. Placing them in a hole they would ultimately never escape.

        
The Brady interception marked the stalling of the Patriot’s offense early in the game. The failed fake punt run gave the Jets momentum going into half time, and the 59-yard pass play allowed the Jets to put the game away. These three key plays were crucial in shifting momentum to the New York Jets, but there are still more telling reasons as to why the Jets won.

1) Lack of Team Cohesion: There was a major lack of overall team cohesion in this loss. By this I mean that the offense and defense never played well at the same times throughout the game. Before the Jet’s drive that began at the very end of the third quarter (that resulted in a touchdown) the Patriot defense had played quite well. Allowing 14 points and 217 yards does not sound like the best performance, but remember that one of the New York possessions began on the New England 37-yard line. Also know that their counterpart offense gave them little to no support scraping together a measly 146 yards and 3 points (before their scoring drive with less than four minutes left in the 3^rd).


This was exactly the problem, once Brady and the offense woke up the defense allowed a 75-yard touchdown march on only five plays. After this crushing momentum shift, the offense stalls again turning the ball over on downs. Of course at that point the defense holds serve, but the offense can only contribute a field goal. The Patriots scored on three out of their last four drives, but managed only a pathetic field goal on their first EIGHT POSSESSIONS. You need to have balance to win in the postseason, and the strongest part of the team all season, the offense was unable to support their defense in time. The blame for this debocle of a defeat rests mostly upon the offensive unit.

2) Squandered Opportunties: This may seem an overly obvious redundant observation, but the Patriots literally beat themselves in this game. They held the ball for 34:56 as the Jets only had 25:04 time of possession. The Pats were 5-14 on third down converstions and 0-2 on fourth down attempts. New England’s last true chance to win this game was with 13:00 left in the fourth quarter. The Patriots find themselves down 20-11 with the ball early in the 4^th. They are aware of the fact that they absolutely have to score on this drive so making haste is not a concern, just the end result. Many anaylsts and fans complained of a lack luster pace by the Patriots in this game, but this was indeed why. 


The way the game had been going, they knew that a touchdown was needed. Not how fast it could be scored, but that it was needed. However, that score would never come and the game would be marred in defeat.The Patriots used over 7 minutes of clock time on 14 plays only to turn the ball over on downs and essentially seal their own fate. This was the key squandered opportunity that doomed New England. On 2^nd down and eight yards to go Wes Welker receives a nine-yard pass and a first down. Brady and his offense are now at the Jet 31-yard line down by nine points with plenty of time left. At this point you had to think they would come away with at least a field goal if not a touchdown. Yet four plays later the window of opportunity would close, as the Pats would not gain even another yard. A no gain run by Woodhead, a three  yard loss on a sack, and two incomplete passes culminated the wasted 48 yard, clock devouring drive.

3) Jets more Experienced and Talented: Heading into this divisional playoff contest between the Jets and Patriots I fully expected a New England win. I thought the Jets were more talented, but that the Patriots had more team depth. With The Patriots having a better quarterback, but New York having more talented players at the skill positions and on defense. However, this superior team depth did not matter, as the Jets proved to be more talented and more experienced (as a team). Outside of a select few Patriot players


Look at their recieving corps that has size and incredible talent, allowing them to defeat the Patriots. Braylon Edwards at 6'3 abused the Pats secondary as best seen on the touchdown catch where he dragged two defenders with him into the end zone. Seven year veteran Jerricho Cotchery (6'0) burned the Patriot defensive backs with his 59-yard game changing reception. Dustin Keller is an elite pass catching tight end and you can't forget the most talented reciever on the Jets, (former Super Bowl MVP) Santonio Holmes. Who made an incredible corner of the end zone catch that burried the Patriots 21-11. Not only did the New York receiving corps prey upon the Pattrios defensive backs, but the Jet defense flexed its' superior talent and experience in victory.


The talent on the defensive side of the ball for the Jets is overwhelming and it showed against the Patriots in the divisional round. Antonio Cromartie has great size and speed that allows him to cover any deep passes and keep pace with anyone. Darrelle Revis is the top cover corner in the league with uncanny instincts and strength (at the corner position). David Harris (who intercepted Brady), Bart Scott, Jason Taylor and Calvin Pace make up perhaps the best linebacking group in the entire NFL. It is truly astounding that the Patriots were able to decimate this defense with 45 points way back in week 13. As much as I dislike the bombastic Rex Ryan, it had an amazing game plan to use man coverage against the Patriots' smaller receivers running short routes. Not to mention the blitz schemes that rattled Tom Brady and disrupted the league's best offense


 All of this being said it is still hard to believe that the Patriots lost this game after such an amazing season, but the Jets were simply more talented and more experienced (outside of the quarterback comparison). Good news for Patriot fans is that the New England Football team has a brighter future than the Jets. When football resumes the Patriots will have two of their best players on defense returning from injury and the entire team will have another year of experience. The huge portion of young players on the team will continue to grow, especially Rob Gronkowski who will emerge as the best tight end in the AFC. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will right the ship and find a way to win again at the postseason level. Even Rex Ryan knows that the Patriots are still the pride of the AFC East by saying: "I would say without question that we're behind them still” –Ryan. Despite a bright outlook for next season, there is still nothing we can do to wake up from what was a New England Nightmare.

Sources:

www.espn.com

http://www.weei.com/

Photos:
www.si.com

Resounding Yes

        With two games remaining in the 2010/2011 reuglar season the New England Patriots have risen to more than expected. From my preseason forecast of 12-4, to the declaration of the Patriots as "Best in the NFL" (only to get blown out by Cleveland), and all the way to 12-2 atop the AFC. I saw the true balance that this team had early on and determined they would win by overwhelming you with team play and extreme versatiality.

The mastery  of coaching by Belichick, the surgical passing of Brady, and the return to a true team with young  players emerging on both sides of the ball, this team is Super Bowl bound. On offense: An already great Quarterback is closing in on his second League MVP award and has his team primed to capture the number on seed in the AFC. After trading Randy Moss and losing Kevin Faulk to injury for the year, Brady has been torching the NFL's best defenses. The weapons at his disposal are two rookie tight ends, two undrafted running backs, and a magically revitalized Deion Branch. Brady and the offense are so strong in the passing game, that it reminds you of the Patriot's aerial assault launched in 2007.

    
The way the Patriots have played this season reminds me of the 01', 03', and 04' Super Bowl Champion teams mostly because of their defense and running game. Bill Belichick's "bend don't break" style defense was as present during the dynasty years as it is now.  On Defense: The defense is so good at that, they have been creating turnovers in key situations and making the big stops at the end of games. This was signature of the older Belichick defenses and has been holding up well this season so far.   The balance on offense has proven too much for every good defense they've faced, and the clutch play of their defense has closed the door on every good offense. This team is a hybrid of the Super Bowl winning years and the high octane offensive team of 2007.

   Desspite the fact that this Patriots team is dominant in the passing game (like 07') and playing textbook "bend, but don't break" defense of the Dynasty years, the core reason for so much success this year is preparation. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are the second winningest Quarterback and Head Coach combination of all time. With 108 wins, nine wins shy of setting the all time record, Belichick and Brady are clearly a masterful duo that continues to win with any talent and personnel around them. The answer to is this team the Best in the NFL, the answer is a resounding yes.

Sources:

http://www.espn.com/

http://www.weei.com/

Photos:

http://www.si.com/

Heat Have Wrong Big Three

In 2007 when the Boston Celtics assembled the new look Big Three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen they knew it was the right mix. Each member of the trio has a specific skill set that complements the other and this is why it worked so well. Think of the Big Three as a land, air, and sea approach to assaulting other teams. Paul Pierce is the ground attack as he muscles his way into the paint drawing fouls, and slashing to the basket for easy scores. Ray Allen is the air attack spreading the floor with his three point barrages and excellent mid range shooting. Kevin Garnett is the sea with his all engulfing/anchoring presence on defense, swallowing up anything that comes near the basket. All that made (and makes) the Celtic Big Three balanced and great is the opposite of the South Beach Trio.

By far the biggest story of the NBA offseason was "The Decision" by LeBron James and the acquisitions made by the Miami Heat. In what seems as an attempt to recreate the magic of the 07' Celtics, the Heat put together a star studded trio of their own (hoping for the same championship results). Dwayne Wade has been joined by two time league MVP LeBron James, and five time All Star Chris Bosh. With the arrival of James and Bosh the Heat are unquestionably a better team than a year ago, but they are not a championship caliber team. 

The members of the Miami Big Three do not complement each other very well and they have no real interior defense to match up with the Lakers or the Celtics. LeBron and Dwayne are virtually the same player with their ability to put up huge numbers in points, rebounds, assists, steals and can occasionally block shots. A stronger case for their silimairties is the fact that they both need the ball  to control the game and be most effective. By having both of these players on your team you inherently make them less effective because of their identical styles on the court. LeBron is more physically imposing than Wade, but outside of that they are the same type of player.  

The Heat are an upper eschelon team in the Eastern Conference because of the sheer talent of James, Wade, and Bosh, along with the fact that these players are surrounded by good shooters. James Jones, Eddie House, and (when he returns) Mike Miller are all great three point shooters. LeBron and Wade are very similar players, but when you surround them with shooters to spread the floor they become more dangerous. When the defense is spread out to cover perimeter shooting there is more open room on the court for LBJ and D-Wade to drive to the basket. They are a dangerous team because they can win any one contest. They are able to do this based on the fact that James or Wade can take over a game on any given night.

While the Heat may be good enough to win any one game, they are not good enough to win a playoff series against the Celtics, Magic, Bulls, Mavericks, Spurs, or Lakers. They have no interior defense in and around the basket because they simply don't have the players to do so. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is somewhat of a presence inside at 7'3 260, but he only plays limited minutes at age 35 with twelve seasons under his belt. Bosh made it known that he does not want to guard the center position anymore, serving now only as a power forward. Bosh is an excellent offensive player, but on defense he doesn't bring the defensive intensity of a Kevin Garnett or even a Glen Davis. There are some other aged veterans on the team and an untested rookie in Dexter Pittman, but not much interior defense to speak of.

The Celtics and Lakers are brimming with depth and defensive talent at the power forward and center positions, allowing them to rebound and defend at a high level. Last year the Celtics simply didn't have the defensive presence and size (with Perkins out) to defeat the Lakers, as they were out rebounded down the stretch of Game 7. Boston spent the offseason retooling their front line by adding Shaquille and Jermaine O'neal. This was done in hopes to bolster their defense and give them the size they would need in a rematch with L.A. Miami on the other hand spent their offseason crunching salary numbers to find a way to amass three maximum contract players; in what is now the Heat's Big Three. Instead of building a well balanced team that can defend and rebound across the roster, they are stuck with a team of three All Stars, a few shooters, and a group of old big men.

As good as LeBron James and Dwayne Wade are at the end of the day they play Small Forward and Shooting guard. The same applies to the Boston Celtics of 2007 and today, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce could not win without Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett defending. The Heat are a top three or four team in the Eastern Conference, but should not be thought of as a viable contender for the NBA Title. The Bulls, Magic, and Celtics are all more well built for the postseason than the Heat. Miami would have to surpass at least one of these teams on their way to an Eastern Conference Title. Perhaps LeBron's first ring will be attained with the Heat, but they have the wrong Big Three and it won't be this season.

Sources Used:


www.espn.com
www.basketball-reference.com
www.si.com

One Man Army

Peyton Hilis began his NFL career with the Denver Broncos as a fullback weighing in at 240 pounds. He was productive in Denver, but missed the majority of the 2008 season injured and was used on a limited basis in 2009. Somehow the Broncos miscalculated severely by trading away Hillis for quarterback Brady Quinn (on a team that already has Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow). Now the Browns are using him as their primary running back (now emerging as their best player). Last Sunday, ith a spectacularly dominating performance, Petyon Hillis defeated the Patriots single handedly.

Hillis's 184 yards and two touchdowns on 29 rush attempts (6.3 yards per carry) was the best performance by a running back against the Patriots this season. The Pats held Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Cedric Benson, and the Dolphins dangerous tandem of RB's to under 100 yards rushing. Enter Peyton Hillis and the (at the time) 2-5 Cleveland Browns. This one man army took on the entire Patriots defense by himself and carried his team to an upset victory. It was disheartening to watch a Bill Belichick defense that was simply pounded into submission. The Browns completed 14 passes for 174 yards and zero touchdowns, with their leading receiver posting 58 yards. Cleveland would have never won this game without the clock devouring, defense exhausting, and flat out dominant running of Peyton Hillis.

The Browns held the football for just over 38 minutes (63 % of the game) as Tom Brady watched most of the game from the sideline. Cleveland out gained the Patriots on the ground 230 yards to 68 and when the Patriots did have the ball, no reciever could hold on to the football. Yes, it was not Brady's sharpest performance, but he threw no interceptions and made some good throws at key times. Brady could do nothing as he watched his receivers drop pass after pass, and the offense never really got into a rhythm.

The entire outcome of the game could have been different if the Patriots had scored before half time. Being down 17-7 in the waning moments of the second quarter, the Pats drove the ball to the Cleveland goal line. Then tight end Rob Gronkowski fumbled the football on the three yard line and instead of being down by a field goal, the lead stood at 17-7. New England never found their rhythm on offense and when they did it was fumbled away or dropped. The best way to defeat Tom Brady is to keep him off the field (by dominating time of possession) and that is exactly what Peyton Hillis did; by himself.

Sources Used


www.espn.com
www.si.com
www.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/basketball/nba/
www.weei.com

Best Team in the NFL

Not many people could have envisioned the Patriots sitting 6-1 atop the NFL at the conclusion of week 8. Not even with my optimistic 12-4 preseason forecast did I see the Patriots defeating Miami, Baltimore, San Diego and Minnesota all in a row. Looking at the schedule heading in to week 1 against the Bengals I thought the toughest part of the schedule was the Ravens, Chargers, Vikings three game stretch. Not only a stretch against three postseason teams from last season, but a stretch of games prefaced by the Dolphins and leading into Browns, Steelers, Colts. Maybe the Patriots will still end up 12-4, but  at 6-1 traveling to Cleveland the sky is the limit.

At mid season the Patriots look like the best team in the NFL and are winning with their old ways. A team of (mostly) lesser known players working together. A team that runs the ball, plays situational football, and a team that morphs their play on the field to adapt to their competition. The reason Bill Belichick led Patriot teams have won so many games is that they adapt like no other team. With so many versatilie players the Patriots have been near impossible to game plan for because there is no one player you can take away. Outside of Tom Brady and Vince Wilfork there is no one player that other teams can eliminate from the game to win. How can you game plan when the opponent has a hall of fame quarterback in Tom Brady that favors throwing to the open receiver? How can you game plan When your opponent has enough team depth to adapt to whichever style of play you are implementing?

Another reason why Randy Moss was let go was due to this very concept, Belichick likes players who can do alot of different things. Moss was so amazing at one  task, running streak patterns deep down field catching touchdowns, that Belichick made an exception for a few years. However, Bill Belichick's has returned to his core philosphy of a team that plays as a team. A roster that is chalk full of versatile players, who can adapt and play situational football. Situational football is a term that Belichick has always used with his Patriots, and refers to moments in a game that are unforseen (in pre-game preparations). A situation in a game that is an important one and in which players must base their actions solely upon defusing the situation. Just like in yesterday's game when the Patriots stopped the Vikings on 4th & Goal at the New England one yard line. The players knew the Vikings were going to run the ball and they knew the importance of the situation.

The Patriots are the best team in the NFL right now because they are playing as a true team and are implemeneting Bellichick's situational football. Brady is again targeting the open reciever on offense and Belichick has the defense playing bend don't break, and adapt as you go football. These are the old Patriot ways that won them three Super Bowls. Dale Arnold said it best today on WEEI 850 AM in reference to the how the Patriots have been playing; "they kill you with 1,000 paper cuts". Arnold was referring to the fact that you cannot game plan for the Patriots because they have no player that overwhelms you on his own. All you can really do is try and apply as much pressure on Tom Brady as possible, because outside of the quarterback position its nearly impossible to know who to hone in on.  They are  running the ball with virtually unknown BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead, passing to Brandon Tate, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Rob Gronkowski, and the running backs. 

You cannot game plan for the Patriots and they are no different than the "leaky wall" that the Celtics are this year. You can plug up one hole in a leaking wall, but when you do that water pours out of another area. The Patriots are playing as a true team once again and it has led them to first place in the NFL. Look for them to sharpen their skills in a convincing win over the Browns as they prepare for the AFC's elite, the Steelers and Colts.

Sources Used

www.espn.com
www.si.com
www.weei.com

Photos taken by: Michael Gens

bottom photo taken by: Mary Gens