Boston Sports Then and Now

Tom Brady sits on the ground following the interception that sealed the AFC Championship game win for the Ravens.

Remember when Tom Brady in the postseason was as sure as death or taxes? His 9-0 start to his postseason career had people all over New England thinking that this late-round diamond in the rough could never do any wrong. Three championships in his first four seasons.

None in his last eight.

Maybe it was payback. Maybe it was destiny. Whatever it was, Joe Flacco outplayed Brady, the Ravens defense outplayed that of the Patriots and as banged up as Baltimore  had been this year, it was the home team and favorite that felt the blows when it mattered most. Oh, and Ray Lewis, with the help if his good friend, God, has lived to play another day – and for the Super Bowl.

From the moment the coin hit the ground in favor of the Ravens and they deferred to the second half – stealing the Patriots’ bread and butter on their home field – it just seemed like it wasn’t meant to be. They committed fewer penalties, made less mistakes and completed a higher percentage of their passes. Most importantly, their zero turnovers, compared to three from the Patriots, were nothing less than huge. They were the team that executed better on Sunday.

Like it did towards the end if the regular season, the Patriots offense struggled to capitalize when their defense set them up with good field position and scored just 13 points – their lowest total of 2012. As the league’s No. 1 offense, the fewest points they had scored this year before yesterday were 18 in the Week 2 loss to the Cardinals.

The windy conditions at Gillette Stadium forced both teams to play conservatively and cost the Pats a couple chances at field goals they would normally attempt.

Their opening drive looked promising, but Wes Welker couldn’t haul in a deep pass from Brady when he had his defender beat by a couple if steps. They then almost caught the Baltimore special teams off guard, however, as Ryan Mallett snuck into the punt formation and forced the Ravens to burn a timeout.

A quick three-and-out by Baltimore gave New England the ball back, but only after a holding penalty called on Aqib Talib backed them up to their own 21. They had to settle for a 31-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski and took a 3-0 lead on their 32nd straight red zone possession that resulted in points.

The next Baltimore drive ended quickly as well, but came at a cost as Talib hurt his thigh while breaking up a pass on third and long. Some production from last week’s star Shane Vereen on the ensuing drive and a 15-yard personal foul penalty called on Lewis were for not as Brandon Lloyd ended up dropping a tough catch on third down.

Flacco then missed an open Dennis Pitta down the field and New England couldn’t convert following a 28-yard punt return from Welker as Paul Kruger influenced the Brady pass. The Pats D allowed just one completion in the first quarter and the Ravens went 0-for-3 on third down. New England led the Ravens 3-0 after one quarter of the AFC Championship game for the second consecutive year.

As the second quarter began, Flacco would lead a 90-yard drive in his first Title Game win to put the Ravens on the board with a two-yard run by Ray Rice. Jerod Mayo and Dont’a Hightower both missed tackles on the back as he then walked into the endzone on second down. Pitta had an 18-yard reception on third and four and Flacco took advantage of Talib’s absence, hitting Torrey Smith on a 25-yard pass to the New England 15.

Brady would answer right away, however, aided by another personal foul penalty, this time on Dannell Ellerbe. A 24-yard pass to Welker set the Pats up in good position and Brady found him again from a yard out to make it 10-7 Patriots with 4:18 left in the opening half.

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On the surface, it is easy for any fan to see just how good or bad of a season their team has had. Whether it be wins and losses or total points put up, some stats tell the story, god or bad, of the year of their favorite team.

What most fans fail to sometimes realize, however, is all the stats that go into making an NFL team successful. Here are a bunch you would never even think to remotely consider about the 2012 season of the New England Patriots.

You name it. If it can be statistically tracked in the NFL, it’s probably in this post.

0 – The number of wins the team had when their leading rusher was under 40 yards for the game (0-2).

0 – The Patriots had no two-point conversions on the year. Just kind of odd.

0.5 – Brandon Bolden averaged half a yard more per carry than Stevan Ridley did.

1 – The number of franchises to score 500 points four different times. New England accomplished that this year after 500-point seasons in 2007, 2010 and 2011 as well.

1 – The New England offense ranked first in the NFL in total yards, yards per game, points and points per game in 2012.

1 – Of the four members of the team who finished the year as the starting secondary, only one (Devin McCourty) was on the team last year. Alfonzo Dennard, Aqib Talib, Steve Gregory were the other three.

1 – Vince Wilfork‘s four forced fumbles were tied for first in the NFL.

1 – The number of full games that tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski were both on the field for the whole contest – the season finale against the Dolphins.

1 – The number of NFL quarterbacks to throw at least one touchdown pass in all 16 regular season games for three straight seasons – Tom Brady in 2010-12.

2 – The number of teams to ever win 10-plus games in 10 consecutive seasons – the Patriots became the second to accomplish that this year.

2 – Their two-game losing streak in Weeks 2 and 3 was tied for their longest losing streak since they lost four straight in the 2002 season.

2 – This season was the second time they have gone undefeated against the AFC East, joining the 2007 team.

2 – The number of teams to ever record 400 first downs in a season – the 2012 Pats and the 2011 Saints.

2 – The number of points that Stephen Gostkowski needed to tie the all-time single-season Patriots scoring record set by Gino Cappelletti in 1964.

3 – Pass plays in the NFL this season longer than Shane Vereen‘s 83-yard reception in Week 12.

3 – It had been three years since the Patriots lost four or more games in a season (10-6 in 2009).

3 – The Pats have scored 500-plus points in three consecutive seasons.

The Patriots’ offense has been nearly unstoppable in the three years since drafting this duo.

4 – New England had four different players lead the team in receiving in their 16 games – Brandon Lloyd (3), Wes Welker (9), Gronkowski (3) and Vereen (1).

4 – It was Brady’s fourth career season of throwing 30 or more touchdown passes, good for a tie for the fourth-most all-time.

4 – Welker finished four receptions behind league-leader Calvin Johnson, who had 122 on the year.

4 – The Patriots have made the playoffs in each of the last four seasons.

4 – The team had four different players lead them in rushing in their 16 games – Ridley (13), Bolden (1), Julian Edelman (1) and Danny Woodhead (1).

5 – There have only been five Patriots running backs to rush for 1,200 yards in the team’s history. Ridley became the fifth this year.

5 – Wilfork was elected to the fifth Pro Bowl of his career and will start on the defensive line for the AFC.

5 – The team has held its opponents to 20 points or less in five of six games since Nov. 18 (5-1).

6 – In 16 games, the Patriots only lost six fumbles.

6 – The Pats finished six spots higher in total defense this year compared to last season when they finished 31st in the league.

6 – New England has been a top-10 offense in the NFL for six straight seasons.

7 – The amount of consecutive games that Brady needs to throw a touchdown pass in to break the all-time record of 54.

7 – New England’s longest winning streak of the year from Week 7 through Week 14.

7 – The number of points that Brady’s total QBR trailed Peyton Manning‘s for tops in the league.

7 – McCourty was one of seven NFL players to return a kickoff more than 100 yards on the year.

7 – The team sent seven members to the Pro Bowl in 2012.

New England’s seven Pro Bowlers in 2012 are the third-most in the league.

7 – Last year’s NFL leader in interceptions, Kyle Arrington, had seven fewer interceptions in 2012 than a year ago. He had seven in 2011.

8 – The number of years it had been since the team had a 1,200-yard rusher before this year. Corey Dillon rushed for 1,635 yards in 2004.

8 – Rob Ninkovich led the team with eight sacks on the year.

8 – The Pats had eight return TD’s on the season.

9 – The number of games in which the starting offensive line of Nate Solder, Sebastian Vollmer, Ryan Wendell, Dan Connolly and Logan Mankins were all on the field together.

9 – Brady now ranks ninth on the NFL’s all-time passing list with 44,806 yards. He needs 1,427 yards to pass Vinny Testaverde.

9 – Ridley finished the season as one of just nine non-kickers in the top-40 in the league in scoring.

9 – The team has a nine-game division win streak heading into next season.

10 – The number of consecutive 10-win seasons for the Patriots – the second longest such streak ever (16).

10 – The team scored 30-plus points 10 times in their 16 games in 2012 (8-2).

10 – The number of players who had a rushing attempt for the Pats in 2012 led by Ridley’s 290 carries.

10 – New England had 10 more sacks than it allowed in 2012.

11 – They also had 11 more interceptions than their opponents did.

11 – The combined number of points New England fell by in its four losses against the Cardinals (2), Ravens (1), Seahawks (1) and 49ers (7).

11 – The number of current and former Pro Bowl running backs that Ridley out-rushed in 2012.

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Back in late July, I sat down, like a lot of sports writers do, and determined who I believed would lead the Patriots in some of the main statistical categories on offense, defense and special teams in 2012. I don’t know if it was not being that familiar with some of the new pieces of the team or the hot summer heat that got to me, but looking back now, some of my picks were quite wrong.

But, hey, I’m not Tom Brady. I’m human.

So, here are the leaders from the 2012 Patriots accompanied by my apparently ill-advised preseason picks.

Devin McCourty led the Patriots in several statistical categories in 2012, including kick returns.

Kick return yards: Obviously with the amount of returns he had and with the other five players combining for just 11 on the season, McCourty claimed this title too. He finished the year with 654 kick return yards while averaging 24.2 yards per return and returning one kick 104 yards for a touchdown. His 654 return yards were good for 14th in the league in 2012. My preseason prediction: Danny Woodhead (43).

Punt Return Attempts: Before Julian Edelman went down with a broken foot following Week 13, he was poised to run away with this crown. Then came the injury, however, and Wes Welker made it close. The winner for the 2012 Patriot with the most punt return attempts (drum roll, please): Wes Welker, who edged out Edelman, 25-17. Most years, however, the punt returner doesn’t get hurt and then lose the team lead in returns. My preseason prediction: Julian Edelman (17).

Punt return yards: With an 0-3 start to my psychic career, I could really use a win in this next category. As expected when Edelman went down, Welker made this stat end up really close too, but even with more returns than Edelman, Welker had less yards. Edelman led the team with 263 punt return yards to Welker’s 243 (15.5 average). The pair finished the year 21st and 22nd in the league in punt return yardage and I finally picked one right. My preseason prediction: Julian Edelman.

Special teams touchdowns: As I said, McCourty returned a kick for a touchdown, but Edelman also returned one punt for a score. They were the only two to do it for the team on the year and each finished with just the one. McCourty’s was for 104 yards and Edelman’s was for 68 yards. No one in the league had more than two punt return or kick return touchdowns on the year. If I had gotten it right, it would have been complete luck. My preseason prediction: Danny Woodhead and Julian Edelman (1 each). So, I guess I got it half right. Partial credit counts in this class.

Sacks: This was a tough one for me as last year’s leader Andre Carter decided to retire or something (I don’t really know), so I had to spend some time trying to think who might take over the distinction. After some head scratching, I still didn’t know, so I took a guess. The team’s leader ended up being Rob Ninkovich. Let’s just say he wasn’t even on my radar. Ninko finished the year with eight sacks as he had quite a season for someone hardly anyone outside of New England has ever heard of. He finished the year 29th in the league in sacks, but was tied with Detroit’s Ndamukong Suh in that spot. My preseason prediction: Chandler Jones (6).

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In this social media age, NEWS and ODDITIES are all around you and at your fingertips. With a tap of your smartphone, you can find out what your favorite athlete or celeb is doing and thinking. Some things make you SCRATCH your head or say HMM.

The members of the New England Patriots are no different, they are quite in tune with the Twitter bird.

In this edition: Brandon Spikes Has A Pet Turtle, Hightower Grateful For The Fans, & Brandon Bolden Likes Cheese, But Can’t Eat It.

FILE THIS UNDER: DOES THIS MEAN SOMETHING DIFFERENT?

I’m sorry I’m busy walking my turtle.

— brandon spikes (@BrandonSpikes55) December 24, 2012

Spikes did not make the trip to Jacksonville due to injury. So after watching his team squeak out a win against a bad team, Spikes took his tortoise for a jog?

Or is this another way to say “WAXING THE DOLPHIN”?

FILE THIS UNDER: REMEMBER THOSE THAT PAY YOUR CHECKS

Thanks for all the support frm the #Pats fans who traveled all the way dwn and the #bama fans that were there to #rollpats

— Donta Hightower (@zeus30hightower) December 24, 2012

Donta Hightower knows who butters his bread. He seems to be a class act. Perhaps Spikes can learn a few things from his fellow linebacker.

FILE THIS UNDER: CHASING THE DAMN DAIRY!

I chase the cheese that isn’t digestive

— Brandon Bolden (@BB_HulkSmash) December 23, 2012

Bolden may have ODD cravings after his PED suspension? I have NO idea what that means.

He sounds like the Riddler from Batman.

GO PATRIOTS!

Down and (eventually) out: Tom Brady couldn’t quite lead his team to a comeback for the ages as the mistakes mounted up in Foxboro.

Usually, 34 points is enough to win you a game.

Although, professional football games usually aren’t this ugly.

And the old adage lives on: good defense usually beats good offense.

That was not the case Sunday night, however, as this game was anything but usual. The league’s best offense met the league’s best defense in a primetime matchup at the stadium where the first-place Patriots have been unbeatable during the last three winters. The 9-3-1 San Francisco 49ers made the cross-country trip to the home of the 10-3 New England Patriots and, though they undoubtedly got nervous in the 2nd half, escaped with a 41-34 win over the three-time champs.

“Sometimes the worst thing that can happen to a team is to spend all week having everyone tell you you’re going to win the Super Bowl.”  It seems, at least right now, that this sentiment offered by Al Michaels during the broadcast last night, is right on the money.

In the nastiest of weather conditions (35 degrees and raining), which undoubtedly affected both teams, the 49ers came out flying and looked to definitely have the edge in the first 10 minutes of the game. As the president addressed the nation, the 49ers offense went to work.

The home team got the ball first as the rain poured down and got right into their no-huddle offense. After a 1st down completion to Brandon Lloyd, Stevan Ridley put the ball on the ground, but luckily for the Pats, Ridley’s backside was ruled down by the officials. On the next play, however, Ridley was sent backwards and less than a minute into the game, the stingy 49ers defense had forced a three-and-out on the league’s best offense and provided a sign of things to come.

Colin Kaepernick wasted no time after the three-and-out as he came out firing and picked up first downs on three consecutive throws. On the sixth play of the drive, Kaepernick hit former Patriot Randy Moss with a 24-yard pass for the touchdown as the crowd in Foxboro sat in shock at the start. San Fran marched 63 yards in 2:40 for the touchdown on 3rd & 7. It was Moss’ 156th career touchdown – second all-time.

Aldon Smith then showed why he has a chance to set the single-season sacks record as he got to Tom Brady twice on the next drive, though he was unable to bring him down either time. The San Francisco defense forced a second straight punt to open the night. The weather then helped the home team out as Kaepernick couldn’t handle the snap on 3rd & 1, but did cover it up and the team was able to punt it away.

A holding call on Mike Rivera on the return gave New England the ball at their own 20 and Brady threw up what may have been an ill-advised attempt that was picked off by Carlos Rogers, who returned it 53 yards to the 5-yard line of the Patriots. Thankfully, Delanie Walker returned the favor by fumbling at the New England three and after review, the fumble stood. Steve Gregory forced the fumble and Aqib Talib got the recovery. Brady made the touchdown-saving tackle (which ended up being huge) on Rogers to keep him on the right side of the goal line following his first interception in 230 pass attempts at home. Another three-and-out resulted, however, and Zoltan Mesko, who was very busy in the 1st half, entered the game for the third time.

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Tom Brady can smell the 2012 NFL Playoffs and a first round bye in the air. Watch out NFL.

The performance Tom Brady and the New England Patriots displayed on national television against the Houston Texans was one to remember. The 42-14 shellacking of a team who held the best record in the NFL was beyond impressive; it was a statement victory while the postseason draws closer and closer.

Coming off the short week, New England will host the number one scoring defense (14.2 PPG) for another primetime matchup on Sunday Night Football. Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman and Aldon Smith lead an impressive San Francisco defensive unit into Gillette Stadium, hoping to wreak havoc upon California native Tom Brady. The 49ers are limiting opponents to 184.7 passing YPG and 90.8 rushing YPG, good for second across the league in both categories.

Quarterback controversy has clouded the last half of San Francisco’s season. Sophomore Colin Kaepernick will be starting his fifth straight game for Alex Smith, going (3-1-1) since Smith went down with a concussion. The versatile play-caller has lead the 49ers to a 9-3-1 record with his ability to create outside of the pocket. There is no doubt the Patriots will bring the heat against the young QB, but will they be able to contain the athletic Kaepernick? Take a look at these three keys to victory on SNF:

1)    Establish the run: Although 1,000 yard back Stevan Ridley only rushed for 72 yards on 4.0 YPC, running mate Shane Vereen spelled him with 40 yards on 8 carries last week. It is imperative that the Patriots make the 49ers respect the run on Sunday. New England will look to control the clock, as disguising packages will be important this week and came up huge against the Texans. Brandon Lloyd found himself wide open for a 37 yard TD after a play-fake on MNF. Why was this successful? Because New England rushed four times on their opening eight play TD drive. If the Patriots can break through this tough rush defense and gain 100 yards on the ground a victory is much more likely. In fact, two of three 49er losses have resulted in the following rushing yards (146 vs. MIN, 149 vs. NYG). Pound the rock.

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