Boston Sports Then and Now

Who will be getting a call from the Patriots during the draft this weekend?

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya, tomorrow! You’re only a day away!

A little over 24 hours before the NFL draft gets under way in NYC and I am freaking excited. If you have been following my posts over the past month, you will know a few names to listen for this weekend. I have talked about adding another explosive pass rusher to play opposite of Chandler Jones, I mentioned bringing in another defensive tackle to play alongside Vince Wilfork and I also gave you a few receivers and defensive backs to keep an eye on.

Here is what the draft looks like for the Patriots:

Round 1: Pick 29

Round 2: Pick 59

Round 3: Pick 91

Round 7: Pick 226

Round 7: Pick 235

Read the rest of this entry →

Is 2013 the year New England adds another ring to the collection?

April is a great time to be a football fan. The draft is only a week away and now we know who the Patriots get to play (and destroy) and what week it will happen. I am not here to talk about the pre-season schedule although it will be interesting to see the game against the new look Eagles and the powerhouse offense in Detroit in the game where starters usually play through the 3rd quarter.

The regular season is all that matters. That is where you pour blood, sweat and tears into the bucket and work to get into the playoffs. I won’t highlight every game on the schedule, but all the games and times are here. I only want to focus on the big games on the schedule, so here we go!

New England Patriots 2013 Regular Season Schedule

Sunday, Sept. 8 – at Bills (1 p.m.)
Thursday, Sept. 12 – vs. Jets (8:25 p.m.)
Sunday, Sept. 22 – vs. Buccaneers (1 p.m.)
Sunday, Sept. 29 – at Falcons (8:30 p.m.)
Sunday, Oct. 6 – at Bengals (1 p.m.)
Sunday, Oct. 13 – vs. Saints (4:25 p.m.)
Sunday, Oct. 20 – at Jets (1 p.m.)
Sunday, Oct. 27 – vs. Dolphins (1 p.m.)
Sunday, Nov. 3 – vs. Steelers
Sunday, Nov. 10 – BYE
Monday, Nov. 18 – at Panthers (8:40 p.m.)
Sunday, Nov. 24 – vs. Broncos (8:30 p.m.)
Sunday, Dec. 1 – at Texans (4:25 p.m.)
Sunday, Dec. 8 – vs. Browns (1 p.m.)
Sunday, Dec. 15 – at Dolphins (1 p.m.)
Sunday, Dec. 22 – at Ravens (8:30 p.m.)
Sunday, Dec. 29 – vs. Bills (1 p.m.)

Read the rest of this entry →

Who knows when we will next see Alfonzo Dennard in a Patriots uniform.

The secondary has always been a major issue for the Patriots. Belichick and his brain trust have always had some issues in that department, but after the trade to bring in Aqib Talib this season things were looking good. The Talib trade allowed coaches to move Devin McCourty to safety, where he looks much more comfortable, and it opened the door for rookie corner Alfonzo Dennard to make his mark.

Dennard was a 7th round pick out of Nebraska by the Patriots last April, and if it wasn’t for his legal problems he could have been a much higher pick. Dennard proved to be a great cover guy for this defense, which is something that we have been lacking in recent years.

News broke today that Dennard was found guilty of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. He was however found not guilty on his assault charges on college student Ben Samani. For those of you that don’t know the back story, Dennard was out celebrating before the NFL draft and a fight broke out at a bar involving Dennard.

Read the rest of this entry →

With two to three feet of snow hitting Boston, the NHL had to postpone Saturday’s Bruins-Lightning game

The National Hockey League announced that the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning game that was postponed due to Blizzard Nemo on Saturday, February 9 will be rescheduled for Thursday, April 25, at TD Garden for 7:30pm.  This will be the second to last game of the season for both teams and the placement of this game means the Bruins will play every other day for the entire month of April. While this should provide for an exhilarating finale to the regular season, I’m not the only New Englander complaining about this game being rescheduled.

For someone who had tickets to this game, I am glad it was postponed.  Don’t get me wrong, ultimately I believe the right decision was made by postponing the game but I just wish this game could have been rescheduled for another Saturday matinee.  What’s better than having a Saturday afternoon full of hockey and beer? The game would get out at about four o’clock where fans could retreat back to the surrounding bars near the Garden such as Sully’s Tap, Greatest Bar, The Fours, Hurricane O’Reilly’s, or even that new place North Star. Now the game will be played on a weeknight in which I will have to manage my work schedule to leave early and beat the traffic to get to the Garden on time.  With the shortened 48 game season that is taking place, I knew the chances of this game getting rescheduled for another primetime weekend afternoon would be slim to none.  A Thursday night approximately two and a half months from now isn’t too appealing.

Sully’s Tap and Greatest Bar on Canal Street are home to Bruins fans before and after games

What surprised me more than the amount of snow we received this past weekend was the amount of fans who were upset that this game was postponed in the first place.  Bruins fans took to Twitter and Facebook to vent their Nemo frustrations about this game being postponed. I know this because I didn’t have power and I sat in my warm car scouring Twitter and Facebook for entertainment.  This was the only way to stay warm and I could charge my cell phone and communicate with the outside world.  There’s only so much you can do with no power. Sitting in a cold dark house eating non-perishable foods is not very enjoyable.  The fact is that there were tons of fans and people snowed in at home who wished this game was played this past Saturday.  The game was originally scheduled to be played at 1pm, and then it was pushed back to 7pm, and then finally postponed later in the afternoon.

I suppose fans were upset because of how much we love hockey around here and because it was a great excuse to forget about the storm that just tore through New England.  However, National Grid reported that more than 400,000 people were without power in MA on Saturday so only those fans with power could even watch the game at home.  Fans who were able to dig themselves out and brave the elements to make it into the game would technically have to wait until at least 4 pm because Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick still had a travel ban in effect and mass transit such as the MBTA was shut down for the entire day.

Although both the Bruins and the Lightning were in Boston and even skated that day, travel conditions were too hazardous for fans, security personnel, ticket vendors, ushers, and many others to travel safely to and from TD Garden. Let’s be honest, the right decision was made as clean up crews needed the extra time to clear the roads and many fans would have been unable to watch or attend the game, thus wasting money on a pretty expensive ticket.  I don’t understand why fans were upset this game was postponed.  With roads impassable and mass transit unavailable, do you think people can just teleport back and forth to the game?

Anyone got a couple sled dogs to get me to the rink from back bay tonight? Not sure what the ruling on driving is now #hardwork

— Tyler Seguin (@tylerseguin92) February 9, 2013

Being a life long New Englander and growing up on the South Shore, which was impacted the most by Nemo, I can safely say that we will find a way to complain about anything and everything. Whether it is about gas prices, the weather, 93 North, or the fact that the Bruins game got cancelled after one of the worst blizzards in decades, us Massholes and New Englanders sure do know how to complain.  Instead of complaining about something legitimate like not having power, not having heat, or not being able to drive safely up the street, we complain about the hockey game being postponed.  Even I am complaining about the timeframe of when this game is rescheduled.  Instead of complaining, let us appreciate the fact that hockey is back and the Bruins are off to their best start in franchise history. Let us be thankful Tuukka is playing lights out and Tim Thomas has been traded, opening up five million dollars worth of salary cap space.  Let us be thankful that the storm is over, power is being restored, roads are being plowed, and the 2-3 feet of snow is slowly melting. Oh wait, there’s another storm coming this Thursday? Damn New England weather, 93 is going to be a nightmare come Friday morning.

You can follow Kevin Dennis on Twitter @TheRealDennyD

For the second consecutive year, the Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship in Foxboro. Last year the Patriots barely got by the Ravens to advance to the Super Bowl, and although the Ravens don’t seem to be as good as they were last year, and the Patriots seem better than they do last year, I think this year’s AFC Championship game will be even tougher than last year’s.

Over the past week the term “Team of Destiny” has been used by many analysts and sports talk radio hosts regarding the Baltimore Ravens. The term makes most people feel nauseous, as it should, but if you think about it the Ravens really are playing like they are the team of destiny.

A win in Foxboro on Sunday would avenge the loss of year. Last year was no ordinary loss. The Ravens had a chance to win the game when Joe Flacco threw what would be a touchdown to Wide Receiver Lee Evans. That pass which was in Evans in hands was knocked out by Sterling Moore at the very last second. The Ravens as we all know then tried to tie the game with a 32 yard field goal. The easy field goal was missed by Kicker Billy Cundiff.

To lose a game like that is something teams don’t forget. Sure, this year is a different team for the Ravens, but those players who were on the field last year surely haven’t forgotten about this. Every player has been fighting all year to get back to where they got last year for a chance at redemption.

Along with the storyline for avenging last year’s loss, throw in Ray Lewis, who is playing in his final season. Every player on the field knows how important it is to show up and win for the team leader, to extend his career one more game. Although Ray Lewis is one of the best motivational speakers and teammates, you have to wonder when the “Lets win one for the Gipper” speech gets old and starts to fade for players. They won one for “the Gipper” (In the case Lewis) in the Wild Card round against the Bengals, and then they went out and won ANOTHER one for the Gipper against the Denver Broncos.

On Sunday the Ravens won’t be the only team trying to avenge a loss. The Patriots haven’t forgotten about losing to the Ravens in week 3 on primetime. That game was an even closer game than the AFC Championship game last year with the Ravens defeating the Patriots 31-30 by kicking a game winning field goal as time expired. In that game, the biggest story was the replacement officials.

Here’s a recap of that game: http://boston.sportsthenandnow.com/2012/09/24/patriots-vs-ravens-recap-five-reasons-the-patriots-lost-sunday-night/

Of course there’s a lot to play for in the AFC Championship. Most of the sports media will be hoping for a Ravens win to create better storylines, but the Patriots will try to stop that, and make things harder on the media by making them report on meaningful stories pertaining to football. With everything on the line on Sunday, and with the recent history between these two teams, this game will be no walk in the park for the Patriots.

The Patriots went to Seattle this weekend with almost everyone expecting an easy win for New England. However the Seahawks, led by former Patriots head coach, Pete Carroll, had other plans, and they stopped the Patriots and dropped them to 3-3 on the season, by beating them 24-23. The loss puts the Patriots in a 4 way tie for first place in the AFC East. Here are four reasons why the Patriots lost Sunday’s game:

Earl Thomas intercepts a Tom Brady pass in the 2nd half

1.)    Intentional Grounding Penalties:

After Seahawks Punter Jon Ryan botched a punt because of a wet football, the Patriots were able to take possession of the ball at the Seattle 24 yard line with 40 seconds reaming in the first half. The Patriots were able to get the ball to the 3 yard line and decided with 6 seconds to try one more time to get into the end zone. Knowing that the clock was against him, when Tom Brady couldn’t find an open receiver he threw it to the back of the end zone. The problem however was that Brady never threw the ball over any receiver. This play resulted in an Intentional grounding penalty which entails a 10-second clock runoff. With only 1 second on the game clock, the first half was over, and the Patriots had missed out on an easy three points had they just gone for the field goal with 6 seconds left.

That wasn’t Brady’s only intentional grounding call of the day. In the 4^th quarter on 2^nd and 10, Brady was able to escape two defenders in the backfield. As Brady avoided getting sacked he threw it to the closest Patriots player near him. That however was lineman, Dan Connolly. Connolly did everything he could to avoid touching the football but the damage was already done, and the call was made by the referees, which forced a 3^rd and 20.

2.)    The Patriots Secondary:

To say the Patriots secondary was atrocious would be an understatement of epic proportions. The Patriots secondary couldn’t stop quarterback Russell Wilson and his receivers. Wilson had 293 yards with three touchdowns, with no interceptions. The worst part about the secondary is that they let up and showed no fight when they needed to most in the 4^th quarter. Read the rest of this entry →