Boston Sports Then and Now

Brady and Moss would be a historic passing combination in 2007.

Going into the 2007 season, the Patriots knew they needed “difference makers.”

New England needed more weapons on offense if they were going to compete with the explosive Colts.

Reche Caldwell, Jabar Gaffney, and fan favorite, Troy Brown were not going to cut the mustard in the passing game.

And the defense needed a few younger studs as well.

The front office didn’t hesitate to get the players they wanted and needed by any means necessary.

New England made a splash in free agency by signing the speedy wide receiver, Donte Stallworth.  They also reinforced the defensive side of the ball with Baltimore linebacker, Adalius Thomas.

Thomas, was coming off a Pro Bowl season with the Ravens. He recorded 106 tackles and 11 sacks which were both career highs. The signing of Thomas helped build much needed depth in linebacking crops.

If New England couldn’t sign them, they would trade for them.

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Randy Moss and Tom Brady looked 2007-esque versus Jacksonville.

The Patriots took care of business and clinched the AFC East for the seventh time in ten years. There will be no playoff bye this year, but the Patriots look like they putting everything together.

It’s all about getting hot at the right time.

Remember those NY Giants that knocked off the undefeated Patriots in 2007?

Win and New England is in.

Pretty simple, right?

It looked simple against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jacksonville was fighting for their playoff lives but they didn’t play like that.

New England dominated the Jags in every phase of the game.

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Randy Moss made his presence felt with 5 grabs for 70 yards and a score.

The much maligned Randy Moss and Patriots’ defense stepped up in a very big way against Buffalo for the team’s first true road win of the season. New England now stands at 9-5 and has opened a two game lead in the AFC East.

It wasn’t pretty, but as they say a win is a win is a win.

Buffalo came out with an impressive opening drive led by the ground attack of Fred Jackson. However, a costly penalty in the red zone made the drive fizzle. The Bills had to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead.

Randy Moss shut up his detractors with a 5 catch (one for a score), 70 yard performance. His bounce back performance was highlighted by a toe tapping touchdown at the back of the end zone. His stellar score gave the Patriots a 7-3 lead in the second quarter.

The New England running game picked up the slack for the ineffective passing attack. Laurence Maroney (23 carries for 81 yards and a score) ran hard, held onto the ball, and scored a breathing room touchdown to end the half.

Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk complimented Maroney nicely. The trio amassed 109 yards on 34 carries on the day.

Brady was off his game and the weather in Buffalo wasn’t a factor. Moss was the recipient of 70 of Brady’s season low 115 yards (1 td and I pick). He seemed to miss Welker (4 catches for 40 yards) repeatedly and just couldn’t find his groove.

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Can Randy Moss shut up his critics this week?

Overview: The Patriots are in a must win situation versus Buffalo this weekend. The Jets and Dolphins both won last week to keep New England’s lead to one game in the surprisingly tight AFC East race.

It’s an important and tough road contest where the Patriots haven’t won all season (Tampa in London just doesn’t count). It’s a critical division and conference game which will play a big role in playoff positioning. It’s a MUST WIN.

Buffalo would like nothing better than playing spoiler. They had the Patriots on the ropes opening night, but the Bills will look to close the deal this time around.

Last Week: The Patriots (8-5) won an ugly game versus Carolina, 20-10 last week at home. They looked listless in the first half and committed three turnovers that they were able to overcome.  Randy Moss was virtually invisible with one catch and a costly fumble. The boo birds were out and the press has been ripping him this week for dogging it.

Buffalo (5-8) has been playing well since the firing of head coach, Dick Jauron, winning 2 of their last 3 games. The Bills beat a struggling Kansas City team, 16-10 on the road. The defense picked off Matt Cassel four times and their potent running attack amassed 200 yards on the ground versus the Chiefs.

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Different road game.  Same story.

Was Bill Belichick outcoached again?

Get out to an early lead.

No pass rush.

Secondary gets torched.

Offense disappears in second half.

Patriots lose another road game.

This storyline sounds all too familiar. It happened in New York, Denver, Indianapolis, New Orleans, and now Miami.

The Patriots started off like gangbusters yet again. They raced out to a 14-0 lead highlighted by a 58 yard bomb from Brady to Moss that brought me to my feet!

Can the Patriots finally shake off their road game funk?

Not so fast.

They had the Dolphins on the ropes early and let them back into the game, yet again.

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Randy Moss scored the game changing touchdown against Miami.

Joey Porter did his talking all week saying that Brady got preferential treatment from the referees.

Looks like the Dolphins secondary also gave Brady preferential treatment.

He torched Miami for 332 yards and a 71 yard touchdown to Randy Moss. Brady broke Drew Bledsoe’s team record with his 27^th 300 yard passing game and his third in a row.

Both Moss and Welker had their way with the beat up Miami secondary. Moss added another 5 catches to compliment his scoring grab, accumulating 147 total yards.

Welker also made his presence felt in the passing game. He continued to churn out hard fought yards and added 9 more catches to his stellar season.

The Patriots offense has been in full flight over the last 3 games. New England has outscored their opponents, 121-24.

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