Boston Sports Then and Now

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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I’d smile too if I just caught 13 balls for 104 yards and a touchdown. After last week’s performance, Wes Welker may be back – maybe.

Since 2007, Patriots wide receiver, Wes Welker, has been the most productive receiver in the National Football League. No other receiver has more than the 554 catches that Welker had entering the season.

The last few months for the Pats’ all-pro, however, have certainly been up and down. He had a chance at his first career Super Bowl title as the Pats faced off with the Giants at the beginning of February.

Eli Manning engineered another game winning 4th quarter Super Bowl comeback and the chance for a championship, once again slipped through the normally relibale hands of Welker – this time quite literally.

In the final minutes of the game, Welker dropped a pass from Tom Brady that would have been a first down and likely could have allowed New England to run out the rest of the clock. While the pass was pretty high for the 5 foot 9 Welker, it is a ball that, more times than not, he catches – especially in pressure situations. He just always seems to find the open spot in the defense.

He was open all right, but couldn’t haul the pass in. And the game was lost.

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Stevan Ridley showed incredible balance all afternoon on his way to 125 rushing yards.

New England Patriots fans got their wish Sunday — a Patriot win to end what was a long off-season following a Super Bowl defeat. Everything went according to plan in the team’s 34-13 win except Gronkowski’s spike, Brady’s bloody nose, and Lloyd’s miscalculation wide open on play action fake end-aroudn. All kidding aside, coach Bill Belichick surely has to be pleased with what he saw from his team.

Let’s take a look at five things we learned from the team’s win on Sunday:

1) Stevan Ridley can handle the load.  Second year running back Stevan Ridley earned a starting role on this team after coming on late last season. He held onto the football and was the focal point of the Pats offense rushing 21 times for 125 yards and a score while adding two catches for 27 yards. Ridley proved to be very well rounded, excelling up the middle and especially on stretch plays where he found the outside and kept his balance quite well. It was a great display of physical talent.

2) Tom Brady has a lot of weapons at his disposal. The Patriots scored 34 points and Wes Welker only had 14 receiving yards. It’s the kind of balanced and non-dependent style this team can thrive of off. Brandon Lloyd, outside of an early mis-play, seamlessly stepped into a large role for the team as he (5 catches 69 yards), Gronkowski (6, 60, 1 TD), Hernandez (6, 59, 1), and Welker give Brady four legitimate number one options. If Ridley can keep those legs turning and the offensive line does no worse than yesterday, no one will stop this scoring attack.

3) Rookies make immediate impact on defense. On back-to-back second quarter defensive possessions the Patriots 2012 draft picks made impact plays to reverse the course of the football game. Tavon Wilson proved to be in the right place at the right time while displaying superb ball skills on an deep ball interception. The Patriots offense would proceed to go three and out. On the very next possession, Chandler Jones’ strip sack cleared the way for fellow rookie first rounder, Dont’a Hightower, to pick up the rock and gallop into the endzone, making the score 14-3. All three played extensively and the team’s decisions appear to be paying immediate dividends.

4) Patriots defense looks tough. In addition to the aforementioned play of the Patriots rookie defenders, the team defense played a smash-mouth style of defense all afternoon. The Pats cranked out some huge hits, including one on a play that did not count — the Nate Washington fumble where Jerod Mayo and Pat Chung crunched the Titans wideout to force a fumble. The team’s defensive line hit hard too, with notable tackles by the big boys Vince Wilfork, Kyle Love, and Brandon Deaderick.

Two notable numbers stood out:

• The Patriots held a Titans rushing attack featuring Chris Johnson to just 20 total yards (11 from QB Jake Locker)
• The Patriots held the Titans to just 6-for-16 on 3rd and 4th down plays

It’s only one game, and it was against a QB making his first NFL start, but the defense proved to be imposing.

5) Tom Brady and the offensive line will get one more “tune-up” game. There wasn’t much to critique following the team’s first win, but Tom Brady and his offensive line will get a chance to get some more work in. There are no given wins in the NFL, the Patriots at home versus a below average west coast team starting a back-up QB (most likely) is a good formula. Kevin Kolb and the Arizona Cardinals travel to Gillette Sunday for a 1PM start.

The key will be for the coaching staff to not allow their team to overlook the opponent. There will be some good coach-able points too, as the Cardinals defense features some big time players in Calais Campbell, Daryl Washington, Adrian Wilson, and Patrick Peterson. This will be a good tune-up for the Patriots before traveling to Baltimore for Sunday Night Football in week 3 in what is a pivotal early season match-up.

Jake Locker and the Tennessee Titans will host Brady and the high-octane Patriot offense at LP Field – 1:00 PM EST.

The 2012 NFL Regular Season has finally arrived. Congratulations Patriot fans, we survived another offseason of bitterness and officially closed the door with a Giants loss two nights ago.

Tom Brady and company will travel down to Tennessee in week one to take on a Titans team that just missed the playoffs last year (9-7) due to tiebreaker. Jake Locker, the 8th pick of the 2011 draft, is poised to make his first career start at quarterback after beating out veteran Matt Hasselback. Both teams have had polar opposite preseasons. The Patriots succumbed to their historically weak exhibition showings, scoring 6 touchdowns at a (1-3) record. The Titans (3-1) lead the AFC in preseason defensive scoring at 16.8 per game and look to keep their early momentum rolling at home as 6.5 point underdogs.

New England will look to win their 9th straight season-opener by taking control of these keys to victory in the Music City:

1) Set the edge on defense: Still viewed as one of the more elusive backs in football, Chris “CJ2K” Johnson is coming off his worst season of production, barely surpassing 1,000 yards on the ground (1,047). He still remains the Titans’ most talented player on the field (WR Kenny Britt suspended), and his “Usain Bolt like” breakaway speed alone will command additional attention on the outside all afternoon.  With starting C Eugene Amano suffering a season-ending tricep injury early in camp, the Tennessee interior line will have their hands full trying to slow down Wilfork in the middle. Rookies Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower will receive immediate chances to be impact performers on Sunday. If they can turn in a solid career debuts, the Titans are in serious trouble. There is no doubt Belichick understands how critical it is for the Patriots to contain the athletic Locker in the pocket and make him beat the defense with his arm. If he is successful, rookie Kendall Wright should impress. TE Jared Cook has an Antonio Gates like body, possessing great ball skills and YAC ability. Look for New England to disguise their looks up front in hopes of confusing the inexperienced quarterback. This is the first test of how the departures of DEs Carter and Anderson will affect the 2012 campaign in hopes of improving upon their 31st place 298 passing yards given up per game. Although week one can be unpredictable, setting the edge to contain CJ2K and test Locker will be a key to victory and an area of consistent focus for the Patriots defense on Sunday.

2) Protect Tom Brady: After throwing for the second-most yards in NFL History last year (5,235), the addition of deep threat Brandon Lloyd has TB12 and fans salivating. On the contrary, Lloyd serves as a silver-lining for the Patriots offensive unit this offseason. Losing important pieces in Matt Light, Brian Waters and Dan Koppen have left serious question marks on our o-line to start the year. If the preseason pass-protection is any indication of the current state of how well the line can keep Brady on his feet, this game will be more competitive than the Patriots had hoped. Curious to see how other elite QBs faired over the past three seasons, let’s take a look at Tom Brady’s stats/sacks compared to Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers:

2011

TB: 611 ATT – 65.6 CMP% – 5,235 YDS – 39 TD – 12 INT – 105.6 RAT - 32 SACK

DB: 657 ATT – 71.2 CMP% – 5,476 YDS – 46 TD – 14 INT – 110.6 RAT – 24 SACK

AR: 502 ATT – 68.3 CMP% – 4,643 YDS – 45 TD – 6 INT – 122.5 RAT – 36 SACK

2010

TB: 492 ATT – 65.9 CMP% – 3,900 YDS – 36 TD – 4 INT – 111.0 RAT - 25 SACK

DB: 658 ATT – 68.1 CMP % – 4,620 YDS – 33 TD – 22 INT – 90.9 RAT – 25 SACK

AR: 475 ATT – 65.7 CMP% – 3,922 YDS – 28 TD – 11 INT – 101.2 RAT – 31 SACK

2009

TB: 565 ATT - 65.7 CMP% – 4,398 YDS – 28 TD – 13 INT – 96.2 RAT – 16 SACK

DB: 514 ATT – 70.6 CMP% – 4,388 YDS – 34 TD – 11 INT – 109.6 RAT – 20 SACK

AR: 541 ATT – 64.7 CMP% – 4,434 YDS – 30 TD – 7 INT – 103.2 RAT – 50 SACK

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It was a frigid day on January 10, 2004.

This Sunday will mark the sixth anniversary of the “Ice Bowl” at Foxboro stadium. The Patriots met the Tennessee Titans in one of the coldest playoff games in NFL History.

The temperature only reached 4 degrees and with the wind chill it was 7 below zero.

And I was there.

I will go to playoff games in ANY weather.

Regular season games are different story. I am in full blown woos mode.

I rather sell these games than sit in the rain or cold.

But the playoffs are for all the marbles.

The Patriots faced the Titans in a divisional playoff game on January 10, 2004.

Of course the game was on a Saturday night so the sunshine wasn’t an option to heat up our frozen backfields.

It was going be cold. Or in Boston speak, Wicked Friggin’ Cold!

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Randy Moss had a natural hat trick with three touchdown catches.

The Titans/Oilers could have used a Denzel Washington pep talk after they were buried in the Blizzard of 59.

Tennessee was beat before they even got off the plane.

They must have seen the snow in October and said “FML”. You know what that means if you are up to speed on internet shorthand.

The Titans are shell of the team that went 13-3 last year. They have found every possible way to lose games and the game against the Patriots was no different.

Way to lose #6: Show zero effort.

You had to feel bad for Jeff Fisher. He has been with team when they were still the Houston Oilers. He is a true professional and a class act.

Too bad his team didn’t show that.

The Patriots looked at the Titans like a lion seeking out the wounded water buffalo of the herd.

National Geographic wouldn’t even air this mauling.

You will NOT see this game on NFL Network’s Replay.

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