Guests: Steve Muench on ESPN Boston and Ian Browne of www.mlb.com.
Matt & Justin discuss the MLB trading deadline, the acquisition of pitcher Eric Bedard by the Boston Red Sox, the retirement of Randy Moss, Dustin Pedroia leading the majors in hits in the month of July, Justin’s Jackass of the Day and give their Closing Time predictions.

By: Tom Rowe

In his time with the New England Patriots, Randy Moss was one of the most exciting and productive players in the NFL. But after last year’s collapse and utter self-destruction, Moss has literally pushed himself into retirement. After 13 seasons in the NFL, one of the league’s greatest players of all-time is calling it a career. The Hall of Fame Wide Receiver has had a life filled with potential fame unlike anything seen to a troubled past and a mysterious personality. But with all these opinions and thoughts on how Randy should be remembered, what will you as a fan remember best about “The Freak”?

Me personally, I will never be in awe of another player like I was with Randy Moss. As a 10 year old kid, I loved watching Moss catching deep balls, running circles around defenders, and having an attitude that he would be the best at what he did. Moss had the talent to become better than the god of all Wide Receivers; yes I mean Jerry Rice. That is fact not opinion; though I never saw Mr. Rice play throughout most of his career like I did with Randy, the talent was clearly there. Though the stats are far from comparison, Randy had the skills to be what he sought out to be and that was the best of the best and he out of all the other receivers that are worthy hall of famers, no one got more praise for being the next Jerry Rice like Moss did. Here are Moss’s career numbers as they stand for Canton to judge:

Career Total: 954 Receptions, 14,858 yards receiving, 153 Touchdown in 13 seasons (190 games)

Though Randy has been a feared talent for the last decade, his personality problems have almost tarnished his legacy and for some it already has. Dating back to his days in high school, Randy has had multiple encounters with the law and many drug related issues. But his biggest mark is his personality; Randy never wanted fame and glory. He was shy and conservative towards the media and wanted to play ball with no one bothering him. He shut himself out of the spotlight and did what he wanted to do without any realization of the scaring he was doing to his image. He did so much out casting; he has no one to blame but himself for the journey coming to a quick and sudden end.

I feel Randy Moss has more left in the tank then we all know. Maybe a break from it all will make him realize that or maybe he truly thinks it’s all over; who knows more about him than himself? I will always remember Randy for his talent, not his antics that were taken out of context and plus we are all human, we make mistakes and it’s no different for a football star. Though he could have handled himself differently, Moss deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. He could have been the best of the best, he could have become the god of Receivers and instead of him looking up at Rice, Jerry would have been looking up at him. Though it never was to be, Randy Moss should always be remembered for his freakishly great talent and skills. We should also realize that there was more to him than meets the eye and as fans should now take time into understanding the life and legacy of “The Freak”.

With the pre season in the books, the 2010 Patriots welcomed TO, Ochocinco, and the rest of the Bengals to town.  The pre season did not end well for the Pats, the defense looked like a young defense and the running game had some questions.  Let’s look at each phase of the game and see how I graded the Patriots.

Overall Offense Grade- A

The Pats looked great entering the game, moving right down the field and scoring on their first possession.  They were outgained by the Bengals, 428 to 376, but the Bengals played from behind the entire game.  They were great on third down, 9-13, and in the red zone, going 3-5 with three touchdowns.

Quarterback- A

You can’t get much better than a 120.9 passer rating as Brady carved up the much hyped Bengals defense.  Brady looked in mid season form, going 25-35 for 258 yards and three touchdowns.  As usual he spread the ball around hitting 7 different receivers and hitting Wes Welker for two TDs.  Brady will face a better defensive backfield in week 2, but these are players he is used to playing against, Revis and Cromartie, so he will make something happen.

Offensive Line- A

Logan who?  This was looking like a big weakness heading into week one, but they O line only let up two QB hits and no sacks allowed.  This will be a up and down season for the offensive line, so let’s not get too excited yet.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends- A

How could I not grade them with an A?  Welker came back and had 8 receptions, 64 yards, and two touchdowns in his return game.  Moss had an average game, 5 receptions for 58 yards, no TDs, but an 11.8 average and a 32 yard reception, which shows that he is still a big play WR.  The great thing to see was second year WR Brandon Tate, who missed the 09 season with an injury, had 4 receptions and 36 yards, and also made an impact in special teams.

Running Backs- B+

This is going to be a committee of backs and each week we could have a different guy stepping up.  Fred Taylor lead all backs with 14 carries, 71 yards, and a 5.1 average.  He is healthy now, and will continue to be the starting back until someone else steps up.  Kevin Faulk contributed as usual; the ageless back had 3 carries for 23 yards and four catches for 47 yards.

Overall Defense- B

Yea, I gave them a B.  They looked good at the start and some guys stepped up big and looked to be leaders out there, however, they did let up 24 points, 428 yards, 342 of them were passing yards.  Lastly, they were outscored 21-10 in the second half.  With a lead that big, the defense should have pinned their ears back and went for blood, which leads me to believe that Belichick still has some questions.

Defensive Line- B

We all know in a 3-4 defensive scheme, these guys do not get any glory, but they played well this week.  Vince Wilfork and Ron Brace chipped in with a few tackles and one pass deflected.  Mike Wright did not show up much in the box score, but that is what a true lineman does in the 3-4, take up space so the LBs can make plays.  They are thin at D-line, and will need to continue to improve each week.

Line Backers-B

The Pats have a young group of LBs this year and they will be up and down each game.  Jarod Mayo (12 tackles, 8 solo) will continue to be a rock in the middle of the field and is the leader of the front seven.  Against the Bengals, the LBs were steady, but they were outplayed by the secondary.

Secondary-A

The defensive backfield was the reason the Patriots won this game (and special teams).  Second year safety Patrick Chung was amazing having 16 tackles (12 solo) and seemed to be everywhere on the field.  Darius Butler did give up a TD to Chad Ochocinco, but he was solid as well with 8 solo tackles and a pass defended.  Brandon Meriweather, the most experienced Pat in the secondary chipped in with 7 tackles.  This is a young secondary and they will have their ups and downs, but it seems that they get what the coaches want them to do; we should see some steady improvement throughout the season.

Special Teams- B

Kicking Game-B

Stephen Gostkowski was 5 for 5 for extra points, but the usually solid kicker missed two field goal attempts missing two from 40 plus yards.  It is early in the season and he is a great kicker, so no reason to panic yet.

Rookie punter Zoltan Mesko had one punt for 43 yards.  Not much to discuss here.

Return Game-A

Second year receiver, Brandon Tate had a great first NFL game.  He missed all of last season after a knee injury in the preseason.  The speedy Tate had four returns for 184 yards, averaging 46 yards a return.  He had an electrifying 97 yard return to open up the second half and give the Pats a 31-3 lead.

Overall the Patriots had a great game, jumping out to an early lead and maintaining the lead throughout the game.  The Bengals got some yards and points in garbage time which is to be expected, but I would have liked Belichick to continue to be aggressive with his young defense.  We shall see how things work out next week against the hated Jets.

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The Patriots traveled to Atlanta to face Matt Ryan and the Falcons.  The Falcons are coming off a year in which they missed the playoffs and had many injuries.  The Falcons have many weapons on offense and would put some pressure on the young Patriots defense.  As I mentioned in the last post, the Pats have showed some swagger and look like they have something to prove with each snap.

Game two welcomed backed Wes Welker to the offense and Tom Brady threw to him right away.  Welker finished with 2 catches for 20 yards.  It was a dropped pass that made him feel like he was back; he took a hard hit as he was going down.  As many players say, it’s that first big hit that makes you feel back in the game.  Brady continued to impress, 10/12, 84 yards, and a TD.  He did take a big hit in which he fumbled but the Pats recovered.  Second year backup Brian Hoyer looked good as well, 8/15, 94 yards and a TD as well.

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I do not know if the Belichick “Jedi Mind Trick” has worked, but the Patriots seemed to come out fired up in their first game since the playoff loss to the Ravens.  Belichick has removed everything that reminds the team of prior success, pictures, clippings, whatever, it’s gone, like most of the players from that run.  I know the Saints had been on the road for a week before the game, but it was good for the Pats to come out the way they did against the Super Bowl Champs.

I still have not been able to look at Tom Brady with a straight face with his “Beiber” cut, but the man without a contract for next season looked in game shape throwing the ball down the field very easily against the Saints, connecting on 5 of 8 passes for 67 yards.  It is the first game, but he looked much better than he did a year ago.  Brian Hoyer was impressive as well, going 8/13 for 106 yards.

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According to Mike Reiss from www.espnboston.com the Patriots have placed WR Wes Welker on the Active PUP list for the start of training camp.  I originally wrote that he would be a full participant in camp, earlier than expected, which is still the case.  Once again, Belichick pulls a great move, by putting him on the Active PUP List, this allows Welker to participate in team activities and frees up a roster spot.  This is a loop hole that the Colts used two seasons ago when Manning had his knee surgery.

Everyone knows Welker will be back and on the team, the “active PUP list” tag allows the Pats to look at other receivers and players longer and determine what to do with them.  A position that was once thought of as a critical need has become a position that will have a lot of figuring out.  We all know that Moss and Welker are on the team, but there is going to be a fight for the last three or four roster spots.

Tory Holt is a good possession guy, but who knows if he can run the routes and create the space he needs as he has lost a step, the Pats do not want another Joey Galloway situation.  Holt has had two down years, but he was on bad teams and not Brady throwing to him. Julian Edelman looks like another Welker type guy and was productive last year, but needs to stay healthy.  David Patten was an odd sign this off season, I don’t know what he has left in the tank, and he hasn’t been productive since 2007.  That leaves Sam Aiken, Brandon Tate, Matt Slater, and their third round pick, Taylor Price.

Aiken (20 Rec, 326 yds, 2 TDs) had a decent numbers for being thrust in the third receiver role in the middle of last season, but he has been around for 8 seasons with various teams.  Tate, a third round pick from 2009 was only active for three games last year and did not have a catch.  He is more known for his KR/PR skills and with Kevin Faulk getting older, he may be valuable.  Matt Slater, listed as a WR, but he is a special teams wiz and we know how Belichick loves special teams guys and NFL pedigree (He is the son of HOF lineman, Jackie Slater).  Unless Tate or first round pick Devin McCourty steps up, there will be a place for him somewhere.  That leaves 2010 3^rd round pick, Taylor Price. I feel with his talent, he can be productive and he has an NFL build.  He needs to show what he can do right away with the opportunity he has.

All and all, they have a strength that looked like a weakness heading into the offseason.  They need to get younger and make sure Brady likes the younger guys, so I have a feeling that baring a crazy injury, Sam Aiken and David Patten may not make the roster and that will allow the young guys to step up and show us what they have!  It should make an interesting battle at training camp.

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According to sources including 98.5 FM Boston, The Sports Hub and Chad Finn of Boston.com and the Boston Globe (he also mentioned it on the Hometeam today), Wes Welker will report to practice with the “full participation” label on him, this just less than 8 months after tearing all three major ligaments in his knee.  All signs showed that he was ahead of schedule and most people thought he would start on the PUP list and then be activated week 6, once again, Welker proves everyone wrong.

What does this mean for the Patriots heading into the start of camp next Thursday?  It means that baring any set back, their worry at the wide receiver position has decreased tremendously.  This leaves Tory Holt, Julian Edleman, Sam Aiken, rookie Taylor Price, and a slew of others to fight for the last few spots to solidify the potent Patriots offense.  It also means Tom Brady can focus on other things (his contract, maybe?) rather than trying to find a new go to guy while Welker was healing.  Brady already has to get use to three new tight ends this season.

It was heart breaking to see Welker on the sidelines after his injury, and the Patriots seemed to lose a little of that “toughness” that Welker brings to the field.  Observing the way he plays as well as how he works, it is not surprising that he is back earlier than expected, but this early is border line amazing.

The next few weeks will be a big test on Welker’s knee, he runs very specific patterns and if his stop and go moves and quick cuts are not there, he becomes just an average guy.  So keep this in mind Patriots fans, Wes Welker is back, but give the man some time to get back in to the swing of things, and if he drops a few passes and has a few “average” games in the first few weeks, don’t worry, he has always defied the odds.

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Each year in the Patriots off season is a new chapter of “what will Bill do.”  If you look at all of the years Belichick has done things different, one year it is barely doing anything and picking up a few no names of “washed up” veterans, then another making a huge splash by trading for Randy Moss and Wes Welker.  2010 was restocking and keeping the veterans that have always produced on the field and in the locker room, which was lacking last season, even Tom Brady mentioned the lack of leadership.

Offensively, the Pats were very up and down looking great sometimes and extremely poor other times.  They lacked the consistency in the play calling that they had with Josh McDaniels and Charlie Weiss.

Offensive Changes/Additions

Tight End

Benjamin Watson-TE- Signed with Cleveland.  Since Watson has been with the Patriots he was the definition of inconsistency.  Coming out of college Watson was highly touted as an athletic and gifted tight end.  Whether it was the Patriots not using him correctly or Watson not living up to his potential, we will always remember him for chasing down Champ Bailey in the AFC playoffs.

Chris Baker-TE- signed with Seattle.  One year was apparently enough for this former Jet.  He was used primarily as a blocker in New York, also getting some goal line routes.  In the preseason it looked like he was going to be a valuable addition to the team, catching multiple touchdowns in a game with Brady throwing to him, but that was preseason.  He is an aging veteran, but can block with the best of them, and will valuable to any team.

Replacements

Alge Crumpler- Other than Vick, Crumpler has been the most affected by Vick’s legal troubles, he production has been non existent since Vick left the Falcons.  Last year he was with Tenn, who had a lackluster passing attack.  Crumpler is still big and had proved he can catch, the Patriots are hoping he can get back to the form he had with the Falcons.

The Rookies- Aaron Hernandez and Ron Gronkowski, will be contributors the day they walk into training camp.  Many believed that Gronkowski was the most complete tight end in the draft, losing his last season to injury only dropped him to the second round which is impressive.  Hernandez was consistent throughout his career at Florida and can be used in many different ways.

The only concern here is that Brady does not have any rapport with any of these guys and a tight end is a QBs friend, it will be interesting to see what happens to this position.

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