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By: Tommy Rowe

Benjarvis Green-Ellis has been a vital piece to the Patriots offensive dominance the past couple years. Having great ball security, football IQ, and the instincts of an all pro veteran runningback from day one he made his contribution to the team and then more. But, during a very crazy offseason, talks about Green-Ellis apparently broke apart as the Cincinnati Bengals agreed to sign the 4 year vet out of Ole Miss to a 3 year $9 million contract where he would get 4 million his first year along with a $1.6 million bonus for incentives. Now he is not a primary back or is a superstar talent, he is a serviceable player who can make a great and solid living being that and then some. But if all he was asking was $3 million a year, then the Patriots look like the fools here and not Benny.

With a backfield with Danny Woodhead as the starter (for now) along with Stephan Ridley and Shane Vreen, who never saw the field in 2011, the Patriots have a problem on their hands. As good as Tom Brady is and always has been, he still needs help at the age he is at now and that means help from the Runningbacks also. Danny Woodhead is not a starter point and simple and the two 3 round picks from 2011 cannot be just thrown into the Lion’s den with the small experience they have. News that the Patriots may be making a big move to help fill the void left by Benny involves Tom Brady, once again, taking a pay cut to help the franchise. With Brady restructuring his contract, the Patriots save 7.2 million dollars and it’s also added to the cap for this season. Now as cheap as we call the Patriots at times, not even they would just restructure the contract of the franchise’s great player ever to save them money. If they are doing this for that reason, then we have a problem in the office. But in all likelihood, the Patriots are planning something and something big. With 7.2 million added to the cap a month before the Draft, either a trade of huge proportions or hopefully a trade up through the Draft board to land the Pats a big rookie name. Nothing has been confirmed yet and knowing Coach Belichick nothing will till Draft Day, but we can only guess for now what the Patriots plan to do with their Quarterback’s generous contribution. One thing that can definitely make this assumption proven right is that Tom Brady would not have fought so hard to get the contract he did, then give up a huge portion of it without making a big move. Brady knows what’s about to happen and considering how professionally he was to make the deal; it most certainly will be big. Though it may not be a fill in at runningback, the move they make will most likely be the one to put them over the hump that they have been failing to do since 2005.

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By: Tommy Rowe

In the 2000 NFL Draft, a struggling franchise took a quarterback with the 198th pick of the sixth round from Michigan University. According to scouts, he lacked nearly all the features that made a player successful as an NFL Quarterback; no strong arm, horrible spiral, gets knocked down easy, a poor system type player and so forth. Two years after he was drafted, that no name player who was told his whole like he wouldn’t amount to anything special, led the team that gave him a chance to their first Super Bowl Title ever; that player was Tom Brady who has now made his mark as one of the great players in NFL History. The comparisons to how Brady and soon to be former Broncos’ QB Tim Tebow have been noted and argued all season last year. I say strongly that those stats and comparisons are just merely and solely a coincidence.

Tim Tebow is an outstanding athlete and has a future in the NFL, but not as a quarterback and if he continues to follow the belief that he will be a franchise player it will only get worse for him. He can make a living as a journey player, hoping from team to team making a living as a role in quarterback like Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson did for their teams. Those two players won Super Bowls living and playing off those roles and Tebow can certainly do the same, but for people to say that if he learns under great players like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady is ludicrous and will never happen. First off, if Tebow is ready to become the Broncos next big quarterback and take them to the next level, then why is Peyton Manning being introduced in Denver with the team today? If he is the next Brady, Manning, or Elway, then why was Josh McDaniels fired during the season he drafted him? The fact of the matter is, Tebow last season started at the right time and circumstances and it was a team effort that helped Denver succeed into winning the AFC West; not because Tebow is great or special.

This notion that now Tebow is a perfect fit for the Patriots is also as ridiculous as the hype this unproven player has gotten. You bring him into a team with a leader and franchise caliber quarterback like Tom Brady; you are setting yourself up for a huge quarterback controversy the likes that haven’t been seen since the days of Montana and Young. Brady has a good 4 years left in him and once you have started in the NFL you will accept nothing less than that. Tebow and Brady might enjoy one another’s company and admire one another, but they will never coexist in Foxbrough. To the fans who want to see #15 taking over for Tom Brady in the future I say relax, give the man who wears #15 now on the Patriots a shot; quarterback Ryan Mallet has shown great maturity and pose during his first preseason in 2011 and nothing but positive feedback has come out when discussing the former Arkansas Star. Where ever Tebow goes, chances are he will be holding the clipboard and wearing the QB headset. He has much to learn if he wants a shot a succeeding as a quarterback. The hype that has followed Tebow out of the Draft party in 2010 has been so overdone and undeserving and not by his own doing. The story of the week is about Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, but yet we still find a way to turn it into Tebow Time. There is no doubt, success or bust, Tim Tebow will be remembered as the most controversial player in league history wherever he ends up; fortunately it won’t be in New England.

By: Tommy Rowe

The Patriots showed signs of anxiety early and it turned out to be the beginning of the end for their Super Bowl dreams. The Giants dominating performance in Super Bowl XLVI was too much and too familiar to the AFC Champions as the Giants, as they did in 2007, drove down the field late in the 4th Quarter as they took the lead from the Patriots 21-17. There was a minute left to play and with two time outs the New England faithful had hope for one last miracle drive. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Brady threw 2 straight incompletions followed by a crushing sack by DE Justin Tuck before converting a 4th down attempt to Deion Branch. Two plays after. Brady then chucked a Hail Mary pass down to the endzone from his 50 yard line where Hernandez and Gronkowski both had shots to catch the miracle ball. With no time left the Giants pulled away with the upset yet again and won their 2nd Super Bowl Title in 4 years.

A lot will be taken and criticized about this game but it all will lead to the ending result, the Giants played hard and out played their opponent who couldn’t take advantage of the plays they had. The Patriots had the back breaker of the whole game, the lone interception made by LB Chase Blackburn who was covering TE Rob Gronkowski on a broken protection passing play. That set the Giants momentum into full swing from there and despite what the score said, the Pats were playing hurry up and not the kind they have been dominate in all season long. On the drive before the Giants last, WR Wes Welker was wide open on an outward slant route, Brady threw the ball not so well and cost Welker a great catch that no doubt would have clinched the Super Bowl for the Patriots. The Giants took advantage of the crushed confidence of their opponent and drove down the field where MVP Eli Manning completed an outstanding pass to Mario Manningham who was double covered by the sideline and soon after it set up Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw for the game winning touchdown run with 1:01 to go and the rest was history.

Despite the bad taste of defeat back in the mouths of fans, players, and coaches a like. The season was better than most thought the Patriots were capable of doing in 2011. A lot of people outside New England had the team missing the playoffs all together and falling behind the New York Jets for the AFC East Title; they proved many, many people wrong and are still one of the elite teams in the NFL. To have the problems and holes they did, and to be able to Win the AFC Championship and come down to the last minute of Super Bowl XLVI with those problems still visible and come up 4 points short is a pretty damn good accomplishment. We are so used to winning championships in Boston, but the dominance the city has had for the last 11 years is unlike anything the world of sports has seen or will ever see again. To call this lost devastating is overkill; to call it an unexpected disappointment is just right. To compare this to 2007 is just so ridiculous as well in so many ways, because nothing can ever compare to a lost as heart-stomping as Super Bowl XLII in 2007 was for the New England Patriots. If we got through that, no lost will ever be as painful. Over all the 2011 season was fun, exciting, and memorable all around win or lose and to see the Patriots still find ways to get the job done with all the changes and problems show how good they have been and can still be.

Matt and Justin talk about all the talk going abck and forth between the Patriots and Giants.  Also touch on the Peyton Manning saga.

Audio Quick Hits…..Where would montana rank Brady?  What does Brandon Jacobs think about all the trash talking?  Listen in

Guest: Charlie Moore went skeet shooting with Tom Brady and also took Doug Flutie and Steve Grogan fishing, and he joined the Home Team with Matt Perrault to talk about that plus the game this weekend

Matt and Justin also talk about the New York Post article on the email Giselle sent to Brady’s family and friends and also some of the trash talking that’s going on

Charlie Moore went skeet shooting with Tom Brady and also took Doug Flutie and Steve Grogan fishing, and he joined the Home Team with Matt Perrault to talk about that plus the game this weekend

By: Tommy Rowe

As fans, analyst, and broadcasters that affiliate with the New England Patriots, we all know what Tom Brady is capable of. From the day he lifted the franchise’s first Lombardi trophy to now as he prepares for his 5th attempt at the NFL’s greatest prize in a Pats uniform, we have seen number 12 fight and prevail through it all to become a living legend. But even after everything he has done and accomplished in his 12 year career, there are those who still give comeback kid no credit what so ever. These people just treat his achievements like you treat your son or daughters’ little hand held trophy they get for playing soccer. One who has completely gone overboard with the disrespect of Tom Brady is Rob Parker of ESPNnewyork.com and clickondetroit.com. Parker has been quoted on ESPN’s “First Take” that Tom Brady is the most overrated player in the NFL. Well I may be a college student learning what I still can about the world of sports, but I know for a fact that Brady, win or lose Sunday in Indianapolis, is one of the greatest players in NFL history; that my readers is pure fact and the truth.

All fan hood and bias opinions put aside, Tom Brady has accomplished everything a young player wanting to be an NFL star could ever dream of doing. 3 Super Bowl titles (possibly a 4th) he has 5 Super Bowl appearances (tied with the great John Elway for most all time), he is a 2-time Super Bowl MVP, 2-time NFL MVP, first ever unanimous MVP elected, holds the record for most TD’s in a single season (50) and the lowest INT count ever in one season (4), he is tied for 1st with the greatest of them all Joe Montana with 16 career playoff wins and has a shot to break it Sunday night, 2nd quarterback in NFL history to be a part of an undefeated regular season (Bob Griese, 1972), he is the 4th quarterback EVER to throw for 5,000 yards in a single season and has the second highest total all time (5,235 yards). Everything Brady has accomplished he has carried the weight of disrespect along the way. This skinny, white, “out of shape” quarterback, who went in the 6th round has done it all and yet some people still feel the need to criticize him.

Half of the quarterback that were picked before Brady and said to be better at the position than him are out of the league and some didn’t even start for the Teams that took them over the living legend. Giovanni Carmazzii was portrayed as the next Joe Montana in the 2000 NFL Draft. He was picked 91st overall and 108 picks before Brady and today he breeds goats on a farm outside Tom’s home town of San Mateo. Despite all this Brady welcomes it and sometimes makes it up himself, why is that though? He wants to be better than he already is. He is never satisfied with himself and even though he knows of all the jaw dropping achievements he has worked his heart out for, it’s not good enough to him.

Tom Brady has one thing no other player in our life time has, heart, glorious passion, and determination to be the best of the best. The drive he has to out due everyone and silence his critics who know nothing of this amazing sport (aka Rob Parker) is unlike anything you can imagine. We New Englanders know it first hand as we speak with honor and pride to have watched this man rise to immortal status. The man deserves respect and even though he may not accept it, people need to acknowledge the fact he is one of the greatest win or lose in Super Bowl XLVI. You should not call yourself a fan of football is you agree with Rob Parker’s comments or anything close to them. You can have an opinion; I encourage it actually for others to speak their minds. But know what you are about to say, be ready to defend your opinion and have facts to back it up. Those are the three basic rules of opinion making and Rob Parker, you failed horribly. Tom Brady is one of the greatest ever, my facts are listed above and I stand by this for all time. He will have the game of his life on Super Bowl Sunday and his legend will continue to grow come 6;30pm on February 5th that is also fact.

Guest: Gary Washburn Celtics beat reporter from the Boston Globe talks about Danny Ainge possibly trading the big three as well as the team this season

Matt and Justin talk about Bernard Pollard taking shots at Tom Brady

Guest: Nestor Aparicio from WNST in Balitmore joined the Home Team and talked about how the Ravens were going to come into Gillette and slap Tom Brady and the Patriots around

Matt and Just do Audio Quick Hits and talk about the upcoming game this weekend between the Pats and Ravens

By Tommy Rowe

The Patriots and Ravens Rivalry is not bigger than that of the Patriots’ other notable adversaries like the Jets, Colts or Steelers. But in the last 3 years, the blood in the veins of these two teams boils to extreme heights when they meet on the gridiron. We all remember the horrific beat down by the Ravens when they kicked the Pats out of the Wild Card round in 2009. That lost stands out as much as any other. When you look at the names of those 2 starting line ups and fast forward to now, it is clear that the past is past and will have no say on whether or not the Patriots’ Offense can stand up and challenge the rabid and ruthless Baltimore Defense.

The NFL is becoming more of an offensive league as each year goes by. 2011 has been an overwhelming proof of the domination offenses have demonstrated during the season. But as the playoffs move forward, the importance of defense is showing its old yet powerful head to the final four teams and the unlucky teams who were reminded of its significance. Statistically, the Ravens D is the 3rd best in the NFL, the Patriots are ranked 2nd in the league when it comes to Passing offense (6th overall) and is the last remaining power house in the league when talking offense. The two finalists for NFL MVP (Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees) are done for the year after being ousted by 2 very potent Defenses in the 49ers and Giants. Tom Brady will be facing the same stingy D that his fellow quarterbacks failed to beat. Many are saying because of the Saints and Packers being exposed for their lack of defense, the Patriots will follow after finishing the “regular season” as the 31st overall defense and lest be honest; Ray Rice is a killer Back and will shed a defense by himself. But, notice how I said “regular season”. The Patriots may have had the worse defense in team history and possibly league season history, but we are no longer playing a 16 game season aren’t we?

The Giants were able to turn their play level higher than most expected and are one win away from playing in another Super Bowl; the Patriots after watching Saturday Nights’ massacre of the Denver Broncos have done the same. The team that makes the proper adjustments and prepares for the worst will always move on to the next round; fact not opinion. The Patriots should me and the rest of the NFL Saturday that they are capable of making those necessities that are vital to winning in the Postseason. I do not care what Baltimore’s Defense is capable of, even though the big matchup is between their D and New England’s Offense they both need help from their other sides of the ball in order to be crowned AFC Champions. Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense showed that they haven’t changed a bit since the regular season ended. They are the same inconsistent, sloppy offense that made many question their efforts and resolve. But they are still dangerous and when clicking on all cylinders can bury a team like the Pats.

In the end, the Patriots remind everyone once more that offense will beat defense when it matters most. No disrespect to Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, who are the all-time greats in this sport, but Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and the other 9 men they face, will give them the fight of their careers. The road to the Super Bowl is ending and it stops at Route 1 in Foxbrough, Mass. This matchup will be as advertised, either team can beat the other, but it will come down to who exploits the other’s weakness first and rolls with it. I said the Patriots will win 34-27 and we will be witness to in my opinion an instant classic. We are 4 days away from the Patriots and Ravens, but it seems like weeks from now; that’s what happens when a ticket to Super Bowl XLVI is on the line.