Look I understand peoples concerns. I understand why the media really really wants to talk about this. The thing is it doesnt really matter anymore does it? The Patriots need this guy in more ways than one. He will be on the field no matter what, because there is only one more game that determines the championship and he may never get this opportunity ever again. WIth that said, its possible that he will be limited but do not believe for a moment that he will be a liability. His numbers as far as TDs have been very impressive but for me not the most important thing that he does. Let me break down for you my keys to Gronk's injury.

Gronkowiski is known for being a beast on the inside of the field. Known for coming off the line quick, with his size able to create separation and out power a lot of defenders in the way of his route. His touchdown numbers are very impressive especially coming from a team that avoided that area of the team like the plague for years. So what really separates him from others on the team you ask above the numbers?

His yards after the catch (YAC) and his ability to make his prescence known to any linebacker on the field. Lets tackle the first example, well...first.

His yards after catch has been the biggest factor for this team this year. The amount of times that he has been able to tack on 5, 10 even 15 or 20 yards is unparrarel. He puts this team in a great situation to score everytime he has the ball thrown to him in a game. If he is unable to get off of the line and create his own space on the field than the Patriots options become extremely limited in what they can do, especially factoring in the front 4 of the Giants. Their ability to create pressure with a limited Gronk could become a problem. Which leads me to my second thought which is...

If Gronkowski cannot get off of the line and throw his weight around into linebackers who are trying to clog the middle or pass rush then that will create an extra job for the Pats to figure out. Who will pick up that slack that Gronk is leaving behind? The way that Gronk threw Suggs to the ground 2 weeks ago when he was trying to blitz was priceless, mainly because he did it on the way to running his route. He read what was happening defensively, threw the block on Suggs then continued on his merry way. That is the stuff that the Pats are really going to miss with him if he is unable to play at his potential.

No matter what he is going to probably need surgery whether or not he plays, so hes going to play. Lets just wait and see how effective hes going to be.

Pickalicous

-And the light at the end of the tunnel could be you. Goodnight.

Brady has been to 4 Super Bowls, winning 3 of them. He won 3 Super Bowls in his first 4 seasons as a starting QB for the Patriots. That is something that has never been heard of. He hasn't been the best QB of his generation (that distinction goes to Peyton Manning), but nobody has been a more clutch performer. As he's matured, you can see the growth in the difference of his play too.

When Brady was starting out, he was the substitute for Drew Bledsoe. The "just don't blow us the game kid" type of player. After all, Belichick traded away Rohan Davey, NFL Europe's MVP, for some guy out of Michigan the Pats drafted in the 6th round. Offensive Coordinator Charlie Weis used him in that role too. The running game, led by Antwain Smith, was the focal point and Weis wanted the receivers in well designed plays, make a big play. There were a lot of short dump passes. A lot of screen plays. A lot of short misdirection throws. The short to mid throw (often 2-13 yards) were the kinds of throws Brady thrived at completing. Brady and the Patriots created a lot of success with this type of offense, but he was still a game manager as a rookie. Early on though, he still proved to be clutch. None of that was on better display against the St.Louis Rams in the Super Bowl of 2001.

As he matured, he improved. The offense began to run through him. The running game, even with a showy running back like Corey Dillon, was not the main strategy on offense. It was actually quite balanced. It helped win them two more Super Bowls. Writers and historians were comparing Brady to the likes of Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, and Terry Bradshaw... all Hall of Fame QBs. In the meantime, Manning, with much better statistical numbers, was being compared to Dan Marino, the greatest QB to never win a Super Bowl.

After those first four seasons, Brady's numbers continued to improve. When the Patriots went out and grabbed Super Receiver Randy Moss as well as an unknown with massive potential in Wes Welker, Brady's numbers exploded! Suddenly, he was throwing the ball like Manning, the offense was clearly running through him, but the Super Bowl victories were elusive. In 2007, with an undefeated Patriots team, the 1st undefeated team to reach the Super Bowl since the '72 Dolphins, Brady suffered his 1st Super Bowl loss... to Peyton Manning's little brother, Eli... and Eli's New York Giants.

So here we are again. It's 2012. It's been 5 years. It's the New England Patriots versus the New York Giants. Brady is now in his 5th Super Bowl in 10 seasons as a starting QB, something pretty much unheard of. He's got to be the best QB of all time right?

In my opinion, if Brady wins this Super Bowl, unless Peyton Manning wins 3 more Super Bowls before he retires, TOM BRADY WILL BE THE GREATEST QB EVER. Yes, Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw both have 4 Super Bowl rings. They are, however, both statistically trumped by Brady (not so much Montana as much as Bradshaw).

If Brady loses this Super Bowl, he will still be considered one of the greatest QBs to ever play the game, unless he makes it back there next season. No QB has ever been to the Super Bowl 6 times. Even if Brady loses that one, he'll be considered the greatest.

But IF he wins, it cements DYNASTY status for the New England Patriots (haven't missed the playoffs since 2008, when Brady got injured for the season.) IF Brady wins, there's no doubt that the kid from Michigan who came in because of a fluke injury to Pro Bowl and New England hero, Drew Bledsoe, will go down as not just the greatest QB in New England's history, but the greatest in the history of the NFL.

Juice

-wOOtie

The Haynesworth thing seemed great because even if it didnt work out it was for cheap so who cares? But my rational behind that is, thats great if youre a team that a move like that helps support what you already have, but they didnt have anything. The big complaint last year was they didnt have a pass rush, therefore the corners looked worse than they really are. So where is the pass rusher? Andre Carter looked like he could have been that at one point, but he hasnt been, and the line backers are doing nothing for you to stop the run or in the flats for coverage so what gives?

Today the Pats cut Haynesworth which is fine because it wasnt working out anyways but what was the point? Lets just see if it works and if not then screw it? Are we constantly making bad judgements about players or are we cheap? It to me doesnt seem like a money issue because they spent a ton of money in 07 and 08 and still have by products of those years on the team, but it almost feels like we have the product that didnt work still on the team. We have almost what we "have to keep" left over.

OFFENSE - A
QB - A - It's pretty obvious Tom Brady runs the show. It's pretty obvious Tom Brady runs the show well.
RB - B - It's hard to knock this unit. Up until the Raiders game, the Pats RBs of Law Firm (Green-Ellis), Danny Woodhead, and Stephen Ridley were underused. When they were used, they were effective. Buffalo woke up an aspect of the game that needed to be re-awakened. Tom Brady runs the show, but the show needs the run to open for him.
WR - B - - While they've been effective and used, they sometimes disappear. Infact, it's pretty much been the Wes Welker show. Up until last week, Deion Branch had 1 catch for 4 yards in 2 weeks. Chad Ochocinco, who's been mostly riding pine, has been more productive than the #1 WR. It's not even about balance. There have been plenty of passes to go around, but they've been going to this group...
TE - A+- Hands down the most valuable aspect of the passing game. Everybody knows inside the Red Zone, Brady is going to throw Gronknandez* (*Big Hot TM). There is absolutely nothing a defense can do to stop this. They don't know how. In the open field, equally as effective. While their blocking could be better, they're in there to make plays and they make a lot of them.
OL - A - Last Sunday against the Jets gives you a great example of just how dominant the Pats line has been. Brady has hardly been knocked on his ass. Nevermind getting sacked. He doesn't get dirty. They've kept Pretty Boy Brady looking pretty.

DEFENSE - C-
DL - C- - Kind of a disappointment honestly. Haynesworth, while meaning well, hasn't been as effective because he hasn't really been on the field between injury and being a fat ass. Wilfork has been his normal, beastly, self, even rumbling for a big gain after picking off a pass. But the team only has 8 sacks through 6 games. It only has 2 forced fumbles. That's not getting it done
LB - D - I'm not impressed with the LB play at all. They're getting shredded playing zone. The man match-up has been decent. However, they're also part of the problem of putting pressure on the QB. They're part of the reason there's only been 8 sacks. The lack of pressure has really made this group look bad
CB/S- C+ - The secondary is taking a lot of shit. It's much like Brady taking a lot of shit for the 4 INTs against Buffalo. The unit is good. You can only cover a guy for so long. The team has 7 INTs. Most of it has come from this unit. The Pass Deflections could be greater, but the entire starting unit is under 6 Ft tall. It's a pretty bad mismatch when every game this season, the Pats have secondary has been scorched by WRs over 6'6". But the lack of pressure upfront has absolutely made this entire unit look awful
K - A - Gostkowski is a gem. Vinateri who?
P - B - Mesko has been great when the Pats are backed deep. He could be slightly better with balls placed inside the 20. Let's face it though. It's tough when you're hardly used.

Pats got the Up and Down Dallas Cowboys this week. Dallas boasts a skitzo QB (Tony Romo... read as "Tony OH-No!") who could either light the Pats up on D if the Pats don't get pressure... or could cost the Cowboys the game... if the Pats don't get pressure on Romo. The Cowboys also boast a solid running game and an excellent defense, which actually looks better than the Jets D at this point. Patriots should take this game though, but it might actually be close. 34-24 is my prediction with Romo throwing a pick 6 that costs Cowbitches the game.

~juice

For anybody who watched this game, it can pretty much be summed up in 1 word: choked. The Patriots choked. They laid an egg. They laid an egg on defense especially. Now you can blame Tom Brady if you want to. 4 INTs is unacceptable by any means, but I offer you another alternative for blame in this 34-31 loss to the Bills. Why not blame it on Bill?

Yes, I said it. Blame Bill Belichick. Or blame Offensive Coordinator Bill O'Brien. Either way, you're blaming not just THE Bills, but THESE Bills (weak joke... cue bad joke drums). Why Belichick? Well, the Patriots pretty much had the game in hand at 21-0 with 5 minutes left in the 1st half. Then Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick went... OFF! He drove the Bills down for a quick score. So at 21-7 and Brady pretty much throwing the ball all over the place, what does Belichick and O'Brien decide to do? Throw some more. 1 Brady interception later, the score is 21-10 at the Half. Just like that.

Second half opens up. With a score 21-10, with 3 fresh running backs, you would think there would be more running of the football. In the 1st half, there were only 10 attempts to run the ball. How many attempts in the 2nd half? 15! So the Pats kickoff to the Bills, hold them defensively, get the ball back, and what happens? First play, Brady drops back to pass and he's picked off... again!

Now to Tom's credit, he had 2 deflected passes picked off. This was not one of them. This was a legit INT that was intended for Ocho Cinco (go ahead, blame him too! Dropped TD in the endzone and most likely screwed up this route he's suppose to run). The Bills immediately drive down the field to make it 21-17. So why not run the ball to eat up some more clock? Nope! More throwing! Why? I don't know. It's exciting. It looks like fun. Wes Welker isn't a household name. Gronkowski's name is fun to say. There are no answers here. Just questions.

Now Belichick after the game blamed the pass defense. Yes, the Pats were without Pat Chung. He's a pretty good player back there and the Pats got rid of most of their secondary depth during the offseason. Who do you blame for that? The man making the decisions. That man is Bill.

I know it's blasphemous to blame a 3x in 4 appearances Super Bowl winning coach. Combined with his Giants rings, he's got 1 for each finger on his right or left hand. Maybe he splits them up, I don't know. The guy's a genius and I'm just a writer who never played football in his life. I just read books about it and watch it. Seriously though, why the lack of touches? Why no ball control? Was this Brady's call to audible out? Was this Brady's call during the no huddle? Bill has pretty much handed over the reigns and allowed Tom to be Manning-like. So many you can blame Brady, but I think running the ball is a Bill (Belichick or O'Brien) call and it didn't happen. The pass defense hurt, the turnovers hurt. Did you know that Law Firm (Benjarvis Green-Ellis) has only fumbled the ball 1 time? In the playoffs... Never during the regular season. The Pats should have won this game. It truly is an upset loss for the Patriots... and the Bills being 3-0 is a joke. The better team certainly didn't win yesterday afternoon.

Next up for the Patriots are the Oakland Raiders. They come off upsetting the Jets. They're also 3-0. That too, is a joke. Darren McFadden is running the ball like a maniac. Supposedly, much like the Jets run defense, the Pats have an amazing run defense that should shut McFadden down. If Jason Campbell looks like Joe Montana this Sunday, the Pats don't get to the Super Bowl this season. This is a mismatch of a game if I ever saw one. There's no way the Pats should lose... but then again, I felt the same way about the game yesterday.

~juice

Anybody who follows the Pats realizes that you're not going to run the ball up the middle on them. You can't. Haynesworth and Wilfork will eat up opposing RBs and make them wish they chose a different profession. You have to throw. There in, lies the Patriots weakness. The Dolphins, not exactly known for their vertical prowess, shredded the young New England secondary. New England looked good at times, particularly when they sent Safety Pat Chung in on safety blitzes. However, this unit is slightly undersized, even with McCourty possibly becoming a future Pro Bowler at cornerback. He looked often overmatched against Dolphins' WR Brandon Marshall and this Sunday, he's facing Vincent Jackson. He's a guy who's taller than Marshall with just as strong of a frame. On the other side is WR Malcolm Floyd. He's no slouch either and can stretch the field vertically. Underneath is the best TE in the game in Antonio Gates. The one thing the Pats have going for them is Mike Tolbert isn't much of a serious threat at RB. San Diego is creative in their use for him, but he's not LaDanian Tomlinson back there. He's more like Jerome Bettis. The Pats have an answer for that.

The next problem is getting to Chargers QB Philip Rivers. The line he has infront of him is solid. Very solid. Possibly more solid than the line Tom Brady has. Possibly... When Eli Manning proclaimed to the world he was on the same level as Tom Brady, we all laughed. Rivers is a superstar. He has no recognition because he has no hardware. If you look at his numbers though, he's a superstar and probably Top 6 in the league at QB. The Chargers offense can move the ball. So again, what it comes down to is can the PATS D play as well as their O.

Trust me Pats fans, you're probably going to see a shootout... and you don't want a shootout. This formula for winning Super Bowls hasn't won the Pats anything. The Pats won Super Bowls through grinding it out and making clutch plays on defense. This is going to be the type of game where they need to do that. The Pats CAN score quick, but if they want to win this game, they need to move the ball, eat up clock, and score points. Back and forth will not benefit the Pats this game.

The other advantage New England has going for them is the coaching staff. Nobody will ever mistake Chargers' coach Norv Turner for Bill Belichick. However, coaches and GMs around the league recognize how great a tactician he is on offense. Turner doesn't have Ron Rivera for a Defensive Coordinator anymore (Rivera is now coach of the Carolina Panthers), so it should be interesting to see if that unit is as stout as last season. If not, Belichick and Brady will exploit it. Hopefully the Pats D can be just as stout as the Chargers of 2010... otherwise, this is a game they very well could lose.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:6936115

Then came this ownership switch. Then came the Kraft family. Then came this excellence to try and give a crap... and it worked... big time. You can say it was Brady, you can say it was coaching, and dont get me wrong they all had something to do with it. However, without that ownership, without that family none of these things would have been possible.

The Patriot way was we go and do our jobs, work our asses off, do them the right way and keep our mouths shut. No one cared more about this philosophy than yours truly. In a society where teams and individual players, run their mouths with little to no reprecussions, it was nice to see a part of that society that said we were going to do things differently. How could you disagree with it? It was productive, it was successful. All us fans cared about was winning titles, and they came with this methodology. You either do it our way or see you later, no questions asked.

Then came the Patriot teams that were talking about the Patriot way but then decided to bring in the nonsense. Moss, Haynesworth, Ochocinco, and of course Mr. Dillon. One of these names that I left off of the list is Brandon Merriweather. Merriweather was an individual that had superior athletic ability, but an inability to learn the X's and O's of the game of football. Someone who could get to the football based on his speed and ability not based on his ability to study what the offense was doing. He is also someone who feels at times that he is bigger than everyone else around him. Someone who doesnt care for the rules of life and feels as if he can do whatever he wants. He in my oppinion does not belong in a Patriot uniform if we are going by the "Patriots Way." When he continued to perform and not improve with the game that was presented to him and they kept him I decided that maybe the "Patriot Way" was a little more full of shit than I intitally thought it was.

Then came that glorious descision a few days ago to cut him. He was imediately picked up by the Bears and all I have to say is goodluck Chicago. The Patriots definitely do things in "their own way." Im just not sure anymore what the "Patriot Way" mean anymore. Its puzzling, but I do no one thing, if they continue to win, then we will continue to be ok with whatever it is that they decide, and I think that I may be ok with that.

Pickalicous

-Thank God football is here!