ATBNG

My first concert was Sinatra at the opening of the Worcester Centrum. My first rock concert was Meatloaf in Worcester. I'm lucky I didn't give up on concerts right there. He was hideous. I think the best show I've ever seen is U2 in Hartford during the Elevation tour, but the Pixies reunion show in Montreal is a very close second and the Foo Fighters at the Palladium in Worcester is a very close third.

You just posted the news item which said that Belichick currently has a contract with a team option for 2008. Belichick can't void his contract in 2008 if that is an accurate report; the team can. Here's Belichick's own words, when asked about how he felt about the organization last week after the Indy loss.

You've been fantasizing about their decline for at least half the six year run. There are, of course, never any substantive reasons given by you when it comes to your (mis)analyzing the Pats. All is well in Patriot land besides the bitter fact that they're not playing today. They're 30 million under the cap. They probably have the most talented defensive line in the league and they're all under 30. They have a young but effective offensive line that they're not spending umpteen dollars on. They have two first round picks next year. Their best two players are under contract through the rest of the decade. You just throw out stuff like "it's all got to end sometime." It really doesn't. If you manage your finances well, draft and acquire good players for your system and coach and game plan effectively, you can be competitive every year. It isn't random like a roulette wheel. The Dallas comparison is not very good either. The architect of Dallas's rise (Johnson) left the team; Belichick is still in place. They also implemented the salary cap during Dallas's run, which prevented them from keeping a lot of their players. The Patriots (Belichick) have shown that they understand how to manage a budget in the salary cap era as well as any team, and the rules aren't changing anytime soon.

Indy -6.5 - I'd be thrilled to be giving only 6.5. Old school blowout coming. Chicago can't cover the receivers.

Young was a rookie. Manning is in his third year. Most rookie QB's don't even play their first season - never mind win 8 games. Leinart hardly won a pro game despite playing for a program that is as close to the pro level as exists in college. Who's the last rookie QB to win 8 games in a season? Young went 8-5, Manning went 8-8. Young played in the better conference. Young won the head to head battle, for what it's worth. Young had 552 yards rushing and 7 rushing touchdowns. Eli had 21 yards rushing all season and no TD's. Manning by most accounts had better talent around him, especially at the offensive skill positions. Fisher had enough confidence to throw Young into the fire; I don't think Coughlin would trust Eli to park his car. Give me VY any day over Eli. I don't understand why people are so hellbent on downgrading Young's accomplishments. He's a new kind of player who wins without fitting into the classic NFL QB mold. To quote Tony the Tiger, I think it's not just good for the game - it's great.

Pennington is deserving. Arm strength aside, he and his team had a terrific year because he reads defenses so well and executes on third down. Young is also deserving; it's undeniable that he turned that team around. Passer rating is a very flawed measure of performance. With that said, Young's 4th quarter passer rating during Tennessee's streak was well over 100. Both belong there much more than the guys in the NFC after Brees.

I think that his plan for defending LT was very similar to his plan defending Thomas in Super Bowl XXV. Try to funnel him inside and get the strength of his defense to get some shots on him and wear him down, but he was always going to get his 100+ yards because of his ability and because the Pats outside linebackers are less than stout against the run to put it charitably (Banta-Cain especially). They'll have a lot of trouble next week with that stretch play. They don't teach safeties/corners to knock passes down on fourth down on the first day of training camp. I think it's the first day of Pop Warner that they do that. McCree's play was inexcusable. And Troy Brown is one hell of a football player.

Neither Freeney or Schobel should have made it. Pro Bowl voters overrate sacks ridiculously. Warren, Burgess and Henderson all had better years (you can stick Seymour outside and put Henderson on the team). Schobel's a nice player, but this is a big time stretch. Freeney is about to become the most overpaid player in the history of the NFL. Drew Bledsoe, move on over!

C'mon Skins - one more stop + TD.

Pats can't get the bye, but Indy can with an Indy win and Buffalo win. Pats are locked in at 3/4, which is why Tom Brady should be sitting if your fantasy Super Bowl is tomorrow.

They're going to do what they do with every player; assess what his worth is and make an offer on that basis. They did pay linebacker Rosie Colvin quite well back in 2003 when he signed. I think that part of how they do business is the understanding that they need quality experienced linebackers to run their defense effectively; the beginning of last year when they had Chad Brown (veteran, but no longer quality) and Monty Beisel (neither veteran nor quality) playing much of the game in the middle was as bad as their defense has been in six years. I would agree that he is more likely to get a higher offer from a different team, since of course there are 31 other teams that might outbid New England for his services and there is a lot of money floating around out there for this free agent class. They don't "lowball" players though as you suggest; if they truly did, then they'd be a bad team. They manage their money effectively by not overpaying marginal or injury prone guys; that's why they are successful.

Young's passer rating in the fourth quarter during this winning streak has been absurd. I also think that he's a better runner than Vick. He's not faster than Vick, but Young's downfield vision is as good as I've ever seen for a QB. He's not going to take the kill shots that Vick has because of that and his size advantage. He reminds me more of Brady than Vick. I expect him to solve all the knocks on his arm and reach his maximum potential. There are some pretty impressive pelts on the wall during this winning streak for a rookie. Put me in the "real deal" club.

I'd expect the Pats to make a serious run at him. Belichick singles Fletcher out before pretty much every game on his TV show; he's an obvious fan of his game. The Pats also need linebacking depth and the strategy all along since Belichick + Pioli since they've come in is to acquire veterans at this particular position.

I'm going to enjoy Washington thrashing the Giants tonight thoroughly. I hope we see Gilbride's greatest hits, complete with Coughlin moaning on the sidelines all night. I think my dream scenario is the Giants up ten with 11 minutes left in the fourth with the ball, and him calling three straight passing plays to go three and out, followed by a four point loss. Eli hasn't developed particularly well under Gilbride in my opinion. He seems to have had a bell curve like career track so far. I think it is very fair to say there has been a clear regression this year where there should have been improvement. You can't blame it all on losing Toomer and a few linemen; every team has injuries. If the Pats can't win it, then I'd like to see the Chargers do it for no other reason that I like how they used the trade of two overrated college prospects to build a team and acquire perhaps the best player in the NFL in the process. (I know, I know, Rico. Martyball. January. Probably ain't happening.) Go Redskins!

His Pittsburgh play this week is very interesting. I think based on what has transpired so far this season that Baltimore should be about a 4.5 point favorite. The fact that it has dropped to three means one of two things. 1. Smart money is pushing the line fervently towards Pittsburgh 2. Public money is still hammering the overrated Super Bowl champs.