Bleacher Report - Articles by Arthur Luhn

New England Patriots Aim To Cool Jets After Settling Bills

Arthur Luhn — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:49:06 -0400

After a shaky first half, the Patriots came together in the second half, and especially on the last two drives, to dispatch the Bills, with some help from a fumbled kickoff return.

If Patriot nation was sweating the first half, they were breathing a huge sigh of relief after Brady and company put on a clinic in the space of 76 seconds, exploiting the Red two coverage (out of the Cover 2 shell) that the Bills apply in red zone defense by running the smash concept and splitting the field up the middle (pushing the safeties to their zones since they must cover vertical routes), forcing a man-to-man on Tight End Ben Watson.

Not only did they pull this off to perfection, they also did it twice, to squeeze out a narrow victory, 25-24. Matt Bowen of NFP and Chris Brown of Smart Football both provide an excellent analysis of this play, and their websites are recommended reading.

Suffice it to say that it proved in a big way that vintage Brady has returned.

The Jets, meanwhile demolished the Houston Texans, in rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez's first start, setting the stage for a week two face-off that was further inflamed by Nose Tackle Kris Jenkins's declaration to treat the game as the Super Bowl.

It also did not help that Jets Coach Rex Ryan issued verbal pom-poms by exhorting season ticket holders in a recorded phone message to show on Sunday ready to burst their vocal cords.

One would imagine this sets the stage for a colossal confrontation.

However, upon closer examination, one sees that the Jets/Texans game was not a well executed one. The Texans did not rehearse well for the heavy blitzing and pressures that Ryan's Jets brought, and this is all the more surprising considering Ryan's background as the defense coordinator in Baltimore where his forte was to throw the house at the opponents quarterback with overload blitzes or heavy pressure up the middle.

Indeed you could almost say that Ryan imported the Ravens defensive schemes, even going as far as using Kris Jenkins as his own personal Ray Lewis, motioning him to hybrid linebacker and at the snap, running him through the A gap behind ILB David Harris and Bart Scott, as part of a five man blitz.

Instead of going to hot reads or having his receivers run sight adjustments (occupying spots vacated by blitzers) Matt Schaub tried to beat the blitz, which is a losing proposition. Even more mystifying was the lack of minute or even halftime adjustments on the part of the Texans.

Knowing how much Bill Belichick knows the Baltimore defense, it will be interesting to see what he comes up with for this coming Sunday. I believe the key is not to have maximum shotgun protection for Brady because that is giving Ryan a target to throw the house at.

The key will be for Brady to get rid of the ball fast, and for that to happen, Belichick will entrust him with the offense and allow him to throw hot, and have his receivers run sight adjusted. I think we should expect to see a lot of underneath stuff, with short pass completions to the flat, as well as extensive screens.

On the defensive end of things- it is well worth considering that the Jets offensive coordinator is Brian Schottenheimer, son of Marty Schottenheimer who was at the wrong end of a pink slip after losing the '06 playoff showdown to the Patriots who were underdogs at the time.

Schottenhemier brings a smash-mouth philosophy to the offense which dictates that the Jets will throw in plenty of runs and especially screens which the Patriots defended poorly in their first game. This will be a critical factor in the game.

With that it mind, I would not be surprised to see New England use a majority of 4-3 fronts, with Ron Brace and Myron Pryor activated, especially with Jerod Mayo injured. In fact, when he got injured during the Bills game, the team shifted to a 4-3 front. My expectation is that Gary Guyton will move to the mike position with Pierre Woods occupying the will (weak-side linebacker).

There are a few reasons for this: Sanchez has shown an excellent ability to throw on the move, and outside of the pocket, and this must be contained. It is critical to collapse the pocket quickly and force him to throw, throw, and throw, and especially throw with as little time to make decisions as possible.

In the backfield, we may see a disguised cover two that turns to a cover three at the snap to contain Tight End Dustin Keller splitting the safeties up the middle. Expect a great deal of mixed and disguised looks on the defense, to keep the Jets offense on edge.

The Jets and especially their coach are hyping this game as the next big thing, but odds are it will not be the contest many people expect it to be. The Texans are not the Patriots. The Jets are playing a much more prepared and professional team.

Patriots: Restraining Order To Be Taken Out on Bill Belichick?

Arthur Luhn — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 01:06:15 -0400

Lost in the seismic reaction to the blockbuster trade of Richard Seymour are the parameters of the trade itself.

Looking at the big picture: while it was shocking that it did happen, it was not entirely implausible. Several major contracts on the Patriots team are expiring after this season, and it would be a far reach for the Patriots to be able to resign both Vince Wilfork and Richard Seymour. Don't forget they have to also take care of Tom Brady.

But let's look at the trade itself, which I personally find more shocking.

Seymour is in the last year of his contract, and considering that he was not likely to resign with New England again, I had assumed that he would walk away as a free agent and New England would receive draft compensation. Trading a player on the last year of his contract is difficult to do because of the inherent risk of having the player for only one year, if he chooses not to resign with the organization he is traded to.

Instead, the Patriots get a first-round pick for 2011. A potentially top ten, or even top five, pick. This is stunning.

Now, even more: they received this first-round pick from the Oakland Raiders, the same team that gave the Patriots Randy Moss for a fourth-round pick.

The likelihood that Seymour signs an extended contract with the Raiders is very slim; he would most likely want to go to a contender or a marquee team, such as Dallas. He is one of the best, if not the best 3-4 defensive end.

As a brief aside: why 2011, and not 2010? Simply this: the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) expires prior to the 2010 season, during which [if it does proceed] there will be no salary cap.

However, here's what makes this exciting: The word is that the new CPA (if it is hammered out) may include a rookie cap, which restores value to the top 10 pick. Of course, this is a huge gamble on Belichick's part, assuming there is such a clause and assuming it is installed in time for the 2011 season. But if it happens, it will be a huge steal; and once again the Patriots will have an "unfair" advantage.

Let's review their lopsided relationship:

2005: Patriots traded sixth-round pick in exchange for seventh-round pick, and pick Matt Cassel.

2006: Patriots traded fifth-round pick for WR Doug Gabriel. This didn't work out, Pats lose a fifth-round pick.

2007: Patriots received WR Randy Moss in exchange for fourth-round pick.

2009: Patriots received DE Derrick Burgess in exchange for 2010 third-round and fifth-round pick.

2010: Patriots trade DE Richard Seymour, in exchange for 2011 first-round pick.

If this systematic abuse continues, do not be surprised if the league takes out a third-party restraining order against Bill Belichick, forbidding him from conducting any more business with the Oakland Raiders.

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk points out, if Oakland fails to sign Seymour to an extended contract, it is time for the league to step in and take control of the team.

The argument for putting the Raiders into receivership is pretty solid by now, and Belichick is not helping matters with his ruthless, systematic exploitation of that organization.

If he keeps up, he may very well receive a registered letter from the league!

Tom Brady to NFL: We're On a Mission

Arthur Luhn — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:56:43 -0400

It took only until the second possession to see what was so sorely missed all of last season—a beautiful rainbow from Tom Brady to Randy Moss along the right sideline. And though it ended in a pass-interference by ex-Patriot Asante Samuel, one almost expected to hear Guy Lombardo strike up "Seems Like Old Times" with his orchestra.

Omitting the company script, Brady chose to be frank at the press conference, afterwards: "We are on a mission."

Indeed, the first half unfolded with a sense of purpose, a crisp execution not seen in a Patriots pre-season game in quite a few years. The Patriots opened with a shotgun max protect with a H-back formation in the backfield to protect Brady since it was the first live rush he'd faced in over a year; in a two TE, two WR, and a H-back with David Thomas being the assigned fullback to block (a H-back is a hybrid fullback/tight end).

On the next few plays, the Patriots went to a three wide formation, and with the help of a new-look, pass-rushing 4-3 front with a scary front featuring Burgess, Wilfork, Pryor and Seymour, the Patriots held Philadelphia to six points in the first half while Brady engineered two drives with both touchdowns coming courtesy of Chris Baker who was acquired because of his vastly underrated blocking ability.

Brady's last drive before the half once again proved beyond a doubt why he is an elite quarterback. With 5:07 the Patriots went to it's patent hurry up offense, eating up 75 yards in 10 plays, with one surprising play where Brady ignored the audible and called his own sneak to convert a third and one, then correctly diagnosed an inside safety blitz which he assigned Faulk to cross-block, buying himself time to fire a 35-yard bullet to a falling Moss to move the offense to the 12-yard line where he promptly found Baker again for his second touchdown of the game.

The second half, however, was cause for Patriot Nation to worry again about the steep drop-off in bench talent that contributed to the misleading close-victory score 27-25. With No. 2 quarterback Kevin O'Connell put in idle, Belichick chose to throw newly-acquired Andrew Walter to the sharks. Walter, who was easily confused by the blitz-happy Philadelphia defense, wasn't helped much by his weak grasp of the Patriot playbook.

Judging from their sense of purpose and dedication, even to the smallest assignments, it is clear that this team is on a mission, led by a hungry and vengeful Brady, eager to return after a season away from the field. Despite a flaw here and there, which is to be expected of preseason when teams mix up personnel- rookies with veterans, the executions were overall good.

Snapshots

Who's up

TOM BRADY: For obvious reasons. Other than tentatively stepping through his long throws (he must throw all his weight on his surgically repaired knee in order to complete the follow through, a very hard mental task to complete), Brady performed well, especially on the mental level, in pre and post snap reads.

JULIAN EDELMAN: Playing in place of Wes Welker, the rookie put on an one man show, exhibiting his versatility and eluding skills when he successfully returned a punt.

PAT CHUNG: Already demonstrating his game-changing talent by registering five tackles and blocking a kick attempt. His subsequent hustle on another kick attempt at the end of the game was enough to cause kicker David Akers to go wide left which is an usual indication that he kicked too quickly. This affected the outcome of the game.

MYRON PRYOR: It was hard to ignore his motor. His explosion and power was surprising for a man of his size, and helped him to register a sack and several hurried passes.

CHRIS BAKER: Acquired for his underrated blocking, Baker reined in two touchdown passes, taking advantage of undue attention to the receivers.

Who's OK

THE DEFENSE: Only the solid performance of the four-man front and the nickel and dime pass rushing (Tully Banta-Cain and Burgess, et al) prevents the defense from ending up in the "Who's Down" category. While the secondaries performed good, and certainly better than last year, the squad still has trouble containing the dink and dunk, and closing down the slot and taking away the short intermediate passes.

JEROD MAYO: An unremarkable night, but this will probably change.

Who's Down

JOEY GALLOWAY: It's bad enough being motioned on the line of scrimmage by a rookie (Edelman) on a three wide-out formation, and while he did decent blocking, looking hesitantly and generally at a loss did not help him any better. This, in my opinion, has put him on the bubble. With the depth chart at wide receiver very plentiful, Galloway has plenty to do.

ERIC ALEXANDER: Poor tackling and play execution has moved this linebacker down the depth chart. It looked at times as if he were taking plays off, especially plays not happening in the flat.

ANDREW WALTER: Easily confused by the Philadelphia defense, he did not make a correct pre-snap diagnosis of the Eagle's coverages or fronts at any point in the game, and obviously bad things happen, including an unblocked sack that put him on the ground. His tentative grasp of the playbook is probably an impediment at this point. A lot of work for this man to do if he wants to win the No. 3 quarterback position.

New England Patriots: Training Camp Overview

Arthur Luhn — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:54:10 -0400

For the '09-'10 season, the Patriots have taken the unusual approach of having two practices a day, every day for the duration of the training camp period.

This approach can be attributed, mainly, to the unusual high rate of turnover experienced this past offseason, with 29 new players (as the roster count stands now) including free agents and those drafted, coming into, and learning an intricate system.

The high turnover includes the coaching staff (offensive coordinator, special teams), up to a very key position: vice-president of player personnel- a very misleading title, as its previous occupant, Scott Pioli, has been considered by many to be essentially Bill Belichick's right hand man.

The loss of Pioli, in contrast to what many people think, cannot fully be diagnosed until next season, because the draft selections and free agent acquisitions for this year, were evaluated during the previous football season, before Pioli left (with the exception of a few recent acquisition, such as Fred Taylor).

With that said, here are four things to look at, during training camp.

OLB situation

The situation at outside linebacker is not as unstable as most Patriots fans make it out to be. First, we have the return of Tully Banta-Cain, who languished in San Francisco as a full-downs linebacker. He returns to a specific position as a 1-2 down specialist in pass-rushing which is what he is best at.

Even with the oft-injured Shawn Crable on PUP, there are still a few free-agent signings that are being worked out. The easy and tempting move here is to make a big-splash signing or trade (e.g. Derrick Burgess) but this is not always the ideal solution; frequently a role player such as Pierre Wood, would work perfectly.

What most people forget is that we still have a monster on the other side, Adalius Thomas (on pace for 10 sacks before his arm injury, last year), who will dish out his share of offense-disrupting rushes, and in that regard, it is far better to have a no-nonsense role player who does his homework and goes where he's supposed to go, rather than a star player who cannot resist the temptation to ignore the game plan and cash out on his talents or athletic prowess.

RB and TE situation

Both the Running Back and the Tight End corps are stocked with five players each. It is my belief that the RB situation is not as tight as the TE situation is. Fred Taylor whose elusive style fits the Patriots rushing philosophy, arrives to fill in Lamont Jordan's position.

Both Fred Taylor and Lawrence Maroney have the injury moniker, and it has to be considered possible to see either one of them on PUP or IR in the coming season. Solid contributors from last season were Kevin Faulk, the shake-n-bake 3rd down specialist who has been so durable over the years, Sammy Morris the downhill runner, and BenJarvis Green-Ellis who filled in admirably for a few games and has a knack for the developing hole.

It is my belief that all five players will be kept on the active roster. With Pioli in Kansas and McDaniels in Denver constantly prowling, it will be impossible to sneak players onto the practice squad.

Tight Ends are another issue, with Belichick calling the competition at that position the best he has seen in years, with newly acquired Alex Smith, Chris Baker, coming to challenge Ben Watson, David Thomas, and Tyson DeVrees.

Upon initial impression, David Thomas seems to be the odd man out, after his disastrous unsportsmanlike conduct halted a key drive against the Colts last year and put him in the Belichick doghouse for the rest of the year. He, however has had a solid training camp, making key plays in the situational football scenarios Belichick has thrown out from time to time during camp, and which, for Belichick, is the litmus test of any player on the team.

This is predicated on Belichick's philosophy that it is "not about pedigree, or what you did last year, it's about what you do on the field today." All of the players have versatility and talent, so without inner knowledge of how each player is handling the offense or individual improvement, it is difficult to make a diagnosis on how the tight ends situation will work out.

The Defense

Matt Cassel was the favorite target, the one poster you would find on a dartboard in New England when it came to discussing why the Patriots missed the playoffs last season. The offense was sputtering without the long toss, Cassel was holding onto the ball too long, and either telegraphed or didn't throw to protect his receivers.

Overlooked was the unusual under-performance of the defense, which continued to have trouble stopping red zone offense and consistent deep coverage. This problem has been around for longer than most people think- going back to at least '05 and being such an impediment that it contributed to the early playoff exit at Mile High Stadium that year. The key to containing red zone offense is solid defensive line containment, and solid pass-rushing, not so much a suffocating backfield.

The signing of Leigh Bodden and Shawn Springs and the drafting of Pat Chung and Darius Butler appears to bolster the backfield, while the anchoring of Jerod Mayo and Tedy Bruschi (soon to be supplemented by Gary Guyton) with Thomas and Woods on either side, appears to return the backfield to a solid status, although without real game conditions to test them, it is hard to assess this.

I would rate the backfield the best improvement, with Chung and Butler being two great picks, and Bodden an excellent acquisition who flew largely under the radar because he did not fit well in Detroit's cover two scheme on the NFL's worst team. The previous year, however, he flourished in Crennel's system at Cleveland where he snared five picks. Crennel, as everyone knows, was the Patriots defensive coordinator.

On the front line, the return of the big three, Seymour, Wilfork, Green (backed up by Wright) remains solid, but the acquisition of Ron Brace, a pure zero-techique nose tackle gives the Patriots some cushion at nose tackle, probably the most important position in the 3-4 defense. The nose tackle must consistently command double-teams for the 3-4 to be at its best.

Tom Brady's return

With a year-long absence behind us, we can now observe what it is that makes Tom Brady so invaluable. Despite the fact that he is a three time Superbowl winner, with 8 season under his belt, his energy and enthusiasm for the game is still unflagged. He is often the first player out of stretching, and his practice mentality is the same as his game-time mentality.

He virtually makes no mistakes during practice. He continually diagnoses multiple fronts, packages and disguised rushes with ease in situational football, because he is attentive at all time and is very detail-oriented. One cannot underestimate the value of this and how this attitude affects the rest of the team and cascade all the way down to the unproven, undrafted rookie.

The big test for him is his return to professional football, and his mentality of playing on an injured knee. No matter how good a football player you are, you cannot expect to miss one year of professional football and not return without experiencing a breaking in period where you shake off the rust and get used to the speed and cadence of pro football.

Brady will also have to experience a collapsing pocket and getting hit on the knee before he is 100% comfortable playing, through understanding that his knee can hold up with hard contact. However, his mental toughness and enthusiastic energy/attitude makes him the ideal person to bounce back from such a devastating injury. If anyone can do it, he can.

Patriots-Jets: Matt Cassel Puts in Solid Performance in First Start

Arthur Luhn — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:43:33 -0400

Today, the Patriots topped the Jets 19-10.

Here are a few key plays in the game.

1) Cassel put in a solid performance, with zero turnovers. Granted, the playbook was more conservative, with more horizontal than vertical plays (as in '01), but Cassel did his part by playing it smart. He seemed to only blow one play, a running play with Morris going one way and he went another.

2) Ellis Hobbs: He has been high on the list of critics, particularly in New England, but today he put up a great performances, denying and breaking up several key passes.

3) LaMont Jordan: Whether by design or accident, he did not get to play until the second half. This may have been a result of Maroney's shoulder injury, or more rather (or I'd like to think) an act of genius on Belichick's part in anticipating the humid weather at the stadium today.

Not having played at all in the first half gave Jordan all the advantages, as he went to work right away in the second half on fresh legs, battering ahead, eating up yardage, and gaining several downs on a seemingly tired Jets defense.

In addition, there was the usual busy rotation of the defense to prevent fatigue, because once you lose your legs, they are gone for the day, even if you rehydrate and restore your electrolytes.

4) Congratulations to DB Meriweather for securing his first career interception (albeit off a careless underthrown Favre pass). This set up the key touchdown by Morris, on the back of a 22-yard advance by Kevin Faulk.

5) The New England defense put in a generally positive performances, and while they continue to have problems with getting off the field on third down, they did make several key red-zone stops, including a goal-line situation with four-straight stops, including the highlight of Harrison blitzing off the edge to stuff the Jets' Jones.

Other notables were Seymour making a key tackle on a third-down stop, preventing a potential TD, in addition to a monster takedown of Favre by "AD" (Adalius Thomas) that put the Jets in a 2nd-and-23 situation in their territory.

This would seem to be a solid victory for New England, but this is against a Jets team that has a maverick at quarterback, someone who has had a tendency to leave the gameplan and get away with it, and has done so for almost a quarter of a century. There is still a lot of ground to cover before New England faces its first serious challenge at San Diego.

One of the storyline, as I have previously written about, is, now that Brady is out for the year, will we get to see whether it was truly he who made the Patriots who they are, or if it was largely Belichick?

As the year progresses, I believe that we will see it is half of each, and one half cannot live without the other. It is Belichick that sets the stage with the personnel, the gameplan, and the attitude, but it is Brady who finishes. It is Brady who brings the intangibles to the table. It is Brady who finds a way to win. He is one of the greatest finishers in NFL history.

We know that Cassel is no Brady, but will he finish to a good enough degree? Can he finish? Today, he put in a solid performance, but in a big game against a real contender, he must finish the drives and get some touchdowns on the board. The nearest he came to doing that today was uncorking an underthrown potential 50 yarder to Moss off a play-action fake.

I think, overall, it is too early to gauge how good this Patriots team is with Cassel at the helm. It is a good start, but only the beginning. The offense, like in '01, has to gel, has to mesh, and get through some real obstacles before we can start passing out grades.

New England Patriots: Fall of the Mighty?

Arthur Luhn — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:01:40 -0400

An old-growth tree is a tree that has been growing for at least several hundred years, perhaps thousands, and those will grow up well over 100' tall—sometimes over 200. There are few, if any, of those trees left today, because of aggressive logging practices. But up to 100 ago, you could find one every now and then. Logging folklore that has been passed on by lumberjacks has it that when an old-growth tree is cut down, it makes a noise like no other.

Unlike an ordinary tree that might sway, roll, collapse onto the ground, catch other trees and become snagged, or get slowed down on it's way down, an old-growth tree does not move until it is completely cut down, and once it starts falling, there is nothing that can stop it. The popping, snapping, and crushing sounds grow exponentially, and it roars to the extent of shaking the ground beneath it, and when the tree hits the ground, there is a loud boom. Not a crash, but a boom. After that, there is only an eerie silence that envelops the forest.

This was the sound heard throughout New England after the fall of Tom Brady this past Sunday, and now, after the official confirmation of his season-ending injury, the silence rings out loudly.

Surrounding this silence is the cacophony of what the Boston Globe's Chad Finn is calling "The King is Dead" tone. Most major sports-news outlets are already writing off the Patriots for the year.

"Shift of power in the AFC" is the cry of the pundits. Already, the Patriots' season plays out like a Greek tragedy, in which the hero is smitten by a reversal of fortune.

To me, this is moot. This is besides the subject.

What is really the case is how badly injured Brady is. Is the injury to the ACL a partial or a complete tear? How many ligaments have been affected? In these minor differences hangs an entire career of one of the best quarterbacks to play the game.

It is meaningless that Brady walked off the field under his own power. The ACL is not used to support weight, but, crisscrossing the knee, connecting the front part of the shin bone to the back of the thigh bone, keeps the thigh bone from sliding forward.

For Brady, particularly, this is devastating, because so much of his quarterbacking talent is predicated on his top-notch and precise footwork. He wastes very little motion after each snap, and this drives his main talent, finding and hitting the open man, time after time. Accommodating this is his impeccable poise, intelligence, and unerring field vision, the sum of which makes for one of the greatest quarterback to play the game.

Granted, his intelligence and driven passion to read and decipher defenses will not change, but if the rest of his body cannot follow suit, cannot keep up with the diagnosis passed on by his brain, then what good is the sum of the whole, if one link in the chain of command is affected?

In the game of professional football, one second lasts an excruciatingly long time.

So it is not merely a question of what happens this year, it is also a question of what happens to a career.

Some of the benefits that Brady does have, in regard to his forthcoming rehabilitation, are his ever-optimistic attitude and mental toughness. In comparison, the injury to Vinny Testaverde was what he, himself, called the turning point of his career: "I was never able to get back to that point, ever, in football," Testaverde tells Peter King, "And for me, it was heartbreaking."

On the other end of the scale, to continue with this comparison, is Carson Palmer, who was initially diagnosed with a torn ACL. It was later revealed that the damage was far more serious, and included a kneecap dislocation (which is very painful).

Using a new form of therapy called HydroWorx, he was able to return within the framework of the seven to nine months required for complete ACL healing, and he successfully started all 16 games of the '06-'07 season.

In contrast to Testaverde, Palmer has often been praised for his mental toughness in playing on a surgically-reconstructed knee. He continues to exhibit fearlessness in staying in collapsing pockets and engaging in plays, such as rushing, which puts his knee in danger.

In the final analysis, however, as any orthopedic doctor will tell you, every person reacts and heals differently.

Aside from the key questions facing New England, what probably is the biggest dilemma facing New England is, as Tony Massarotti of the Globe puts it: Who made who? This is the quintessential chicken or egg question: Did Belichick make Brady who he is, or did Brady make Belichick who he is? As the forthcoming season unfolds, we will probably get to see just how good Belichick and the team is without Brady.

This is a quarterback's league, as the old saying goes. Right now, in New England, the verdict according to a recent poll is: In Bill We Trust.

But for now, where the tree has fallen, there is only silence.

Bill Belichick, New England Patriots Make Final Roster Cuts

Arthur Luhn — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:58:14 -0400

Yesterday, New England trimmed its roster to 53 players, as did every other team in the NFL by the 6 p.m. deadline. Technically, the Patriots currently have 54, but Kevin Faulk was suspended for one game and does not count against the roster.

By far the biggest surprise out of the 14 players cut was the axing of Fernando Bryant, who had started all four preseason games as Asante Samuel's replacement in the left cornerback position. From what I've gathered, his cut was due to his never having really broken out on the charts.

This leaves just four corners on the roster, but is also a clear indication that the Patriots like what they see from second-round pick Terrence Wheatley and fourth-rounder Jonathan Wilhite; otherwise, the corners would be deeper. I also believe that this means we will see a lot more of Wheatley than I initially expected to, and probably a little of Wilhite.

As far as casualties go, for the defensive and offensive lines, there were no real surprises, with Mike Flynn and John Welbourn being cut (neither had spent much time with the Patriots). The linebacker corp only had one surprising cut, and that was Victor Hobson, but Hobson never really picked up on the inside, being a recent transition from the outside linebacker position.

And as for the wide receivers, two surprising keeps were Ray Ventrone and CJ Jones; Jones especially because he had a tough time this preseason with several mental mistakes on kickoff returns several times. However, he did get some good long returns, so the Patriots may be seeing potential in him, and in Ventrone, a converted safety known for his scrappiness. Both players made the roster mostly on the hustle factor.

Of course, the biggest discussion so far this preseason has revolved around the backup quarterback situation. To many, including me, the decision to keep Matt Cassel was a surprise.

I have written elsewhere of his anemic preseason performance, but it may turn out that the Patriots are keeping him for other reasons, not just his extensive experience in the Patriots system. Namely, he is a great practice quarterback in that he can imitate other team's quarterbacks against the Patriots' first-string defense.

His uncanny imitation of Peyton Manning's habit of changing plays at the line of scrimmage during a playoff practice a number of years ago helped the defensive frontline to adjust their timing and rhythm, and reduced the number of offsides penalites, something Manning is good at triggering.

I also believe this is a sign that Kevin O' Connell's star is rising much faster than many people were willing to believe. Some of the knocks against O'Connell is that he has only played against third-string defense all preseason, but he has shown intelligence, great field vision, and an ability to step out of the pocket.

In the last game, he read a zone blitz, made a change at the line of scrimmage, and lobbed a pass to Chad Jackson for his first touchdown, and this is what Belichick loves to see ("situational football" is his middle name), and may have made O'Connell the No. 2 quarterback, or far closer to securing that role than many people believe.

Beginning at noon today (Sunday), players can be signed to the practice squad, and I am really hoping that running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis can clear waivers without being snagged by another team. As I have been telling people, you can teach players to block, but you can't teach speed or instinct for hitting holes.

But as we always say, "In Bill we Trust." He knows what he's doing..

New England Patriots Preseason, Game 2: Analysis

Arthur Luhn — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:04:26 -0400

To the average New England Patriots football fan, the game against Tampa Bay signified outright disaster and despair. For them, I prescribe the standard two aspirins and check back on Sept. 7th at exactly one o'clock and you will see all is fine in Patriot-land.

As I have written elsewhere, Bill Belichick has become more astute in conserving energy in pre-season when it comes to his veterans.

The Defense was not only playing straight up conservative defense, they were in cruise control for the most part. I can guarantee you that Belichick did not chew out their asses in the locker room afterwards.

The Patriots are not inclined to show their hands in the preseason (see '07 0-4 effort). On top of that, their uninspired performance confirms my assessment that the Patriots defense has undergone a fundamental shift in philosophy and strategy, and will come out with a new look during the regular season.

The biggest surprise of the Patriot's 2008-09 season will be their defense, and they do not want to give that game away too soon.

Also, no need to worry about the running game. Again, just putting in the reps.

Unlike the Patriots, Tampa DID have a game plan (Jon Gruden gets up at 3 a.m. for a reason), and that definitely contributed to making things look bad for the New England folks.

The only thing I can surmise is that since Gruden is particularly prone to collecting quarterbacks, he has quite a task of sorting out who makes final cut and who doesn't, and, consequently, he tests them in the preseason, and whoever doesn't stick to his game plan can look forward to cleaning out their lockers.

However there are a few gems to look at: the emergence of Mayo which is pretty obvious, but also the play of Wheatley and Crable, both of who are solidifying themselves as the #3 option, Wheatley at CB, and Crable at OLB, behind Vrabel and Thomas. He may have skinny calves, but he knows how to shed blockers and has an instinct for where the play is going to develop.

Also Slater continues to show his versatility and raw talent all over the field. Look for him to be a shutdown CB (Capers is favoring him there). Wheatley, Wilhite, and Slater all have great speed, and more importantly, fantastic transitional speed (from backpedal).

Now as for the performance of Curly, Larry, and Moe—Brady's backups.. To me it is pretty obvious that Matt Cassel's ticket has already been punched and that the team knows he is pretty much a cut from the final roster.

Case in point: On his second drive, he made a read on the defense, then changed play on the fly, at the line of scrimmage, but since the players didn't really seem to respond quickly enough, he couldn't get all 10 players on the same page before the play-clock began to run out, and the end result was Kaczur made a premature jump (false start penalty). If you read between the lines here, you will understand that Kaczur's jump indicated his lack of trust in Cassel to manage the play-clock like a pro.

To have all 10 players on their toes, the quarterback has to command some kind of respect. It is, in the final analysis, his job to be the general on the field.

Perhaps Gutierrez's one saving grace is that he did not play, and ostensibly this was because he had missed practice time with that bruise he incurred.

However, O'Connell continued to show flashes of how good of a pick he was. Aside from trying to fit the proverbial camel through the eye of a needle, a pickoff intended for Jackson, buried in a crowd near the sidelines, O'Connell showed great field vision, poise, and talent.

I do know that it has been said repeatedly that he is playing against second and third string, but you can see the extra pop the OL and offense has when he is at the controls. That, to me, is far more significant. Watch for him to emerge as the No. 2 option.

Also watch for Guyton and Redd to make final roster with Stupar headed for the practice squad. I am still praying for Green-Ellis to somehow make roster, because I fear that if he ends up on the practice squad, some team will claim him, since players on the practice squad cannot be protected.

New England Patriots: Observations From The 23rd Training Camp Practice

Arthur Luhn — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:43:27 -0400

I attended the 23rd training camp practice today (next to the last one). The intensity had noticeably picked up, and one example of this was the beautiful flying catch TE Dave Thomas made in a 11-on-11 situation.

The team was going through some of the plays for Tampa, which should be an interesting game to watch because of the fundamental difference in their offense (an offshoot of the west coast offense) as well as the extreme humidity and heat.

In some of the plays I noticed that not in one instance was there a three wideout, which confirmed my initial suspicion that the Patriots have undergone a fundamental shift in their offense philosophy. Look for them to mix it up a little more out of the slot as well as use more moving screens/running plays.

One thing I noticed was the increased emphasis on running backs being hybrid receivers/backs, particularly with Evans.

Practice proceeded to become more intense with 11 on 11 scenarios, in what I like to call the 95% intensity drills where you go all out, including contact, but just fall short of full contact that potentially causes injury. This is where the gap between Brady and Cassell/Gutz just becomes so apparent, it just makes one cringes to think about what happens if Brady gets injured.

Brady just has that composure and 100% confidence to throw in a mass or tight coverage and hit the man without getting intercepted. This happened a few times with some of the DB's lunging for the ball and just barely missing and banging their helmets in frustration.

This is a talent, and is what separates the elite quarterbacks from the rest: their ability to just evade interception and just get the ball to somehow end up at the intended target, however the circumstances or means to get it there. You could see Cassel hesitate ever so slightly, and in the NFL that gets you eaten for breakfast.

Kevin O'Connell showed some promise, however—exhibiting poise and good field vision. Watch for him to become the No. 2 backup.

After the woeful performance of the special teams in the last preseason game, it was not surprising to see Belichick hovering over the team while they ran through their drills, check downs, and plays.

Look for Slater to be the primary kick-returner. We will see plenty of him in the upcoming game. Wheatley has solidified himself as the No. 3 CB out of the rotation, expect to see him in plenty of sub packages. Also, Ellis seems to be healthy enough to start in rotation.

The end of the practice was the most interesting: when the team started running no-huddle two minute drills, working off several scenarios...what may be best called "war-gaming" where you have a fixed field position and a limited amount of time to get down field.

First to start was Brady, leading his squad down field as signals were thrown from the "sidelines" (real-game simulation). This was a clear indication that, as I predicted, the Patriots are not going to use the mic on defense because of their elaborate packages that would have required helmet juggling.

Belichick did a good job of adding to the confusion by blowing the whistle, running in and setting up a fourth and inches scenario which the offense converted easily, then with 17 seconds on the clock there was a series of advances, timeout, spikes, and two incurred defense false starts to get to first and goal with two seconds left where Brady and Moss connected (you knew it was coming!).

Cassel took over for the second series but got nowhere with three incompletes and ended up with a fourth and eight with three seconds left, leaving Gostowski to settle matters.

I expect CJ Jones to be cut soon. I think Cassel and Chad Jackson are really on the line here.. It may end up that Gutz gets cut, but nevertheless Cassel is not showing poise

One thing I noticed was that in all the hoopla regarding the five running backs, BenJarvis Green-Ellis has by and large been flying under the radar. I observed this kid in a third and two, third and long, and third and eight. This kid not only has blazing speed, but seems to have an instinct for where the hole is going to emerge. He converted on all three.

Not one DB got their hand on this kid before he ate up a good chunk of real estate beyond the line of scrimmage. I really do hope the Patriots do not cut him or place him on waivers.

New England Patriots' Preseason-Opener Observations

Arthur Luhn — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:09:44 -0400

After watching tonight's preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens, I have to take my hat off to the Pioli-Belichick draft-picking machine. They've done it again.

At least five of the Patriots' top six 2008 draft picks were right on the money, starting with Mayo, Wheatley, Slater, Crable, and last but not least, O'Connell.

Last year, the Patriots' big-time score came in free agency. This year, the Patriots' big-time score came in the draft. I hereby proclaim more paincakes for our dear hatriots. Indeed, the motto of '08-'09 is, "Embrace the hate," and with very good reasons.

Now, as far as preseason goes, the plays are relatively simple, straightforward, and without decoys, baiting, fakes, or what have you. The defense also doesn't throw multiple looks or decoys with fake coverages.

With that in mind, it's a good idea not to get too excited at this point, but we still got some good looks at the potential that was shown tonight.

In Mayo, I am fairly confident that we have a Rookie of the Year in the making. He generally aced his assignment tonight, with five tackles, including one helmet-dislodging hit.

For the most part, he was disciplined, and as far as I know, he only blew one read. I think he will be on the first string. He seems to be picking up on the small details pretty quickly.

Slater, Wheatley, and Crable more or less held their own, although Slater messed up on a kick-return edge containment (he was tempted to cut inside). This allowed the returner to get to open space on the sideline, bypassing the blocking that was set up. This will get him some Belichewing along with abuse of the replay button in the video room.

Speaking of which, some of the rookies will be drawing double-shifts in the video room: typical standard fare when they experience the terror of their first NFL game and draw a complete blank when it comes to the fundamentals.

It was interesting to see Crable in motion. He sort of reminds me of McGinest in his early years with those huge burly arms. One good thing that emerged about him was that he seemed to be everywhere. He seemed to have a knack for ending up in the middle of the play, one way or another; he usually had an impact in how it unfolded.

But by far the biggest surprise out there tonight was Kevin O'Connell. He came on to the field and immediately demonstrated two of the biggest tools that a quarterback needs to succeed in the NFL: field vision and reacting rather than thinking.

It also didn't hurt that he demonstrated his remarkable agility (rushing) and knack for sensing how plays were going to unfold. He also demonstrated some smarts by running out of bounds on a failed screen pass to avoid an ineligible receiver penalty (which would have occurred if he had thrown because the O-line had progressed beyond the line of scrimmage).

Again, it is too early, but I predict that O'Connell emerges as our No. 2 QB, and we can breathe just a little bit easier about having a solid backup for the time being.

Both Cassel and Gutz were somewhat sloppy tonight—with Gutz contributing some comic relief by faking a play-action handoff to nobody in particular. He seemed rather surprised at it as well.

I don't foresee any decision on which one of them gets to remain and which one goes into waiver wilderness. The doomsday clock will continue to tick on this one. Stay tuned.

New England Patriots' Training Camp Observations

Arthur Luhn — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:56:55 -0400

Today, I had an opportunity to attend the 18th training-camp practice on the fields behind the stadium. This was the last on-field practice prior to the exhibition game on Thursday night. Tomorrow, there will be a walk-through.

Not present: Tom Brady, Sam Morris, Jason Webster, Randy Moss, and Matt Light (notables).

First player on the field and the last off it was Matt Gutierrez. Second player to arrive was Matt Cassel, which was a clear indication that the focus was on the backup quarterbacks.

Since it is extremely unlikely that Kevin O'Connell gets the ax this early in his career, it obviously has come down to Cassel or Gutierrez. I would forecast that at least the first one or two games will focus on the backup quarterbacks—I don't foresee Brady playing in the first game, and possibly not until the last few games of preseason.

Most of the practice focused on running through most of the plays that are to be run for Thursday night: some situational football, goal-line situations, special teams, and kick-return coverages.

For the most part, Belichick was hands off, leaving the bulk of the work to McDaniels, Capers, and Johnson, who were calling on different packages. I saw it as a very good sign that as far as I could tell. The players were sharp, on their toes, hit the field when their package was called, and knew their exact positions.

The only exception was Shawn Crable (well, he is a rookie), who lined up incorrectly in a sub package on a goal-line situation, then tried to move to align correctly. In a game he would probably have been penalized for an illegal shift. He got barked at by Capers, whom I really like—he really fits in because of his attention to detail.

This sharpness is a signature of a well-prepared Belichick team, and is a great indication that this team is mentally sharp and motivated.

Some individual observations that stand out: Jordan was involved in several Faulk-like plays as a receiver. Chad Jackson seems to be working consistently out of the slot.

Regarding the tight-end situation, David Thomas appeared to be okay. He seemed to hit his cuts pretty well and ran sharply. It was fairly obvious, from the many reps he was doing, and the number of plays he was in, that the Patriots are confident that Thomas has recovered from his foot injury.

I really do think that they are just going to run with a two-tight-end set (Thomas and Watson) and a deep RB corps. The only question to be settled is: Who will do the lead blocking now that we don't have Kyle Brady. I am interested in seeing what works out.

One player that really stood out was Matthew Slater. He was all over the field, doing reps for the O, the D, special teams, and kick returns. Rather than switch from a white to a blue jersey, they simply gave him a yellow jersey to don or remove according to the situation.

This is a kid to watch out for. He has really good hands and lightning speed. At the end of practice, he was performing a difficult drill, where he had a ball in one hand and had to field a return with the other hand. Then he had to toss the one ball up while catching a return, and then catch the other ball with the other hand.

He did this several times without dropping any balls. I truly think he will have an immediate impact.

The one thing that has me really excited is the defense. Someone or something has given this defense a new personality. There is an electric atmosphere, a cocky confidence. They were doing drills by themselves on the other field earlier, and they seemed to be frisky and competitive, and although this practice was light contact only, they were taking things seriously.

I also saw some tantalizing glimpses of what Capers might unveil in the upcoming season. In some of the situational plays, the OLBs and DBs were on the line of scrimmage quite often, with some dropping back, some creeping forward, faking drop backs, or rushing.

There is a new degree of complexity to the sub packages. Overall, it is very exciting and something to look forward to. I guarantee that a lot of teams will be surprised by this new defense. There is a lot of speed, youth, and energy, and this seems to have charged up the old vets, such as Bruschi and Vrabel (activated from PUP today).

Red Sox: Mannyology

Arthur Luhn — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 04:07:19 -0400

A lot of people are glad to see Manny go out of town. A lot of people aren't.

I find myself in the middle.

To wit, Manny is one of the game's smartest, pure hitter. He is shrewd when it comes to anticipating the pitch. It is all the more confounding that this shrewdness or calculation doesn't carry over into his on-field behavior, or what he says into the microphone. Someone, long ago, told me, "People are complex beings."

Make no mistake—despite his histrionics or Manny-erism, which bordered on downright absurd—Boston has parted with a cornerstone of their famed offense, and someone who really knew how to play off the green monster.

You can hear a big sigh of relief going up in the Bronx, as their No. 1 nemesis departs for a different league. Manny has the most RBI and homeruns against the Yankees.

Was this about money?

If it were, he would have been on his best behavior, ripping the plate up, because not many 36-year-old players have a $20 million option on them, waiting to be picked up at the end of the season.

Did he, perhaps in his own way, believe that Boston was not going to pick that option up? If so, he disclosed that in such a fashion as to virtually assure that he will be lucky if he gets half that by re-signing with the Dodgers or another team.

But between you and me, don't be surprised to see the Yankees aggressively pursue Manny in the offseason. Yes, I repeat it: if I were you, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in pinstripes.

What better way to spite the organization he believes engendered a conspiracy to ship him out of town? This would really offend Red Sox Nation, in that it really proves he didn't care about the fans.

I do know Manny "thanked" the fans for supporting him. But I am not so sure that he really cares one way or another, or he would have made an effort to stay, and possibly take a cut, like Lowell did.

I have seen Bay in action, and I like what I see. He seems to be a no-nonsense player in the J.D. Drew fashion, a player who plays with his mouth shut. A player who also has speed (a sliding catch against Oakland, in his debut, that Manny would definitely have not reached in time).

Fenway, however, is an electric atmosphere, where the fans know not just your batting statistics all the way back to kindergarten, but inside their heads are dossiers on you that rival anything the CIA or FBI could put together. Manny was oblivious, in his own weird ways, to that intense spotlight. He seemed to thrive in it.

On the other hand, I am no fan of any player who stands out individually, especially with the type of behavior that would have never been tolerated in a place 40 minutes southwest of us.

Rolling onto the ball is a grave insult, not just to Red Sox baseball, but to professional baseball, and to young, hungry players everywhere in the farm system of America that are dying for one chance to make it to the big league. Playing professional sports, be it baseball or basketball, is a very rare privilege.

Now, I am an amateur writer, feeding off of second-hand information, so I have no idea what went on in that locker room, or what went on between Manny and the people upstairs, so I can only ramble on, or babble, or wax philosophically, if only to kill a little time for you.

I just cannot help but wish that there should have been a much better ending, a more dignified ending, but I guess, as far as Mannyology is concerned, that would probably have been an aberration. That wouldn't have been Manny being Manny.