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New England Patriots

One Month Later: Super Bowl Catharsis

By Ryan McGowan

I almost died on February 5, 2012.

Well, maybe not physically, though a heart attack or stomach explosion seemed quite imminent, especially after Tom Brady got called for a safety in the first quarter of Super Bowl XLVI.

Categories
NFL General

2012 Super Bowl XLVI Picks and Podcast

It’s Super Bowl XLVI which means Super Bowl 105051 in real numbers.  It’s hard to believe we’ve played that many Super Bowls since the 60s.    The only person left with skin in the game is Ryan so he actually dissects the game.   The rest of us spend most of the podcast talking about what the Super Bowl is all about — no, not commercials you corporate bastard — Prop Bets!

If you want the picks, you gotta listen to the podcast.

The featured games this week are… the Super Bowl and the Puppy Bowl VIII.

You can download the podcast directly (running time 55 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

Categories
New England Patriots

Reinstate the Red!

By Ryan McGowan

Bob Rafter was there at the beginning, and it wasn’t pretty.

“I was at the first preseason game with Elvis,” Rafter, 28, of Phoenix, but a Franklin (Mass.) native, said, referring to the current Patriots logo, which debuted in 1993 to replace the original “Pat Patriot”, the beloved icon that adorned the team’s helmets since the franchise’s first season as a charter member of the AFL in 1960.  “There were literally planes flying overhead dismissing Elvis.”

Rafter is not alone in Patriots Nation in his nostalgia for the original red-dominant uniforms.  Despite the franchise’s extended run of success since that ’93 season (which, not coincidentally, was the beginning of the Bill Parcells/Drew Bledsoe era), many fans clamor for a full-time return to the iconic jerseys of the team’s past.

Since the chance of jinxing the team’s success by switching uniforms at this point is pretty much moot, it needs to be said: the Patriots need to bring back the red jerseys and the Pat Patriot logo.

Categories
New England Patriots

State of the Patriots Union Address

By Ryan McGowan

On December 31, I wrote “Five reasons the Patriots can win Super Bowl XLIV.”

Nice prediction. That’s right up there with the geniuses who predicted the Betamax would clobber the VHS, or that New Coke would be a sales bonanza for Coca-Cola, Inc. Predictions like that basically show why I don’t make my living picking NFL games, though I did win the Poor Man’s PTI regular season pick-‘em championship for the umpteenth year in a row, so what does that tell you about the guys on the show with me?

In light of the Patriots’ embarrassing first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, I thought it would be a good time to take stock in our local NFL franchise and deliver my State of the Patriots Union Address for 2010 and beyond.

Categories
New England Patriots

Repent: The End is Here

By Ryan McGowan

The Patriots are done.   Tom Brady is done.  Bill Belichick is cooked.

It’s over.

Categories
General Sports

Feb 26 2009 episode of Poor Man’s PTI

Vin and Ryan have more topics than they have time so this week’s show runs a little long. You can download this week’s podcast directly (running time 95 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

This week’s topics include:

  • Jim Calhoun vs “Journalist”
  • The NBA’s $200M loan / Sixers business operations
  • Will Stephon Marbury ruin the Celtics?
  • Wait.  Telfair is still in the NBA?  And he’s starting?
  • What negotiating classes did the Dodgers take?
  • Who is going to pick up Michael Vick?
  • guess the state
  • Emmitt Smith’s greatest quotes
  • Will Matt Cassel be traded?
  • Apologies to Charlie Casserly on Reggie Bush
Categories
New England Patriots

Congratulations, Super Bowl XLIII Champs*

By Ryan McGowan

There will be a head coach from some NFL team who will raise the Vince Lombardi Trophy at Raymond James Stadium on February 1, 2009.  It very well might be Tony Dungy and the Colts for a second time.  Perhaps it will be Mike Tomlin of the Steelers, or Tom Coughlin of the Giants in a repeat.  Maybe even a dark horse rookie such as the Falcons’ Mike Smith or the Ravens’ John Harbaugh.   One thing is certain, though–whoever it is will have a giant asterisk next to his name.

The 2008 NFL playoffs (or “the tournament”, as Bill Parcells likes to say) will be conducted for the first time in six years without the New England Patriots, and the rest of the league can breathe a sigh of relief.  

Categories
NFL General

2008 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings

This season continues to live up to the hype of each previous week with each week that follows it. Even when we’re slated to watch a bunch of mid-level games, they turn out to be nail-biting, last second thrillers.

Seriously, who would have thought match-ups between the Lions and Vikings, the Bears and Falcons, and even the Dolphins and Texans, would have been the best games of the week?

But the most interesting note of all, probably isn’t the odd close games, or the wacky endings (see Dallas @ Arizona), but how about the Browns dismantling the reigning champs, or the Patriots getting embarrassed by the Chargers?

After the Rams get their first win over the previously surging Redskins, just exactly who is for real? Are the Packers, Saints, Jaguars, and Chargers all finally prepared to turn the corner, or will we be questioning their worth after another loss next week?

This all needs to be taken into consideration when piecing together the Power Rankings each week, and since almost every team has been about as consistent as J.J. Redick’s playing time, then it’s safe to say the top then is a tough call.

With that said, I’m vouching for the Colts and Saints, while giving up on the Patriots. I’m not sure what we have in Dallas, Washington, or New York, anymore, especially with all three losing this week, and all to teams that are undoubtedly inferior to them. The only team to win in the NFC East was the Eagles, and they might be the one coming out on top when it’s all said and done.

However, until we do finally come across the final six squads for each conference, we have to go with what we know. Forget the big names, the huge off-season signings, and don’t talk to me about gaudy stats. All I need to know right now is the Tennessee Titans are 5-0, and the only team in the entire league that can say so.

Here are the NFL Power Rankings in review of week six in the NFL:

Categories
New England Patriots

Brady Fans Need to Get a Grip on Reality

The following is a retort to an article in the October 3, 2008 issue of the Rice Thresher, which can be found here:

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: I don’t care about the National Football League. I do not care for the immaturity of Chad Ocho Cinco and Jeremy Shockey; I do not care for Roger Goodell, for Al Davis, for John Madden and Chris Berman. I don’t. They all work to make the game much less entertaining than the college version.

But I also don’t care for inaccurate reporting.

Categories
NFL General

Week 4 NFL Power Rankings

Brett Favre throwing for six touchdowns does not mean the Jets are going to the Super Bowl. Heck, it doesn’t even mean they’ll compete for their division. With the Bills being 4-0 and a team that’s still pretty good in New England, the Jets have a battle on their hands.

However, this offensive outburst displayed improved communication and chemistry. It showed that with Brett Favre at the helm, this offense can score points, and a lot of them, when it has to. It also showed, that at 38 and with a new team, Favre is still a darn good quarterback.

You don’t score 34 points in a quarter by luck. The Jets defense harassed Kurt Warner all game, forcing four fumbles and three interceptions. Do you think they minded giving up 470 yards through the air and 35 points? Of course not. Their job was done at halftime.

These Jets, at worst, bring some extra life to the AFC. A conference with undefeated teams such as the Bills and Titans, and supposed Super Bowl contenders Jacksonville and San Diego gasping for air in the land of 2-2, is as wide open as it has ever been. And as long as Favre is slinging passes, he’s going to have something to say about it. If you haven’t been impressed yet, have no fear. I have a strong feeling that things are about to get even more interesting…