The worst

I can't believe that hit by Wes Welker on Aqib Talib. I just can't believe it.

I can't believe that the 5-9 (maybe), 185-pound Welker slammed into the 6-1, 205-pound Talib and that the 6-1, 205-pound Talib is the one who limped off the field, into the locker room, and didn't return to the little thing known as the AFC Championship Game.

Really? I agree with Belichick ... That is the worst thing I've ever seen. Since when does a tiny slot receiver crash into a big defensive back and it's the DB that gets the worst of it? The worst indeed.

Watch the Zapruder film above. "Back. And to the left. Back. And to the left." It looks to me like Welker was looking to pick Talib (a common, if illegal move) and instead of just bumping him he just ran smack into him. When I look at the film I see two guys colliding. Talib seems to actually crunch Welker with his shoulder. If I didn't know the outcome and I watched the video I would say "I don't think that little guy is getting up." But the little guy did get up and the big guy did not. And in a game where there weren't too many big plays for the Patriots, that was a big play. It wouldn't have changed the outcome unless Talib could have played offense too, but losing Talib definitely made Manning's life a whole lot easier.

It seems that Bill Belichick really can't be rational when it comes to #83. First he -- and just about everyone else -- blamed him for not catching that pass in the Super Bowl. You know. The one that should have been a title-clinching TD that Brady completely missed. Welker took the heat for that one just because he tried to make an acrobatic, twirling mid-air catch instead of just letting it sail way over his head. Brady still needs to take the blame for that one.

Then Belichick decided that Welker catching 100 passes each year -- many to keep drives going -- was not really that crucial to the offense after all. He decided to let him walk and replace him with Danny Amendola. I thought Amendola -- if healthy -- would certainly be a very good replacement for Welker. But he couldn't be Welker. The guy is as tough as they come. Amendola was nowhere to be found during the biggest game of his career. That never happens with Welker.

Now Welker is responsible for one of the worst plays Belichick has ever seen? I don't know. Belichick is often right and I'm not. But no matter how many times I watch the video it is just too "bang-bang" a play to say there was any intent by Welker other than to interfere with Talib. It just looks like two guys coming across the middle on a collision course and neither being able to get out of the way even if they wanted to.

On another note... that's the second year in a row that Talib has limped out of the AFC title game. That's not saying he's not tough enough. He's played all year with a bad hip. He's tough. And he's very good. But he's also just as injury prone as that other guy we signed ... Amendola.

Welker ... he's tough. And he keeps on playing.

Mile low

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP
I'm not really sure what the people in the Sports Blabosphere are going to do this week. If you watched the Patriots season end with a 26-16 loss to the Broncos in Denver you know there really isn't much to say.

There aren't any "if only Brady had done this" or "if only Dennard had done that." The Patriots were outplayed from start to finish. It was 20-3 at the half but it might as well have been 40-3. Sure, the Pats were down 24-0 to this same Denver team just two months ago and stormed back to win. But that was at Gillette. And the reason the Pats were down in that game was that they turned the ball over and made one mistake after another.

The Patriots didn't make many mistakes yesterday (no turnovers) ... problem is they just didn't make many plays. Or any plays when it really mattered. It was as sound a beat down as any Belichick-Brady team has ever had. Me and my friends and family didn't get to throw a high-five until the game was almost over. That sucked.

The Broncos were the better team all year. But not that much better. The Broncos defense allowed an average of almost 25 points per game during the season (the Pats D allowed just under 22). The Broncos had a solid run defense (as was obvious yesterday pretty early on) but the Pats were better against the pass (not so obvious yesterday). All-in-all it should have been a pretty even battle. One look at the NFC title match between San Fran and Seattle showed what the game should have looked like. Both teams making big plays on offense and defense and special teams, the lead going back and forth, and finally one team making the biggest play to clinch it.

In the AFC title game it was the Broncos making all the plays. One after another after another after another. At times it seemed the Pats were just standing around and watching. Denver receivers were wide open, caught the ball, and then usually broke a tackle or two before either running out of bounds or going down gently. There were no moments of Bronco players taking a big hit as the cost for making a play. Denver was comfortable the whole game.

Other than Edelman, there really wasn't one player on the Pats who looked like they had a clue. Combine that with the Broncos playing an outstanding game and you get dominated. Manning threw for 400 yards because the Patriots' pass rush was more invisible than it usually is. And it's usually very hard to see. It was not the secondary's finest day, but it's hard to cover the best group of receivers in the game when the best quarterback in the game never gets dirty.

The only chance was to put pressure on the Broncos with the offense. But for the fifth year in a row the season ended with the team struggling just to get near 20 points. Brady missed some early chances at big plays and the offense showed a little spark at the end but when the team needed a big play they couldn't make it. The offensive line -- which had looked so strong down the stretch -- was a non-factor. The beast running game that had the offense looking like it was geared for a drive to the Super Bowl didn't show up. Folk hero LaGarrette Blount rushed for six yards. Six.

With the offense providing no pressure and the defense scratching and clawing to keep the game close, the Broncos were content to kick field goals. It seemed that John Fox (me last Tuesday: "Belichick will not lose to John Fox.") figured out sooner than most people that field goals were going to be enough to beat the Pats on this day. You had the feeling that if the Broncos needed to get touchdowns on those drives they would have gone on some of those fourth downs and put up seven. But they never had to.

Another disappointing ending to a great season. But that's the thing. It was another great season. That's like 13 in a row. And this year's team was as fun to root for as any of them. No Gronk. No Big Vince. No Mayo. No Seabass. No Spikes. No Amendola and Vereen for much of the year. But the team kept winning. I thought there was no way they could compete with the Saints offense, even at home. Pats 30-27. I figured there was no chance to come back down 24-0 to Denver. Pats 34-31. And there was no way they could go into Baltimore and beat a Ravens team that had won four in a row. Pats 41-7.

I figured it would be unlikely that they could go into Denver and pull off the upset in one of the toughest places to play. But this team just kept winning. Even the games they lost were close ones. Till today. As has been the case often in the past few years, the Pats saved their worst game of the season for their last game. That's always disappointing -- but no longer surprising -- with a Belichick-Brady team. That's what makes winning three titles in four years still so amazing. Watch each episode of "Three Games to Glory" one of these boring non-football days ahead and you will see just how many times the team's season came close to ending. But each time someone stepped up and made a play. Each time. The 2013 Pats were that team for most of the season but came up two games short. The 2014 Pats look to have a chance to take it two steps further and get the fourth "Three Games to Glory" made.

Well, that is if Gronk comes back healthy. If Vince can still play. If Edelman and Talib re-sign. If the team can find a pass rush. If Brady can stay healthy one more season. If ...

If my biggest complaint about the Pats is that they keep losing in the Super Bowl or the AFC title game ... well, I remember 1-15.

Wet and wild

Standing in a torrential, wind-blown rainstorm with your boots covered in mud for eight hours sucks.

Standing in a torrential, wind-blown rainstorm with your boots covered in mud, while drinking, eating meatball subs, steak tips. scallops, baked stuffed tatos, and pecan pie with friends and family and then watching the Patriots crush the Colts in a playoff game ... that doesn't suck at all.

From the wet and wild ride in to the Pats running wild into the AFC title game to that long-anticipated hot shower at 2 a.m. ... it was a great day.

Bungled

DAVID KOHL/AP

WEEK 5
Every team, even the best in the NFL, has a game or two each year when it just beats itself. That's why only one has ever gone 16-0. And very few ever go 15-1. Or 14-2. There are going to be those Sundays.

The Pats have already had a few brushes with those games (Bill, Jets) but they managed to make enough plays to pull out victories. The Patriots -- on offense at least -- made very few plays in their Joan Rivers-caliber ugly 13-6 loss in Cincy.

The last time the Patriots held an opponent to 13 points and lost? Week 2 of 2001. That's right. The game when Mo Lewis changed Patriot history forever and knocked Drew Bledsoe off the team. Tom Brady has thrown a lot of touchdown passes since that September day and has set a lot of records. That's what future hall of famers do. But #12, for the first time in 52 games, couldn't throw a touchdown pass yesterday.

The Cincy D gets a lot of the credit. They have a great pass rush and made the Pats' usually stout O line look bad for much of the day. And they made Brady look worse. Five weeks into the season and he and his new crew of receivers are still far from on the same page. Cincy's D was missing several starters and their offense has really only one weapon in A.J. Green. That looked like a recipe for 5-0. But not when Brady is under-throwing guys or those guys are dropping the ones that he did get to them. A bad fumble. A bad interception. Too many mistakes. That's what always makes the difference. If the Pats don't turn the ball over they probably win. Win ugly. But win.

One week after playing their best game of the season on offense the Pats played their worst. That's the way it goes in the NFL. One week really has nothing to do with the next.

And hopefully that will be the case this Sunday at home against New Orleans. A late afternoon kickoff against the best the NFC has to offer. Drew Brees. Sean Payton. One of the biggest home games of the year. One of the biggest tailgates of the year.

And maybe the return of Gronk. Just in time.

He's so emotional

Apparently Tom Brady never loses his temper during a game. Never gets upset with himself or teammates. Never raises his voice. It seems that he's always been Mr. Kumbaya during his Hall of Fame career. Drop another pass, Ocho? No problem. Let's get some pizza after the game. Make a bad call and kill a touchdown drive, Bill O'Brien? It's cool. It's nobody's fault. Let's just try harder. Miss a block and let #12 get planted, Matt Light? It's all right. I should have gotten rid of the ball faster.

Tom Brady yelling and acting like the next drive is the most important drive of the season is what makes him Tom Brady. It's what pushes his teammates. Most Pats' fans love the moment just before the team took the field of their Super Bowl against the Rams. Brady grabs Drew Bledsoe by the neck and starts screaming in his face like a lunatic. Bledsoe looks at him with an odd smile before Willie McGinnest steps in and tries to calm Brady down. No moment illustrates the difference between Brady and Bledsoe. Two great quarterbacks. One mad man.

Most of the talk after the Pats' win over the Jets has focused on Brady yelling at his receivers most of the game. The Pats scored one touchdown all night. It was a frustrating, wet night. But it doesn't take a game when the offense scores 13 points to get Brady fired up.

The video above? The Pats scored 34 points in this game.

When the rain comes

TALES FROM THE TAILGATE
Jets 6, Pats 0 (11/28/'93): It was a dry pre-game tailgate for the home opener yesterday. That was good because Mark and I arrived at the Enchanted Forest parking lot around 2 p.m. Surprisingly, none of the lots were open yet for the 8:30 kickoff. So we did a little shopping at KraftWorld and waited for another hour before we could fire up the first tailgate of the season. A great first tailgate was followed by a less-than great first half. Which was followed by a raucous Tedy Bruschi halftime tribute (the third for #54 so far I think). Just as Tedy finished leading his last "Ooooooh yeaaahhhh!!", the sky opened and within ten minutes I was drenched. Bad weather games are always fun. Well, snow games are fun. Rain? Not so much. Rain makes for the worst conditions for tailgating and football watching. Especially if you wear glasses. And if you aren't prepared. Like I was not, almost 20 years ago.

It was 1993. It was an ugly winter and the Patriots played some ugly games to match. The team was 1-9 through ten games, losing by scores of 38-14, 45-7, and 28-14 to name a few. I had given up my season tickets a few years earlier and had not regretted that decision one bit as I sat on my couch week after week watching the team get stomped. But there was a reason for hope.

The Patriots had hired Bill Parcells. The Tuna. A two-time Super Bowl champ with the Giants and one of the most entertaining SOBs to ever coach the game. As I used to say "Love him or hate him, you have to love him." The day Parcells was hired the Patriots went from bumbling franchise to a real NFL team. You could see the change almost immediately. Not in wins or loses. That would come later. But in the no-nonsense, my-way-or-the-highway approach. Players who had become used to losing were cut. Quickly. Veterans who had won with Parcells before were suddenly lining up to join the team. The Pats were still getting creamed week after week but there was someone in charge of my football team who knew what he was doing. Finally.

Me, Mark, Shep, Bergs, and a few of our friends decided to buy some tickets to see our saviour in person. The Pats were 1-9 but we were as psyched for the game as if it was the playoffs. It was Week 11 on the schedule and it was against the hated Jets. And Parcells was coaching. This was before Jets-Patriots became a holy war, but they were a division rival, they were a NY team, they wore green, they often sucked as much as or more than the Pats but received way more media attention. You know, New York and all. Beating them would brighten a dismal season.

As with most tailgating stories in New England, the weather would play a huge part in the fun. The guys met up in the newspaper's parking lot on a day that heavy, wind-driven rain was forecast. A forecast I had not heard. I didn't always watch the Sunday morning news in those days to see what the weather would be like. I haven't made that mistake again. I drove into the lot under a gray sky and walked over to Mark, Topher, Bergs, Brendan, Paul, and Tom Brady. Yes, Tom Brady. Not that one. This one worked at the newspaper and was the first Tom Brady I ever heard of. Of the two, he's had the second biggest impact on my life. Paul was wearing his EMT brother's rain gear. Mark had a heavy rain jacket. Shep was covered toe-to-toe in plastic. Tom Brady wore a hat and coat as if he was one of the James brothers in "The Long Riders." Everyone had boots on. I strolled up in jeans, a T-shirt and light jacket, sneakers, and a Patriots painter's cap. "Where's you rain gear?" Paul asked. "Is it going to rain?" I said. "A monsoon," Mark said. A half-hour later the monsoon had begun.

It was the first time I had been to Foxboro Stadium since I gave up my season tickets. As I stood there in the rain feeling the cardboard in the brim of my painter's cap turn to pulp, all the frustrating memories of the 1-15 season came flashing back. But so did all the fun memories. Foxboro Stadium was quite a different experience than what you have today. The stadium was located practically on Route 1 and the dirt lots spread out below it towards the woods. In the shadow of the stadium stood the old harness track Foxboro Raceway, a dirt track that opened in the '40s and was still populated by many of the people who were there for the opening.

We tailgated behind the track towards the woods, a place far from the stadium where security rarely roamed. We stood in the rain eating our wet steak sandwiches and burgers, some of us wetter than others. Tom Brady was from Jersey and this was his first Pats game. We tried to tell him what the concrete toilet bowl was like but we knew he really had to see it to believe it. As we were getting ready to go into the game, Tom took off his jacket and handed it to me. "This might help a little. I've got another coat," he said. Tom's about 6'4'', I'm 5'11''. It was a little big. But drier than what I had on. "But you can't have my hat," he laughed as he looked at my shrinking cap.

The Jets were 6-4 coming into the game so a Pats upset would be sweet. We figured a monsoon might give us a chance. We made our way through the rain and squeezed most of our group onto the bench in Section 309. We had the four seats on the aisle of Row 26. But we often fit five, six, seven guys into those four spots. That's one of the many differences between Gillette and the old stadium. Seats. That's right. Seats. My ticket now entitles me to an actual seat with arms on each side and a back. Made of plastic. Foxboro Stadium had benches. Long, cold aluminum benches with 38 numbers on them to mark your spot. There were about six inches on each side of the number. That was enough room for me but not for some of the larger Pats fans. Since there were no arms dividing the spaces people would crowd in with their buddies even if they didn't have a number on that row. We did it too. It could get pretty jammed. But not as jammed as the concourse below heading for the beers or the bathrooms.

The rain didn't let up as the game started. And the wind began to pick up. It rained in such thick sheets that some times it was hard to see the action on the field. The Patriots would make a play and the crowd would cheer. The rain would get heavier and the crowd would cheer more. Both teams struggled to pass, run, catch, block, and tackle on the wet carpet. The Jets hit a field goal in the second quarter to take a 6-0 lead. The rain got heavier. "It can't rain any harder,'' I said to Brendan. "It just can't." It did. I looked down at my beer and it was almost full. I was certain that five minutes before it was half empty. Brendan looked at his cup. It was overflowing. "Time for new beers," he said as we dumped out our cups of rainwater. Brendan headed down to battle the beer lines.

A long time later I saw him making his way back up the stairs as the wind whipped the rain horizontally. Brendan was wearing a plastic bag to stay dry. He put his head down, struggling against the wind and rain, gently balancing the two beers so as not to spill a drop. He got about five rows from the seats when the wind lifted the plastic bag up and over his head, covering his face. Brendan wrestled with the plastic -- while not spilling a drop -- and pushed it up and off his head. The bag flew in the wind till it hit another guy carrying up some beers about 10 steps below Brendan. The wind pulled the bag tight against the guy's face, so tight you could see the terror in his expression as he lost his balance and dropped his beers. Brendan got back to the seats, partly out of breath. "Didn't spill a drop,'' he said as he handed me my cup.

The Jets clung to their 6-0 lead late as Drew Bledsoe lead the Pats on one last drive to win the game. Of the fans who came to the game -- and there were a lot for a 1-9 team playing in a monsoon -- many of them were still there. Soaked, but there. Bledsoe move the offense down to the Jets' 30. He then hit receiver Michael Timpson cutting across the middle for a first down inside the Jets' 10 as the clock neared a minute left to play. Timpson tried to get a few more yards in the mud and got hit, losing the ball for a game-ending fumble. Parcells was 1-10. We were soaked to the bone.

We made our way down the stairs as the rain continued and began walking along the main aisle to get out of the stadium. As we walked along the aisle rained poured out of holes that were cut in the concrete. I never knew the real reason why there were holes in the concrete, but my guess was and still is that after the stadium was built someone realized that they had not designed a way for the water to drain out of the upper sections. So someone -- Chuck Sullivan maybe? -- decided they should cut holes in the concrete to let the water drain out. Right about head level for those walking in the aisle. As Tom Brady made his way through each fountain that hit him right in the face, he would turn and look at me. Finally, at the last gushing hole of water, he stopped and said "Nice stadium you got here, Tim. If I knew they had built-in showers I would have brought a bar of soap."

The Patriots went on to win their last four games that season. The foundation was being built for a new approach to football in New England. One where the team stopped beating itself. One where players stepped up and made big plays. And most importantly one where the head coach was really in charge. Just three years later we would be getting ready to go to Foxboro for the AFC championship game.

A few nights later me, Mark, and Shep sat in a bar talking about the game and our new coach. Parcells came on TV talking about the game too. He was saying things like he saw progress being made and that the young players were starting to "get it." And then he added: "One thing I want to say, to those fans who stayed for that whole game in the rain, they are my kind of football fans. We're gonna continue to get better for them."

Mark got a look in his eye. "If I go to the stadium tomorrow to buy four season tickets will you each buy one?" Shep and I said sure, but I don't think either of us thought he was serious. Several glasses of Dewar's can blur one's judgment. The next morning I woke up, still blurred, and another storm was raging, this one with a few inches of wet snow. I looked out the window and the ground was white. No way Mark waited outside to get tickets in weather like this, I thought. No way.

That afternoon I was at my desk in the newsroom. I saw Mark walk in the door, looking kind of wet again. He came over and put a stack of Patriots tickets down in front of me. "You owe me $350 for a season ticket," he said. I sure have gotten my money's worth. And then some.

Week 1 rewind

There was a strange sight on Sunday... A Patriots' wide receiver other than Troy Brown wearing #80 in a regular season game. A couple of guys have worn the number since Mr. Patriot retired, but this was the first time anyone noticed.

Danny Amendola did the number proud. And, of course, being Danny Amendola he might not get another chance to do that for a while. The first of the weekly rewind of the good and the bad of each game starts off with the Pats' new receiver qualifying in both categories. The team's last-second 23-21 win was that kind of game.

GOOD

• Amendola. Wes Welker's replacement had 10 catches for 104 yards. And most of those 10 were of the key variety. Very Welker-like. A few of them were of the "did you see that?" variety. Not so Welker-like. Amendola is younger, faster, and bigger than Welker. He can get to balls that Welker couldn't. I'm thinking of a pass in a Super Bowl a few years ago.
• Vereen. I was pretty happy when the Pats brought veteran Leon Washington back last weekend. I love the guy. I've been hoping he will take over the Kevin Faulk/Woody role. No need. That role belongs to Shane Vereen. And he may do it better than either of them.
• Gosty: As the Pats moved into position for the game-winning kick, my nephew texted me "How's your confidence level in Gosty?"  "Strong," I replied. It was more wishful thinking than actual confidence. Gosty missed a game-winner in the home opener last year and missed six for the season. Six is just a few too many. But he was 3-for-3 yesterday and confidence is strong.
• Defense. It wasn't exactly Matt Ryan and the Falcons' offense. (That comes in a few weeks). But the Pats D held the Bills to under 300 total yards (286) and forced two big turnovers. The secondary did a solid job considering the Pats' pass rush hasn't arrived for the season yet. Talib and co. gave up two 18-yard TD passes, but also made many big stops on third down. The Bills scored seven points on a turnover and another touchdown came after a Brady pick. It's the way the D needs to play against lesser offenses.
• Brady. He did not have one of his best days numbers-wise. He had a fumble at the Buffalo two and a pick at the Pats' 37. It took him 52 passes to throw for 288 yards. He and his young group of receivers are far away from gelling. But with the game on the line he was classic Brady. He's as good as ever.

BAD

• Amendola. The knock on him is that he is injury-prone. Not that he's not tough because it's clear he is. But that he can't stay on the field. It didn't take long for that problem to return. When he wasn't catching passes, Amendola was limping around with a sore groin. He will probably miss some games.
• Ridley. BenJarvus spoiled Pats' fans. And Belichick. He went his entire career here (53 games) without fumbling. Ever. It's a pretty tough act to follow when it comes to ball security. Ridley fumbled four times last year and found himself in the coach's dog house a few times. He moved into the outhouse yesterday when he fell down and fumbled without being touched.  
• Pass rush. Or more accurately... Where the hell is the pass rush? The Pats got zero sacks. They need more out of Chandler Jones in his second year. And Tommy Kelly and Ninko. Lots more.
• Rookies. It's not often you see the Pats' snap the ball and then watch as the wide receivers run into each other like they were pieces on an electric football field. But it happened a couple of times in Week 1. But that's what happens when you starts a season with more than a dozen rookies on the roster.

I'm sure there will be lots of concern from the Blabosphere due to the fact that the heavily-favored Pats had to steal a win. But steal it they did. The 2013 Patriots are a work in progress. All the mistakes they made are fixable. They have till Thursday to get some of them fixed.

First contact

WEEK 1
So Roger Goodell doesn't think there needs to be four preseason games. Hmmmm. Wonder what he thinks after watching the action from the opening week of the 2013 season.

There was a lot of exciting football. Close games. Upsets. Last second victories. Hard hits. Big plays. But there was also a big dose of turnovers, penalties, missed tackles, receivers running into each other (Patriots), and general sloppiness. Think how bad it would have been with only three preseason games to get ready. Not pretty.

Not pretty. That perfectly describes the Pats season-opening victory in Buffalo. The Pats have dominated the Bills during the Belichick era. But not yesterday. It took a Gosty field goal as time expired to pull out a mistake filled 23-21 victory.

The mistakes? A Ridley fumble that was returned for a touchdown. A Brady fumble. A Brady pick (that was more like a Sudfeld fumble). Too many dropped passes by rookie receivers to count. A poor punting performance by the guy who took Zoltan's job. Brady getting sacked twice and feeling the heat several more times. The secondary giving up a couple of long touchdowns and the pass rush being non-existent once again.  Bill Belichick not re-signing Wes Welker. Wait. That last mistake was a few months ago.

Not pretty. Mistakes are usually the difference between winning and losing. Were the Baltimore Ravens the best team in the NFL last year. Hell no. But when it counted, during the playoffs, they were the team that made the fewest mistakes. By far. The difference between a 10-6 playoff contender and a 6-10 also-ran is very small despite what most people think. The 10-6 team is almost always the one that doesn't beat itself. For the past decade-plus the Patriots have been that team.

Yesterday they made more mistakes in four quarters than they usually make in four games. When Ridley fumbled, the Pats were up 10-0 and driving inside the Buffalo 30 with a chance to take control of the game. One mistake later, it was 10-7 and the Bills and their victory-starved fans were back into the game.

The Pats regrouped, as only a well-coached team can, and regained the lead 17-7 and were once again in control with the ball and just more than a minute till the half. That's when Brady and Sudfeld misconnected and the Bills were set up at the Pats' 37. Two plays later and the Bills had scored again to cut the lead to 17-14. The Bills took that momentum and drove 80 yards in 11 plays to take the lead 21-17. The Pats responded with their own long drive but came up empty when Brady fumbled at the 2-yard line. How often does THAT happen?

A lot of teams would have folded at that point, but the Patriots, even with all their young players, held the Bills off the scoreboard the rest of the way and Gosty made two clutch field goals to steal away the all-important road divisional victory.

Not pretty. But 1-0.

Start 'em young

A fan is born.

Enjoy it while it lasts

Tom Brady says he wants to play into his 40s. I'm guessing he has not cleared that with Mrs. Brady.

Brady turned 36 last month. It was 12 Septembers ago when he walked onto the field as Bledsoe staggered off. Since then the skinny kid from Michigan by way of California has had one of the greatest -- if not the greatest -- careers of any NFL quarterback. First ballot Hall of Fame for sure. A break here or there and he has four or five rings.

I get why most non-Patriots fans can't stand him. Gisele. The hair. The sheep. The dimple-chinned smile everywhere. The mansion with the moat. You don't get more famous than Tom Brady. But when he is on the field he is still the guy who was drafted in the sixth round and almost didn't have an NFL career. You can't help but admire that Tom Brady and the way he plays the game (kick of Ed Reed's crotch excluded).

Brady steps on the field today to resume the quest for Lombardi #4.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

Miss him now, Bill?

Well that should put an end to the "it's not Welker, it's the system" crap.

In his debut with Peyton Manning -- oh, and the rest of the Broncos -- Wes Welker grabbed 9 passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns. It would seem that another 100-catch season has begun for #83. What else would you expect? The guy can't be covered. 

You could see the Welker departure coming for a while, so when he did leave for Denver there was a lot disappointment but an equal amount of acceptance. That's the way it goes. As I've said before, Bobby Orr didn't finish his career a Bruin so nothing should surprise. The Pats made Welker a solid offer before last season, Welker turned it down, then the Pats took their usual stonewall stance, Welker hit the market and, although settling for a little less, he was quickly lured to the Rockies. It's called free agency.

It didn't bother me too much until I saw the photo above. Manning and Welker could be better than Brady and Welker. They could be better than anyone. Ever. The photo above says it all. As smart as Brady is as a quarterback, Manning is just a little smarter. Now he has a guy who plays the game just as smart. Manning's quick mind with Welker's quick feet will be tough to stop. 

The Sports Blabosphere offered the theory that although Welker is good, it was Brady and Belichick that made him great. Of course they played a key role. But it was more Welker's quickness, football instincts, tireless work ethic, tough-as-nails attitude, competitive drive, and athletic talent. The guy can't be covered.

The Patriots should be just fine. But it will be just a little less fun to watch without Welker catching those Brady lasers across the middle on 3rd-and-8 or grabbing the ball and spinning around to add on a handful of YACs.

OK, Danny Amendola. Let's see something.

Where's the beef?

I have to say it. I miss Fat Rex. I know. That's not appropriate. The Jets' brilliant head coach has shed a lot of pounds to get healthy and live a longer, stronger life. Great for him.

But I miss the "Let's go get a goddamn snack" Rex. I miss the "Eat a lot of goddamn snacks" Rex. I miss the "I'm gonna give you a goddamn smack" Rex.

Who is that guy in the video above? Rex Ryan? Really? That soft-voiced little guy doesn't even sound like him. Did he shed his big voice along with his big stomach? It's kind of sad. I've said it before. A coach with Ryan's style works when things are going well. That's how it is with loudmouths. They are tough guys till they've been knocked around a little. Then? Not so much.

Rex Ryan came to the Jets in January of 2009 talking the talk and walking the walk. He wasted no time promising Super Bowls and in setting his sights on Bill Belichick and the Pats. For good reason. Ryan knew that the Jets would have to go through the team from New England to get where he wanted to go. Mt. Ryan said he wasn't going to be kissing Belichick's rings and planned on taking it to the division dominators every chance he got. A rivalry was reborn.

The Jets finished his first season with the best rushing attack and the best defense. Ground and pound with just the right amount of clutch passing by rookie QB Mark Sanchez. The Jets started the season 3-0, including a 16-9 win over the Patriots, and Big Rex was feeling it. Then Gang Green lost six of its next seven to fall to 4-6. The last loss was a 31-14 pounding at Gillette. The Jets lost to Atlanta in Week 15 to fall to 7-7 and Rex lamented that his promising team had been eliminated from playoff contention. Turns out the big guy was wrong. The Jets were still very much alive if they could win their last two games. Unfortunately their next game was against the unbeaten Colts. The Colts were toying with the Jets when their coach Jim Caldwell decided he didn't want to have an undefeated regular season and pulled his starters. The Colt backups handed the game to the Jets and Rex found himself in the playoffs in his first year as head coach. He was feeling pretty good about things.

He was feeling even better about things a few weeks later as the Jets advanced to the AFC title game and a rematch with Peyton Manning and the Colts. Rex and the Jets led 17-10 at half but -- in what would become a pattern for Ryan's teams -- they let a game they should have won slip away. No Super Bowl for Rex this time.

In year two Ryan made another Super Bowl guarantee and the team roared out to a 9-2 record and a Monday night showdown with the Patriots at Gillette. First place in the division on the line. The moment Mt. Ryan had been waiting for. Leading up to the game Rex, Sanchez, and the Jets were all talk. The Patriots' time was over. They were the new team to fear. They were gonna show the world. Final score: Patriots 45, Jets 3. One of the best regular season games I've been to.

The Jets lost three of their last five to finish 11-5. Good enough for a wildcard. The Jets knocked off the Colts in the first round and Big Rex and his brash boys came back to Gillette for a shot at redemption. This time the Jets were the better team and stunned the Pats -- and me -- 28-21. Rex had been head coach of the Jets for two seasons and was going to his second AFC title game. Impressive. A little lucky. But impressive. It was the peak of the Rex Ryan era in New York. The Jets fell behind the Steelers 24-0 in the title game and almost came all the way back to earn a ticket to the Super Bowl but fell short, 24-19. That must seem so long ago for Jets fans.

In year three of Big Rex things started to fall apart. The season started as usual, with the coach talking Super Bowl. The Jets won two to start. Lost three. Won three. Lost two. Won three more. Lost three more. What does that kind of inconsistency get you? No. Not fired. It gets you 8-8 and no playoff berth. Sanchez threw 18 picks and the ground and pound had turned to dust. The team lacked discipline and often beat itself. But Big Rex refused to accept that things were going bad and continued to talk the talk. It seemed that he was the only one who couldn't see that his team could no longer walk the walk. Dissension in the locker room began to bubble up, a sure sign that a collapse was near.

That brings us to last season, year four. The arrival of Skinny Rex and the end of any Super Bowl bravado. It was a collapse so glorious that only a Patriot fan (we know about collapses) could truly appreciate it. The Jets inked Sanchez to a big-bucks contract extension during the offseason even though it was clear he had lost all his confidence and most of his game. Then... the team signed Tim Tebow to be Sanchez's back-up and held a circus-like press conference to announce the move. Sanchez was done right then and there. The Jets finished 6-10, losing their last three games as the home crowd chanted for Tebow to play and for Rex to go. The NJY lost by scores of 27-10, 34-0, 30-9, 28-7, 49-19 (butt fumble), and concluded the whole mess by getting crushed by the equally bad Bills 28-9 in the season finale.

I have never seen a team play that bad in a coach's fourth year and not have it end with the coach being canned. Never. But this is the Jets. Sure, oddball owner Woody Johnson fired the GM. But he hired the new guy with the help of Skinny Rex. Woody loves Rex. It's sweet. But it's foolish. And that's how Rex looked in the post-game press conference after their preseason game against the Giants the other night. Foolish.

The assembled media rose to the occasion as only it can when there is a big, easy bone they can grab hold of. Ryan sent Sanchez on the field late in a preseason game and the quarterback's shoulder got hurt. Everyone wanted to know what Rex was thinking. Why put his valuable starting QB at risk in a meaningless game? It was a feeding frenzy. Skinny Rex choked. He mumbled stuff about competing and deciding and then went into an SNL comedy routine. Fat Rex would never have acted like that. He would have barked that he was trying to get the team ready for the regular season and that Sanchez plays when he tells him to play. He might have even questioned why all the writers, bloggers, and blabbers were talking about Sanchez as if he was suddenly the equal of Brady or Brees or Rodgers when they have been dumping on him for three years now. Instead of talking about competing he could have talked about a team and a quarterback that have a lot to prove, thus making no game meaningless and no guy above playing at any time.

That would have been fun. I miss Fat Rex. This is how I will remember him...

Practice practice practice

Tim Tebow takes a snap in practice... and Belichick didn't swallow his whistle. So far, so good.

There's a catch

Another NFL Draft has come and gone. Another 254 guys a step closer to a pro football career. Of those 254, only a dozen or so are a solid bet to make an impact in the league. The rest? Nobody really knows. Not even the geniuses of Sports Blab Radio.

The Pats had just five picks entering the draft but Belichick turned the team's first rounder into four more picks. Surprisingly -- or not, it is Belichick -- the Pats then used seven of those picks. Go figure.

The needs coming into the draft ... wide receiver, linebacker depth, defensive linemen, defensive backs. The Pats took two wide receivers, two linebackers, a defensive end, a safety, and a corner. Since the Patriots have one of the strongest rosters in the league it won't be easy for any of them to make an impact. But if any of them do, hopefully it will be the wide receivers.

Belichick took Aaron Dobson of Marshall in the second round and then added Josh Boyce of TCU in the fourth. Dobson is 6-3. Boyce is 6-0. Here's what NFL.com had to say about them. Dobson: "I like his size at 210 pounds. His production was good but not elite. I'll tell you what he is: He's raw, but he's got upside. He put on a show at his pro day." Boyce: "Would have gone higher if it wasn't for a foot injury this year. All of a sudden, New England's gotten bigger and physical on the edge. It's more toys for Tom Brady to play with."

Bigger and physical on the edge. That's exactly what the team needs. If Dobson or Boyce can play the Anquan Boldin role that would be a nice offensive toy indeed. And it's offensive toys that the Patriots really need. The perception is that it's the mediocre defense that has been standing in the way of the fourth Lombardi. That's only half true. The much-heralded offense has been just as responsible. Greg Bedard -- formerly of the Globe -- wrote an excellent column before the draft offering that wide receiver is what the team needs most. Bedard is one of the best football writers around and that's why he's headed to SI. No other writer breaks down the game like him. He watches so much film I've often wondered if he has a life. Bedard put the Pats' offensive need simply:

The constant theme in season-ending losses of late has been an inability to put enough points on the board. Dating to the Super Bowl loss to the Giants after the 2007 season, the Patriots have scored 14, 14, 14 (if you take out the garbage-time Deion Branch touchdown late vs. Jets), 17, and 13 points in playoff games that ended their seasons. Complain all you want about the defense, but 14.4 points per game is not good enough in today’s NFL. 

The Patriots have won just two playoff games when scoring fewer than 20 points: 17 vs. the Titans in ’03 and 16 vs. the Raiders in ’01, and the game has changed much since then. The Patriots averaged 20.0, 24.3, and 28.3 points in the three postseasons that ended in Super Bowl victories. The last six Super Bowl champions have averaged 31.0 (Ravens), 25.5 (Giants), 30.3 (Packers), 35.7 (Saints), 28.3 (Steelers), and 21.3 points (Giants). 

The Patriots need to become more dangerous on offense to win the biggest games. Will they roll up countless yards and points in the regular season? Of course, unless their health becomes a huge problem. Belichick, Josh McDaniels, and Tom Brady can pick apart a great majority of defenses. But in the biggest games and against the toughest defenses, they have been shut down. Repeatedly.

A look at the numbers in the Pats' playoff losses says it all. 14 ('07 vs. Giants), 14 ('09 vs. Ravens), 21 ('10 vs. Jets), 17 ('11 vs. Giants), 13 ('12 vs. Ravens). Going into those games it was hard to imagine the Pats' offense being held in check. But each time they were. Injuries to Welker in '09 and Gronk the last two years sure didn't help. Same with too many turnovers, drops, and missed wide open receivers wearing #83. But the biggest problem -- as Bedard says -- is that the offense that is like a fireworks display in the regular season turns into a mere sparkler in the playoffs. That has to change.

And to that end Belichick has -- once again -- remade the weapons around Brady. Out are Welker, Woody, Lloyd, Branch (again), and Stallworth (again). In are the two rookies, Danny Amendola, veterans Donald Jones, Michael Jenkins, and Leon Washington, along with running back LeGarrett Blount who the team picked up in a draft-day trade with Tampa.

Add those guys to the key to the whole thing -- tight ends Gronk, Hernandez, and Ballard -- and hopefully you have an offense that will have as much grit as flash.

That's what you need come playoff time.

More is better

I got in my car and turned on the radio just as the Pats were on the clock with the 29th pick in the first round of the draft last night. The guy on Sports Blab radio didn't sound happy. "The tweets are coming in fast and furious," he said. "People are not happy."

Then the phone calls started. "This is why the Pats don't win Super Bowls anymore," moaned one caller. "Belichick just doesn't know how to use the draft," offered another.

What had Belichick done, I wondered. Not another tight end? Please not another tight end.

Then the Sports Blab voice composed himself enough to recap what had happened. It turned out that Belichick had traded the priceless 29th pick to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the Vikings' second-round pick. And the Vikings' third-round pick. And their fourth-round pick. And their seventh-round pick.

Wait. What? The Patriots -- who the experts constantly reminded us were limited because they had only five picks in this draft -- had traded a late first rounder for four picks? So now the team had eight picks, with two in the second and two in the third. And the Twits were unhappy with that?

Sure, there were some good players available at 29. Safety Matt Elam was a guy I wanted. He went to the Ravens at 32. I would have been excited about wide receiver Justin Hunter who stands 6-4. But it's the NFL draft. Who knows what those guys will do? Nobody. Not even Mel Kiper.

The Patriots are not one player away from winning the Super Bowl. They already have the players they need to win it all. They've shown that the last two years. What they need more than anything is for those players to stay healthy and not make mistakes when it counts. A rookie safety won't change that.

But what the Patriots -- and every team -- needs is a handful of young potential. If you can turn one potential young talent into four potential young talents you have to do that. It's a no-brainer. I'm not even sure how Belichick got the Vikes to agree to it. More Jedi mind tricks from the hooded one. The Pats have the third youngest D in the league. Now Belichick can add to that. The players he gets in the next two days may not make in impact this year but they might in two, three, or five years. That's why the Pats are still one of the top teams in the league year after year. Belichick keeps one eye on the present and one eye on the future. It's what the best teams do.

Belichick obviously felt he wanted to have more picks ... thus getting more shots at the draft pinata. Like many things in life, when it comes to the NFL draft more is better.

New blood

OK... There'll be no more highlights of Wes Welker in a Patriots uniform making an amazing catch on 3rd-and-7 (How many of those did he have? Hundreds?) or him diving into the end zone or holding on to the ball after taking a bone-rattling hit or walking hand-in-hand with Tom Brady along Newbury Street. That will all be happening out west with Manning the elder. It's a little depressing. So I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at some highlights from the two newest Patriots... Danny Amendola and Leon Washington. Cheer up, Pats' fans.








Most of Washington's highlights are kick returns. But here's one that should really put you in a good mood. Keep your eye on #52 for Miami.

Business as usual

Are you surprised? Really? Bill Belichick decided to go in the other direction. What else is new? Lawyer. Deion. Asante. Vinatieri. Seymour. Add Wes Welker to the list. This one hurts most of all.

The Pats let Welker walk to the rival Broncos so he can continue catching 100 passes a year -- now from the arm of Peyton Manning. Belichick let him go for a mere $6 million a year for the next two years. A total of $12 million. A bargain price for one of the most reliable offensive weapons in the league and the guy Brady, rightfully so, calls the heart and soul of the offense.

We'll never know why Belichick soured on Welker. It couldn't be his game. The little guy was as tough as they come. I got to see Welker wobble to the sideline after getting clocked many times during his six years with the Pats. And every time he was back on the field in seconds, making the next big third-down catch. As a football fan, you just love to root for guys like Welker. And as a player, it was pretty clear you love to play with a guy like that, too.

But Belichick never lets love -- or any human emotion -- get in the way when making team decisions. And -- love it or hate it -- that is why the Patriots continue to be among the handful of teams with a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl year in and year out for over a decade now. He decides it's time to move on and he does. Unlike most guys, he has no trouble ending relationships.

It's just not a lot of fun for the fans. You enjoy rooting for a guy and then he's gone. I'm still bummed my favorite all-time Patriot, Willie McGinnest, spent his last two years with the Browns. But it's not unique to the Patriots or to football. Remember... Bobby Orr finished his career a Blackhawk, not a Bruin. But it's a drag just the same. But don't feel bad for Welker. He made $9 million last year. Another $12 million is coming his way. He's going to live in beautiful Colorado for a few years before he and his wife settle into the guest house at Tom and Gisele's place.

There will be lots (lots!) of talk in the Sports Blabosphere of how Belichick disrespected Welker. Nonsense. Welker made millions of dollars with the Patriots. Many, many millions. He got to play with one of the three or four best quarterbacks to ever play the game and learn from one of the three or four best coaches ever. He got to play in Super Bowls. Belichick did right by Welker when he pried him from the unsuspecting Dolphins six years ago. Welker did right by Belichick by playing his ass off every single down.

And that's the thing. I don't remember anyone predicting Wes Welker was going to be Wes Welker when the Pats signed him in '07. Sure, he was considered a pretty good slot receiver. But who could have predicted he and Brady would be soul mates? Who knew that Welker was capable of catching 100 or more passes in five seasons? No one. Not even Belichick. He took a chance and it sure paid off. Other times he takes a chance and it doesn't. Right, Ocho? The thing that makes Belichick different from most other GMs is that he's not afraid to take the chance. He won't always be right. Except for all the Sportsblab geniuses, who is always right? The Pats are never predictable and they are never boring. And -- at least for now -- they are always in the hunt. And that's all you can ask.

Now Danny Amendola gets his shot. Will he be one of the hits (Dillon, Vrabel, Moss, Welker)? Or one of the misses (Ocho, Haynesworth, every free agent defensive back)? Time will tell. The knock on him is that he's been injured a lot the last two seasons, missing 20 games. In 2011 he dislocated his elbow in Week 1, requiring season-ending surgery. (Welker blew out his knee in 2009. He just did it in the last week of the season so he didn't miss any games.) Amendola came back last year and was off to a solid start when he suffered a broken clavicle. Here's what Wikipedia says about that injury...

• On 6 October 2012, Amendola suffered a dislocated clavicle and had season-ending triceps surgery. In a rare case, instead of popping out, the clavicle popped in and came millimeters from puncturing his trachea and aorta, which could have killed him. Rams' medical staff called around the league for information but no teams had ever had players suffering a similar injury. Amendola was anesthetized before popping the clavicle back into place. Due to the unusual nature of the injury the Rams were not certain when Amendola would return, but he was able to recover after just three weeks and recorded 11 catches for 102 yards against the 49ers.

So Amendola almost dies and he's back in three weeks catching 11 passes against one of the nastiest defenses in the league. You can say he's had injuries, but you can't say he's not tough. He's younger than Welker, taller than Welker, and faster than Welker. At this point he's no Wes Welker. But neither was Welker when the Pats got him.

Do I think the Pats should have topped Denver's offer? Hell. I would have given Welker a 3-year, $21 million contract without a thought. Belichick, as usual, didn't ask me what I would do. He had other ideas. We'll see if he got this one right. Either way, it was a great six years rooting for Wes Welker.

Now it's time to root for Danny Amendola. He could be the next great story.

The best of Wes

Danny Amendola has some very big cleats to fill. Very big.

Forward thinking

There's still a lot of looking back going on regarding the Pats' disappointing loss to the Ravens. Not here. As coach says, we're moving on. And looking ahead. I'm already anticipating the draft in late April.

It looks like -- other than the usual need for a pass rusher and a cornerback -- that the Pats are in need of a big, fast wide receiver. A quick look at some mock drafts online shows there are a few that would fit the bill and could be around when the Pats are on the clock in the first round. There's DeAndre Hopkins of Clemson, Keenan Allen of Cal, or Terrance Williams of Baylor. Any of them would look good catching passes from Tom Brady.

Belichick hasn't stocked up on picks as usual. The team only has five going into the draft. A first, a second, a third, and then two in the seventh. You have to think he will be dealing some of those five to either add some picks in the middle rounds or load up for the 2014 draft. I would love to see Belichick deal Welker (sadly, I think it's the smart thing to do) and the Pats' first-rounder (29th) to the Lions for the fifth pick in the draft and either their third or fourth round pick. The Pats could then go get Bama cornerback Dee Milliner and grab a wideout in the second round. But trying to predict what Belichick will do in the draft is an exercise in lunacy unless you predict he will pick at least one tight end.

But it's not the players yet to come that make looking ahead fun for Pats' fans. It's all the guys currently on the roster. Even though the Pats are led by a future hall of famer in his final few years (sob), he is surrounded by one of the youngest rosters in the league. More than half the players on the team are 25 or younger. Especially on defense. Jones. Hightower. McCourty. Dennard. Spikes. Deaderick. Francis. Wilson. There's a lot of young talent there. Mixed with the veteran core of Big Vince, Mayo, Love, and Ninko and the defense should keep moving in the right direction. A little better coaching might help, too. The defense doesn't have to be great. That's the offense's job. The defense just has to be good. It hasn't quite reached that point yet. But it's getting there.

Two of the biggest complaints about the Pats after their loss to the Ravens were that they weren't big and tough enough and that they didn't have enough explosive plays. The solutions to those problems may already be on the roster.

The first issue -- not big and tough enough -- is solved every time Gronk steps on the field. He's due to be healthy come playoff time ... for a change. And if he is, he might be joined by Jake Ballard. Remember him? He's the tight end Belichick stole from the Giants before last season who has spent the year rehabbing from a knee injury. Another young, big, talented tight end. If Gronk and Ballard can stay healthy they will be a force catching passes and blocking everything in sight. And that will allow Hernandez to stop wasting his time blocking and play the slot. On defense the toughness level may have been raised with the acquisition of D lineman Armond Armstead from the Canadian Football League. The CFL you ask? Yes. The CFL. Scouts have reportedly said signing him is like getting a high first-round pick. We'll see.

As for big plays... Olympic track speedster Will Demps should be ready to make an impact. A complaint heard each week at the tailgate was "Why did we waste a roster spot for Shiancoe when we could have saved it for Demps down the stretch?" We'll soon find out if Demps can provide the big play on special teams the Pats have been missing.

We'll soon find out something else, too ... If the Pats can put another disappointing home playoff loss behind them and make another run at Lombardi #4.

2013 would look pretty good on one of those banners.

Down and out ... again

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP
Ravens 28, Patriots 13 (1/20/'13): Well, I didn't see that coming. I don't mean the Ravens winning and moving on to the Super Bowl. The Ravens are a very good team. I knew they could win. But I didn't think the Patriots would score just one touchdown. And no points in the second half. Zero. None. Zip.

Did anyone see that coming?

I have not turned on ESPN or the NFL Network since the game. And I won't for a while. Staying strictly with the NHL Network (thank you, league-run networks) and the Bruins. Perfect timing for the return of hockey. I'm also staying far away from Sportsblab Radio. I don't need to hear the post mortem and T-Sizzle gloating. Watching it in person was bad enough.

But I did see a few headlines online while trying to catch up on non-football news (Obama is president again! Cool.) saying the Patriots lost because they weren't tough enough. Really? That's it? Welker's not tough? Spikes? Hernandez? Solder and Vollmer? Brady? Vince? Jones? Mayo? Not tough enough? Come on. They lost because the offense picked a bad time -- yet again -- to have a bad game. At least that's how it looked to me. They carried the play in the first half but just couldn't get rolling. It was a weird game. Like their loss to the Jets in 2010. Those games happen to even the best teams. You just hope they don't happen in the playoffs.

The Pats -- without Gronk -- weren't good enough on Sunday. But not tough enough? I don't remember the Ravens looking that tough when they were losing four out of their last five games of the season. In fact, they didn't even look like a playoff team.  But they do now. And they could very well win that Super Bowl that many (including me) have been expecting them to win for about five years. The Ravens have gone to Denver and New England and won tough playoff games on the road. They have earned it.

The Patriots? They have lost a home playoff game for the third time in four years. That's a discouraging way to end what have been some great seasons. But let's not forget that there are almost no players left on this team from 2007, the greatest team ever. It's only been five years and the Pats have already rebuilt the team and been to a Super Bowl and hosted back-to-back AFC title games. They are really entering the final stage of the rebuilding now that they have very good running backs who should only get better and an improving (slowly) defense. These last two years the Pats should have been battling for a wild card spot. Instead they were battling for another title. No matter how disappointing the ending, the last few years have provided a lot of fun.

And that's really what it's all about. Fun. That feeling on a Wednesday in September. Or November. Or January. That feeling when the week is dragging when you look ahead to Sunday and the Pats. And that feeling on Monday after they win another big game. The Pats delivered more than their share of fun -- again -- this season. And it doesn't look like it's going to end any time soon.