CLOSED!! ? The Official 2006 Sports Thread ? CLOSED!!

Michael Felger's report card

To me, the Jets game was seemingly won (lost?) in the trenches, and Michael Felger confirmed it, giving the offensive line (D-) and the defensive line (F) the lowest grades. Brady had another bad game (D+), and Felger also seemed to confirm Richard Seymour's contention that the Patriots were out-coached (the coaches got a D). Only the running backs ( and receivers (B+) received even B-range grades.

 

That was a hard game to watch. Watching the Jets 'D' get to Brady so often was one thing, but watching the Jets offense steamroll over the Pats was worse IMO. The WR's picked apart our secondary and it almost looked like the LB's were half awake as they were constantly missing or dropping tackles. Neither team played an incredible game but the Pats never took advantage of their opportunities and that was huge for the Jets. Hopefully they do better against Green Bay next week.

 

Try sitting there...for 4 hours...soaking wet.

 

According to a report on the Patriots' web site, work was begun today on the installation of a synthetic grass surface at Gillette Stadium, and that they expect the new field to be ready in time for next Sunday's game against the Bears. League officials have previously said that there was a rule that teams could not switch surfaces in the middle of a season, but apparently that rule does not exist.

In a roster move yesterday, OL Billy Yates was placed on injured reserve with a broken leg.

In BC basketball news, the Eagles weren't just upset at Conte Forum last night by the Vermont Catamounts, they were dominated, as the last lead BC had was 7-5 in the early going. Vermont had several runs during the game, and ended up winning 77-63. The domination was so complete that the Eagles were even outrebounded 48-39, and the absence of backup center Sean Williams and forward Akida McLain (both serving suspensions for violating team rules) showed. The Eagles also missed 18 of 23 shots from behind the three-point arc as part of shooting only 30.2% from the floor. BC now has 10 days off before facing Providence at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

 

More roster moves for the Patriots...TE Garrett Mills was placed on IR today, and to fill the roster spots left by Mills and Yates, the Patriots signed QB Vinny Testaverde and OL Gene Mruczkowski. The signing of the 43 year old Testaverde, which comes as something of a surprise, gives the Patriots a veteran backup quarterback in the event Tom Brady gets hurt.

 

It was announced last night that the Red Sox have indeed won the posting rights to Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka for $51.1M. The Red Sox now have 30 days to negotiate a contract with him, but it won't be easy: D-Mat's agent is Scott "The Devil" Boras, and he's likely to want a contract of 3 or 4 years and between $10M and $14M per year.

 

This week's power rankings:

ESPN: #6
CBS SportsLine: #7
Fox Sports: #7
Sports Illustrated: #6
Football Outsiders: #9

The biggest drop after the Jets game came from Dr. Z @ SI, who docked the Patriots to #6 after ranking them #2 last week. The most lucid comment came from the ESPN.com NFL staff: "The Patriots seem to be making a mistake or two a game that they're just not good enough to overcome. Sunday's big one was Doug Gabriel's fumble deep in Jets territory. You can't fumble away chances to score points in the NFL."

 

An update on the professional winter sports teams:

The Bruins are currently 5-7-2=12 and are dead last in the Northeast Division, 19 points behind the Buffalo Sabres, who have the best point total in the NHL. Consistent goaltending has been a problem, though the Bruins seem to have settled on Tim Thomas as the #1 goalie, and Brian Finley is the backup after Hannu Toivonen was sent down to Providence. The Bruins also recently made a move to bolster the goaltending corps by acquiring Phillipe Sauve from the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Celtics are off to a 1-6 start, which is the worst start of a season for the Celtics since 1978...that's before the Larry Bird era if you're scoring at home.

Both teams seem to play decently for most of a game, but have that one period or quarter where everything falls apart. There has been early talk that Glenn "Doc" Rivers' days as Celtics head coach may be numbered if he doesn't get things turned around, and if that happens, look for Danny Ainge to come down from the front office to take the coaching reins.

 

This week's injury report:

Patriots

Out: S Rodney Harrison (shoulder), TE Garrett Mills (thigh)
Questionable: TE Daniel Graham (ankle), CB Ellis Hobbs (wrist), OG Stephen Neal (shoulder), CB Asante Samuel (knee), DE Richard Seymour (elbow), DE Ty Warren (shoulder), S Eugene Wilson (hamstring)
Probable: QB Tom Brady (right shoulder)

Of the players listed above, only Brady was not reported to have missed portions of team drills. As I posted earlier, Mills has been placed on the injured reserve list.

Packers

Out: WR Shaun Bodiford (leg), TE Tory Humphrey (hamstring), OT Mark Tauscher (groin)
Questionable: CB Will Blackmon (rib), DT Johnny Jolly (ankle), TE David Martin (shoulder/quadricep), RB Brandon Miree (elbow), DE Mike Montgomery (hamstring), RB Vernand Morency (back)
Probable: QB Brett Favre (ankle), RB Ahman Green (knee), CB Al Harris (illness), RB William Henderson (knee), DT Cullen Jenkins (ankle), WR Greg Jennings (ankle), CB Charles Woodson (knee)

Of the players listed above, only Jolly, Miree, and Morency were not reported to have missed portions of team drills. In addition, Bodiford and Humphrey have been placed on the injured reserve list, according to the Packers' web site.

Changes to the Patriots' injury report from the end of last week include the addition of Asante Samuel, and the removal of OL Russ Hochstein and RB Laurence Maroney.

 

Today's injury report changes:

The Patriots added TE David Thomas, who is now probable with a groin injury. He was reported to have missed portions of team practice.

The Packers reported that the following players missed portions of team practice today: OT Mark Tauscher (out, groin), CB Will Blackmon (questionable, rib), TE David Martin (questionable, shoulder/quadricep), CB Al Harris (probable, illness)

 

No changes to the injury report today for the Patriots.

The Packers have downgraded DT Cullen Jenkins (ankle) to questionable. Only he and OT Mark Tauscher (out, groin) were reported to have missed portions of team practice today.

 

A couple of baseball items...

Former Red Sox 3B Bill Mueller has announced his retirement to join the Los Angeles Dodgers' front office. Mueller, of course, had one of the most famous RBIs in Red Sox history, as he had the hit off Yankees closer Mariano Rivera in the 9th inning of Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS that brought in pinch runner Dave Roberts with the tying run, thereby starting the greatest comeback in baseball history. Mueller had been battling injuries in recent years, playing in only 32 games for the Dodgers this past season.

Peter Gammons is reporting that shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who played for the Red Sox this past season, has agreed to terms on a three-year, $14M contract with the Cincinatti Reds. The deal is pending a physical.

 

Boston College got 14 and 38 yard fumble returns for touchdowns from linebacker Jolonn Dunbar on the Maryland Terrapins' first two possessions of the game and never looked back for a 38-16 win. Matt Ryan contributed a 19/29 249 yard game with two touchdowns, and the defense scored their third touchdown on a DeJuan Tribble 46 yard interception return in the third quarter. The win, combined with a 27-6 win by Virginia Tech over Wake Forest, means that there is now a three-way tie between BC, Maryland, and Wake Forest for the lead in the ACC's Atlantic Division. Boston College will get into the ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville on December 2 with a win on Thanksgiving night at Miami and a Wake Forest loss this coming Saturday night at Maryland. The Atlantic Division winner will play Georgia Tech, the winner of the Coastal Division.

 

Could it have been the Gillette Stadium field all along? It seems that the Patriots can dominate on the road, the latest being today's 35-0 blowout win @ Lambeau Field, but fall apart at home. At least we'll be able to determine if it really was the field next week, b/c the FieldTurf should be down for the game against the Bears, and Brady will have good footing at home for the first time all year. Brady, BTW, was 20/31 for 244 yards and 4 TDs, the last number tying a career high, today, with the big play being a 54 yard TD strike to Reche Caldwell, the team's longest play from scrimmage this season.

 

Some Packers news in the aftermath of yesterday's game...Brett Favre is OK, but Aaron Rodgers, who took over for Favre in the second quarter, was playing with a broken foot and is now on IR. Weird.

 

Michael Felger's report card

The Packers game was a solid performance in Felger's eyes...low grade was a B to the O-line, and other than the O-line and the running backs' B+, the team got straight As. The secondary got an A+ for taking away the Packers' slant game early then adjusting well when they tried to go over the top.

 

Here's an item from today's locker room access before practice...hanging at Tom Brady's locker was a red #94 Ohio State football jersey. Mike Vrabel, a Buckeye alumnus, delivered the jersey to Brady, who graduated from Michigan, after winning a bet between the two on this past weekend's big Michigan-Ohio St. football game. Brady will have to wear the jersey sometime during the week as the loser of the bet. My guess is that Brady, being the class guy he is, will wear it during his week's most visible moment...his talk with the media before practice tomorrow. #94, BTW, was Vrabel's number in college.

 

Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau was announced as the American League's Most Valuable Player for 2006 today. Morneau received 15 of a possible 28 first-place votes and 320 points total. New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was the runner-up, receiving 12 first-place votes and 306 points. The Red Sox' David Ortiz was a distant third with 193 points. Manny Ramirez was the only other Red Sox player receiving votes, finishing with 6 points, well in back of the pack.

 

Power rankings:

ESPN: #5
CBS SportsLine: #5
Fox Sports: #6
Sports Illustrated: #6
Football Outsiders: #8

Quote from Pete Prisco: "You knew the Patriots wouldn't lose three games in a row. They're too good. This week against the Bears we'll find out how good."

 

This week's injury report:

Bears

Questionable: CB Dante Wesley (knee)
Probable: TE Desmond Clark (foot), RB Thomas Jones (groin)

Clark and Jones were reported to have missed practice.

In addition, CB Ricky Manning Jr. will serve a one-game suspension after pleading no contest to a felony assault charge in connection with an April incident at a restaurant near the UCLA campus.

Patriots

Out: S Rodney Harrison (shoulder)
Questionable: TE Daniel Graham (ankle), CB Ellis Hobbs (wrist), LB Corey Mays (hamstring), P Josh Miller (shoulder), CB Asante Samuel (knee), DB Chad Scott (groin), TE David Thomas (groin), S Eugene Wilson (hamstring)
Probable: QB Tom Brady (right shoulder), DL Richard Seymour (elbow)

Every player on the report with the exception of Brady and Seymour was reported to have missed at least a portion of team practice.

Mays, Miller, and Scott are the new additions this week. Thomas, who was probable last week, was downgraded to questionable. Seymour, who was questionable last week, was upgraded to probable.

In a roster move for the Patriots in light of Miller's injury, P Ken Walter was signed. CB Antwain Spann was released to make room on the roster for Walter.

 

Bad last couple of nights for BC athletics...the men's basketball team lost a tough one @ Providence Wednesday night, but the loss last night by the football team hurt even more, as they had a 14-3 lead with time running out in the first half, let up a Miami TD to pretty much close the first half, then couldn't get any offense going with Miami scoring one more TD in the second half for the 17-14 win. BC will have to settle for a minor bowl game again, as their chances of winning the ACC title evaporated with the loss.

 

The injury report on Patriots.com yesterday only listed two players as injured for the Bears: CB Dante Wesley (knee) and RB Thomas Jones (groin), both listed as probable. Both players were reported to have practiced yesterday (the Bears did not have Thanksgiving off).

 

The Patriots made a couple of changes to their injury report today and there's a roster move accompanying one of them. First, P Josh Miller (shoulder) will be out, and has been placed on injured reserve, meaning he's lost for the season. The recently re-signed Ken Walter will take over the punting duties, and will also be the holder on place kicks. Also, RB Kevin Faulk is now listed as questionable with the flu. Faulk was reported to have missed practice today.

An updated injury report from the Bears was not available at press time.

EDIT: The Bears will go into the game with no injuries, as CB Dante Wesley and RB Thomas Jones, both listed as probable on Thursday, were removed from Friday's injury report.

 

The Patriots made a roster move before today's game, activating RB Patrick Pass off of the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list. Pass' contributions are expected to come on special teams, though the move also gives the Patriots an additional third-down back in the event Kevin Faulk (questionable, flu) is unable to go today. The Patriots had until Tuesday to either activate Pass or place him on injured reserve.