Patriots 2006 Season Discussion

Feel free to continue discussing the playoffs in the 2005 season thread, but I'm starting the 2006 season thread now for news affecting that season.

First item is that the NFL posted the skeleton schedules today. Here's what's facing the Patriots, other than the obvious division opponents:

Home: Houston, Indianapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Denver
Road: Jacksonville, Tennessee, Green Bay, Minnesota, Cincinatti

First thing that strikes me looking at this lineup is that the 2006 schedule will be considerably easier than 2005 because of the presence of Houston, Detroit, Tennessee, and Green Bay, all of whom failed to win even 6 games in 2005, and Minnesota, who will likely be still adjusting to a new coach when the Patriots face them.

Second is the very likely possibility of a Bears/Pats Super Bowl rematch. If the Patriots win the Super Bowl in that case, that game could very well be the Thursday night opener.

 

The Patriots could be playing the 2006 season with their second new defensive coordinator in as many years. The current "hot rumor" is that Eric Mangini is the top choice to take over the Jets' head coaching job. Mangini will be formally interviewed in Foxboro for the Jets' vacancy on Sunday.

 

And, indeed, Mangini has agreed to a deal to become HC of the NYJ. A replacement for Mangini as Patriots defensive coordinator could be found in as little as a couple of weeks.

 

It may not even take that long. According to Mike Reiss over at Boston.com it appears the Pats are ready to name Don Pees the new DC of the NEP.

 

That would be current linebackers coach Dean Pees, DW.

 

I forgot to post this yesterday, but John Tomase's article in the Herald gives an overview of what's in store for the Patriots heading into the offseason. It touched on Mangini's possible departure (which we now know actually happened), and the key players to watch going into free agency, including Richard Seymour, Adam Vinatieri, and David Givens.

 

HC, DC, NYJ, NEP... . All of these abbreviations are making me dizzy!

Anyway, good luck to Mangini in New York, he's gonna need all of the luck he can get.

As for the possible departures, I think that if anyone on the list is going to leave it will be Seymour. After the holdout that he went on before signing this contract I wouldn't be surprized if he left for greener ($$$) pastures. Not sure about Givens but I think that Vinatieri is at a point in his career where he's just going to stay put and retire a Patriot. After all, the man is a GOD around these parts. Why leave that behind for something petty like money?

 

Seymour is not a UFA yet. He still has one year left on his rookie contract. He will be back next year, the question is how long will he hold out looking for a new deal?

I think Vinatieri will be around next year. My bet is if the Pats can't work out a deal with him, they'll "franchise" him like they did this past year.

Givens I think is gone, which will be too bad. I like his makeup. He's alot bigger and stronger than the other Pats receivers, but some team out there is going to offer him #1 receiver money and the Pats don't pay like that. They'll probably replace him with a #2 receiver in the FA market as well as draft someone with a mid-round pick.

Another potential loss could be OL Stephen Neal. That I think would actually be a bigger loss than Givens. Even with Dante's ability to plug any healthy body into the line, Neal was a diamond in the rough and has turned into a pretty reliable pass & run blocker.

 

Well, it took them a year to do it, but the Patriots have finally named an Offensive Coordinator to replace Charlie Weis. They promoted 29-year-old quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels to offensive coordinator Friday, making him the youngest coordinator in the NFL. He's been with the team since 2001.

 

McDaniels called most of the offensive plays in 2005, anyway, so his promotion to offensive coordinator was considered to be only a matter of time.

 

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=123784

First, Rodney Harrison said his rehab is "on schedule" and he's aiming for a return in the 2006 season, although not necessarily for the start of training camp. Second, he said he'd love to see Ty Law return (or someone of Law's caliber acquired).

Also, in a report on WEEI, Tom Brady's injury was described as either a groin injury or a sports hernia, not a shoulder problem as was speculated when it was announced that Brady had withdrawn from the Pro Bowl roster.

 

FYI: Four years ago tonight this happened...

"Allright, set to go: snap, ball down, kick is up... it is on the way... and it... is... GOOD!!! IT'S GOOD!! IT'S GOOD!! ADAM VINATIERI HAS NAILED A FORTY...EIGHT YARD FIELD GOAL, AND THE GAME IS OVER!! AND THE PATRIOTS ARE SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS!!!!

[image=http://www.houstonprofootball.com/chair/images/PICTURE_chair22.gif]

 

A report in yesterday's Herald stated that Tom Brady has a sports hernia, the same condition that sidelined the Eagles' Donovan McNabb in the second half of this past season, and will undergo surgery to repair it soon. Brady should be ready to begin his offseason program in about 6 weeks after he has the surgery.

 

Sorry...I will leave you in peace.

 

It appears that the Alderaan_Viceroy has returned.

Nice sock tool!!!

Same tool... same team...same technique.....try again somewhere else

 

What did I miss?

Jeez, I'm gone for one day and everything goes all icky-balookey.

 

Jedi Jack Bauer originally posted that he is glad it wasn't the Patriots this year in the Superbowl.

And I saw the signature saying Dolphins Superbowl XLI Champions.

So I remember the Alderaan_Viceroy from a few years back and his spouting and trying to start trouble.

So I concluded this is one of his socks, if I am wrong I apologize but his original post was in my opinion just trying to start trouble.

He sent me a pm saying
" I changed my post. Sorry for the trouble. I won't bother you again"

I replied to his PM just saying what I suspected and that it wasn't a good way to make a first impression.

 

I hope this picture appears I saw it over on the NFL thread.

[image=http://content.ytmnd.com/content/8/3/83a41de986f2311a4a683c55611bc4bc.jpg]

 

That gif is pretty funny.

 

Thanks for the update Chris.

BTW, nice pic I saw another good one today. It was a picture of Roethlisberger "scoring" that TD and the ref raising his hands was wearing a black & yellow striped jersey.

 

There have been some others out there. I saw one that had Vader in Steelers colors. Something simliar to the Bengal Trooper that attends Cincy games. It was a photoshop picture though, which was sorta a disappointment because I would think that if someone has done a Stormie with team colors one would do Vader or someone else.

 

The Pats made their first roster move of the offseason yesterday, re-signing linebacker/safety Don Davis to a one year deal worth $770K.

Also yesterday, the sports book at the Mirage in Las Vegas posted their opening futures odds for the 2007 Super Bowl. Indy was installed as a 4:1 favorite, the Pats and Seahawks are co-second choices at 5:1, and the Steelers are 6:1 to repeat.

 

Unbelievable.

Colts should be 2-1 odds for choking again in the playoffs and 3-1 odds that Manning blames everyone on his team except himself.

 

With Monday night games moving to ESPN this season, the network today announced the broadcast crew. It will be a three-man booth, with Mike Tirico doing the play-by-play, and Joe Theisman and Tony Kornheiser as the color analysts. Suzy Kolber and Michelle Tafoya will be the sideline reporters.

 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2002795845_nfl10.html

NBC's crew for Sunday Night Football is starting to take shape. With John Madden already under contract as color analyst, it was announced that he will be reunited with Al Michaels, who will, of course, provide play-by-play. To get Michaels out of his contract with ABC and ESPN, NBC shipped Disney, the parent company of ABC and ESPN, the rights to "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit", a creation of Walt Disney in the 1920s before he came up with Mickey Mouse. As part of the deal, ESPN also gets cable rights to Friday coverage of the next four Ryder Cup golf matches through 2014, increased usage of Olympic highlights through 2012, and expanded highlight rights to other NBC sports properties (such as NASCAR and Arena Football) through 2011. In turn, NBC got expanded highlight rights to events broadcast on ABC and ESPN.