Not What Your Used To: A New England Patriots Franchise

[Jmaczemon]

Week 5 Recap



Patriots Win Easily, Improve to 3-0

The Patriots running game finally came alive, lead by BenJarvus Green Ellis's 71yards.

Foxborough, MA-- The Patriots finally played a complete game on both sides of the ball. Despite Tom Brady's 51% completion rate the Patriots came out on top 30-13 against the Buffalo Bills Sunday largly in part because of the running game. Lead by BenJarvus Green-Ellis's 71 yards the Patriots held the ball for seven more minuetes then then Bills. The Patriots were also aided by rookie HB Jonathan Dwyer's 65 yard performance.

It was a long day for Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick who on the day threw 3 interceptions, the first of which to rookie CB Devin McCourty on the first play of the day for the Bills. The Patriots would take advantage and score off a Jonathan Dwyer 2 yard touchdown run to put themselves up 7-0 early.

Bills HB Marshawn Lynch breaks through a number of tackles on his way to a 71 yard TD, the Bills only of the game.

Buffalo would respond, on what would be their only TD of the day, HB Marshawn Lynch would break through a pile of tackles and finish the play off 71 yards later for a Bills score. It seemed after this point it would be a long day for the Patriots run D, but besides Lynch's first quarter run the Patriots only allowed 62 yards total on the ground.

Patriots rookie TE Aaron Hernandez runs past a few would be defenders on his way to a 63 yard TD pass

The 2nd quarter would prove to be a good one for the Patriots, as they outscored the Bills 17-3. The Patriots would start off the 2nd quarter with a 6 yard BenJarvus Green-Ellis TD run, this after Ryan Fitzpatrick threw his second interception of the day, this one to CB Jonathan Wilhite. The teams would trade field goals late, making the score 17-10 Patriots. But with 8 seconds left in the half Tom Brady would hit TE Aaron Hernandez over the middle of the field, Hernandez would score 63 yards later with 8 seconds left in the half, and the Patriots up 24-10

The Patriots D would hold strong in the second half, holding the Bills to only a FG, while adding two of their own. The Patriots D was lead by Jerod Mayo and Jermaine Cunningham, both lead the team with 8 tackles. Brandon Spikes however was the games MVP today, Spikes amassed 6 tackles along with 1 sack, and an interception late in the game, with Buffalo in the redzone.

Photo Gallery

Tom Brady had a okay game, completing 17 of his 33 pass attempts for 259 yards and a TD.

Rookie CB Devin McCourty intercepts the first pass of his career, this was one of three by the Pats D.

NFL Scoreboard - Buffalo Bills (1-1) at New England Patriots (2-0)

September 26, 2010 1 2 3 4 F Buffalo Bills 7 3 3 0 13 New England Patriots 7 17 3 3 30 Top Performers Buffalo Bills - Stats Marshawn Lynch 7 carries 85 yards 1 TD Donte Whitner 9 tackles New England Patriots - Stats Aaron Hernandez 5 catches 113 yards TD Brandon Spikes 6 tackles 1 sack 1 INT

Team Stats Comparison BUF NE First Downs 7 18 3rd Down Efficiency 3-11 27% 8-16 50% 4th Down Efficiency 1-1 100% 2-3 66% Total Yards 344 534 Passing Yards 115 259 Rushing Yards 133 134 Penalties-Penalty Yards 1-10 3-51 Turnovers 3 1 Time of Possession 16:22 23:38

Buffalo Bills Passing C/ATT YDS TD INT Ryan Fitzpatrick 9/20 130 0 3 Rushing ATT YDS AVG TD Marshawn Lynch 7 85 12.1 1 Fred Jackson 15 39 2.6 0 Receiving REC YDS AVG TD Steve Johnson 2 56 28.0 0 Lee Evans 2 30 15.0 0 Shawn Nelson 2 24 12.0 0 Defense TKL SACK INT TD Donte Whitner 9 0 0 0 Kyle Williams 7 0 0 0 Paul Posluszny 7 0 0 0 Andra Davis 6 0 0 0 George Wilson 4 0 0 0 Keith Ellison 3 0 0 0 Kick Returning NO. YDS TD LONG Fred Jackson 2 49 0 25 Kicking FGM/A XPM/A PTS LONG Ryan Lindell 2/3 1/1 7 46 Punting NO. YDS AVG IN 20 Brian Moorman 2 66 33.0 1 New England Patriots Passing C/ATT YDS TD INT Tom Brady 17/33 259 1 0 Rushing ATT YDS AVG TD BenJarvus Green-Ellis 17 71 4.1 1 Jonathan Dwyer 17 65 3.8 1 Receiving REC YDS AVG TD Aaron Hernandez 5 113 22.6 1 Wes Welker 5 59 11.8 0 Brandon Tate 3 39 13.0 0 Defense TKL SACK INT TD Jerod Mayo 7 0 0 0 Jermaine Cunningham 7 0 0 0 Brandon Spikes 6 1 1 0 Pat Chung 4 0 0 0 Devin McCourty 3 0 1 0 Jonathan Wilhite 1 1 1 0 Kick Returning NO. YDS TD LONG Brandon Tate 4 119 0 47 Punt Returning NO. YDS TD LONG Julian Edleman 1 22 0 22 Kicking FGM/A XPM/A PTS LONG Stephen Gostkowski 3/4 3/3 12 51 Punting NO. YDS AVG IN 20 Zoltan Mesko 1 47 47.0 1

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[Jmaczemon]

Going to re-tweak the sliders a bit, add that accuracy point back to my QB, and also add one to WR catching. Take one BRK away from CPU running, and add 2 RBK.

Also I apologize for some errors in the last box score.

*Brandon Tate had one KR for a TD...not 34.....
*Jim Leonard's name was spelled incorrectly.

[Assassin]

Looks good man. Nice layout and nice start to the season. Keep it up.

[Jmaczemon]

Wow....I just played the most exciting game of Madden I have ever played .

Can you say 6 lead changes in the 4th quarter? To bad I have to go to work . Hopefully I'll get to the pre-game and post game write ups today around 8 EST.

[Jmaczemon]

Week 4 Preview

The Patriots seemed to finally put up a complete game against the Bills, Tom Brady played okay, the running game showed up finally. And take away Marshawn Lynch's long TD run and they played a near perfect game on D, but the Miami Dolphins are a much better team than the Bills, and the Pats have traditionally struggled in Miami, only time will tell if New England improves to 4-0

Key Match-ups:

• Tom Brady vs Miami, Florida.

Something about Sun Life stadium really messes up Tom Brady's game, over his career Brady is only 2-5 in Miami with the two wins coming on a 80 yard TD pass in Overtime, and the other when the Patriots were undefeated, and the Dolphins had yet to earn a win. It's pretty simple, if Brady can play well the Patriots will win, if not it's going to be a long day for Patriots fans.

• Patriots D vs The Wildcat

When Miami unleashed the Wildcat on the Patriots in 2008 it was the talk of the town, since it's importance has dwindled but if the Patriots don't play well against it, it will hurt their chances to win significantly.

• Brandon Marshall vs Devin McCourty

The Patriots pass D has shown up two weeks in a row, after stinking it up for the first two and Devin McCourty has been a huge part of it. The rookie intercepted the first pass of his carrer last week, but will have to bring his A game against Marshall if he wants a repeat performance. Marshall has tore up the Patriots secondary in his two career games against the Pats, the Pats hope they can figure out a way to slow down Miami's all-star WR.

Injury Report

New England
-Tom Brady-Shoulder (probable)
-Rob Gronkowski-Hamstring (probable)
-Nick Kazur-Back (3 weeks) *PUP*
-Mike Brown-Broken Collarbone (7 weeks)
-Brandon McGowan-Abdominal tear (IR)
-Ty Warren-Fractured Hip (IR)
-Leigh Bodden-Torn Rotator Cuff/Abdominal tear (IR)

Miami

-Phillip Merling (IR)
-Will Allen (IR)
-A.J. Edds (IR)





Prediction:

Miami-27
Patriots-16

Tom Brady has been struggling thus far this season, something that doesn't bode well for him going into Miami, a place he has struggled. Something tells me he continues to struggle, and combined with a huge game from Brandon Marshall....Miami wins this game.

[Jmaczemon]

Week 4 Recap



SAY WHAAAA!?!?!?! Patriots Win Thriller in Miami!

Wes Welker celebrates after his game winning 46 yard TD catch.

Miami, Florida--In perhaps the most entertaining game of the last decade, the Patriots yet again pulled a win out their you know what's in Miami, in a

BenJarvus Green-Ellis would turn in his second straight solid performance, this time on 8 carries for 7.6 yards.

game that would see 4 lead changes....in the last 3 minuets. The game was very much so a defensive battle between Miami and New England up until the start of the 4th quarter, in where both teams combined to score a total of 34 points! After only 23 had been scored in the first 3 quarters. New England has a flare for the dramatic this season...and that's an understatement!, But now to the game review.

The first quarter would see no points, as both teams struggled to move the ball on the other. New England would seem to get something going, only to see it fizzle before hitting FG range, the one time the Patriots did get in position, K Stehpen Gostkowski would shank a kick wide right on a 51 yard FG attempt. The second quarter would see New England pull ahead, with a heavy dose of BenJarvus Green-Ellis, the Patriots would drive down the field and score on a Danny Woodhead 6 yard TD run. New England would add a pair of Stephen Gostkowski 44 yard FG's, with a Patrick Cobbs 3 yard TD run squeezed in between. The Patriots would go into half time with a comfortable 13-7 lead. The great defensive play would continue into the 3rd quarter, as the only points scored were on a Dan Carpenter 22 yard FG. But how times would change, in what seemed destined to be a defensive battle till' the end would change for the best.

The Patriots would go into the 4th quarter with a 13-10 lead, but driving.

Brandon Tate strolls into the endzone, after putting his team up 20-10.

On the opening play of the 4th quarter Tom Brady would play fake to HB Jonathan Dwyer, then continue to hit WR Brandon Tate on a 27 yard TD pass.

After New England had been running the ball heavily on the drive, Brady would take advantage of the aggressive Miami D and pull his team ahead by 10, for a 20-10 lead. Miami would add a FG soon there after to make it a one possession game. It seemed as if the game would stay that way, but on a 3rd and 18 yard play from their own 34 yard line, Miami QB Chad Henne would hit WR Brandon Marshall deep for a 47 yard gain, putting Miami into

K, Stephen Gostkowski celebrates after his 46 yard FG put his team up by 3 with less than 3 mineutes left.

scoring position. Two plays later Patrick Cobbs would run in for his second TD, this one a 10 yarder to tie the game up at 20 with only 2:42 remaining in the game, to much time for the Patriots. New England would get into field goal position within two plays, and seemed destined to run the clock out and win the game, but the drive would fizzle and the Patriots would be forced to settle for a Stephen Gostkowski 41 yard field goal to put his team up by 3 with only 1:11 left to play.

And here starts the most exciting 1:11 seconds in any football game for a

Chad Henne celebrates after his go ahead 80 yard TD pass, with 39 seconds remaining!

long time. The Dolphins would start their drive on their own 20 yard line, and would see 3 straight incompletions to start their drive putting them in a daunting 4th and 10 situation....it was the game for Miami. But Miami would come through, and in a BIG way, QB Chad Henne would throw up a deep one, and it would be caught by rookie WR Marlon Moore, who would break a tackle from Patriots CB Kyle Aarington and take it to the house for an 80 yard TD! This put the Dolphins up 27-23 with only 37 seconds and put Miami in great position to win the game, and hand the Patriots their first defeat of the season....but the Patriots....they had other ideas. New England would start off the drive at their own.

New England would start the drive out well with two straight completions,

Three Miami defenders look on in disbleif after Wes Welker's game winning TD catch.

one to Wes Welker for 17 yards, and the next to Justin Gage for 13 yards. This would put New England in a 1st and 10 situation with 22 seconds left on the Miami 47. The Patriots would go for the win on the first play, but the pass would be broken up in the endzone by CB Vonte Davis, the Pass when in and out of WR Justin Gage's hand's...and was the WR's 3rd drop of the game. Two incompletions later, the Patriots would also see themselves in a do or die 4th and 10 situation. Tom Brady would throw the ball into the endzone, where 3 New England WR's and 5 Miami DB's would lay. And somehow in all the craziness of things the smallest man of them all would come up with the ball. Wes Welker would seal the game, catching a 47 yard TD pass with 0:00 on the clock, propelling the Pats to a 4-0 record going into their bye week, and sending the Dolphins into the locker room scratching their heads.

The Play



Other Pictures


Marlon Moore runs into the endzone on his 80 yard TD catch

Moore spiking the ball after his catch.

NFL Scoreboard - New England Patriots (3-0) at Miami Dolphins (2-1)

October 4, 2010 1 2 3 4 F New England Patriots 0 13 0 17 30 Miami Dolphins 0 7 3 17 27 Top Performers New England Patriots - Stats Tom Brady 18-37 269 yards 2 TD's Jerod Mayo 6 tackles 1 sack Miami Dolphins - Stats Brandon Marshall 6 catches 128 yards Cameron Wake 5 tackles 1 sack

Team Stats Comparison NE MIA First Downs 16 14 3rd Down Efficiency 4-14 28% 4-13 30% 4th Down Efficiency 1-1 100% 1-1 100% Total Yards 550 489 Passing Yards 256 324 Rushing Yards 133 79 Penalties-Penalty Yards 1-15 0-0 Turnovers 0 0 Time of Possession 19:04 20:56

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[Jmaczemon]

Oh boy, was that one hell of a game, sorry about the lack of stats in the box score but it was just to time consuming for my likes. This is what the layout is going to look like for the remainder of the season. I'll do a look around the league kind of thing week 8, and a team stats thing as well but besides that there will only be pre and post game reviews.

I really want to get into the offseason and start putting my twist on this team

Sliders were tweaked again as well. I made throwing the ball easier for me and running for them easier.I also made running a bit harder, because I was basically getting 6 yards every time this game, and I need it to be a tad bit harder lol.

[Jmaczemon]

Week Five Preview




After yet another thrilling win by the Patriots come off their bye week against the 4-1 Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens trounced the Pats in the Wildcard round of last years playoffs, and that defeat is surely on both teams minds. Both teams have improved since last season, but the Ravens will be without all-world safety Ed Reed who is out with a bum knee. One has to think the Patriots luck will run out soon, will the Ravens be the ones to do it?

Key Match-ups:

• Tom Brady vs An Ed Reedless Baltimore Secondary

The Ravens will be without Ed Reed for the 5th straight game to open the season, Reed has been out since the preseason with a bum knee and the Baltimore secondary has seen the worst of it. The Ravens come into the game as the 27th ranked pass D, and will be facing a struggling Tom Brady. Brady will likley have to carry the team to victory as Baltimore is also the 7th ranked team against the run.

• Devin McCourty, Darius Butler, and Jonathan Wilhite vs Anquan Boldin, TJ Houshmanzada, and Donte Stollworth.

The Patriots young secondary has played very good so far this season. Despite starting the youngest secondary in the NFL the Patriots come into the game ranked 13th against the pass. This against such receivers as Chad Ochocinco, Terrel Owens, Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes, Lee Evans, and Brandon Marshall...not exactly your run of the mill group of wide outs. The Pats will see their biggest test this week against the Ravens however, and if the Patriots secondary can hold their own they have a very good chance of winning this game.
When Miami unleashed the Wildcat on the Patriots in 2008 it was the talk of the town, since it's importance has dwindled but if the Patriots don't play well against it, it will hurt their chances to win significantly.

• Recent Memory vs. The Patriots Minds

The Patriots are facing the same Baltimore Ravens team who thrashed them in the wildcard round of last year's playoffs 33-14. Though the Pats are much improved so are the Ravens, and if the Patriots have on thing going for them into this game it's a chip on their shoulder. If the Pats come out on fire it will be tough for Baltimore to stop them, and end their 4 game winning streak.

Injury Report

New England
-Tom Brady-Shoulder (probable)
-Nick Kazur-Back (1 week) *PUP*
-Mike Brown-Broken Collarbone (5 weeks)
-Brandon McGowan-Abdominal tear (IR)
-Ty Warren-Fractured Hip (IR)
-Leigh Bodden-Torn Rotator Cuff/Abdominal tear (IR)

Baltimore

-Ed Reed-Knee (Out)-Cory Redding-Elbow (IR)
-Sergio Kindle-Broken jaw (IR)
-Domonique Foxworth-ACL (IR)





Prediction:

Baltimore-24
Patriots-21

The Patriots luck has to run out eventually...right? Despite a valiant effort from Tom Brady the Patriots fail to improve to 5-0 in a close game. The combination of the Baltimore passing game, and a heavy dose of Ray Rice will prove to be to much for the young New England defense, as New England will drop to 4-1 with the loss.