The Pats, playing once again in horrific conditions, won again. They went undefeated in the month(is that really a surprise? aren't they 23-2 or something similar, in December) by beating the Bills 13-0. Wind gusting at 50-60 mph alongside flurries that were so severe the goalposts were knocked down and/or crooked throughout the game as each team missed easy field goals and the Pats went 0-1 on PAT's! Bottom line was the team was dominant as Cassell, a mere 6-8 78 yards, had to do little as the D played well and the offense rushed for 168 yards, 85 from Morris and 64 from Jordan.
Once the work was done the team had to sit and hope the Ravens lose to the Jags or even better and more likely, the Jets beat the phins' for the Pats to get in. Neither happened. Favre threw 3 picks(he leads the NFL after all) and the Jets blew a 17-14 lead in falling by 7. The Jags got smoked, by the way. So that is that. The team finished in a tie but lost out, becoming the first 11-5 team to not make the playoffs.
Surprisingly, I'm not mad, neither are the players. They were amazing. They have nobody to blame for missing out but themselves. The team blew some close games, including a tough one at Indy by 3 points and worse an OT loss vs. the Jets in Foxboro. Certainly, the late drop by Gaffney at Indy and the inability to stop the Jets on a 3rd and 15 deep in NY territory stand out. Looking at the glass half-full, the team is out but gets a well needed break to recoup. A franchise record 14 players went on IR, most notably starters like Tank Williams, Laurence Maroney, Rodney Harrison, Tom Brady, Terrence Wheatly, Tedy Bruschi and Adalius Thomas amongst others. Warren and Seymour missed time too, as did others like Morris. The team finished with 11 victories, putting them up there with the best of the NFL and a better record than most of the other playoff teams. The team scored the most points in the division and gave up the least. But that's how things go. Also on the bright side, hey, the Pats won't have to face the Chargers and the Steelers! Now is not the time to reflect back. Maybe sometime in the off-season. The main topic will be free agents and players nearing that position. But the return of healthy Brady and the decision on what to do with Cassell(hours after the season ended rumors flew on huge deals for him, upwards of 10 million per over the long term, same goes for some of the staff, not the same money though of course). For now, it's bittersweet. I'm cool though.
I need to leave some space here for our other clubs! They are both in 1st place. After the Past were eliminated, I quickly turned my attention to the Bruins and Celtics that night, both whom won. It made and makes things easier. The Celtics sit at..........get this, 28-4! The Bruins sit at..........27-5! I've been doing this blog for several years now. If you read back, at one point less that 2 years ago the Celts were in the midst of a long losing streak, like 20 games or so. The Bruins were out of the playoff picture around the mid-way point. How things can change!
Okay, so let's start with the green. Read this: The Celts lost 2 straight games. It happened over a 28 hour window. Previously, they lost 2 in the first 28 games, spanning over an estimated 1500 hours! Anyhow, the team opened the week with a 110-91 win over the 76ers. The victory was their 19th straight, breaking a franchise record and giving the team the best start in league history at 27-2! The streak came to an end vs. the LAA on x-mas day. But the game was gross and unjust. It was 6-5 basketball for the Lakers all game, the 6th man being the refs, not the crowd. Every call went against the green. They were gross, blatant and horrible. Even so, the game was tied with less than 5 minutes to go! The last minute went in the Lakers favor as they blew it open and lost by 9. The team was tired and disappointed as they entered a game at the Warriors the next night. The Celts still crushed the Warriors for most of the game, leading huge at half. But all of a sudden, the team lost their steam and the Warriors outscored the green 34-17 in the final frame and lost. In the meantime, the Magic(24-7), Hawks(20-10) and Cavs(26-4) continued to win and narrowed the gap. The division is till easily in tact though. Is the 2 losses a bump in the road or a peak at things to come. Only a moron would go with the latter, as the C's proved against the Kings 2 night s later in Sacramento. The team lead by 50 points an eventually won 108-63........that's a 45 point win for those counting at home! The team takes on the Blazers in a few hours, and hope to win to salvage, and even, the 4 game road trip. Then they come home. Go Celtics!
Oh, and how about those Bruins! I stuck with them through thick and thin(sorry for the cliche') and now it's paying off more than last season did when they were excellent and took the Habs' to the full seven. The team is 13-1 since Thanksgiving! They have won 8 straight games, the most since 9 straight in 1983! They have scored the most goals in the league and have given up the least! That's domination. The team continued a roadie with a win in New Jersey 2-0. Thomas got the shut-out. The team then went to Carolina and won that game too, 4-2. The great week came to a conclusion with a 2-1 win over Atlanta. Fernandez got the win in that one. Hate to point out individual players, especially with everyone playing well during the streak, but Wheeler and Ryder stood out with scoring and both goalies did their part. They're both playing tremendous hockey. The team has a big lead, as you'll see from below this paragraph. The team is still without many players, most notably Bergeron, Ward, Sturm and Ference. Bergeron is out indefinitely with the concussion. Sturm will need more time than the other 2, as both defensmen are due back in the near futute. The team has 4 players with a plus/minus of at least +22. Simply eye popping #'s there. The team hopes to continue forward this week, a week that will include a home/home series vs. the Penguins and then a game vs. Buffalo. Go Bruins!
In other news, the Red Sox signed catcher Josh Bard and pitcher Brad Penny to 1 year deals. The BC Eagles football club has a bowl game tomorrow on New Year's Eve and the basketball club sits at 11-2 with a game vs. UNC this weekend.
AFC EAST FINAL STANDINGS
- DOLPHINS 11-5
- PATRIOTS 11-5
- JETS 9-7
- BILLS 7-9
ATLANTIC
- CELTICS 28-4
- NETS 15-16 12.5
- 76ERS 12-18 15
- RAPTORS 12-19 15.5
- KNICKS 11-18 15.5
NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE
- BRUINS 58
- CAPITALS 49
- RANGERS 49
- HABS' 46
- FLYERS 45
- DEVILS 43
- PENS 42
- SABRES 39
- CANES' 39
- PANTHERS 37
- LEAFS 34
- SENS' 29
- LIGHTNING 29
- THRASHERS 28
- ISLES' 26
No comments:
Post a Comment