2010 PATRIOTS CLINCH IT ALL

The Patriots are ending the decade as they began it, by winning nearly every game, and are poised for the Super Bowl again. The team won the AFC East yesterday, their 8th in the past 10 seasons! They made playoffs nearly every year, although they missed out in 2008 despite being 11-5. Anyhow, this season seemed average early on, after getting smacked by the lowly Browns. But they team won every game since, walloping all opponents, while playing the toughest schedule in the NFL. They recently defeated the Jets, Steelers and Packers, all playoff teams it appears. They dropped the Bills 34-3 yesterday, scoring just above their average of 32.0 points per game! Brady has thrown 24 TD'S with no interceptions in the past 10 games! He broke an NFL record for most pass attempts without a pick, and he has now thrown 319 straight passes without a pick! The team has sewn up a bye and home field advantage throughout, which means a great deal as the team has won 26 straight regular season home games in a row! Why is the team so good once again despite a tough schedule and big injuries(Warren, Faulk, Bodden, Gostkowski, Wright, etc)? Here are some reasons:

• Brady has a league best 34 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions.
• Two of the best TE in the league are on the Pats, and both are rookies, Hernandez and Gronkowski.
• The OL has been stout, and getting Mankins back late in the season was vital.
• The play of the young and talented secondary, Chung, Arrington and possible Defensive Rookie of the Year McCourty.
• The running tandem of Woodhead and Green-Ellis.
• The return of Branch.
• The return of Welker.
• Ridding themselves of Moss.
• The DL play of Wilfork and Warren.
• The team has only 9 turnovers, and will break an NFL all-time record for least turnovers in a season!

The team hosts the Dolphins in Week 17, then has a bye and will wait for their next opponent, most likely the Jets but it could be the Ravens, Colts or Jags. Go Pats!

Switching gears to the Celtics and Bruins. The green team lost to Orlando by collapsing in the 4th quarter, and with that their 14 game win streak came to an end. The team is still amazing, as their 25-5 record shows. The team is still without Rondo and Perkins, but their return is on the horizon. The Bruins have struggled a bit. Julien is on the hot seat, especially after losing 3-0 to Anaheim last week. The team rebounded with a win versus Atlanta, and sit in 2nd place(18-11) in the Northeast. They travel for the next 5 games starting with the Panthers. If they win tonight, which they should, they would tie MTL for first place. The team continue to ride the best goalie this season, Tim Thomas.