Theres just something about old, grizzled, veteran teams making a final stand that I love more than anything. It’s the reason why the 2011-12 Celtics are one of my favorite teams of all-time despite the nightmarish end to that season. That old, veteran team spawned the greatest rallying cry for fans of old ass teams everywhere.
And just like that Celtics team, this year’s New England Patriots and Tom Brady specifically are like the last Spartan in 300. Just fighting until the last man. Now I wouldn’t exactly qualify Ryan Tannehill and the Titans as the Persians in this situation, but not all analogies are perfect so work with me.
I refuse to believe the wide receiver turned Dolphins quarterback in Ryan Tannehill unseats the Patriots. Then again he’s been playing absolutely lights out as was former Dolphins runningback Kenyan Drake who went from afterthought to fantasy juggernaut in Arizona. So maybe its the Dolphins who are garbage more so than the players we’ve dragged for years. And maybe Tannehill and Mike Vrabel do have what it takes to come into Foxborough to knock the Pats out in potentially Tom Brady’s last game as a Patriot.
But, the Titans better hope so because Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have heard this song before and here. they. come.
Back before the season started, a handful of The 300s staff made bold predictions about how this NFL season was going to shakedown. With the first round of the playoffs coming up, it’s time to check in and see how everyone is doing.
As a refresher for how the scoring works, in this round you get: 10 points for each correct playoff team, 5 points for correct seed, and 5 points for correct division winner. A perfect score would get you 220 points.
Mattes:
The Chiefs should be in that empty spot…oops
Just like everyone else, Mattes placed a little too much stock in the Browns and Jaguars. Although not everyone saw the Panthers making the playoffs, I doubt anyone thought they’d be as bad as they turned out this season. Although the Patriots are looking like anything but Super Bowl favorites at the moment, they were in a similar position last year. As we all know, the Patriots aren’t out of it until the clock strikes 0:00. Green Bay was able to sneak in for a first round bye, so although Mattes isn’t off to a perfect start, he’s still in good shape.
Total points: 90
Big Z:
Cowboys in the Super Bowl? YUCK!
Big Z may be the only person to pick against the Pats, but his bracket is full of red. Steelers in the AFC title game, Colts and Browns in the playoffs, Dem Boyz in the SUPER BOWL?! Yuck! The only thing Big Z has going for him at this point is his Super Bowl winner. Hey, at least he picked the 49ers in the playoffs.
Total points: 95
Joey Ballgame:
The Bengals? Really?
Joey Ballgame wins worst pick of the challenge. The Bengals? In the playoffs? Now, everyone in the world had a hard time picking the AFC, but that doesn’t mean a team led by Andy Dalton was going anywhere. Most people were riding high on the Browns, and Joey fell into that trap as well. Surprisingly, Joey is in pretty good shape here, with both of his SB teams and 3/4 championship teams still in it. He also picked the seeding right on 4 teams, which is better than anyone else.
Total Points: 115
Dom:
You know you messed up when you’re NFC title prediction happens in the Wild Card Round.
Just because I invented this new way to gamble doesn’t mean I’m any good at it. Red and I were the only guys to pick the Ravens in the playoffs, albeit losing to a team that’s getting a top 10 pick at next years draft. Just like Joey, I’m riding high on a Brady-Brees matchup in the Super Bowl, but since the Pats need to go through KC to get to the AFC title game and the Vikings play the Saints in the Wild Card, I’m going to have a hard time accumulating points.
Total Points: 100
Red:
Red is in surprisingly good shape here.
Last but not least, we have Red. Which is ironic, because his bracket has the least red of all. Red not only had the Ravens in the playoffs, but also was the only one to have the Seahawks in there. Even though the Eagles take on the Seahawks this weekend, Red still has a chance to get 6/8 Divisional Round teams and all 4 championship teams. However, it seems highly unlikely that the Eagles and Texans make it past the second round.
Total Points: 110
As you can see, these brackets are a huge challenge, especially in the NFL. Nobody had the Ravens or 49ers getting past the first round of the playoffs. The Browns, Jaguars and Cowboys were all major disappointments, and all of us homers were riding a little too high on the Patriots. Over the course of a season, anything can happen. I’ll be checking back next week with another update. LFG PATRIOTS!
I think to classify as a “random” shirt or jersey it has to be a guy that was elite for a short period of time, a cult hero in no way due to their actual athletic prowess ( I was *this* close to buying a Gabe Kapler Yomiuri Giants jersey in 2005), a player that was only on a team for a hot minute (I’ve seen two John Lynch Patriots jerseys in Allston over the years), or a jersey that is so obscure that it should not realistically belong to you.
I am an unabashed jersey guy so I have a closet full of obscure pieces beyond just the Boston teams. The Priest Holmes jersey I bought in a Connecticut Marshalls in 2007, Byron Dafoe, Antoine Walker (shirt and jersey), Tim Tebow Patriots shirt, Sergei Samsonov shirt, banana yellow Marcus Mariota Oregon jersey, JR Redmond Patriots jersey, Pedro Mets shirt, a literal blank Athletics jersey, the list goes on and on.
Ya know, now that I think about it, this $12 purchase at the downtown Minneapolis Marshalls may have to take the cake.
So I pose the question, whats the most random sports shirt or jersey you own?
Week 5 has come and gone along with Redskins HC Jay Gruden. To be honest, I’m surprised it took this long. The Redskins have been trash for a while now. After winning the division with a 9-7 record back in 2015, they sit at 22-30-1 over the last 3+ seasons and haven’t finished better than 3rd in the NFC East since 2015. Gruden’s firing was even less shocking following the release of this video:
Ha. The ol’ “I’m about to get fired, guess I’ll rip joints and cheat on my wife in public now.” Classic. Way to go, Jay.
Gruden garbage aside, I had the (dis)pleasure of attending this weeks Patriots-Redskins game at FedEx Field. From the moment I first hopped on the metro in Arlington, Virginia, this felt like a home game. Patriots fans were everywhere, and it only felt more packed with nautical blue the closer I got to the stadium. The walk up felt pretty similar to walking to Gillette, considering all the Brady jerseys walking down one long road.
I typically tailgate with my buddies at the Seasonal about a mile from Gillette, so I don’t really know what the actual stadium tailgates are like. That having been said, I was not impressed with the Redskins parking lot scene. There were plenty of Skins fans grilling, but there was a ton of empty space in the lots and barely any sense of the pregame atmosphere that makes tailgating fun. However, there was this guy:
The stadium itself felt like a relic; an ancient gridiron from the days of the leatherheads. Turns out, the place was built in… 1997! I couldn’t believe it. For only 22 years old, I couldn’t believe how worn the place felt. The entrance was also confusing, and didn’t make clear where you were supposed to go until you had already gone in the wrong direction. There were huge beams obstructing views all throughout the 200s, completely blocking off any view of the sky as well as entire 15 yard chunks of field.
That kind of thing is permissible at Fenway because it was built over 100 years ago, before stadium planning and design was a thing. But to build something at the end of the 90’s when your team itself is 60+ years old is downright embarrassing. Although I suppose that’s what happens when you’re owned by Dan Snyder and your team name is the R-words.
If you do decide to go to a Redskins game at FedEx Field, wait until the absolute last minute to buy your tickets. My buddy and I literally bought our tickets as we were walking into the stadium from the tailgate, and paid $120 for seats at the 35 yard line.
Granted, our original seats were obstructed, but there were enough empty seats that we could move around and find a few empty seats here and there. We could’ve bought tickets in the 100’s at the corner of each end-zone for a similar price, or in the 300’s for $70-80. If you buy more than a week out, you’re looking at $180 minimum for seats way up in the 400s. At the end of the day, I would probably go back, but I wouldn’t spend more than $100 and I’d avoid the 200’s unless it’s in the first 10 rows.
After serving his 4 game PED suspension, the Patriots opted not to activate Ben Watson before their game against the Washington R-Words this past week so that was odd. The Pats then had until 4 pm Monday to activate Watson or he would become a free agent and they opted to not activate him. Granted the Pats did pull Watson out of retirement to join the team so maybe he’s just not ready to go? This team is so thin at Tight End though I can’t imagine they wouldn’t welcome a 14-year veteran at a position of need.
Some people are speculating this could be the end, but Watson sure doesn’t sound like a guy thats ready to walk away.
The God of victory is also God in failure. I gave my all, but it was not enough to earn a spot on the @Patriots roster. I’m beyond disappointed but even more upset for my family who has supported me with all the love a husband and father could ask for.They are my heroes. Rom 8:28
#Patriots TE Ben Watson, who was not activated today by New England meaning his tenure is over, does want to keep playing, I’m told. So retirement gets pushed off against as he looks for a new home.
By cutting Watson though the Pats save nearly $2 million in cap space so I think this means they have got to be in on a trade. Why else make the move? You’ve got three weeks until the trade deadline on Oct. 29th and the Pats were really close up against the cap already. They’ve been rumored to be in on everyone from Emmanuel Sanders (going on 6 years now) to Stefon Diggs, Trent Williams, Tyler Eifert, and even guys like AJ Green. I don’t have my calculator out, but I believe Sanders and Eifert are the only ones they could fit without having to restructure contracts so those are the only two I’m seriously looking at.
Welp, Ben Watson we hardly knew ye. Its truly the end of an era at the Tight End position in Foxborough.
With Ben Watson released, Thursday night against the Giants will be the first #Patriots game without him or Rob Gronkowski employed by the team since Super Bowl 38 (February 1, 2004)
So news broke earlier today that the Patriots were working out free agent kickers, which as Mike Reiss pointed out, the Pats do this ever year at a number of positions just to cover their asses.
The Patriots are working out some free-agent kickers today, which is consistent with their due-diligence approach at all positions to keep emergency lists updated. Veteran Stephen Gostkowski has missed four P.A.T.s this year, which adds a layer of context to the kicker workouts.
Well it turns out it wasn’t just a ploy to bring in some competition for Gostkowski, it was a legitimate injury concern as the Pats just placed their kicker on IR. As bad as Gostkowski has been this year with 4 missed PATs, I’m not any more excited for a street free agent to now be handling kicking duties.
This also raises the question is this it for Gostkowski in a Patriots uniform? The team put him on IR, which means technically they could bring him back later this year, but you only get two of those a season and the Pats already have some key guys on IR:
Isaiah Wynn
James Devlin
N’Keal Harry
So are you really going to bring back a kicker over your (alleged) franchise LT or your first round Wide Receiver? Nope. Gostkowski has one year left on his deal, but at 35 years old with a cap hit of 5.4M next year, this could be it for him if it is any type of significant injury.
I woke up today, as you all did, to yet another news story of Antonio Brown being an absolute moron and allegedly intimidating an accuser of his.
Accuser says Antonio Brown sent ‘intimidating’ texts; NFL reportedly responds quickly, setting up a call between league investigators and the woman’s attorneys. https://t.co/Bwo5WI1waD
The craziest part is that the Patriots seem to be digging their heels in on the matter. Its one thing to bring in a guy who just seemed to be a mercurial diva wide receiver and then get caught with your pants down regarding the civil case, as they reportedly did. Its another matter to have him allegedly intimidating his own accusers while on the Patriots active roster. Everybody knows the Patriots are better than The Cleaners in John Wick when it comes to cleaning up a mess and putting a player on the straight and narrow.
But most of those players in question were just diva a-hole football players. Antonio Brown seems to be at best a child who’s never been told no and a scumbag at worst. Most of these things are still just allegations so no one is legally required to do anything, but Bill Belichick in particular seems to be losing his touch with the media. For the second time Bill got visibly frustrated and walked out of a press conference when peppered with Antonio Brown questions.
Belichick walks off, not willing to delve more into the Antonio Brown story than he did in his opening remarks #Patriotspic.twitter.com/ZM2eOVi1hT
I didn’t expect Belichick to actually talk about AB’s legal situation, but I never expected him to noticeably get his back up and storm off the podium like he’s done now twice.
Why then is the team willing to put up with all the bullshit?
Former Patriot turned sports talk radio host Ted Johnson as well as MMQB reporter Bert Breer have both theorized that Belichick is putting up with whatever he has to with AB because he knows Brown can help him chase the won thing thats always alluded him; 19-0.
Its only Week 3 so 19-0 is fun to talk about and its easy to turn a blind eye for most Patriots fans, but these stories are piling up at an alarming rate for a team that didn’t have a dire need for Brown. If the Pats are 1-1 its probably a lot easier for Bill to just say fuck it and cut bait, but is he holding onto Brown for an all out attempt at going undefeated? I don’t know, but I do know its getting harder to defend the silence from the team.
I was never going to defend the move *or* AB because he clearly is out to lunch, but how long will the team, and Robert Kraft specifically, take heat on behalf of an employee who hasn’t even been around long enough to play a home game yet?
LOVE IT! Give me all the trick plays. Tulane pulled the old fake kneel out of their playbook in a tie game with 18 seconds to go. Naturally they immediately followed this up with a 60 yard hail mary TD to win the game in walkoff fashion.
I am an absolute schill for trick plays. I still remember the fake spike Brady connected with Randy Moss on for on a TD against the Washington R-Words in 2007.
Or what about the Ravens pulling out the fake punt direct snap running play against the goddamn Dolphins?
I’ll never forget the double pass the Patriots pulled off against the Ravens in the playoffs in 2014 with Edelman launching a bomb to Danny Amendola for a TD.
Hell in that same game the Patriots were confusing the shit out of the Ravens with their ineligible/eligible lineman formations. So much so that the league immediately changed the rule to prevent this.
Give me all the trick plays, hook and ladders, reverses, you name it; if you have some trickery in your playbook dump em out.
I completely forgot the Patriots also ran this fake kneel play in the Falcons Super Bowl trying to pop a walk off TD at the end of regulation.
When they finally started including trick plays in Madden is when things got real fun. I would bust out a HB toss to a downfield pass at least 5 times a game because if you connect on even one it would cause your buddy to spike his PS4 clicker. Not to mention the fake punt pass play, its just too bad every punter not named Adam Vinatieri has a worse arm than Johnny Damon.
TLDR; major props to Tulane for busting out a ridiculous fake play to help them steal a win. Need more of that in sports.
So yesterday news broke that Tom Brady was on the Patriots injury report after being limited at practice with a calf injury. I’m not too worried because this is the same guy that was on the Patriots injury report every week for approximately a decade with a shoulder. However, in case anything tragic does transpire, we’ve got Phil Mickelson and his JACKED calves on standby.
I’m on standby for a flight to Boston. Let’s not let inadequate calves hold us back. 😎 https://t.co/MQ6IkVNOBo
Our Inside source confirms with that the Patriots will be wearing their 90s royal blue jerseys vs the Cowboys on November 24th. First time they will wear those jerseys in 20 years. pic.twitter.com/lxxzlSmQ7Y
YESSS. I’ve been campaigning for the Patriots to break out these bad boys for yearsss. The red throwbacks and these beauties are the only thing I will wear when playing Madden. They’re just so awesomely bad and a perfect time capsule of the 90s with the garish two-toned blue and the oversized logos on the sleeves. Now granted this is still just a rumor that seems to have taken on a life of its own after a non-blue check marked account tweeted it out. So lets all take it with a gigantic grain of salt, but theres also this.
FWIW, the Cowboys are already confirmed to be wearing their color rush uniforms for this game, which are based on Dallas’ 90s alternate jersey #Patriotshttps://t.co/pdWEVEqMCd
So I pose the question, whats the most random sports shirt or jersey you own?
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