WEEK SIXTEEN VS. BUFFALO BILLS W 34-3

hey kids-

let’s hear it for the patriots! not much snow fell in the game against the buffalo bills, but lots of confetti did in the locker room afterward. our pats clinched the AFC west and secured a first-round bye in the playoffs with their 13th win of the season.  i can’t believe how far our team has come in the last 16 weeks, and after watching (and often sharing!) those midseason growing pains, i couldn’t be more proud. hurray patriots!

tommy threw for just 140 yards this week, but he had three touchdown passes and no picks, breaking bernie kosar’s all-time record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception. interestingly, when kosar set the record, he was also coached by belichick – who demurred he’s been very lucky to work with smart players who take good care of the ball. i suspect both players would argue they were lucky to work with a smart coach who took good care of their games. as we approach the post-season, bill has tommy and the boys running like a well-oiled machine. isn’t it an awesome sight?

a string of injuries and a flu-gone-wild left our d a bit short-handed sunday– so much so that one of our starting lineman had just signed with the team the previous wednesday. still, this patchwork ensemble again held our opponent to one score and forced seven turnovers against the bills.  two of those – one interception, one fumble – came at the hands of rookie linebacker dane fletcher, and for that he gets the tommy of the week. dane is the third rookie to take home the coveted award this season, and it’s all the more impressive considering i didn’t even know he was on our team. oh, whatever – you didn’t either. congrats, dane – nice to meet ya! 

wes wound up on a few dud-of-the-week lists after dropping a couple of passes, but he’s still this week’s recipient of the i heart wes welker.  he hasn’t been quite on his game the last few weeks, but i heart him for better or for butterfingers. besides, it looks like he may be taking lessons from dan connolly!

we play the final game of the regular season at home against the dolphins on sunday – and it should be fun to watch. with nothing on the line except pride, i’ll be raising my glass to our patriots – repeatedly! feel free to clink me!

here’s wishing everyone all the best in 2011. happy new year – and go patriots!

love dav

WEEK FIFTEEN VS. GREEN BAY PACKERS W 31-27

hey kids-

well, the patriots managed to squeak out a victory over the green bay packers, thanks to a whole lot of getting lucky by pretty much everyone involved. i’d been wondering if one more loss before the playoffs might do the team some good, and i’m hopeful this dodged bullet will have the same effect – though we still play miami and the bills, and division matchups always give us a run for our money.

it was an average day at the office for our fearless quarterback, who had his seventh straight game with at least two touchdowns and no interceptions. tommy also set the single season record for most consecutive passes without a pick, but he got very lucky with several green bay drops– including one by charles woodson. woodson will probably complain about it for the next nine years, since he’s still raging about the tuck rule thing from that raider game in 2001. here’s our quarterback demonstrating the intentional forward movement of his arm for his former michigan teammate, just to clear up any confusion. oops – sorry charlie! hope the glare from the super bowl ring didn’t blind you!

it’s surprisingly how many offensive lineman have won the totw – and more surprising that it’s never been for an on-the-field play. matt light got one two years ago for grabbing channing crowder by the dreads and beating the living hell out of him, and dan connolly’s punt return sunday night was almost as fun to watch. connolly scooped up the ball, cradled it in his arms like a little baby, and lumbered his 316 pounds 71 yards down the field, leaving a trail of bewildered packers in his wake. it was a lucky break for our patriots– and a hilariously funny one, too. here’s dan, mid-lumber, in case you missed it. way to, uh, hustle, sort of, connolly!

in i heart wes welker news, wes looks just as unhappy about being molested in this picture as i was when i saw it. i don’t think this qualifies as getting lucky – but second base isn’t too shabby considering he was in the middle of a game.

we play the bills in buffalo on sunday, which makes me smile. the first patriots game i ever attended was in buffalo on a very snowy, freezing mid-december day. a little cider, a lot of snow, and a pats victory (fingers crossed) sound like the perfect way to wrap up a holiday weekend. hope santa’s listening!

sending warm and happy holiday wishes your way. merry christmas- and go pats!

love dav

WEEK FOURTEEN @ CHICAGO BEARS 36-7

hey kids-

i don’t know why i’m not feeling the tommy this week, especially since sunday delivered three of my favorite things in one fell swoop: the patriots (#1) in a blow out victory (#2) in the snow (#3)!!! really, what more could a girl want?

it was a veritable winter wonderland in chicago, and i was happy to see it was snowy somewhere – even if i didn’t get to play in it. our fearless quarterback appeared to have a blast in it, though, and continued to play like it’s dallas-or-bust, throwing for a season-high 369 yards. with wes, deion, and woody all coming in under 5’9, opposing teams have been complaining it’s hard to spot our tiny team on the field, but the bears can blame this loss on camouflage! we blend right into the snow in our away unis. funnily enough, tommy didn’t seem to have any trouble locating our receivers at all.

for the second week in a row, our defense held our opponents to just one score – which is crazy, considering they’re statistically one of the worst defenses in the league. not only did they manage to put up just as many points as the bears’ offense did, but they also recovered two fumbles and pulled down two more interceptions. even so, deion branch caught eight of the 10 passes thrown his way, including a 59-yard touchdown reception at the end of the first half. apparently, tommy pulled a nuke laloosh, shaking off the sideline call to take a knee and instead lobbing the ball downfield into deoin’s waiting arms. branch racked up a career-high 151 yards to earn his very first tommy of the week, and in keeping with tradition, he celebrated with a happy dance. watch out boys- i’m trying this move next week!  

there’s something about this picture that makes wes look like a superhero. faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than a locomotive, and able to leap tall bears in a single bound! or...maybe that’s just the i-heart-wes-welker talking.

we play green bay on sunday night, which means i’ll have a whole entire day of climbing the walls, watching crappy day games, and being annoyed that we don’t play til late – or maybe just that i’ll already be tipsy by the time the game starts. either way, it means you’ll have a few extra hours in which to sneak in a few extra happy patriots thoughts. don’t let me down!

have a great week! go patriots!

love dav

WEEK THIRTEEN VS. NEW YORK JETS W 45-3

hey kids-

unless you’ve been living beneath a rock, you probably heard that the patriots completely dismantled the jets on monday night. if you were listening closely, you may have even heard echoes of my giddy laughter reverberating through the fog, although you probably missed the happy dance that accompanied them (unless you were really lucky!).

for the second week in a row, our fearless quarterback threw four touchdown passes – and he broke brett favre’s home-game-win streak in resounding fashion with this rout of the jets. tommy’s been absolutely on fire lately, and clearly, i wasn’t the only one doing a happy dance!

i thought it would take a complete effort to stop the jets, and apparently, our coach agreed. every single patriot showed up on monday night, right down to rookie punter zoltan mesko, who threw an amazing block and shoved a punt-returning jet out of bounds before he got any ideas. still, the award is called the tommy of the week, and it’s going to tom brady again this week. tommy also earned his second consecutive AFC offensive player of the week and whispers of “mvp” got a little louder...but it was the totw that really got him excited.

tommy was all over wes this week, and i’ll admit it made me a little bit jealous – although i am really excited they’ve resumed their bromance now the novelty of branch has worn off. wes was sweet about it though, and it looks like he let tommy down easy. sorry dude – you’re a handsome guy, but dav totally hearts me!

some of  the jets called this the biggest regular season game of their careers, but as it turns out, it wasn’t even be the biggest regular season game of the week for our patriots. we face the 9-3 bears in chicago on sunday, and hopefully our pick-happy secondary is ready to show jay cutler how it feels like to play a team with a winning record. think happy four-touchdowns-for-us, four-interceptions-for-them thoughts- or happy patriots thoughts, if that’s easier to remember.

have a great week, and go pats!

love dav

WEEK TWELVE VS. DETROIT LIONS W 45-24

hey kids-

 

hurray for thanksgiving! hurray for patriots blowouts! hurray for getting slizzered – and learning the word slizzered! and hip, hip, hurray for awesome casino bars in biloxi full of patriots fans decked out in game day gear – including yours truly, decked out in patriots beads expressly from new orleans.

 

the pats started thanksgiving morning a little unsteadily (as did i!), and the lions took a surprising lead into the locker room. luckily, games have two halves, and the pats came out to score five touchdowns in two quarters – saving thanksgiving for patriots fans everywhere, but in biloxi particularly. our patriots certainly seem to be hitting their stride, and as you can see here, so is our tommy brady. looks like he finally decided to face forward and start leading that team of his. 

 

 

it’s hard to believe we’ve gotten all the way to week twelve without our fearless quarterback winning his namesake award once. i think he may have been a little disgruntled about that, because he put on a performance that demanded this week’s tommy, throwing for 341 yards and four touchdowns and earning a perfect quarterback rating for the second time in his career. i’m not exactly sure what he’s been doing to get that tongue of his back in shape, but i am pretty sure i’m not the only girl telling him to keep on doing it.

 

 

wes caught two touchdown passes in this blowout bonanza, and there were plenty of pictures of him diving into the end zone...but sometimes i just like to look at his pretty blue eyes and reflect upon how much i heart him. look. reflect. heart.

 

 

we play the stupidfreaking jets on monday night and it’s been so overhyped, even i’m sick of it already. while the jets do have the same record we have (9-2), only one player this season has earned a perfect quarterback rating, and his name isn’t sanchez. it’ll take another complete effort by the boys to win this one, but they’ve been making winning look completely effortless lately, and i like our odds. still – let’s not leave it to chance. think extra happy patriots thoughts- and have a great week!

 

love dav

WEEK ELEVEN VS. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS W 31-28

oh my god we beat the colts!!!!!!

it was a live one this week, kids, and as always, the annual pats-colts matchup lived up to the hype. it came down to the wire, but for the second week in a row, our patriots put together a full 60 minutes of football and looked like the 8-2 team they are.

also for the second week in a row, our fearless quarterback looked like, well, a fearless quarterback. tommy went 19 for 25, with two touchdowns, earning a victory that tied him with favre for the most consecutive at-home wins. in spite of missed practices and rumors of an injured foot, he’s definitely back in fighting form. in fact, tommy was so laser sharp, even i could have caught this pass. put me in, coach!

this week’s tommy was a tough decision. every single player stepped up, fighting for extra yards, tipping passes, and making big plays when it counted. i almost gave it to james sanders for intercepting manning on what was most likely a game-tying drive, but three players intercepted ol’ peyton, and they can’t all get it. so, while our defense gets honorable mention, the tommy of the week is awarded to danny woodhead. the wes welker of running backs, he’s been workin’ his small stature for some big plays lately – and while he did score a touchdown, it was the block he threw on special teams that clinched it. congrats woody – take a bow!

spiking the ball in triumph is our team’s new signature move, and as you can see, wes took his turn this week. i’m not sure if he’s excited about fighting his way into the end zone or if he’s just super happy there’s finally someone on the team smaller than he is. either way – i totally heart him!

short week this week, as the pat give us all a reason to be thankful with a game against detroit thanksgiving morning. i’ll probably reserve the tommy for early next week, partly to save you from withdrawal, since it’ll be a full 11 days til our monday night showdown with the jets, and partly because i’m flying to new orleans tomorrow and will most likely be drunk (and earning beads!) for the next five days. just kidding, dad!

have an awesome thanksgiving, and eat some turkey for me. go patriots!

love dav

WEEK TEN @ PITTSBURGH STEELERS W 39-26

wooo hooo! it may have been painful, but i told you that embarrassment by the cleveland browns would turn out to be a good thing. the patriots finally showed up this week, beating the pittsburgh steelers in convincing fashion and reminding us all that it’s much more fun to be the ass-whoopers than the ass-whoopees...unless you’re in to that sort of thing.

our fearless quarterback looked like his tom-terrific self again, throwing three touchdown passes and then sneaking one into the end zone for good measure. tommy was particularly fired up during this game, and a feisty sideline screaming tantrum was only the beginning. after the sneak, he graciously thanked the pittsburgh crowd for their support and then spiked the ball in triumph, exhibiting the leadership, competitiveness and general roguish charm we know and love – and have missed so dearly. you might be a little too excited there tommy – but i am glad to see winning still turns you on.

i wish i could take some of the performances from last night and save them for one of those games when no one steps up – although i’m hoping those games are now behind us. benjarvus green-ellis continued to prove himself a reliable workhorse, and our defense sacked BIG ben five times, but rob gronkowski is the obvious winner of this week’s tommy. after several mistakes last sunday, he rebounded to become the first patriot rookie to have three touchdown receptions in one game, one-upping aaron hernandez and his two grabs against the browns. that’s 5TD receptions by our rookie tight ends in two weeks – and back-to-back rookie totw award-winners. here’s hopin’ the future looks as good as these boys do.

in i heart wes welker news, i do. but there’s no reason to make a whole big thing out of it or anything.

colts this weekend – and i’ll be inconsolable if we lose to stupid peyton manning and his super-annoying team of dome-pansies. think extra-happy patriots thoughts, or be prepared to come buy shots. have a great week – and GO PATS!!

love dav

WEEK NINE @ CLEVELAND BROWNS L 34-14

well kids,

 

the patriots got spanked by the cleveland browns, and boy oh boy, did they ever deserve it. hopefully this will be the wake-up call we needed to realize we can’t rely on the other team to suck worse than we do every week.

 

our quarterback looked downright pathetic and had only himself to blame. maybe there’s some weird funk that comes on right after you turn 33, because tommy looks like he’s as out of sorts as i’ve been lately. here he is, in a position with which i’m very familiar, pondering just how it happened that he got bested by a rookie. i feel your pain, tommy.

 

 

speaking of rookies, aaron hernandez continues to shine, and he had several spectacular catches that made tommy’s stats look better than they actually were. he also became the first rookie since 1983 to have two touchdown receptions in one game, which definitely merits a tommy of the week. congrats, aaron! i almost wish wes hadn’t shaved after all.

 

 

wes actually gave me yet another reason to heart him this week, kicking a field goal in the place of injured stephen gostokowski, it certainly wasn’t pretty, but it went through the posts, and that’s all that matters. after watching his passing skills in practice last year, i vote we put him in for tommy if things don’t get better soon- although wes of the week doesn’t really have the same ring to it.

 

 

we’re in for a tough stretch over the next month, starting with pittsburgh this week. let’s hope the boys salvage some of that patriots pride and pull out a couple of actually hard-earned victories- although i’ll be happy enough if ryan clark doesn’t kill wes welker or anybody else. those steelers are scary! think happy patriots thoughts, and have a great week.

 

love dav

WEEK EIGHT VS. MINNESOTA VIKINGS W 28-18

hey kids-

 

i’m totally not feeling it this week, and i’m a little worried my patriots dissociative disorder is back. at 6-1, the pats have the best record in the nfl, and i should definitely be happier about that than i am. i’m not sure if this team really isn’t very much fun to watch or if i’m just not having very much fun watching them – cast your vote on the blog! – but it feels like we’re too terrible for such a good record. something just isn’t clicking this season. 

 

this week’s game was a case in point. the vikings dominated the clock for much of the game, and while the patriots presented a fairly balanced offense that was refreshing to see, our defense looked very much like the #25 defense they are. to make matters worse, tommy had yet another mediocre showing, and i know i swore i’d never take a game in which he played for granted, but this is getting old.  this shot of him cheering on benjarvus green-ellis (who totally rocked!) from the background is both endearing and disturbingly accurate. c’mon tommy – get in focus!

 

 

there were a few highlights this week, and the performance of brandon tate was most definitely one of them. with randy’s departure, tate was given the chance to become tommy’s new deep threat – and he grabbed it, literally. not only did he pull down the longest reception of the season, but he also made a spectacular catch that should’ve been picked but bounced off the defender. tate bobbled it for several seconds before securing both the ball and this week’s tommy of the week. here he is, mid-bobble, showing randy moss how it’s done. hurray, brandon tate!

 

 

there was, however, one highlight that was more notable this week: wes shaved! after my threated fling with our new tight end, wes abandoned his mountain-man beard, reminding me why i heart him. in turn, i’m reminding you why i heart him. look at that face! 

 

 

we’re visiting cleveland and our old friend ben watson this sunday. hopefully, seeing ben won’t be the highlight of next week’s game. think happy patriots thoughts – and happy dav thoughts, too, if you want a more entertaining tommy next week.

 

go pats!

 

love dav

WEEK SEVEN @ SAN DIEGO CHARGERS W 23-20

boooooooo!  sadly i’m not practicing for halloween, this is just the least happy i’ve ever been with the patriots after they’ve won. after a game like this, how we got to 5-1 is beyond my comprehension.

 

it’s always tough playing in san diego...just ask the chargers! the bolts had a bad day, turning over the ball four times, but the patriots just couldn’t generate any offense. our defense didn’t fare much better, and only the chargers themselves stopped their fourth quarter comeback with another penalty. our fearless quarterback nosed a ton of passes and never really got into rhythm, and not even his beloved branch could help. i know you’re reunited and it feels so good, tommy, but maybe you should turn around and start leading that team of yours.

 

 

i’m tempted to give this week’s tommy to the chargers, since they’re mostly responsible for our victory. stephen gostkowski also deserves it for nailing all three field goal attempts, but i can’t give it to the kicker every week. instead, for the first time ever, the tommy of the week is co-awarded – to james sanders and rob ninkovich. i can’t say either exemplified the leadership, competitiveness or general roguish charm of tom brady – but then again, neither did tom brady. however, both guys recovered live balls the chargers left for dead, returning them for valuable yardage on which our offense failed to convert. it’s kind of sad when simply knowing the rules earns a tommy, but there it is. congrats, guys!

 

 

i still heart wes welker, but even he couldn’t escape my irritation this week. his sexy scruff has turned into a full-on mountain man beard, and it looks stupid! we’re not the steelers, wes! i’m thinking about having a fling with aaron hernandez until he shaves- so stay tuned...there might be tats and smolderingness next week. apparently this charger dude still finds wes pretty sexy though. run, wes, run!!!!

 

 

we face our old friend randy moss this week- and with or without brett favre, the vikings will be tough to beat if we play anything like we did this week. luckily, the guys are bringing candy to the bar (right, guys?), so i know there will be treats...and hopefully the patriots will have a few tricks up their sleeves. have a great week- and GO PATS!

 

love dav

WEEK SIX VS. BALTIMORE RAVENS W 23-20

hey kids-

 

you can't blame the baltimore ravens for hating the patriots. every year, it looks like they're going to beat us, and every year, we snatch the victory from their hands right at the last second. sunday was no exception, with the patriots mounting a fourth quarter comeback that spilled into overtime for yet another improbable win. sucks to be a raven.

 

some might say it was the adjustment of losing moss that had tommy playing so unevenly for much of this game, while others might argue his man-crush on branch had him all off-balance. still, our fearless quarterback came through when the game was on the line, and he even managed to offer his opponents some friendly advice - about supermodels, according to this raven tackler. that explains why he was too distracted to make the sack, allowing a 30 yard completion...that set up a field goal...that led to overtime...that resulted in a patriots win. ironically, tommy's advice: supermodels like winners. 

 

 

 

branch turned in a respectable performance in his first game back, but i don't award tommies for respectability. just ask randy moss! instead, i'm giving this week's tommy to stephen gostkowski. our usually-perfect kicker has had some surprising misses this season, but he proved himself to be golden under pressure, nailing his first-ever overtime kick to win his first-ever tommy. look - you can literally see this victory slipping through the fingers of that jumping raven. nicely done, stephen. congrats!

 

 

 

in i heart wes welker news, wes has gone scruffy for the fall, and it warms my... um, let's go with heart. my dad reads this. i heart scruff in general, and wes scruffs up very, very well. "heart" ya, wes.

 

 

 

we play the chargers on sunday, and while they've looked terrible this season, they hate the patriots just as much as the ravens do. could be a tough one- but could also be a blowout. either way, it's an afternoon game, so i'll be tipsy! think happy patriots thoughts, and have a great week.

 

love dav

WEEK FIVE - BYE

hey kids-

 

well, the bye week turned out to be the bye-bye week, as the patriots traded randy moss to the minnesota vikings. while the writing has been on the wall since randy used a postgame press conference to complain about his contract situation a few weeks ago, i'm still sad to see him go. i'll never forget standing in the middle of brother jimmys on a cold december night, a lone patriots fan amidst a sea of giant bandwagoners, watching randy catch tommy's 50th touchdown pass of the season and securing that sweet 16th win. whatever may have gone down in the last few weeks, there's no denying that randy put on quite a show in the last few years. here he is, looking a little sad as he tommy wave goodbye. thanks for the memories, randy.

 

 

 

speaking of memories, the patriots also welcomed back a familiar face this week, trading a draft pick to seattle to secure the return of deion branch. branch was the MVP of that superbowl against the eagles, but he hasn't been healthy or productive since becoming a seahawk. hopefully that'll change now that he's got his best buddy on the other side of the ball again. these two are reportedly thrilled to be reunited, and by the looks of this photo, that may be an understatement. welcome home, deion- but don't think for a second you're wearing #83.

 

 

 

thankfully, wes is definitely keeping deion's signature number - and he may even be keeping randy's signature move. both players joined the patriots in 2007, and aside from missing a good friend, wes will probably also miss the double coverage randy attracted. somehow, i suspect he'll find new ways in which to get open- providing me with new ways in which to heart him.

 

 

 

we play the ravens on sunday, and it should be even more of a grudge match than usual after that whoopin they gave us in the playoffs. the ravens always always whine about bad calls when they play the patriots, so watch closely and then i'll put it up for a vote on the blog page next week. in the meantime, think happy patriots thoughts, and have a great week!

 

love dav

WEEK FOUR @ MIAMI DOLPHINS W 41-14

hey kids-

 

HOLY PATRIOTS! i'm still a little in shock over this one. it seems like every year (excepting that 2007 season), the patriots lose to miami in miami. it's just one of those givens, so you've gotta love that tom brady's 100th career win happened in a stadium where winning has been such a challenge for him. in fact, he actually didn't have much to do with this victory, as he spent most of it on the sidelines watching our defense and special teams go to town in a rout road win. it was pretty fun to watch - and tommy deserved his front row seat.

 

our fearless quarterback scored just one touchdown in his 100th victory, and he didn't seem to mind one little bit. tommy took only 131 games (the fewest of any quarterback in the modern era) to reach 100 career wins, and he was pretty excited about this victory. there were lots of pictures of fist pumps and screaming, but i like this one of tommy squeezing the living daylights out of vince wilfork. look how happy he is to hug someone with a little meat on their bones!

 

 

 

while watching the game, i thought this week's tommy winner was a no-brainer. rob ninkovich had two interceptions and a sack- and the only player to accomplish that last season wound up winning "defensive player of the year." it's kinda sad for rob that his stellar performance came on the same night that pat chung blocked two kicks and pulled down a pick of his own, which he ran back for a touchdown. I agonized, but chung's plays resulted in more points- including some that he scored- so he gets this week's tommy. he here is in action, blocking one of those kicks. not to take anything away from pat, but the kicker was probably blinded by those obnoxiously pink gloves.

 

 

 

speaking of obnoxiously pink, wes showed his extra-special appreciation for boobies by not only donning the gloves,  but also slipping on two very obnoxiously pink bicep bracelets. tommy's haircut doesn't really approve, but the pink towel hanging out of his pants hearts wes as much as i do.

 

 

 

we're on the bye this weekend, so if you want me to cheer for your team on sunday, this is your golden opportunity! jovan is the only one who ever plays this game- so in all likelihood, i'll be a tony romo fan this weekend. (and no, i can't believe i just put that in writing.) if you have any objections- speak now, and i'll put it up for a vote on the blog page. either way, there will a tommy-of-the-bye-week, so stay tuned, and store up your happy patriots thoughts for our return against the ravens in two weeks.

 

have a great week kids!

 

love dav

 

 

WEEK THREE VS. BUFFALO BILLS W 38-30

well kids,

 

it was closer than i'd have liked, but the patriots pulled out a victory over the buffalo bills. the poor bills have lost 14 straight to the patriots, and while i almost feel sorry for them, i never take a victory for granted - especially when it's divisional win. this one didn't leave me feeling particularly celebratory, but don't worry. i celebrated anyway.

 

i think our defense may have headed to miami early for some r&r, because they certainly weren't in foxborough sunday. luckily, our offense held their own, with the tight ends continuing to step up and randy moss snagging another pair of touchdown receptions. there was also an impressive debut by running back danny woodhead, wearing #39. apparently, we shipped lawrence maroney to denver, which is awesome, since my totw-documented threats to kill him next time he fumbled in the end zone probably established premeditation. woodhead actually looked a lot like wes out there, which made me smile, and he scored a touchdown, which made tommy smile. see for yourself!

 

 

speaking of our fearless quarterback, our tommy brady had a particularly spectacular game, going 21-27 - three of which were touchdown passes - and earning his 99th career victory. that's enough to also earn him this week's tommy of the week, but for good measure, he even filled in for an injured kevin faulk and rushed for a first down. if only our defense could tackle as well as offensive line! here's tommy hanging out on the sidelines with randy and o-liner matt light, probably thinking exactly the same thing.

 

 

wes had a solid but quiet game, which might explain why there aren't any good game photos of him this week. i like this one from practice though -and the way it shows off his muscles. dreamy sigh. that's julian edelman beside him, but his muscles aren't nearly as big. no wonder you guys all call him "mini-wes."

 

 

our offense will be joining the defense down in miami this week, and we really need the win. not only is it another divisional game but it's also a road game - and it's on monday night football! that means even you non-patriots fans will have nothing better to do than think happy patriots thoughts. i'll know if you don't, and i'll cry if we lose!

 

have a great week- and go pats!

 

love dav

WEEK TWO @ NEW YORK JETS L 28-14

hey kids-
 

well, the patriots lost, and i'm not gonna lie. they totally deserved it. it felt like deja vu watching our second-half collapse on the road, and watching it happen against the the jets simply added insult to injury. i hate the jets. i hate their stupid fat coach and their stupid new stadium and their stupid ugly uniforms. and i really, really hate losing to the stupid freaking jets. 

apparently, tommy hates losing to the jets, too, and he was pretty expressive about it in his postgame press conference. our fearless quarterback certainly contributed to this loss with two interceptions, and a leadership strategy that primarily involved scowling on the sidelines didn't do much to rally the team. then again, if i got outplayed by mark sanchez, my face might look like this, too - and, in fact, it probably did. even so, let's try a different strategy next week, tommy.

while there weren't many highlights, randy moss' spectacular one-handed grab in the end zone was definitely the finest of the few. not only did he beat mouthy darrelle revis to pull this down, but it was also his 150th career touchdown reception, putting him in the company of just three other players. pretty impressive, and certainly worthy of this week's tommy. believe it or not, this incredible picture doesn't even do it justice. truly extraordinary, randy moss. 

randy wasn't the only one outrunning revis during this game. after an ugly helmet hit that left wes clutching his head, followed by a few concussion tests that would have made me laugh had i been able to breathe, he ran right back out on the field and racked up six catches and another touchdown. reliability is just one of the reasons i heart wes welker, as is his sense of sportsmanship. he here is, waving at revis as he runs by. what a friendly guy!

our division play continues this sunday against the bills, and we'll need the win before we head to miami to take on the division leading dolphins. nope, that's not a typo, and yup, it's a puzzler to me, too. think happy patriots thoughts, and have a great week.

love dav

WEEK ONE VS. CINCINNATI BENGALS W 38-24

hey kids!  while you may not recognize him beneath all that hair, that is indeed tom brady, which means it's time for the fifth official season of "tommy of the week!" and not a moment too soon.

for the second season in a row, the pats opened against TO - this year, versus the bengals, not the bills, and in a blowout, not a hold-your-breath miracle comeback. the team came out firing on all cylinders, and i know i'm biased, but damn, they looked good. tommy led the way, earning his fancy new contract with three touchdowns passes and showing off the leadership, competitiveness, and general roguish charm that inspired this award five long years ago. here he is, showing off his tongue, too- which actually provides an important counterbalance to his passing motion. shut up - i could be right!

there are lots of contenders for the first tommy of the season, from an offensive line that gave our fearless quarterback so much time in the pocket he could've washed his hair to an amazing new corp of aptly-named tight ends. however, the biggest surprise of yesterday was the awesome performance by our still-young defense, so in their honor, this week's tommy of the week is awarded to gary guyton. our linebackers didn't grab a single interception last season, making us rethink that whole "we'll throw in mike vrabel for nothing!" trade with KC. but gary turned that all around in game one this year, leaping up to make a one-armed grab, then outrunning carson palmer (which is more impressive than it sounds) to return it for a touchdown. here he is, hauling in the interception and hauling ass. nicely done, gary guyton!

lest you think an off-season full of turmoil and uncertainty changed my affections, rest assured i heart wes welker more than ever. less than nine months after his heart-wrenching, knee-wrenching injury, wes took the field yesterday looking as good as new- and playing that way too. here he is, catching his second touchdown pass of the game and offering a little assistance to the refs in the process. after what happened in chicago, you can't been too careful. thanks wes - heart ya!

big game against the jets on sunday- and we may get the chance to hand them their first loss in a brand new stadium. you always remember your first, and i can't think of a better housewarming gift. think happy patriots thoughts, cuz we're gonna need em!  have a great week-

love dav