hey kids-
well, maybe it wasn't the mustache. tom
brady did not shave, but our patriots are going to the super bowl
anyway. given the way in which they got there, i may grow a mustache
myself.
as expected (by me), our fearless quarterback rebounded from last
week's subpar performance with one for the records - literally. tommy
went 32 of 42 for three touchdowns and 384 yards, which was the most in
patriots playoff history. based on quarterback rating, this was his
third best playoff performance of his career. for anyone wondering about
the ridiculously large coat, the explanation is simple: he and that
mustache are just getting warmed up.
after carrying tommy last week, this week our team hopped up onto his
shoulders to enjoy the ride. our "untested" defense added two more
turnovers to the stat sheet and had no trouble removing the stingers
from the killer bs, holding pittsburgh to 17 points - including one
impressive goal line stand i did *not* see coming. meanwhile, our
detested offense played with enough venom for both teams, and
after all that talk about those bs, it was the flea that wound up
stealing this show. tommy's handoff to dion turned into a
never-gets-old trick that landed in the endzone-bound arms of chris
hogan. it was just one of many great catches that added up to a
record-breaking 180 yards receiving for hogan - and almost earned him
this week's tommy. sorry chris, but you're not the only one who broke a
record last night - and the tommy of the week is going to its namesake.
nice to see the leadership, competitiveness and general roguish charm is
still going strong, tommy!
we play atlanta in super bowl 51 in two weeks, kids, but i'll be back
next sunday with the tommy of the super bye. get started on your happy
patriots thoughts - we definitely need a double dose heading into
houston!
have a great week, and go TO THE SUPER BOWL pats!
love dav
well kids,
in spite of the impressive score and the covering of the spread, it was not a particularly dominant win by our patriots in last night's divisional playoff game. i blame tommy's mustache.
our fearless quarterback clearly didn't realize how much the extra weight on his upper lip would affect his passing ability, and he threw as many interceptions last night as he threw in his last 12 games. neither was completely his fault, but both made me completely infuriated. tommy wound up 18 of 38 for 287 yards and two touchdowns - making this one of his poorer playoff performances in which we still managed to win. i hope you got that out of your system, tommy. go shave!
i've heard a lot of chatter today about how "suspect" our defense looks again, but i didn't think they looked so awful. yes, it was brock osweiler, but they did intercept him three times - and they held houston to 16 points (13 of which came on very short fields thanks to patriots turnovers). i was alright with the d, but my initial inclination for this week's tommy was to give it to jules. when the going gets tough, we can count on julian to make the catch and move the chains, which he did to the tune of 137 yards. but while julian might be the world's best security blanket (mmmhmmm... wait... give me a second...), even i recognize that this game was the dion lewis show. not only did he have an explosive punt return for a touchdown early in the game, he also wound up with rushing and receiving touchdowns - the only player in playoff history to have all three. sorry jules. even with dion's fumble and your snugglability, he's getting this week's tommy. sure is nice to have you back, d!
i know this wasn't the resounding win everyone expected and now the patriots look vulnerable and blah blah blah, but i'm really not too worried about this one. just like in denver, we saw that our team has tommy's back and can still find ways to win games when he's not on his. besides- anyone who's been following this crazy train for the last 17 years knows that a tommy-terrible is usually followed by a tommy-terrific, and no matter who we play next week, this was definitely the order in which to have them. i'm suspicious that you all got lazy during the bye week, so double down on your happy patriots thoughts, kids! you're running out of chances, and i know you want to see tommy complete an entire season as much as i do!
have a great week, and go pats!
love dav
hey kids-
happy new year! our patriots started 2017 with a W and a ton of momentum heading into the playoffs. while it's exciting that this win clinched home field advantage throughout, it might be more exciting that this win was a win. in miami!!! that almost never happens.
our fearless quarterback generally plays poorly
in miami, but the team rallied to give him a hand and it turned into a
pretty terrific showing. he wound up 25 of 33 with 276 yards and three
touchdowns - bringing him to 28 on the season with just two
interceptions. that set a new record - but i've got a feeling that's the last thing on tommy's mind.
our patriots are really looking solid heading
into the playoffs, and there were plenty of contenders for the totw. our
defense continued the streak of turnovers with a interception by logan
ryan and an awesome fumble recovery that shea mcclellin managed to
return for 69 yards before getting hilariously exhausted and heading out
of bounds. michael floyd made his presence known in this game, fighting
for yards after catch - including a great effort to stretch into the
endzone. he also delivered a now-infamous killer block that left the
field wide open for julian's 77-yard reception. that reception was just
one of jules' amazing plays during this game, and it was exciting to see
the league's leader in dropped pass come away with a career high 151
yards. he got this week's afc offensive player of the week- and he's
getting this week's tommy. nice work, jules! rest up. on to playoffs.
unless miami beats pittsburgh, we play the winner of the raiders/texans game a week from this saturday night. that gives you plenty of time to think you happy patriots playoff thoughts. root for whichever of those teams you think we can beat most easily, then think those happy patriots thoughts extra hard. i'm finally feeling good about this team - and i don't think any of us is ready for this season to be over. so, you know. do your job!
have a great week, and go pats!
love dav
