Projo Pats Blog

IT'S HUGE ALL AROUND: Jim Donaldson says, and I agree, that Sunday's game in Miami is a must-win if the New England Patriots are to make the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. But the Dolphins, too, are looking at this game with an extra sense of urgency -- in fact it's probably the franchise's biggest game in years. Check out the comments of head coach Tony Sparano in the Miami Herald: "My message to the players is that if you walk through this door on Wednesday and your heart is not racing a million miles an hour, then you don't have a pulse. This is why we do what we do."

THIS MIGHT HURT TO WATCH: We know it was stone-cold silent in the Patriots' locker room after Thursday's loss to the Jets, and now we can see what it was like as the victors made their way off the field. Beware, a fired-up Brett Favre has some naughty language at the end of the tape:

THE PRICE OF SUCCESS: As Favre and the Jets keep winning, the price that New York will have to pay the Packers under the terms of their offseason deal continues to rise (New York Daily News). Favre will now cost the Jets at least a third-round pick in next year's draft, and if they make the playoffs (and Favre does not get hurt), that will become a second-round pick. A Super Bowl trip? That will cost a first-round pick.

TOUGH GUY NEAL: As a college wrestler at Cal State-Bakersfield, Patriots guard Stephen Neal once defeated Brock Lesnar, the mixed-martial arts heavyweight champion, by a 3-2 decision, in the finals of the NCAA heavyweight tournament. Today, the two agree that they were the best wrestlers around at that time. Here's what Lesnar told the Herald's John Tomase, looking back at the 1999 bout: "The kind of athlete Stephen was, we were men amongst boys."

PRO BOWL UPDATE: Four Patriots players are currently in the top five at their respective position in fan balloting for the Pro Bowl: Randy Moss, fourth at wide receiver; Matt Light, third at left tackle; Tedy Bruschi, fourth at inside linebacker; and Larry Izzo, second on special teams. Fan balloting counts for one-third of the total Pro Bowl process, along with input from coaches and players (Boston.com).

POWER RANKINGS: ESPN has downgraded the Patriots from seventh to 10th following the Thursday night loss, and has the Jets at sixth and the Dolphins at 12th. ColdHardFootballFacts has New York fifth, New England ninth and Miami 14th.

49ERS RAID PRACTICE SQUAD: San Francisco announced yesterday that it had signed 6-6, 315-pound tackle Jacob Bender off the Pats' practice squad to replace veteran Jonas Jennings, who was placed on injured reserve (49ers.com).

WILL THE REBUILDING CONTINUE? The Dolphins have five veteran starters who will become free agents at the end of this season -- tackle Vernon Carey, linebacker Channing Crowder, safety Yeremiah Bell, cornerback Andre' Goodman and safety Ronaldo Hill -- and they don't seem to be in a hurry to re-sign any of them (Miami Herald).

WARD WILL KEEP HIS WITS ABOUT HIM: The Pittsburgh Steelers host the blazing hot Cincinnati Bengals, who are riding a three-week unbeaten streak (one win, one bye, one tie), on Thursday night's NFL Network special. A fair amount of focus should be placed on Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, who drew the ire of Cincinnati players when the teams first met this year, after Ward's block broke the jaw of Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers, ending his season. Some Cincinnati players hinted at retribution after that episode, although they've toned down the talk this week. Ward said that if the Bengals come gunning for him on Thursday, he'll be ready: "I always keep my head on a swivel." (ESPN) He also said that some San Diego Chargers players told him after last weekend's game that they tried to stay away from Ward to avoid the risk of injury. This is -- in case you've forgotten -- a wide receiver that we're talking about here.

A CHANCE TO MAKE HISTORY: Thanks to the Giants' destruction of the Ravens last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers now rank first against the run, first against the pass and first in total defense in the NFL. If they can hold on to their statistical leads in those three categories, they will become the first team since the Reggie White-led 1991 Eagles to accomplish the feat (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

THEY'VE GOTTA GO: Former Eagles kick returner Vai Sikahema, who recently beat the daylights out of Jose Canseco in a celebrity boxing match, is calling for head coach Andy Reid to be fired and for quarterback Donovan McNabb to be cut, as he stews in the aftermath of Philadelphia's surprise tie at Cincinnati (ProFootballTalk.com.

BILLY JEAN IS NOT MY LOVER: They've got talent, the stat geeks love 'em, Tom Curran thought they'd win the Super Bowl, but they just aren't consistent winners. Philadelphia just might be "the most curious specimen to step on an NFL field since Michael Jackson did the halftime show of Super Bowl XXVII." (ColdHardFootballFacts.com)

THIS WON'T HELP: Brian Westbrook, who's had a painful season, has looked "alarmingly hobbled" this week (Philadelphia Daily News).

BACK IN THE RUNNING: It looks like Giants' foes will not get a break from the NFL's most punishing ground attack. Brandon Jacobs, who missed most of the second half against Baltimore last weekend with a sore knee, told Tom Rock of Newsday that, "There's not any doubt in my mind at all, I feel like I can go" on Sunday in Arizona. Ultimately, of course, it's Tom Coughlin's call. And for today, Coughlin is planning to hold Jacobs out of practice, with the expectation he'll be back on the field tomorrow (Newark Star Ledger).

A GLANCE AT NEXT SEASON: Speaking of that spectacular Giants running game, Jacobs figures that he will re-sign with the Giants as a free agent next season. But he also guesses that teammate Derrick Ward will not be back, which would mean the end of the "Earth, Wind and Fire" team of Jacobs, Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw (Newsday).

HE WANTS TO STAY IN THE GAME: Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, who spoke of retirement after the nasty injury suffered against the Jets by wide receiver Anquan Boldin, now definitely plans on playing some more years, according to his agent, Mark Bartelstein (Arizona Republic).

IT'S NOT THE WORLD'S OLDEST OCCUPATION, BUT IT'S PRETTY CLOSE: Ticket scalping is alive and well in every sport that mass amounts of people care about, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wants to see what he can do about keeping Super Bowl tickets out of the hands of them. Goodell says that it will be "difficult and time consuming," but the league may have to take extraordinary measures to make sure that the lowest-priced Super Bowl tickets get into the hands of fans who actually intend on going to the game: "It may be the next step that we need to take is where you actually say, 'You come to the stadium with your identification, and you'll get your two tickets after you're inside the gate." (Los Angeles Times) Actually sounds like a great idea to me, what do you think?

 Tags  Brett Favre Football Today Tony Sparano

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