Entries Tagged 'Randy Moss' ↓

Plenty of more national attention for the surging Pats, this time after Tom Brady and the receivers dismantled one of the NFL’s better defenses.

Roosevelt Colvin and the Pats defense had plenty to celebrate Sunday.

BOSTON GLOBE

Seymour proves to be a bit rusty in return - Mike Reiss and Chris Gasper tag-team to tell the tale of Richard Seymour’s return, a non-factor factor in New England’s latest dominant win, 52-7, over Washington.

Defense felt it needed to make point - Reiss chimes in on the defense’s dominance of Washington, noting their multiple turnovers and complete frustration of Washington’s inept offense.

For Vrabel, both sides now - Globe regional writer Monique Walker tackles Mike Vrabel’s versatility in a strong feature piece.

BOSTON HERALD

Under scrutiny - Karen Guregian writes on Bill Belichick and how the coach is being taken to task for running up final scores. Another nice piece from the former columnist.

Pats keep rolling, set to deal with Colts - With seemingly every other Herald writer covering the Sox in the Series, Guregian doubles her effort to get across a solid gamer.

NEW YORK TIMES

This season, Moss is in the mood to play - William C. Rhoden, longtime New York Times “Sports of the Times” columnist, takes Randy Moss to task for his lack of effort in the past, and his current success.

The murmuring about Belichick and Brady running up the score continue to get louder, on a national scale.

THE WASHINGTON POST

Brady gets it, all right - Rather than find fault with the Pats, Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins says that the Redskins should learn from quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick’s drive for perfection.

Redskins go a little too quietly - Similarly, Michael Wilbon claims its the Redskins’ own fault they got beat so bad, saying that they should have attacked Brady when the score started slipping away.

– Cameron Smith, Globe, Herald photos

OK, the game’s not quite in the books yet, but both third-string quarterback Matt Guttierez and 86th-string running back Kyle Eckel are both on the field at the same time, which as far as we can tell is the visual equivalent of taking a knee. So we’re calling it at 52-7.

Tedy Bruschi cast a Halloweenish figure on the field yesterday in another Pats whitewash.

Now, 52-7 is the biggest rout yet. Against the team that was supposed to put up the second-toughest test yet. Does that mean the Patriots are getting better? Quite possibly.

No matter what it does, it shows that they’re getting more diverse. Randy Moss only caught two passes, but the Pats rolled. Tom Brady threw three touchdowns, again, and ran for two. With the Redskins clearly keying on Moss, Laurence Maroney looked terrific.

Then there was the defense, which didn’t allow points until the game was well out of hand, already up 52-0. Tedy Bruschi forced three, count them, three, fumbles (Editor’s note: It was actually Mike Vrabel who forced all three fumbles, not Bruschi as alleged here, with an assist to an alert commenter for pointing it out). Rosevelt Colvin returned one for a touchdown. And the entire time, Bill Belichick stood on the sideline looking slightly smug and unfulfilled, which is the exact thing that will keep the team moving forward.

For what it’s worth, not that it matters at all - period - in the win-loss column, here’s the final heat-check board:

Tom Brady: 29-for-38, 356 yards passing, 3 TD’s through the air, 2 rushing TD’s

Wes Welker: 9 receptions, 89 yards, 1 TD

Randy Moss: 3 receptions, 47 yards, 1 TD

Donte’ Stallworth: 4 receptions, 44 yards

Jabar Gaffney (remember him!): 4 receptions, 39 yards

Laurence Maroney: 14 carries, 75 yards, 2 receptions, 37 yards

At a certain point, even video game offenses get completely out of hand. And when you consider the fact that New England backup Matt Cassel was nearly as effective as the Washington offense was all day, if not more so, this qualifies as one of those games.

After all, the final score is all you need to see to know how ridiculous it was.

– Cameron Smith

Ummm, 38-0? How about we just forget that post we had that runs a few below here, huh?

Fittingly for a Bill Belichick-coached team, it was a defensive touchdown that put New England over the top, none other than linebacker Roosevelt Colvin returning the third fumble forced by Tedy Bruschi today alone, and taking it to the house. The camera panned over to Washington quarterback Jason Campbell as he walked off the field and he looked positively stunned.

For what it’s worth, if the Redskins were worried about being burned by Moss, they’ve avoided that. The speedy and elusive wideout has only two catches entering the fourth quarter. Instead, it’s been everyone else, almost literally. While the Patriots find themselves running out of people on the roster to throw to, Washington is getting the look of a dazed puppy.

Here’s the quarter’s scoring rundown, and you’ll see what I mean:

Another Brady run in the red zone for a score, this one from two yards: 31-0.

Colvin’s 11-yard return: 38-0.

Translation? Ouch. And the best part, for New England fans, is this: It’s hard to bet that there isn’t more coming.

– Cameron Smith

Here’s one thing Patriot fans have learned this year: Give him a quarter, and Randy Moss will probably find a way to get in the end zone.

After a beautiful fake spike, Tom Brady found Moss in the right side of the end zone, completed a 6-yard touchdown pass and gave New England a dominant, 24-0 lead heading into halftime. This after a drive sputtered but still ended in a field goal, after another drive ended in Brady’s 28th touchdown. Remember, he has a rushing touchdown in the first quarter, too.

As expected, Washington has given Brady a bit more trouble than anyone else has been able to. He’s thrown 7 incompletions already, more than any other week. But despite that, the superstar passer has still completed 24 passes, racking up 237 yards and two touchdowns in the process. Wes Welker already has 76 yards on 7 catches, running back Kevin Faulk has 7 for 57 yards, and Donte’ Stallworth has 3 for 29, a strong start for him.

Add in 73 yards on 13 carries and 37 yards on 2 receptions for Laurence Maroney, and that dynamic offense Pats fans have grown to adore is humming again.

As if Washington wasn’t already having a tough day, they haven’t been able to do anything on offense after a solid start, with linebackers like Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi all over quarterback Jason Campbell. If things don’t change soon, this one could get ugly.

Not that New England fans will find anything wrong with that, we’re sure.

– Cameron Smith

Well, it’s hard to argue with a lead, even if it’s a little more slow-going than it has been in other weeks.

You think Tom Brady and Randy Moss are getting along? It’s worth metioning that this celebration came after Brady scored, not Moss.

The Pats are up after the first quarter, again, though this time it’s only 7-0. Washington put together a few first downs to start the game, an early concern for sure, but the Pats responded with a long, 90-yard drive that was capped with a Tom Brady plunge into the end zone on a pass route where he easily could have found Randy Moss in the back of the end zone if he so chose.

Those are the types of decisions the Pats have been rolling out this year. Laurence Maroney looks like he’s in for a solid game, Wes Welker has already been active and while the defense has room to improve, they’ve been stout enough to make the lead hold up so far.

It may not continue, as the Washington defense is considerably tougher than any the Pats have faced this year. Still, so far New England seems to be playing with what has worked so far, passing the ball around the field to as many different targets as possible, dumping the ball off and leaving it for Maroney when they can’t.

Now we’ll see if that continues.

– Cameron Smith

Go ahead, take the 16 1/2 points. We dare you.

Make no mistake, this Washington Redskins team isn’t exactly a collection of world beaters. They’ve struggled to score points throughout the season. They watched leads against the Giants and Packers evaporate into thin air in both of their losses. They boast a cool, collected quarterback whose young enough to get ID’ed in most states.

Adalius Thomas and the Pats defense may have a lot to say about just how confused Jason Taylor is on Sunday, and ergo, how close the Redskins actually get.

But despite those problems, this Redskins team is not as bad as many, likely including most fans in New England, think they are. They have a dominant defense, a pair of wideouts as good as almost any in the league and coaches who won’t be afraid to bring all out blitzes with so little expected of them.

Believe it or not, Redskins running back Clinton Portis wasn’t completely out of line when he said Washington had the most talent of any team in the league. Well, he was out of line, but maybe not by as much as most people think he is. The Redskins have compiled more speedy playmakers on defense than any team outside of Baltimore, their closest regional rival. And who captains that group? None other than London Fletcher-Baker, former extraordinary New England enemy via Buffalo. They have Portis, a back whose been kept under wraps by injuries and inefficiency early this year, but who has the power and speed to break open nearly any game. They have Antwaan Randle El, a wide receiver who poses a versatile threat for a possession grab or deep route over the middle.

Despite all of Washington’s speed and hitting prowess, the Redskins should still struggle to control Tom Brady’s trio of top notch receivers; Randy Moss, Donte’ Stallworth and Wes Welker. And there’s little doubt that budding quarterback Jason Campbell will havce a hard time reading the defenses designed by Bill Belichick and executed by Tedy Bruschi, Adalius Thomas and co.

In the end, make no mistake, this should be a New England win. It’s just possible that Campbell may find Randle El and Santana Moss for a few more deep balls than people expect, and Brady may find more opposition in front of his receivers than he’s used to.

And that just may make this game a lot more competitive than a lot of people think it’s going to be, a trend that might even be in New England’s best interest right about now.

– Cameron Smith, AP Photo

OK, so things devolved for the Pats there a bit in the fourth quarter. We get it. But we’re not willing to say that it took anything away from what was a truly ridiculous whitewash in Miami this afternoon.

Even Kyle Brady got in on the routing act in Miami.

Just look at the final numbers:

- Tom Brady finished 21 of 25 for - get this - 354 yards and 6 TDs. Six! It’s almost preposterous.

- Randy Moss had two more touchdown catches, both on pseudo jump balls where he out-battled defensive backs. One was from 50 yards. That’s almost not fair.

- Wes Welker actually led the receiving corps, catching 9 balls for a whopping 138 yards and 2 TDs of his own. It seems fair to say he’s hit his stride.

- Donte’ Stallworth had a touchdown on three catches, but set the tone with his early grab and juke to the end zone.

- Kyle Brady caught a touchdown pass for the second straight week after not getting one in years. Coincidence? We think not.

- Miami scored 28 points, but only 14 were truly given up by the starting defense, which spent an awful lot of time on the field because the Pats offense was so efficient.

Oh, and in case you forgot, there was an excellent fourth quarter exclamation mark: Brady’s second TD toss to Welker. The score came after Bill Belichick had already pulled Brady for backup Matt Cassel, but Cassel threw a pick which was returned to the house by longtime Pats nemesis Jason Taylor. It temporarily pulled the Dolphins within 21, not that it would last. Billy B brought Brady back in, the quarterback led another quick touchdown drive and the Miami crowd tried to figure out how to absorb yet another stomach punch.

That’s exactly what you wanted if you’re a New England fan: Lots of stomach punches for Miami. Sunday afternoon you got them. In a bundle.

– Cameron Smith, AP Photo

For the record, this isn’t exactly a revolutionary trudge through molasses, it’s just a slowdown on the part of the New England freight train.

The Pats were finally limited a bit in the third quarter, with Miami putting up a more formidable defensive front to slow New England’s one offensive possession, in which the Patriots focused a bit more on the run and hybrid pass game which almost simulates the run. You may remember that the team traditionally focused on that hybrid passing game in the past, at least before Tom Brady had three ridiculously dangerous new weapons - Randy Moss, Donte’ Stallworth and Wes Welker - dropped in his lap in the offseason.

That drive followed an extremely length - though ultimately unproductive - Miami drive, a possession in which the Dolphins systematically drove down the field, but ultimately watched the latest of Randall Gay’s interceptions, an improvement that has helped shore up the depth of the New England secondary. Seriously people, this is the only lingering drama in this thing … how well the Patriot reserves will play if given a chance to flex the team’s depth.

We’ll see if that changes in the fourth. It could. But the way things are going at the moment, one would be hard-pressed to say that New England will go away from the run, or give up much of anything to Miami.

– Cameron Smith

Evidently this is how you put a stamp on a win … by taking a 42-7 lead to the locker room.

In all seriousness, what else can you say about this afternoon’s one-sided walkover? Tom Brady is 11 for 13 through the air, with an ungodly five first half touchdowns. Better yet, he’s getting all his targets involved. The first pass was to Donte’ Stallworth, then he hit his newest weapon, Kyle Brady. By the time Randy Moss got involved, he made it 28-7, following the shocking Willie Andrews kickoff return for a touchdown (Did anyone see him bringing that back before it happened? Really? We sure as hell didn’t), and Randy went out and decided he wanted a second scoring grab for the books shortly thereafter. Throw the Wes Welker score on the final drive in there, and Miami fans had plenty to boo about as their team left the field.

This, of course, doesn’t even take the defensive dominance being flexed out there into account. It’s stunning. Cleo Lemon looks like a middle school passer who can’t find an open man because he’s not on a sandlot field. Ronnie Brown is chugging along, but inevitably his progress gets popped by Tedy Bruschi or Junior Seau, who’s flying around like he still has vengeance pent up for Miami. It’s terrifying.

Clearly this thing is over. The only question is how bad it’ll get in the second half.

– Cameron Smith

How good are the Patriots? Good enough that media outlets far and wide, well beyond the normal scope of Pats-centric coverage in New England, are weighing in on Brady’s bunch and their chance of running the table. As each week goes on without a New England loss, it’s likely that the attention will only increase. Or at least continue.

Randy Moss is happy and winning, so everyone just hold your breath.

So, with that we’ll clue in to more than just the usual suspects, if you will. Still, that’s always a good place to start:

BOSTON GLOBE

QB receives more support this season — Bob Ryan drops a doozie on paper, talking about, fairly predictably, the sudden explosion of the Pats passing attack. Another nice effort from the city’s best columnist. No surprise there.

Moss has praise for Belichick — The Globe’s go-to guys on the Pats beat, Mike Reiss and Chris Gasper, come through with a strong piece about the respect Randy Moss has for his new coach, a revelation which only became more striking after Terrell Owens’ comments regarding Wade Phillips later in the week.

Stallworth’s love of music is no bum rap — Donte’ Stallworth is finally synching up with the emerging New England offense, and Gasper ties together his love of catching footballs and rap music. A nice feature on an underrated performer thus far.

BOSTON HERALD

Moss loves his new job — Can you tell that Karen Guregian is starting to get really comfortable with the Pats beat? The one-time Herald columnist nails a feature about Moss, tying his quotes and performance in with that of another Beantown favorite: Manny Ramirez.

Pats still in running — Guregian writes a nifty slide piece about how the team has prospered despite a sudden rash of injuries to runners, and how they’ll try to keep winning regardless.

Motivation not hard to find — Jeff Horrigan takes a turn writing a Pats feature, weighing in on Bill Belichick’s ability to motivate his team, even against a winless foe.

WASHINGTON POST

Pats poised to be perfect — Veteran columnist and PTI host Michael Wilbon jumps on the undefeated bandwagon, coming to the conclusion that the Pats are just too good to be stopped after watching the Dallas dismantling in person.

Pats may be scary good, but running the table is out of the question — Meanwhile, fellow Post columnist Leonard Shapiro says that as good as New England may be, there’s no way they’re running the table.

As major writers across the country are starting to realize, Dr. Watson is just another one of Tom Brady’s arsenal of targets.

LA TIMES

A year to revere for Patriots - Sam Farmer weighs in on the team’s early dominance and Tom Brady’s continued surge while watching from the left coast.

– Cameron Smith, Herald and Globe photos