TA's Take

Eastern Conference  Atlantic: 1. Boston Celtics: 45-21 - If the Big 3 can stays healthy they are still the Team to beat in the Atlantic. 2. New York Knicks: 44-22 - Their Front court is Phenomenal but the Backcourt not so much. 3. Philadelphia 76ers: 36-30 - Young and Feisty. 4. New Jersey Nets: 30-36 - Besides Deron Williams they don't have much going for them. 5. Toronto Raptors: 15-51 - A Bad Team with no Talent. Central: 1. Chicago Bulls: 50-16 - This Team has Amazing Depth. 2. Indiana Pacers: 43-23 - Adding David West will be huge for this Team. 3. Cleveland Cavs: 35-31 - A bit of a sleeper for me. Irving will make them a much better team. 4. Milwaukee Bucks: 30-36 - Rattled with Injuries. 5. Detroit Pistons: 19-47 - Not a good Team at all. Southeast: 1. Miami Heat: 55-11 - They got better this Offseason, they look loaded. 2. Atlanta Hawks: 42-24 - Not the same team they were a few years ago but still got Johnson and Horford. 3. Orlando Magic: 4

Patriots Offensive Keys to the Game 1. Protect Tom Brady from the Pass Rush of the Dolphins,  particularly Cameron Wake and Jason Taylor. 2. Untilize the Tight Ends in the Passing Game. 3. Establish a Running Game Early with BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Patriots Defensive Keys to the Game 1. Unleash the New Pass Rush, get Pressure on Chad Henne. 2. Contain Reggie Bush. Don't let him make Big Plays, particualrly in the Passing Game. 3. Stop Devone Bess, as good as Brandon Marshall is Bess is their go to WR right now. Players to Watch 1. Pat Chung, S Remember last year? 2. Aaron Hernandez, TE Brady will use the TE a lot in this Game. 3. Jerod Mayo, OLB Let's see him get after it in the new 4-3 Defense. 4. BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB Ran very well vs. the Dolphins in 2010. Prediction Patriots 31-13

1. Jerod Mayo will Win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award After a season in which Mayo led the NFL in Tackles the Patriots are expanding his role in 2011 allowing him to get after the Quarterback more and make big plays. I expect him to once again put up big tackle numbers but also add in some sacks and turnovers which will make him the Best Defensive Player in the NFL. 2. The Patriots will Sweep the New York Jets in the Regular Season The Patriots have lost in New York in each of the last two seasons, mostly because of an inefficient Offense. This time around I expect Tom Brady and the Offense to come out looking to prove they can score on this Defense in New York. At home I don't worry about the Patriots at all. 3. Tom Brady will Throw 52 Touchdown Passes Tom Brady holds the record for Touchdowns in a Season with 50 back in 2007. This season he has more weapons than he did in 2007. He has Welker, Ochocinco, Branch, Hernandez, Gronkowski, and Woodhead out of the

     The 2011 NFL Season begins this Thursday Night as the Defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers host the New Orleans Saints. After following the comings and goings of a crazy NFL "offseason" and watching and breaking down the NFL Preseason I think I'm prepared to make my Final Predictions for the upcoming season. Of course it wasn't easy, every year there are new teams making the Playoffs, it's never just the same old teams. In fact in the last 10 years there have been at least four new teams in the Playoffs each year. As you will read below I expect this season to be more of the same, plenty of fresh faces. AFC East 1. New England Patriots: 14-2 The Patriots really improved their defense this offseason with the additions of Albert Haynesworth and Shaun Ellis. The Offense is gonna do what it does and get the Patriots to 11 Wins by itself but I think the Defense is gonna win this Team some Games this year. The have the potential to be unstoppable.

     With the Patriots heading to Detroit this Saturday for their third preseason game there a few players who are in need of a big game to earn themselves a roster spot. This is one of the deepest teams the Patriots have ever had and spots are limited. Here's a list of a few guys who I think are on the bubble right now and will need to do some serious work to make this team. 1. Brandon Tate, WR: With the new Kickoff Rule in the NFL this season it seems like Brandon Tate's value to this team is way down. He was a top 5 Kick Returner in the NFL last year but this year he may not even be needed as kick returns will be limited. He is a much better Kick Returner then Wide Receiver and because he has been injured most of camp he hasn't been able to improve his Wide Receiver skills. Also the emergence of Taylor Price doesn't help either. Brandon Tate is going to have to have a couple big games, receiving not returning, to secure a spot on this team. 2. Sammy Morris, RB: I

     The Patriots have looked extremely impressive so far this Preseason. Both the Offense and maybe even more surprisingly the Defense have looked absolutely Dominant in the first two Preseason Games vs. the Jaguars and Buccaneers. While there have been many solid Performances here's a look at the Players who have really stood out in my opinion and have been Playing the Best Football for the Patriots in the Preseason. 1. Stevan Ridley, RB: Ridley went for over 100 total yards with 3 Touchdowns in his first NFL Game last week vs. the Jags and people wondered if it was just a Flash in the Pan or could he do it again. Well I think he answered that question with a nice follow up Performance vs. the Bucs the other night going for 84 yards on 14 carries. I don't think Ridley will overtake BenJarvus Green-Ellis this season but it will happen eventually. This kid will be a Legit starting Running back in this League one day. 2. Aaron Hernandez, TE: Hernandez has looked like the Off

     As we head into the 2011 NFL Season there is a lot of Expectations for the New England Patriots Offense. No doubt the Expectations are warranted as year in and year out the Patriots are always one of the Best Offenses in the Game. Of course what they had in 2007 was probably the Greatest Offense in the History of the NFL but I think that the 2011 Patriots Offense has the potential to be even better than that 2007 Offense. Here's a Breakdown of why I think the 2011 Squad will be better than the 2007 Version.      Quarterback: Tom Brady might be an even better QB now than he was in 2007. Sure he was Great in 2007 but if you ask me he seems to be getting even better as the years go on. He had 50 Touchdowns in 2007 but with 9 Interceptions. Last season he had 36 Touchdowns with only 4 Interceptions, a much better ratio. He is playing some of his Best Football of his career right now and I expect him to have another off the charts statistical year that could even surpass that o

     It's that time of year when Everyone and their Brother is Producing their annual Patriots 53-man Roster Projections and so of course I gotta get in on the action. But before I give you my Projections for this season I have to worn you to take it with a grain of salt. I looked back at my 2010 Projections and I missed on about 10 Players. Between Trades, Cuts, Signings, PUP's and IR's no one is gonna get this 100% right but it's always fun to put one together and see how close you can get. The Great thing about the Patriots this season is they have Amazing Depth but that's the exact thing that's gonna make it so hard to Project their Roster. So without any further ado here goes nothing...... Quarterback (3) : Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett Running Back (5) : BenJavus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead, Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, Kevin Faulk Wide Receiver (6) : Wes Welker, Chad Ochocinco, Deion Branch, Julian Edelman, Taylor Price, Brandon Tate Tight End

     Here we go again, another Major College Football Scandal and this time it's the U. Am I supposed to be surprised? First it was USC, then Ohio State, and now Miami. I think it's becoming a realization that every Big Time Program was Receiving Benifits. College Football is a cesspool for this kind of Shit. As for Miami it's self, this comes as no shock. Think about the Life Style down there, and the Players that attended the U. A lot of the Players that went to the U grew up in Less Fortunate situations and weren't going to pass up Money when giving the opportunity. Then there's the Life Style, have you ever been to Miami? When your down there you can't help but wanna Party, Drink, hit up the Strip Clubs, hang out on the Yachts, Live it up on South Beach. It's pretty obvious this Shit was going down and you know what, it's not a big deal to me. I don't blame those kids for wanting to Live it up. College Athletes should get paid anyways but we

     I decided to Join Blogger because I have a Passion for Writing. I particularly enjoy writing about Sports. Sports is pretty much my Life. I have extensive knowledge of Sports and have a lot of Thoughts and Opinions on Sports that I want to share with others. You will find most of my Blogs are about Boston Sports, particularly the New England Patriots. I will also Blog a lot about Music, Food, Television and Movies, the other interests in my Life. I’m excited to get this Blog going and I hope you all enjoy what I have to offer.