Sportzine/The Hot Club

 
EAT A PEACH - PATS SHAKE ATLANTA’S TREE 30-23.       OCTOBER 1, 2013
The Patriots went into Atlanta and took away all their prized peaches after shaking their tree. Aqib Talib took away Julio Jones or whomever else he was covering (like Roddy White when Talib knocked away a pass in the end zone that would have resulted in a tie). It was only then that Pats fans could resume breathing. What a game! What a finish! It just proved that fans shouldn’t celebrate until the clock shows 0:00.

The Patriots’ Defense took the ball away from Matt Ryan when he was trying to lead the Falcons back from a 17-point deficit (Talib again). And just when it looked like Matty ‘Ice’ Ryan might just tie the game, the Defense stood tall. They put the chill to ‘Ice’ whose record in the Georgia Dome was 34-5. The Pats had 2 sacks, 5 QB hits.

The Pats did it without Vince Wilfork who was hurt on the very first Atlanta series, has a torn right Achilles (surgery today) and is gone for the season. At the end of the game when the Pats were trying to slow down the Atlanta offense, I saw #26 Logan Ryan playing cornerback (someone else hurt?). Mike Reiss reported that Dennard hobbled off.

The Patriots won with plays like a U Maine TE named Matthew Mulligan catching a TD on 3rd and goal.  Better hands than Sudfeld who flubbed an onside kick. With undrafted rookie Kenbrell Thompkins using his quickness and agility to pull in passes at crucial moments (3rd and 19) and out leaping a defender in the end zone for an 18-yard TD.

With Julian Edelman (no catches in the 1st half) doing his Wes Welker impersonation and catching 7 passes for 118 yards. But they won because they could run (132 yds. vs #5 D). And stop the run – Atlanta had 58 yards.

The victory was hard fought and hard won with more casualties along the way. Besides Wilfork, Aaron Dobson got mauled in the end zone (no call) and then slammed the opposite way with a hit from the other direction. No penalties! The way Dobson’s head snapped back, he probably has a neck injury and maybe a concussion. Josh Boyce stepped in and made a big catch after Dobson got hurt.

It was a total team win. Belichick was coaching his defensive linemen throughout the game after the loss of Wilfork. Imagine - he had Tommy Kelly and Joe Vellano (1 sack), who usually subs in for Wilfork or Kelly, now pressed into full time action with only recently signed Chris Jones to sub in.
Brandon Bolden too went down after picking up a blitzer, possibly re-injuring his knee. Ridley ran well and LeGarrette Blount had one of the most unbelievable TD runs in Patriots history. How often do you see a 250-pounder get through the line (great blocks by Wendell, Hoomy and Develin) and then gallop 47 yards. Had to be seen to be believed

Hopefully the injuries aren’t serious other than Wilfork’s. The Pats do a good job of finding players to step in and step up. Expect some addition from the practice squad (DL Marcus Furston?). Keep your fingers crossed that DT Armond Armstead is able to come back from IR after the 6th game. He was brought in to back up the middle and had sacks rushing from the interior (Canadian League).

The Pats silenced their critics (wins over weak teams) for one week. The Cincinnati Bengals will want to take a bite out of that 4-0 Pats record. The Pats will tame these cats.

E-MAIL   
Jimbo,                                                                                                                              
Let us not forget about baseball!!!! Let's see - wouldn't it be a dynamite series Braves and Red Sox? Go Braves.                                                                                                             Sec 8 Ted
Ted, not much to write about as we wait for our teams’ playoff games to begin. Glad to see your Braves made it. Good luck in the playoffs. Since they are playing the Dodgers, who have all those underachieving ex-Red Sox, I hope they sweep LA. Bitter? Nah.  -   Z

We'll see this weekend if the current unit the Pats put out there against a desperate for a win Atlanta team are contenders or pretenders.  A quality road win without three key offensive weapons would be huge. Pressure on Ryan and another pick or two for Talib.
Andrew ‘Left Coast’ Wright
Andrew, there is an outside chance that Gronk is back for this game. The Falcons are a little beat up. If the Pats' D stops the run, they can then come after Matt Ryan.
Did you see the story about the Dodgers peeing in the Chase Field Pool? I read that Punto led the charge to the pool and Crawford was one of those that jumped in.

likely beckett's idea.                                                                                             
Andrew‘Left Coast’Wright

BULLETS                                                                                                                            
● Good luck to the Red Sox, those bearded wonders who have surprised us with their team play. They could go all the way. They are resourceful and tenacious. The pitching just might be good enough and the positional players will ‘pitch in’.
● The Patriots prevented Tony Gonzalez (14 targets, 12 catches, 2 TDs) from tying the game by double teaming him near the goal line and using a man behind them. Someone other than Gonzalez had to beat them. The strategy won the game.      
● Besides Edelman’s 7 catches (9 targets), Thompkins had 6 on 11. Ridley caught 2 screens and Develin had as many catches -1- as Boyce (3 targets).                         
● The Pats were better in the red zone (2 of 3) than the Falcons (1 of 6). Aqib Talib almost single-handedly won the game for the Pats. He played mostly on Julio Jones who had 6 catches on 13 targets. Smith should have taken the 3 points.                                    
 ● The ProJo (10/1) has Matt Garza pitching for the Rays versus Cleveland!                                                                 
 

     

   

THE HOT CLUB
Mike Module wants all the Red Sox fans to grow beards while the team is in the playoffs.  His friend Scott seconded the need for ‘rally beards’. Of course Scott already has a beard so his vote doesn’t count. I told them I was out as I have a wedding in a couple weeks (not mine), so the beard thing was not going to work for me (or Victoria). Followers of this missive who are fans – What do you think about ‘rally beards’?

Scott said that if it goes to Game 7 of the World Series that it would be on Halloween night. So there could be a special Halloween in Boston (if it goes 7 - the Red Sox could sweep like in 2004 and 2007).

The Herbster was ecstatic about the great upset that day. It took me a few seconds to realize that the US must have beaten the Kiwis in the America’s Cup final. I refrained from telling Herbie that about 1% of the population cared.

We were talking about the new car innovations like sensors and rear cameras to see if someone is near your vehicle when backing up. The Bear mentioned that some cars could park themselves. Pal Al said that his wife’s Hyundai Sonata will tell you how many miles you have left to go. Al figured if they can do that then future cars will have a black box that will record what your average speed is. Al could see this being used against you in a court of law. I said, “I’d marry the car. That way it couldn’t testify against me.” The Bear said, “Well you could plead that you had a long and loving relationship.”

LAST WEEK’S QUIZ ANSWER
The question – name the producer/singer/songwriter who worked with the Byrds, the Beach Boys, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and the Mamas and the Papas, and whose group had a Top 10 hit. Answer – Terry Melcher (Jorden), Doris Day’s son, who had a hit (along with future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston) with the Rip Chords (Hey, Little Cobra). Melcher also had a role in the Charles Manson case. Dennis Wilson had introduced Manson to Melcher, who agreed to record some of Manson’s songs. Melcher backed out. The house where he lived with girlfriend Candice Bergen and roommate Mark Lindsay was the site of the Sharon Tate/Abigail Folger/Jay Sebring murders. It was reported that Manson knew Melcher was no longer living in the house but wanted to send a message. Melcher went into hiding. He died 11/19/04 from melanoma at age 62. Melcher co-wrote (w/ John Phillips, Scott McKenzie and Mike Love), the Beach Boys #1 hit – Kokomo.

THIS WEEK’S QUIZ
This multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter/producer also had a movie mom (like Melcher), but she was much less well known. He worked with Ronstadt, 10 CC, and Art Garfunkel, and toured with the Eagles, Jackson Browne and James Taylor. Name him.
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