This Week
The New England Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium on Monday at 8:30 p.m.
The Patriots (6-3) are 3-1 at The Razor, 2-0 against the AFC West and 5-2 in the conference. The Chiefs (4-5) are 2-2 on the road, 0-2 vs. the AFC East and 3-4 against the conference.
The Line/Prediction
As of Thursday the line on the game from Yahoo! Sports has the Patriots at MINUS 15. The over under is 46 1/2.
My Prediction is Patriots 30, Chiefs, 17. Take the points (CHIEFS) and take the over. I am 6-2-1 against the spread and 6 of 9 on calling the over/under in 2011.
Tickets
The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 188th consecutive sell out dating back to the 1994 season opener. The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.
Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.
After market tickets are available through the Official Patriots Ticket Exchange where season ticket holders can sell their unused seats to fans on the season ticket waiting list.
Getting to the Game
If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Foxboro make sure you check out the links.
Here is the up to date weather forecast from the Weather Channel for Foxboro, MA.
Click for all the game day information including stadium directions, parking information and map and a Gillette Stadium seating chart.
Tailgating
Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com. There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack. I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.
And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages. With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks. You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.
Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time. Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver. Remember You Drink, You Drive, You Lose.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television
ESPN in televising the game nationally, Mike Tirico will do play by play while Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden will provide the game analysis.
The game can also be seen on the ABC affiliates in the Boston (WCVB-TV5) and Kansas City (KMBC-TV9) television markets only.
There is no DirecTV designation for this game.
Radio
The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Gil Santos handles the play-by-play, former Patriot Gino Cappelletti does the color and new this year Scott Zolak will man the sidelines. It all starts with Gary Tanguay, Andy Gresh and Zolak with the pregame show at 5 p.m. along the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.
If you are outside the broadcast are of the stations on the Patriots Radio Network you can purchase NFL Field Pass, which allows you to listen to any game live. You can also pick which teams broadcasters you want to listen to.
All NFL Games are also available on Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio also carries all the NFL games under a special additional package. They usually only carry the home team feed.
The Patriots radio network call is available on Sirius Channel 93, XM Channel 226 and on SiriusXM Internet Channel 879.
The Chiefs Radio network has Mitch Holthus calling play by play and Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson doing the color via their flagship station KCFX-FM. Their call is available on Sirius Channel 92, XM Channel 225 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 876.
Westwood One will carry the game to a nation wide audience with Kevin Harlan and Boomer Esiason on the call. Their feed can be heard on Sirius Channel 88 and XM Channel 88.
Patriots All Access
Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in depth features on the team. It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.
- Boston MA on TV 38 Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
- Providence RI on WNAC Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
- Manchester NH on WMUR Saturday at midnight
- Portland ME on WMTW Sunday at 5 a.m.
- Hartford CT on WCTX Saturday at 5 p.m.
- Springfield MA on WFXQ Saturday at 7 p.m.
- Bangor ME on WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.
You can also watch it anytime on the teams website in the media section.
To continue reading the Kansas City Chiefs @ New England Patriots preview, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
Last Week
The Patriots beat the Jets on the road 37-16; while the Chiefs lost to the Broncos, 17-10 at home.
History
- Kansas City leads the all-time series 16-12-3.
- All three ties in the series came while teams were in the AFL.
- The teams first met in 1960 when both were part of the AFL as the Boston Patriots and Dallas Texans.
- The Patriots are 9-6-2 as the home team in the series.
- New England has won 4 of the last 5 meetings.
- The two teams last met in Week 1 of 2008 at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots won 17-10 but Tom Brady tore his ACL and was lost for the season.
Patriots Team Notes
Here is the Patriots roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.
2011 Patriots Schedule/Results
The Patriots overall franchise record is 406-366-9. They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in six appearances. They last appeared in the playoffs in 2010 when they lost at home to the New York Jets in the AFC Divisional Playoff, 28-21. They last appeared in a Super Bowl in 2007 losing to the New York Giants 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII. They won the AFC Conference championship that season with playoff wins over Jacksonville and San Diego.
The Patriots are the defending two-time AFC East Champions; they have won the division 8 times since 2000.
The Patriots are dedicating the 2011 season to the memory of Myra Hiatt Kraft, the late wife of owner Robert Kraft. Every Patriots player and coach will honor Myra’s memory by wearing a patch with her initials on it in recognition of her lifelong contributions to the local and global community and her influence on the charitable mission of the entire Patriots organization. The patch will be worn on the left chest of every player throughout the season.
New England is playing its second consecutive prime time game. It’s the first time since 2008 that they’ve had back-to-back prime time outings.
The Patriots are 2-0 at Gillette Stadium vs. Kansas City.
Since 2002 when Gillette Stadium opened the Patriots are 70-15 at home the best mark in the NFL.
New England is 20-22 all-time on MNF and 9-8 as the home team.
Patriots are 67-73-6 all-time vs. the AFC West.
The Patriots defense has allowed opponents to convert 43.1% (50 of 116) of the time on 3rd down, while the offense has a 3rd down conversion rate of 45.8% (49 of 107).
The New England defense has sacked the opponents quarterback 20 times in 9 games.
The Patriots are 3rd in the NFL in points per game with 28.8. While they allow 22.2 points per game good for a tie for 16th in the NFL.
New England is PLUS 3 in turnover differential, tied for 10th best in the NFL. The offense has given up 10 INT and 4 fumbles, while the defense has 12 INT and 5 fumble recoveries.
Patriots Staff Notes
This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference transcript on the Chiefs.
Bill Belichick is 6-2 vs. the Chiefs in his career. He is 4-1 against them as the head coach in New England. He has never faced them in the post season.
Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 168-97 in 16 NFL seasons. He is 132-53 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland. He is 15-6 in the playoffs, 14-5 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season. When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 183-103.
Belichick’s 183 wins are good for 9th all-time tied with Bill Parcells.
He was named NFL Coach of the Year for the 3rd time in 2010.
Belichick is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father (Steve Belichick) played in the league. The others are current Kansas City head coach Todd Haley (Dick Haley), former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan (Dick Nolan), former Cincinnati head coach David Shula (Don Shula) and former NY Jets head coach Joe Walton (Frank Walton).
The Patriots are 13-5 under Belichick on MNF.
Patriots Possible Starters
Offense:
- LT: Light
- LG: Mankins
- C: Connolly
- RG: Waters
- RT: Vollmer
- TE: R. Gronkowski
- TE: Hernandez
- WR: Branch
- WR: Welker
- QB: Brady
- RB: Green-Ellis
Defense:
- DE: Ellis
- DT: Wilfork
- DT: Love
- DE: Carter
- OLB: Mayo
- ILB: Tarpinian
- OLB: Ninkovich
- LCB: Molden
- RCB: Arrington
- S: Moore
- S: Ihedigbo
Patriots Players Notes
This Tom Brady’s 12th NFL season he is 3-1 vs. the Chiefs.
Overall Brady is 117-34 as a starting QB and is 14-5 in the playoffs for an overall record of 131-39. Brady is a 6 time Pro Bowl QB; two time NFL MVP and has won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP. He is also listed as the 21st Greatest Player in the History of the NFL according to the NFL Network.
In 2010 Brady won his second NFL MVP and he was the first unanimous winner in league history.
He is 11-4 in MNF games and has won 8 of the last 9.
Brady has thrown 23 TD’s and 10 INT’s while being sacked 16 times in 9 games.
Brady has 284 TD passes in his career he is now 8th all-time. Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas is 7th with 290.
Brady has 117 career wins he is tied with Joe Montana for 7th all-time. Johnny Unitas is 6th with 118 and Fran Tarkenton is 5th with 124.
The last time Brady played against Kansas City he tore his ACL when hit low in the leg by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard.
WR Wes Welker now has catches in 91 consecutive games including playoffs, 74 as a Patriot. The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.
CB Kyle Arrington has a team leading 5 INT’s in 2011, DT Vince Wilfork and LB Rob Ninkovich are tied for 2nd with 2 each.
Arrington is tied for the NFL lead in INT’s with Green Bay’s Charles Woodson and Seattle’s Eric Weddle.
S Patrick Chung leads the team in tackles with 60, CB Devin McCourty is 2nd with 58 tackles.
DE Andre Carter leads the team with 8.5 sacks, while DE Mark Anderson is 2nd with 5.5.
Carter was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Jets.
On Wednesday Carter had a half sack taken away from him and he now shares the team record for most sacks in a game with three others.
Carter leads the defense with 16 quarterback hits, Anderson is 2nd with 7 hits.
Anderson, Wilfork, Carter and LB Jerod Mayo have each forced a fumble this season while Ninkovich, DT Kyle Love and DE Gerard Warren have each recovered an opponent’s fumble.
WR Jackie Slater leads the team in special teams tackles with 11, while LB Tracy White has 9 and LB Jeff Tarpinian has 8.
TE Rob Gronkowski has 18 TD catches in 25 career games. They are the most for a TE in that time frame and 3rd most overall in the NFL.
On Thursday the following players were held out of practice: CB Devin McCourty (shoulder); LB Brandon Spikes (MCL) and LB Dane Fletcher (thumb). 14 others were limited: WR Wes Welker (knee); C Dan Connolly (groin); G Brian Waters (knee); S Patrick Chung (foot); CB Kyle Arrington (foot); DE Shaun Ellis (ribs); RB Kevin Faulk (knee); RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis (toe); LB Gary Guyton (shoulder); S James Ihedigbo (shoulder); WR Taylor Price (hamstring); WR Matthew Slater (shoulder); T Nate Solder (concussion) and T Sebastian Vollmer (back). The three who missed practice will most likely be listed as doubtful for the game on Monday night.
S Ross Ventrone was signed to the practice squad on Thursday and CB Josh Victorian was released. According to the NFL transactions list Ventrone is an amateur when it comes to being signed, promoted and released.
The Patriots have five New England natives on the roster they are: LB Niko Koutouvides (Plainville CT); TE Aaron Hernandez (Bristol CT); OL Donald Thomas (New Haven CT); S James Ihedigbo (Northampton MA) and DE Ron Brace (Worcester MA). They have 8 players who played for a New England school or a Big East Conference member. They are: WR Deion Branch (Louisville); S James Ihedigbo (UMass); C Dan Koppen (Boston College – IR); CB Devin McCourty (Rutgers); NT Vince Wilfork (Miami), OL Donald Thomas (UConn); DE Mike Wright (Cincinnati – IR) and DE Ron Brace (Boston College).
The Patriots have 7 retired numbers: 20 – Gino Cappelletti, 40 – Mike Haynes, 73 – John Hannah, 78 – Bruce Armstrong, 79 – Jim Lee Hunt and 89 – Bob Dee.
Pro Bowl voting is open feel free to cast your votes for deserving players.
Chiefs Team Notes
Here is the Chiefs roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.
The Chiefs all-time record is 399-370-12 and they are 8-14 in the playoffs with their last playoff appearance coming in 2010 when they lost to Baltimore in the Wild Card round, 30-7. The Chiefs last played for a championship in 1993 when the lost the AFC Championship game to the Buffalo Bills, 30-13. They have won 1 Super Bowl (IV) in two appearances.
They won AFL Championships in 1962 as the Dallas Texans and in 1966 and 1969 as the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kansas City is the defending AFC West Champion.
The Chiefs are playing the first of two consecutive prime time games.
This is Kansas City’s second MNF game of the season.
The last Chiefs victory in Foxboro was on December 2, 1990 when they won 37-7.
Kansas City is 0-2 vs. New England on Monday night. They lost 30-24 at Foxboro Stadium on Dec 4, 2000 and 27-19 on Nov 22, 2004 at Arrowhead Stadium.
Since the 1970 merger the teams have met 14 times and the teams are 7-7. But the two former AFL teams have never met in the playoffs.
Kansas City’s defense has 13 INT’s and 9 games it’s the most in club history since they had 18 after 9 games in 2003.
The Chiefs defense has allowed opponents to convert 39.2% (47 of 120) of the time on 3rd down, while the offense has a 3rd down conversion rate of 38.4% (48 of 125).
The Kansas City defense has sacked the opponents quarterback 9 times in 9 games.
The Chiefs are 27th in the NFL in points per game with 15.7. While they allow 24.2 points per game good for a tie for 23rd in the NFL.
Kansas City is MINUS 1 in turnover differential, 18th best in the NFL. The offense has given up 9 INT and 7 fumbles, while the defense has 13 INT and 2 fumble recoveries.
Chiefs Staff Notes
Read what Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley had to say to the New England media about the match up.
Todd Haley is 18-23 in his third season as a head coach. He is 0-1 in the playoffs for an overall record of 18-24. He has never faced New England in his career.
Haley is the son of Dick Haley who helped build the 1970’s Pittsburgh Steelers teams. His father also played in the NFL has a halfback with Washington, Minnesota and Pittsburgh.
Haley is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father played in the league.
Former New England defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel has the same position with Kansas City. Crennel won three Super Bowls as the defensive coordinator of the Patriots.
Former Patriots Director of Player Personnel Scott Pioli is now the General Manager of the Chiefs.
Offensive Coordinator Bill Muir is a former Patriots offensive line coach from 1982-84.
Defensive Line Coach Anthony Pleasant played for New England from 2001-03 and won two Super Bowl rings.
Defensive Quality Control Coach Otis Smith was a Patriots DB in 1996 and then returned from 2000-02 and won a Super Bowl ring.
Chiefs Players Notes
Former Patriots QB Matt Cassel has never faced his former team and will not get a chance to this season as he suffered a hand injury that required surgery. It looks like he will miss the rest of the season.
Cassel was 10-5 in 2008 for the Patriots while filling in for the injured Tom Brady.
Cassel, who is 28-27 including playoffs, made his first Pro Bowl in 2010.
What Cassel’s injury means to the Chiefs.
Starting in Cassel’s place will be back up QB Tyler Palko. Palko is making his first NFL start.
Palko was undrafted in 2007 out of the University of Pittsburgh. He was signed by New Orleans as an undrafted free agent in 2007 and split time between the practice squad and active roster. In 2009 he split the season with, Arizona, the Montreal Allouettes of the CFL and Pittsburgh. In 2010 he was signed by Kansas City and split time between the practice squad and the active roster. This season he was named the back up to Cassel. He did not play football in 2008.
Palko throws left-handed.
Kansas City QB’s have been sacked 22 times in 9 games.
Chiefs back up quarterback Rick Stanzi now has to prepare for a new role.
Kansas City lost S Eric Berry for the season when he suffered an injury Week 1 against Buffalo.
LB Derrick Johnson leads the Chiefs in tackles with 94.
LB Tamba Hali has the team lead in sacks with 6 and QB pressures with 19.
WR Dwayne Bowe has 41 team leading 41 catches and 4 TD’s.
The Chiefs have one New England native on the roster they are: RB Shane Bannon (Southbury CT). They have six players who played for a New England school or a Big East Conference member. They are: WR Jonathan Baldwin (Pittsburgh); TE Anthony Becht (WVU); LB Jovan Belcher (Maine); QB Tyler Palko (Pittsburgh); RB Shane Bannon (Yale – IR) and WR Jeremy Horn (UMass – Practice Squad).
Next Week
The Patriots visit the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia PA. Kick off is at 4:15 p.m. on CBS.
Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem
