We know he is a beast on the field and there isn’t much he can’t do.  He catches, he blocks, he scores touchdowns rushing and receiving hell he even scores with strippers but who knew New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski was bilingual?  Certainly Gronk himself didn’t.

The sporting world found out another reason to love Gronk it’s because he is “Yo soy fiesta!”, translated to “I am party”.

During an interview with ESPN Deportes in which the reporter asked the questions in both Spanish and English, Gronk opened as only he could with, “Hola!, me llamo Roberto”!

I just hope our Hispanic brethren realize it was “Gronk being Gronk” and that they aren’t offended.

Follow Steve on Twitter  @SteveMichaelsII

Each time I see the replay of Sterling Moore knocking the ball away from Lee Evans I can’t believe that the rookie with only a few games of NFL experience had the presence of mind to make that play.  But thank God he did because when you combine that with just an awful field goal attempt by Baltimore it sent the Patriots to Super Bowl XLVI.

I say that whole attempt was bad, not just the awful kick by Billy Cundiff.  The snap wasn’t the best, the holder never got the laces spun out and it appeared as if the ball was still being spun as Cundiff made contact.  Wide Left.

John Harbaugh was all class in the loss as were the Ravens owners and players.  The two teams dislike each other but they respect each other.  It’s very different from say Patriots/Jets or Ravens/Steelers where it seems to be more dislike than respect going both ways.

The best part of this win combined with the Giants defeat of the Forty Niners is that Patriots can exercise those Super Bowl XLII demons, right?  Wrong, the best is knowing Jets head coach Rex Ryan’s head is about to explode whenever someone asks him for his Super Bowl prediction.

So at the time of this publication there are still 12 more days left until the game.  We’ve already given you the low down on the stadium where the game will be played and there will be much more to come from Sox & Dawgs in the next week and half or so.

Enjoy the notes below, some of them we will try to expand on before game time and I’m sure we will have forms of minutia for you along the way as well.

Oh and let me know what you think about the rematch I’m interested in your thoughts I’d love to use some in another post.  You can leave them in the comments of this post, email them to me or tweet them to me.  I look forward to your opinions regardless of who you root for.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

New England head coach Bill Belichick now has 192 career wins including playoffs, which are good for 9th all-time. Former Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks head coach Chuck Knox is 8th with 193 wins.

He is now tied for 3rd in post season coaching wins with long time Redskins coach Joe Gibbs is 3rd with 17.  Former Dolphins coach Don Shula is 2nd with 19 and Tom Landry, formerly of Dallas, is 1st with 21.

He is 17-6 in the post season overall, 16-5 with New England.

Here’s is the audio to Belichick’s weekly radio visit to WEEI-AM/FM on Monday afternoon.

The Patriots were 9-1 at The Razor, 6-2 on the road, 5-1 against the AFC East, 1-1 against the AFC North, 1-0 against the AFC South and 5-0 against the AFC West for a 10-2 record vs. the AFC.  They are 3-1 against the NFC East.

New England has won 10 consecutive games since losing to the Giants in Week 9.

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, New England is 76-15 at home including the playoffs it is the best record in the NFL in that time period.

Tom Brady is now 16-5 in the post season and is tied for most all time post season wins with his idol Joe Montana.

Brady has the 3rd most post season TD passes all-time with 36.  Brett Favre is 2nd with 44 TD passes in the post season. Montana is first with 45.

Brady’s weekly Monday morning call in on WEEI

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 100 consecutive games including playoffs, 83 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

The New England defense sacked Baltimore QB Joe Flacco 3 times in Sundays 23-20 win.

There’s a report that Baltimore kicker Billy Cundiff was distracted prior to attempting the game tying kick.

New England is MINUS 3 in playoff turnover differential. The offense gave up 3 INT and 2 fumble, while the defense had 1 INT and 1 fumble recovery.  They finished the regular season as a PLUS 17.

The Patriots are 13-3 at home in the playoffs all-time. They are 9-2 in the post season at Gillette Stadium.

Overall in the playoffs they are 23-15 and 7-1 in AFC Championship Games.

ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss has the Patriots 3 up, 3 down.

Early line on the game has the Patriots MINUS 3 1/2 and an over/under of 55.

The Patriots have been designated as the home team in the Super Bowl based on conference rotation.  As the home team they have the choice of which jersey they want to wear and have decided to wear their home blue meaning the Giants will be in their road whites, same as Super Bowl XLII.

Here’s a recap of the jersey’s worn by the Patriots during their previous six Super Bowl appearances.

Brady and Belichick will make a record 5th Super Bowl appearance as a quarterback/head coach combo topping Staubach/Landry; Kelly/Levy and Bradshaw/Noll.

Due to the fact that the Giants and Patriots are playing in the Super Bowl, the players elected to the Pro Bowl will not be able to participate and have been replaced by the NFL.  Here is the complete list.

NFL uniform rules do not allow teams to wear their alternate, throwback or third jerseys in post season play.

Some seats for the Super Bowl are going as high for $2,000.

With the Patriots as the home team, Brady will be using Peyton Manning’s locker.

The Patriots will face the New York Giants on February 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium in Super Bowl XLVI.  Look for the Sox & Dawgs “In The Red Zone Game Preview” available on the Friday before the game.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

On Sunday, February 5, the New England Patriots and the New York Giants will face off in Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

For most of us who are Patriots fans know this as the “The House that Peyton Built”, as it is the regular season home of Indianapolis Colts and their current quarterback Peyton Manning.  He just happens to be one the Patriots nemeses and the older brother of the Giants quarterback, Eli Manning.

This is the first Super Bowl to be held in Indianapolis and Lucas Oil Stadium, which opened for the 2008 NFL season.  Designed by HKS and A2so4 Architecture at a cost of $720 million, “The Luke” sits 63,000 for the Colts regular season games but for the Super Bowl it will be expanded to 70,000.  It has a Field Turf playing surface.

This isn’t the first big event at Lucas Oil having recently hosted the first Big Ten Football Championship game and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four in 2010.

The all purpose stadium which replaced the RCA Dome, that resided next door, features both a retractable roof and a window wall that allows for play indoors or outdoors.  The building features a brown brick exterior trimmed in Indiana Limestone and is meant to compliment the other older structures downtown.

NFL rules state that the home team will make the call 90 minutes prior to game time on whether or not the roof will be opened or closed.  But in the event of a Super Bowl game that decision is left up to the NFL.  With Indianapolis being a ‘winter weather” city expect the roof at “The Drum” to be closed on Super Sunday.

The stadium, in addition to the regular seating, has 137 luxury suites, eight field suites, 12 super suites and the Quarterback Suite, a 200 seat semi-private party room.

Above the playing surface are two high definition scoreboards; each one measuring 97 feet by 53 feet and situated in opposing corners.

Lucas Oil Stadium and the city of Indianapolis were awarded the Super Bowl back in 2008 based on a bidding system.  They were selected over Houston, Texas and Glendale, Arizona, the site of the last Super Bowl between the Giants and the Patriots in February 2008.

Here is a link for a list of prohibited items at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Maps and Directions for Lucas Oil Stadium.

A 360 degree view of Lucas Oil Stadium.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

Photo credit: AroundIndy.com

If you woke me, or for that matter any New England Patriots fan, up on January 19, 2002 and said this game you will watch tonight is the pivotal game in franchise history.  This game will determine the next ten years of the franchise I, as well as those other fans, would have laughed in your face.

If you told me on that day that the kid running the offense and wearing #12 would become not only the “Greatest Patriot” but one of the greatest NFL players to ever wear a uniform, I would have laughed in your face.

If on that day in January you said the place kicker Adam Vinatieri would kick not one, but two, field goals in a driving snow storm.  That those field goals would not only tie, but also win the game in overtime, and that he would become the greatest clutch kicker in NFL history I would have laughed in your face.

If you were to say to me that day would propel that team, that coach and those players into the territory of becoming a NFL Dynasty, I would have laughed in your face.

If you said that a little known rule on the NFL books would save that game, the season and push a team towards being the team of the decade, I would have laughed in your face.

That play in the snow in Foxboro pushed New England into the conference championship game were they beat Pittsburgh, 24-17, on the road and into the franchises third Super Bowl appearance.

I remember saying to friends on “Super Sunday” as the team prepared to take the field against the St. Louis Rams, “why is it when we make the Super Bowl we always seem to play the team of the year?”

To continue reading a Decade of Tuck, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

In the past the Patriots played the Chicago Bears and were embarrassed in Super Bowl XX and then the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI and had a tough game.  Now standing before them were the Rams who had already won a Super Bowl two years earlier and were on the verge of being one the great teams in the NFL.

Their opponent, the New England Patriots, who as all the pundits thought, were there to be served up to slaughter as the Rams were awaiting coronation.  Even St. Louis players in the pregame moments were all talking of dynasty and the “Greatest Show on Turf”.

But New England fans saw with their own eyes what a bunch of rag tag NFL players all pulling in one direction could accomplish.  They beat the crap out of anything wearing a St. Louis uniform.  Marshall Faulk, the games greatest all purpose running back at that time, was chipped, chucked and thrown to the grown.  MVP QB Kurt Warner was abused anytime a New England defender was in reach getting hit, chipped and sacked.

After a tight affair it looked like we were going to have our first ever overtime Super Bowl game.  In fact Hall of Fame coach John Madden, who was calling the game for Fox Sports, said if he were coaching he’d play for overtime and not risk a turnover.

But Patriots coach Bill Belichick, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and QB Tom Brady had different thoughts.  After a stirring drive to get into field goal range Vinatieri kicked the winning field goal as time expired and the improbable had happened the New England Patriots were Super Bowl Champions.

In the next ten seasons Patriots fans would be a witness to history.  Three Super Bowl titles in four appearances, the first team to go 16-0 in the regular season, Brady would win two NFL MVP awards, they would set records for points and every thing else in 2007.  They overcame the ACL injury to Brady and continued to make the playoffs and this season they are appearing in their 6th conference championship game since the Tuck Rule game.

In those ten years we’ve seen a new stadium open, a new team Hall of Fame open, a new shopping center open and have experienced the loss of Myra Kraft, for whom this season is dedicated.

Since the Tuck Rule game the New England Patriots have become a NFL Dynasty, one of the greatest franchises in NFL history.  They are now mentioned in the same breath as the Steelers, Bears, Cowboys, Niners and Packers.  Teams in other sports come to see how they are run.  Their employees are sought after for the leading jobs with other NFL and college teams.  Their head coach is a sure fire Hall of Famer, as is the owner, the quarterback and a few others who have played in their Sunday football in Foxboro.

It has been an amazing ten years since the Tuck Rule game.  I am truly afraid that I have been asleep all this time like Rip Van Winkle and that there is no Tom Brady or Bill Belichick or Adam Vinatieri.  That the three Super Bowl titles don’t exist, nor does the stadium, the Hall or the Kraft family and that the great and amazing plays I have witnessed this past decade are all just a dream.

What ever you do though please don’t wake me up, I’m too busy laughing.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

Photo credit: Getty Images

Well what do you say in recapping that one sided win over Denver in the AFC Division Round of the NFL Playoffs?  A lot has already been said regarding Tom Brady, the Patriots offense, Tim Tebow, Tim Tebow and Tim Tebow by everyone else that I am going to skip all that nonsense.

I also fully understand that they played the Denver Broncos, for the second time in a month, a team that is running a college option oriented offense and won big in part because the defense was dominating.

It had to be expected to some extent but there was no way anyone could have predicted that defensive prowess we all witnessed on Saturday night.  The stat sheet says five sacks, but I counted six, 15 plays for negative yardage…FIFTEEN!  I don’t think this team had more than 2 or 3 in a game prior to this week.

The biggest change in the defense was the healthy returns of S Patrick Chung and LB Brandon Spikes.  Both guys can really bring the wood shed when it comes to hitting people and that little edge, that toughness has been missing through the middle of the field the second half of the season.

There were a lot of players, in addition to Spikes and Chung, who came to play on defense Saturday night.  Among them were DE Gerard “Big Money” Warren, DE Shaun Ellis, DT Vince Wilfork, DT Kyle Love, LB Rob Ninkovich, LB Jerod Mayo, CB Devin McCourty, DE Mark Anderson, S Sterling Moore and S James Ihedigbo.  It was a true team effort and they looked very good all game.

Now the team prepares for it’s next opponent the Baltimore Ravens, who know about defense themselves.  It’s offensively that the Ravens appear to be challenged and you have to wonder if their defense can keep the Patriots point total down low enough for the Raven offense to outscore them.

Then there is the issue of retribution.  Sure they beat the Ravens in the regular season last year at Gillette 23-20 in OT but you can bet one of this week’s motivational posters is a picture of Baltimore RB Ray Rice going 83-yards on the games’ first play in the 2009 AFC Wild Card Game.

That was New England’s first home playoff loss at Gillette and their first overall at home since 1978 when they had lost to the Houston Oilers.  That day Baltimore embarrassed them badly and Bill Belichick will not allow his team to forget it.  In fact I will say this, anyone left over from the 2009 team won’t need a reminder.  They’ve been waiting for this day for two years.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

New England head coach Bill Belichick now has 191 career wins including playoffs, which are good for 9th all-time. Former Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks head coach Chuck Knox is 8th with 193 wins.

He is now tied for 4th in post season coaching wins with Steelers legend Chuck Noll with 16. Long time Redskins coach Joe Gibbs is 3rd with 17.  Former Dolphins coach Don Shula is 2nd with 19 and Tom Landry, formerly of Dallas, is 1st with 21.

He is 16-6 in the post season overall, 15-5 with New England.

Here’s is the audio to Belichick’s weekly radio visit to WEEI-AM/FM on Monday afternoon.

The Patriots were 1-2 against playoff teams in 2011 beating Denver and losing to the New York Giants and Pittsburgh.

Awful Announcing has your full NFL Playoffs Announcing Schedule.

The Patriots were 7-1 at The Razor, 6-2 on the road, 5-1 against the AFC East, 0-1 against the AFC North, 1-0 against the AFC South and 4-0 against the AFC West for a 10-2 record vs. the AFC.  They finished 3-1 against the NFC East.

New England has won 9 consecutive games after a 2 game losing streak.  It is the longest current win streak in the NFL.

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, New England is 75-15 at home including the playoffs it is the best record in the NFL in that time period.

The win over Denver on Saturday night snapped a three game playoff losing streak. Before Saturday, their last post season win was the 2007 AFC Championship game played in Foxboro when they beat San Diego to go to 18-0.

Tom Brady is now 15-5 in the post season.  He second all time in post season wins behind his idol, Joe Montana who has 16.

Brady has the 3rd most post season TD passes all-time with 36.  Brett Favre is 2nd with 44 TD passes in the post season. Montana is first with 45.

Brady set a NFL record with five TD passes in one half of a playoff game.

He also tied Daryle Lamonica and Steve Young with 6 TD passes in one playoff game.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 99 consecutive games including playoffs, 82 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

The New England defense sacked Denver QB Tim Tebow 6 times in Saturdays 45-10 win and caused him to fumble once.

New England is MINUS 1 in playoff turnover differential. The offense gave up 1 INT and 1 fumble, while the defense had 0 INTs and 1 fumble recovery.  They finished the regular season as a PLUS 17.

In 15 of the 16 games this season the Patriots opened on defense.  They won 7 of 16 coin flips and elected to defer each time.  Opponents won the coin toss 9 of 16 times and 8 times elected to receive.

The lone game the Patriots opened on offense was Week 3 in Buffalo, a game they lost.

Saturday night Denver won the coin toss and deferred so New England started on offense and quickly scored the games first touchdown in less than two minutes.

This is New England’s 8th AFC Championship Game appearance; they are 6-1 in the game with their lone loss coming after the 2006 season at Indianapolis.

The 8 appearances are the 3rd most in the conference tied with Denver.  Only the Oakland/LA Raiders (11) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (15) have more.

7 of the 8 AFC Championship Game appearances have come since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994.

This will be the 4th time (1996, 2003, 2007 and 2011) the Patriots have hosted the AFC Championship Game.

The Patriots are 12-3 at home in the playoffs all-time. They are 8-2 in the post season at Gillette Stadium.

Overall in the playoffs they are 22-15.

Saturday the Patriots set a team record with 45 points most ever scored in a post season game.

As part of a draft day trade in April with New Orleans (Mark Ingram) the Patriots have the Saints 1st round draft pick this year and it’s locked in at #27.

ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss has the Patriots offensive snaps and defensive snaps vs. Denver and his 3 up, 3 down.

The Patriots report card.

The team finally played a 60-minute game on both sides of the ball.

The Ravens aren’t such a menacing match up for the Patriots.

The TV Ratings for the Denver-New England game did a prime number.

The Patriots defense rose to the occasion on Saturday night.

Want tickets to the AFC Championship game?  You can try getting them here.

The Boston Globe’s photos from the Broncos-Patriots game.

Ravens LB Ray Lewis on giving the Patriots a game, “we’re not the Denver Broncos”.

A bit of sadness early this week in the locker room WR Chad Ochocinco’s dad passed away early Monday morning.

Early line on the game has the Patriots MINUS 7 and an over/under of 50.

One of the people responsible for the Patriots player development, Jason Licht, was interviewed by the Chicago Bears for their open general manager job.

The Patriots will face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Gillette Stadium in the AFC Championship Game.  Look for the Sox & Dawgs “In The Red Zone Game Preview” available on the Friday before the game.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

The Denver Broncos came into Foxboro with hopes of upsetting the New England Patriots and once again send the Patriots home earlier than expected in the post season.  But with all the hype about Broncos QB Tim Tebow the sporting world seemed to forget about a man named Tom Brady.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  Brady plays best when he is pissed off.  He needs a chip on shoulder it pushes him.  If there isn’t one he will make one up. This time the chip was disrespect, I am willing to bet Brady has felt disrespected with all the attention given to Tebow when Brady is a three time champion, a two time most valuable player and a sure fire Hall of Famer.

I think it’s safe to say no one will ever forget about Brady again.  He just absolutely annihilated the Broncos from start to finish, he was 26 of 34 for 363 yards with 6 TD passes and 1 INT.  He set one NFL record, tied another and he and the team broke several other team marks in this one sided blow out as well.

But it just wasn’t Brady and his multitude of offensive weapons that did the damage in the 45-10 win over Denver on Saturday at Gillette Stadium.  The Patriots defense actually showed up sacking Tebow a half dozen times and stopping the Broncos running backs for several negative yard plays.

While Brady and Rob Gronkowski were setting records, Aaron Hernandez was showing his versatility by playing running back, as did Julian Edelman with time on both sides.  The defense led by Rob Ninkovich, Brandon Spikes, Jerod Mayo, Devin McCourty and host of others was really, really good.

The best part is that the Patriots will once again be at home next weekend playing against either the Houston Texans or the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC Championship.

Broncos at Patriots Gamebook. This includes the box score, all the stats, play by play, drive charts and more.

Broncos at Patriots Game Recap.

To continue reading the Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots recap, hit the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Turning Point(s) of the Game

The 61-yard TD pass by Tom Brady to Deion Branch seemed to deflate Denver and it opened up the late second quarter lead to 28-7.

Offensive Player(s) of the Game

QB Tom Brady who was 26 of 34 for 363 yards 6 TD’s and 1 INT

Defensive Player(s) of the Game

LB Brandon Spikes had 6 tackles (3 solo); 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, 2 QB hits, 1 pass defensed and 1 fumble recovered.

Game Notes

Starters for the Patriots were:

On Offense:

LT – Light

LG – Mankins

C – Connolly

RG – Waters

RT – Solder

TE – Hernandez

TE – Gronkowski

WR – Branch

WR – Welker

QB – Brady

RB – Green-Ellis

On Defense:

DE – Wilfork

DT – Deaderick

DT – Love

DE – Anderson

LB – Mayo

LB – Spikes

LB – Ninkovich

CB – McCourty

CB – Arrington

S – Chung

S – Ihedigbo

Inactives for the Game:

Patriots

1. DE Ron Brace

2. T Sebastian Vollmer (back/knee)

3. T Donald Thomas

4. LB Gary Guyton

5. RB Shane Vereen

6. CB Nate Jones

7. QB Ryan Mallett

Broncos

1. LS Lonnie Paxton (family issue)

2. WR Eric Decker (knee)

3. S Brian Dawkins (neck)

4. DE Derrick Harvey

5. TE Julius Thomas

6. T Ryan Harris

7. LB Mike Mohammed

The spread (Patriots minus 13 1/2) WAS covered.  The over/under (50 1/2) WAS COVERED.  I TOOK the points (Broncos) and took the OVER.  I am now 10-6-1 vs. the spread and 13 of 17 calling the under/over.

Broncos won the toss and deferred.  It’s only the second game this season that New England has started with the ball.  The other was Week 3 in Buffalo a 34-31 loss.

The Broncos lead the all-time series 27-18 including playoffs (2-1).

New England and Denver have now met three times in the playoffs with the home team winning each time.

The Patriots are 9-9 as the home team in the series.

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, New England is 75-15 at home including the playoffs.

The Patriots are 12-3 at home in the playoffs all-time. They are 8-2 in the post season at Gillette Stadium.

Overall in the playoffs they are 22-15, they are 9-6 in the Divisional Round.

This is the first time the teams have had a playoff game in Foxboro.

New England has won 9 consecutive games after a 2 game losing streak.  It is their longest win streak of the season.

Patriots set a team record with 45 points most ever scored in a post season game.

Bill Belichick’s 191 wins are good for 9th all-time.  Chuck Knox, who coached the Rams, Redskins and Seahawks, is 8th all-time with 193.

He is now tied for 4th in post season coaching wins with Steelers legend Chuck Noll with 16. Long time Redskins coach Joe Gibbs is 3rd with 17.

Belichick is 5-10 vs. the Denver in his career.  He is 5-6 against them as the head coach in New England and that includes the playoffs (1-1).

Tom Brady is 3-6 vs. the Broncos including 1-1 in the playoffs.

He is now 15-5 in the post season.  He is now second all time behind his idol, Joe Montana who is 1st with 16 post season wins.

Brady started the game tied for 5th most post season TD passes with Terry Bradshaw (30) and then surpassed Kurt Warner (31) and Dan Marino (32) and is now all alone 3rd all-time with 36.  Brett Favre is 2nd with 44 TD passes in the post season.

Brady set a NFL record with five TD passes in one half of a playoff game.

He also tied Daryle Lamonica and Steve Young with 6 TD passes in one playoff game.

He even got off a quick kick near the end of the game.  That wasn’t the first time he did that either.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 99 consecutive games including playoffs, 82 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

A fan that felt he was being ignored scored two tickets to the game and more from Patriots WR Chad Ochocinco.

Good Morning, America; The New Yorker; GQ; People and Time Magazine all had media credentials for tonight’s game.

New England scored on its first drive for only second time in the last 12 games.

The Patriots were 3 of 6 in 3rd down efficiency with no fourth down attempts.  The Broncos were 7 of 18 on 3rd down and 2 for 3 on 4th down attempts.

New England was 5 of 6 in the red zone and 1 for 2 in goal to go, while Denver was 1 for 3 in the red zone and 1 for 2 in goal to go.

This is the first time Denver has made the playoffs since the 2005 season.

Denver is 18-16 in the post season now.

The Broncos are 2-2 in Gillette Stadium.

Denver is the only team to beat New England twice in the playoffs.

John Fox is 82-80 in his 10th season as a head coach; he was 8-8 in his 1^st season with Denver and 73-71 in 9 seasons with Carolina.  In the playoffs he is 6-4 overall (5-3 with Carolina; 1-1 with Denver) for an overall record of 88-84.

Fox is 1-4 vs. New England including one Super Bowl (0-1).  He is 0-2 with Denver and 1-2 with Carolina.

Tim Tebow is now 1-1 in the playoffs in his 2-year career.

He is 0-2 vs. New England in his career with both decisions coming this season.

Former Patriots and current Broncos LS Lonnie Paxton did not make the trip for the playoff game.  His wife is 5 months pregnant and is battling a very serious pregnancy issue that could kill her.

Gene Steratore was the game referee.  Did you know Steratore is also a Big East basketball ref?  He was supposed to call the UConn/Notre Dame earlier in the day but passed on it for the playoff game.

The temp at kickoff was 28, windy and cold with a wind chill of 8 degrees.

Attendance: 68,756 at Gillette Stadium, Foxboro MA.

Post Game Interviews

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Patriots QB Tom Brady post game press conferences via patriots.com

Next Game

The Patriots host the winner of Sunday’s Houston/Baltimore game in the AFC Championship Game. Kick off is at 3 p.m. Sunday on CBS from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

Photo credit: Elsa – Getty Images

This Week

The New England Patriots host the Denver Broncos at Gillette Stadium on Saturday at 8 p.m.

The Patriots (13-3) are 7-1 at The Razor, 4-0 against the AFC West and 10-2 in the conference.  They are the AFC East Champions and the top seed in the conference.

The Broncos (9-8) are 5-3 on the road, 2-2 vs. the AFC East and 7-6 against the conference.  They are the AFC West Champions and the fourth seed in the conference.

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from Yahoo! Sports has the Patriots at MINUS 13 1/2.  The over under is 50 1/2.

My Prediction is Patriots 35, Broncos, 24.  Take the points (Broncos) and take the over.  I am 10-5-1 against the spread and 12 of 16 on calling the over/under in 2011.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 192nd 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

CBS in televising the game nationally and Jim Nantz will do play by play while Phil Simms will provide the game analysis.  You can look here for your local affiliate.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules; flex scheduling and commercial breaks.

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.

The Patriots radio network call is available on Sirius Channel 86, XM Channel 226 and on SiriusXM Internet Channel 879.

The Broncos Radio network has Dave Logan calling play by play and former Bronco Brian Griese doing the color via their flagship station KOA.  Their call is available on Sirius Channel 92, XM Channel 225 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 870.

The game will also be broadcast to a national audience by Westwood One Radio Sports. Dave Sims and James Lofton will call the game.  The national radio feed from can be heard on Sirius Channel 88, XM Channel 88 and SiriusXM Internet 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 Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots AFC Divisional Playoff preview, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Last Week

The Patriots had a bye week and did not play; while the Broncos beat the Steelers at home, 29-23 in overtime of the AFC Wildcard Round.

History

• The Broncos lead the all-time series 27-17 including playoffs.
• The Patriots are 8-9 as the home team in the series.
• New England and Denver have met twice in the playoffs with Denver winning both times at home in 1986 and 2005.
• The Patriots and the Broncos are the last two teams to win back-to-back Super Bowls.
• In 1960 the teams faced each other in the inaugural game of each franchise.
• The two teams last met in Week 15 in Denver and the Patriots won 41-23.

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 414-366-9.  They are 21-15 in the post season and 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 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.

The Patriots are the defending AFC East Champions they have won the division nine of the last 11 seasons and three years in a row.

New England is the top seed for the second consecutive season and 4th time overall.

They are the first AFC team to have the top seed two years in a row since Buffalo in 1990 and 1991.

This is the 9th straight season the Patriots have had 10 wins or more and 10th time in the last 11 years.

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, New England is 74-15 at home including the playoffs.

The Patriots are 11-3 at home in the playoffs all-time. They are 7-2 in the post season at Gillette Stadium.

Overall in the playoffs they are 21-15.

PATRIOTS PLAYOFF RECORD BY ROUND

• First Round                   0-1
• Wild Card Round            4-3
• Divisional Round            8-6
• AFC Championship         6-1
• AFL Championship          0-1
• Super Bowl                   3-3

New England has played Denver 10 times since 2000.  This is only the Patriots 3rd home game against Denver in those 10 games.

This is the first time the teams have had a playoff game in Foxboro.

New England has won eight consecutive games after a two game losing streak.  It is their longest win streak of the season.

This season the Patriots defense allowed opponents to convert 43.1% of the time on 3^rd down, while the offense had a 3^rd down conversion rate of 45.9%.

The New England defense sacked the opponents quarterback 40 times in 16 games.

The Patriots finished 3rd in the NFL in points per game with 32.1.  While they allowed 21.4 points per game good for 15th in the NFL.

New England finished PLUS 17 in turnover differential. The offense has given up 12 INT and 5 fumbles, while the defense has 23 INT and 11 fumble recoveries.  The PLUS 17 was third in the NFL and 1st in the AFC.

Patriots Staff Notes

This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Tuesday press conference transcript on the Broncos.

Bill Belichick is 4-10 vs. the Denver in his career.  He is 4-6 against them as the head coach in New England and that includes the playoffs (0-1).

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 175-97 in 16 NFL seasons.  He is 139-53 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 190-103.

Belichick’s 190 wins are good for 9th all-time.  Chuck Knox, who coached the Rams, Redskins and Seahawks, is 8th all-time with 193.

Belichick is 5th in post season coaching wins with 15. Steelers legend Chuck Noll is 4th with 16 and long time Redskins coach Joe Gibbs is 3rd with 17.

He is the first coach in NFL history to have his teams win 10 games or more in 9 consecutive seasons.

He has been the NFL coach of the year three times.

Belichick is one of five head coaches in NFL history whose father (Steve Belichick) played in the league.  The others are former 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).

New England has only failed to make the playoffs three times under Belichick in 2000, 2002 and 2008.

New England offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien has accepted the head coaching job at Penn State University, he will remain with New England through their playoff run.

The Patriots have hired Josh McDaniels as an offensive assistant for the remainder of the season, he started this week.  McDaniels was the offensive coordinator in St. Louis this season but was available when ownership said they wouldn’t hold him to his contract after firing head coach Steve Spagnuolo.  McDaniels will be the offensive coordinator starting with the 2012 season replacing O’Brien, who had replaced him.

McDaniels is the former head coach of the Denver Broncos, in his two seasons there he acquired many of the players currently on the Denver roster.

Belichick was the assistant special teams/assistant to the defensive coordinator for the Broncos during the 1978 season.

Special teams coach, Scott O’Brien, was the special teams’ coordinator for the Broncos in 2007 and 2008.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

LT: Light

LG: Thomas

C: Connolly

RG: Waters

RT: Solder

TE: Gronkowski

TE: Hernandez

WR: Branch

WR: Welker

QB: Brady

RB: Ridley

Defense:

DE: Ellis

DT: Love

DT: Wilfork

DE: Deaderick

LB: Ninkovich

LB: Mayo

LB: Fletcher

CB: McCourty

CB: Arrington

S: Chung

S: Ihedigbo

Patriots Players Notes

This is Tom Brady’s 12^th NFL season he is 2-6 vs. the Broncos including 0-1 in the playoffs.

Denver is the only team in which Brady has a losing record against.

Overall Brady is 124-34 as a starting QB and is 14-5 in the playoffs for an overall record of 138-39.  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 21^st 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.

Brady threw for 39 TD’s and 12 INT’s while being sacked 32 times in 16 games.

Brady has 300 TD passes in his career he is now tied for 5th all-time with Hall of Fame QB John Elway, who ironically played his entire career in Denver.

Brady has 124 career wins he is now tied for 5th all-time with Fran Tarkenton.

He became just the third quarterback to surpass 5,000 passing yards in a season he finished with 5,235 which is second most all-time to Drew Brees who had 5,476 this year.  Detroit QB Matt Stafford also went over 5,000 yards passing this season (5,038).

Brady also set a franchise record for completions in a season with 401 breaking the mark set by Drew Bledsoe of 400 in 1994.

Brady is tied for 5th most post season TD passes with Terry Bradshaw both have 30.  Kurt Warner is 4th at 31 and Dan Marino is 3rd with 32.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 98 consecutive games including playoffs, 81 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

Welker set a team record for receiving yards with 1,569.

TE Rob Gronkowski set the NFL record for single season yards (1,327) by a tight end that was held by the great Kellen Winslow Sr. with 1,290 yards in 1980.  Earlier in Week 17 New Orleans TE Jimmy Graham broke the record first (1,310), then Gronk broke Graham’s mark.

Gronkowski combined with Aaron Hernandez to set a NFL record for most catches by tight ends on team in one season with 169.

RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis became just the third running back in franchise history with consecutive 10 TD seasons.

DE Mark Anderson had one sack on Sunday to give the Patriots two players with 10 or more sacks in a season joining injured teammate Pro Bowler, Andre Carter.

CB Kyle Arrington tied for first in the NFL with 7 interceptions.

Rookie T Nate Solder attended the University of Colorado. He is from Buena Vista, CO.

There are 39 players on the roster who have played in the playoffs and 14 who have not.

On Wednesday the team listed 15 players on the injury report.  Those listed as limited in practice were S Patrick Chung (foot); T Sebastian Vollmer (back/foot) CB Kyle Arrington (foot); C Dan Connolly (groin); T Matt Light (ankle); G Logan Mankins (knee); WR Julian Edelman (back); LB Dane Fletcher (thumb); S James Ihedigbo (shoulder); CB Devin McCourty (shoulder); WR Matthew Slater (shoulder); LB Brandon Spikes (MCL) and WR Wes Welker (knee).  DT Kyle Love (non-injury) did not participate and QB Tom Brady (shoulder) had full participation.

On Thursday T Marcus Cannon was added to the injury report with an ankle injury and was limited at practice.  The team also removed Kyle Love, Matt Light, Julian Edelman and Devin McCourty from the injury list.  The status on the other 11 remained unchanged.

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 12 players who played for a New England school or a Big East Conference member.  They are: WR Deion Branch (Louisville); WR/TE Dorin Dickerson (Pitt); S James Ihedigbo (UMass); CB Nathan Jones (Rutgers); C Dan Koppen (Boston College – IR); CB Devin McCourty (Rutgers); NT Vince Wilfork (Miami), OL Donald Thomas (UConn); DE Mike Wright (Cincinnati – IR); DE Ron Brace (Boston College); WR Tiquan Underwood (Rutgers) and DE Alex Silvestro (Rutgers – Practice Squad).

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.

Broncos Team Notes

Here is the Broncos roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2011 Broncos Schedule/Results

Denver’s all-time record is 406-372-10 and they are 18-15 in the playoffs with their last playoff appearance coming in 2005.  That season the Broncos beat New England in the AFC Division round and then lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game.  Denver has won two Super Bowls (XXXII, XXXIII) in six appearances.

This season Denver beat Pittsburgh in the AFC Wild Card Round, 29-23 in OT at Mile High.

Former Broncos QB and Hall of Fame member John Elway is the team’s executive vice president of football operations assuming that position in January 2011.

Denver is the only current AFC West team to never relocate or change its nickname.

In the decade long history of the AFL, Denver was the only team to never play in a championship game.

The Broncos will be switching back to orange jerseys in 2012 as their primary home uniform and dropping the navy pants.  They will wear the navy jerseys as their alternate home uniform.  They wanted to make the changes for this season but they were too late in notifying the NFL of the changes.

Denver has nearly an identical overall franchise record as New England.

The Broncos are 2-1 in Gillette Stadium.

This season the Broncos defense allowed opponents to convert 33.5% of the time on 3^rd down, while the offense had a 3^rd down conversion rate of 30.8%.

The Denver defense sacked the opponents quarterback 41 times in 16 games.

The Broncos finished 25th in the NFL in points per game with 19.3.  While they allowed 24.4 points per game good for 21st in the NFL.

Denver is MINUS 12 in turnover differential, 26th best in the NFL. The offense has given up 13 INT and 17 fumbles, while the defense has 9 INT and 9 fumble recoveries.

Denver is the only team to beat New England twice in the playoffs.

In the 2005 playoffs, Denver beat New England.  Until last weeks victory over Pittsburgh, that was the last playoff game Denver won and only post season victory since Elway retired as a player.

Broncos Staff Notes

Read what Denver Broncos head coach John Fox had to say to the New England media about the match up.

John Fox is 82-79 in his 10th season as a head coach; he was 8-8 in his 1^st season with Denver and 73-71 in 9 seasons with Carolina.  In the playoffs he is 6-3 overall (5-3 with Carolina; 1-0 with Denver) for an overall record of 87-82.

Fox is 1-3 vs. New England including 1 Super Bowl (0-1).  He is 0-1 with Denver and 1-2 with Carolina.

Denver offensive line coach Dave Magazu attended Springfield College.

Broncos Players Notes

Tim Tebow is in his 2nd season in the NFL and he is 8-6 as a starting QB.  He was the Broncos 1^st round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft out of the University of Florida.  He won two national championships with the Gators and a Heisman Trophy as a sophomore.

Tebow is 1-0 in the playoffs in his career.

The Broncos were 7-4 after Tebow took over as the starting QB.

Tebow is 0-1 vs. New England.

Former Patriots playing in Denver are LS Lonnie Paxton, DE Ty Warren (IR), G Russ Hochstein and DB Jonathan Wilhite.

On Wednesday and Thursday the following players were listed on the injury report.  WR Eric Decker (knee); S Brian Dawkins (neck) and LS Lonnie Paxton (non-injury) did not practice. S David Bruton (Achilles); DE Elvis Dummervil (ankle) and TE Daniel Fells (ankle) were limited while LB Von Miller (thumb) participated fully.

Denver team captains for 2011 are RB Willis McGahee; G Chris Kuper; CB Champ Bailey; S Brian Dawkins and LB Wesley Woodyard.

There is one player on the Broncos roster from a Big East university and New England based college.  He is: DE Elvis Dummervil (Louisville).

The Broncos retired numbers: 7 – John Elway; 18 – Frank Tripucka and 44 – Floyd Little.

Next Week

If the Patriots win they will host the winner of the Houston/Baltimore game in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA.  Kick off is at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

Well the New England Patriots come off their playoff bye week that they earned as the AFC’s top seed and they get to see a familiar foe come to Foxboro.  It’s a rematch of Week 15, as they will face the Denver Broncos, this time in the friendly confines of Gillette Stadium.

This means that Tebow-mania is coming to town after Denver’s second year quarterback Tim Tebow helped lead the Broncos to a 29-23 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

Tebow didn’t throw a lot but when he did he was an effective 10 for 21 for 316 yards and 2 TD passes and it seemed like all ten of his completions were for big gains.  Pittsburgh decided to play the run all day and let Tebow get his throws and it ended up sending the Steelers home for the season.

The last time these two teams met a month ago, Denver’s defense had no answer for New England’s tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski.  While Gronk was slowed down, Hernandez stepped up and took up the slack.

This time around Denver comes to “The Razor” as a 13-point underdog just one day after their big win.  I’m not a big fan of huge point spreads (10+ points) as in most cases they aren’t covered but some are saying there are huge signs that this could be a blow out of epic proportions.

I’m just not sure I’m willing to go there with Tebow on the other sideline.  He’s been playing very smart and he did a lot of things against the Steelers that he hadn’t done this season and he looked good.  It will not doubt strengthen his confidence moving forward.

The other reason is the Patriots pass defense.  All season teams have shredded them between the numbers and that’s area were Tebow operated a lot on Sunday making the Steelers secondary, the top pass defense in the NFL, look foolish.  So what will that mean for New England’s pass defense?

The other concern I have, albeit a smaller one, is in Denver the Broncos ran all over the Patriots in the first quarter racking up 166 yards on the ground in 15 minutes.  Luckily defensive coach Matt Patricia threw out the game plan and reworked it on the sideline and the changes slowed down the Broncos rushing express and also created three turnovers.

The one thing I am not worried about is the offense, which I think will put up at least 30 points on Denver.  The questions is what will the defense give up?

I guess we’ll need to watch Saturday night and find out.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

New England head coach Bill Belichick now has 190 career wins including playoffs, which are good for 9th all-time. Former Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks head coach Chuck Knox is 8th with 193 wins.

Here’s the transcript to Belichick’s weekly day after the game media conference call.

Defensive coach Matt Patricia and Director of Player Development Nick Caserio did conference calls as well.

Caserio turned down the chance to interview for the Colts general managers job.

Josh McDaniels officially started with the Patriots on Sunday and not much was let out about how he will be used during the game.  He was the St. Louis offensive coordinator this season but the Rams let him out of his contract last week.

Kansas City hired former New England defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel as their head coach.  Crennel had been the Chiefs defensive coordinator the last two years before being named interim coach after Todd Haley was fired in December.

The remaining AFC Playoff Seeds are as follows:

1. New England
2. Baltimore
3. Houston
4. Denver

In addition to Denver at New England, Houston will travel to Baltimore looking for a place in the AFC Championship game a week from Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

The remaining NFC Playoff Seeds are as follows:

1. Green Bay
2. San Francisco
3. New Orleans
4. New York Giants

New York is in Green Bay and San Francisco hosts New Orleans as the teams look for a spot in the NFC Championship game a week from Sunday at 7 p.m.

The Patriots were 1-2 against playoff teams in 2011 beating Denver and losing to the New York Giants and Pittsburgh.

Awful Announcing has your full NFL Playoffs Announcing Schedule.

The Patriots were 7-1 at The Razor, 6-2 on the road, 5-1 against the AFC East, 0-1 against the AFC North, 1-0 against the AFC South and 4-0 against the AFC West for a 10-2 record vs. the AFC.  They finished 3-1 against the NFC East.

New England has won 8 consecutive games after a 2 game losing streak.  It is their longest win streak of the season.

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, New England is 74-15 at home including the playoffs it is the best record in the NFL in that time period.

The Patriots have lost their last three playoff games.  Two at Gillette Stadium (Baltimore and New York Jets) and Super Bowl XLII (New York Giants).  Their last post season win was the 2007 AFC Championship game played in Foxboro when they beat San Diego to go to 18-0.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 98 consecutive games including playoffs, 81 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

The Boston Globe’s Bob Hohler on his Gronkness.

The New England defense sacked the opponents quarterback 40 times in the 16 game season.

New England finished PLUS 17 in turnover differential. The offense gave up 12 INTs and 5 fumbles, while the defense had 23 INTs and 11 fumble recoveries.

In 15 of the 16 games this season the Patriots opened on defense.  They won 7 of 16 coin flips and elected to defer each time.  Opponents won the coin toss 9 of 16 times and 8 times elected to receive.

The lone game the Patriots opened on offense was Week 3 in Buffalo, a game they lost.

The Broncos are looking forward to the rematch saying they can’t let New England score 40 points again.

A recap of Tedy Bruschi’s Monday afternoon ESPN chat.

The Patriots will face the Denver Broncos on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Gillette Stadium.  Look for the Sox & Dawgs “In The Red Zone Game Preview” available on the Friday before the game.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

The New England Patriots will hire former Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels as an offensive assistant this weekend and he will join the coaching staff immediately and help with the offense in the playoffs.

McDaniels, who was the St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator this past season, was allowed out of his contract with the NFL club without compensation.

He returns to Foxboro after leaving three seasons ago to become head coach in Denver where he was fired after one and half seasons.  McDaniels was formerly the Patriots offensive coordinator when they put up NFL record numbers in 2007.

It is expected he will regain the offensive coordinator position for the 2012 season replacing current OC Bill O’Brien who is leaving to take the head coaching job at Penn State University.

McDaniels, 35, started in New England a decade ago as a personnel assistant, in 2002 he was a defensive coaching assistant before becoming the quarterbacks coach in 2004.  In 2006 he added offensive coordinator to his responsibilities a position he held through the 2008 season when he left to go to Denver.

He started out well in Denver winning his first 6 games but the team folded in the second half of the season and finished 8-8.  He also had personnel controversies with QB Jay Cutler, who he ended up trading to Chicago, and WR Brandon Marshall who got shipped to Miami after the season.

After starting the 2010 season 3-9 McDaniels was fired.  In 2011 he joined Steve Spagnuolo’s staff in St. Louis only to be left in limbo when Spagnuolo and the teams general manager were fired following the season.

When O’Brien accepted the PSU position Bill Belichick came calling and now it’s reunion time in Foxboro.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem.

According to the Boston Herald’s Ian Rapoport, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien has been telling people around the NFL that he has accepted the job to become the new head football coach at Penn State University late Thursday evening.

O’Brien has become a hot commodity this year after being named New England’s offensive coordinator prior to the start of the season after being the de-facto play caller since former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left to become the head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2009.

He has made headlines the last two seasons with sideline blowups with Tom Brady and former WR Randy Moss.  He was praised in both incidences for how he handled the situation with a star player by not treating them any differently than anyone else who had made the same error.

O’Brien had already been scheduled to interview for the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching position and possibly could have had other NFL interviews lined up as well.

O’Brien, 42, is a Dorchester, MA native and a graduate of Brown University where he played defensive end and linebacker from 1990 to 1992.

He has extensive coaching experience at the college level starting in 1993 at Brown as tight ends and linebackers coach.  He moved on to Georgia Tech in 1995 as an offensive grad assistant and was promoted to running backs coach.  He then became quarterbacks coach and the Yellow Jackets offensive coordinator and later was also given the title as assistant head coach.

In 2003 he was hired at Maryland as running backs coach and he stayed until he moved onto Duke in 2005 as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

In 2007 he was hired by Bill Belichick as an offensive assistant.  The following season he was the Patriots wide receivers coach before replacing McDaniels as the quarterbacks coach in 2009.

It is expected that O’Brien would remain with New England through the NFL playoffs much like Charlie Weis did when he was hired following the 2004 season to be the head coach of Notre Dame.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

Photo credit: Getty Images