This Week

The New England Patriots visit the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA on Sunday at 4:15 p.m.

The Patriots are 4-2 on the road and 5-5 against the AFC. The Raiders are 1-5 at home and 3-7 against the AFC.

Here are the rosters for the Patriots and Raiders.

Here are the projected starting lineups for the game.

The Line/Prediction

As of  today, the line on the game from Yahoo! Sports is Patriots -7. The over/under is 39.5.

Tickets

Tickets to the game, if available, may be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.

Getting To The Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in the Oakland make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast for the game from weather.com.

Click for all the needed information for the stadium including directions, parking information, parking map and an Oakland Coliseum seating chart.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgaiting America. 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 for good measure here is one of my own.

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 by theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or someone’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 is televising the game regionally and Kevin Harlan will do the play-by-play while Rich Gannon will handle the game analysis. You can see if you are getting the game and look for your local CBS Station.

Direct TV NFL Sunday Ticket has the game on Channel 715.

For those of you overseas here is some general information on NFL Broadcasts for the 2008 season.

Patriots All-Access airs Saturday at 7 p.m. on WCVB TV 5 in Boston. It will also be simulcast on the team website at the same time. Make sure you check out the Patriots Football Network for information on when you can see Patriots All-Access in your market.

Radio

The Patriots Rock Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBCN-FM 104.1 in Boston. Gil Santos handles the play-by-play and former Patriot Gino Cappelletti does the color.

It all starts with Gary Tanguay, Scott Zolak and Andy Gresh and the pregame show at 1 p.m. along the network.

The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours.

If you are outside of the broadcast area of the stations on the Patriots Rock Radio Network you can purchase NFL Field Pass which allows you to listen to any NFL game live. You can also pick which teams broadcasters you want to listen to.

All NFL games are also available on Sirius Satellite Radio. The Patriots Rock Radio Network call is available on Channel 125, the Raiders Radio Network has Greg Papa doing play-by-play and former Raiders coach Tom Flores with analysis. Their call is available on Channel 126.

Since the satellite merger XM Satellite Radio also carries all the NFL games and in most cases has just the radio call of the home team.

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With Steve taking some personal time away from the site, I will be bringing you the New England Patriots coverage here at SOX & Dawgs. I hope to find someone who can fill in while he’s gone but in the meantime I hope to do my best to keep you up to speed on the happenings of the Patriots.

It’s going to be a shame to see Matt Cassel go after this season because he’s done a great job at the helm of the mothership with Tom Brady out. Once again, he was able to deliver a Patriots win to improve his record to 7-5 as the Patriots starter.

The Patriots stayed on the west coast again and are in San Jose for the week. During his day after the game press conference, Bill Belichick had nothing to offer about the injuries suffered in Sunday’s win but he was happy about the running backs picking up the blitz among other things. Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com also has more on Belichick’s press conference.

Considering all the injuries the Patriots have suffered on defense, it’s a surprise he’s won that many games. And now things aren’t looking any better for the defense as it appears that Tedy Bruschi could be lost for the season with a knee injury as well. It’s been so bad for the Patriots defensively that they had to lure Junior Seau off the beaches of San Diego and Rosevelt Colvin from whatever he was doing.

Both Seau and Colvin saw action on 28 plays during the game. You can also check out how many plays each member of the defense saw in the game as well.

Mike Reiss also has the offensive participation as well as the packages the Patriots used on offense.

Mike Reiss looks at how the potential loss of Bruschi could affect the Patriots.

And all of the injuries forced Belichick to use his backups more.

With the NFL canceling the exhibition game in China a while back and no game in sight, the Patriots have decided to suspend their China operations.

To make the playoffs, the Patriots need to win out and also get some help from other teams.

Former Patriot Deion Branch had a whale of game against his old team.

Wes Welker and Junior Seau both conducted conference calls on Monday and talked about Sunday’s win over the Seahawks.

Ron Borges has his Patriots report card from Sunday’s win over Seattle.

The Result

After trailing for the entire game, the New England Patriots drove down the field late in the 4th quarter and scored on a 1 yard run by Sammy Morris to earn a hard fought 24-21 win over the Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field in Seattle.

With the win, the Patriots move into a 3-way tie for first place in the AFC East as the Jets lost to San Francisco and the Dolphins beat the Bills. All 3 teams are 8-5 but right now the Jets hold the tiebreaker.

If it weren’t for a big defensive play by safety Brandon Meriweather with under 2 minutes to go in the game, the Seahawks may have kicked a field goal or even scored the game winning touchdown.

Seattle had the ball 1st/10 at New England’s 44, Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pees called for a safety blitz that was perfectly timed by Meriweather who knocked the ball out of Seneca Wallace’s hands. Richard Seymour recovered the fumble to set up the Patriots for 3 straight kneel downs.

This wasn’t an easy victory for the Patriots as they had to overcome the loss of 4 defensive starters. It was so bad for the Patriots on the injury front that both Junior Seau and Rosevelt Colvin saw action in the game. Seau definitely didn’t look like his old self but for a guy who hasn’t strapped on the cleats since the Super Bowl, it wasn’t really that bad of an performance. He was burned on Seattle’s second touchdown pass of the day.

Matt Cassel rebounded from his awful performance last week against the Steelers to lead the Patriots today. He was cool, calm and collected throughout the game and led the Patriots on four drives of 10 plays or more, including the game winning drive.

Seattle didn’t play like a 2-10 team behind Wallace. Wallace used his legs and former Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch had a breakout game against his old team as he caught 4 passes for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns.

It’s a good win for the Patriots as they were able to take advantage of the Jets losing to keep their playoff chances alive. They will stay on the west coast this week before heading to Oakland next weekend.

Scoring Plays

1^st Quarter

SEA – Senenca Wallace 14 yard pass to Deion Branch (Olindo Mare PAT)

NE – Stephen Gostowski 50 yard field goal

2^nd Quarter

SEA – Wallace 10 yard pass to John Carlson (Mare PAT)

NE – Matt Cassel 2 yard pass to Benjamin Watson (Gostowski PAT)

3^rd Quarter

NE – Gostowski 42 yard field goal

SEA – Wallace 4 yard pass to Branch (Mare PAT)

4^th Quarter

NE – Gostowski 27 yard field goal

NE – Sammy Morris 1 yard run (Cassel to Welker 2 point conversion)

Offensive Player of the Game

Wes Welker had 12 receptions for 134 yards.

Defensive Player of the Game

Brandon Meriweather had 6 tackles (all solo), a sack and a forced fumble.

Turning Point(s) of the Game

With the Seahawks trailing by 3 and driving down the field, Brandon Merriweather blitzes and sacks Seneca Wallace forcing a fumble that is recovered by Richard Seymour.

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With Steve taking some time off  for a personal matter, I will also be picking up the duty of covering the New England Patriots here at SOX & Dawgs. I will do my best to provide the same coverage that Steve has given us until he returns. Until then though, let’s check out some news while we get ready for the Patriots game against the Seattle Seahawks this afternoon.

If you missed it you can get all the info you need on the Patriots – Seahawks game by checking out the Official Sox & Dawgs Patriots – Seahawks Week 14 preview.  It has the rosters, injury report, the game line, some tailgating information for recipes and drink’s and the broadcast information for the game.

Former Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch hasn’t been the same since he arrived in Seattle.

Richard Seymour has become dominant again for the Patriots now that he’s healthy.

Bill Belichick and Mike Holmgren are this era’s top architects of offense and defense.

Despite being be beat regularly, cornerback Deltha O’Neal is still confident about his abilities.

If it weren’t for one play in college, Matt Hasselback probably wouldn’t be a starting QB in the NFL.

The Curly Haired Boyfriend calls Seatttle “Loserville, Capital of the Pacific Northwest.”

Jerod Mayo has played a lot of meaningful football for the Patriots this season.

Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com has his pregame thoughts on the Patriots vs Seattle matchup.

New England Patriots free agent linebacker Junior Seau has signed a 1-year contract to rejoin the team for the remainder of the 2008 season.  It is his 19^th season in the NFL.  The Patriots reached out to Seau after LB Adalius Thomas was placed on the season ending injured reserve after breaking his arm against the Buffalo Bills in Week 10 and having surgery later that week.

Earlier in the season Seau said he would only return to play with one team, the Patriots and that was only if a situation arose where they needed him.

Seau was drafted 5^th overall in the first round of the 1990 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers out of the University of Southern California. He played 13 seasons in San Diego going to 12 NFL Pro Bowls. He was traded to the Miami Dolphins prior to the 2003 season and after a productive first season he was plagued by injuries in 2004 and 2005.

After retiring in 2006 for 3 days he signed a contract to play for the New England Patriots as he pursued the one thing missing from his resume a championship. His first season in New England once again ended in injury. After a successful rehab he returned for a second season in Foxboro where the team came up short in getting Seau his ring when they lost to the New York Giants 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII.

Seau will travel with the Patriots this weekend to Seattle.

The New England Patriots have placed injured LB Adalius Thomas on the season ending Injured Reserve.  Thomas, who signed with the team as a free agent prior to the 2007 season, has played in every game with the Patriots since his arrival.

Thomas broke his arm in the Week 10 win over Buffalo and had surgery on his arm.

This Week

The New England Patriots visit the Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field in Seattle WA on Sunday at 4:05 p.m.

NOTE: The new start time.  The game was originally scheduled for 8:15 p.m. but was flexed out of primetime to the afternoon start.

The Patriots are 3-2 on the road and 2-0 against the NFC. The Seahawks are 1-5 at home and 0-2 against the AFC.

Here are the rosters for the Patriots and Seahawks.

Here are the projected starting lineups for the game.

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from Yahoo! Sports is Patriots -5. The over/under is 43.

My prediction is Patriots 30, Seahawks, 14.  Give the points (Patriots) and take the over.  I am 5-6-1 against the spread and 7 of 12 on calling the over/under in 2008.

Tickets

Tickets to the game, if available, may be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.

Getting To The Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game at the “Q” make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast for the game from weather.com.

Click for stadium directions, mass transit options, parking and stadium information, parking map and a Qwest Field seating chart.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgaiting America. 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 for good measure here is one of my own.

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 by theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or someone’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.

Continue reading →

With the status of LB Pierre Woods unknown after suffering a mouth injury in Sunday’s loss to the Steelers, the New England Patriots have re-signed Rosevelt Colvin to a 1-year contract.

Colvin played for the Patriots from 2003-2007 and was cut by the Houston Texans during training camp this year. He will wear No. 95 since his old number 59 is being worn by Gary Guyton.

This is a good signing for the Patriots in that it gives them someone familiar with their defensive schemes and gives them additional depth at outside linebacker with Adalius Thomas and now Woods out.

The Patriots also announced that they have signed rookie LB Angelo Craig to the practice squad.

With it unknown how badly hurt at this time LB Pierre Woods is, the New England Patriots hosted one of their own free agent LB Rosevelt Colvin at Gillette Stadium today.  Unconfirmed reports say Woods may have broken his jaw in the game against Pittsburgh on Sunday.  After he was hurt, the team said he wouldn’t return with a mouth injury.

Colvin, who left after last season as a free agent, signed with the Houston Texans and was released after training camp.  A few other teams looked a Colvin but no one offered a contract as there is still some concern over the foot injury he suffered that put him on the IR last season.

Colvin signed with New England before the 2003 season when he left the Chicago Bears as a free agent.

The team also placed CB Jason Webster on the season ending injured reserve with an ankle injury.  Signed by New England as a free agent in the off season and released in training camp, Webster was resigned on November 5th and played in three games before being injured.

The New England Patriots were staring at a golden opportunity to improve their playoff standing and chances with a big win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday but the team came up flat and empty and got routed in a turnover laden loss at Gillette Stadium.  Now the team will try to once again break out of it’s win one/lose one run as it travels west on Friday to face the Seattle Seahawks this weekend at Qwest Field.  The team will then stay on the West Coast as they prepare to face the Raiders in Oakland the following Sunday.  Hopefully this two week western swing works out better than the last one as they really need wins in both games.

Let’s start where we always do on Tuesdays and that’s with head coach Bill Belichick’s Patriots Monday visit on WEEI.

In case you want to see some highlights from the Steelers game here is the video package from NFL.com

The loss could be even costlier though as we still do not the extent of any injury Wes Welker suffered after the brutal hit by Pittsburgh’s Ryan Clark.  I’m pretty sure Clark is going to have to defend his actions in front of someone at the NFL office this week for the hit that brought a flag for hitting a defenseless receiver.  Personally I think Clark gets fined and suspended for a game.  The hit brought back too many memories of Darrly Stingley for long time Patriots fans.  And get this, Vince Wilfork said on Dale and Holley on WEEI on Monday that Bill Belichick warned his players specifically about Clark and his penchant for late,feet leaving hits.  He even showed them video of several hits by Clark that were similar to what he did to Welker.  Wanna bet those clips go to the league offices?

The NFL announced on Monday that the Patriots and the Buccaneers will play in London next fall.

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