This Week

The New England Patriots welcome the New York Jets to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA on Thursday night at 8:15 p .m.

Thursday night is Troy Brown Night.  The team will honor the former receiver who retired earlier this year at halftime of the game.

The Patriots (6-3) are 4-1 at the Razor, 2-1 in the division and 4-3 against the AFC. The Jets (6-3) are 2-2 on the road, 2-1 in the division and 4-3 against the AFC.  The two teams are tied for 1st place in the AFC East one game ahead of Buffalo and Miami.

The Patriots beat the Jets 19-10 in Week 2 in the Meadowlands.

Here are the rosters for the Jets and Patriots.

Here are the projected starting lineups for the game.

The Line/Prediction

As of Wednesday the line on the game from Yahoo! Sports is Patriots -3.5. The over/under is 42.

My prediction is Patriots 20, Jets, 17.  Take the points (Jets) and take the under . I am 3-5-1 against the spread and 5 of 9 on calling the over/under in 2008.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 157th consecutive sellout dating back to the 1994 season opener. The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.

Tickets to the game, if available, may be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here. Many times tickets are released in the last 48 hours prior to the game.

Getting To The Game

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

Here is the up to date weather forecast for the game from The Weather Channel.

Click for stadium directions, parking information, parking map, specific MBTA train times for this game and a Gillette Stadium 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.

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For as tough as last Sunday’s loss to Indianapolis was, this Sunday’s win over Buffalo was just as enjoyable watching the Patriots pretty much dominate the team that was supposed to be their biggest challenge in the division.  As Ken Fang said during our live blog when BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored to make it 20-3 New England Ken typed “feels more like 40-3”.  And it did thanks to “The Drive”, a 19-play, 92-yard nearly 9 and half minutes of clock eating drive to seal the win.  You just had to see it, if you missed it you missed a thing of pigskin beauty.

In case you want to see some highlights of the game from Sunday’s win here is the video package from Patriots.com

In lieu of the coach’s interview this week we give you defensive end Richard Seymour with Dale and Holley on WEEI in Boston.  I beleieve Belichick didn’t conduct the interview due to the short week.

It looks likes Patriots LB Adalius Thomas is done for the season with a broken arm and will have surgery on Wednesday.  Could the return of Junior Seau be far behind?

Mike Reiss of the Globe says the Patriots turned into clock killers in the win over Buffalo.

The Herald’s Steve Buckley says some reporters got a stern response from the head coach Sunday afternoon. Here’s the video of it.

Tom Brady was back in Boston recently for a checkup on his surgically repaired knee. He did suffer a postoperative staph infection and is still on antibiotics according to Shira Springer of the Boston Globe.

Jennifer Toland of the Worcester Telegram has BenJarvus Green-Ellis making a name for himself.

The $20,000 fine that the NFL levied on Randy Moss for his comments about the officiating after the Indianapolis loss was recinded by the league on Monday.

On Monday afternoon the Jets signed CB Ty Law to a one year contract.  Law had already had a one year tour with the Jets as well as 2 years in Kansas City and 9 seasons with the Patriots.

Due to the short week and a Thursday night game, don’t forget to look for the official Sox & Dawgs Jets vs. Patriots Week 11 Preview available TOMORROW AFTERNOON at your local computer.

Make sure you join us here at Sox & Dawgs at 8 p.m. on Thursday for our live blog of the game using the Cover it Live software.  Just look for the live blog post, when the it goes active enter a screen name and join in with us!

The Patriots find themselves now tied for first in the AFC East with the Jets as the teams head into Week 11 play.

• 1 (tie). New England 6-3
• 1 (tie). New York 6-3
• 2 (tie). Buffalo 5-4
• 2 (tie). Miami 5-4

AFC East Week 11 games are:

• Patriots entertain the Jets (Thursday night)
• Dolphins welcome the Raiders
• Bills host the Browns (Monday night)

The Result

The New Engand Patriots today took charge of the game and beat the Buffalo Bills 20-10 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro and in the process remained tied for first in the AFC East with the New York Jets and knocked Buffalo into a second place tie with Miami.

It was far from the blow outs of 2007 and more like a typical Bills-Pats game until New England took charge in the 4th quarter with a time killing 19 play, 92 yard drive that are up 9:19 of the clock and sealed the Buffalo fate.  That drive was capped by a BenJarvus Green-Ellis one yard run and put New England up 20-3.  Buffalo was able to strike right back because of a great kick off return by Leodis McKelvin for 85 yards tht set up a 14 yard Trent Edwards TD pass to James Hardy.  The ensuing onsides kick was given to New England after it was ruled that the ball had hit a Bills player prior to going ten yards.  Matt Cassel then ran out the clock and as “The Pick Up Artist” would say it was “game over”.

This was big win for the Patriots who at 6-3 are tied with New York in the division as those same Jets come to town on a short week for a Thursday night matchup.   A win on Thursday could give New England the upper hand in the division as they would have two wins over the Jets and one over Buffalo and a loss to Miami.

Scoring Plays

1^st Quarter

• NE – Cassel 13 yard run – Gostkowski PAT

2^nd Quarter

• NE – Gostkowski 32 yard FG
• BUF – Lindell 25 yard FG

3^rd Quarter

• NE – Gostkowski 37 yard FG

4^th Quarter

• NE – Green-Ellis 1 yard run – Gostkowski PAT
• BUF – Edwards 14 yard pass to Hardy – Lindell PAT

Offensive Player of the Game

New England rookie RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis runs the ball 25 times for 105 yards and 1 TD.

Defensive Player of the Game

New England rookie LB Jerod Mayo had 6 tackles and 1 pass defensed.

Turning Point(s) of the Game

The Drive.  When the fourth quarter started New England led by 10 points, 13-3.  2 minutes in they went into a 19 play, 92 yard drive that chewed up an unbelievable 9:19 of game clock as was capped by the Green-Ellis TD on 3rd and goal at the BUF 1.  The drive effectively put the game out of reach as there was less than 2 minutes to play.

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Welcome to the Bills@Patriots live blog experience. ONCE THE BLOG GOES LIVE, all you need to do to participate is to enter a screen name in the box below. It’s that easy. We encourage you to jump in give us your comments,questions or statements on the game and answer the poll questions you see on the screen.

We look forward to interacting with you in the 21st century way!

As one of the networks might say…It’s Bills!…It’s Patriots! and it’s NEXT!

Sorry for the shortened Tidbits but Word Press apparently ate most of my post.  I’ve reconstructed it as best I can.

The Patriots host the Bills today as they look to rebound from a win turned into a loss last Sunday against Indianapolis when old friend Adam Vinatieri kicked his first field goal over 50 yards since he was a Patriot.

So while you’re checking out today’s game make sure you stop here and check out the Sox & Dawgs Bills-Patriots Week 10 Preview. It has everything you need for the game including rosters, the line, the injury report and more.

Don’t forget to stop by Sox & Dawgs during the game as we will have our live blog going and you can particpate with questions, comments, etc.  All you need to do is pick a screen name and enter it in the box you will see near the bottom of the live blog frame and you’re good to go.

The Patriots made some roster changes this week.

The Boston Herald’s Karen Guregian says the AFC East is a four horse race, while her co-worker Steve Buckley says that rookie RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis is stepping it up.

The AP says the Bills offense is starting to revert back to its awful 2007 status.

The Patriot-Ledger’s Eric McHugh has a look back at the last nine Bill-Patriots games, all of them New England wins.

The great Reiss’ Piece’s blog at the Globe has Buffalo missing four starters today.

CBS’s Randy Cross talks about the matchup between the Bills and the Patriots.

If you didn’t watch the NFL Network game on Thursday there has been a severe upgrade in the booth.

Earlier this week the Patriots gave the boot to a cheerleader who turned up in some less than flattering photos on her Facebook page.

This Week

The New England Patriots entertain their AFC East rival Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA on Sunday at 1 p .m.

The Patriots (5-3) are 3-1 at home, 1-1 against the AFC East and 3-2 in the conference. The Bills (5-3) are 2-2 on the road, 0-1 in the division and 3-1 against the AFC.  The teams are tied for first in the AFC East along with the New York Jets.

Here are the rosters for the Bills and Patriots.

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 -3.5. The over/under is 41.5.

My prediction is Patriots 23, Bills, 17 . Give the points (Bills) and take the under. I am 2-5-1 against the spread and 4 for 8 on calling the over/under in 2008.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 156th consecutive sellout dating back to the 1994 season opener. The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.

Tickets to the game, if available, may be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here. Many times tickets are released in the last 48 hours prior to the game.

Getting To The Game

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

Here is the up to date weather forecast for the game from The Weather Channel.

Click for stadium directions, parking information, parking map, specific MBTA train times for this game and a Gillette Stadium 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 to a regional audience, check to see if you’re getting the game and look for your local affiliate. Dick Enberg will call the play-by-play while Randy Cross will provide the analysis.

The Direct TV feed of the game is Channel 707.

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 10 a.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 122, the Bills Radio Network has John Murphy calling the game while former Bills DB Mark Kelso provide the game analysis. Their call is available on Channel 113.

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.  You can catch the Patriots radio call (home feed) of game on XM Channel 108.

Sports USA Radio will broadcast the game nationally with Larry Kahn and Dan Fouts on the call.

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The New England Patriots have announced that 18-year old cheerleader Caitlin Davis of Foxboro MA has been removed from the cheerleading squad after some scandalous behavior came to light through her Facebook page.

Davis, who made the squad while still officially in high school, was seen in photographs drawing on the body of an unknown passed out male with a sharpie pen along with another girl.  The persons body has several written references to penises, drawings of the little devil (the penis that is) and several visable references to Jews and at least one drawing of a sawsticka.

The photos (after the jump) came to light through a blog, onblastatlast.com, which posted them and then it was picked up by Deadspin.  When the Patriots became aware of the scandal Davis was called in and dismissed from the squad.

Some feel Davis would have been given a pass on penis drawings and the like but with all that the Kraft family does with the Anti-Defamation League once the swasticka’s and the Jewish references were brought into the picture they had no choice but to let her go.

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The New England Patriots made some roster moves today placing rookie LB Shawn Crable on the season ending injured reserve list without ever having played a game in his first season.

Crable, a 3rd round pick out of Michigan, had been nursing a shin injury and hadn’t seen the playing field since the preseason games.

In a corresponding move the team signed 8 year veteran CB Jason Webster who they cut in training camp and added him to the 53-man roster.  Webster, a former second round pick in 2000 by the San Francisco 49ers, has also played for Atlanta and Buffalo.

Sunday night was a tough loss.  Errors, physical and mental, cost the team a game and we can honestly say in the last 8 seasons that hasn’t happened very often.  Jabar Gaffney dropped a surefire TD bomb on a perfect pass by Matt Cassel and of course the David Thomas 15-yarder was the most costly as it killed a drive late in the fourth quarter.  There were also some curious decisions made by the staff and I know I’ve never written that sentence before.  They got burnt on the 12 men on the field challenge, looked shakey burning their final timeout with nearly a quarter to play on a 4th and 1 at the Indianapolis 7 yard line and then the play call selection for 3rd and 16 near midfield was far from stellar.

But the thing about football is you watch the film, learn from it and move on to your next opponent which is the Buffalo Bills this Sunday in Foxboro.  It should be a good game as the Bills are much improved, even though they’ve slid a bit in the last four weeks going 1-3 after a 4-0 start.  The Bills and Patriots find themselves in a three way deadlock with the New York Jets for the AFC East lead and the winner could still find themselves tied at games end.

In case you want to see some highlights of the game from Sunday night here is the video package from Patriots.com

As we do each and every week here is the Patriots Monday interview with head coach Bill Belichick on WEEI in Boston.

Reiss’ Pieces has the ups and downs from a Week 9 to Indianapolis.

The AP’s Howard Uhlman says Belichick’s time out call was questionable.

The Herald’s Karen Guregian says Randy Moss wasn’t fine with the officiating in Sunday’s game.

The ProJo’s Mike McDermott feels no one stepped up when it was needed Sunday night. His co-worker Jim Donaldson says bad decisions and pointless possessions doomed the Pats.

As WEEI producer Andy Massaua says losing to the Colts sucked because we didn’t get to see the Manning face but hey Pats fans don’t fret for it is always just a click away. It’s mostly Peyton and Eli but they even have a few of Archie in there for good measure.

Don’t forget to look for the official Sox & Dawgs Bills vs. Patriots Week 10 Preview available on Friday morning at your local computer.

The Patriots find themselves now tied for first in the AFC East with the Bills and the Jets as the teams head into Week 10 play.

• 1 (tie). New England 5-3
• 1 (tie). Buffalo 5-3
• 1 (tie). New York 5-3
• 4. Miami 4-4

AFC East Week 10 games are:

• Patriots entertain the Bills
• Jets host the Rams
• Dolphins welcome the Seahawks

Just an editorial note for next week, with the Patriots playing the Jets on Thursday (November 13) the regular schedule will be modified.  In the Red Zone will run as usual on Tuesday, the Jets/Patriots game preview will run on Wednesday and hopefully on Thursday prior to the game we will have enough information to give you a Patriots Tailgating Tidbits prior to Belichick-Mangini VII.

Well here we are on yet another Sunday awaiting the start of a Patriots game at 8:15 p.m.tonight and would have thought that after Tom Brady played less than a quarter of football in the season the team would be 5-2 and tied for first with Buffalo going into Indianapolis to face the the dreaded Colts, who themselves have had a ton of injuries, and at 3-4 look nothing like the Colts we are accustomed to.

But yet that’s exactly where the team is after they beat St. Louis at home last week 23-16 as Matt Cassel led his first fourth quarter comeback of his career.

So while we as fans are starting to feel all warm and fuzzy inside about this season I need to remind me that tonight Peyton Manning is on the other side of the ball.  Granted it seems like baby brother Eli has been the better Manning this season, but this guy is deadly.  Don’t ever, ever forget that.

Another thing not to forget is to check out the official Sox & Dawgs Patriots-Colts Week 9 Preview.  It has everything you need for tonights game, rosters, the latest news, injury reports and even some cool food and drink information.

It’s far from all sunshine and roses going into Indy tonight as the Patriots have already listed five players as out and once again among them are running backs LaMont Jordan and Sammy Morris.  Jordan had limited practice during the week and was listed as 50/50 on Friday but on Saturday was downgraded.  Also listed as out for tonight’s game are LB Shawn Crable, S Matthew Slater and CB Lewis Sanders.

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