New England Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour denies claims by San Diego Chargers center Nick Hardwick that he is a dirty player. Hardwick made an off the cuff statement to the media around his locker after the Chargers lost the AFC Championship game on Sunday to the Patriots 21-12.

“There are 10 [expletive] good players on that team, but Richard Seymour is a dirty, cheap, little pompous [expletive],” Hardwick told reporters after the game. “They’ve got 10 great players on that team and when Jarvis Green comes on the field, they’ve got 11 great players who compete how you’re supposed to play.”

“But Richard Seymour is the biggest [expletive] I’ve ever played.”

Seymour responded to Hardwick’s charges in a Boston Globe article:

“Whatever I did, it was between the whistles,’ he said, according to the Globe. “Of course there is some pushing and shoving; it’s a physical game. That’s the way I play the game. There was nothing after the whistle, but it’s a violent game and I play the game violently.”

“My thing is that if you’re going to speak, please speak the truth,” he added, according to the Globe. “The film, if you look at the copy of the game that teams get, you can see what they were doing to me — pushing me over the pile, and all that stuff in the trenches. You can see it yourself. So for me, the proof is in the pudding. You judge a tree by its fruit.”

 

It’s poll time here again @ SOX & Dawgs. This time we want to know, who do you want to win Super Bowl XLII. Voting will appear here and in the sidebar to the left.

The results will appear in Steve’s Super Bowl preview post scheduled for Friday, February 1st.

We start where we do each and every week, why change now right?  It’s Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and his weekly visit on WEEI in Boston with “The Big Show”.   Bill talks about the AFC Championship game and the upcoming Super Bowl against the Giants.  By the way one the interviewers, Steve DeOssie, has a son, Zak DeOssie, who is a rookie linebacker/long snapper with New York. 

So with the New England Patriots playing the New York Giants for the second time in just a few weeks and this time in the Super Bowl the war of the words will no doubt start at some point. But here’s a left over courtesy of the Boston Herald’s “The Point After” blog.

So apparently Rodney Harrison’s comments to the Herald following the season finale a couple of weeks back about the Giants being a dirty team finally somehow found their way to New York. Harrison felt the Giants were going for his knees during the game.

“I’m going to tell you, we saw it on film,” Harrison said at the time. “It wasn’t no secret. They push, they hit late, they come at you and try to take you out. That’s the way they play.”

Harrison was steamed at the end of the game after getting cut. He singled out star Plaxico Burress.

“Plaxico was going for my knees,” Harrison said. “They’re a big, physical group, but sometimes I feel they go overboard. Plaxico was trying to cut my knees, take my knees out. There’s no room for that. But with that type of intensity, that type of atmosphere, you’re going to have that.”

An intrepid reporter in Green Bay prior to the Giants-Packers game read the quotes to Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who laughed heartily.

“That’s funny,” he said. “We’ve got to be the dirtiest team of all time if Rodney Harrison thinks we’re dirty.”

Speaking of being called out for dirty play, San Diego Chargers center Nick Hardwick called out Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour after Sunday’s game and had some choice words about the lineman that should stoke this rivalry for a while.

“Richard Seymour is the biggest (expletive) I’ve ever come across in football,” Hardwick said. “They’ve got 10 good football players on that team. Richard Seymour is a dirty, cheap little pompous (expletive).”

“He’s cheap and dirty, and the head man just let him get away with it the whole time,” Hardwick said. “They’ve got 10 great players, and when Jarvis Green is on the field they have 11 great players that compete how you’re supposed to compete. But that Richard Seymour is the biggest (expletive) I’ve ever played.

“Head-slapping, foot-stomping in the pile, running by and throwing punches in your back late. He’s a (expletive).”

But as with most stories there’s always another side and this comes from the Tennessean earlier this year after the Chargers beat the Tennessee Titans.

“Their mindset was to try to intimidate us and see if we’ll back down,” Hardwick said. “Everyone seems to think we’re soft – that we’re Southern Cal boys and we’re not going to play hard and we’re soft and we’re quitters. We’re just as dirty, if not dirtier than anyone else in the league, so we like that. That’s the way Kansas City was. That’s the way Tennessee was. They think they’re going to swell up on us and be bigger than us, tougher.”

So Nick it looks like you need to pull your panties up.

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New England Patriots All-Pro quarterback and NFL MVP Tom Brady injured his foot in Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the San Diego Chargers. Brady was photographed by paparazzi outside his girlfriend Gisele Bundchen’s New York City apartment.

Brady was photographed while with Bundchen as they returned to her apartment with her dog and some flowers.

There’s been no word on how he suffered the injury and what the official prognosis is. The Patriots do not need to list an injury report until the Wednesday prior to the game.

Brady acknowledged he’s a bit nicked up but will be ready to play against the New York Giants come Super Bowl Sunday in Glendale Arizona on February 3rd.

“There are always kind of bumps and bruises,” Brady told WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan Show. “I’ll be ready for the Super Bowl. I’m not missing this one. I’d have to be on a stretcher to miss this one. There will just be some treatment this week and like I said, games like this you get a little nicked up but it’s nothing serious.”

The AFC Champion New England Patriots will face the NFC Champion New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII to be held on February 3rd at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale Arizona. FOX television has the game this year that has a 6 PM start time.

The Result

The New England Patriots overcame three Tom Brady interceptions to defeat the San Diego Chargers 21-12 in the AFC Championship game at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on Sunday afternoon. The win puts the Patriots in the Super Bowl for the 6^th time in franchise history and for the 4^th time in the last 7 seasons.

“Don’t act like you’re not impressed.”

This AFC championship was earned today. The team wasn’t flawless but overcame their errors and held strong on both sides of the ball with some clutch plays when they needed them. Laurence Maroney ran for 122 yards getting several key runs in the second half and Kevin Faulk proved once again to be most complete player on the roster with several highlight reel receptions on 3^rd down conversions late in the game as he had 82 yards receiving.

The defense was good and at times, especially in the red zone, they were very good as they held the Chargers to four field goals and no touchdowns in the biggest game of the season to date. When San Diego was trying to get into the end zone, Philip Rivers found someone in his face hurrying him and forcing him to throw incomplete twice, forcing a pair of Nate Kaeding field goals. They also had a big pass knock down by Ellis Hobbs at the goal line forcing a third field goal and Junior Seau dropped Michael Turner for a loss forcing a 4^th San Diego field goal.

There were several other fine plays forcing turnovers or the Chargers into a punting situation. It was probably the best defensive effort of the second half of the season.

The Chargers gave it all they had, especially Rivers, but they just could not overcome the early loss of LaDainian Tomlinson who was unable to play after just three touches in the first quarter. They were also limited by the toe injury to Antonio Gates, who is Rivers key passing target.

But the story is the play of New England defense, the running of Maroney and pass catching of Faulk. Because when you limit Randy Moss and you get three turnovers by Brady you think you’re going to win the game. You should win the game but once again other players were there to step up and take over and because of that the Patriots are going to Glendale Arizona for Super Bowl XLII on February 3^rd.

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If betting the spread (Patriots giving 14 points) or the over/under (46 ½ points) doesn’t do it for you, there’s plenty of other things you can wager on based on the Chargers-Patriots AFC Championship game later today. Some of the stuff you can wager on via Bodog are. Odds to win the Super Bowl

• New England Patriots 2/7
• Green Bay Packers 4/1
• San Diego Chargers 9/1
• New York Giants 10/1

Early line of Super Bowl XLII

• AFC -13½
• Over/Under 55

Possible Super Bowl XLII match ups

• New England Patriots vs. Green Bay Packers 1/3
• New England Patriots vs. New York Giants 3/1
• San Diego Chargers vs. Green Bay Packers 11/2
• San Diego Chargers vs. New York Giants 15/1

You can bet on how long the Pats will lead the AFC Championship game

• 0:00-9:59 7/1
• 10:00-20:59 6/1
• 21:00-30:59 4/1
• 31:00-39:59 9/5
• 40:00-45:59 2/1
• 46:00 or more 2/1

What the Patriots biggest lead will be

• 1-4 9/1
• 5-10 2/1
• 11-17 1/1
• 18-24 2/1
• 25 or more 7/1

You can also bet on things like which team will have more sacks, will a certain player get an interception, passing yards for the quarterbacks, what will happen first for each team, receiving yards, catches, total points, total tackles, pass attempts, and pass completions for specific players on both teams. So if you have some money burning a hole in your pocket and you just can’t contain or control yourself, make sure you get your wagers in by game time.

We all know the season Tom Brady had he set records and he won the MVP so that should say it all. But I think we should take a look not only at Brady’s season but his remarkable career.

Everyone is well aware that Brady was a 6^th round pick by the Patriots out of Michigan but I don’t think even the geniuses in the New England front office had this in mind when they selected the most important player in team history in April 2000.

Brady set or tied 10 franchise records and 18 NFL records this season. While his record setting season is one for the ages, it’s just a small part of what maybe one of the best careers ever for a NFL quarterback.

Among quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era Brady has the top regular season winning percentage. With a minimum of 50 starts the top three are:

• Tom Brady New England 86-24 .782
• Roger Staubach Dallas 85-29 .726
• Joe Montana San Francisco/Kansas City 117-47 .713

He is tied for the most wins in his first 100 starts:

• Tom Brady 76
• Roger Staubach 76
• Ken Stabler 72
• Terry Bradshaw 68
• Joe Montana 68
• Brett Favre 68

He is the second winningest QB in the playoffs:

• Bart Starr .900 9-1
• Tom Brady .867 13-2
• Jim Plunkett .800 8-2

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This has kind of been simmering on my back burner since the news hit the interwebs and now that the big Patriots game is getting close and news is getting scarse on the game it’s time for this.

WTF were the major league baseball owners thinking when they gave Bud Selig another three years as the commissioner?????? Are these guys high? Do they not see what fans of the game see? I mean for christ sakes even the Red Sox realized they needed to help push Dr. Chuck and 3×5 out the door why can’t the owners see that Selig needs to go?

This man has been part and parcel to the steroid era. First in his ignorance. Then in his lack of action. Then in his too little too late attitude towards the PED issue. He is so culpable in all this he might as well have been the one sticking the syringe in Jose Canseco’s ass.

He commissioned and approved a report on steroids that cost fans at least $20 million. What you didn’t think we weren’t gonna have to pay for that? Where do you think the money came and will come from? For $20 million we basically got a used 1995 Toyota Corolla. Kind of fitting seeing as Selig is a used car dealer. He’s used to sticking it to the customer and boy did we bend over and take one this time. And guess what we’re gonna be getting bent over for another three years.

He is the “do nothing and maybe it will go away” commissioner but because he was one of them he seems to get a free pass from the owners. He goes to Congress to testify and those idiots make him look like a nuclear physicist because of the softballs they throw him. He is more clueless than Jacques Clouseau, Cher Holowitz, Frank Drebin, Elle Woods and Kelly Bundy wrapped up into one. And we the baseball fan get to suffer until at least 2012.

This Week

The New England Patriots host the San Diego Chargers at Gillette Stadium on Sunday at 3 p.m in the AFC Championship game. 

This is the second meeting of the year between these two teams.  New England defeated San Diego 38-14 at Gillette Stadium in Week 2.

The Patriots are 9-0 at the Razor this season and 13-0 against the AFC, including the playoffs. The Chargers, including playoff games are 5-4 on the road this year and 11-3 versus the AFC.

Here are the rosters for the Chargers and Patriots.

The Line/Prediction

As of Wednesday the line on the game from Yahoo Sports is Patriots -14.  The over/under is 46.5.

My prediction is Patriots 28, Chargers, 10.  Give the points and take the under.  I am 9-8 against the spread and have called the over/under thirteen out of seventeen times in 2007.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out.  It is the 149th consecutive sellout dating back to the 1994 season opener.  The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.

Getting To The Game

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

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

ProJo columnist Charles Bakst is a die hard Patriots fan and he has some tips for the cold weather.

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 the nation and the play-by-play duties will be handled by Jim Nantz with Phil Simms doing game analysis. You can check here for your local CBS Station.

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, Pete Brock and Andy Gresh and the pregame show at 12 noon 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 radio call is available on Channel 123 and 124, the Jaguars radio call is available on Channel 126 and 181.

The game can be heard nationally on Westwood One. Dave Simms has the play by play, Bob Trumpy will do game analysis and John Dockery is the sideline reporter for the game.

Looking for a pre game and post game report with all the angles?  Well join Comcast Sports Net/New England for a 1 hour pregame show Sunday at 2 P.M. and the complete wrap up immediately after the game.  Check your local cable listings for the channel near you. 

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