Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 10/9

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Football links

Addazio to face former mentor Pasqualoni [matt fortuna – espn.com]

Steve Addazio looks ahead to reunion with his mentor [jim fuller – new haven register]

Sean Mulcahy’s Report Card [sean mulcahy – sny.com]

Running away: Huskies run game falters [john silver – sny.com]

For Paul Pasqualoni, Steve Addazio, Friendship Ceases For Several Hours Saturday [hartford courant]

Temple coach Steve Addazio got his start under Huskies’ coach Paul Pasqualoni [new haven register]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Updated timetable in lawsuit against Geno Auriemma [jim fuller – new haven register]

Other UConn related links

Field Hockey. Mansfield Named BIG EAST Field Hockey Defensive Player of the Week [uconnhuskies.com]

Field Hockey. Two Former Huskies Lead Team USA to Silver Medal at Champions Challenge [uconnhuskies.com]

M. Soccer. Men’s Soccer Looks To Rebound vs. Iona Tuesday at 7 p.m. [uconnhuskies.com]

W. Soccer. Montrose Named to BIG EAST Honor Roll [uconnhuskies.com]

M. Golf. UConn In Third Place At The Connecticut Cup [uconnhuskies.com]

Much of UConn’s athletic fundraising is secret [ap]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

In The Red Zone – October 9

In the Red Zone

Ridley Running into Stardom

The last time the New England Patriots had a running back this good they had clock killin’ Corey Dillon or BenJarvis Green-Ellis.

While he isn’t as bruising as Dillon or as steady and sure handed as the Lawfirm now they have Stevan Ridley.

Ridley, a 2011 3rd round pick out of LSU, has really grown in his second season. The only disconcerting part is that after not having fumbled in the first three weeks he’s put the ball on the turf twice in the last two games, with one this past Sunday being recovered by opposition. His previous fumble took a fortunate roll in Buffalo and went out of bounds.

The fumble Sunday could have been costly with the team winning by ten points and the Broncos with plenty of time left to chew further into the lead. But luckily for Ridley Denver’s Willis McGahee had a bigger fumble and New England was able to run the clock out on a win.

Fumbles aside, this kid is good. I watched him at LSU and he was an outstanding college running back competing against SEC defenses week in and week out.

He is showing it now in the NFL too. Week in, week out he is getting better, running for tough yards and running where there appears to be no hole. You just see his silver helmet scooting through the line among the giants as he chews up yards and time and prolongs another New England drive.

In five weeks he has run for 490 yards on 102 carries for a 4.8 yards per carry average and he is on pace to be the teams first 1,000 yard rusher since Green-Ellis who was the first since Dillon.

Don’t be too hard on him for those fumbles, the kid looked devastated on Sunday and then relieved, and you know he is working hard to overcome those. I for one am really thrilled with how well he has run against some good defenses. He already has three one hundred-yard games this year with 125 against Tennessee, 106 against Buffalo and a career high 151 against Denver.

Hopefully for Ridley and the Patriots the best is yet to come.

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

News and Notes

Former Patriots RB Kevin Faulk has announced his retirement from the NFL and will hold a press conference at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday. (Boston Herald)

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick conducted his day after media briefing. (patriots.com)

QB Tom Brady had his weekly Patriots Monday radio chat on Monday morning. (WEEI)

Offensive snaps by skill players vs. Broncos (ESPN Boston)

Defensive snaps played vs. Denver (ESPN Boston)

Observations on the up-tempo approach; first half and second half (ESPN Boston)

The Patriots defense did its part against Manning (ESPN Boston)

Welker back on top (Boston Herald)

Defense making big plays (Boston Herald)

Best and Worst of Broncos at Patriots (Boston Herald)

Five takeaways from Patriots-Broncos (Boston Globe)

Rob Ninkovich gets back to high motor style of play (Boston Globe)

The Patriots are 68-14 at home in the regular season since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002.

Since 1999 the Patriots have the best record in the NFL at 150-63.

Since 2003 New England is 33-6 in October games.

The Patriots are 3-2 vs. Denver at Gillette Stadium.

New England has won 4 of the last 5 meetings including 1 playoff game.

Bill Belichick’s 195 wins are good for 8th all-time. He is now 195-106 including playoffs in his career.

Tom Brady is 4-6 vs. the Broncos including 1-1 in the playoffs. Overall including playoffs he is 143-43.

Denver head coach John Fox is 1-5 vs. New England including postseason (0-2). He is 0-3 with Denver (0-1 in playoffs) and 1-2 with Carolina (0-1 in Super Bowl).

Peyton Manning is 7-13 against the Patriots, including playoffs (1-2). He is 2-9 vs. the Patriots on the road.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 106 consecutive games including playoffs, 89 as a Patriot. The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

Rookie CB Alfonzo Dennard made his Patriots debut on Sunday after being inactive with injuries the first four weeks. DE Justin Francis also dressed for the first time but did not play.

The Patriots defense held the Broncos to just 70 yards rushing on 20 carries. The longest carry they gave up was 11 yards.

Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas had a big game with 188 receiving yards on 9 catches but he had a costly fumble on Denver’s first possession.

Punters for both teams had one punt of at least 50 yards.

Both Chris Gronkowski (Denver) and Rob Gronkowski (New England) had a kick off return for 0 yards.

LB Jerod Mayo led the team in tackles on Sunday he had 13 (solo).

Mayo and DE Rob Ninkovich each had a QB sack. DE Chandler Jones led the team with 2 QB hits.

Ninkovich forced 2 Denver fumbles 1 by Manning and 1 by Willis McGahee, while CB Sterling Moore had a forced fumble on Thomas.

DT Vince Wilfork, DL Jermaine Cunningham and Moore each had a fumble recovery.

For the second week in a row the Patriots lost a fumble after going three weeks without losing one.

The Patriots sacked Denver QB Peyton Manning 2 times, while allowing Brady to be sacked 4 times.

New England’s defense had 2 tackles for loss for 5 yards.

The Patriots offense churned out 35 first downs (18 rushing, 16 passing and 1 by penalty) while the defense allowed 22 first downs by the Broncos (5 rushing, 16 passing and 1 by penalty).

New England set a team record with 35 first downs in one game.

New England’s turnover differential is PLUS 10. The defense has recovered 8 fumble and has 6 INT. The offense has given away 3 fumbles and has 1 INT.

New England was 11 for 17 (65%) on third down conversions and 0 for 1 (0%) on 4th down attempts. The Broncos were 7 for 13 (54%) on 3rd down conversions and 1 for 2 (50%) on 4th down attempts.

The Patriots were 4 for 5 in the red zone. They had 4 TDs and 1 FG. Denver was 3 for 4 (75%) in the red zone. They had 3 TDs and lost 1 fumble.

Ed. Note: In game recap I identified a Broncos player as David Dreissen. The correct identification is Joel Dreessen.

Next Week

The Patriots travel to Seattle to play the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. on CBS.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

Four Red Sox Farmhands Ranked in Baseball America’s Top 20 Carolina League Prospects

Baseball America is busy right now putting together its top 20 prospects lists by league now that the minor league baseball season is over. They got started last week with the Arizona League, the Gulf Coast League, Appalachian League, Pioneer League, NY/Penn League, Northwest League, Midwest League, South Atlantic League and California League.

Boston Red Sox Now we’ll look at the Carolina League where the Red Sox minor leaguers play with the Salem Red Sox.

Four Red Sox farmhands are ranked in the top 20 prospects of the Carolina League. They are SS Xander Bogaerts who comes in at No. 2, RHP Matt Barnes at No. 3, OF Jackie Bradley Jr. at No. 4 and C Christian Vazquez at No. 17.

Bogaerts was signed as international free agent in 2009 out of Aruba and spent the 2010 season with the Dominican Summer League Red Sox. In 2011, he played for the Greenville Drive and split the 2012 season between Salem and the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs.

In 104 games with Salem, Bogaerts hit .302 with 15 home runs, 64 RBIs and four stolen bases. In 23 games with the Sea Dogs, he hit .326 with five home runs, 17 RBIs and one stolen base. If you combine his stats for the year, Bogaerts hit .307 with 20 home runs, 81 RBIs and five stolen bases.

Barnes was a first round pick of the Red Sox in 2011 out of UConn and made his minor league debut this season with the Greenville Drive. In five starts for the Drive, he was 2-0 with a 0.34 ERA. He had 42 strikeouts in just 26.2 innings of work.

He finished the 2012 season with Salem where he made 20 starts going 5-5 with a 3.58 ERA. He struck out 91 batters in 93 innings of work. If you combine his stats for the year, he was 7-5 in 25 starts with a 2.86 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 119.2 innings.

Bradley Jr. was a first round pick (supplemental round) of the Red Sox in 2011 out of South Carolina and he played in 10 games for the Lowell Spinners and Greenville Drive. He started the 2012 season with Salem before being promoted to the Portland Sea Dogs.

In 67 games with Salem, Bradley hit .359 with three home runs, 39 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. In 61 games with the Sea Dogs, he hit .271 with six home runs, 29 RBIs and eight stolen bases. If you combine his stats for the year, he hit .315 with nine home runs, 68 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.

Vazquez was ninth round draft pick of the Red Sox in 2008 out of Puerto Rico. He spent the 2008 season with the GCL Red Sox and split the 2009 season between the GCL Red Sox and Lowell. In 2010 and 2011, he played for the Drive. He split the 2012 season between Salem and Portland.

In 81 games for Salem, he hit .266 with seven home runs, 41 RBIs and two stolen bases. In 20 games with the Sea Dogs, he hit .205 with no home runs and five RBIs. If you combine his stats for the season, he hit .254 with seven home runs, 46 RBIs and two stolen bases.

The next look at where Red Sox farmhands rank in their respective league comes tomorrow when Baseball America looks at the top 20 prospects for the Eastern League.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Two Red Sox Farmhands Ranked in Baseball America’s Top 20 South Atlantic League Prospects

Boston Red Sox Now we’ll look at the South Atlantic League where the Red Sox minor leaguers play with the Greenville Drive.

Two Red Sox farmhands are ranked in the top 20 prospects of the South Atlantic League. They are 3B Garin Cecchini and C Blake Swihart.

Cecchini was a 4th round pick of the Red Sox in 2010 and spent the 2011 season with the Lowell Spinners. He played the entire 2012 season with the Drive where he hit .305 with four home runs, 62 RBIs and 51 stolen bases.

Swihart was a first round pick of the Red Sox in 2011 and spent the 2011 season with the GCL Red Sox. He played the entire 2012 season with the Drive where he hit .262 with seven home runs, 53 RBIs and seven stolen bases.

The next look at where Red Sox farmhands rank in their respective league comes in the next post when Baseball America looks at the top 20 prospects for the Carolina League.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Two Red Sox Farmhands Ranked in Baseball America’s Top 20 NY/Penn League Prospects

Boston Red Sox Now we’ll look at the NY/Penn League where the Red Sox minor leaguers play with the Lowell Spinners.

Two Red Sox farmhands are ranked in the top 20 prospects of the NY/Penn League. They are SS Deven Marrero who comes in at No. 7 and RHP Pat Light who comes in at No. 17.

Marrero was the Red Sox 2012 first round draft pick (24th overall) out of Arizona State and received a $2,050,000 signing bonus. He was assigned to the Spinners where he hit .268 with two home runs, 24 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 64 games.

Light was taken in the 2012 MLB Draft Supplemental Round (37th overall) out of Monmouth University and received a $1 million signing bonus. He made 12 starts for the Spinners and was 0-2 with a 2.37 ERA. He struck out 30 batters in 30.1 innings of work.

The next look at where Red Sox farmhands rank in their respective league comes in the next post when Baseball America looks at the top 20 prospects for the South Atlantic League.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Two Red Sox Farmhands Ranked in Baseball America’s Top 20 GCL Prospects

Since the Boston Red Sox don’t participate in the Arizona, Appy Leagues or Pioneers Leagues, we’ll take a look at where their farmhands land in the GCL Top 20.

Two Red Sox minor leaguers made the list as SS Tzu-Wei Lin came in at No. 8 and RHP Francellis Montas came in at No. 20.

Lin was signed in June of 2012 with a signing bonus of $2.05 million out of Taiwan by the Red Sox. In 29 games with the GCL Red Sox, Lin hit .255 with no home runs, 16 RBIs and four stolen bases.

Montas was signed an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2009 and spent his first two seasons with the Dominican Summer League Red Sox. He spent the 2012 season with the GCL Red Sox and Lowell Spinners.

He made 12 appearances (nine starts) with the GCL Red Sox and was 1-5 with a 3.98 ERA. He struck out 41 batters in 40.2 innings of work. He made one appearance for the Spinners in which he allowed one unearned run in 3.2 innings of work.

The next look at where Red Sox farmhands rank in their respective league comes in the next post when Baseball America looks at the top 20 prospects for the NY/Penn League.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Platinum R&B recording artist Bobby V to Perform Live at First Night on Friday, October 12

Here’s the release from UConn announcing that R&B recording artist Bobby V will perform during the UConn Huskies men’s and women’s basketball First Night festivities this Friday night:

STORRS, Conn. – Platinum recording artist Bobby V (formerly Bobby Valentino) will help tip-off the 2012 edition of UConn basketball “First Night” sponsored by Webster Bank on Friday, October 12. Admission is FREE and open to the public.

For the latest Bobby V news and his complete bio click HERE.

The first 7,500 fans in attendance will receive a FREE rally towel courtesy of SNY. Also, the first 75 UConn students (with a valid ID) in attendance (at the North Entrance) will receive VIP courtside seating for the event. Gampel Pavilion doors will open at 4 p.m. as the UConn volleyball team takes on Cincinnati in a BIG EAST showdown. Meet the 2012-13 men’s and women’s basketball teams as they sign autographs for Husky fans from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.

First Night will be headlined by feature performances from Bobby V, the UConn band, cheer and dance squads, introductions of the players and coaches, a dunk contest featuring the 2011 winner Ryan Boatright and ultimate prize giveaways. The show will end at approximately 8 p.m. Don’t forget to pick up 2012-13 schedule cards and posters – featuring both men’s and women’s basketball teams – before you head home.

4 p.m. – Doors Open and UConn Volleyball vs. Cincinnati
5 – 6:30 p.m. – Autographs
7 p.m. – Show Begins

For up-to-date information on First Night follow us at @UConnHuskies and like us on Facebook.com/UConnHuskies.

RSVP to First Night HERE for you chance to win great prizes

Season tickets for both men’s and women’s basketball are on sale now and can be purchased online at UConnHuskies.com or by calling 1-877-AT-UCONN.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

UConn Depth Chart for Temple

UConn Huskies @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights

UConn Huskies football coach Paul Pasqualoni has released his depth chart for Saturday’s Homecoming game against the Temple Owls.

There is only change to depth chart from last week’s game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and it comes on the offensive side of the ball.

Tyler Bullock has jumped ahead of Alex Mateas at center with Mateas as the backup now.

For a full look at the UConn Huskies depth chart for the Temple Owls game, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

OFFENSE

LT: 72 Jimmy Bennett (RSr., 6-9, 309)
78 Dalton Gifford (RFr., 6-5, 297)

LG 69 Steve Greene (RJr., 6-5, 309)
60 Tyler Samra (Fr., 6-3, 250)

C: 50 Tyler Bullock (RJr., 6-4, 302)
73 Alex Mateas (RSo., 6-3, 293)

RG: 63 Adam Masters (RSr., 6-4, 298)
65 Gus Cruz (RSo., 6-2, 306)

RT: 77 Kevin Friend (RJr., 6-6, 295)
75 Xavier Hemingway (RFr., 6-4, 262)

TE: 89 John Delahunt (RSr., 6-3, 243)
94 Ryan Griffin (RSr., 6-6, 247)

WR: 6 Michael Smith (Sr., 6-0, 201) OR
31 Nick Williams (Sr., 5-10, 184)
84 Tebucky Jones (RSo., 6-0, 185)

FB: 47 R Reuben Frank (RSo., 6-3, 239)
36 Michael Osiecki (RSo., 6-2, 228)

QB: 10 C Chandler Whitmer (RSo., 6-1, 191)
18 Johnny McEntee (RSr., 6-3, 208)

TB: 43 L Lyle McCombs (RSo., 5-8, 166)
25 Martin Hyppolite (RJr., 6-0, 214)

WR: 85 Geremy Davis (RSo., 6-1, 214)
8 Shakim Phillips (RSo., 6-1, 200)

DEFENSE

DE: 48 Trevardo Williams (Sr., 6-2, 233)
51 Tim Willman (RJr., 6-4, 270)

DT: 53 Ryan Wirth (RSr., 6-3, 271)
97 B.J. McBryde (RSo., 6-5, 301)

DT: 59 S Shamar Stephen (RJr., 6-5, 317)
90 Julian Campenni (RFr., 5-11, 281)

DE: 56 Angelo Pruitt (RSo., 6-3, 296)
45 Elijah Norris (Fr., 6-4, 230)

OLB: 3 Sio Moore (RSr., 6-2, 229)
32 Jefferson Ashiru (RFr., 6-1, 227)

ILB: 33 Yawin Smallwood (Rso., 6-3, 235)
46 Marquise Vann (RFr., 6-0, 224)

ILB: 28 Jory Johnson (RSr., 6-1, 227)
52 Ryan Donohue (Sr., 6-0, 242)

CB: 5 Blidi Wreh-Wilson (RSr., 6-2, 190)
29 Taylor Mack (Jr., 5-9, 170)

S: 16 Byron Jones (RSo., 6-1, 192)
22 Andrew Adams (RFr., 6-0, 186)

S: 15 Ty-Meer Brown (RSo., 6-0, 193)
39 Jordan Floyd (Fr., 6-1, 205)

CB: 7 Dwayne Gratz (RSr., 6-0, 198)
12 David Stevenson (RFr., 5-8, 173)

SPECIAL TEAMS

K: 13 C Chad Christen (RJr., 6-1, 202)
17 Bobby Puyol (Fr., 6-0, 170)

P: 86 C Cole Wagner (RJr., 6-2, 211)
13 Chad Christen (RJr., 6-1, 202)

HL: 86 C Cole Wagner (RJr., 6-2, 211)
17 Blaise Driscoll (Sr., 6-1, 189)

KR: 31 Nick Williams (Sr., 5-10, 184)
29 Taylor Mack (Jr., 5-9, 170)

PR: 31 Nick Williams (Sr., 5-10, 184)
29 Taylor Mack (Jr., 5-9, 170)

LS: 67 Adam Mueller (Jr., 6-1, 225)
66 Dominick Manco (RFr., 6-0, 239)

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook.

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 10/8

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Football links

Big East bowl projections: Week 7 [andrea adelson – espn.com]

Big East power rankings [andrea adelson – espn.com]

Leadership will be tested this week [jim fuller – new haven register]

Johnson named to Big East honor roll again [jim fuller – new haven register]

SAAC “Winter Wear Drive” At Saturday Football Game [uconnhuskies.com]

UConn football notebook: Red Zone woes [ct post]

UConn’s Focus Is On Maximizing The Red Zone [hartford courant]

Five Things We Learned About UConn Football [hartford courant]

Huskies entering pivotal part of schedule [new haven register]

Pasqualoni’s worst call of the day was letting McCombs play [the hour]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Hartley raising expectations [carl adamec – sny.com]

Hayes named to WNBA all-rookie team [carl adamec – sny.com]

Maya Moore leads Minnesota back into WNBA finals [jim fuller – new haven register]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Alumni Profile: Caron Butler [uconn huskies basketball]

Other UConn related links

W. Soccer. Huskies Tie No. 20 Marquette in Double-Overtime, 1-1 [uconnhuskies.com]

W. Volleyball. Huskies Bounce Back With Four-Set Win at DePaul [uconnhuskies.com]

M. Cross Country. McGuire Leads Huskies For Third Consecutive Meet [uconnhuskies.com]

W. Cross Country. Women’s Cross Country Led By Emily Durgin at New England Championships [uconnhuskies.com]

W. Tennis. Women’s Tennis Competes At Army Invitational [uconnhuskies.com]

M. Tennis. Men’s Tennis Shines At Quinnipiac Invitational [uconnhuskies.com]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Patriots Hold Off Broncos Comeback to Win 31-21

New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley (22) celebrates his touchdown with tight end Daniel Fells (86) and wide receiver Wes Welker (83) in the third quarter of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012, in Foxborough, Mass.

The Denver Broncos came to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA on Sunday afternoon to face a familiar opponent and they brought an old foe, Peyton Manning. Fortunately for the New England Patriots as has happened more times than not Manning’s team, this time the Broncos, folded in the late game pressure and the Patriots won 31-21.

Denver started out with a good opening drive only to see Demaryius Thomas get the ball punched from his hands on the way to the end zone by New England CB Sterling Moore. Moore in a heads up play caused the fumble and recovered the ball thwarting an opening scoring drive.

New England got on the board first in the opening quarter when QB Tom Brady threw an 8-yard TD pass to WR Wes Welker who had to do a pirouette to catch the ball after a massive in cut fake on Broncos CB Chris Harris.

After the teams traded TDs in the second quarter a pass from Manning to TE David Dreissen for Denver and a 1 yard run by RB Shane Vereen, Patriots K Stephen Gostkowski added a 23-yard field goal and New England took a 17-7 lead to locker rooms and was getting the ball to start the second half.

The third quarter saw New England expand their lead to 24 points when they added TD runs of 1 yard on QB sneak by Brady and an 8 yard Stevan Ridley run with a final dive at the end to get into the endzone and give the Patriots a 31-7 lead with 4:42 left in the 3rd quarter.

Denver wasn’t done though as they refused to die just as they have all season. While the Broncos sit now at 1-3 they easily could be as good as 3-1 if any of these late game comebacks had yielded more positive results.

The old pro Manning lead the team down field on a very quick drive to cut the lead to 17 with just over a minute left in the quarter with a 2 yard TD pass to Eric Decker. In the fourth he added another score with a 5-yard throw to former Indianapolis teammate Brandon Stokley and all of a sudden it was on.

It was around this Brady ran an audible and one of the clearly heard signals was “whiskey” and boy Patriots fans were thinking the same thing as half of New England went running to find Jack, Jimmy, Evan or James.

Shortly afterward Ridley coughed up the ball and here was Denver again driving into Patriots territory and freaking out Patriots fans everywhere. But low and behold DE Rob Ninkovich came up with his second forced fumble of the game punching the ball loose from RB Willis McGahee and DL Jermaine Cunningham pounced on the ball.

After that a few runs by rookie RB Brandon Bolden that got a first down put the game away in favor of the Patriots.

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, hit the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Turning Point(s) of the Game

Patriots DE Rob Ninkovich punched the ball free from Broncos RB Willis McGahee late in the fourth quarter and it was recovered by DL Jermaine Cunningham to keep the Patriots lead at ten points.

Offensive Player(s) of the Game

New England RB Stevan Ridley had 151 yards on 28 carries and he scored 1 TD. He also had a lost fumble.

Defensive Player(s) of the Game

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, right, watches his fumble after being sacked by New England Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich (50) in the third quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012, in Foxborough, Mass. DE Rob Ninkovich had 4 tackles (2 solo); 1 sack for minus 6 yards; 1 QB hit and 2 forced fumbles including the one the iced the game.

Game Notes

Starters for the Patriots were:

On Offense:

LT Solder

LG Mankins

C Wendell

RG Connolly

RT Vollmer

TE Gronkowski

WR Welker

WR Branch

WR Lloyd

QB Brady

RB Woodhead

On Defense:

DE Ninkovich

DT Wilfork

DT Love

DE Jones

LB Mayo

LB Spikes

LB White

CB McCourty
CB Arrington
S Wilson
S Chung

Inactives for the Game:

Patriots

1. WR Julian Edelman (hand)

2. S Steve Gregory (hip)

3. TE Mike Hoomanawanui

4. LB Dont’a Hightower

5. DE Jake Bequette

6. TE Aaron Hernandez

7. OL Matt Tennant

Broncos

1. QB Caleb Hanie

2. RB Knowshon Moreno

3. S Duke Ihenacho

4. LB Steven Johnson

5. OL C.J. Davis

6. TE Julius Thomas

7. NT Sealver Siliga

The spread (Patriots MINUS 7 1/2) WAS covered. The over/under (52) WAS NOT COVERED. I TOOK the points (BRONCOS) and took the OVER. I am now 2-3 vs. the spread and 3 of 5 calling the under/over.

This was the 197th consecutive home sellout for New England dating back to Week 1 in 1994. The streak includes preseason, regular season and post season games.

The Patriots are 68-14 at home in the regular season since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002.

Since 1999 the Patriots have the best record in the NFL at 150-63.

Since 2003 New England is 33-6 in October games.

The Patriots are 3-2 vs. Denver at Gillette Stadium.

New England has won 4 of the last 5 meetings including 1 playoff game.

Bill Belichick’s 195 wins are good for 8th all-time. He is now 195-106 including playoffs in his career.

Tom Brady is 4-6 vs. the Broncos including 1-1 in the playoffs. Overall including playoffs he is 143-43.

Brady has 308 TD passes in his career he is now 5th all-time. Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 4th with 342.

Brady has 127 regular season career wins he is 5th all-time. Peyton Manning is 4th with 141.

Brady has thrown at least 1 TD pass in 37 consecutive games.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 106 consecutive games including playoffs, 89 as a Patriot. The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

The Patriots sacked Denver QB Peyton Manning 2 times, while allowing Brady to be sacked 4 times.

New England’s turnover differential is PLUS 10. The defense has recovered 8 fumble and has 6 INT. The offense has given away 3 fumbles and has 1 INT.

The Patriots were 4 for 5 in the red zone. They had 4 TDs and 1 FG.

New England was 11 for 17 (65%) on third down conversions and 0 for 1 (0%) on 4th down attempts.

The Broncos are 2-3 in Gillette Stadium. Their last win in Foxboro came in 2006.

John Fox is 83-82 in his 11th season as a head coach; he is 10-11 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 89-86.

Fox is 1-5 vs. New England including 1 Super Bowl (0-1). He is 0-3 with Denver and 1-2 with Carolina.

Peyton Manning has a career record of 143-70 in 15 seasons. He was 141-67 with Indianapolis and is 2-3 with Denver. He is 9-10 in the post season for an overall record of 152-80.

Manning is 7-13 against the Patriots, including playoffs (1-2). He is 2-9 vs. the Patriots on the road.

The Broncos were 7 for 13 (54%) on 3rd down conversions and 1 for 2 (50%) on 4th down attempts.

Buffalo was 3 for 4 (75%) in the red zone. They had 3 TDs and lost 1 fumble.

Denver is MINUS 6 in turnover differential. The offense has given up 3 INTs and 7 fumbles, while the defense has 2 INTs and 2 fumble recoveries.

Gene Steratore was the game referee. The temp at kickoff was 54 with showers.

Attendance – 68,756 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA

Post Game Interviews

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

This Week in the AFC East

Miami edged Cincinnati, 17-13

Buffalo got mauled by San Francisco, 45-3

NY Jets host Houston on Monday Night Football

AFC East Standings

Patriots 3-2/1-0

Jets 2-2/2-0

Bills 2-3/0-2

Dolphins 2-3/0-1

Next Week

The Patriots travel to Seattle to play the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. on CBS.

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Sox and Dawgs

A New England Sports Blog

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