Tom Brady makes a weekly radio appearance on WEEI's "Dennis and Callahan Show." On the show, Brady mentioned he had a hard time sleeping last night. So instead of counting sheep, Brady decided he might just go over some game film on the Chargers instead.Yea, the Patriots know what kind of team the Chargers are. They know about the many playmakers and Pro Bowlers on the roster. They know that even LT's backup, Michael Turner, can torch teams. So don't ask Coach Belichick about the Jets; his focus is solely on the match-up against the San Diego Chargers:
"Forget about the Jets. It doesn't mean anything right now," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. "That game is in the books. It's done. It's time to move on, and believe me, we know what kind of challenge we have ahead of us. I think based on the body of work over a 16-game, regular-season schedule, they're the best team in the AFC. We're going to have to play our best game of the year against them."
Going back to last season when San Diego (9-7) were considered the 'best team to miss the playoffs,' the Chargers marched into Gillette Stadium and ended the Patriots 21-game home winning streak. The didn't just beat the Patriots, they dominated them. LaDainian Tomlinson had 134 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns, and the team won soundly, 41-17.
"They beat us up and down the field," said Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel. "It was kind of like an NFL team vs. a college team."
Of course its a different year and two different teams. The Patriots have to fly across the country and enter into Qualcomm Stadium, which has actually turned into quite a hostile environment. The fans have really shown amazing support of the team, and the Chargers are undefeated at home this year. Both teams like to run the ball, and play physical on offense and defense. Both are 3-4 style defenses, protect their smart quarterbacks, and have generally large players. Its likely to be the best game of the weekend, and could end up being a better game than the SuperBowl - as crazy as that sounds.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-13-2007 @ 9:29AM
Leo Martin said...
I Love it! WHEN are the Patriots going top get any respect? Besides Denver this year...WHO did the Chargers play this season. Seriously....check it out! There division, like their schedule is for all intensive purposes soft.
Did the Patriots get two play powerhouses like the Raiders and the Cardinals just to name a couple? UMMMM, I think not!
The record in football does not mean the best team in football. I hope the media keeps on talking about how the Patriots don't stand a chance.....They seem to feed off that negative energy.
Let's not forget the Best Show on Turf a few years ago and how that turned out. Let's not forget about the best coach in football history in this, the era of the free agent. Let's not forget about Mr. Clutch Brady. Or on second thought......PLEASE DO! They'll remind everyone on Sunday!
ALL the Pro-Bowlers will be in Hawaii, That I agree with. The Patriots on the other hand...will all be at Disney World!
Someday they will get respect! Until then, they will just leave everything on the field and find ways to keep on winning!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!
Reply
1-10-2007 @ 9:21AM
Steve Ormins said...
First off, I am going to say that I think this weekend's game will be an outstanding one. I am a Chargers fan, and think the Chargers will win, but I am not going to say somehting stupid like "the Pats have no chance", etc. The Patriots are an outstanding team, and whichever team comes out of the AFC should be a prohibitive favorite to win the Super Bowl.
Until this week, I never realized how many insecure Patriots fans there were out there. Did this guy even read the article? "It is likely to be the best game of the weekend..."- I suppose that saying anything other than "The Patriots will not give up a point the rest of the playoffs" is considered disrepecting them. For all the talk about "disrespect" that's been thrown around the boards, alot of it seems to be coming from Foxborough (their fans, I haven't seen where any of the players have been saying it.)
No, the Patriots did not get to play the Cardinals and Raiders this year. Instead they faced such powerhouses as the Texans, Vikings, Packers, and Lions. Oh, I forgot, they also played in a "brutal" division with the Jets, Bills, and Dolphins. Seriously, I'll take the AFC West over the East this year. Yes, the Raiders were terrible, but the third best team in the West somehow managed to squeak by the almighty Patriots. The Bolts played the third best team in the mighty East. In Buffalo. It was cold. The only thing that stopped LT from still running that game was the goal line.
When Sunday arrives, all the past meetings, all the games played this season, everything that happened in 2001 will be just that- the past. For all intents and purposes, it will be the team that plays the better game will win. Tom Brady is a great QB who will be in Canton one day- if he plays a lousy game, the Pats will lose. If LT gets completely shut down, the Bolts lose. So let's just let the game get played, without the yapping about "disrespect."
Reply
1-12-2007 @ 7:53PM
thomas j said...
I am a long time Patriot season ticket holder/fan, 24 yrs.some years it was difficult to justify the cost, but i appreciate what we have now. last year in the denver game you could really see how tired the patriots were ,over the coarse of the last three years we've played alot of games and i think that catches up with you....the teams i think match up over all fairly evenly, i see this coming down to coaching/game plan. maybe, any way i agree the AFC is definetly the domonent division. tom
Reply