SB Nation Boston - Through The Snow, To The Playoffs: Patriots Clinch Postseason Berth With Dominating Win Over Bearshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48863/boston-fave.png2010-12-14T20:13:25-05:00http://boston.sbnation.com/rss/stream/16324092010-12-14T20:13:25-05:002010-12-14T20:13:25-05:00Vince Wilfork Not Surprised By Improvement Of Patriots' Defense
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<p>Earlier this season when the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.patspulpit.com/">New England Patriots</a> had yet to hit their stride, veteran nose tackle <span>Vince Wilfork</span> commented that the Patriots defense would eventually round into form and more than carry its own weight as the Patriots tried to make a return to the Super Bowl. Wilfork’s comments were hardly excessively bold or ungrounded, but the Patriots had given up 27.5 points through their first three games. In the past two weeks, the Patriots defense has surrendered a grand total of 10 points, while creating seven turnovers. Both wins came against teams that were at least tied for first place in their respective divisions (<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.ganggreennation.com/">Jets</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.windycitygridiron.com/">Bears</a>).</p>
<p>Like he’s done every Monday throughout the season, <a href="http://audio.weei.com/m/35907827/vince-wilfork-patriots-dl.htm" target="new">Wilfork joined <span class="caps">WEEI</span> in Boston</a> to talk shop. (<a href="http://sportsradiointerviews.com/2010/12/14/vince-wilfork-and-the-new-england-patriots-defense-quietly-piecing-together-impressive-string-of-dominant-performances/" target="new">Full transcript via: <span class="caps">SRI</span></a>)</p>
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<p><strong>On the defense rounding into form, much like Wilfork said earlier in the year would happen as the season progressed:</strong></p>
<p><em>“It starts in practice. Just seeing guys attitudes and how they approached work made me a believer from Day 1, all the way back to OTA’s. These guys, as a team, we made a promise to each other: We’re going to give it our all. When we step on the field, we’re going to be a team, we’re going to play through whatever it may be, there’s going to be some ups and downs, there’s going to be some positives and negatives. But you know what, we’re going to play through all that. Once we get to the end of the tunnel, we’ve got to be able to finish ballgames. </em></p>
<p><em>So, I saw it early, and I was always a believer. A lot people thought I was crazy. A lot of people wrote us off. But it was just something I saw in these guys. They work their tails off, man. As a football player, for me and I think for a lot of other players, the more you do the better you get; the more games you play, the more reps you get, the better you get. Because you start to see the game a lot clearer. And I think at this point later in the season, December where you probably have to play your best football to be a good football team, I think you’re starting to see that with a bunch of guys on this team. And it starts with practice. For the past two weeks we’ve had good practices, everybody’s been tuned in, watching extra film, doing all the extra stuff they can do to make sure they hold up and we get an extra edge on the field. And it’s been helping us. And we’re going to need to continue that to get better down the road. </em></p>
<p><em>So it won’t get any easier for us, we’re just in this for the long haul, we’ve got to grind this out. This week we’ve got Green Bay coming to town. Coming off a loss, I’m sure they’re going to be pretty pumped up. It’s almost like a must-win for them, but each game we want to win, we go into each game expecting to win. So it doesn’t surprise me we went out and performed the way we performed. Two weeks in a row, if we didn’t play 60 minutes, we were darn close. And we see what we’re capable of doing once we play together. We know what we’re doing on the field. Don’t make stupid mistakes, eliminate penalties, all those little things that ruin a football team, we’re starting to get a little better in those situations. So we’re going to need to continue that to be a pretty good football team.”</em></p>
<p><strong>On the Patriots ability to plug unknown guys in at any given moment and not lose a beat:</strong></p>
<p><em>“You know what, you’ve got to credit Bill Belichik, his staff and the organization for going out and finding guys like this. And then on top of that, once they get here they learn what we do, they’re not idiots, they just learn what we do and know their role. Everybody knows if you’re a third-stringer or whatever it may be on this team, your number may be called at any given time. Somebody may go down, and then hey you’re in. You need to know what you’re doing. And I think for the most part we’ve been pretty successful doing that because like I said it starts back in practice.</em></p>
<p>Bill put us in situations in practice where me personally, I think it’s the toughest situations you can be in. He gives it to us in practice. He has our thinking caps on at all times. I mean, we go through from a special teams period to a defensive period, back to a defensive, offense, defense, special teams situation. You’ve got this amount of time on the clock, no time outs, what are you going to do? And he’ll want to see how we react when we’re tired, he’ll want to see how we react when everything is on the line. Just see if we know what we’re doing. So Bill will still drive you all the way down the field in a two minute drill at the end of practice when you’re totally blown out at the end of practice – a two minute drill that goes on for 10 minutes and throw you right in the middle of a situation. This is the situation, what you going to do about it.</p>
<p>And I think as the season went on, guys tuned in. Guys really tuned in and focused on what the situation was, and we covered a lot of situational football, and for the most part, situational football will win you games.”</p>
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https://boston.sbnation.com/new-england-patriots/2010/12/14/1876889/vince-wilfork-patriots-defense-nfl-week-15-afc-playoff-picture-best-patriots-team-bill-belichickMichael Bean2010-12-13T21:37:22-05:002010-12-13T21:37:22-05:00Robert Kraft Satisfied And Impressed By The Play Of The Patriots
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.patspulpit.com/">New England Patriots</a> keep on steamrolling opponents. Their latest victim was the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.windycitygridiron.com/">Chicago Bears</a>, who had won five straight prior to Sunday’s 36-7 drubbing at the hands of the Patriots. One man who’s thrilled with the play of the Patriots is owner Robert Kraft, who football fans who will be seeing and hearing a lot more of once the labor negotiations really heat up.</p>
<p>Kraft joined <span class="caps">WEEI</span> in Boston to talk about the torrid stretch of games his team has played, coach Bill Belichick, Donald Trump’s hair (read/hear for yourself), and the state of affairs with the pending labor strife. (<a href="http://sportsradiointerviews.com/2010/12/13/robert-kraft-talks-about-the-2010-patriots-the-nfl-labor-issues-bill-belichick-and-donald-trumps-hair/" target="new">Full transcript via: <span class="caps">SRI</span></a>)</p>
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<p><strong>On whether he still feels there will be a new labor agreement signed before a work stoppage ensues:</strong></p>
<p><em>“I think, just to be precise, what I said is, I think there was a real good chance to get a deal done before the season is over. Some people interpreted that to mean the end of the calendar year. For me, it means the year that goes through this labor agreement, which is really through the end of February and free agency starts in the beginning of March. It would be criminal if we let this thing develop to the point where we had labor strife. Our ratings are so high. Knowing what I know about the marketplace, there are people who will want to continue to brand and attach themselves to us and, just to put it into perspective, if we have a labor problem, in most labor negotiations, you put your offer in and it’s high, they put their offer in and it’s low and you go back and forth and you play this charade game then at the last minute you settle, let’s say Labor Day weekend, we will collectively lose a billion dollars of revenue if we did that.</em></p>
<p>The players receive close to 60 percent of that revenue right now. In a new deal it would probably be in the 50s. They still are the major beneficiaries. We will collectively lose that and I think also aggravate the American public in a way that given this economic time, I think part of the reason that our ratings are so high, it is unbelievable what they are doing in every market, is that people want the NFL…</p>
<p>The fan support has been wonderful. I think there will be a tremendous backlash. It’s a real challenge to both sides. With all due respect to the many great lawyers in the country, especially the lawyers working on both sides on this deal we have to get a business-like approach on both sides of the table. The makings of a deal are there, in my opinion, and I just hope that we’re wise enough to do it.”</p>
<p><strong>Whose hair needs more attention: Donald Trump or <span>Tom Brady</span>:</strong></p>
<p><em>“Well, I think of my friend Elton and his song ‘Candle in the Wind’… You know what is good, and I would like for you guys to advise me, that Donald thinks we should pay him for getting so much attraction to the Patriots. I’m not sure that he thinks the team’s performance on its own, it’s his presence… He calls me on a Friday to come to a game where we are playing the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.ganggreennation.com/">Jets</a>, now he is a New Yorker, but he has pretty much put his allegiance with the Patriots and our team. So anytime we can send a message back to New York that one of their “celebrities” is a New England Patriots fan and is willing to do along the line. We just like that message. I hope we can continue to send it.”</em></p>
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https://boston.sbnation.com/new-england-patriots/2010/12/13/1874838/robert-kraft-patriots-afc-playoffs-nfl-lockout-nfl-best-owners-pats-vs-bearsMichael Bean2010-12-12T20:36:12-05:002010-12-12T20:36:12-05:00Patriots Vs. Bears: Snowy 36-7 Win Sends Patriots To The Playoffs
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<p>Chicago, IL (<a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/events/59158/recap?article_id=129449">Sports Network</a>) – The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.patspulpit.com/">Patriots</a> clinched a playoff berth in what used to be the hard way — on the road, in the snow and against a top defense.</p>
<p>They made it look easy.</p>
<p><span>Tom Brady</span> passed for a season-high 369 yards and two touchdowns, finding little trouble in a steady snowfall, and New England scored the first 36 points of the game on the way to a 36-7 rout of Chicago.</p>
<p>The Patriots (11-2) became the first team this year to make the playoffs and will be in the postseason for the seventh time in eight seasons.</p>
<p>Brady threw both touchdown passes in the first half, including a 59-yarder that <span>Deion Branch</span> took down the left sideline on the last play from scrimmage to give New England a 33-0 lead heading into the locker room.</p>
<p>Branch finished with 151 yards on eight catches, and <span>Wes Welker</span> also caught eight passes for 115 yards in another dismantling by the Patriots’ offense that scored 45 points last Monday against the <span class="caps">AFC</span> East-rival <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.ganggreennation.com/">Jets</a>.</p>
<p>New England gained 475 yards on offense despite the weather and won for the fifth week in a row.</p>
<p>Chicago’s only offense came from a one-yard run by <span>Chester Taylor</span> in the third quarter. <span>Jay Cutler</span> passed for 152 yards with two interceptions, and receiver <span>Johnny Knox</span> lost a fumble that was returned for a New England touchdown.</p>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.windycitygridiron.com/">Bears</a> (9-4) walked onto Soldier Field with a five-game winning streak, carried by a defense that yielded more than 20 points only once in victories over Buffalo, Minnesota, Miami, Philadelphia and Detroit.</p>
<p>Brady hit <span>Rob Gronkowski</span> for a seven-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to open the scoring, finding his tight end behind a goal line that was visible only after being brushed clear of snow.</p>
<p>Gronkowski made the catch despite being draped by Chicago linebacker <span>Brian Urlacher</span>.</p>
<p>His foot on the pedal, Brady led the New England offense on an 87-yard scoring drive to start the second quarter. <span>Danny Woodhead</span> gave the Patriots a 14-0 lead on a three-yard run.</p>
<p>The Bears had trouble moving the ball in the snow, but most of their mistakes had less to do with the white stuff than with a swarming Patriots defense.</p>
<p>On the first play after Woodhead’s score, New England cornerback <span>Devin McCourty</span> stripped the ball from Knox, and linebacker <span>Gary Guyton</span> returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-0.</p>
<p><span>Shayne Graham</span> kicked field goals from 30 and 25 yards, the second one coming after Patriots lineman <span>Eric Moore</span> hit Cutler for a fumble that New England recovered.</p>
<p>Julian Edelman made several sharp cuts in returning a Chicago punt 71 yards for a touchdown, but the score was nullified by a holding penalty. Not that it mattered.</p>
<p>Brady located Branch in blown coverage on the left sideline for an easy 59- yard score that left no time on the clock and gave the Patriots their 33-0 halftime lead.</p>
<p>Chicago punter <span>Brad Maynard</span> couldn’t handle a snap on the first series of the second half — the ball bounced off his open hands — and got off a kick of only 19 yards.</p>
<p>New England turned the mistake into its final three points on Graham’s 29-yard field goal.</p>
<p>Chicago responded with its only scoring drive of the game, set up by <span>Devin Hester</span>’s 61-yard return and a 30-yard catch and run by <span>Matt Forte</span>.</p>
<p>Cutler was later intercepted on two consecutive series by Guyton and <span>Brandon Meriweather</span>.</p>
<p>The Bears gained just 185 and made only 12 first downs…Forte gained 25 yards on nine carries…<span>BenJarvus Green-Ellis</span> rushed for 87 yards on 21 attempts for New England…It was 36 degrees with a wind chill of 9 at game time.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/new-england-patriots/2010/12/12/1872293/patriots-vs-bears-recap-final-36-7Benjamin Buchanan2010-12-12T18:57:45-05:002010-12-12T18:57:45-05:00Patriots vs. Bears: Even When The Patriots Are Bad, They're Good
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<p>The offense hasn’t been great in the second half, picking up only a field goal.</p>
<p>The defense hasn’t either, giving up some long drives. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.windycitygridiron.com/">Bears</a> are even on the board with a touchdown run from <span>Chester Taylor</span>. But that’s just one score, while the Pats’ defense has bent three times.</p>
<p>The other two times? A pair of picks. One for <span>Gary Guyton</span>, and another, in the end zone, for <span>Brandon Meriweather</span>.</p>
<p>The game is basically over at this point, and the important question starts to become whether <span>Devin McCourty</span> is OK or not.</p>
<p>And if Brady can escape the game uninjured, as he takes another sack.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/new-england-patriots/2010/12/12/1872100/patriots-vs-bears-even-when-the-patriots-are-bad-theyre-goodBenjamin Buchanan2010-12-12T17:46:21-05:002010-12-12T17:46:21-05:00Patriots Vs. Bears: Bears Caught Sleeping, Branch Picks Up Last-Second TD
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.patspulpit.com/">Patriots</a> have picked up their fourth touchdown as time expired in the second quarter.</p>
<p>With just over 10 seconds left to go in the quarter, the Patriots looked ready to head to the locker room. Brady had just narrowly dodged an interception at the hands of <span>Brian Urlacher</span> for the third time in the game, and the Pats elected to hand the ball off to <span>Danny Woodhead</span> on the 2nd-to-last play.</p>
<p>So the bears really weren’t expecting for <span>Deion Branch</span> to make a bee line for the end zone, or for Brady to launch it deep to him. 59 yards and a missed extra point later, and it was 33-0 at the half.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/new-england-patriots/2010/12/12/1871993/PAtriots-vs-bears-tom-brady-deion-branch-touchdown-end-of-halfBenjamin Buchanan2010-12-12T17:27:15-05:002010-12-12T17:27:15-05:00Patriots Vs. Bears: Special Teams Contributing Too
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<p>If there was one aspect of the game the Pats weren’t winning, it was special teams. <span>Devin Hester</span> had a couple of fancy returns, and not even Mesko can dictate the wind.</p>
<p>But Julian Edelman can break a big return of his own, and did, taking the ball 42 yards and into field goal range, where <span>Shayne Graham</span> let the wind push the ball through the goalposts.</p>
<p>Not long after, another fumble gave the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.patspulpit.com/">Patriots</a> another field goal opportunity, and another three points. It’s a ridiculous 27-0 now as the Patriots are establishing their dominance over the league.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/new-england-patriots/2010/12/12/1871960/patriots-vs-bears-special-teams-julian-edelman-shayne-grahamBenjamin Buchanan2010-12-12T17:11:45-05:002010-12-12T17:11:45-05:00Patriots Vs. Bears: McCourty Making An Impact, Guyton Returns Fumble For 7
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<p>Less than 30 seconds after scoring their second touchdown of the game, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.patspulpit.com/">Patriots</a> have scored their third of the game.</p>
<p><span>Devin McCourty</span>, already dominating the game defensive, has added a forced fumble to his resume. <span>Gary Guyton</span> scooped up the loose ball and brought it home for yet another New England score.</p>
<p>The Patriots have now outscored their opponents 108-13 since allowing the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.prideofdetroit.com/">Lions</a> to go up 14-3 in the 2nd quarter on Thanksgiving.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/new-england-patriots/2010/12/12/1871943/Patriots-vs-bears-Devin-McCourty-Gary-Guyton-Fumble-TouchdownBenjamin Buchanan2010-12-12T17:04:33-05:002010-12-12T17:04:33-05:00Patriots Vs. Bears: Welker And Lawfirm Combine For 7 More
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<p>It was <span>Danny Woodhead</span> who crossed the goal line to finish off another drive of nearly 90 yards, but this one was all about <span>BenJarvus Green-Ellis</span> and, again, <span>Wes Welker</span>. Welker has already picked up over 80 yards, catching all six passes thrown to him while BenJarvus has 50 yards on just seven attempts.</p>
<p>Going back to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.prideofdetroit.com/">Lions</a> game, this <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.patspulpit.com/">Patriots</a> offense has been absolutely unstoppable. In fact, factoring in the conditions today and the fact that they were facing the dominant <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.ganggreennation.com/">Jets</a> defense on Monday, and it could easilly be argued that this team is looking more powerful than 2007’s record breaking unit.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, <span>Devin McCourty</span> is looking like a superstar, already having blown up a run in the backfield and knocked down a 3rd-and-short pass from <span>Jay Cutler</span> to force a punt.</p>
<p>It’s 14-0 in the second quarter, and the Patriots just keep on rolling.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/new-england-patriots/2010/12/12/1871932/Patriots-vs-bears-tom-brady-danny-woodhead-touchdown-wes-welker-benjarvus-green-ellis-devin-mccourtyBenjamin Buchanan