So what team doesn’t believe in the ways of Belichick? Divisional rivals New York Jets.  Led by Coach Rex Ryan, they have been signing marquee players like he was putting together his fantasy football team.  I define ‘marquee’ not necessarily that these players are the best available in their respective positions, but more of the free agents that grab the headlines.  Interestingly enough, they are also the names that I find the most frequently pop up on my twitter feed. ( Speaking of twitter, you should definitely follow me @kishaT )

The Jets Show: Starring...

Back to the Jets, late Sunday evening the Pittsburgh Steelers traded their former Super Bowl MVP and statistically impressive wide receiver to New York for a meager 5th round pick.  Some have called this a steal for the Jets.  I call this a slap in the face for Holmes.  Holmes had his best year EVER with 79 catches for 1,248 yards.  I guess keeping your toes in during the Super Bowl doesn’t make a drug violation ok.

For Patriots worriers out there, here are my thoughts on the so-called threat to our division:

Eh.

Seriously, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Like I’ve said to a lot of people who’ve asked me, all these signings look amazing on paper.  If the Jets are trying to instill some fear or nervousness to the other teams in their division, this is a good try.  It’s definitely working a lot more with the fans than their rival teams.  The Patriots find comfort in having a solid locker room and do not deal with any off field issues. Big names or not, a player’s on and off field production is more important.  I have all the faith in the world the although it may seem that the Patriots are sitting around during this free for all in the off season.  I call it the calm before the storm.

The Alge Crumpler signing was a great move and it gives a much needed boost to their vanishing tight end department.  Here is my most recent edition of Kisha’s Korner for Patriots Insider

Loose Ends

This was definitely one of my favorite pieces and was actually my first piece to ever make the cover of profootball.scout.com. Check out it and let me know your thoughts!

Final words:
Keep up the fantasy player collecting Jets, you’ll need it.
The bigger the names of the players you sign, the more you have to explain yourself in the postseason when you aren’t a part of it.

Now for a party and half that EVERYONE needs to attend

BOSTON SPORTS BLOGAPALOOZA 2010

Alright folks, if you ever wanted to hang out at a pretty wicked bar with some of the coolest bloggers in the Boston area talking about the greatest sports teams in existence, this is the event for you.  Here are the details:

What: Boston Sports Blogapalooza Networking Event
Where: The Baseball Tavern, 1270 Boylston St. Boston, MA
When: Sunday, May 2,2010 from 12PM-6PM

Now the who is what’s important.

Several of the top sports bloggers in the Boston area will be at this event. This is a great chance to argue, network and just enjoy a nice beer with some of coolest people.

Not to mention, yours truly will be present with the lovely Kristyn G and Patrick  H to take in all the sports awesomeness.  So if you want to talk sports with me in person or just share a nice, cold beer on a Sunday afternoon, meet me at the Baseball Tavern.

Here’s the link to their facebook event page.

We drafted well for the most part. Picked up an offensive sleeper in the 7th round (Julian Edelman) and a handful of pretty useful defensive weapons as well (Darius Butler, Patrick Chung). We had Tom Brady back, healthy, kinda. Defense seemed hopeful just no Bruschi, Harrison or Seymour.  Hell, who am I kidding. The team suffered a lot without these three players. Call it a rebuilding year or whatever, there was a spirit that was missing with the New England Patriots that newly acquired players just couldn’t put back.

:(

So what does this even leave up for discussion? With an uncapped season coming, there is no doubt that the Patriots are going to do what they’ve done before: keep everyone guessing.  I have a few ideas on who would be a great fit.

Idea #1: Brandon Marshall, WR Denver Broncos
Well this needs very little explaining.  Wes Welker is out for the next year or so and there is no guarantee that when he does return, he’ll be at 100%.  Brandon Marshall is a hell of a receiver, especially when he feels like doing his job.
Marshall finished the season with 1,120 yards and 10 touchdown catches. This is him at like 60%..40% of the time. Read that again, I promise it makes sense.  He’d be a great addition to the Patriots even if just for the fact of giving Randy Moss some breathing room.  I’m pretty sure that BB can get Marshall to play 100% without having to hug during a press conference to prove that they don’t hate each other.

Idea #2: Julius Peppers, DE Carolina Panthers
Before the season began last year, I had many discussions with people about the idea of picking up Julius Peppers.  I even threw some headline ideas with my little brother about it.
- Fresh Peppers? Yes, Please
- Peppers adds Spice to Defense
You know, all that fun stuff. Eventually the Patriots didn’t pick up Peppers and he signed a one-year contract with the Panthers where he was guaranteed $16.7 million in 2009.  Obviously the Patriots were not flirting with the idea of paying the 2nd overall pick of the 2002 Draft that kind of money.  Peppers, I think is the riskiest pick that the Patriots would make as it would be very uncharacteristic of them to invest that much a big name player.  42 tackles and five forced fumbles in 2009-2010.  Not exceptional numbers but his biggest contribution to the Patriots would be much more.  He’ll bring to the team what was left vacant after Rodney Harrison left.  The defensive leader. The one that rookies feared.  The one that made sure that mistakes, if they were EVER made, were addressed and disciplined right on the sidelines.  This wasn’t evident this season and I think Julius Peppers can definitely do the job.  Plus he would give Randy Moss’s burly beard some competition. That would be amazing.

Those are my ideas so far. Not original, I know but I think they would prove to add some moral and competitive depth to the struggling Patriots.  It’s not longer the Tom Brady show anymore and the 2010 season was the harsh proof.

1st Round
Nobody because Bill Belichick likes to drive Pats fans crazy.

2nd Round
Patrick Chung, S, Oregon
Ron Brace, NT, Boston College
Darius Butler, CB, Connecticut
Sebastian Vollmer, Houston

3rd Round
Brandon Tate, WR, North Carolina
Tyrone McKenzie, LB, South Florida
Rich Ohrnberger, G, Penn State

4th Round
Yeah, nopes.

5th Round
George Bussey, OL, Louisville

6th Round
Jake Ingram, LS, Hawaii
Myron Pryor, DT, Kentucky

7th Round
Julian Edelman, WR, Kent State
Darryl Richard, DT, Georgia Tech

Honestly, I can’t complain about who we picked. I was banking on them picking up Darius Butler from Connecticut ASAP. Butler, like I mentioned in the “Cutting Corners” article in Patriots Insider, is built very similarly to Ellis Hobbs.  Unfortunately, we traded Hobbs for more picks in 2010.  This is an entirely new issue, I’ve had people in class ask me why Bill did this.  Folks, I don’t know him personally. I can’t tell you why we just busted out Hobbs card during the Draft. Honestly, I think its for the better.  The 5’9 corner is smaller than most and has had just over 162 solo tackles in 4 seasons. He was an excellent kick returner and has been a strong asset to the New England Patriots.  But maybe we just don’t need him anymore..he was sent to Philly to join former Patriot, Asante Samuel. Let’s hope this move was for the better. Butler, please don’t be a bust.

MICHAEL VICK IN ARENA FOOTBALL

According to Yahoo! Sports, the New York Firebirds have offered Michael Vick an opportunity to play some arena football.  This is a great idea.  Not only does the team guarantee that he would have to donate $100,000 to the local humane society but I think this would be great way for Vick to be substantially humbled.  His talent is undeniable, but his actions are very hard to ignore.  Plus, he’s probably be a beast in arena football, who knows, maybe he’ll stimulate the much needed market for the sport.
With the smaller field, he’ll probably break 13,000 yards in his first season.

4Th and Long with Michael Irvin!

OMG. Does anybody watch Spike TV? Besides the History Channel and ESPN, Spike TV is definitely one of my favorite channels.  On May 18, 2009 they are going to premiere a new show.  “4th and Long with Michael Irvin” with a very Invincible-esque feel to it, the show revolves around 12 players who will be battling for a chance to have a spot on the Dallas Cowboys roster.  The coaches will be Bill Bates and Joe Avezzano.  The prospective players will live, breathe and train at the Cotton Bowl.  This is a brilliant idea.  Among all this drama that surrounds wide receivers in the NFL, it’s good to see a Hall of Famer trying to make some dreams come true.  The 12 contestants vary from former members of college championship teams to some who have been cut twice by the Kansas City Chiefs.  Similar to shows like “Rock of Love” , some of the guys also have nicknames, my favorite? The 25 year-old defensive back from Mississippi aptly named Ahmaad “Silent Assassin” Smith. Bret Michaels can’t compete with Michael Irvin running drills with NFL hopefuls.  Please watch.
I’d try out for this show for 2 things:
1. To even have the slightest chance to play in the beautiful new billion dollar stadium.
2. My mom would be very happy if I had any reason to go back to Texas
Just think about it:

…standing at towering 5’2 and weighing in at 120..(ok, maybe 125) lbs! Hailing from the Rio Grande Valley and starting at wide receiver..Kisha “Money”  Tapangan!
Did we mention she was awesome?
*crowd noises*

hahaaahh I can dream.