The one where Patriots discover a running game

The New England Patriots came into yesterday's game with the Falcons facing as much adversity as they've had since they started winning Super Bowls. The roster is in flux, the offense can't score in the red zone and who will make plays on defense?

Those are just a few of the questions facing the 2009 Patriots but yesterday they proved that they're still pretty good and the Falcons (2-1) were a tad overrated.

On a rainy, miserable day at Gillette Stadium, the Pats (2-1) had the ball for 39 minutes, en route to a 26-10 win. The red zone deficiency is still their biggest issue as they went 1-for-5 but at least they discovered a running game.

Fred Taylor had 105 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. Playing without Wes Welker again, Tom Brady still didn't look like himself but he finished 25-of-42 for 277 yards and a touchdown.

Without Welker in the lineup, Randy Moss has become more of a short, possession receiver, as opposed to his normal deep threat. Straight Cash Homey had 10 catches for 116 yards.

Through the first three games, New England's defense has been the most pleasant surprise. They completely shut down a very good Atlanta offense. Matt Ryan was 17-of-28 for 199 yards but no touchdowns. Michael Turner was held to 56 yards rushing while Roddy White (24 yards) and Tony Gonzalez (16 yards) were neutralized by our no-name secondary.

Jason Elam (26 yards) and Stephen Gostowski (21 yards) traded field goals in the first quarter.

Taylor gave New England a 10-3 lead in the second quarter with an 8-yard run up the gut. Belichick's plan to control Atlanta's offense was simply to not let them have the ball. The Pats failed for the most part in the red zone but the fact that they were there so many times showed how long they possessed the ball.

Turner tied it later in the second quarter with a two-yard run. Gostkowski's 33-yard kick with 20 seconds left in the first half gave the Pats a 13-10 lead.

Another Gostkowski kick (22 yards) was the only scoring in the third quarter and he opened the fourth with another boot (33 yards).

After they showed him on the bench pissed off earlier, Brady was much happy in the fourth quarter when he connected with tight end Chris Baker on a 36-yard catch and run for a touchdown.

Ryan and the Falcons offense could never get anything going and the Pats had a nice win. New England was a perfect 3-for-3 on fourth downs, including a conversion on fourth and inches at their own 24 in the third quarter.

Vince Wilfork left in the second quarter with an ankle injury but New England's D didn't seem to skip a beat. They forced a fumble by Michael Turner which James Sanders recovered.

It's still hard to tell how good this team is but facing the Baltimore Ravens-arguably the top team in the NFL-next Sunday at Gillette should bring some immediate feedback.

The Ravens are 3-0 and finally have some offense to go with that ridiculous defense. Joe Flacco is throwing it all over the field, they have a bunch of good running backs and Ray Lewis is still murdering people/dancing up a storm. Should be a good one.

The Most Meaningless Streak in College Football Continues

With a 24-21 win over Michigan State yesterday in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, FL, Boston College has now won eight bowl games in a row, the longest streak in the country. That streak much like BC football is a joke.

When you look a little closer at the eight bowls, you'll realize there weren't any BCS games and none fell on New Years Day or later. In other words, the Eagles (11-3) have been beating up on garbage teams exactly like Michigan State (7-6) for the last eight seasons.

The Spartans had five players suspended going into the game and it's not like they were LSU to begin with. Michigan State was 3-5 in the Big Ten this season which tied them with three other pathetic teams (Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern) at the bottom, only ahead of winless Minnesota (1-11, 0-8). But I digress.

This game played out pretty much exactly as you'd expect. It was mostly a slop-fest as both teams hadn't played since Nov. 17 (MSU against Penn State) and Dec. 1 (BC against V-Tech in the ACC Championship) respectively. It goes against all reason that almost any bowl will be exciting after teams sit for so long after the season, making the play more choppy and players more susceptible to injuries.

Michigan State went up 7-0 early but BC answered with a touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to backup tight end Jon Loyte. Another Ryan TD pass-to WR Rich Gunnell-in the second quarter gave the Eagles a 14-10 halftime advantage.

The teams traded field goals in the third quarter and then fittingly the fourth quarter was the most exciting as BC seemed to put the game away before Michigan State came back but ultimately choked. Gunnell (6 catches, 138 yards) hauled in another TD pass (this one 68-yards) putting the Eagles up 24-13.

Michigan State scored on a ridiculous rollout, a 14-yard pass from QB Brian Hoyer to receiver Deon Curry. Hoyer hit tight end Kellen Davis for the two-point conversion and Sparty was in business, down only three with plenty of time and all the momentum on their side.

Their defense got the ball back but Hoyer had one last mistake in a game that was filled with them. He forced a ball down the sideline that was picked off by BC safety Paul Anderson. Game over, your 2007 Champs Sports Bowl Champions, the Boston College Eagles!

BC was led by their two best players, seniors who were playing in their last games for the Eagles. Ryan was 22 of 47 for 249 yards for three touchdowns and one interception. Strong Safety Jamie Silva had eight tackles and two picks, both in the first half, to earn the game MVP honors.

Hoyer was a horrid 14 of 36 for 131 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. Michigan State had 13 turnovers all season yet had five yesterday.

Let's never speak of BC football, this terrible bowl game or the stupid streak until next September. Deal?

Frauds no more

Stop me if you've heard this before: an overrated Boston College football team, loses an important late-season game that it had to have. Their season goes down the tube as they are relegated to a garbage bowl before New Year's in Podunk, USA. Well the script looked to be eerily similar until Matt Ryan and the Eagles woke up just in time last night, stunning host Virginia Tech 14-10 in a rain-soaked Lane Stadium.

BC was down 7-0 at halftime (after a controverisal Hokie touchdown; no way Royal got a foot down even though they reviewed it and it still stood). After a third-quarter field goal, the Hokies carried a 10-0 lead into the fourth quarter. Ryan had probably the worst half of football in his college career: 9-for-21 for 54 yards.

When he threw a pick with a little over six minutes left in the fourth quarter, his Heisman campaign looked dead while BC's BCS hopes were gone as well. Ryan and Co. responded though. They went 92 yards in 9 plays for the first TD, ending with a 16-yard toss to WR Rich Gunnell. Luck was on the Eagles side on the next play as they rolled the dice and hit an onside kick. A Hokie touched it but it deflected right to BC. The Eagles calmly went 66 yards in 7 plays for the clinching score. On the winning touchdown, Ryan did something he had done twice earlier on the drive. He basically ran around the pocket to buy time before delivering a pass to running back Andre Callender. The throw was something that'll be replayed a million times this season and beyond. Ryan threw across his body (all arm as the commentators said) and just put enough on it to get it beyond multiple Tech defenders to Callender, who was uncovered in the back of the end zone. The play ended with 11 seconds left on the game clock. Wow. Ryan finished a respectable 25-for-52 for 285 yards, 2 TD's and 2 INT's. Florida sophomore QB Tim Tebow is probably still the front-runner but if BC can make it to the BCS Championship, Ryan will be the main reason why and will deserve the hardware.

BC still has to win its last four games but as I've said all along, last night was the biggest one. None of the four remaining teams: Florida State, Maryland, Clemson or Miami are currently ranked nor will they be when the teams meet. The Eagles can still stumble but after last night, who would doubt them this season? Ryan and Coach Jags seem to have that elusive Flutie magic back at the Heights.

Don't Look Now but BC is legit.

As noted in this blog, the Boston College Eagles have a good football team. After the opening win vs. Wake, they've taken care of North Carolina State (37-17 in Boston) with their old coach Tom O'Brien and most recently went down to Georgia Tech and defeated the #15 Yellow Jackets convincingly, 24-10. Did I mention that the rest of the ACC sucks in 2007?

BC will put it on cruise control as its next three games are all at home: Army, UMass and Bowling Green. Not exactly powerhouses. After that, they go to Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. The last four games are vs. Florida State, at Maryland, at Clemson, vs. Miami. Lets not get ahead of ourselves but at the very least BC will be 6-0 in a few weeks. Notre Dame is just awful so 7-0 is pretty likely as well. The thursday night game at Tech will be hard but the Hokies are looking vulnerable since they now start a freshman QB and have a pretty bad offense. Florida State, Maryland and Miami all have talent but as teams they're nothing special. That leaves Clemson. Circle it on your calendars SuperFans: BC at Clemson, Nov. 17. Should be a good one. BC will have to go into a tough environment and get a road win, in all likelihood the game will decide, who wins the Atlantic Division of the ACC. In a scheduling quirk, BC is already 3-0 in conference while only Virginia (in the Coastal Division) has played more than one game (two).

BC has everything in its hands. They've opened up the season playing well in a down year for the ACC as a whole. They have a legitimate Heisman candidate (quarterback Matt Ryan) and enough playmakers on both sides of the ball to win the ACC. And keep this in mind: Wake Forest won it last year, really. The key for the Eagles will be not to choke like they seem to always do in the late season, winnable game. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few recent late season games (home to Syracuse and at Miami) where BC has simply choked when a win would have put them in a conference championship game. BC finds itself sitting at #12 in the USA Today Poll and #14 in the AP Poll. Heady times for the Eagles no doubt but if everything goes as planned, they should continue to climb the polls as the weeks go on.