Foxboro Mike

I told you, it's not a cabin in the woods... it's a "summer retreat".

When you've got nothing to say, resort to the personal attacks. I'm flattered.

Loathing Drew's game has nothing to do with him as a person. By all accounts, he's a decent man. I probably should have said I loathe his *game*. Well, at least I don't pull my hair out over the pat-pat-pat-shake-shuffle-sacks anymore. Drove me crazy - admittedly not a long ride to get there!

I have to admit that line was clever. Hooked on Phonics evidently works!!

I love it when the pot calls the kettle black. Here's an SAT-style question for you to illustrate it the best I can: Fox Mike -----> The Cerebral Statue Mad Buff -----> Patriots "trolls" on TBD

I was wrong about you. You're a philathropist, a pharmacist, an apologist, and ignoramus rolled into one. You're multi-faceted.

You're wacky!!! You're edgy!!! You must be Drew's agent!!!

Dammit! I knew I should have looked it up. Good call.

Bingo!

I was lost for a second character. "T.H." is paying homage to Robert Duvall's "Tom Hagen" character.

Mark!!! That's below the belt!!!

The shadowy figure sitting in a darkened room lights a cigarette and leans back in his overstuffed chair, surrounded by his faithful minions: Pucillo, Vincent, Milloy. The body count around him is rising, but such carnage is at times necessary to stay atop the depth chart at QB in today's NFL. The Drewfather will not be crossed. The early signs were promising: A youthful, exuberant Fredo Brown, thrilled to follow at the side of the once powerful Drewfather, worshipped the ground the veteran walked on. Fredo even mimicked the veteran's turnover prone ways, the pat-pat-pat before he unleashed his cannon-like gun, and had perfected the angry chin-strap yank that threw fear into the heart of Drew's opponents everywhere. In the '03 season finale in Foxboro, Fredo had the gumption to produce more yardage in just one quarter of play than The Drewfather did in three quarters. It was written off to youthful exuberance, not insolence... yet The Drewfather never forgets slights of that nature; his tendency is to forget his hot-reads. The Drewfather is human. But Fredo didn't learn - having the audacity to lead the team to a pre-season score before his mentor sealed his fate. You don't cross The Drewfather twice... even if you are family. At practice on a oppressive August day, the foreshadowing came as The Drewfather kissed Fredo squarely on the lips. "You broke my heart, Fredo... you broke my heart," said a clearly disconsolate patriach. "B-but Drewfather... it's not your fault! It's never your fault," said a disconsolate Fredo. "I've never strayed from the party line! I'm just trying to make my own name, Drewfather." "You're dead to me," said a emotionless patriach. "If you're going to visit our offensive coordinator, I want to know a day in advance. You're my back-up, and I love you. But never take sides against the family, Fredo." It would be the last time The Drewfather and Fredo spoke before Fredo Brown's untimely demise. The Drewfather also made sure that the young lark, his new protege', T.H. Losman, would get a pre-emptive message. The Patriach's imported henchman from his long-time rival Miami gang, CB Troy Vincent, saw to it that the young buck would not take over the family before his time... a brazen attack with witnesses at an open Bills practice left T.H. lying in a pool of his own sweat and tears with a broken fibula, courtesy of The Drewfather's hit squad. The message was received loud and clear by the youngster, who got the patriarch's message just as it was intended. "It's not Drew's fault," said T.H. Losman. "It's never Drew's fault. We need time to gel as a unit." The blood of countless dozens are on The Drewfather's hands: Ray Perkins, Ernie Zampese, Pete Carroll, Bobby Grier, Larry Kennan, Scott Zolak, Kevin Gilbride, and Gregg Williams among others... but even as a new season dawns in Western New York, one thing chillingly remains the same... The Drewfather's reign of terror continues anew for Bills fans. God help you all.

I like this DeeRay guy. You're doing God's work, my good man.

I'll give you the bumper-sticker version of how I wound up here: After the Pats got shellacked Week 1 last year, there was an influx of Bills fans onto a Pats board I post on. I believe you refer to such opposing fans as "trolls". When the worm turned (and the Pats would not stop winning), a few of us from the other board wound up here (where a few of the Bills fans over on the Pats board came from.) I enjoyed the give and take with Bills fans, found some comrades that see the truth about Bledsoe, and discovered a different perspective on *my* team. I'm not a Bills fan, but at the same time I don't loathe them either. I do, however, loathe Drew Bledsoe. But I think you may know that already. At this point, I don't think I'm 'envious' of your online community, I prefer to think I'm a part of it. Every fansite should have an official ball-buster, someone who sways from the party line, and someone who stirs things up a little... it keeps things fresh. I'm the official TBD Voice of Pats fans... Nothing wrong with a little outside perspective, right? And, believe it or not, I've made friends on this board other than Hollywood Donahoe or Thurman's Helmet.

It's not Lee's fault. I love it when people make excuses for their binkies against all evidence. As always, ignorance is bliss, and the post above is straight from Eden!! In time Evans may prove to be a good player, but for now rookie WRs don't often make an impact - especially rookie wideouts on teams with QB questions.

Fox Sports Net tried a nightly sportscast and it didn't work, which really puzzled the hell out of me. I think the time is ripe for a competitor. I abhor SportsCenter.

Mushnick hits it on the head I'm clamoring for an ESPN SportsCenter competitor. When I can, I don't even watch SportsCenter, I'll watch ESPN news. Jake Delhomme is going to be just fine. To quote a poster on a Pats message board, he's got more heart in his right hand than there is at a Manning family reunion.

Anyone who can reference the immortal Ray Zalinsky is my kind of people, even if you are putting down Pats posters here. The Pats O-Line re-grouped and played really well after Peppers sacked Brady in the first quarter. I laughed when a lot of you started making out McNally to be a god who could be a one-man cure-all for your O-Line, but the more I think about it, maybe one man can make a difference. In this case, the one man is Pats O-Line coach Dante Scarnecchia. The Pats O-Line is hardly a collection of Ogden/Pace high first round picks - they're the antithesis of that. Starting LT Matt Light is the highest picked player of the bunch - he was a 2nd rounder in '01. LG Russ Hochstein was the guy Warren Sapp said before SB 36 was a 'turnstile' when he played in TB's camp, C Dan Koppen was a 5th rounder, G Joe Andruzzi was an UDFA who was cut by GB, and RT Tom Ashworth was another UDFA (I believe). Scarnecchia deserves an inordinate amount of credit for coaching these guys up; Charlie Weis deserves kudos for implementing a plan that plays to his OL's strenghts and limitations, and Tom Brady deserves credit for making decisions and getting rid of the ball quickly. If you guys are patient and give it some time, maybe McNally can work the same magic. And if enough alarm clocks make enough noise, maybe Bledsoe will get the message to GET RID OF THE BALL!!

I was really encouraged by the O-Line's play last night. Much further ahead of schedule than at this time last year. Nice to see the D force some turnovers, too.

No, the point of the remark was to disparage Tom Brady.

You guys really need to relax. Take a breath, and repeat after me: it's a practice game... it's a practice game. At this stage, you DO get do-overs! New systems, etc... give it time.

I really believe they'll be a better team without him - not only will they be less reliant on one player, it's addition by subtraction. I had the Dolphins down for 3 wins... double it.

Right. So why wouldn't every other team in the NFL be using "the system" then? A "system" isn't like a plug-and-play DVD system. The "system" takes into account the strengths of the players involved. When good talent meets good coaching, the result is usually a positive. Hence, the '01 and '03 Patriots. I've seen Rohan Davey play... and believe me when I tell you that Rohan doesn't play quarterback like Tommy Two Rings. Trust me on this.

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