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Patriots Pulsetm
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Schmiel Leaving New England |
Dear TWR Family,
I want to thank you all for the great time I have had as a member of TWR. This has been a tremendous hobby and you folks have been tremendous partners in that hobby. Special thanks to Hal for all he does to keep the league going over the years. Thanks to Bryan Nevin, my old college buddy, for introducing me to this world I had no idea existed. Thanks to Mike Group for all his patient advice over the years...many of you have been very helpful and eager to share info as well, and I thank you.
I tried to muster the fire for this past season, and it was evident midway through it that I had faked myself into thinking I had enough to make it through. Free time has become so much more rare during this season that I felt this was the right time to step down. I just have not really enjoyed it as much as I used to and to go through another season at the cost of the time it would take to do it right just doesn't seem like the right thing to do. Hal has assured me that I will still be allowed access to the forum so I can peek in every now and then and see how things are going.
I am going to miss it, but I know this is the right thing to do at this time. For those of you who are in TNL, I am planning on finishing the season there and then re-evaluating things. Hopefully some of the things in my life will get back to normal and I will have time to get involved again.
As it is now, thanks for the comradery and friendship. Best wishes to you all in the offseason, and in real life.
Sincerely,
Paul |
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Forum Discussion
(by P_Schmiel on 09/21/2009)
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Replies - 13 :: Views - 100 |
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Patriots Draft Report |
The New England Patriots chose to make two trades involving this year's draft picks. The trades brought in the following two players:
DT Ike Ferguson - 2.29 and 4.29 for Ike
WR Donald Floyd - 1.29 and 5.29 for Donald and 4.7
The Pats are pleased with the use of those two picks, considering that by the 29th pick in their round I do not think I could have gotten these players if they were in this draft.
As the draft entered the third round GM Paul Schmiel was pleased with the talent that was still available, but as the day went on each player he had targeted for the Pats continued to get taken off the board. As the Titans were on the clock at pick 2.26, the Pats were pleased with their chances at nabbing either ROLB Omar Burton or Jason Lane, two of the best remaining players available. The OLB spot has bee solid for years with the play of Eric Myers and Ben Mosling, both of whom will need to be replaced in the near future. Of course, both of those players were selected prior to pick 29 and the Patriots were left to select:
3.29 - SS Quinton Jefferson - Last season, the Patriots spent a third round pick on current Defensive Rookie of the Year nominee SS Jermaine Newman. Though the Pats feel they are set at the starting SS spot, this was a case of taking what they felt was the best player available. This gives them really solid young depth at the SS spot, and could end up being potential trade bait for a team looking at getting a solid and athletic young SS. The Pats could trade either one of these safeties for something valuable to them in another area of need.
4.7 - LOLB Pete Swain - The Pats did not want to use a third round pick on Swain because of his ACC, but if the skew is kind Swain could be the Pats new starting LOLB. If not, he is a special teamer.
4.22 - P Bruce Gore - In 2007, with pick 4.22, the Patriots picked Lester Justice who has been the punter for the Patriots ever since. This draft, 11 seasons later, the Patriots selected Bruce Gore to eventually replace Justice.
6.29 and 7.29 - Due to the bad economy, the Patriots had to let go some of their scouting department and have simply asked Matt Millen to make these picks for them while the go back to team headquarters. |
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Forum Discussion
(by P_Schmiel on 05/25/2009)
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Replies - 2 :: Views - 46 |
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Patriots Halfway Report |
GM Paul Schmiel has submitted a request for realignment of divisions. They are undefeated against the league, but have lost two games to the Jets.
All in all, they are having a good season. Looking at their offense, they are not dominating in any way, but are being effective enough to have the league's rushing touchdown leader in HB James Chandler who has 9 after 8 games. However, it is definitely the defense that is the reason for any success the Patriots are having. They are leading the AFC in sacks with 25. They also lead the AFC in takeaways with 20, and they have scored 6 touchdowns on INT returns to give the Patriots the second place spot in team scoring with 29 points per game.
The second half of the season contains zero games against the New York Jets so the Patriots like their chances of competing for a playoff spot. If QB John Thompson can return to last season's MVP Candidate form then look for the Patriot offense to start picking up some slack that the defense is currently making up for.
Up next are the high-flying Indianapolis Colts. Since playing for GM Paul Schmiel in both his rookie season and Schmiel's rookie season as a GM, QB Hank Stevens has truly developed into a specimen at QB. This season he lead the Colts to a 7-0 start before the team was handed its first loss in a 31-30 game against the Philadelphia Eagles last week. Look for them to come out mad and hungry after the loss as they host the Patriots.
Notable: After a dismal first season and a half of kicking for the Patriots, K Gene Martin is a perfect 17/17 on this season, and has made 35 FG's in a row and is 42 of his last 43 kicks. He is no Ray James, but having a kicker finally develop some consistency sure has helped this Patriots team win some games. |
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Forum Discussion
(by P_Schmiel on 12/31/2008)
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Replies - 2 :: Views - 24 |
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Patriots Still Undefeated in Week One Games... |
except when playing the Jets.
This season the New England Patriots opened on the road against Mike Group's Baltimore Ravens. Though the run defense played horribly this game, the Patriots built up a large enough early lead to make it to overtime, and then recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown to seal the game.
Head Coach Tom Brady had a successful debut. His arrival seems to have done wonders for QB John Thompson who struggled greatly last season. In this week's game Thompson avoided the turnover and threw for 370 yards and 3 TD's for a Brady-like 131.1 rating. A couple of old men helped Thompson out. WR Anthony Ambrose had 152 receiving yards and a TD, followed by WR Devery Henderson with 146 yards and a TD. The two rookies on the offensive line (LT James Braxton and C Tyrell Jordan) had solid debuts as well, allowing no sacks between the two. HB James Chandler seems to be fully recovered from last season's injury and ran the ball for a 6.5 yard average against the mighty Ravens defense.
Defensively, the Patriots took a 24-14 lead into the 4th quarter only to squander it. Though they were able to hold the passing game in check, Ravens running back Tyrell Warrick torched the Patriot defense for and embarrassing 231 yards and 2 touchdowns. This is something that will need to be addressed as the Patriot season continues. If this is not fixed then the Patriots will have a mediocre season at best. However, the Patriots have the best possible record they coudld have at this point, and the locker room certainly is going to be a place of celebration anytime you can get a win against a team as good as the Ravens.
Next week the Patriots welcome the Buffalo Bills for the New England home opener. Though the Patriots have had much success against the Bills historically, this Bills team is quite talented and the Patriots will have to play much better run defense against Joel Robinson in order to hope for a victory. |
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Forum Discussion
(by P_Schmiel on 08/05/2008)
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Replies - 2 :: Views - 43 |
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At A Glance
| AFC East |
| RNK |
TEAM |
W-L-T |
PCT |
DIV |
| #4 |
 Jets |
4-1-0 |
0.800 |
3-1 |
| #3 |
 Dolphins |
3-2-0 |
0.600 |
1-1 |
| #13 |
 Bills |
3-2-0 |
0.600 |
1-2 |
| #10 |
 Patriots |
3-2-0 |
0.600 |
0-1 |
| PATRIOTS SCHEDULE |
| WK |
DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME/RESULT |
| 1 |
Sun |
vs  Jaguars #5 |
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| 2 |
Sun |
vs  Packers #25 |
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| 3 |
Sun |
vs Jets #4 |
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| 4 |
Sun |
vs  Vikings #30 |
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| 5 |
Sun |
at  Lions #12 |
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| 6 |
Sun |
at Dolphins #3 |
4:00pm |
| 8 |
Sun |
at  Bears #9 |
8:30pm |
| 9 |
Sun |
at Jets #4 |
4:00pm |
| 10 |
Mon |
at Bills #13 |
9:00pm |
| 11 |
Sun |
at  Titans #14 |
1:00pm |
| 12 |
Sun |
vs  Ravens #11 |
1:00pm |
| 13 |
Sun |
at  Chiefs #26 |
1:00pm |
| 14 |
Sun |
vs  Colts #18 |
4:15pm |
| 15 |
Sun |
at  Texans #27 |
1:00pm |
| 16 |
Mon |
vs Dolphins #3 |
9:00pm |
| 17 |
Sun |
vs Bills #13 |
1:00pm |
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#10 New England Patriots