The Pats were on a drive late in the fourth quarter when Damien Harris fumbled the ball of the Dolphins eight yard line as they were trailing 17-16. That basically cost them the game.
Coach Belichick will preach ball control to the end. It can determine the outcome of a game as it did today.
UMass played a very competitive game against Boston College, but lost 45-28 to lower their record to 0-2.
They were in the game for most of it, but gave up the big plays, especially on third down. For the second week, they were unable to stop the running game.
Very few teams can ever win when they give up 270 yards on the ground. The same holds true in the NFL.
It was inevitable that Tom Brady would put up great numbers last night. He threw for 379 and four TD's against the Cowboys. His final drive set up a game winning field goal in the last seconds.
His performance was easy talk show fodder for second-guessing the Pats for not re-signing him. Nobody wants to accept the fact that Belichick wanted to move on from him and Tom wanted to be a free agent.
Fans should be happy to see him do so well. Rob Gronkowski caught two TD's and looked strong out there.
The 2021 season starts tonight when Tampa Bay hosts Dallas in Thursday Night Football. Much is expected from the Bucs this season after their Super Bowl win and returning all of their starters.
Anything can happen on a play. We only need to look at the Pats season opener in 2008 when they lost Tom Brady for the season during their first offensive series.
Have we seen the last of Cam Newton? His name has not been heard in the rumor mill around the league. There is always a market for a quality back-up quarterback, but there is silence.
Last year, the Pats were the only team that expressed interest in signing him. Do teams think he is finished?
Cam plans to make an announcement on Friday, but nobody really thinks it's about retirement. He might speak about his vaccination status and release from the Pats.
Every weekend of college football has a bunch of mismatches. Teams schedule weaker opponents for a few easy wins. If they get six, they qualify for a bowl.
Teams such as UMass line up to take a beating and get a big financial payoff. For some state schools, it's a way to bring in additional revenue.
With all the bowl games, they need teams with winning records or close to it. Easy wins help out.
WR Chris Hogan will continue his remarkable NFL journey with the Saints in Week 1 against the Packers. He signed at the start of training camp, released in the final cut, but was re-signed by them.
It's a great deal for him because his salary will be guaranteed for the season. The Saints get an experienced veteran on the cheap, but who can make a contribution.
Hogan was forced to step away from professional lacrosse to get to the Saints camp. It has worked out well for a guy who never got selected in the 2011 Draft.
He signed with the 49er's, Giants and Dolphins all in his rookie year. He blossomed with the Bills before signing with the Pats. He went to three Super Bowls with them, where they won two.
He left in free agency for the Panthers where it didn't work out. He spent 2020 with the Jets before signing with the Saints as a free agent.
Staying healthy has been a challenge for him at times.
There will be 15 new starting quarterbacks in the AFC with eight of them being under 25.
That's a sharp contrast with the NFC that has eight starters over 30 and four of them over 35.
Every quarterback needs to be ready to play.
Every year, we see some of the great players of their time waiting for a chance to be signed to a roster.
Some realize the writing on the wall and decide to retire, while others are determined to play one more season because they feel they can still make a contribution.
Such is the case with running backs Frank Gore and Adrian Petersen who are third and fifth on the all-time list for rushing yards. Their opportunity could happen at some point as teams start to experience injuries.
WR Larry Fitzgerald is undecided on his future. He can still play at a high level, but what else is there to accomplish other than a Super Bowl win? In his 263 games, he trails Jerry Rice for #2 all-time with 1,432 catches for 17,492 yards and 121 TD's.
UMass starts their football season tomorrow against Pittsburgh. Las Vegas oddsmakers set a line of 1.5 totals wins by the Minutemen. This doesn't sound very optimistic.
On the other hand, DraftKings has given them 38 points with an O/U of 57. I took the under and the 38 points.
You never know with college games. I'm sure there will be some crazy outcomes this weekend.
Every sports team wants the newest stadium with lots of suites and all the extras. The Pats were the exception when they built Gillette Stadium as it was privately financed.
The Bills are the latest to make noise about a new stadium by threatening to move. This immediately got the attention of elected officials.
There is a proposal to have a new one ready by 2027 that will have have 60,000 seats and dozens of suites. The $1.6 billion cost will be shared between the team and public.
What will Buffalo and the state of New York get out of this? Any type of public funding for a stadium or arena is a future burden for taxpayers.
The project will never be built for $1.6 billion. The cost will be much higher.
Coach Belichick and his staff do a great job in tweaking the 53 man roster and practice squad. They continue to make moves.
To some observers, it looks like Mac Jones is the only quarterback on the roster with Brian Hoyer being signed to the practice squad and Jarrett Stidham on IR.
This will change in the next few days for Hoyer. Belichick is moving the pieces around on the board. They will probably bring in another quarterback.
