Read More: Andre Carter (DE – NEP), New England Patriots

The New England Patriots officially  placed defensive end and team sack leader Andre Carter on injured reserve on Tuesday.

The obvious question about his replacement was posed to head coach Bill Belichick. He was not giving anything away in his response.

“Whatever 11 guys are out there, they’re going to have to get the job done, whoever it is,” said Belichick. “We don’t know what plays they’re going to run, so whoever we put out there will have to defend whatever plays they choose to call.” (via CSNNE.com)

Belichick was also asked about Carter returning to the Patriots next year because of his play this year. The New England coach thought it was too early for any talk about next season.

“We’ll deal with next year, next year. Right now, we’re just trying to get ready for Miami.”    

For more New England Patriots coverage, visit our team page and blog, Pats Pulpit.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

The Washington Redskins take on the New England Patriots this week, and it makes Santana Moss a must-start in fantasy football leagues. I wrote earlier this week that I feel Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman is going to have a big game, and I also think that his top receivers will benefit a lot. Some might view starting Grossman or Moss as a risk, but sometimes risks are necessary if you are a fantasy football owner trying to make it into the playoffs.

Moss is only owned in 64 percent of all Yahoo! fantasy leagues, and it’s hard to argue the point that he h as been a huge disappointment for the Redskins this year. He may have also burned a high number of fantasy owners that were counting on him to put up better statistics. Through 8 games this year, he has just 34 catches for 372 yards and 2 touchdowns. Those numbers are well below what he should have been able to achieve in 2011, and not even close to making him a dependable wide receiver in the world of fantasy football.

This week he goes up against the worst passing defense in the NFL though, possibly giving Moss a really good chance to get in the end zone. The Patriots will have to work hard at keeping Roy Helu under control, and that could give Grossman ample opportunities to find his receivers downfield. The Patriots give up an average of 310 yards per game in passing alone, showing that multiple 100-yard receivers could emerge from the Sunday game. I think that Moss is ready to reach that 100-yard plateau and that he will definitely put up nice numbers against the Patriots.

Moss is ready to have his best game of the season, and it would not surprise me at all if he got in the end zone twice. No, I don’t really think that the Redskins are going to win this game, but a 41-28 loss is still going to give fantasy owners a great weekend. Look for the tandem of Grossman and Moss to finally get together on the field on Dec. 11, and for Moss to have his best week of the fantasy football season when it counts the most.

More From YCN:

Start_Tim_Tebow_In_Week_14

Start_Rex_Grossman_Against_Patriots

Week 13 Top Defenses

2011 Best Fantasy Defenses

5 Best Fantasy Players of 2011

Sources:

Week 14 NFL Scores

Defensive Team Leaders

Yahoo! Fantasy Football

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

AP PHOTO
Patriots QB Tom Brady called the 2007 Super Bowl loss to the Giants Ôa distant memory’ as the teams prepared for today’s contest. It will be the first regular-season game between the two since the Giants staged the staggering Super Bowl upset.

FOXBORO — Hanging from the steel framework at the home of the New England Patriots is a banner unlike any other in the NFL, one that commemorates their 16-0 record in the 2007 regular season.

Perfection.

Almost.

The Patriots won every game that season and the first two in the playoffs as well, giving them a chance to be the first NFL team to finish the year 19-0. But their quest for perfection disintegrated — along with their hopes for a fourth title in seven years — when they ran into the New York Giants in the Super Bowl .

“We’ve won them, we’ve lost them, but they’re all in the past; they’re in the books,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “Whatever happened or didn’t happen, can’t change it, it’s part of history. Right now I’m focused on getting ready for this week’s game. That’s the way it is every week: focus on the week that we’re playing, not what happened in the past.”

The Giants and Patriots will play again Sunday — the first time they’ve met in a game that counts since New York won the Super Bowl 17-14 with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, including the one by Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left set up by David Tyree’s acrobatic catch. Although the teams have different emotions about that game, they agree the 2007 season and the ’08 Super Bowl are too far in the past to help them plan for this weekend.

“If we were still living in the shadow of 2007, then that’s one of our greatest downfalls,” defensive lineman Justin Tuck

said. “We have to move on. … Obviously, 2007 was a great year in all of our careers, but that’s not going to help us going there this year. A lot of guys are back from those two teams and a lot of guys are gone.

“The better team this year is going to win the football game, not the better team in ’07.”

There are only 14 players left from the Super Bowl on the Giants now; for New England, it’s just seven. But some of the big names remain, including quarterbacks Tom Brady and Eli Manning.

“That’s a distant memory,” Brady said. “This is an entirely different team that we have and that they have. … We’ve played them in the preseason this year and that probably gives us a little more of an understanding of what they do then the game a few years ago.”

The Giants (5-2) and Pats (5-2) both have impressive records — and still plenty of reason to doubt they are on the right track.

The Patriots lost to Pittsburgh last week in a game that further exposed their NFL-worst defense, and showed what happens when the offense isn’t able to carry the team.

Brady threw for a season-low 198 yards against a team he had dominated, and he was strip-sacked at the end of the game for a safety that cost the Patriots their remote chance at a comeback.

New York barely slipped by winless Miami last week, getting a touchdown pass from Manning to Victor Cruz with just under 6 minutes left to take the lead. Two key offensive players, running back Ahmad Bradshaw and wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, are banged-up and might not play.

Next up for New York after New England: San Francisco, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Green Bay, a stretch that is likely to determine whether the Giants make the playoffs for the second time since their Super Bowl win.

“It’s been a few years, so obviously now we’re more focused on trying to get back to those circumstances,” Manning said. “Our focus is on this week’s game and getting ready for the Patriots.”

The Giants may have been the ones that stood in New England’s way four years ago, but they were also the ones that made the 16-0 banner possible by losing to the Patriots on the final weekend of the regular season, 38-35.

They made up for it in the title game.

Coach Tom Coughlin doesn’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about it — not even this week.

“It seems like a long time ago,” he said. “I certainly was very proud of our players and very happy for our team and our franchise and our ownership, and I’ll always cherish those memories. There isn’t any a question about that.

“The New England Patriots were a team that had gone through the regular season undefeated, which is a feat that is very, very, very rare indeed, and they deserve credit for that. That’s the extent of it for me. I’m trying to live in the moment.”

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

Posted: 12:00 AM

BY JIMMY GOLEN
AP Sports Writer

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Hanging from the steel framework at the home of the New England Patriots is a banner unlike any other in the NFL, one that commemorates their 16-0 record in the 2007 regular season.

Perfection.

Almost.

The Patriots won every game that season and the first two in the playoffs as well, giving them a chance to be the first NFL team to finish the year 19-0. But their quest for perfection disintegrated — along with their hopes for a fourth title in seven years — when they ran into the New York Giants in the Super Bowl .

“We’ve won them, we’ve lost them, but they’re all in the past; they’re in the books,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “Whatever happened or didn’t happen, can’t change it, it’s part of history. Right now I’m focused on getting ready for this week’s game. That’s the way it is every week: focus on the week that we’re playing, not what happened in the past.”

The Giants and Patriots will play again Sunday — the first time they’ve met in a game that counts since New York won the Super Bowl 17-14 with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, including the one by Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left set up by David Tyree’s acrobatic catch. Although the teams have different emotions about that game, they agree the 2007 season and the ’08 Super Bowl are too far in the past to help them plan for this weekend.

“If we were still living in the shadow of 2007, then that’s one of our greatest downfalls,” defensive lineman Justin Tuck said. “We have to move on. … Obviously, 2007 was a great year in all of our careers, but that’s not going to help us going there this year. A lot of guys are back from those two teams and a lot of guys are gone.

“The better team this year is going to win the football game, not the better team in ’07.”

There are only 14 players left from the Super Bowl on the Giants now; for New England, it’s just seven. But some of the big names remain, including quarterbacks Tom Brady and Eli Manning.

“That’s a distant memory,” Brady said. “This is an entirely different team that we have and that they have. … We’ve played them in the preseason this year and that probably gives us a little more of an understanding of what they do then the game a few years ago.”

The Giants (5-2) and Patriots (5-2) both have impressive records — and still plenty of reason to doubt they are on the right track.

The Patriots lost to Pittsburgh on Sunday in a game that further exposed their NFL-worst defense, and showed what happens when the offense isn’t able to carry the team. Brady threw for a season-low 198 yards against a team he had dominated, and he was strip-sacked at the end of the game for a safety that cost the Patriots their remote chance at a comeback.

New York barely slipped by winless Miami last week, getting a touchdown pass from Manning to Victor Cruz with just under 6 minutes left to take the lead. Two key offensive players, running back Ahmad Bradshaw and wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, are banged-up and might not play.

Next up for New York after New England: San Francisco, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Green Bay, a stretch that is likely to determine whether the Giants make the playoffs for the second time since their Super Bowl win.

“It’s been a few years, so obviously now we’re more focused on trying to get back to those circumstances,” Manning said. “Our focus is on this week’s game and getting ready for the Patriots.”

The Giants may have been the ones that stood in New England’s way four years ago, but they were also the ones that made the 16-0 banner possible by losing to the Patriots on the final weekend of the regular season, 38-35.

They made up for it in the title game.

Coach Tom Coughlin doesn’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about it — not even this week.

“It seems like a long time ago,” he said. “I certainly was very proud of our players and very happy for our team and our franchise and our ownership, and I’ll always cherish those memories. There isn’t any a question about that.

“The New England Patriots were a team that had gone through the regular season undefeated, which is a feat that is very, very, very rare indeed, and they deserve credit for that. That’s the extent of it for me. I’m trying to live in the moment.”

——

AP Sports Writer Tom Canavan in East Rutherford, N.J., contributed to this story.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

If you like reading our blog, remember to bookmark it.

Leave your comments on the news below.

Last season the New England Patriots defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game that ended with a score of 39-26 but didn’t seem like it was even that close. The Steelers were down 23-3 at the end of the third quarter and the Steelers only scored 23 points in the 4^th quarter because Ben Roethlisberger(notes) started chucking the ball down the field. The Steelers have looked mediocre at times this season but there are three reasons that this year’s Patriots game could have a different result.

The first reason the Steelers could beat the Patriots is because New England’s defense has been lousy. The New England passing defense is 31^st in the league. The Steelers have sputtered at times this year but the majority of the struggles have been in the running game. Roethlisberger has actually led the Steelers to 5^th in offensive passing behind only teams led by Drew Breese, Aaron Rodgers(notes), Tom Brady(notes) and Cam Newton(notes). Out of those four quarterbacks only Rodgers has thrown less interceptions than Roethlisberger. Last season Roethlisberger threw a season high of 386 yards against the Patriots. This year the Patriots pass defense is worse and the Steelers pass offense is better.

The second reason for Steelers fans to have hope against the Patriots is the complete opposite of the first reason, Pittsburgh’s pass defense vs. New England’s pass offense. Obviously the Patriots’ pass offense is still great-third in the league to be exact-but Brady has come down from his 517 yard game and his 423 yard game. Brady is now back to averaging around 300 yards. Here’s something that may have gone unnoticed during the Steelers so-so seven weeks though. The pass defense is pretty good.

For the past several seasons the Steelers have possessed a dominant rush defense but had a horrible pass defense. Look no further than the playoffs last season. The Steelers beat Baltimore and New York-teams that rely on defense and running the ball-but lose to the passing attack of Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. Last season the Steelers pass defense finished middle of the road at 12^th in the league. This season the Pittsburgh pass defense is 5^th in the league in total yards and tied for first in yards per game. Is the Steelers defense going to shutdown Tom Brady? Of course not, but it’s just one more area where Pittsburgh has closed the gap from last year’s match up.

The Steelers will also be playing at home in front of a rowdy Pittsburgh crowd and their terrible towels. I realize that the Patriots defeated Pittsburgh at home last season but the Steelers have only lost once at home since then. Granted this year’s home opponents are not an impressive bunch-Seattle, Tennessee and Jacksonville-but last season’s home wins include victories over Baltimore and New York, probably the only two AFC teams on the level of these two teams.

The Patriots game will be very important to Pittsburgh. The Steelers received a gift on Monday night when the Ravens fell to the Jaguars. Pittsburgh and Baltimore now have the same record-but the Ravens still have the tiebreaker-so it is important for the Steelers to not go out and lose immediately after receiving this gift. Also, next week the Ravens and Steelers clash again. If the Steelers win this week they have a great opportunity to take control of the AFC North and the overall AFC.

Sources:

Pittsburgh Steelers 2011 schedule and 2010 results were found at Yahoo! Sports

The last several generations of Lee Andrew Henderson’s family were Pittsburgh born and even though he was born in Alabama he has been a long time fan of the Pirates, Steelers and Panthers. Lee Andrew Henderson can be found on Twitter @LeeAHenderson

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Thanks for reading! .

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Leave any suggestions in the comment box.

Andre Tippett made a career of crushing opponents and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his efforts. The legendary Patriots linebacker continues to do good work for the team through the NFL’s High School Coach of the Week program.

This year, he is adding a new twist to the award. Tippett will visit the school of each weekly winner to present a $1,000 donation to the coach’s football program. He also will film the visit for a weekly segment on Patriots All Access, which airs on WBZ-TV at 7 p.m. on Fridays throughout the football season.

“We thought it would be fun this year to take the weekly award on the road and actually visit the schools that will benefit from this program,” he said. “I look forward to the coaches being recognized by their team, their colleagues and others in the school community, and for all of those people to have a chance to be seen on Patriots All Access.”

That’s not all. At the conclusion of the season, one high school coach will be named the Patriots High School Coach of the Year. For that honor, the school will receive an additional $2,000 contribution toward their football program.

The Patriots will be accepting nominations for the award for the first time in its history. To nominate a local coach who has a great week or achieves a milestone, email nominatecoach@patriots.com.

What do you guys think about this.

Read More: Lee Smith (TE – NEP), New England Patriots

The New England Patriots have reportedly come to an agreement with tight end Lee Smith, their fifth round pick in this year’s draft. Smith joins fellow rookie Markell Carter as Patriots draft picks that have come to terms. The Patriots still have to come to terms with rookies Nate Solder, Ras-I Dowling, Shane Vereen, Stevan Ridley, Ryan Mallett, Marcus Cannon and Malcolm Williams.

Smith joins a very crowded group of tight ends for the Patriots, as he will join Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, and Alge Crumpler in the tight end corp. The 6-foot-6, 266-pound tight end was used primarily as a blocking tight end during his four years at the University of Marshall. As to where Smith fits on the team, Mike Reiss has more:

With Crumpler still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, the team’s younger tight ends should receive plenty of quality repetitions in training camp. The Patriots carried three tight ends last season, but a scenario exists this year where they could bump the number to four, which would require trimming from elsewhere on the roster. (via ESPN Boston)

For more New England Patriots coverage, visit our team page and blog, Pats Pulpit.

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

Are the New England Patriots preparing for life without Tom Brady? According to sources, New England is exploring the possibility of adding an eventual successor in this year’s NFL draft.

The Patriots are hosting a two-day visit Tuesday and Wednesday with top quarterback prospect Jake Locker of Washington, sources told ESPN.com.

Locker, who threw for 2,265 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, is projected to be a mid-to-late first-round pick.

This year, the Patriots have the No. 17 and No. 28 overall picks, which could afford them the luxury of filling an immediate need as well as potentially drafting a highly rated quarterback in the first round to groom behind Brady, the NFL’s reigning Most Valuable Player.

New England does not have any proven quarterbacks on its roster behind Brady. Backup Brian Hoyer joined the Patriots as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2009 and has thrown for just 264 yards, one touchdown and one interception in his career.

Brady, who will turn 34 in August, is signed with New England through the 2014 season and is still playing at an elite level.

Therefore, the Patriots should have several years to find and develop their quarterback of the future.

James Walker covers the NFL for ESPN.com. You can follow him on Twitter.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

The Patriots are always movers and shakers at the NFL draft. And although this year it’ll be tougher to move and shake, New England is once again in a position to make some moves. We bring in Jamie Pacheco of Musket Fire to look at the Pats.

1. This team is famous for dealing picks. This year, they have two first rounders. There’s pretty much no way they keep them both, right? Can you see them trading both and loading up on second rounders? Obviously, trades will be more difficult this year…

I don’t think they’ll be loading up on second rounders this year. I don’t think that they’ll use both of their first round picks (now that I said that they probably will), but that would likely be to either trade up and grab a “can’t miss” prospect or trade back and stockpile picks again for next year. The problem with that is there may not be a draft next year with no CBA. The Patriots have made a bunch of selections over the past two drafts and they run the risk of becoming too young with all of the youth, many of which would likely be sitting on the bench. Not a wise investment, and not a wise move for a team looking to maximize Tom Brady’s remaining years with another championship or two. If somehow there is a new CBA before the draft, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Pats trade a pick for a veteran.

2. Do they keep building that defense this year?

The Patriots will likely use at least one of their first rounders on a defensive player, most likely a defensive end or an outside linebacker. If they trade back and have just one first rounder, that could be used on an offensive lineman. If that’s the case, one or both of their second round picks would be used on the defense.

3. What’s the biggest defensive need: another corner to complement Devin McCourty or someone to help the pass rush?

The bigger need is most definitely a pass rusher, who would help out Devin McCourty and the rest of the secondary by giving the opposing quarterback less time to throw. The corners have had to cover way too long to be as effective as they could be. Leigh Bodden is returning from IR with a fully healed shoulder so he will likely start opposite McCourty. It would not surprise me, though, if the Pats select another corner with one of their second- or third-round picks.

4. Is there a particular player or two who you hope they land in Round 1?

At the moment I’m not hung up on a single player as much as I am a position. I’m really hoping that the Patriots finally select an impact pass rusher early to help the defense. At times, it felt like the opposing QB could set up a lawn chair while waiting for a receiver to pop open the past few seasons. The secondary’s development has been hampered by a lackluster pass rush. After the Patriots lock up a pass rusher, I would look to the lines, both offensive and defensive, with the next picks. If Mark Ingram is available at No. 28, I wouldn’t be surprised or upset to see the Patriots draft him.

Leave your comments on the news below.

Gotta run!.

Here’s a Brady Bunch for NFL fans: Tom Brady got all 50 votes for MVP.
The New England Patriots quarterback on Sunday became the first unanimous choice for The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award since the AP began using a nationwide panel of media members who cover the league.

He surpassed himself, too: In 2007, when Brady won his first MVP, he got 49 votes; one voter went for Brett Favre.

“It is always flattering to be chosen for such a prestigious award,” Brady said. “But I also look at it as a team award, as nothing in football gets accomplished without the mental toughness and determination of every player and coach associated with that team.

“I am very humbled to be a part of an organization where winning comes first, and our goals are based around the success of the team.”
Those successes, including three Super Bowl titles in the last 10 years, are in great part due to Brady’s excellence.

Although he didn’t set nearly as many passing marks as in ’07, Brady by far was the league’s top performer in leading New England to a 14-2 record, best in the NFL. He had a record streak of 335 throws without being intercepted, and passed for 36 touchdowns with only four picks.
Not that the 33-year-old Brady would compare this season’s Patriots to any others.

“Every team every year is different,” he said, “and over the course of 100 practices and many games a team establishes its identity. Players change, schemes change, opponents change, which is why the game is so exciting year in and year out.

“The fact that 32 teams start out each year with the same goal is why the popularity of the sport is at an all-time high. The great part about our sport is that nothing comes easy, and wherever you stand at the end of the year is the exact place that you deserve to be.”

Individually, Brady stands above all others. The only Patriot to win the award, he and Peyton Manning, his rival for the NFL’s best quarterback, have split the last four MVPs.

Brady followed his previous MVP trophy with a lost season, tearing left knee ligaments in the first half of the 2008 opener. His return in 2009 was solid, although hand and rib injuries slowed him.

This year, even with a sore right foot that required postseason surgery, Brady was simply dynamic. He twice threw for four touchdowns in a game and four times had three. Twelve times, he had a passer rating of at least 100.

And he guided a young team in transition to 14 victories.

“Brady is so special because he’s such a great leader and all the players can relate to him,” team owner Robert Kraft said. “These kids (rookies) who come in live in awe of him, but the nice thing is he treats them well.

“He works very hard, he studies very hard,” Kraft added. “Being a great quarterback isn’t just being very skilled. It’s being able to process information quickly, to make the adjustments, and I think he’s fabulous at that.”

As fabulous as he might have been, Brady, not surprisingly, has some regrets about 2010.

“When the season is over, 31 teams are disappointed about the outcome,” he said. “There is only one champion, and nobody plays this game for second place. The desire and hunger is about winning, which to me never gets old. The motivation to get up and work every day for that goal is something that challenges us all.

“Our team has very high expectations, and our team will come back this year with the same purpose,” he said. “Whether or not that leads to a championship season will be determined by the commitment each player makes to do their job as best as they possibly can.”
The way Brady does.
 

There is the quick update of the day.