Colts are still dangerous, especially with Manning at the helm

By Chad Garner
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
Bring on the Indianapolis Colts.
Bring on Peyton Manning.
Should Patriots Nation being worried about the Colts? Especially after pounding the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Of course.
These Colts are still dangerous, even though they are completely banged up. But don't get me wrong, it's nice to be playing the Colts with some key guys out, including tight end Dallas Clark.
But Indy can still run with the big boys. Plus, the Pats have shown they can play and beat the best (see Steelers game) and play way, way down to the competition (see Cleveland Browns).
So what team will show up for the Patriots? Let's hope it's the team that isn't stuck in neutral in the first half and falls way behind. But I'm betting that's not going to happen.
I think we're in store for a great ballgame. Well, it's Tom Brady and Manning trading pass for pass. What's not to like about that matchup?
Chalk this one up to the defenses.
While it's not going to be a defensive battle -- expect both teams to move the football with relative ease (Colts through the air, and don't be surprised if the Pats try to pound away with the run to set up the deadly play-action game) -- the defensive guys will need to come up with some big plays.
I'm talking about a key interception, a huge third-down tackle to prevent a first down, a strip-sack, a fumble recovery. That's how you win football games, anyway.
But every time the Pats face Manning, I get a little nervous. This isn't the old Manning who was wetting his pants having to face a Bill Belichick defense. This is the television commercial comedian who has won a Super Bowl and isn't afraid to air out the ball. It's tough to outsmart Manning, too. He's Mr. Audible, whether what he's doing is for real or for show.
So, who will rise to the challenge on defense? They hold the key to this game.

Prediction: Patriots 27, Colts 24

So are you still doubting Tom Brady?

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Don't doubt Tom Brady.

He's not washed up, not even close.

All those Brady haters out there who have been saying he's not the same quarterback he has been and his skills aren't at the elite level anymore, well what are you saying while drinking your Monday coffee?

Brady showed everyone -- even Patriot Nation doubters -- that he's still one of the elite QBs in the NFL.

While Brady doesn't have the weapons around him like Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, Brady is the best in the business at doing more with less.

And you know what, his weapons aren't chopped liver, either.

These guys are all solid pass-catchers. While they don't have the brand name like Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne or Larry Fitzgerald, they play as a unit under the team concept and always seem to produce.

They are put in positions to succeed and Brady makes sure they are rewarded for getting open.

Last night against Pittsburgh -- a team I thought would beat up the Pats -- Brady and Co. showed they have the makings of a championship-caliber team (or a team that could be knocked out of the playoffs in the first round if they play like they did against the Cleveland Browns). I'm not saying they aren't flawed, however, but it seems like every team this year has a weakness or two that can be exposed.

But with the way Brady was slinging the ball around in Pittsburgh, one has to wonder if there's more shows like this to come in the second half of the season.

Kudos to the offensive line for keeping Brady pretty much clean the whole game. And when Brady has that kind of time to sit back and survey the field, he can pick any secondary part.

And the Steelers got shredded last night, that's for sure.

Brady was 30-of-43 for 350 yards and three touchdowns. All those TD tosses went to rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski, who grew up a lot last night.

Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Alge Crumpler, Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Julian Edelman and Brandon Tate might not frighten many fans, but teams know they are to be taken seriously.

Give most of the QBs in this league those guys to work with and they fail, both the QB and the receivers. But with Brady at the helm, they are legit. Those aren't 1,000-yard pass-catchers, but they all get their share of balls. Brady never locks in on one target anyway, if someone is open that's who he throws it to. That's why he's always been a great QB, plus he makes everyone around him better.

I can't believe people have been doubting Brady anyway, but hopefully last night's game will make others realize that Brady is still the same old Brady, but with the flowing locks.

Word to the wise: Don't ever doubt Tom Brady.

Week 10 Picks: Chad vs Jim

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

With the two of us disagreeing on 4 games last week, both teams had a chance to pull away or get back in the game. Unfortunately for Chad, we split, so we keep the 5 game difference. This week, we disagree on 3 games, so there will be at least a one game difference. Chad and I had solid 10-3 weeks in week 9, so we look to start a hot streak after mediocre results in week 7 & 8.

Impressive marks in college football

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Lost in the midst of the Cam Newton scandal at Auburn and the beatdown TCU laid on Utah last weekend is the fact that Hawaii absolutely dominated a pretty good team as well.

Hawaii came to the blue turf with a 7-2 record and a 5-0 league mark, averaging a shade over 39 points per game. What makes that even more impressive is the fact that Jeremiah Masoli was supposed to be their starting quarterback. For those who don't remember, Masoli was kicked off the team after getting caught stealing, graduated, then moved on to Ole Miss.

The Warriors were smothered by the Broncos and scored just seven points the entire game. They were shut out in the first half for the first time all season and had 196 yards of total offense.

With guys like Kellen Moore, Austin Pettis and Titus Young making the headlines by putting up somewhere around 50 points everytime they hit the field, it's easy to overlook the defense, but they are second in the nation in scoring defense behind TCU, second in run defense, ninth in pass defense and second in total defense behind the Horned Frogs.

The last big test for the defense and a chance to make a final statement for the BCS comes two weeks from now against No. 25 Nevada. Hawaii did hold them to 21 in the Wolfpack's only loss of the season, but Nevada is fourth in the nation in scoring with 42 points per contest. Will shutting down that team be enough to vault the Broncos over at least two other teams in the BCS standings? Most likely they'll still need some help.

Chris Maza is the owner of his own blog, Maza's Musings, and makes weekly contributions to Fan Fanatic Sports. Check out Maza's Musings for more sports insight and also, be sure to follow him on Twitter @Mazasmusings and 'like' him on Facebook.

Patriots better get their act together

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Are you still shaking your head after yesterday's disgusting Patriots game?

I am, but I'm also sort of chuckling.

Not because of the loss because those always sting, but in the way that it happened.

They got humiliated.

And people were starting to believe that this New England Patriots team was the best in the NFL?

What are they thinking this morning?

Yes, the Patriots are not as bad as they played, but they're also not as good as people think they are. They are somewhere in between, and that's not a bad thing, either.

Teams in the NFL do put up stinker games, but against Cleveland? Against the rat Eric Mangini? Shouldn't have happened.

Obviously, looking back on it now, the Pats took the Browns lightly. They played like it, too.

But those Browns played like it was their Super Bowl.

If you never watched a football game in your life, you would have thought that the Browns were the elite and the Patriots were a team at the bottom of the pack.

The Pats didn't do anything right. They were severely beaten in every phase of the game, including coaching.

But defensively, they just laid a major stink bomb.

Browns QB Colt McCoy is a rookie, but the Pats made him look like an All-Pro. They didn't put pressure on him, they couldn't contain him and they paid the ultimate price.

And while most of their attention was on stopping the run, the Pats couldn't do a darn thing against bruising back Peyton Hillis (184 yards, 2 TDs). Hillis, who would destroy a brick wall if he ran into it, made the Pats defense look like a Pop Warner team. He took their will away and completely punked them.

Well, the offense wasn't much better. How out of sync does Tom Brady and his cast of receivers and tight ends look? They are not on the same page and it's showing. Perhaps the one positive is that no-huddle offense, which they should have done earlier. They at least dictated tempo and actually moved the ball down the field. And one week after praising the Law Firm, I'm back to not being a fan. He didn't run hard and was a non-factor. Nine carries for 14 yards, not going to cut it. Perhaps this team should just drop back and pass (via the no-huddle) on every down?Use the short, 3-yard pass as a run. It's worked before, maybe go back to it on a full-time basis.

Any way you slice it, Mangini and his cast of former New England assistants completely outschemed mastermind Bill Belichick and his assistants. That'll eat at Bill for a long time ...and it should.

It was a total team collapse. This is the type of loss that can linger for weeks. And now the Pats enter the meat of their schedule -- at Steelers (Sunday night 8:20 p.m.), vs. Colts, at Lions (but don't automatically chalk that up in the win column) and vs. Jets -- for the next four weeks.

The Pats have a lot of work to do, obviously. Everyone -- coaches and players -- need to elevate their game and start putting a better product on the field on a consistent basis. If things don't change quickly, the AFC East division could slip away real quickly.

Week 9 Picks: Chad vs Jim

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

It's week 9, pretty much the halfway point of the season, and I still have a 5 game lead over Chad. With so many games to be picked, that really means nothing. This week we differ on 4 games, so there's a chance I could run away with it, or Chad could get right back in.

Thomas is still the No. 1 goaltender

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Do I hear the "Tuukka" chants off in the distance?

Yup, I sure do.

And it's quickly catching on since Tim Thomas didn't play up to his usual shutout ways against Washington Friday night.

I'm a huge Tuukka Rask fan and I did want the Bruins to trade Thomas away in the offseason, but I'm still on board with Thomas starting right now.

Maybe next week I'll change my tune when Thomas is giving up 4-5 goals a game, but right now the veteran is the right choice to start between the pipes.

I mean, Thomas has been gigantic in net. There's no denying that, either. Any team in the NHL wishes they could have ridden Thomas while he was simply white hot.

Remember when Thomas had three shutouts in his last seven starts? Oh, how quickly we forget.

Now, fans are remembering him allowing three goals in a loss to the Caps Friday night and two vs. Buffalo on Nov. 3. Shame on Timmy for letting the fans down!

Yes, fans are starting to feel that Thomas is losing his mojo. Maybe he is? But I still say don't yank him just yet.

He's earned the right to be the starter -- for now -- and he shouldn't lose that No. 1 label because he's been human in the last two starts.