The World According To Ingy!

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Welcome to my new weekly article that compiles my thoughts on the sports world, and some non-sports topics, from the week that was.

- First off, Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday. No presents, no religion, lots of great food and three NFL games. There is no better day on the calendar.

- The Bruins are scuffling right now. Don't worry too much though. Rask does need to start playing better soon. They'll get back on track. Of course, you can expect another little hiccup when Savard and Sturm come back as most of the lines will need to be reshuffled.

- I don't want to sound like a homer, but I don't see the Patriots losing to the Jets next Monday night. This is a different team than the past few years. They may be young, but they're a tough team that can be physical with anyone. The Steelers game showed that. This game is more important to the Patriots than it is to the Jets. There's virtually no way they can win the AFC East if they lose this game.

- I know Phillip Rivers is having a great passing season, but there's no way he deserves the MVP more than Tom Brady. Both quarterbacks have been playing, and throwing to, players you've never heard of before. You know what the difference is? The Patriots are 9-2 and the Chargers are 6-5.

- I am a huge fan of Derek Jeter, but he needs to accept that 3 year, $45 million dollar offer from the Yankees. There's no way another team offers him more. He's still a very good player, but his defense is going to make him a liability sooner rather than later. I would love to see him at third base for the Dodgers, but there's no way that happens.

- Speaking of the Dodgers, this is a tough time to be a fan of them. They've already made their "Big Splash" of the off-season by resigning Ted Lilly. Don't hold your breath for anything else really. The McCourt divorce fiasco is crippling that team. In a normal world, they'd spend the money to sign Carl Crawford because he'd be a perfect fit. His home runs might go down a bit in Dodger Stadium, but he'd hit 50+ double and 6+ triples easily.

- Speaking of disappointing off-seasons, it looks like it will be the 2nd consecutive one for the Boston Red Sox. Theo Epstein is one of the games most overrated general managers, and I see another off-season of b-level moves like last season. I don't see him having the stones to use some of his true bargaining chips to make a trade for Adrian Gonzalez or Prince Fielder. He'd much rather wait a year and sign them as free agents. We all know he's excellent with free agent signings.

Well, that's all I have for this week.

Early thoughts on Patriots vs. Jets

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

It's the showdown everyone has been waiting for: Patriots vs. Jets.

And it's a game that is going to be broken down every which way from now until Monday Night's kickoff.

But here are a few quick-hitters from Fan Fanatic Sports.

1. Does anyone even remember when these two hated AFC East rivals squared off in Week 2? Well, we all know the Jets won, but amazingly enough, Jets QB Mark Sanchez won the battle with Tom Brady. The former USC overrated QB threw three TD passes and no INTs in a 28-14 win.

2. Tom Brady and Co. were awful in the first meeting with the Jets. Brady was a dismal 20-of-36 passing for 248 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs. There's no way he can play worse, right? Is anyone expecting him to play subpar again?

3. LaDainian Tomlinson is back to being his old self -- as in old man. I've watched him over the last several weeks, and he's again lost that spring in his step. While he looked young and fresh early in the year, L.T. is having a hard time making a cut and getting to the outside.

4. Could the Patriots be playing any better with the Jets ready to come to town? The Pats have won 8 of their last 9, with the only stinker in the bunch being that terrible Cleveland loss.

5. After watching the Thanksgiving Day game vs. Detroit, Pats fans must still be worried about the defense. The Pats better tighten it up on 'D' vs. the Jets or they will dominate the time of possession, wear down New England and obviously have the best chance of winning.

6. Deion Branch vs. Darrelle Revis. I'll take Revis every day, including this Monday Night. Revis hasn't had the year he had last season (due to injuries and showing up late to camp because of contract issues) but he's still the best corner in the NFL, by far.

7. New York Jets coach Rex Ryan is a loudmouth, but that's OK with me. I'm actually a fan; he's a darn good coach and he provides season-lasting soundbites.

8. You can't run on the Jets, so the Pats better not try to force the issue when spreading that defense out and throwing quick passes is the way to attack.

9. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are threats at the tight end position every time they're on the field. How many TE's in football can you say that about?

10. Can we please confuse and fluster Sanchez this time around? I love watching him self destruct -- and I'm even a USC fan -- when things aren't going his way.

Prediction: Not yet!

Week 12 Picks: Chad vs Jim Thanksgiving Day Games

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Chad and I had a nice start to week 12 going 3 for 3 on Thanksgiving. What that means, is I still have an 8 game lead. We both had good weeks in week 11, but I was able to add 2 games to my lead as I had a stellar 12-3 week. There's still a lot of time left for Chad to make a run, so no lead is safe, especially since we differ on a whopping 8 games this week. Now we need to see what happens.

Week 12 Picks: Chad vs Jim Thanksgiving Day Games

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Hello all. Happy Thanksgiving from everyone here at Fan Fanatic Sports. Very brief blog today as we're just going to send out our picks for the three games played on Thanksgiving.

Chad and I are picking the Patriots, Saints and Jets.

More to come on Sunday.

Enjoy Turkey Day!

Write it down: Patriots are SB contenders

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

No doubt the Patriots are legitimate Super Bowl contenders now. If you had any doubts before, after yesterday's victory over the Colts, you have to at least believe the Pats have a shot to play for another Vince Lombardi trophy.

Seriously, back-to-back games vs. Pittsburgh and Indianapolis and back-to-back wins? Trust in Belichick is back, but it's not like that's ever left this scribe.

The Patriots did exactly what I thought they'd do -- they made a real effort to pound the pigskin, which set up some great play-action looks by Tom Brady. The premier QB, who some had written off, simply doesn't miss open receivers.

And the added bonus that should have everyone gushing this morning is that the defense stepped up and created some crucial turnovers.

And it didn't get any bigger than James Sanders' game-sealing interception of Peyton Manning, who fired three INTs, on the final drive of the game. If Asante Samuel made the catch in the Super Bowl ... well, you get the point. Sanders actually made the big play when the game was on the line.

Just when we all were thinking the Pats were going to blow another lead to these scary Colts -- that's a darn good football team too, even with all those injuries -- the defense rises to the occasion.

These are the type of special ingredients that championship-type teams are made of. The biggest thing, however, is that this team is all about T-E-A-M, it's not about M-E. Doesn't it remind you of another former New England team that beat the Rams in the Super Bowl?

I'm not getting ahead of myself, but it's OK to have big goals. And I'm setting the bar real high on this team.

I know they have some weaknesses (I'd like to see the defense tighten up slightly with a better pass rush), but every team this year has issues.

They say chemistry goes a long way in determining the success of any team, and it's hard to argue that the Pats don't have a special type of mojo brewing. And that wasn't the case when Randy Moss was here (tears).

It always feels better when you're a contender and not a pretender.

Week 11 Picks: Chad vs Jim

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Somehow I was still able to edge Chad, once again, last week. We both didn't have great weeks, I went 8-5 while Chad went 7-6, but look to rebound this week. We only differ on two games so unless Chad wins both, it looks like it'll be another draw type of week for the two of us. I was able to pick up a game last week, which extends my season lead by 6. I am now 67-44 and Chad is 61-50. Make sure to check on Thursday, as we will be posting our picks for the 3 Thanksgiving games.

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