Patriots acquire Alex Smith

The New England Patriots acquired TE Alex Smith from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for an undisclosed 2010 draft pick.

Pats Roster Breakdown Part III

Here is the concluding chapter of an epic:

• Tedy Bruschi-He is slow and has trouble in coverage, but his knowledge of the system and experience will give him another year as a serviceable 2-down MLB.
• Gary Guyton-Could Guyton have a big leap in his second season? He has the physical ability to be a starter in the NFL, but looked lost a few times last season.
• Adalius Thomas-Thomas is a great player, but he has disappointed since the Pats lured him out of Baltimore with that huge contract.
• Shawn Crable-Finished last season on IR with a shin injury and looks to be a project. Hopefully he can rush the passer well, but I’m not expecting too much this season.
• Angelo Craig-Finished last season on the practice squad. Provides more youth and athleticism at OLB.
• Jonathan Wilhite-Came on strong in the second half of the season, including an interception at Oakland. Look for a good season from Wilhite.
• Shawn Springs-He is 34, 6 feet tall and will earn $4.55 million this season. The Pats must hope for Springs to be a sturdy #1 corner.
• Terrence Wheatley-Second-round pick missed the second half of the season with a wrist injury. Wheatley tallied his most minutes in the last two games he played (St. Louis and at Indianapolis), which could mean the coaching staff saw good things out of him in practice. If he plays well this season, the corner position looks a lot better.
• Ellis Hobbs-Most Pats fans dislike Hobbs, but he is a good #2 or #3 corner with great kickoff return abilities.
• Leigh Bodden-Played well under a Pats style defense in Cleveland in 2007 with six interceptions, before a tough season in a zone-defense last year in Detroit. I think Bodden will play well here, including at least five interceptions.
• Mike Richardson-Will have a tough time making the roster if the Pats draft a few corners.
• Brandon Meriweather-I think Meriweather will have a Pro-Bowl type season. He made a big improvement from his rookie year and he should only get better from here.
• Antwain Spann-Backup Safety and STer will compete for a spot in camp.
• Tank Williams-He was going to play a hybrid S/LB role last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the first preseason game. Look for a similar S/LB role this year.
• James Sanders-He is an adequate starter (an 83 in Madden describes Sanders well), but getting an upgrade through the draft for the future would be nice.
• Ray Ventrone-Like Spann, he will compete in camp for a roster spot.
• Stephen Gostkowski-A Pro-Bowler last year, he should have another great season. He made 90% (36 of 40) of his field goals last season.
• Chris Hanson-He had an incredible punt into the wind in the last game at Buffalo. Should have another decent year.
• Tom Malone-Played college ball at USC, meaning he rarely punted even though he was one of the best punters in college. I don’t see him beating out Hanson for the spot though.
• Nathan Hodel-A cheaper version of Lonnie Paxton.

Pats Roster Breakdown Part II

The much-awaited part two of the roster breakdown is here!

• Matt Light-His age and a quick pass-rusher worry me.
• Mark LeVoir-Good backup who did well in two starts last year at RT.
• Damane Duckett-Recently signed tackle played as a defensive lineman in his first few seasons in the NFL.
• Logan Mankins-I hope the Pats can resign him.
• Dan Connolly-The former Redhawk is a decent reserve.
• Dan Koppen-Great center.
• Russ Hochstein-Warren Sapp’s favorite player.
• Al Johnson-Should add some depth at center and guard.
• Ryan Wendell-Who?
• Stephen Neal-His age and mileage are troubling.
• Billy Yates-Did well starting at guard early on last season.
• Nick Kaczur-Okay RT.
• Ryan O’Callaghan-Sufficient backup.
• Wesley Britt- Provides depth and competition along the line.
• Ty Warren-Great DE who is locked up through 2013.
• Le Kevin Smith-Solid backup who keeps getting better and had a great game at Seattle last year.
• Vince Wilfork-A good NT is imperative in a 3-4 and Wilfork is one of the best in the game.
• Mike Wright-I’m glad the Pats resigned him as he can play both NT/DE and does well on special teams.
• Richard Seymour-A healthy Seymour in a contract year? Expect a great season.
• Jarvis Green-He will perform well this season and the Pats will resign him.
• Titus Adams-The former Cornhusker stayed on the practice squad for most of last season.
• Pierre Woods-If the season started today, he would start at OLB. Thankfully it doesn’t.
• Tully Banta-Cain-A decent backup who can rush the passer better than most anyone else the Pats currently have.
• Vince Redd-Faces a tough road to get on the 53-man roster, but the practice squad remains an option as he was only active for six games last year.
• Jerod Mayo-Should have another terrific season after an unbelievable rookie campaign. Since Vrabel is gone, will he now handle the on-field communication?
• Eric Alexander-Unless he plays great in camp, I think his time is up in Foxborough.
• Bo Rudd-Spent last season on IR and is a long shot to make the 53-man roster.

Pats Roster Breakdown Part I

As promised, here is part one of my Pats roster breakdown. Look for part two over the next few days.

• Tom Brady-He’s Tom Brady.
• Kevin O’Connell-I hope we don’t find out how good he is.
• Matt Gutierrez-Looked decent in preseason last year.
• Sammy Morris-Good, physical runner.
• Fred Taylor-Great signing. He excites me.
• Laurence Maroney-Anything from him will be a bonus.
• Kevin Faulk-Clutch performer who catches and blocks well-what more can you ask for?
• BenJarvus Green Ellis-Filled in well in the middle of the season, but still doesn’t have an easy path to making the roster.
• Randy Moss-Is 20 TDs too much to ask for?
• Wes Welker-Is 110+ catches too much to ask for?
• Joey Galloway-Could have a great season as the #3 receiver. Had three 1,000+ yard seasons in 2005-2007.
• Greg Lewis-Former Eagle will battle with Galloway for the #3 receiver spot.
• Sam Aiken-Good special teams player could see some offensive action if someone gets hurt.
• Matthew Slater-Will need to do well on ST to get a roster spot.
• Ben Watson-Contract year/most likely his last in New England.
• Chris Baker-Former Jet will be a good 2nd TE. Good blocker and decent in the passing game.
• David Thomas-Wasn’t he good at Texas?
• Tyson DeVree-Backup TE and STer will have to compete in camp for a spot.
• Brad Lisorti-He played at UMass.

Welcome to On to the Pike!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to “On to the Pike” a sports blog written by two college students. We are both Boston area sports fans, save hockey, where my allegiance lies with the New York Rangers (elrey is a Bruins fan, Boston all the way for him). I will cover baseball, where my greatest passion lies, and my friend will cover football, mostly focusing on the Patriots. The Celtics, Rangers and other general sports news will also be discussed. While the blog will mostly consist of sports chat, we will also comment on miscellaneous topics such as poker, fantasy sports, music, and world news. We will also post amusing YouTube videos.

After much deliberation, we arrived upon “On to the Pike” as the title for our blog. Other options included “How did you get so many K’s?” (A play on the ESPN commercial where Shaq jacks all of the Q’s) as well as “The price is wrong” (Referencing our love for the movie Happy Gilmore). We decided the first was too lengthy, and the second one was taken, so “On to the Pike” was the winner.

Now, anyone who follows the Red Sox or has been to Fenway Park (the most storied ballpark of all time- Yankee Stadium can go bite me) has noticed how close it is in proximity to the Massachusetts turnpike, or as locals refer to it “the pike.” Very few hitters come along who are able to launch one that far, partly because you have to be a right-handed power hitter, but mostly because you have to be exceedingly strong and gifted to do so. It takes a homerun in excess of 425 ft, as well as a pretty lucky bounce from the parking lot behind the left field wall. Mark McGwire’s Home Run Derby performance in 1999 saw one land on the pike. So did a classic Manny Ramirez walk off bomb in Game 2 of the 2007 ALDS (A memorable Manny Ramirez press conference followed the game as well):



47 seconds in: “When you don’t feel good and you still get hits, that’s when you know you are a bad man.” That one gets me every time.

If a homerun is hit “On to the Pike” it is sure to be a no doubter that has left some opposing pitcher kicking the dirt in disgust and the Fenway faithful singing along to the intolerable “Dirty Water” by The Standells (Sorry, but only in Boston could “Dirty Water,” “Sweet Caroline,” and “Shipping Up To Boston” become such cult classics!)

We hope for this blog to be entertaining and informative. A lot of people comment on sports news, but we feel confident that this blog will contain a unique perspective. Posts will vary in length and should appear once or twice a day.

Thank you for your support!