Playing Catch-Up:

* We’ve all heard the big news.-#93 got 86ed-Richard Seymour was dealt to the Oakland Raiders for a 2011 first-round draft pick; which could very well be a serious asset. Seymour was an anchor worthy of 5 Pro Bowl appearances, 3 Super Bowl victories, and one of the defensive leaders on the Patriots. He will be missed, but hopefully his presence can be accounted for by the likes of Ron Brace and Derrick Burgess (possibly Darryl Richards and Myron Pryor). Whether you say it or not, Seymour wasn’t necessarily playing “up-to-par” as of late. We will surely find out soon enough.

* The first “Put Up or Shut Up” award goes to defensive lineman Mike Wright… now is your time to shine, do not screw it up.

* The “Best Facial Hair in New England” award goes to Matt Light this week for sporting a handlebar mustache at practice.

* Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees on the subject:

“Somebody’s got to step up and be the leaders, and we’ll find out who those are… No disrespect to anybody who retired or [is] gone from the team or anything else, but things change. Coaches change, players change.It presents new opportunities for other guys to become leaders. The torch always gets passed on good teams to somebody else and now it’s their opportunity, the guys that are in the locker room right now, to step up and be those guys. And I’m actually looking forward to finding out who those guys are going to be.”

* WR Greg Lewis was released this week and 6’1″ rookie free agent DB Brett Lockett was claimed off waivers from Cleveland.

* The Patriots also signed some “almosts” to the Practice Squad: starring Terrence Nunn and Dallas Cowboys’ WR turned practice-squad QB, Isiah Stanback.

Around The League:

* The Manidiot himself will still not reveal who will start at QB this coming week for Cleveland to the public: Anderson or Quinn; but he has apparently divulged the truth to them through a Rock, Paper, Scissors duel-footage from the heated competition will be on the CBS pregame report.

* With that said, the Williams Wall are cleared to play against the Browns on Sunday and maul on whomever won the QB duel… such a bittersweet victory.

* Steelers LB Timmons is hurt, someone else will most likely come out and be a star linebacker.

* The Patriots-Defensive-Insurance-Policy, Junior Seau said recently that he might consider a return to the Pats-no comment.

* My worst nightmare, David Tyree works out with the Ravens. Nothing will come of this, he couldn’t even make the receiver-less Giants; the team he made a Super Bowl victory (after enormous amounts of offensive holding and an act of God) possible for.

It’s Back To The Future This Monday:

* The Pats were given their retro AFL throwback uniforms this Monday and they will proudly display against the Rivals to the North? NorthWest? West?

* The surprise of the week for me was when I heard that Buffalo cuts RB Dominic Rhodes.

* Defensive End Aaron Schobel is back from injury, apparently like Die Hard 3. Pats Pulpit reported in an interview with Buffalo Rumblings that he just isn’t likely to carry the defense due to his decline in skills, and holdout DE Aaron Maybin has a lot of ground to makeup. Still, it is important for my first, soon to be classic Weekly Key Match-Ups.

Weekly Key Match-Ups:

* Offensive Line vs. the Aarons – Due to their skills (or lack thereof) the offensive line needs to hold its own and do whatever it can to protect against the pass rush, because if there are any two guys on the Bills who can get to the quarterback; it would be Maybin and Schobel. I cannot stress enough how strong the pass protection has to be in this season opener. I want Tom Brady to be able to eat his dinner off of his jersey after this game.

* Tom Brady vs. His Mind – we know his knee works, we know his arm works, we just don’t know how is mind is working right now. If the offensive line does its job against the Aarons and the pass rush, then Tommy will be able to get his clear mind, side-step, less of an arm-throw and more of a step-in throw, and most importantly full, regular-season confidence back. A few rushed passes… fine; a hit a two… okay; getting laid out to dry….unacceptable. We want Brady and the offensive clicking on all cylinders and in mid-season form as soon as possible.

* Stutter-Step Maroney vs. The Bills’ Defensive Line – If Maroney displays his usual stutter-stepping routine at the line of scrimmage as opposed to just running hard at the first hole he sees (like his younger teammate the Law Firm) he will see his production, carries, and value as a Patriot decrease quickly. We have a lot of backs now including Fred Taylor and 2 yards-per-carry just won’t do it in my opinion this season.

* Fred Taylor vs. Father Time – Is Fred Taylor too old and injury-prone? Jacksonville sure thinks so. Can the Patriots violently squeeze one more somewhat/maybe surprising productive season out of him? The Hoodie and the Patriots front office seem to think more yes than no. And there’s nothing I’d like to see more than Fred Taylor chalk up 850-900 rushing yards in 2009. (second only to Law Firm starting and rushing for 1,600 yards.)

* Shawn Springs vs. Terell Redenbacher Owens – “Getcha popcorn ready” himself will line up as a Buffalo Bill for the first regular season time, nursing a sprained toe, and it will be up to former Redskin, veteran Shawn Springs to shut the show down. And after T.O.’s “spy camera” bringing out remark, I think i few Patriot heads will be looking to see him. ESPECIALLY SHAWN. Shut It Down.

* Dean Pees vs. The Bills QB Coach – By cutting Rhodes, the Bills lack at the running back position with more injuries and lack of snaps. Add that to the new “Offensive Coordinator” who was a quarterbacks coach last week and we will look to see the coordination-less offense to target the newly revamped secondary and take it to the air. Will the pass rush get to Trent Edwards? Mayo wants to make more “game-changing” plays and I want to see them on Monday.

* Joey Galloway vs. Joey Galloway (Preseason Edition) – Can Joey Galloway finally make his presence felt and threaten Buffalo’s defense by showing up as the #3 and catching some balls that are sure to be coming his way Monday Night? I Sure hope so. This guy still runs like he’s 25 and he’s been a beast since i could watch football.

* Rookies vs. Veterans – It’s too early for me to call out some of the rooks, but we’ve gone from hearing about how old and tired this defense was, to how young and inexperienced our defense is. Can Brandon Meriweather, hold this secondary together and show Pat Chung the ropes? Shawn Springs and Jonathan Wilhite could teach Darius Butler a thing or two. He’s a great athlete and I’d like to see him shine. Jerod Mayo and Adalius Thomas are the center of the linebacker corps. Vince Wilfork is the anchor with three rookie D-Lineman and a quiet-up-to-this-point Derrick Burgess (if we run 4-3) to work with.

Patriots fun facts:

* Pats have won12 of the last 14 home openers. 7-0 in Gillette

* 31-11 (.780) in the AFC East since 2001

* This is the 99th time the two team meet with the Pats favored all-time at 57-40-1

* The Patriots have an 11
-game winning streak against Buffalo.

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