Gronkowski loses the boot off his left foot for good

NY was hoping & praying Gronkowski was sidelined but you can't keep a guy like Gronk down.....not when it means this much to him and the team...NY better look out.

Go Gronkowski....show'em how it's done. Although he has not been stamped " A-OK" for Sunday, the likelihood of him sitting out the big day is nil.


Gronkowski loses the boot
January, 31, 2012
Jan 3110:54AM
By Mike Reiss / Yahoo Sports

INDIANAPOLIS -- New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski showed up at Super Bowl XLVI media day Tuesday without a walking boot on his sprained left ankle, but took a Belichickian approach to questions surrounding his availability for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.

Rob Gronkowski said Tuesday the walking boot was off his left foot for good. “I don’t know yet (if I’ll be able to play Sunday),” Gronkowski told a throng of reporters at Lucas Oil Stadium. "We’re going day by day. Making new steps every day, feeling better every day. That’s a positive sign and you just want to keep going in the right direction. I want to be out there with the team obviously. I want to help out the team obviously. Just taking it step by step, getting better every single day.”

Earlier this week, Patriots coach Bill Belichick dubbed Gronkowski “day to day” as well.

Gronkowski said the walking boot was gone for good (“It’s off. No more boot.”) and said he would spend Tuesday’s non-practice day with trainers.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady took Gronkowski losing the boot as a positive sign.

"Well he's obviously making progress, he's out of his boot today, which is making me feel better,” Brady said. “I told him to write ‘Hi Mom’ on his sock, because there will be a lot of pictures today. ... No one is as tough as him, he makes our offense go. Hopefully we have him out there."

Can Gronkowski imagine not playing in the Super Bowl?

“Yeah, but I’m not really worried about whether I’m playing or not yet,” Gronkowski said. “That’s on Sunday. The only thing I’m worried about is Tuesday, which is today, to get better today. Keep on improving today. Keep on getting stronger today, keep on progressing today. Just keep on moving forward, going in a positive direction. That’s what counts.”

The 22-year-old tight end hasn’t practiced since suffering a high ankle sprain in the AFC Championship Game and wasn’t sure whether he would practice this week, either. When asked if he thought he could be effective against the Giants without having practice, Gronkowski said he trusted the team to do whatever was best.

“I’m not sure (if I could be effective without having practiced). That’s why I’m with the training staff,” Gronkowski said. “I trust in the organization here. I trust in the coaches. I trust in all the trainers to get me ready for whatever I gotta do. When Sunday comes aloig, they’ll have me at my best, where I need to be.”

Gronkowski called the high ankle sprain “nagging, sore” and added he didn’t “want to look back and say you didn’t try everything to get on the field.”

Gronkowski has dominated headlines at Super Bowl XLVI, in part because of his importance to the Patriots' offense. He totaled 90 receptions for 1,327 yards and a tight-end record 17 touchdowns in the regular season and at 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds is a dominant presence in the red zone. He started all 16 games and seldom, if ever, comes off the field.

Considering the Patriots don't have a backup for Gronkowski on the roster and that they run more than 80 percent of their snaps with two or more tight ends on the field, it's no wonder his status is being monitored so closely.

All indications point to Gronkowski suiting up for the Super Bowl, the bigger question is how effective he will be and how much the Patriots will have to alter their game plan.

"There is a difference between hurt, sore and banged up,” Gronkowski said. "In the NFL you definitely have to play hurt."

Gronkowski also joked about his father revealing the nature of his injury to a New York television station, telling reporters to give his father a call if they wanted information.

"He'll give it up," Gronkowski said

PATRIOTS WIN UGLY......And get a return trip to the SUPER BOWL

Talk about winning Ugly.....Damn.

Even our star QB summed it up (and touched on how bad we were)
Brady: 'I sucked pretty bad, but our defense saved us'

All that matters is the PATS win, RAVENS lose and we are going to the SUPER BOWL. Awesome......

Patriots headed back to Super Bowl
Trip sealed when Ravens kicker misses game-tying field goal attempt
By Shalise Manza Young
Boston Globe Staff / January 22, 2012

FOXBOROUGH – The New England Patriots are headed to the seventh Super Bowl in franchise history after a hard-fought, edge-of-your-seat, 23-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game that was only sealed when Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff pulled a potentially game-tying 32-yard field goal with 11 seconds to play wide left.

The miss was jaw-dropping for Baltimore players, who stood on the sideline in disbelief and set off a wild celebration at Gillette Stadium. Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, who had a huge role in the game, took off his helmet, his arms outstretched, steam coming off his bald head and bare arms.

After being battered all season, the New England defense forced the Ravens’ field goal on the game's final possession. Rookie Sterling Moore, who earlier missed a tackle on Torrey Smith that led to a touchdown, bounced back mightily, breaking up two end zone pass attempts from Joe Flacco on the Ravens' final possession.

The snap and hold looked good for Cundiff’s kick, but he simply misfired from a manageable distance.

As the Patriots waited to receive the Lamar Hunt Trophy given to the AFC Champions, signs honoring team owner Robert Kraft’s wife Myra, who died on July 20, were everywhere, from the patches on players’ jerseys, to the signs in the stands from fans who waved giant “MHK” and “Win it for Myra” posters.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady plunged one yard over the goal line on fourth-and-goal in the fourth quarter to put New England on top, 23-20. Brady completed only 22 of 36 passes for 239 yards and no touchdowns, and harshly criticized his performance in a television interview afterward.

"I sucked pretty bad today, but our defense saved us," Brady said.

Flacco had pulled the Ravens ahead, 20-16, when he hit Smith on a 29-yard pass play that Smith ended by diving for the pylon. Flacco was 22-for-36 for 306 yards and two touchdowns.

In the first half, the game was as tight as it was expected it would be, though New England may have squandered some early chances. The Patriots went into the locker room up 13-10 – they had the ball with just under a minute to play and with two timeouts in hand, but opted to take two knees rather than try to get more points.

The early opportunities came on the Pats’ first three possessions: New England started at their own 40, own 39 and own 40, but was only able to score three points despite the short fields.

In the opening minutes, the Patriots’ defense was the story, as it came out strong. Baltimore lost the coin toss but the Patriots, as is their custom, elected to defer, and forced a three-and-out, with Mark Anderson bringing Flacco down from behind when he tucked the ball on third down and tried to run for it.

On Baltimore’s second possession, it faced a third-and-3, but Vince Wilfork pressured Flacco and Anderson took him down for a seven-yard sack.

Wilfork came up huge the next time the Ravens had the ball, bringing Ricky Williams down by his jersey – while Wilfork himself was on the ground – for a five-yard loss, and then abused center Matt Birk on third-and-long, getting a five-yard sack of Flacco and forcing another punt.

After a quick three-and-out, the first time they got the ball, the Patriots offense was more effective the second time out, getting some luck along the way. On second-and-9 from the Baltimore 27, Brady looked for Wes Welker. The ball was high, and Welker batted it up; Bernard Pollard grabbed the ball out of the air, but the interception came off the board because cornerback Lardarius Webb was flagged for illegal contact. New England kept the ball and got a first down.

Six plays later – after Brady overthrew tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was wide-open, in the seam for what would have been a touchdown -- Stephen Gostkowski put a 29-yard field goal through the uprights for the first points of the game.

While the first potential interception was wiped out by a penalty, the Patriots weren’t so lucky the second time. After Wilfork’s sack led to a Ravens punt, Brady’s pass for Julian Edelman ended up in the hands of Webb, who made a great catch falling backward, similar to an interception think Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty made in San Diego last season.

Baltimore tied the score off the turnover, with a 42-yard pass from Flacco to rookie Smith on the first play putting the offense into New England territory quickly. When a third-down dumpoff to Anquan Boldin was just short of a first down, the Ravens took a short field goal.

The Patriots responded with something and someone we haven’t seen much of recently: the ground game and BenJarvus Green-Ellis. The running back picked up 24 yards on the first two plays from scrimmage, then later in the drive saw his helmet yanked off while he was running by linebacker Dennell Ellerbe.

The penalty gave the Pats first-and-goal from the 7; on the next play, Brady went right back to Green-Ellis, who got some nice blocks from Logan Mankins and Welker on his way to the touchdown.

The Ravens once again tied the game, getting two big plays: on first down, old foe Lee Evans, who is in his first season with Baltimore after beginning his career with the Bills, had a 20-yard gain; two plays later, Boldin broke through the tackle of Kyle Arrington and ended up gaining 37 yards.

Flacco hit tight end Dennis Pitta in the front of the end zone for the score.

The Patriots added a 35-yard field goal before halftime, then upped their lead to six points just off the half on another short field goal.

Two key plays on the drive came when Brady picked up four yards on second-and-1, getting up and barking at linebacker Ray Lewis, and on third-and-6, when Aaron Hernandez caught a screen behind the line of scrimmage and put a nice move on Pollard for a 12-yard gain.

But the Ravens answered right back, going 78 yards in 11 plays for their first lead of the game, then getting the ball right back when Danny Woodhead was stripped on the ensuing kickoff return. The New England defense made a big stop, with McCourty breaking up a pass in the end zone and James Ihedigbo sacking Flacco on third down to force a field goal

The New England Patriots are on the hunt for Ravens

The New England Patriots are going to wring the necks of these dirty Baltimore Birds when they come to Foxboro on Sunday....and then on to the Super Bowl !!

Rough Week....On to the AFC Championship Game in Foxboro

What a week - Last week was one of those week's that I wouldn't wish on someone I don't like. It was a tough week and one that sidelined me from my normal activities. Luckily, it was something that was easily resolved but required extra effort. This week should go better.

In the meantime, the world moves on and issues still occur elsewhere.

4 US Marines were photographed urinating on dead Taliban. Yep, not how "professional" warriors behave but not something that upsets me very much. After the crap the Taliban has done to people, this rates very low on the upset level for me.

If I know there were 10 Taliban in a house across the rise on the battlefield, I would call in an air strike, obliterating what is left of them. 4 Marines should know better than to act this way and to document themselves doing so. Again, not something that will work me up but something that should not occur. Move along.

The New England Patriots took Tebow & the Broncos to task, as expected. Now, we face the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens are not to be feared. They are ugly mutts, and not as good as the hype they espouse. They can be beaten and the Patriots will not let these guys get in their way.

Look at their team colors. Purple - Really ? Like Oprah purple. Like squashed grape purple. It is a losing color. Red, White & Blue are the Patriot's colors. Nuff said.

New England will ring the necks of these foul birds in Foxboro. Take it to the bank.

Pats crush Bills 49-21, earn top AFC seed and home field advantage

Pats crush Bills, earn top AFC seed
By SPORTS NETWORK
FOXBORO, MASS. - Tom Brady and the New England Patriots scored 49 unanswered points to beat the Buffalo Bills, 49-21, and claim the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.

Brady completed 23-of-35 passes for 338 yards, three touchdowns and an interception for the Patriots (13-3), who will have home-field advantage throughout the postseason for the second year in a row. New England finished the regular season with a 7-1 mark at Gillette Stadium.

Brady became the third player in NFL history with 5,000 passing yards in a season. He also set a franchise record for completions in a season with 401, topping Drew Bledsoe's 400 in 1994. A first-round bye will allow the two-time league MVP to rest his sore left shoulder.

Aaron Hernandez caught seven passes for 138 yards and a touchdown for New England, which heads into the playoffs on an eight-game winning streak. Rob Gronkowski capped his record-setting season with eight catches for 108 yards and two scores.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis carried the ball seven times for 22 yards and two touchdowns for the Patriots, who avenged a Week 3 loss to the Bills.


And The NY JETS ?? Not so much....REX RYAN's team ended the season 8-8 and have been proven to be losers....JETS ( JUST END THE SEASON) - See ya New York.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS - " We'll do our talking out on the field, where the pictures are worth a million words, not in sound bites..."

Yes, I am biased toward the New England Patriots in the AFC Match-up this Sunday between our Beloved New England Patriots and the Wanna-be low-rent NY Jets. My fandom for the Patriots is not something that should surprise anyone as in this neck of the woods, it is the classic Boston - NY rivalry.

For example:

RED SOX vs. YANKEES - (RED SOX are the classy team)
PATRIOTS vs. JETS - ( PATRIOTS - Ditto )
BRUINS vs. RANGERS - (BRUINS - They take no prisoners)
CELTICS vs. KNICKS - ( CELTICS - Knicks are a joke)

And so it goes.....Now we have a Loud Mouth Braggart Coach, Rex "yes-my-wife & I have-a-foot-fetish" Ryan acting like he himself will be out there on the field playing the game against Tom Brady....ridiculous.

Bill Belichick has no need to run his mouth - He displays the quiet steady Leadership that marks a Champion....His opponent coaching the Jets looks like the loud obnoxious idiot you avoid at all costs....Ryan is a feckless bastard who will be taught yet another lesson this Sunday by the Masters, Brady & Belichick

And just to provide further evidence, let's look at the Patriots by the numbers:

1 -- Number of Super Bowl victories that quarterback Tom Brady needs to tie Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw for the most Super Bowl wins by a starting quarterback in NFL history. Brady is tied with Troy Aikman with three.

5 -- Number of conference championship game berths since 2000, tied with the Eagles for the most since that year.

9 -- The Patriots are the only team in the NFL to have recorded nine or more wins in each of the last 10 seasons.

14 -- Number of playoff games the Patriots have won in the past 10 years, tied for the most by any team in any 10-year period.

.846 -- The Patriots' home playoff winning percentage, the best mark in NFL history (11 wins in 13 games).

SUNDAY will be the next step in the Championship season during which the PATRIOTS have demonstrated that they are the class of the league.....Sunday afternoon will be the battle and we will be there watching faithfully. GO NEW ENGLAND !!!


Jets noise mostly bounces off even-keel Patriots
By Len Pasquarelli
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com
Jan. 12, 2011

Coach Blowhard may have put his foot in his mouth again -- as opposed, one might point out, to someone else's tootsies between his incisors -- when he reissued the hackneyed "it's personal" challenge to characterize Sunday's third meeting with the New England Patriots this season.

For those who pay attention to semantics, that's "it's personal" as opposed to the lame "personal matter" camouflage behind which he recently reverted to deflect all those foot-fetish accusations of the past few weeks. Similar words, of course, but different intents, indeed, even the outspoken New York Jets head coach and resident manure-stirrer Rex Ryan would agree.

While his purposeful goal may have been to increase the temperature of a Jets team that ironically figures to confront polarized extremes late Sunday afternoon -- the league's hottest offense playing in Arctic-level conditions -- Ryan has succeeded in ratcheting up the rhetoric. But just as significantly, he has raised the hackles of a New England bunch that seems to successfully subvert its sentiments.

The latest example, taking Ryan's hyperbolic lead, came Tuesday, when cornerback Antonio Cromartie termed Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady an orifice from which human manure exits. Pretty strong words from a guy who on national television, couldn't remember the ages of his seven kids. For the sake of the Jets and Ryan, here's hoping that Cromartie, who has fathered the seven children with six different women, exercises more discipline in his coverage techniques that he apparently did with his contraceptive methods.

Noted one Patriots veteran on Tuesday evening, reacting to Ryan and Cromartie, but declining for fear of retribution from his coach or his teammates to attach his name to his words: "Damn right we're (upset). But we bite our tongues here. It's part of what you marry into when you come here. We'll do our talking out on the field, where the pictures are worth a million words, not in sound bites that are going to get all that useless attention."

Credit Ryan and Cromartie and the rest of the mouthy Jets for at least standing behind their trash-talking. The Jets don't talk off the record or without attribution, and for such lack of cover they are to be congratulated. But they are like the sassy neighbor who lives next door, but carries on his battles across the backyard fence, and always finds a ready excuse to dash back inside when you're both out getting the mail at the same time.

Measure, not mouthiness, usually wins such critical NFL games. And there is no more measured team than the Patriots, who reflect the dispassion of their coach, in much the same way the Jets mimic their leader. It's easy for the media to be critical of Bill Belichick, because you leave his press conferences with a notebook page half-filled, as opposed to requiring a couple legal pads for Ryan's rants. But neither man would have it any other way. And just as the bluster of Ryan now permeates his team, the publically even-keel approach of Belichick prevails with the Pats.

The overriding promise of The Wizard of Oz is that, once the needy had navigated the treacherous yellow brick road, the great and powerful man would deliver, among other things, a heart and courage to the deficient. The truth, though, was that The Wizard rendered his best rhetoric from behind a curtain. Ryan doesn't ask for any draperies, but the curtain could come down on his shtick if he and his team fail to deliver on their inflammatory words.

In New England, it's understood that you play, and you act, like a Patriot. With the Jets? Well, as the HBO series Hard Knocks displayed, they've got to erect signs that remind their charges to "Play like a Jet." Even if his history of the franchise is more along the lines of the performance of a bi-plane. And they've got to stoke the players with those "it's personal" proclamations. In New England, conversely, nary is heard a discouraging, or defamatory word.

Notable with the two AFC East rivals is that each has a "New" in front on its name. But the guess is that, on Sunday afternoon, it's going to be the same old story: the braggadocious bully may win the debate, but probably not the football game