Pats finish perfectly, defeat Bears 38 - 23

Before I go into my review I want to give my thoughts on the NFL preseason.

Football is a contact sport and injuries happen. Whether they happen in week one, week seven or anytime during the preseason, these things are going to happen and that's why football is growing as the nations best past time.

It's also the reason why I said in my first article that I don't make bold predictions and thoughts until the preseason ends. Injuries can change a whole division and make the season even more exciting.

Hence, Michael Vick, and Chad Pennington, if The Pats sweep Miami look for them to take the division.

There is no need to cut the preseason down to two games and extend the regular season by two. That just means two extra weeks of "game speed" football where the chance of injury grows.

Last night in Foxboro the Pats played sloppy in a game I think the starters just wanted to come out of healthy, while the dreamers wanted their chance to win those coveted spots before the final cut down day on Sunday.

It was an ugly win that no one will remember to the point where I won't even get into all that stat talk about who did this and who did that.

I will mention that if special teams don't get their act together on defending returns before next week it's going to be a long season, and the defense is going to have to work twice as hard.

What I want to get into is who is going to be here for the season and how the season is going to pan out against opponents.

So with this Sunday being cut down day the Pats have 64 players on the roster right now and need to drop 11 players.

Today the Pats cut six players, but there were no surprises.

So, let's get into this before Sunday.

Quarterback: Tom Brady (34 of 56 comp 381 yds. 6 TD's) finished the preseason ranked 2nd in the NFL overall while Rohan Davey (20 of 42 comp 306 yds. 2 TD's) finished 12th. Damon Huard was dressed for the game last night, but saw no time while Cliff Kingsbury did not dress because he was on the injury list. Cliff barely saw anytime this season, but I can't see Belichick paying Huard 1 mil to sit on the bench as a third string or second, but his contract does end this year so he may play out and then get released.

1. Tom Brady 2. Rohan Davey 3. Cliff Kingsbury

Running Back: FB Patrick Pass (32 carries 133 yds. 2TD's) finished the 7th in the NFL overall, Antowain Smith (37 carries 122 yds. 1TD) finished 10th while Kevin Faulk (23 carries 81 yds.) had no TD's, and probably fumbled away any chances of being the number two guy last week. Just this week Belichick made it clear that the injured Mike Cloud was going nowhere and will be able to play after week four. This tells me that as a coach, he is not happy with the two guys he had intended on starting this year. If I was, coach and I didn't care about feelings it would go like this.

1. Patrick Pass 2. Antowain Smith 3. Kevin Faulk 4. Larry Centers 5. Fred McCrary (FB) 6. Mike Cloud (FB)(eligible week 4)

Wide Receivers: Number one in the NFL's overall receiving stats went to David Patten (10 for 196 yds. 3 TD's). David was a bright spot in the corps this year, and seemed to become Brady's favorite target over Troy Brown (10 for 83 yds. 2TD's), Dedric Ward (7 for 146 yds. 1 TD) also finished ahead of Brown, but Brown is the number one WR on this squad.

1. Troy Brown 2. David Patten 3. Dedric Ward 4. Deion Branch 5. Bethal Johnson 6. David Givens (if they keep only two TE's)

Kickers: Even though he had a rough preseason Adam Vinatieri (6 of 8) still finished 3rd overall in the league. Daniel Pope's cut last week saved P Ken Walter's ass so look for him to punt this year. Let's just hope he can be consistent.

1. K Adam Vinatieri 2. P Ken Walter

Offensive Line: The line took a hit when all three centers went down so the Pats went out and acquired OL Jamil Soriano in a trade from Chicago for right tackle.

1. Damien Woody 2. Matt Light 3. Mike Compton 4. Joe Andruzzi 5. Jamil Soriano 6. Adrian Klemm 7. Daniel Koppen 8. Brandon Gorin 9. Russ Hochstein 10.Tom Ashworth 11. Matt Knutson 12. Lonie Paxton (long snapper)

Tight End: This spot was solid from day one, and will probably allow the Pats to carry six WR's this season. Brady missed an open Christian Fauria (1 for 32 yds.) A few times this year while Daniel Graham (7 for 68 yds. 1TD) could have a good season if he remains healthy.

The defense WILL be this teams strong point and if they can remain healthy look for the Pats to lead the league in sacks this year.

Defensive Line/Linebackers: This is going to be the toughest cut of all other than the cornerback spot.

1. Richard Seymour 2. Ted Washington 3. Ty Warren 4. Ro Colvin 5. Ted Johnson 6. Tedy Bruschi 7. Mike Vrabel 8. Anthony Pleasant 9. Jarvis Green 10. Bobby Hamilton 11. Willie McGinest 12. Don Davis 13. Roman Phifer 14. Larry Izzo 15. Matt Chatam

Cornerback: Two good rookies were added to the crop, but only one will survive with the veterans on this team.

1. Ty Law 2. Tyrone Poole 3. Asante Samuel

Safety: This is another spot locked down where only one guy may be able to stay.

1. Lawyer Milloy 2. Rodney Harrison 3. Chris Atkins

This will give the team a roster of 50 players, and allow them to keep some of those who are injured at this time, while some who I have cut may end up on the practice squad. Now it's on to the season which is hard on the Pats as far as the travel goes, but will work in their favor for the end of the year.

Bills: The Pats open away against the Bills where I'm sure QB Drew Bledsoe will feel the loss to his receiving corp, but I also expect some RB controversy there. Look for the Pats to win with defense on both matchups. - WIN/WIN

Jets: Their hopes are pinned on the arm and legs of a 17 year QB Vinny Testeverde, and aging RB Curtis Martin and WR's Santana Moss and Curtis Conway. Pats will sweep the Jets this year. - WIN/WIN

Dolphins: The Pats will need to stop the run and will have to sweep the Dolphins, but it never seems to happen. Look for the Pats to lose the early match up, but take the December game in Foxboro. - LOSS/WIN

Eagles: The Pats whooped up on them without their RB Duce Staley, if things get resolved in Philly it will be a different game, and I expect the Pats to drop this game setting up a possible Super Bowl rematch. - LOSS

Redskins: Bill Belichick will out coach Steve Spurrier. -WIN

Titans: The Titans embarrassed the Pats last year so they will be looking to return the favor. - WIN

Giants: This team scares me at times, and may catch the Pats with their pants down. - LOSS

Browns: Nuff said, it's the Browns. - WIN

Broncos: Pats and high altitudes don't mix so you can chock this up as a loss. LOSS

Cowboys: Parcells coming back to New England with a below par team. This one will be for the fans, and probably the loudest. WIN

Texans: Pats largest margin win this year. - WIN

Colts: The Pats OWN QB Peyton Manning. - WIN

Jaguars: No threat, and look for the D to pulverize QB Mark Brunell if he stays with the team. - WIN

This will allow the Pats to finish the season with 12 wins and 4 losses and a playoff berth.

Comments: Email me at the Sinista1@msn.com