Hallelujah!!!  Boom, baby!!!  With my #83 pressed and ready to go, I'm crawling out of my skin to get this pahty stahted.  Sunday, September 7 @ 1:00pm heralds in the start of the Patriot's and Chief's regular season.  The Patriots, coming off of an 18-1 2007 host the Arrowheads who are rebuilding after a disappointing 4-12 season. 

Looking to augment their now 19-0 regular season winning streak, New England comes off of a rocky preseason full of injuries, roster maneuverings and dad's talking about their kid's foot.  But enough about preseason.  Let's get on with regular season chatter and get ready for some football.

• Even though the Chiefs were 4-12, DO NOT discount their best in the league third down defense.  Teams only converted 31.3% of the time.  This is where we need our new RB, LaMont Jordan, to pound the rock.  I'd also like to see some options to LaMont and of course, our own best-in-class Kevin Faulk.  Smashmouth is the way to handle a defense like this.
• We need to neutralize TE Tony Gonzalez and WR Dwayne Bowe.  If Tony stays underneath, this will be a test for our OLB's and new corners.  Bowe ranked 24th in the league and pulled down a respectable 70 passes for 995 yards and a 14.2 yards per carry.  Let's have our corners throw off his timing a bit; a little bump here and there never hurts.
• QB Brodie Croyle, ranking 31st among quarterbacks, has struggled through an 0-6 record end of the season.  He's young, but Brady had 2 rings by his age.  I want to see rookie OLB Shawn Crable batting down passes and rookie ILB Jerod Mayo in his face, forcing Brodie to rush his decisions.
• Protect...Tom...Brady.  The offensive line is on my list of things to watch.  Lots of injuries, newly returning vets and a rotating door of prospects has me worried.
• Special teams were a concern of mine, allowing some run backs in preseason that shouldn't have gone as far as they did.  On the flip side, CJ Jones showed some promise as a return guy, so I'd like to see that one work out.  He really had to work for his spot and I like hard working kids.

All in all, it's about shaking off the dust from preseason and dispelling the myth that an 0-4 record is an issue.  Let's not forget that our starting QB hasn't taken a snap in a preseason game.  Yeah I know, Tom is Tom, but it would've made me feel a whole lot better to see a few Brady to Moss or Brady to Welker lobs.

What are you looking for?

Has Belichick lost his mind?  Is he trying to jinx us?  Or is it a little brinksmanship?  This is the first time I can recall our boy wonder, Tom Brady, not being on an injury report:

This could lead one to believe Brady simply didn't participate in practice today. Ahh, Tricky Bill is at it again. However, if you look at the top section of today's report, Brady is not listed in the "Did Not Participate in Practice" section.

My world has been turned upside down.  We are sooooooo screwed.

Because I like facts, I'd like to remind us all of just how cool it is to have a team this talented.  I hate to use the word dynasty, but this "thingy" is an awesome ride.  We've paid our dues as New England (Boston) Patriots fans, that's for sure.  And we deserve to eat a little cake.

• The Patriots have won six of the last seven times when opening at home, a streak dating back to 1995, when they beat a Bill Belichick-coached Cleveland Browns squad 17-14 at Foxboro Stadium.
• The Patriots have won 19 consecutive regular-season games dating back to a 40-7 win over the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 17, 2006. New England's 19-game regularseason winning streak is the longest in NFL history, eclipsing the Patriots' 18 consecutive regular-season wins from Oct. 5, 2003 to Oct. 24, 2004.
• Since the beginning of the 2003 season, the Patriots have allowed an average of 17.12 points per game (including playoffs), a mark that leads the NFL over that span.
• The Patriots own an overall record of 46-9 (.836) at Gillette Stadium. Since their state-of-the-art facility opened at the beginning of the 2002 season, the Patriots own the NFL's best record at home.
• The New England Patriots own a 34-9 (.791) record in regular season AFC East games since the beginning of the 2001 season.

That, my friends, is a lot of cake eating.

Pats Pulpit faithful,

this coming Sunday, we have our season opener with the Kansas City Chiefs.  Instead of me coming up with all the questions, I'd like to solicit questions from you all.  Please add a comment with your Chiefs question and I'll pass along to Arrowhead Pride's blogger.

With eagle-eyed precision, I stare at my hi-def television and analyze every move on this 2 dimensional window into my sporting world.  Nary a play, block or route goes by that I don't immediately analyze in this elephant brain of mine.  Later, I consume stories written by "credentialed" media, formulate opinions and write and write and write.  Using keen wit and a high football IQ, I am able to gleen insight that the "real" coaches would find sublime.  Scribing with my fellow netizens, these pearls of wisdom are layed out for all to see.

And when it came time for roster moves and I was not consulted, I poo pooed moves thought to be uninspired.  Clearly, had I been contacted, I could've steered our New England Patriots in the proper direction, setting a course for a guaranteed SB win in Feb, 2009.

I turn down head coaching job after job, preferring the comfort of my recliner.  Soon, I grow reticent and care not to empart my knowledge to the unwashed footballers, these lemmings with headsets.  Oh, have pity on their souls, for they know not what they reap.

Truth be told, I'm a dumbass and Bill's the Supreme Leader of the Jedi Knights.  With one millionth the information and knowledge, I pass judgement on his moves.  Heck, he's only watched these players through countless hours of OTAs and TC practices as well as reviewing reel after reel of film on their every move.  Who's he to pass judgement on who stays, who goes and who he needs to acquire?  Uhhmm... Well, he's been standing on the sidelines since he was conceived.  Maybe that helps...a teensy weensy bit.

I'm reminded of this every time I watch "Patriots All Access" with Mike Lynch and it's time for the "Belistrator".  I get about 2 minutes into this and Bill turns into Professor Belichick.  Smoke comes out of Mike Lynch's ears as he tries to keep up and translate for the rest of us.  What ends up coming out of our Head Coach's mouth sounds more like, "As Asante read the route he frabble brack fritz bobble ding lang gamin chit rapt drup ifbit...and he made a nice tackle."  Bill is now moving between Martian and English, as far as I'm concerned.

Why is Gutierrez gone and not Cassel?  Bill knows.  Fernando Bryant packing his bags and Deltha O'Neal buying his first bowl of chowdah?  Ask Bill, but he probably doesn't feel the need to tell you.  Using my best Belichick imitation, he'd say something like, "We need to move the ball club forward.  Player XYZ worked hard all preseason, but in the end we needed someone to fit into the 53 man roster and had to make some decisions.  I'm sure another system will prove the ticket."

Doing a quick check on some of the players who were cut, noone's burning up the phone lines to grab them, which says Bill may have been right to release them.  As one of our illustrious co-writers says in her signature:

Keep the faith.