Cassel leaves team to be with family

New England QB Matt Cassel's status for this Sunday against Oakland is in doubt after the death of his father.

Cassel has left the team who are currently training in San Jose and will travel to Southern California to be with his grieving family.

Cassel has had a fantastic season so far throwing 14 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions in his first starting season in the NFL. His poise in the pocket has improved with every game and he is now looking every bit an NFL starting quarterback.

Losing Cassel against Oakland would be yet another blow to an already depleted Patriots team. Although Oakland are only 3-10 it is a must win game for New England who are tied at the top of the division with the Jets and the Dolphins.

If Cassel can't play on Sunday then rookie Kevin O'Connell out of San Diego State will step in as his replacement. The rookie has four career NFL passes, all of which came against Miami in the week 3 blowout loss.

Stallions Wednesday

Going into the Christmas break the Staffordshire Stallions stand in the same place they did last year; with a perfect record (3-0) and looking increasingly dominant in their division.

After their game against Leicester Longhorns was postponed the Stallions can enjoy the break and look forward to the next game against Nottingham Outlaws when they return.

The Stallions went into the season with everything to prove after their success last year. They won every game in the regular season, a feat no other Stallions team had done, and continued to march through the playoffs.

After a come from behind victory against the Newcastle Raiders the Stallions played the Southampton Stags in the University Championship Game. The Stags proved too strong on the day thanks to their running attack; the Stallions lost 54-20.

Coming into the new season the Stallions were full of confidence despite losing a lot of starters, even head coach Ant Charles was optimistic claiming the current team to be the second best Stallions he had coached. However, a preseason matchup against the Birmingham Lions showed the Stallions they had a long way to go if they hoped to emulate last year.

Two weeks later, on the 16th of November, the Stallions regular season was underway with their first game against the Huddersfield Hawks. The sceptics were no where to be seen as the Stallions notched up a half century and completely shut the Hawks offence out of the game.

Stallions’ record breaking running back Edem Goka scored three touchdowns and rushed for over 200 yards. Rookie running back Jonny Gibson showed his worth with two trips to the endzone. Quarterback Ben Rowan and all round utility player George Furlonge capped the game with a touchdown each. The Stallions moved to 1-0.

Cornerback Dean Czyz said: “Ed was unstoppable; he’s added another dimension to his game this year.”

On a rainy Sunday afternoon the Stallions played the Derby Braves in what was predicted to be a tough game for both teams.

It took until the third quarter for the Stallions to grab the game by the throat but two touchdowns from Goka and another by Furlonge put the game out of the reach of Derby going into the fourth quarter. Another shutout from the defence finished a great day for the Stallions. Staffs now stood at 2-0.

Loughborough. Every year the Aces are playoff contenders but three years without a win against the Stallions had Loughborough pumped up for this game; the unexpected departure from the team added another emotional element into the game, one the Stallions hoped wouldn’t prove too strong.

It was the Stallions who proved too strong on the day. Staffs aggressive offence line of Pete Buckley, Graham Fellows, Rob Pickerill, Phil Slater, Pete Crawley and Chris Ward stuffed the Aces running attack and Loughborough’s passing game stuttered with two interceptions from Czyz and Mike Osunsina.

Two more rushing touchdowns for Goka and two receiving scores from James Walker, who finished the game with two catches for 85 yards including a 75 yard touchdown, put the game beyond the Aces, the game finished 31-8 to the Stallions. The Stallions now sat atop the division with a 3-0 record.

With four more games after Christmas Czyz said: “I’m really excited about this year as I think we can go all the way with the mentality the team has.

With all the confidence and ability this year the sky is the limit for the Staffordshire Stallions.

AFC East Roundup Week 13

Three teams now occupy the top spot of the AFC East with with only four weeks left of the season.

The Jets, Patriots and the Jets all own a 8-5 record and all have the potential to be playing football in January.

The Patriots beat the Seahawks 24-21 at Qwest Field thanks to some fourth quarter come back heroics from the Matt Cassel led Patriots offence. For the full game report check out my blog post from the 8th December.

The Jets fell 24-14 to a struggling 49ers team. 49ers QB Shaun Hill continued his great form with two touchdown passes to Bryant Johnson and Frank Gore. The Jets recent poor run of form continued as Brett Favre didn't throw a touchdown and Thomas Jones only rushed for 56 yards.

In the other game the Bills played the Dolphins. One touchdown pass from Pennington was all the 'Phins needed to claim their eighth win of the season as they beat the Bills 16-3. 70 yards rushing from Ronnie Brown and 70 yards receiving from Davone Bess helped Miami towards the playoffs.

With three games left and a potential division winning game between Miami and New York in the final week of the season the Patriots need to beat Oakland to keep up in the division title race.

Beyond a joke!

The New England Patriots are facing the possibility of the rest of the season without Pro Bowl linebacker Tedy Bruschi after he suffered a knee injury against Seattle.

If this is the case the Patriots will have lost another starter to injury having already lost Tom Brady, Laurence Maroney and Adalius Thomas.

It seems resigning Junior Seau was a stroke of brilliance by Bill Bellichick or was he tempting fate.

For now though Bruschi has stayed in Boston instead of travelling with the team to Oakland, every Pats fan will be hoping he only needs a week of rest.

With the AFC East getting increasingly competitive he Pats can ill afford to lose a rock in the defence like Bruschi.

The Providence Journal looks at the banged up Patriots D: http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/sp_fbn_patriots_09_12-09-08_S2CIOBL_v13.3c76a33.html

Pats v Seahawks Full Time Report

Matt Cassel's fourth quarter heroics rescued the Patriots as they beat the Seahawks 24-21 at Qwest Field.

The Seahawks led going into the fourth 21-13 but a field goal from Stephen Gotakowski and a 1 yard run from Sammy Morris gave New England the win.

The Pats went into the game at 7-5 and needed a win to make a push for the playoffs in an increaslingly tough division. With the 'Hawks at 2-10 the win seemed assured against a weak opposition.

New England received the ball to start the game but five plays and 16 yards later they were forced to punt the ball all the way down to the 'Hawks 13 yard line.

Seattle didn't struggle on this drive as they went 87 yards in seven minutes to take the lead. The 'Hawks backup QB Seneca Wallace found ex-patriot Deion Branch in the endzone with a 14 yard pass.

On the Patriots next possession they improved on their first drive by coming away with a field goal. After a 9 play drive New England set up a 50 yard field goal which Gotakowski nailed to record his longest kick this season.

The Patriots defence stuttered once again as Seattle's defence flourished and they scored their second touchdown in as many drives. The 'Hawks started from their own 26 and Wallace finished the drive with a 10 yard pass to John Carlson.

The Patiots scored their first touchdown of the game in the second quarter when Cassel threw to Benjamin Watson in the back of the endzone.

The Patriots defence finally had an answer for the 'Hawks offence as they forced two punts on their next two possessions. Seattle led going into the half 14-10.

After both teams exchanged punts the Patriots scored first in the second half when Gotakowski kick a 42 yard field goal.

On the very next drive the 'Hawks went 62 yards in three plays which ended in Wallace throwing to Branch again for their third and second touchdowns respectively. This took the score to 21-13 going into the final quarter.

The Pats scored an early field goal to put some pressure on Seattle and put the score to 21-16 to the Seahaws with 12 minutes in the game remaining.

The 'Hawks offence again couldn't drive against a stout New England defence and were forced to punt.

New England's next drive lasted fourteen plays and took over six minutes off the clock. The drive also included three third down conversions. After getting the ball all the way down to the Seahawks' one yard line Sammy Morris jumped over the pile to score the vital touchdown which Cassel converted to make the score 24-21.

with 2:44 left on the clock and 'Hawks needing just a field goal to take the game to overtime, Richard Seymour recovered a fumble forced by Brandon Meriweather to seal the game.

With Oakland next week the Patriots will be optomistic about another win and moving ever closer to playing football in January.
Quick hits:

• Welker caught a season high 134 yards
• Randy Moss went over 13,000 career receiving yards with his 56 yards this Sunday

For all the stats follow the link: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter?game_id=29734&season=2008&displayPage=tab_gamecenter

Pats Resign Two LBs

The Patriots have resigned ex-players Junior Seau and Roosevelt Colvin to the roster after putting Adalius Thomas on injured reserve ending his season.

To read about Colvin and Seau's return to the team follow the link: http://www.patriots.com/homepage/

Pats v Seahawks Preview

The Patriots week 14 match-up is against the Seattle Seahawks who have been struggling as of late and it gives New England a chance to get their playoff hunt back on track.

After losing to the Steelers last week and falling to 7-5 the Patriots need a win to close the gap on the Jets who have a game advantage over the Pats.

The Seahawks have been struggling as of late and currently stand at 2-10 and are on a run of a nine game losing streak. With their QB Matt Hasselbeck doubtful for the game because of a recurring back injury, New England have the best opportunity possible to win this game and move to 8-4.

Matt Cassel is coming off a poor game against the Steelers when he threw 2 interceptions so he will be looking to have another performance like the one against Miami when he threw three touchdowns to Randy Moss.

After losing several starters this season, the Patriots have resigned linebackers Junior Seau and Roosevelt Colvin to fill in the gaps left by Adalius Thomas and Pierre Thomas, who injured his jaw against the Steelers.

This game also marks the first that Deion Branch has had since he left New Engalnd after a four year career there that included a Super Bowl MVP award against the Panthers. In that game Branch caught 10 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown.

Whatever the outcome the game at Qwest Field, should be a good match in which the Patriots could win and get back into playoff contention.

Stallions Wednesday

As some of you may or may not know i'm a current member of the Staffordshire Stallions, who are the reigning BUAFL Northern Conference Champions. Therefore, every Wednesday I will dedicate this site to the Stallions.
Welcome to the Stallions Update....

The Staffordshire Stallions moved to 3-0 with a 31-8 victory over divisional rivals Loughborough Aces.

The win drops Loughborough to 2-1 and moves the Stallions a game clear of the rest of the division.

The Stallions started the game strong and after allowing a short drive from the Aces Staffs defence forced Loughborough to punt the ball away, setting the tone for the rest of the game.

The Stallions offence drove the ball down the field with the usual effectiveness and efficiency. Running Back Edem Goka then ran in to the endzone from ten yards to finish the drive; Jon Wood converted to put the Stallions up by 7-0.

Goka extended the Stallions lead in the second quarter when he rushed in from 22 yards. James Walker took the snap and ran in to score the two point conversion. The Stallions defence was as dominant as usual; a tipped pass from rookie linebacker Alasdair Jarvis was intercepted by Dean Czyz.

The Stallions again drove the ball deep in to the Aces territory with their dominant running game from Goka, George Furlonge and Jonny Gibson. Quarterback Ben Rowan then found Walker on a quick slant for an 8 yard touchdown. The extra point was blocked meaning the Stallions led the Aces 21-0.

The first half ended with the Stallions leading 21-0 and Loughborough unable to break down the Staffs defence. Dominant play from the defensive line of Rob Pickerill, Graham Fellows, Pete Buckley and Chris Ward led to the ball carrier down being consistently being stopped in the back field.

Rowan and Walker hooked up again in the 3rd quarter. Walker received the ball and used his speed to leave the corner and the safety stranded as he ran in from 75 yards to score his second touchdown of the game. Wood converted the extra point to put the Stallions up 28-0. The score remained the same for the rest of the 3rd quarter after both defences stalled the opposing offences.

The Aces started a comeback in the 4th quarter as their running back Abayomi Okuboyejo scored a touchdown from 9 yards out. The Aces went for the two point conversion and were successful. The score stood at 28-8 with over ten minutes left.

The Stallions had to put the ball back to the Aces who were just three scores behind. Another interception, this time from rookie linebacker Mike Osunsina gave the ball back to the Stallions offence.

Any comeback attempt was stuffed by the Stallions offence who held the ball for the majority of the 4th quarter as Goka, Furlonge and Ward converted vital third down attempts so Staffs kept the ball and the clock running. Wood sealed the game with a 22 yard field goal to extend the Stallions advantage to 31-8.

The Stallions now hold top spot in the division and will be looking to stay perfect before the Christmas break. The only thing that stands in their way is a visit from the Leicester Longhorns in week 6.

MVPs – Special teams- Jon Wood, Rookie- Alasdair Jarvis, Defence- Pete Buckley, Offence- Edem Goka, Game- Offensive line (Rob Pickerill, Graham Fellows, Pete Buckley, Max Bonaker, Pete Crawley, Jon Henshall)

Pats v Steelers Full Time Report

New England's push for a playoff berth was dealt a crushing blow this weekend with a 33-10 loss to the Pitsburgh Steelers.

The Pats currently stand at 7-5, one game behind the Jets who fortunately lost to the Broncos this weekend.

The game started well for the Pats; Mike Vrabel intercepted Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger deep in their territory on thefirst possession of the game. Three plays and 14 yards later the Pats where 7-0 up thanks to running back Sammy Morris.

The Steelers responded with a field goal in the same quarter after the Pats where forced to punt the ball away on their next drive.

In the second quarter New England extended their advantage with another field goal to move to 10-3 ahead. From that moment on the Steelers dominated the game and the Pats would no score again.

The Steelers scored before half time when Roethlisberger found wide receiver Santonio Homles for a 19 yard touchdown.

New England had the opportunity to take the lead before the half but were unable to convert the field goal so the score stayed at 10-10 at half time.

The Pats received the ball to start the second half but were forced to go three and out. The Steelers offence converted this to 3 points from a Jeff Reed field goal.

New England's next to possessions ended in fumbles and Pittsburgh capitalised by scoring a touchdown and a field goal off these turnovers. The touchdown came from an 11 yard pass to Hines Ward.

In the fourth quarter the Steelers scored another touchdown and a field goal to round off their 30 unanswered point rout. The game ended 33-10 to the Steelers.

The Pats now face the struggling Seahawks in week 14 and will hope to get their playoff hunt back on track with a win.

For all the stats follow the link: http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter?game_id=29716&season=2008&displayPage=tab_gamecenter