Brandon Lloyd was not a bad signing, but he needs to catch the ball

The Patriots signed wide receiver Brandon Lloyd last off-season following his two best seasons as a pro. But so far this season Lloyd's  known more for dropping passes than catching them. Granted, the balls that Tom Brady throws to him are rarely easy catches, however these drops are inexcusable. I've always said that if the ball hits your hands there's no excuse for it to be dropped. These guys catch balls for a living and while they're obviously going to drop a few passes, 5 in the first eight weeks is too many.
Lloyd is a very good receiver who can make the toughest of catches and I expect him to drop less passes as the season goes on.

Patriots' secondary banged up

The Patriots have a young and banged up secondary that has to step up. Tomorrow they play the St. Louis Rams overseas in London, England. Rams quarterback Sam Bradford's go-to-guy Danny Amendola is listed as questionable and unlikely to play. But the other receivers on this team: Chris Givens, Brandon Gibson, Steve Smith, and Lance Kendricks are no slouches themselves. A big part to why the Patriots' secondary is struggling is the absence of starting safeties Pat Chung and Steve Gregory, both of whom will not be playing tomorrow. The loss of those two guys is hurting this defense. Rookie Tavon Wilson is starting for Chung and Devin McCourty has moved from corner back to free safety. Which leaves Kyle Arrington and rookie Alfonzo Dennard as the starting corners. After Ras-I Dowling was put on injured reserve yesterday, his second consecutive injury shortened season, I see the Pats lack depth in defensive backs. Behind the four starters I listed above are Sterling Moore, Marquice Cole, and Nate Ebner. I like the way Sterling Moore plays but Cole is a special teams guy and Ebner is not good enough to be on defense yet. With his rugby background and lack of playing time at Ohio State he should be cover kicks not playing with the starting defense. The Pats are on their bye week after tomorrow's game and I expect any banged up players to be ready to go in week ten.
As ugly as the Pats secondary is playing, the defense is forcing turnovers and Belichick is still the coach so I think the defense is going to get better as the season goes on.

Cowboys' Lee placed on IR, Panthers' Beason on his way

The Dallas Cowboys have placed their star linebacker Sean Lee on injured reserve after suffering a toe injury in last week's game against Carolina. The injury is going to require surgery that will see Sean Lee on the sidelines for the rest of the season. Lee is the best player on the Dallas defense next to DeMarcus Ware and his absence is going to be a devastating blow to the team.
Ironically the Carolina Panthers, the Cowboys' opponent last week, may be losing their best linebacker as well. Jon Beason is expected to miss the remainder of the season to get surgery done on his knee. He's missed the last two games because of the knee. Beason played in only one game in 2011 before landing on injured reserve with an Achilles injury. Fortunately for the Panthers, they drafted linebacker Luke Kuechly back in April and will be moving him to middle linebacker. The Carolina defense was nothing special with Beason healthy this season and it's going to be far worse without him.

Raven's Suggs, Saint's Vilma active

Baltimore Raven's defensive end Terrell Suggs and New Orleans Saint's linebacker Johnathan Vilma have been activated for the first time this season. I'm interested to see how many snaps Suggs sees today. I didn't think he'd be ready to play today but it looks like he's made a strong recovery. As for the Saints, getting leader Johnathan Vilma back on the field is huge for their defense that ranks last in the league.

Raven's Suggs practices, possible return for Ray Lewis

Last year's Defensive Player of the Year, Baltimore Raven's defensive end Terrell Suggs was taken off the physically unable to perform list and participated in his first practice of the season today. The team's expectations for him right now are low, as they'd be for any player in Suggs's position, and they aren't rushing his return to the game field. And more good news for Raven's fans, Ray Lewis is designated for a return this season. He was placed on the injured reserve list yesterday and the team has placed the "designated to return" tag on him. This doesn't mean Lewis is sure to return this season, it just means there's a possibility or for Raven's fans and players... Hope.

Baltimore's Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb out for rest of the season

Ray Lewis, the heart and soul of the Baltimore Ravens for the past 15 years, and underrated stand out cornerback Lardarius Webb have been placed on the injured reserve list. Of the two, Ray Lewis will be easier to replace, I know it sounds crazy. But at 37 years of age, Lewis' athleticism isn't what it once was and what new- starting middle backer Dannell Ellerbe lacks in passion and leadership (Lewis' most impactful qualities) he almost makes up for with his youth and athleticism. The loss of Lardarius Webb is much more impactful because he's a good versatile defensive back; a position that, in this pass-frenzy league is arguably the most crucial position on the defense. Second year corner Jimmy Smith will be taking Webb's spot at corner.
On a brighter note Terrell Suggs' return to the starting lineup is something that Ravens fans are looking forward to even more. At 5-1 through the first six weeks Baltimore is first in their division and I don't see these two injuries stopping this team from making the playoffs.

Seahawks secondary will challenge Patriots pass game

The Seahawks secondary is as physical as any back four in the league. They're tall, strong, athletic, and heavy hitters. Their starting cornerbacks are unusually tall not to mention strong, Brandon Browner stands 6'4" weighing 221lbs and fellow corner Richard Sherman is 6'3" and weighs 195lbs. Then there's the strong safety Kam Chancellor, at 6'3" 232lbs he's an athletic tackling machine. The feircest hitter of the bunch. And at free safety is the smallest of the group, Earl Thomas (5'10" 202lbs) he can make plays on the ball and loves to mix it up in run support. Look to see how Browner and Sherman jam the Patriots receivers as they come off the line of scrimmage. And I wouldn't be shocked to see Chancellor cover Rob Gronkowski throughout the game. As we all know Gronk is somewhat a freak of nature but Kam Chancellor is no slouch, he's got the length, strength, and athleticism to contest passes thrown number 87's way.
Tom Brady will get the best of this young defense but still I believe the Seattle secondary will put up a good fight. Patriots win 23-13.

Pats defense is good

This New England defense is good and is certainly better than people give them credit for. Bill Belichick's defense is very young but also very disciplined, physical, and versatile. The rookies are playing well and the defense is forcing turnovers with 14 thus far (6 interceptions 8 fumble recoveries). The 8 fumble recoveries are a league best. And they're playing with an attitude that I haven't seen on the Pats defense since the days of Richard Seymour and Rodney Harrison. The source? Middle linebacker Brandon Spikes. The third year man out of Florida plays with a nastiness and intensity that has infected his teammates as well. Spikes is a ferocious hitter and after he hits you he's going to get in your face and tell you about it. He's the energizer of this young Patriots defense. They're stout against the run and have really improved in pass defense. This group is going to get better as the season goes on and it's because of this that I say the Patriots will win the Super Bowl XLVII. Oh, yeah and having Tom Brady doesn't hurt.

Colts beat Packers, week five upset

Green Bay lead 21-3 at half-time but Indianapolis came out fired up in the second-half and Andrew Luck capped off a comeback with a touchdown pass to his favorite target Reggie Wayne with only 35 seconds left in regulation. The Packers had a chance to force overtime but place kicker Mason Crosby missed the 51 yard field goal and the Colts came out victorious 30-27. My hats off to that whole Colts team and staff for winning their first game without head coach Chuck Pagano who's battling leukemia. The horse shoe defense held Aaron Rodgers and his explosive offense scoreless in the third quarter, and can be argued as the reason they won that game. For Colts fans it's a good sign, seeing your team overcome the loss of your head coach and do right by him defeating a good Green Bay team at home.. However if I were a Packers fan I'd be pretty concerned because we're entering week six of the season and they're in third place in their division with a record of 2-3. It's time they play with a sense of urgency.