Patriots lose first preseason game

The New England Patriots, playing mostly their new players, were defeated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Friday by a score of 13-10.

Samuel still not in camp, Moss hurt today

No sign or word of Asante Samuel; Chad Scott, one of the other prospective starting cornerbacks, was placed on injured reserve earlier this week. After a good practice today, Randy Moss appeared to suffer a hamstring injury; not sure the extent of the injury or the amount of time he will have to miss.

It is still training camp, but we want to get on the field with a cast of players that can get the job done. So far, the defense is having a rough time catching up; the offense has looked promising. Ben Watson has definitely been the highlight of the camp, continuing where he left off last year.

Ubuntu looking good!

I am starting to really appreciate the Ubuntu family of distros. I use SimplyMEPIS 6.5.02 as my main distro, which gets repositories from Ubuntu. I also use Linux Mint, Kubuntu, and Pioneer Linux, all based on Ubuntu. Awaiting Freespire 2.0, which will also be based on Ubuntu 7.04.

Patriots may end up letting Asante Samuel go

Based on an article on ESPN that interviewed Asante Samuel, I think that Asante is going to go for the big money. The Patriots will have to put up pretty big money, probably more than they feel Asante is worth if they expect to keep him beyond this year. Samuel says he will hold out until week ten. Let's see what actually happens. Meanwhile the Patriots have built up their secondary a little bit. They have not replaced Samuel, but they have other options: Hobbs, Scott, Gay, Hawkins, and Troy Brown that can tide them over, plus they drafted a safety who can play corner as well, plus Eugene Wilson can double at corner if they decide to go that route.

I doubt that Samuel will remain in a Patriot uniform unless he has a change of heart and wants another championship more than a big salary.

Been posting suggestions to Dell's site

If you have not sent anything to Dell's IdeaStorm, this might be a good time, especially if you are a Linux fanatic like me! ;-) Dell has opened Pandora's box and is getting pummelled with requests for Linux on the desktop and Open Office distributed with their computers instead of Microsoft Office.

Regarding football and the Patriots

It really is hard to win two years in a row or several years within a decade. The New England Patriots have been to the Super Bowl in the following seasons (note the Bowl itself is actually in the following year): 1985, 1996, 2001, 2003, and 2004. The Patriots were losers in the first two, but winners in the past three. The 2001 Super Bowl, actually held on February 3, 2002, was against the much favored St. Louis Rams with their extremely powerful offense and good defense. The Patriots that year had an excellent, unpredictable, disruptive defense, typical of the Bellichick years and what we have seen from them since, and a relatively unknown, but respectably good, offense. That next year, 2002, the Patriots were much better, numerically, on offense, but erratic as a team. They straightened that out and had two terrific, dominating, Super Bowl winning years. Since then, they have been division champions each year, and have passed at least the first round each year, beating Jacksonville in the January 2006 playoffs before bowing to Denver, then beating the New York Jets and the San Diego Chargers before losing to the Indianapolis Colts.

The Colts have also been a very fine team over the years, but just could not quite get over the hump until this year, and it was usually the Patriots they could not quite get past.

The Pittsburg Steelers have had a long run of good, respectable teams, too, and one Super Bowl, but they look to me like they are in at least moderate rebuilding mode.

The Patriots need to tune up their team a bit or they will be fading fast in a year or two due to aging players. But right now, only the New York Jets mount any serious challenge, and unless they pull a rabbit out of their hat, they are no match yet for the Patriots.

On the Patriots, it looks like Corey Dillon will either retire or possibly go one more year with someone else. New England will rely more on Lawrence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, and their other backs. In the receiver corps, it looks like their second round pick, Chad Jackson, did not work out. It remains to be seen if he will. Receivers are plentiful this year, and the Patriots ought to look for one or two of them.

Patriots really need a refresh at linebacker, where their players are definitely aging. Safety and cornerback could also use some bolstering. I think they should use a mix of drafts, free agents, and who knows, given the right situation, even a trade.

Offensive and defensive lines are really solid. Barring injuries, no problems on either line.

Got network access back

I use the Internet all the time as part of my job, both by day and by night, but I had a domestic dispute where I ended up having to leave my home. Just recently I was able to get Internet service. Now to regain my rights and maybe even recover some of the damages from personal losses incurred...

Patriots win their first postseason game impressively

As they have done for the past several years now, the New England Patriots won their first postseason playoff game by a decisive margin. Last year they defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 28-3. This year, the New York Jets scored a few more points, but so did the New England Patriots. The final score was 37-16, and it including a strong kicking game - deep kickoffs, solid returns, and accurate field goals, interceptions, and a well balanced offense, including a solid running and passing game.

They will need that and more against the next opponent, the number one seeded San Diego Chargers.

AFC and NFC post season play

Well, the playoffs are set to begin. I am hoping that my New England Patriots have a good showing in the playoffs. They will have to get by a division rival, the New York Jets, in order to proceed. I favor them to do so, but it will not be an easy or an automatic task for either team. They know one another very well.

In favor of the Jets, they have shown much consistency recently.

In favor of the Patriots, they have a better record, an arguably better offense and defense, and a home field advantage.

I will have to check the favorites list and see what the analysts think. I think New England has a good chance to win, but it is not an automatic. The teams split in the regular season.

Happy New Year!

This is the beginning of 2007. Is this the year of desktop computing changes? The beginning of the demise of the desktop? The Linux revolution on the desktop?

It promises to be an interesting year, regardless of what happens.

Happy New Year!