I generally don't care for Bill Simmons, the "Boston Sports Guy" who sold his soul to ESPN to become just "The Sports Guy" on the Page 2 part of their web site. Not sure why, could just be because every time I look at his picture I get this vibe that he's like most of the sports bar denizens around here who calls everyone "pallie" and roots for BC just because. But I will say that his recent column on the Patriots redeems him somewhat.

I felt similar pain at being a Pats fan, especially at BU, where the vast majority of students have some sort of allegiance to the Giants or Jets (aside: went to the BU senior week baseball game a couple years back between the Sox and Yanks, and the BU section had a 3:1 ratio of Yankee to Sox hats. Sox won, thankfully).

I would note a couple things that the column linked above doesn't quite hit right.

1. Passing up Vonnie Holliday and Randy Moss for Robert Edwards and Tebucky Jones wasn't as bad as all that. Edwards was a great back until he ended his career playing in an all-rookie beach football game during Pro Bowl weekend. The Pats running game disappeared that day, not to return until Antowain Smith started getting more than a half dozen touches a game. Holliday is solid, but Moss is proving to be the Irving Fryar of this decade, at least in attitude.

2. Doug Flutie hardly "stunk up the joint" in his time with the Pats. He wasn't all pro, but he performed better than some of our other possibilities. And let's not forget that the rest of the team was littered with guys who, by all rights and means, should have been playing Arena football. Now, most of you know that I'm hardly a Flutie apologist, so conisder what it took for me to write this!

3. Why is it sad that the Pats best player for most of its tenure was John Hannah? Simple fact: if it weren't for offensive linemen, all the QBs and RBs who get the press would get creamed. I would much rather have my team MVP be Hannah or Anthony Munoz than, say, Moss or Rickey Watters or, God forbid, Deion Sanders.

4. As much of the team's rejuvenation came from Kraft's stable ownership as Parcells' skill as a coach. That Kraft has finally figured out who should be dealing with player personnel is a plus.

Anyway, just a little Pats talk before the game.