State of Boston Sports

1. Papelbon's Contract

2. C's and B's Inuries

3. What's Next For Pats?

1. Papelbon signed with the Red Sox for 9.35 million dollars and one year. Red Sox Nation should be happy because in my opinion this could be one of Papelbon's last good years. He is turning 30 before this season and for those of us that watched him last season know that his stuff wasn't the same and the MAjor league hitters have figured out his game. Daniel Bard showed signs of being the closer of the future and at the age of 24 Bard has time to seize the Sox closer position. Money wise this move will pay off this season so I think it was worth the nice payday for Papelbon. The only problem with the Pap situation is that it is becoming a year to year contract thing, going through this every offseason puts stress on fans and front office people alike. The Sox brass should be aware that it will be just as easy to lose Pap as it is to sign him every offseason.

2. The players of the Celtics and Bruins can both be personified in one phrase and that is "walking wounded". The Celts have been without KG for the last 9 games in which the green have gone 4-5. This injury isn't just about what skill the team loses basketball wise but the intensity and leadership that comes in the monster that is number 5. In that nine game span Rajon Rondo battled injuries and Rasheed Wallace missed games due to a foot injury. Key reserve Big Baby Davis was on the bench due to a broken thumb due to which he missed the first 28 games of the season. The injury was sustained after punching one of his college friends in the face for flirting with his girlfriend, I wish I knew every detail of that one. On top of those injuries key offseason acquisition MArquis Daniels has been out for 20 games due to surgery to repair a ligament in his thumb. Boston hasn't seen even half of the potential MArquis has as a defender let a lone a solid slasher and scorer. Knowing the grind of an 82 game NBA season I am sure there are MAny unreported ailments that these and other Celtics have suffered. This team is still one of the top NBA teams every night, which is speaks to the underrated depth the team possesses, even through the stretch of recent injuries. As we saw in last season's playoffs KG is the heart, soul, and leader of the team and if he comes back even at 85 percent it is certain that the Celtics will head into the All-Star break in much better shape then they are right now.

The Bruins on the other hand have been decimated with injuries and haven't fared half as well as the C's. Mind you I am not a Bruins expert but I have watched and read enough to know that this is a struggling team and injuries have been a huge reason why. They have fallen from the number one seed in last year's playoffs to the third place team in a decent Northeast division. With Patrice Bergeron constantly on the IR the Bruins offense has suffered. Bergeron must be on the ice in order for the B's to have a constant scoring threat. Despite being very mediocre at scoring goals the Burins have the number one penalty killing unit in the NHL due to the leadership of captain Zdeno Chara. Dennis WideMAn, MArc Savard, Marco Sturm, and David Krejci have all spent time on the bench with injuries. Goals have been hard to come by and this fact highlights the loss of one Phil Kessel to the Toronto MAple Leads. It seems as if the Bruins forwards will to step it up in the second half of the season for this team to be a real playoff threat. Despite a solid crop of defense-men and a very formidable one two punch in goal, Tim ThoMAs and Tukka Rask, they have been losing leads and losing ground in the conference much like the basketball team that shares the same building. All the injuries for the B's and C's MAkes a Boston sports fan wonder why all these Boston athletes are sitting on the bench. It will be interesting to see how the TD Garden teams will respond after much needed All-Star breaks.

3. Never in my life was I more embarrassed to be a Patriots fan then the sunday afternoon they were absolutely dominated in every sense of the word by the Ravens. Watching Ray Rice zoom past every Pats defender and Terrell Suggs strip Tom Brady took any breath I had in my lungs and left a lifetime Pats fan with nothing to say. I was completely numb. In saying all that the season wasn't a total waste.

The Pats discovered that drafting Brandon Meriweather in the 06 draft was a great draft pick. He emerged as a heavy hitter and pro bowl caliber safety. Tom Brady won the Comeback Player of the year award. Vince Wilfork showed the entire NFL that he is one of the top D-tackles and deserves a big payday. Wes Welker proved the he is the most important and dangerous part of the offense. Leigh Bodden, a lions reject, proved to play a very solid corner and tied for the lead in interceptions for the Pats D. Tully Banta-Cain proved to outshine any defensive linemen and lead the team in sacks. Jerod MAyo avoided a sophomore slump by leading the team in tackles, despite missing three games. Rookies Sebastain Vollmer and Darius Butler proved to be solid contributors at the pro level. Now in saying all these things no Pats fan is happy about where the team stands. After shipping out the likes of Mike Vrabel and Richard Seymour and losing Rodney Harrison to retirement the defense was left young and unexperienced and it showed. The pass rush was very sub-par and with a young defense backfield at times the unit looked outMAtched by average receiving corps. Tom Brady who put up very good numbers wasn't the same quarterback we are all used to watching win Super Bowls. It was most evident in the Denver game he hit Wes Welker in the foot instead of hitting him in stride to avoid Josh McDaniels unnecessary celebration after the Broncos win. As far as the playoff loss there are no words to describe the horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day that Brady had. Randy Moss although at times spectacular seemed to be lost out there especially against budding superstar Darrelle Revis. It is hard for me to start with a running back but I will start with Kevin Faulk. In my opinion he and his distant MArshall Faulk are the two best 3rd down running backs in the history of the NFL and arguments could be made for both Faulk's. As for the rest of the backfield nobody lived up to expectations. Laurence MAroney who could be one of the biggest Patriots draft blunders struggled to consistently gain yards and hold onto the football. It could be time for the Pats to invest another draft pick in a top college running back. Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor missed a combined 14 games. The truth about the running game is that opposing defenses never felt threatened by anyone who was standing in the backfield. No one wants to talk about the incapability of the offense to open holes for the back and at times not protecting the golden boy. Matt Light is no longer playing at a pro bowl level and the veteran group is creeping toward earning the title of an old group. The fact is the Pats have a lot of pieces to add in order to defend their AFC East title accordingly. I could make a laundry list of recommendations but instead I am going to provide the 5 most prudent moves the Pats must make.

1. Sign Vince Wilfork- To be honest I could make this numbers 1,2 and 3 that's how important signing this beast is.

2. Sign a Corner or two- It has been a problem for multiple seasons now we can't count on the offense to carry us through a season.

3. Sign a Linebacker- Outside of MAyo and the retiree Junior Seau the Pats lack the necessary LB depth.

4. Draft a RB- MAroney MAy still have a lot left in the tank but more youth and depth can only help a aging offense.

5. Improve O-Line Depth- I think this unit is the most overlooked on the entire team but the Sebastain Vollmer picked proved that youthful lineman can step in and help the team.