Zuri Berry

My picks for this week and thoughts on the Patriots-49ers game. (via Week 16 NFL picks: 49ers find themselves as the team to beat | Zuri Berry)

Before considering whether or not the Patriots will trade away either of their two picks (Nos. 27 and 31) in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, which is in the “likely” column, one first has to consider whether or not there is any value in staying put. The key word, as it always is for coach Bill Belichick and company, is value. Do the Patriots envision any more value in multiplying the picks they have in the second round (two, 48 and 62), or the third (93) and fourth rounds (126)? Doing so changes the board for the Pats dramatically. So when considering the Patriots draft prospects, one has to consider the positioning, the projected talent, and then begin throwing darts at a board. Here’s where our darts landed. (via Patriots draft prospectus - Boston.com)

In retrospect, the San Francisco 49ers played astronomically beyond their talents this season. Probably nobody knows this more than Jim Harbaugh. But I imagine he still must be distraught over Sunday’s 20-17 overtime loss to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship. I know 49ers fans are. (via Overachieving 49ers spruced up the football season | Zuri Berry)

I think we all can agree that Alex Smith has come of age this season. In the best game of his turbulent seven-year career, the man who played his college ball in Utah and never seemed to bring his helmet with him to the NFL, has leapfrogged every expectation thrown at him this season under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh. Smith provided San Francisco 49ers fans with an unbelievable performance to admire for years to come, besting the highly touted New Orleans Saints and their MVP-candidate quarterback Drew Brees. In the 49ers’ 36-32 win Saturday, Smith was nothing short of phenomenal (24-of-42 passing for 299 yards and three touchdowns). And while it was really a complete game for the 49ers, with the team being carried for three quarters by the defense, Smith really turned it up a notch in the fourth quarter as the offense carried the team. And it’s because of his late game heroics that I’m so enamored with the guy I openly said should be out of football — both here on this site and in my columns for The Union.

(via Alex Smith makes good | Zuri Berry)

Wouldn’t it be awesome to have the 49ers defense paired with the Patriots offense? Also, my NFL picks for the week. 

(via A few silly ideas about the 49ers, Patriots and my Week 13 NFL picks | Zuri Berry)

Because I’m so late with my NFL picks, I’ll save myself the stress of trying to explain why Team A sucks and Team B is not much better. Instead, just know that I’ve made firm decisions here. Even in cases of possible upsets, a la Colts.

Oh, and I omitted all of Thursday’s games for obvious reasons. It was Thanksgiving. I was brimming with duties, both food and non-food related.

Brady, Welker pack punch - The Boston Globe

My latest.

I didn’t realize I had failed to post to my Tumblr in, oh, 26 days. But yesterday, when I was getting on a plane to get back to Boston, I realized I wanted to tumble something. Not just tweet something, or facebook something. But tumble something. That’s got to represent a shift in my thinking on Tumblr and the dominant two social networks available. It’s doing what Google+, which I joined around the same time as Tumblr, can’t seem to do: hold me. Even more, I see Google+ notifications all the time. Spam, mostly. But I don’t care for it, even while sitting on my gmail account I don’t feel like posting to the very simple to use share box in the upper right corner. But yet today, I went out of my way to track down my Tumblr password and get this up. Well this, and more to come I’m sure.

But seriously, where have I been? The week I stopped posting (the first week of September), the high school football season was getting underway. That’s a big part of my job. At the same time, the Patriots preseason was still going and the run up to the season opener was upon us in the office. That’s a big part of my job too. So basically, I’ve been in a football black hole for the last four weeks. You can find my posts on the Patriots on the Extra Points blog and my posts on High School sports in Eastern Massachusetts (if you care) on our high schools blog. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

My latest on Boston.com. (via 5 takeaways from the Patriots-Lions - Extra Points - Boston.com)

It’s what I like to call Tiger Blood. (via Football, football and more football | Zuri Berry)

(via 5 takeaways from Patriots-Bucs - Extra Points - Boston.com)