by Chris Warner
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Coach Bill Belichick has said that if you only do one thing on his team, you’d better do it well. Over his 15 years in Foxboro, Troy Brown did plenty of things well, helping his team evolve from the early-90′s ooze to the upright level of today.

Everyone who follows New England’s football team has his or her favorite Troy Brown play. Over the course of 192 games, playing offense, defense and special teams, there’s been ample opportunity to admire Troy (you’ll excuse me if I feel compelled to call him by his first name).

Hence, in no particular order, a brief rundown of favorites. Many of them can be seen on the Patriots website in the “Troy Brown Retires” video.

Best High School Play

Fake Field Goal vs. Rams, November 7, 2004 – Jogging away from his teammates toward the sideline, Troy dropped out of the Ram’s radar long enough to walk into the end zone and gather in a four-yard touchdown pass from Adam Vinatieri halfway through the third quarter. The score stretched a 19-13 lead to 26-13. Also worth mentioning about this game: Troy played defensive back after Asante Samuel went out with an injury (There was an Earthwind Moreland appearance… remind me how they went 14-2 again?). Troy’s stat line included three receptions (30 yards), three tackles, one broken-up pass.

The Best Offense is a Good Defense, or Vice-Versa Play

Interception vs. Cincinnati, December 12, 2004 – Troy stepped in front of Chad Johnson to pick off a Jon Kitna pass in the end zone, preserving a two-TD lead early in the fourth. This play confirmed that Troy’s time in the defensive backfield was more than a desperate measure; the man could do the job. New England eked out a 35-28 final, which meant that Troy’s pick probably prevented overtime. Troy’s line: Two receptions (27 yards), two tackles, one interception.

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by Tyler Carter
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Bill Belichick’s opening statement from his morning-after press conference following the Patriot’s worst home loss during his tenure:

“we all obviously feel bad…it was a total team loss. I don’t think we did a good job coaching, starting with me, and didn’t do a good job of playing. We got pretty well beat in every phase…other than special teams.”

Let’s start by assessing the dismal play of the offense:

As the unit and coaches adjust to life without…you know who, they’ve complimented their currently favored run & shoot, spread strategy by returning somewhat to their smash mouth, ‘run to set up the pass’ roots.  Such an offense is predicated on patience and effective run-blocking, the latter being the linchpin to the whole operation.  If you can’t give your backs room to maneuver, you can’t run the ball effectively.  If you can’t run the ball, you can’t lure an extra defender(s) up to the LOS for run support with play action.  If you can’t sell the play action, your deep threats (Moss, etc.) will constantly face double or even triple teams.  For those who still would have preferred the Patriots take some shots down the field despite such coverage, there are not one, not two, not three but four instances where his future HOF predecessor did that very thing to the tune of 4 interceptions, and none resulted in wins.  In short, forcing the ball against a competent defense that’s expecting it is rarely the answer.  But I digress.

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by Scott Benson
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Oy. Of all the weeks for Chris Warner to have off.

The Patriots just got blown off their home field by a team that had won one of its last twenty games. Let’s get this over with.

Patriots on Offense

A shit stew so vile its aftertaste may linger for weeks. If you like 13 play, 39 yard drives that stumble and lurch every miserable step of the way towards a crummy, worthless field goal, then this is your offense. On a good week.

Matt Cassel played so badly that he would have found a way to lose this game even if he had a good offensive line, which he doesn’t, not by a long shot. Let’s start there, with these Patriots – their offensive line sucks. Pro Bowl, my ass – they just got punked by a washed up has-been like Joey Porter.

You’d think getting creamed in the Super Bowl and almost single-handedly losing the biggest game in the world in front of millions of people would have been enough to light a fire under their asses, but apparently not.

None of this is intended as a defense for Cassel – he was horrible, and his lackluster, bewildered play was enough to extinguish in one day any hopes that he might rise to this occasion. But there can be no argument – the Patriots offensive line is five piles of useless right now, and the next time they give a long-term deal to any of these guys, they ought to have their heads examined. Mankins included.

It’s useless to even talk about the running backs or receivers at this point. They’re irrelevant until the Patriots can block somebody. Then maybe we can talk about the “unchanged” game plan that suddenly has just two pass plays – short, and shorter.

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