Just End It

logo831by Scott Benson
scott@patriotsdaily.com

You know, I might tend to agree with folks who say the NFL pre-season is too long.

I’m good with the first week, when the starters take a bow early and we see the rookies and free agents that are trying to make the team. The starters stretch it out a bit in week two, playing most if not all of the first half. The third week is the full dress rehearsal, and by now, the rookies and free agents are either stepping up, or stepping out.

Doesn’t it seem like it ought to end right there?

Well, the league evidently feels otherwise, and so last night the Patriots passed their way to a 27-20 win over the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium to finish out their pre-season at 2-2.

Matt Cassel, Vinny Testaverde and Matt Gutierrez combined to go 24-34-246 and a touchdown, a late Gutierrez to Bam Childress score that put the game away for the Pats.

Kelvin Kight, Marcellus Rivers and CJ Jones combined to catch 13 passes for 167 yards to lead the New England passing game.

The Patriots defense sacked New York’s quarterbacks eight times, including three from LeKevin Smith, who moved from end to nose in a test of his backup skills there, and two by outside linebacker hopeful Pierre Woods, who also forced two fumbles. Eric Alexander, who has probably made the team already, led all Patriots with 13 tackles (eight unassisted) anyway.

The only real justification for the fourth pre-season game is the final chance to look at the players, young and old, that are still competing for the final few spots on the Patriots roster. New England’s regulars dressed but did not play, save for staring fullback Health Evans, who took a turn at tailback and scored a touchdown.

The Patriots did not escape unscathed, as they lost rookie linebacker Oscar Lua to what appeared to be a serious right leg injury in the early going. After a week in which even his bilingual skills were touted, Lua was over and out before he could even get started. Further proof of our theory that the NFL really sucks sometimes.  

Yet there were a few players that were able to make their case before the final roster cutdown tomorrow.

Rivers, primarily known as a blocker throughout his spotty pro career, continued to show some receiving skills (5 catches for 47 yards) to likely cement a role as New England’s third tight end. Not bad for a guy that got a late start. Rivers may find a way to stick even after David Thomas returns, as Kyle Brady has done little this August to offer guarantee that he can fill the faux Daniel Graham role when the bell rings.

Chris Hanson, the former Jacksonville punter signed after the surprise cut of Danny Baugher earlier in the day, hit the ball reasonably well and even dropped one inside the Giants five with the help of veteran special teamer Dante Wesley. There’s still more than a week before the Pats travel to the Meadowlands to open the season, but Hanson may have done enough last night to survive the ax until then.

Sorry Chris, that one was just sitting there.

Wesley may have grabbed a spot with a late interception of Tim Hasselbeck deep in Giants territory to set up the Childress touchdown that provided the margin of victory. He knocked away two other passes and also impressed with his hustling charity-hop putdown of Hanson’s directional punt. He clearly outdistanced Tory James, the other corner, who did little to establish his value with New England as the two battled to grab one of the final roster spots.

Receiver CJ Jones, however, returned kicks with elan and took in an impressive catch and run for 28 yards. Where were you last year, CJ? Your timing isn’t great, nor is Kight’s, who seems to be developing at a time when the Patriots have more receivers than they have spots.

Speaking of receivers, Garrett Mills worked himself open for four catches of his own, lining up as a tight end and fullback and showing some of the versatility he’ll need to hang on. But with the running backs set and Rivers gaining control of the open tight end spot, where will he go?

Other players with more certain futures with the team also had their moments.

Cassel had his most impressive turn of the pre-season, directing two scores and hitting a few accurate throws to in-stride receivers. He gave way to Testaverde in the second quarter, and Vinny had a up and down performance in his first extended action of the pre-season. He led the Pats to a score in the third with crisp timing throws before throwing a bad interception while trying to force a ball in to a well covered Mills. Gutierrez did everything he could this August to win a spot with the team, and the Pats can only hope to sneak him to the practice squad this weekend.

Woods showed some burst off the edge as a pass rusher (and a knack for dislodging the ball), but in early action against the Giants first team, he was bowled over in goal line defense, giving way to a short Brandon Jacobs touchdown plunge.  Still, he could get the nod over rookie Justin Rogers, who wasn’t able to finish the pre-season as strongly as he started it, and veteran Chad Brown, was has been a non-factor to the naked eye.

Brandon Meriweather started at safety with Willie Andrews, and showed good range despite occasionally yielding some ground in coverage. Not surprising as he was seeing his first time at his most natural position. One thing is certain about Meriweather - he can tackle. He finished with nine. Andrews, another developing player who is likely to stick, had six of his own.

Smith has been a revelation this month, showing versatility across the defensive front with a strong start at the nose last night. He’ll join rookie Kareem Brown (who didn’t even play, giving way to folks like Santonio Thomas and Zach West) to give the Pats perhaps their deepest defensive line of the Belichick era.

Speaking of versatility, the game closed with Bam Childress playing halfback (another young receiver that is coming on at the wrong time for the Pats) and Gutierrez covering kicks, which was probably indication it was time, mercifully, to end the pre-season and complete the construction of New England’s final roster. 

Power Pats

gdrv825by Scott Benson
scott@patriotsdaily.com

At one point early in last night’s glorious first half, with the Ghost of Woody Hayes fully inhabiting the body and soul of Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, my wife turns to me and says, “if they did this (hand off every play) every week all season long, you’d be the happiest person on earth.”

Yes, dear.

The usually pass-centric New England Patriots instead strapped on the leather helmets and pounded away last night, rolling up nearly 150 rushing yards to key an impressively complete 24-7 win over the Carolina Panthers in the all-important penultimate game of the 2007 pre-season. 

Tom Brady passed for two short touchdowns and the Patriots special teams blocked two John Kasey field goal attempts to finish off the Panthers.

Save for one breakdown that resulted in a 48 yard Jake Delhomme-Kerry Colbert touchdown pass through the center of the Patriots first team defense, New England dominated Carolina throughout, collecting its first victory in three starts.

Laurence Maroney shed his ‘don’t touch me’ jersey and was thrown headfirst into the Patriots offense, lugging the rock on New England’s first seven plays from scrimmage (and eight of the first nine; now THAT’S balance, Josh!) in a scripted sequence intended to bust the cherry on the second year man’s comeback from off-season shoulder surgery. He finished with 58 first-half yards on 15 tries before taking his leave at the break.  

Heath Evans added 58 of his own yards (and two third-quarter touchdowns, including one from Brady) and Sammy Morris converted an early 4th and 1 deep inside Patriots territory as I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming all of it.

Oh, yeah, I guess the quarterback and receivers were pretty good too, particularly in extending New England’s 90 yard, 18 play field goal drive that ate up nearly ten minutes of the first quarter.

The Patriots offensive line, after a horrendous performance against Tennessee last week, fairly pushed the lauded Carolina front seven all over the field while walling off the pocket against one of the NFL’s best pass-rushing defenses. If they were an ‘F’ last week, they were ‘A+’ last night, in the practice game that most observers feel best resembles regular season action.

The Pats defense continued on its even keel, stunting the Panthers rushing attack from the start and rendering inconsequential a decent Delhomme performance, as his 11-18-162-1 line could produce only the six points that came from Colbert’s catch and run past Mike Richardson, James Sanders and the trailing Eugene Wilson.

Linemen Vince Wilfork and Jarvis Green overwhelmed the center of the Carolina field goal unit to knock away Kasey’s attempts, each one setting up a short field (and subsequent touchdown drive) for the Patriots offense.

Both starting squads played well into the third quarter, as is the custom for third pre-season tilts, and in all respects the Patriots walked away with the decisive edge as rookies and backups once again ran out the clock to little effect. For the first time this August, the Patriots put together a complete game and looked damn near ready to start the season. Now, only the truly meaningless pre-season finale with the Giants stands between the Patriots and their opening day date with the Man-Genius.

If the Patriots go at the Jets with the same mix of aggressiveness and efficiency as they did the Panthers, I am SO reading all the New York papers on Monday, September 10th.

Some random thoughts:

*Belichick’s 4th and 1 challenge to his offense, issued despite field position at New England’s own 24, was THE highlight at this address. Who says this guy is no fun? The beauty, of course, is that the kick-in-the-ass challenge worked. Morris, coming in to relive Maroney after the latter had carried the ball seven straight times, left no doubt on the 4th down try, surging for five yards behind the right side of the Patriots line. The Pats offense then churned downfield in classic ball control style, settling for the field goal only after Ben Watson couldn’t hang on to a Brady toss in the back of the Carolina end zone. An accurate and catchable throw went for naught, with all due credit going to Chris Gamble, who stripped it as Watson fell to the ground. Small complaint on an otherwise complaint-free night: shouldn’t a tight end known for pass catching be a better receiver?

*Morris, on the other hand, is exceeding expectations. He’s falling right into the ‘power back’ role in a manner so solid and consistent that I can’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop. Wait - he doesn’t own a ‘kennel’, does he? He also reminded us of his Dolphin days when he grabbed a Brady third-down flip and slashed for a first down. He, with Evans and veteran playmaker Kevin Faulk (who didn’t play after excelling the two weeks previous), seemingly give the Pats the depth and versatility they will need behind Maroney. The Pats running game was tested last night and, ironically, it ‘passed’.

*Maroney was very good, I thought. At first, he hunted and pecked like me on this keyboard, causing him to be stacked up at the line, but he gradually loosened up and began leaning forward for four and five yards at a time as the Pats o-line gave him plenty of room for his quick cuts and darts. His best run came on one he bounced outside, a 12 yarder on the Pats clock-eating first quarter drive. The best news came afterward, when Maroney reported no trouble with his recovering shoulder. Like I said, am I dreaming this?

*The Patriot Most Likely to be Featured on Entertainment Tonight jumped back into the New England lineup after a couple of personal days (I’m still working my sources to nail down the reason for the unplanned absence) and had one of those vintage Brady performances. His direction of that 18 play, 10 minute drive  could have just as well come from your Three Games to Glory video library. Though the Pats were intent on grinding it out, Brady went to the air to convert key third downs to Morris and Wes Welker (best night so far), and probably should have gotten six points for his trouble (see above). He later finished another run-based drive with a touchdown pass to a wide-open Marcellus Rivers, and in his final drive of the night (to start the third quarter), he threw seven times in eight plays, completing six, to rip off a bang-bang 77 yard touchdown drive capped with a nifty Brady to Evans check down. On 1st and goal from the Carolina 8, the quarterback dodged and weaved through the pocket before spotting Evans as he worked himself free underneath the Panther coverage. The fullback, who later added a 43 yard cutback run to his full night, was terrific throughout. As was Brady, fresh from the coast.

*As noted, Wes Welker had his best game, taking in three balls from the slot, and looking more comfortable while doing it. He also looked collected in the Troy Brown ‘Fair Catch’ role as a punt returner, safely gathering in a couple of booming Carolina punts. Donte Stallworth made a nice adjustment on Ken Lucas when Brady underthrew him on a deep ball, and you know something? I can see Kelley Washington one day developing into a long-term receiver for the Patriots as he earns his keep on special teams. I don’t know what this guy’s issue has been, but so far, he’s been nothing but competent for New England, including some surprisingly smooth routes and catches. On specials, he’s routinely one of the first on the scene. How can he not make the team? As they say, it’s early, but the Patriots front office seems to be hitting on their mid-tier free agents, don’t they?

*I honestly cannot think of a particular highlight for the Patriots defense, aside from perhaps the continued success of the defensive line despite the absence of stars Richard Seymour and Ty Warren. They stuffed Carolina at the point of attack, led by the formidable Wilfork (if the Pro Bowl has any merit whatsoever, he’ll be there soon), the invaluable veteran Green, and youngsters LeKevin Smith and Kareem Brown. Please allow me to confirm that the Pats d-line is freaking deep.

*They did allow nearly 170 yards through the air, but hey, look at the scoreboard. They did not sack Delhomme, though they largely kept him in the pocket where he could do the least damage. Which seemed to be their intention. The secondary - which may welcome Asante Samuel this week - gave up the one big play but to the good, they didn’t make a habit of it. Mostly, they kept the ball in front of them.  Another unfettered night for Harrison, who looks as ready as anyone for September 9th, and Eugene Wilson is moving well, delivering a few hard hits is support of the run. Richardson, the rookie from Notre Dame, took some snaps with the big boys and mixed it up well, though it was he that Colbert first eluded before he raced past a diving Sanders as Wilson chased in vain.

*Oscar Lua had a smooth interception of a David Carr pass that stopped a 4th quarter Carolina drive that had taken the Panthers inside the Patriots 20 yard line. Generally, though, this was a night for the first-string, and Lua and other hopefuls will have to wait until Thursday night for the chance to play their way onto the team.

*Stephen Gostkowski had a great night of kickoffs but went just 1 of 3 on field goals. Both misses were long ones, yet they had plenty of distance and no accuracy. The Patriots had better be as dominant as they were last night if the Ghost is going to struggle from the field.

*Lastly, Matt Cassel directed a 69 yard touchdown drive that was largely the result of Evans’s 43 yard burst, and then went three and out in his only other possession. By the way, welcome back Vinny Testaverde, who went three and out himself, but to be fair, like Jerry’s grandma, he’s on a very fixed income.

Sorry for the late post this morning, but I too am on a very fixed income.

Rain Day Rear View

gdrv logoby Scott Benson
scott@patriotsdaily.com

Okay, first week was oppressive heat, second week monsoon…..what’s next week? A towering inferno? A runaway airliner? An avalanche?

The Patriots lost their second straight pre-season game last night - again on a late field goal - as intense thunderstorms pounded away at the first crowds to pass through the Gillette Stadium turnstiles for the much-anticipated 2007 season.

The Tennessee Titans grabbed a 27-24 decision over the Pats as rookie kicker John Vaughn (was I the only one who did a double take, wondering if the diminutive Wolverine - and former Patriot - was making a miraculous comeback?) pounded through a 22 yard field goal off a bad snap to break a late tie and cap a 20 point Tennessee second half run over New England’s backup defense.

Nothing much of real consequence happened in that second half though, unless you count quarterback Matt Gutierrez again outplaying backup Matt Cassel. The real story last night was a rollicking first half that featured starters from both teams hammering away at each other in a brand of football - though often extremely sloppy - that fairly resembled the product that will hit shelves early next month.

Consumer fraud? I think the only fraud around here is the smarmy, splay footed ‘consumer’ himself. Granted, I didn’t have to sit through the rain last night, but even if I had, I would have enjoyed the hell out of that first half. No NFL fan has the right to expect more from the second practice game of any pre-season.

It began with the visitors returning a wayward Tom Brady pass for a touchdown, and ended with a cranked-up New England defense stopping no less a runner than 2006 Rookie of the Year Vince Young with a wild goal-line stand as time expired in the half. The Patriots took a decisive decision (albeit with the help of a rash of Titans penalties) in the battle of the starters as they carried a 17-7 lead through the pouring rain to the shelter of the New England locker room.

In between, we saw:

Undeniable evidence that the heartbeat of the Patriots defense - the incredible Rodney Harrison - is back and beating stronger than ever. Hey, it’s pre-season, so one’s mind tends to wander even as the action plays out before us. But when Harrison flew in from the right side to blitz Young completely off his feet on a second quarter pass play, he got my attention but good.

It wasn’t just that. The comebacking veteran glided through the secondary all night, arriving in the nick of time on a couple of occasions to tip Young passes away from waiting Tennessee receivers. It’s almost too good to be true, Harrison’s game last night, and all we can do now is cross our fingers that the fates will allow his continuing presence in the center of Patriots defense for the first time in three seasons.

The whole defense was seemingly in regular season form, particularly backup defensive linemen Jarvis Green and LeKevin Smith (is he becoming a player? Be still my heart), who provided solid backside run support and steady pocket pressure on Young throughout. The former Texas standout - who has completely taken over a few games in his time - could do nothing with either his powerful arm or his nimble feet. His only chance for points ended when Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi stacked him up on a fourth down try just inches away from the Patriots goal line. What is it Ted Sarandis used to say? Wow!

New England’s starting secondary had a few ‘wow!’ moments itself - Randall Gay, Ellis Hobbs and Eugene Wilson all joined Harrison with acrobatic breakups of Tennessee aerials. Look, the Titans don’t exactly have Jerry Rice and John Taylor out there running patterns, and Young for all his powers is still a young quarterback, but the Patriots secondary had themselves an impressive night nonetheless.

How I wish we could say that about the Patriots offensive line.

They were awful. Bloody awful. In protecting Brady’s blindside against the Titans’ Kyle Vanden Bosch, Matt Light was about as effective as one of those orange cones they put out to ‘protect’ road crews. You’re killing me, Matt, and what’s worse, you’re killing the guy who might as well be signing your checks. Come on.

The left tackle, whose quickness now seems limited to his quips, was not alone in his culpability. I’m not enough of a technician to know whether some of this comes from their new zone blocking schemes, but some guy named Antwan Odom kept running untouched through the heart of the Pats line to drape himself all over Brady, like an angry supermodel demanding attention. I am honestly amazed that we’re not reading an obit on the Pats dashed 07 hopes this morning after that display.

THAT’s how awful they were.

Brady wasn’t a whole lot better (he was picked twice), but as I say, there were extenuating circumstances. Under a heavy rush, he sailed one over Donte Stallworth on the Pats’ first possession, and Cortland Finnegan (these guys talk tough all week, and then they come at the Pats led by a kid named Cortland?) grabbed it on the fly and raced 51 yards undeterred for the early Tennessee lead.

To his credit, though, Brady then led the Pats right back in five plays to tie the game. On the decisive snap, Brady pump faked an approaching Vander Bosch off his feet before ducking under the rusher to find Wes Welker for a 28 yard touchdown pass in the left corner of the Tennessee end zone. By the way, Wes - YOU ARE TRYING TOO HARD. What a fidgety little bugger. It’s almost painful to watch him earnestly try to earn his spot all at once with the three-time champs. Calm down, Wes - it’s like they used to say to Bobby Hamilton; you’re going to have a heart attack!
 
Anyway, Brady later returned to convert a Green fumble recovery to another six points for New England, as Josh McDaniels finally sobered up enough to call a few running plays to take the heat off New England’s two-time Super Bowl MVP. Sammy Morris showed again an effective north-south style on the 23 yard drive, and Heath Evans took it in behind a Russ Hochstein block to give the Patriots a touchdown lead.

Hochstein, who was lined up as a fullback, was hurt on the play, and we’ll watch nervously over the next few days to see if the valuable backup can escape this brush with the injury list unscathed.

After years of abject fanboyism, I finally threw in the towel on Kevin Faulk after that awful night (and playoff exit) in Denver a year and a half ago. Kevin is unfazed; no Patriot is having a better pre-season than the ninth year man from LSU. He piled up over 100 yards in total offense last night, much of it on expertly turned screen passes in the teeth of the Titans’ jailbreak pass rush. You can’t kill Kevin Faulk - you can knock him ass over teakettle and send the ball flying into next week, but you can’t kill him. Even with the additions of Randy Moss, Stallworth and Welker, Faulk remains an incredibly valuable piece of the Patriots offensive puzzle.

Speaking of Stallworth, he had an auspicious Patriots debut, opening with a slick 15 yard gain on the Pats’ first offensive play. The display of impeccable timing between the new arrival and Brady was an eye opener; but later, the unfamilarity between the two showed as missed connections led to the two Brady picks. Stallworth was quick to take the blame after the game, but whoever was at fault, it’s clear that much work is still to be done before New England’s passing game fulfills the its lofty expectations.

There’s work to be done all around, as the Pats showed when, with a 14-7 lead, Stallworth drew a PI on Kelly Herndon off a long pass up the near sideline, setting up a New England first down at the Tennessee 1. Morris failed twice to punch it in, and after an incomplete Brady pass on third down, Stephen Gostkowski shanked a 33 yard attempt and the Patriots left with no points off a sure thing. Ouch.

Sure Tom Malone, we haven’t made a decision yet, we want to see plenty of both of you new punters……..Baugher, get in there! As far as sure things go, the first-year punter is seemingly one, as he drilled a 70 yard kick to drive Tennessee back underneath its own goalposts after it had stopped New England deep in its own territory. It further proves my groundbreaking new theory - Danny Baugher is killing the goddam ball.

All in all, though, not a bad night. Unless you were directing the telecast for Boston’s WCVB, the anchor of the Patriots Television Network. If this is the anchor, I’d hate to see the affiliates. A more amateurish broadcast you could not imagine. It was all they could do to find the freaking ball. Half the time we at home had no idea what the hell was going on, and game callers Don Criqui and Randy Cross were no help. Hey - what exactly happened on that first half play, when the Titans called for a replay on what appeared to be a Brady fumble? Didn’t the ref come back and say it was a fumble recovered by the Titans? Next thing I know the Pats are lining up in a 2nd and 14 situation, and Tennessee is charged a timeout. Wha? Is this is scrimmage or something? The Pats got a do-over?

I turned my lonely eyes to Criqui and Cross to straighten me out (maybe I was just hammered), but Cross was blathering on about how highly touted Matt Cassel is or something. He must have been hammered (he would HAVE to be hammered to say something like that; another nice game by Matt last night).

Anyway, compared to the WCVB crew, the Patriots offensive line didn’t have that bad of a game.

Lodge your broadcast complaints here.

What Is Wrong With The Patriots?

gdrv logoby Scott Benson
scott@patriotsdaily.com

Just kidding. Made you look!

The New England Patriots officially (sort of) opened their 2007 season on Friday night with a last-second 13-10 loss to the Bucs in hot and sticky Tampa.

With starters and key reserves on both sides long departed, rookie runner Kenneth Darby led the Buccaneers through a collection of New England’s fringe defenders to set up Matt Bryant’s 32 yard field goal as time expired.

What is it they say on SoSH? It’s On!

That’s really what I came away with, as my wife and I settled down on the couch to watch the Pats - one of our most Favorite Things -  for the first time since last January’s stunning loss to the Colts in the AFC Championship. As Willie Andrews returned the game’s opening kickoff through the kind of humidity that is uncomfortable even to watch on television, I turned and said, “here we go - now, it’s every week from here on out.”

Which is really the most important thing that happened all night. Football, and the Patriots, are truly back. If being happy about that - even on an August Friday night, with summer still in bloom - makes us yahoos, so be it. Let the intelligencia maintain their all-important detached affectations; we’ll be on the couch, smiles on our faces. 

The results are largely irrelevent, unless you’re trying to make the team. I’m not, but I do have a few random thoughts:

The game wasn’t as much sloppy as it was awkward. Penalties were at a minimum (that Walt Coleman does a hell of a job, doesn’t he?), which is a victory of sorts, but the action was jittery for the most part. Everything looked kind of frenetic and out of sync on both sides, which is to be expected.  

Tom Brady and the Patriots first team offense (some of it, anyway) hung in there for about a dozen snaps over two possessions before taking their leave. They put together a few first downs and drove into Tampa territory once, but a hurried Brady badly overthrew a wide open Wes Welker to keep the first-stringers off the board. Kevin Faulk looked like the best player on offense, taking delayed handoffs and grabbing his signature dumpoffs to account for the intital first downs of the Patriots’ season.

Laurence Maroney, Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Ben Watson (among others) were inactive. Fans will have to wait at least another week (maybe longer) for their first real glimpse of New England’s wildly hyped offensive juggernaut.

The offensive line was tested by the rush of Monte Kiffin’s small and quick Cover Two defense (not a bad matchup, considering the AFC competition), and while Brady wasn’t sacked, he was forced to move around the pocket and even took a couple of whacks after he delivered a pass.

On the other side of the ball, the Pats defense (whole for the most part, minus Richard Seymour and of course Asante Samuel) hung in for a slightly longer spell than the offense, and initially ushered Jeff Garcia and the Bucs the hell out of there in short order, with no first downs in their first two possessions.

Later, after idling on the sidelines while backup quarterback Matt Cassel led the Pats on a nine-minute touchdown drive, the first stringers returned and got pushed around a bit (nearly 50 yards worth) by the Tampa running game. Back-to-back sacks by Jarvis Green and Mike Wright inside their own 20 finally stalled the drive and forced Tampa to settle for a Bryant field goal and a 7-3 New England lead.

Like most everyone, I was most interested to see Adalius Thomas in his Patriots debut, and we caught a couple of flashes of the player that is expected to be a centerpiece of this year’s New England defense. Lining up next to Tedy Bruschi, he dropped smoothly dropped into coverage on pass plays and ranged sideline to sideline against the run. Most impressive was one bull rush from the middle that instantly collapsed the Tampa pocket.

Elsewhere:

Cassel took over for Brady with about 5 minutes left in the first quarter and, as noted above, was at the controls for the first sustained drive of the Pats season. Now in his third year, it seems time for Cassel to assert himself as an established player, yet there was nothing (even with the drive) that jumped off the page last night. Matt Gutierrez actually threw the most impressive balls of the night, a couple of lasers in the 15-20 yard range.

Sammy Morris, who finished off the team’s first touchdown drive with authority, runs with the right attitude, if last night was any indication. He squares his shoulders right up and pounds it in there, keeping his legs moving through the pile. There’s hope that he can fill some of the void left by the departure of old favorite Corey Dillon.

Heath Evans also got a few carries and notched the team’s longest run by a back (11 yards). He also drew a fourth quarter pass interference penalty on a lob by the goal line, setting up the Pats final points (a Stephen Gostkowski field goal that tied the game at 10 with eleven minutes to play). I think the future Dunkin Donuts franchisee missed a hell of a product placement opportunity, though, by not immediately downing a Coolata while the cameras were on him.

Jabar Gaffney continued his solid August with a couple of first down catches, but I was most impressed by newcomer Kelley Washington, who grabbed another third down pass and left a Tampa defender (no less than Ronde Barber, according to the Globe) in the dust with a nifty cut. With his special teams versatility, Washington could be a real factor in the Patriots crowded receiver picture, which frankly, I wasn’t expecting.

Defensively, it was nice to see Randall Gay end his prolonged absence with a couple of textbook tackles while defending the run. My biggest celebration of the night was when Gay got up both times, newfound health intact.

Rookie Brandon Meriweather got plenty of snaps as a corner, and while he wasn’t immediately impressive in pass defense, he didn’t hesitate to throw himself headlong at a couple of Tampa ballcarriers. For whatever its worth, I have to agree with Wes Welker’s assessment - he looks like a ballplayer out there.

Is it too optimistic to say that Mike Richardson does too? I perked right up when Richardson defended a long pass up the far sideline with blanket coverage, and later, he (like Gay) showed toughness in holding the edge in run defense. I’m going to try to contain myself here, but is there any chance the Pats may have unearthed a player in the sixth-round last April?

Fellow sixth-round pick Justin Rogers showed some real burst off the edge as a pass rushing linebacker, gathering up his first sack as a pro. Maybe I’ve missed it, but Rogers hasn’t generated a ton of attention so far in camp. Second year man Pierre Woods (who didn’t play, for reasons not detailed) and rookie Oscar Lua have gotten the ink, but when the action started last night, it was Rogers who stood out. Lua led the team in tackles, but was at the center of the Pats defense that yielded the winning points when it couldn’t stop the run.

Second year man Le Kevin Smith made a nice play when he ran down Lionel Gates from behind and punched the ball free. The Patriots defense had its first turnover of the season when the fumble was recovered by - wait for it - Justin Rogers.

Here we go - it’s every week from here on out. How do we feel about that?

Awwwwwwwwwwww, yeeaaaah.

What did you see last night? Drop your comments here.

Game Day Rear View — Colts Finally Super; Pats Collapse as Indy Celebrates

gdrv_sm.jpgBy Scott Benson
scott@bostonsportsmedia.com

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts exorcized every demon imaginable tonight when they rallied from a 21-3 first-half deficit to post 32 second-half points on a dog-tired New England Patriots defense and earn the first Super Bowl berth of Manning’s career.

The Colts 38-34 come-from-behind win set a record for AFC championship round comebacks and drove a dagger through the heart of every Patriot and every New England fan. The Colts, worthy adversaries now enjoying their well-earned moment, will now face the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl 41. The Patriots leave not with their fourth Super Bowl appearance in six seasons, but with their first ever AFC Championship Game loss.

Indy’s one-minute, 80 yard drive with two minutes left - which ended when Joseph Addai fairly walked in the end zone on a barely-there Pats defense - gave the Colts their first lead of the game and put Tom Brady and the Patriots offense against the wall as they have never been before.

Marlon Jackson quickly intercepted Brady and ended the Patriots season. It had seemed for most of the day that the Patriots would continue their dalliance with the history books. In the end, Manning and the Colts authored a jarring, sickening new chapter - a blown New England lead, and a bitter, regrettable big game loss for the Patriots.

It’s all too much to take in at the moment. It was an incredible roller coaster ride from start to finish. I’m still shaking. Look, no fewer than TWO offensive linemen scored touchdowns today, A defensive lineman scored another. Against his former team. While playing offense. No ordinary game, this. Even if the Patriots had managed to pull this one out, it would have gone down as the weirdest goddam sixty minutes of their entire Super Bowl run.

Instead, it went beyond weird to just plain, stick-in-your-gut-forever awful.

The Patriots started with the strength of a champion, withstanding the adrenaline of what seemed like the entire city of Indianpolis to run out to an early lead. Even though the first drive ended with a strange mishandling of a handoff that ended up under Logan Mankins in the end zone, the Patriots were moving the ball on the allegedly-resurgent Colts defense while keeping Manning, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne at bay. The first quarter ended with a 7-3 Patriots lead, which quickly grew to 11 points thanks to another New England drive that ate up nearly six minutes and put an untouched Corey Dillon in the end zone. The Patriots had taken Indy and their crowd out of the game and were clearly in control. Visions of another Super Bowl danced in our heads.

The visions were downright boogeying when Asante Samuel jumped on a Manning to Harrison out and raced 39 yards for a touchdown with the interception. The Pats front seven was harrassing Manning like old times. The Patriots defensive backs, including Samuel, Ellis Hobbs and James Sanders, each had taken turns making circus break-ups of near scoring passes. With the Samuel touchdown, the Patriots led 21-3 and the Colts hung their heads in that oh-so-familar manner.

That was as good as it was going to get for the Patriots. Not even Stephen Gostkowski’s 43 yard field goal that put them up three with 3:53 left (by the way - CASE FREAKING CLOSED) could restore the same heady feeling that New England was headed for immortality.

It all started, it seems, when the Patriots cuffed up a golden chance to stretch their lead late in the second quarter. A Brady pass to Ben Watson gave New England a 1st and 10 at the Indy 21, and it seemed as though the Pats could head to the half with as much as a 25 point lead. But penalities to Troy Brown (which brought back the Watson first down) and Jabar Gaffney pushed them out of field goal range and forced a punt.

Todd Sauerbrun forced the Colts to their own 12, but the Patriots seemed to relax defensively, allowing Manning to find open receivers underneath for chain-moving gains. New England was clearly guarding against the quick strike, but the trade off was easy first downs for the Colts. It led them to inside the Patriots 10. Still, the gambit seemed to work when the Colts forced to settle for the field goal, and the Pats retained a two-score, 21-6 lead as they broke for the half.

Yet it didn’t feel as though the Patriots were in control anymore. The Colts offense, even after starting slowly, even after the debilitating Samuel interception, was moving again. The Patriots didn’t give up a big score, but they gave something away nonetheless.

It continued as the second half began. The Colts instantly drove 76 yards in a Patriot-like seven minutes, and it was suddenly a one-score game. At this point, it was all Colts, and horrifyingly, the 21-3 lead was a distant memory. Naturally, the Patriots offense was frozen by the wave of momentum, and the Colts had it again for another long drive and, quickly, the tying score. It was none other than Dan Klecko, lined up as a fullback, who completed the comeback, with an assist from Marvin Harrison on the subsequent two-pointer.

The roof of the RCA Dome was falling in on the Pats, but the Dancing Machine himself, Ellis Hobbs, created one of the brief moments of second-half solvency for the Pats with an 80 yard kickoff return that set New England up at the Colts 21. Bonus points for leaving Adam Vinatieri in the dust. Brady then hit Gaffney to bring it down inside the ten, and then the veteran pick up tight-roped along the back line to gather in a third-down touchdown pass before being forced out, a money catch that surged the Pats back over Indy by 7 as the third quarter came to a close. An Indy challenge couldn’t prove that Gaffney had ever gone out of bounds as he leapt for his crucial touchdown. Pats led 28-21.

The Colts were not deterred. Where the Patriots had in the first half put Manning under pressure, and blanketed his receivers, they had no answers now. In just two minutes Manning drove the Colts nearly 70 yards, and like Mankins before him, Jeff Saturday dropped on a Domenic Rhodes fumble in the Patriots end zone for the Indy touchdown. Eric Alexander, a surprise big-minutes guy today, forced the fumble, but no Pats could cover the ball and a golden opportunity was lost.

The teams then exchanged possessions, but the Patriots got a break when a Colts special teams facemask penalty (and a Troy Brown 16 yard return) set them up with 1st and 10 at the Colts 43. Brady worked with Gaffney and Caldwell to move it close enough for Gostkowski (from 28) to give them another lead. The Pats had the 31-28 lead with just seven minutes remaining.

Instead of shrinking from the moment, Manning made the big play. A 52 yard catch and run by Dallas Clark, down the vacant middle of the Patriots defense, set up a tying field goal from Vinatieri. What once seemed like the worst Pats blowout of the Colts ever was coming down to the final five minutes of the game.

The Patriots had something left, though they were working uphill as Manning exploited a tiring Pats defense. Once again it was Hobbs, the center of so much controversy last week, but now rising with his electricfying kickoff returns to perhaps propel the Patriots to the Super Bowl. His 41 yard return moved the ball near midfield, and a Brady strike to maybe-free agent Dan Graham got 29 yards and set Gostkowski up for what could have been a game winner. The rookie - also the center of way too much controversy since August - drained it, proving (along with his booming kickoffs all night) once and for all that Adam’s Money was, in fact, better spent elsewhere.

Yet Manning had the ball with nearly four minutes left, and the inevitable loomed, until the Patriots defense rose a final time (with a ferocious pass rush that hadn’t been seen since the first half) to pin the Colts deep and force a punt that Troy Brown took to the Pats 40 with 3:22 left. New England was about to escape with their life, if they could only earn a first down or two against an Indy defense that had yielded them no fewer than 27 points.

They could not. As they were at the end of the first half, the Patriots offense was put in a position to succeed. No such success was forthcoming. They started with a penalty and finished with a three and out, setting up a punt and the Colts game winning drive.

Manning can point to his final drive, when he drove the Colts 80 yards by hitting two big throws to Reggie Wayne, the next time someone tells him he can’t win the big one. All he needed was a field goal for the tie, but he got the touchdown for the win, even if a Patriots penalty put him in position. On the second throw to Wayne, Tully Banta Cain was flagged for a blow to the quarterback’s head (pretty marginal call for that situation, huh?), which backed up the Patriots to their own goal line and buried them. They could barely muster a reaction to Addai’s winning run. It’s over for Peyton now. He won The Big One today.

There will be alot of talk about Reche Caldwell dropping passes (two beauties, suggesting the free agent might have been in over his head tonight) and the Patriots turning away from the running game and Tom Brady’s inaccuracy/injury, and various other noodling, but make no mistake about it; the Pats lost tonight because they couldn’t stop Peyton Manning and the Colts offense. They haven’t stopped them in (now) the last three tries. Not even tonight, with a defense that set a franchise record for fewest points allowed. The Patriots lost bbecause they blew an eighteen-point lead, and they sure as hell didn’t blow it on offense.

For the Patriots, it’s a cruel end to what seemed to be another Cinderella season. Nobody had the Pats here today, not if they’re telling the truth. Yet they overcame the defections and the holdouts and the unsteady orientations and damn near got to the Super Bowl again. A heartbreaking loss - in a game they had in control, and should have won - should not completely overshadow what the Patriots have proven this season. They’re always in it. And they will be again. Remember that before you send me your gloating e-mail.

But it’s little solace to the proud New Englanders tonight. A punch in the stomach - in good part self-induced, if that’s possible - has ended their drive for four Super Bowl wins in six seasons. Now, it’s the Colts and Bears turn, and the once-again former champions are left, like everybody else, to start all over again.

As I close with heavy heart, I’d like to thank everybody who clicked on our link this season and offered e-mails of good thoughts and encouragement. A special thank you goes to the rest of the GDRV staff, namely Greg Doyle, Tim Jordan, Bruce Allen and Bill Barnwell, who made this our best season yet. It’s my fondest wish that they’ll all agree to be back here with me next fall for another season of (and we should remind ourselves of this, especially tonight) this golden era of New England Patriots football.

Programming Note: Join us later this week for our final GDRV Roundtable of 2006, as we close the books on the Pats campaign and get ready for another off-season. See you then.

Game Day Rear View - Gutty Pats Push Past Chargers on Brady Comeback, Gostkowski Winner, 24-21; One Win Away From Super Bowl 41

gdrv_sm.jpgBy Scott Benson
scott@bostonsportsmedia.com

A ballsy New England Patriots team defied four months of abject (and now, obsolete) skepticism with today’s 24-21 comeback road win over the top ranked San Diego chargers, a win that returns the proud three-time champions to the AFC Championship Game for the fourth time in six seasons.

Awaiting the Patriots will be old friends the Indianapolis Colts, and all that they entail, but that is a story for the rest of the week. Tonight is to celebrate another one for the books. The Patriots scored eleven points in the final five minutes to erase an eight point deficit with an unconventional, yet DVD-worthy comeback. They had three turnovers and rushed for 50 yards and still beat the best team in the AFC on its home field.

Troy Brown made the pivotal play, not as a receiver, not as a defensive back, but as both. As the Patriots drove into Chargers territory with little more than six minutes to play, needing both a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie, a miserable Tom Brady was intercepted on a fourth down try from the SD 41. As safety Marlon McCree moved upfield with San Diego’s third interception of the day, he was stripped by intended receiver Brown, and Reche Caldwell recovered. The Pats had not their backs against the wall, but the ball and another life. Even the field position was better.

Brady, fighting through a tough San Diego game plan that left him hurried with few options, would nonetheless not miss this chance. Two competions to Jabar Gaffney (again, the Patriots receiving star, with his second straight 100 yard game) drove the ball inside the Chargers 10 and set up Caldwell’s 4 yard touchdown catch (on a nifty Brady pocket move to his left) at 4:41.

Kevin Faulk tied the game when he took the direct snap and slammed it in for two behind a big push by the Pats offensive line. How in the world did the Chargers not see this - the Patriots signature two-point play - coming?

After the Patriots defense (which had at times been pushed around by the Chargers) forced an immediate three-and-out, an elivened Brady drove the Pats 72 more yards in two minutes, before Stephen Gostkowski capped the comeback with a 31 yarder with 1:14 left. It was the rookie’s his third field goal of the day (including a 50 yard missile to open the scoring) and the first game winner of his career.

Again Caldwell was the central figure in the late drive; his fly pattern past Quentin Jammer put him directly beneath a perfect 49 bomb from Brady, and he fought off a closing Jammer to gather in the ball before stumbling out at the SD 15. Caldwell nearly tightroped the sideline all the way to the end zone (it looked like he could have stayed in, had he not looked behind him) and set up the Ghost’s chip shot winner.

Phillip Rivers drove the Chargers into Pats territory as time ran out (thanks to a 21 grab by Eric Parker, who until then had failed him), but Nate Kaeding’s 54 yard attempt to tie fell short and to the right, and the Patriots had one of the most memorable playoff wins of their already-remarkable history.

An apt comparison to other playoff triumphs comes hard. Perhaps Oakland in January of 2002, when all appeared lost before Brady (and Adam Vinatieri) drove the Pats to the win. Today, the game seemed closed to slipping away on more than one occasion. Yet, when all is said and done, the Patriots play on.

After a slow first quarter, the Chargers burst to a 14-3 lead with two second-period touchdowns. San Diego rode to their first score, a 2 yard plunge by Ladainian Tomlinson, after winning an early field position battle that left them with short fields for most of the first half. Three minutes later, Tomlinson set up another score when he grabbed a screen in the right flat and ran past both Mike Vrabel and Artrell Hawkins for 58 yard play to the New England 6.

Michael Turner carried over on the next play and the Chargers threatened to run away with it with just two minutes remaining in the half.

The Patriots offense - operating, even in the shadow of its own goal posts, from a full spread offense that often featured no running backs - had been unable to move the chains thanks to tight coverage by the Chargers and the ever present threat of their pass rush. Donnie Edwards intercepted Brady first, but no harm was done, expect perhaps to the Pats psyche. But with two minutes left before the break, Brady mixed runs by Kevin Faulk with more intermediate passing to Jabar Gaffney, and a huge third down conversion to Caldwell at the SD 27. As the last seconds ticked off the clock, Brady found Gaffney along the back line of the end zone and the Patriots crawled back in the game at the half.

The defenses took over again as the second half started, until Brady was again pinned back by his own goal line with seven minutes left in the third. After a quick first down to Brown, the Chargers stiffened and forced another Todd Sauerbrun punt. But Parker could not hang on to the 51 yard kick (Sauerbrun crushed them all day), and Antwan Spann slammed him as he tried to reccover. Instead, the ball was covered by David Thomas at the SD 31. But Brady couldn’t move them, and on third down, he fumbled when Shawn Phillips sacked him. Matt Light fell on the loose ball, but the Pats were left with nothing but a long field goal attempt. Until Drayton Florence - who had already extended the dive with an illegal contact earlier - stepped in with a late taunt of Dan Graham, which brought the flag and another first down for the Patriots. The Chargers held again but this time the Pats were close enough for the kick and a one point game.

Yet it almost slipped away again, when the Chargers drove 83 yards for another Tomlinson touchdown - and an eight point lead - to open the fourth quarter. Antonio Gates twice got too open to be believed (in fact, he cost himself God knows how many yards on one catch, when he ran out of bounds despite being unchallenged) and Vincent Jackson out-leapt Ellis Hobbs for a Rivers throw to the Patriots three. LT’s TD brought the game to eight with just eight minutes to play. The Patriots were up against it and just minutes from ending their season exactly as they had last year.

The moral being, of course, thank God for Tom Brady. Even though he was intercepted three times and struggled under great pressure often, Brady persevered, leading the team on three dramatic drives that would win the game. San Diego had the right game plan for the Patriots offense, but even in their own stadium, they could not vanquish the Patriot legend. The two-time Super Bowl MVP bows to no one tonight.

Not to seem unappreciative, but I’ll be damned if I can figure out that Patriots game plan, which flooded the field with receivers and rendered invisible Laurence Maroney and Corey Dillon, two of the team’s best offensive players. The Pats struggled mightily in this set, and the runners were conspicuous in their absense, which makes the New England rally that saved the season that much more incredible.

The Patriots defense fought off Tomlinson, occasionally landing a first down blow but still teetering on the edge of a big play for most of the day, right until the end. Tomlinson gouged them badly with the 58 yard screen, and ripped off several runs of 10 yards or more (finishing with 123 on 23 carries). Three times the Chargers drove inside the Patriots red zone - unchartered territory, until today - and walked away with touchdowns. On both sides of the ball, San Diego gave the Patriots everything they could handle. Rivers, the untested third-year pro bowler, did not wilt but battled through tough stretches of his own to make clutch throws to Gates and Jackson and almost lead the Chargers to an incredible last second field goal for a tie.

Tedy Bruschi had eleven tackles to lead the Patriots, but the New England defensive front took its lumps throughout. Neither Seymour nor Warren nor Wilfork took over, and the secondary bore the pressure. Hobbs was beaten for the late throw to Jackson that set up a touchdown, but he scrapped all day as the Chargers went at him with the run and the pass (as did Tomlinson, for a Hobbs post-game homage to Shawn Merriman’s sack dance, which later led LT to claim the Patriots have no class, right up through the head coach. The dance itself, apparently, is plenty classy. By the way - did Merriman play?). Asante Samuel scared the Chargers from even trying his side, and showed why with two timely pass breakups. The safeties (including Chad Scott, who also filled in at corner) tackled well and forced hard to the line of scrimmage in run support. Tully Banta-Cain can’t say the same, as he was worn out repeatedly by Tomlinson and the Charger blocking tight ends. Rosevelt Colvin had an athletic interception, leaping to tip, then catch, a Rivers dump to Tomlinson in Pats territory.

The Patriots offensive line wasn’t asked to run block (53 passing plays to just 19 runs; Kevin Faulk was the leading rusher with 25 yards) and Brady was only sacked twice (once by Merriman, who must have had to leave early). But there was constant pressure and the occasional free blitzer; still, they held it together for the comeback, and their push on Faulk’s two pointer was a critical win on a must-have play.

With no running game, the much-maligned wide receivers really stepped forward for the Pats today. Brown (who also had five catches) probably saved the season with his well-timed strip. He may have also gotten Marty Schottenheimer fired; Marty blew a challenge by claiming McCree was down before fumbling - no chance - and then he didn’t have one to use when Rivers hit Parker with the late pass in New England territory. Basically, this loss came down to the Charger defense not stopping the Pats when it counted; but Marty didn’t help by pissing away that TO.

Gaffney collected ten catches for 103 yards and the late first-half touchdown. So many of his catches were in the intermediate 15-20 area, where the Pats have trailed off this year. In the last two weeks, the former Texan has 18 catches for 207 yards and today’s enormous score. An Incredible in-season pickup.

And then Caldwell. Written off again and again this season, never measuring up in the eyes of the skeptics, alertly recovering the McCree fumble and then catching the tying touchdown minutes later, before sprinting past Jammer to gather in the Brady pass that ensured the win in the stadium he used to call home.

Lastly, we consider Gostkowski. The rookie kicker that makes the ‘experts’ nervous is now 6 for 6 in the playoffs, and has the first notch on his belt.

To review for those scoring at home, the Patriots clinched a berth in the AFC championship today - one step farther than they had advanced last year - on the strength of their wide receivers and their placekicker. Michael Felger and his devoted yet possibly mental following can stick THAT right in their pipe and smoke it tonight. You ignorant mooks have wasted your time and my time and everybody else’s time with your relentless negative bullshit for four months and what the hell did it prove? Nothing. Not a damn thing. You laughed at anybody that suggested they’d earned a chance to recover from what everybody agreed was the pisser of an off-season. You laughed. Wait for what? YOU KNEW NOW. You didn’t need to wait and see, because you just knew. Well, you don’t know jack shit. That much has been proven, by the same team you dogged for four months. They proved you don’t know shit. Now go get your effing shinebox.

And now, one of the great rivalries of the modern NFL is renewed, this time - as the Colts have long dreamed - in Indianapolis. Its all too much to take in tonight. One thing, though, isn’t - the Patriots That Weren’t Good Enough for Anybody are in fact good enough to be one win from the Super Bowl.

Game Day Rear View - Bully Pats Own Final Quarter, Send Jets Packing, 37-16

gdrv_sm.jpgby Scott Benson
scott@bostonsportsmedia.com

The New England Patriots earned a berth in next week’s divisional round of the AFC playoffs - just two games away from Super Bowl 41 - with a decisive 37-16 win over the New York Jets in today’s AFC Wild Card game in Foxboro.

New York hung with New England through three quarters, and matched their no-huddle, quick snap strategizing step-for-step, but the bully Patriots made clear the difference between them and their New York rivals by completely owning the fourth quarter of an elimination football game.

Leading by just a touchdown with eleven minutes to play, the Patriots ground nearly six and a half minutes off the clock behind Tom Brady before extending their lead to fourteen on a Brady to Kevin Faulk 7y swing pass away from broken coverage. Less than thirty seconds later, the Patriots had a blowout when Asante Samuel doubled back in coverage to grab a Chad Pennington pass and race 36 yards for the close-out score. The Patriots added two sacks and a Vinny Testaverde cameo before Bill Belichick (now 12-2 lifetime in the playoffs) warmed the hearts and wet the eyes of wizened sportswriters everywhere by embracing Eric Mangini at midfield.

Though his numbers were modest (just 212 yards in 34 attempts), Brady was all-american material again. The Patriots clearly had the answer for the Jets blitzers this time with the no huddle quick pace, and Brady was masterful in the middle of it, taking short drop, short route throws to the perimeter to avoid sacks, maintain possession, and most importantly, move the chains and the scoreboard against one of the league’s stingiest scoring defenses. With the help of the on-a-roll running game, New England twice had six-minute touchdown drives (one that ate the final seven minutes of the first half; the second the game definer to seize control in the fourth) that dictated the outcome of the game as much as anything did. They piled up 26 first downs and punted just twice.

Pennington and the New York offense moved the ball on the Patriots defense (the Pats outgained NY by a slim 358-347 margin) but as usual, the story was the Patriots red zone defense. Three times the Jets drove inside the Pats 20 and came away with no touchdown, settling each time for a Mike Nugent field goal. Their only touchdown came on yet another freak big play involving Jerricho Cotchery (who caught a 15 yard throw and outran an overmatched Patriots coverage for a 77 yard score), which gave them a relatively brief second quarter lead.

But like they were with the blitz pick ups, the Patriots remained a step ahead of the Jets all day, thanks in part to three field goals by their own draftee kicker, Stephen Gostkowski. The Ghost hit two big third quarter kicks (one a 40 yarder) that kept the Jets at least seven points behind until Brady and Samuel could put them away. In a related story, Michael Felger was last heard shrieking about Adam Vinatieri on Bob Lobel’s program this morning.

Jabar Gaffney was the surprise stand out for the Patriots, leading all receivers with 8 catches and 104 yards. Gaffney took the lead from the opening drive (a humdinger three-minute, 60 yard touchdown march that Corey Dillon finished with an 11 yard run), taking his routes to a 8×8 open area about seven yards up right sideline. Brady kept hitting him with no protest from the Jets (including an ailing Andre Dyson, who was forced from the game immediately), and before you knew it, the Patriots were in the end zone with a HUGE momentum-establishing opening drive.

The Jets overcame a slow start to first dig in, then take the lead. Mike Vrabel couldn’t cover Cotchery on a route up the right hash (he later had troubles with Chris Baker too), and after Pennington looped in a throw, Artrell Hawkins couldn’t reign Cotchery in. Much like he had at the Meadowlands in September, the big galoot outraced New England to its own end zone, and suddenly, the upstart Jets were in front to start the second period. I am buoyed by the thought that Cotchery will not be visiting the Patriots defensive backfield again this season.

The Patriots offense regained control by the half, though. First, Gostkowski tied it for the Pats after a 50 yard drive was stopped inside the Jets 10. After the Pats D held and forced a punt on the next Jets possession, Brady led the Pats on a 80 yard corker that featured a pounding Pats ground game behind Kevin Faulk and Laurence Maroney. They set up Brady, who finished the drive by hitting Dan Graham on a threaded third down throw into double coverage from the Jets 1. The Patriots were back in front by seven by halftime.

There they remained, as the teams swapped field goals through the third quarter. After Nugent hit his third and final kick to begin the final period, Brady went to work again. After nearly being picked on a long throw to Chad Jackson to start the drive (Jackson actually made a nice strip there), Brady pulled in the reigns, going back to the ground with Maroney and Corey Dillon (running hard after an early fumble set up Nugent’s first three-pointer) and hitting Troy Brown, Reche Caldwell and Gaffney with crucial throws. When the Jets tightened again inside their own 10, Brady moved Faulk pre-snap and sent him alone into the flat for the quarterback’s second TD throw of the day. Sixty yards, six points, and perhaps most importantly, six minutes off the clock. The Pats led by two touchdowns with five minutes to play.

Samuel blew it open on the second play of the next Jets possession, when he worked a combination coverage to perfection. The soon-to-be free agent corner, who has not heard the last of his comments to Jackie MacMullen in today’s Globe, looked to be following Laveranues Coles deep when he doubled back, right in front of Justin McCareins. He grabbed Pennington’s throw and - unlike last week - he didn’t hesitate to tack on another score.

And so it was, save for The Hug. Despite reports to the contrary, no guard would be changing today.

The Patriots defensive line got consistent pressure with just four men, allowing enough players to drop into coverage and keep Pennington out of the end zone. Seymour led the front in tackles, Ty Warren was a force early, and Vince Wilfork pushed the middle and hit Pennington. Tully Banta Cain did too, sacking him twice. You cannot say the Patriots aren’t getting contributions from practically everyone.

Rosevelt Colvin caused a third quarter stir when he broke in on Pennington’s left to swat down a screen pass as the Jets approached midfield. Suddenly, everyone (at least Wilfork and several dozen people on the Patriots sideline) realized it was a fumble, as the ball had gone parallel to the line of scrimmage, and the returning nose tackle (back after missing the last three games) rumbled 31 yards to the Jets 15 with the recovery. The play set up Gostkowski’s second field goal, and restored a seven point lead.

The Patriots special teams had a couple of dicey moments early with Justin Miller, but by and large they had the edge. Maroney was back on kick returns, and twice he got the Patriots to the 40 to start a drive.

An invigorating win, and one that reminds (thanks to that fourth quarter) us just how good we have it in New England. And how far they have to come in New York. Their yapping dog media and fans would do well to remember just how helpless their team was over the final eleven minutes today as they force down their latest steaming helping of Shut The F**k Up.

So it’s on to San Diego from here. Let me be the first to say that if the Patriots can get by the league-leading Chargers next week, there will be no stopping them. God help whoever they play. If they’re still standing this time next week, they WILL win an amazing fourth Super Bowl this decade. Like they used to say in New York - I guarantee it.

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