Moss's Homecoming

12.15.2008

Moss, Jordan's Homecoming
Ellis Hobbs returns 95-yard kick for TD as Pats rout Raiders 49-26
By: Boston Sports SID

The Patriots run of dominance started against the Raiders seven years ago – come January – with the infamous “Tuck Rule” game, that saw the Pats defeat Oakland 16-13 in overtime to advance to the AFC Championship game. Since that fateful day in January, 2002, these two franchises have gone in polar opposites.

This was the game Randy Moss was waiting for. There is no doubt he wanted to stick in to his former team as he caught two touchdown passes from Matt Cassel in the Patriots 49-26 victory against the Oakland Raiders.

When Moss left the hell hole that has become Oakland, everyone – including most football expects – believed the talented receiver had lost a step or two. But 32 touchdown catches later, Moss proved all the doubters wrong and has been an integral member of the Pats offense since losing Tom Brady at the beginning of the year. The Patriots and Head Coach Bill Belichick even named Moss a team captain before the year began and has done nothing but confirm he deserves the title. Against his former team, Moss caught five passes for 67 yards including his two touchdowns.

You know who has also quieted the critics? Matt Cassel and he did it yet again. Cassel, who was drafted by Oakland A’s General Manger, Billy Beane, in the 2004 MLB Draft, was coming off one of the more emotional week he has ever had in his football career. After losing his father, Greg Cassel, last Monday, and joining the team in San Jose on Friday, Cassel honored his late father by completing 18 of 30 passes for 218 yards including four touchdowns.

At the start of the game, Oakland won the toss and elected to receive but a brief hesitation by Justin Miller ended with him being wrapped up by Kelley Washington and downed inside his own 10. Not even two minutes into the game, the Patriots found themselves with the ball at Oakland’s 40 after a weak punt by Shane Lechler. With short field position to start their first possession of the game, Cassel and Old Reliable (Kevin Faulk) drove the Pats 60 yards downfield for the first seven points of the game.

The Raiders were the little brother who wanted to always play with the big boys but when they let him join, he always went crying back to the house. Oakland’s first, first down in the game came nearly 13 minutes into the contest – after the Patriots had all ready put up 14 point points. The game was essentially over when Lechler’s second punt of the game, came from his own 17-yard-line and landed out of bounds 12-yards a head of him and the Patriots knew it.

Once up by 21 following Sammy Morris’s 29-yard touchdown run, it was obvious New England started to grow complacent. They let Russell drive the Raiders 66-yards down the field before dumping off a four-yard pass to Johnnie Lee Higgins that ended up going for 25 yards and the touchdown. After Cassel got those seven points back with a 13-yard pass to Wes Welker, Justin Miller made the Pats special team unit look like a high school team running back a kick-return for 91-yards.

One member of the Patriots who does not like to be upstaged is Ellis Hobbs. Unknown to many, Hobbs is, by far, one of the more cocky Patriots. When he saw Miller running into the endzone for the score on the last possession, one had to wonder what was going through his head while standing at his own 15-yard line waiting for Sebastian Janikowski. After catching the ball, the cornerback, who doubles on kick-returns, darted up field, dancing and evading would-be tacklers. Once he reached mid-field there was only one person standing between him and the vast, wide-open endzone – the kicker.

Hobbs had already been taken down once by a kicker this year against the Jets and was mocked and harassed by teammates. He was not going to let that happen for the second time in a season. With a last-ditch effort, Janikowski attempted to knock Hobbs out along the far sideline but the 5’10” defensive back tap-danced down the Patriots sideline en-route to a 95-yard run-back. Hobbs ran back three returns for 126 total yards, averaging 42-yards. Nobody upstages Michael Holley’s boy and gets away with it.

The Patriots 14th game of the year saw the return of defensive end, Ty Warren and nose tackle, Vince Wilfork. While Warren sat out last week’s game against the Seahawks with an injured groin, Wilfork left the game after injuring his shoulder in the first half. Apparently the shoulder injury was not too serious as Wilfork was back on the field this week and recorded two tackles and one assist. But Warren was not that fortunate as he split time with defensive end Mike Wright, who strip-sacked Russell for a 16-yard loss.

Wright’s sack was not the only player to drop Russell in the game. Veteran linebacker, Mike Vrabel came off the end, early in the contest, knocked the ball out of the Raiders quarterback’s hand, for an eight-yard loss. In both situations, the Raiders recovered the fumbled but ended up having to punt the ball back to the Patriots.

Cassel was able to put the traumatic events of the past week behind him for a few hours on Sunday afternoon to keep the Pats in the hunt for the playoffs after the Jets and Dolphins won earlier in the day. He will hop on a plane and fly down to the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge to attend the funeral with his mother, brothers, Jack and Justin and sister, Amanda before rejoining the team on Wednesday.

Notes: Rookie linebacker out of Tennessee, Jerod Mayo, continues his campaign for the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year with a team high eight tackles and three assists against Oakland. Mayo leads the team this season with 91 solo tackles and 114 total tackles (23 assists). Kevin Faulk caught six passes from Cassel for 66 yards while rushed for 45 yards on six carries, a total of 111 yards. Sammy Morris led the team in rushing yards with 117 on 14 attempts, nearly a first down a carry (8.4 yards) while LaMont Jordan was just behind him with 97 yards on 12 attempts, 8.1 yards a carry.

-- BOSTON SPORTS SID

Ugly Win, Ugly Game

12.7.2008 9:35PM

Win Feels Like a Loss
Patriots squeak by Seahawks, 24-21; lose Bruschi in process
By: Boston Sports SID

Come Tuesday morning there will be a big present in Brandon Meriweather’s locker with a “Thank you” card signed by cornerback Jonathan Wilhite. Meriweather’s strip sack of Seattle Seahawk’s quarterback Seneca Wallace with less than two minutes to play in the game, gave the Patriots the 24-21 victory in Seattle. Matched with a New York Jets 24-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the three point win keeps the Pats in the playoff hunt for one more week.

New England had not led in Sunday’s game against the Seahawks, until Matt Cassel connected with Wes Welker for the two-point conversion following Sammy Morris’s one-yard touchdown run to give the Pats the 24-21 lead. The Patriots looked as if they were going to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat but if there is still time on the clock then no lead is safe for the 2008 Patriots defense. On second and 10, it appeared as the Pats had Wallace trapped in the backfield but the Seattle QB was able to scramble out of the pocket for a 15-yard gain. Once again Wilhite as at fault.

As the Seahawks QB scrambled away from Patriot defenders, Wallace ran right past a the Pats version of Donnie Fletcher before being tackled by safety Lewis Sanders. But coming back from the two-minute warning, Meriweather made up for the blown tackle by sprinting un-abated into back-field and sacked Wallace leading to a fumble. Defensive end, Richard Seymour recovered the fumble and that was all she wrote for the Seahawks.

The game might have been a win in the left-hand column of the standings but it was far from a win. With Rodney Harrison and Adalius Thomas out for the season and Ty Warren day-to-day, the Pats had to resort to two old faces. They brought Rosevelt Colvin, whom they had cut in training camp, then the team lured Junior Seau out of semi-retirement. A move reminiscent to when the Yankees brought Roger Clemens out retirement in 2007.

To add insult to injury, early in the first half, linebacker and captain of the defense, Tedy Bruschi, appeared to injure his left knee making a tackle on Seahawk running back Maurice Morris early in the first half. Although was able to get up and limp off the field, Bruschi walked down the tunnel to the Patriots locker room and did not return to the game.

Later on the same drive, the other longtime Patriots linebacker, Mike Vrabel, was slow to get up from the Qwest Field turf. Vrabel spent a few minutes laying on his back but popped up and walked off the field under his own power. After being examined by the training staff on the sideline, the 33-year-old linebacker was jumping around on the sideline anxious to get back out onto the field. It appeared as if Vrabel got hit on the helmet while making a tackle on Seattle’s Morris. Also it should be noted that Vince Wilfork left the game with a reported shoulder injury and was replaced by LeKevin Smith.

As the season continues, the defense is dropping like flies. The Patriots are right now at the “no news is good new” time of the season. Very similar to the predicament the Red Sox faced in 2006. It seemed to be whenever a press release came out it was just to tell you the name of the next player to be put on the disabled list. Come to think of it, the 2008 Patriots are following a similar path of the 2006 Sox.

Not too many fans are thrilled to see this edition of the defense but one person who was happy was old friend Deion Branch. The former Super Bowl MVP, caught two touchdown passes and accumulated 88 yards on four catches against his former team including faking out Grandpa (Seau) for a 63-yard play on first and 20 in the third.

After Stephen Gostkowski could not cradle a Josh Wilson fumble on the kick-off following a 42-yard field goal by the Patriots kicker, Will Herring recovered the ball at the Seattle 38-yard line. With good field position, the Seahawks were poised to go back on the offensive attack. But a 10-yard holding penalty brought Seattle back to their own 28. The Patriots flushed Wallace out of the pocket and looked as if they were going drop the quarterback for another 10-yard loss but Branch came back and Wallace as able to complete a 10-yard pass. Branch skipped, jumped, weaved and danced out of the way of the defense before being brought down by Sanders inside the 10-yard line.

It was an ugly win. An ugly game all together. Nothing good can be taken from this win. If they want to be one of the six teams playing in January, they will have to play a whole lot better than what they showed on Sunday. And they have not done anything to make people believe they can step up their game against real playoff contenders. Let’s hope I am wrong here.

-- Boston Sports SID

Not Going Anywhere

11.27.2008 1:37AM

To Trade Brady, or Not To Trade Brady
Hall of Fame QB Warren Moon, ESPN commentators think Pats should trade Brady
Written by: Boston Sports SID

Before reading this blog please take a minute to partake in brief game of Jeopardy. Please answer in the form of a question: (The answer will be at the end of the post.)
The single, stupid, idiotic, dumbest idea ever proposed by a national media conglomerate.

Bill Belichick has made bold moves in the past, such as trading Drew Bledsoe, releasing Lawyer Milloy as well as letting Ty Law, Adam Vinatieri and Asante Samuel walk when they reached their free agent years. But there is one thing that Belichick does not do. He does not make moves based on whim. Every decision the Patriots make is carefully calculated and bounced off other members of the Patriots staff to assure himself it is what is best for the football team. So to think Belichick would even consider the option of trading Tom Brady, as a big time media conglomerate brought up, is ridiculous.

Many national football commentators and fans outside New England will point to Bledsoe’s week two injury against the Jets in 2001 is what led to the emergence of Brady. Now after Brady went down with his ACL tear in week one, this might be the emergence of Matt Cassel?

Well here is the flaw in their argument. How did the Patriots do with Bledsoe at quarterback? They made it to the Super Bowl in 1996-97 against the Green Bay Packers and lost. With the Brady, the Pats became the first dynasty of the new millennium winning three championships in four years and were minutes away from winning their fourth last year. Plus Bledsoe was at the tail end of his career whereas Brady is still in the prime of his and at least five years left in his career.

To think that Belichick is going change his M.O. just so he can sooth his ego, as some commentators think, is absolutely absurd. Belichick is a CEO and like any CEO of a highly successful multi-national, million dollar corporation, he is going to do what is best for the company. Does he think he can win without Brady? Probably but does that mean he is going to drop the guy who brought him three championship rings and has potential for more?

Yes Brady is coming off a nasty ACL injury but people are making it sound like he contracted gangrene and had his left leg amputated. As of today, there has been a recent report from the quarterback himself telling Boston’s ABC affiliate on Tuesday, he is doing well in his recovery from surgery as well as a staph infection. The television station also noted that Brady appeared to be walking without a limp. This is all fans and media have to go because we know the Patriots treat injuries like state secrets. (Maybe the CIA should hire Belichick for their covert operations?)

What is getting the fans and commentators worked up, is the uncertainty of the future and the question of where is Brady going to be in eight months. But you know what? Brady does not have report to training camp until the end of July. It is not like July is going to come tomorrow. It is eight months away. Eight months is a long time in the sporting world. Eight months is two months short of many internships. Eight months is a baseball season that includes both Spring Training and the post-season. Many things can and will happen between now and the time Brady reports to camp. The future is always uncertain. When it is certain, people tend to call it the past.

Things always have a way of working out. Remember back to Spring Training 2006? The Red Sox had seven starters on their roster heading into Spring Training and they figured seven was too much so they traded Bronson Arroyo to Cincinnati for what they thought was young power hitter in Wily Mo Pena. Well as the season progressed and Matt Clement landed on the disabled list, Josh Beckett was having a hard time adjusting to the American League and David Wells was David Wells. They ended up finishing the season in third place behind the Yankees and Blue Jays with four-A guys making the starts in August and September. The Sox could have definitely used Arroyo at the tail end of 2006. But they learned that you can never have enough pitching because even if you have 20 starting pitchers in spring training, things always have a way of working out.

It is no different than what the Patriots are going through right now. What we need right now is a Rosevelt Colvin “calm down.” The Pats will have bigger questions in the off-season, mainly improving the secondary by stacking the deck with the defensive backs as well as re-signing nose tackle Vince Wilfork. The quarterback comes in third when it comes to the needs of the team.

Eight months is along way away and things have ways of working themselves out.

-- BOSTON SPORTS SID

ANSWER TO THE JEOPARDY QUESTION is:
Should the Patriots trade star quarterback Tom Brady?

Contenders v. Pretenders

11.23.2008 10:50:30pm

"Well Done Is Better Than Well Said"
Pats show they are contenders, exploit pretenders
Written By: Boston Sports SID

In a must-win game for both teams to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Patriots proved they are the contenders and the Miami Dolphins are the pretenders in a 48-28 victory Sunday afternoon. Hats off to the Dolphins, after finishing the season last year at 1-15, they had a marvelous 2008 season but are no where near the caliber of the Pats or Jets.

Joey Porter just does not know when to shut his yap. He got away with calling out the Patriots, then, inexperienced quarterback in Week Three so he thought he would run his mouth again before Week 12’s re-match in Miami. Unfortunately, Porter was not so lucky this time.

Late in the fourth quarter when the game was almost sign, sealed and delivered, Porter committed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Matched with another Miami penalty on the play, it culminated with a BenJarvus Green-Ellis two-yard touchdown run to put the Pats up by 20 and really seal the deal. Thanks to Porter’s actions, the Patriots returned the favor of spanking the Dolphins at home in southeast Florida.

Not to long before that play after Stephen Gostkowski put the Pats up two scores with a 30-yard field goal, Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder went after offensive lineman Matt Light. After Light got in a few punches of his own, both he and Crowder were ejected and will be heavily fined or, worst case scenario, suspended.

This game just goes to show you that even though Miami has improved from last year, they are a young and undisciplined team. When they play teams such as the Patriots, Colts, Jets or any team who is rigorously disciplined, their fatal flaws are going to show. Or maybe it can be deduced that Porter is a cancer to any team he is on.

The guy is still running his mouth about how the Steelers should have been the dynasty of the 21^st Century because the Patriots cheated. Sounds like the sour grapes talking. Now this the reason the media relations staff likes to give players and coaches a 10 minute “cool down” time post-game, to prevent stuff like this. Hey Porter: It was seven years ago. Get over it. The day Joey Porter retires is the day the NFL will be better.

But you know who will not be retiring soon, Cassel. No longer an inexperienced quarterback, Cassel continues to impress and is sure to command a high price tag come free agency. You know that $50 million for four year price tag, Scott Boras is commanding for Jason Varitek? Well Cassel deserves that money more than the former Sox catcher catcher.

As devastating as last week’s loss to the Jets was, remember it Cassel who, in Brady-like fashion, drove the Patriots down-field and threw to Randy Moss, who made an extraordinary catch, to send the game to OT. Against the Jets, Cassel had his best game of the year, completing 30 of his 51 passing attempts for 400-yards including three touchdowns. It was hard to imagine that he could top last week’s performance this week. But it is exactly what he did.

The one time back up quarterback can but something on his resume that the legendary Tom Brady can not. For the second consecutive game, Cassel threw for over 400-yards including throwing three touchdowns one of his favorite targets, Randy Moss. Completing 30 of his 43 attempts, Cassel averaged nearly a first down every time (9.7) while finishing with 415 passing yards overall and a 114.0 passer rating. On the receiving end, Moss also had his best game of the season. He caught eight balls for 125 yards with his longest being a 29-yard reception for one of his three touchdowns in the second quarter.

Through all the trash-talking thrown the Patriots way this past week, the Pats showed once again that they do all their talking on the field because “well done is better than well said.” They could care less what you say in the week leading up to the game. All that matters is how the team plays for 60 minutes on Sunday.

-- BOSTON SPORTS SID

Never judge a book by its cover

11.13.08 11:10PM

Things are never as they appear to be
Unnamed Jets player cowardly calls out Pats defense

A member of the New York Jets offensive unit told New York Post columnist Mark Cannizzaro, in today’s newspaper, the Patriots defense was “vulnerable.” In addition to saying they were vulnerable, he added the Pats were “slow and old.” The player did not want to go on the record because he was afraid of giving New England bulletin board material.

Now I will agree the Patriots are vulnerable in the defensive secondary but some of the other things I have been hearing about the Patriots defense is malarkey and this takes the cake. Once I heard the nonsense the same nonsense, referred to by the national commentators about the Pats defense, come out of a Jets player’s mouth, I knew I had to comment.

First off, this is stupid on the Jets player's part. Just because you did not put a name to the comment does not mean it is not going be going on the Patriots locker room bulletin board? Where is that logic? The Pats will use any verbal threat against them no matter who said. All you did Mr. Anonymous Jet was throw your entire team under the bus because the Patriots will just go for the jugular and step on the throats of the entire Jets team than go after one play like they did to Anthony Smith of Pittsburgh last year.

And secondly, the myth of the Patriots defense is old is nothing more than a fallacy. Many national commentators and fans like to believe this myth because for the last five years, the five corps members of the Patriot defense have played together for the last five straight years. But in reality does that make the defense older? Like Jamie Hyneman, from the TV show Mythbusters, I was set out to dispel the notion New England was an aging defense and succeeded.

Much like the Red Sox have been doing recently of incorporating the younger guys with the veterans, the Patriots patented the trend. They started on the defensive line because every defense starts with the front line. If there are holes, the size a tractor trailer can pass through in the front line, then the opposition’s artillery will easily run right through. In 2001 Bill Belichick drafted a young 22-year old defensive end out of a Georgia, Richard Seymour and inserted him into a line of veterans. Two years later, Belichick did the same with 2003 first round pick, Ty Warren and the next year with Vince Wilfork. Now here we are five years later, with the same front three still all under the age of 30.

Sure Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel are getting up there in age but this past off-season Belichick made it a point to get young on defense. With the 10^th overall pick in this year’s draft, Patriots selected the 22-year-old out of Tennessee, Jerod Mayo, who is currently leading the team in tackles through nine games. In one sense the Patriots are slow; they are slowly incorporating youth with the veterans. It is the only way to re-build their franchise without looking like they are re-building

It is the M.O. of a championship team. They are constantly rebuilding their system like at the college level. Did the Red Sox look old this past year? Yes. They had an aging and diminishing catcher, third baseman and designated hitter that are the face of the franchise. But after incorporating Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Justin Masterson and Jed Lowrie with the good group of veterans each of the last four years, they have two World Championships to show for it. Belichick is no different.

When it comes to football, Belichick’s heartless. He knows there is no room for loyalties when winning is at stake. It is a cruel "what have you done for me lately" business. He released Lawyer Milloy, a player who Belichick liked so much, back before the season in 2003 when he thought the safety no longer could help the team. He let Ty Law, now with the hated Jets, and Willie McGinnest walk when their skills were diminishing. And every time he let a player go, either on defense, offense or special teams, more times than not, Belichick has made the right move.

It may appear to the casual football fan the Patriots are getting older on the defensive side of the ball but you have too look a little closer and go deep into the endzone to see the truth. The average age of the Patriots defense, at 27.6 years of age, is not just younger than the offense (28.1) but they are younger than the Jets defense (27.7) on the other side of the field. So I sign off once again digging through the memory bank to the days of elementary school to “never judge a book by its cover” because on the inside things are not always as they appear to be on the outside.

Bill has Bills number

11.9.08 11:30PM

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Pats win another case against Bills
Patriots return to action on short week Thursday night v. Jets
BRIEF: Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker and rookie running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis were on top of their games as the Pats defeated AFC East Division foe the Buffalo Bills 20-10 for 10^th time since 2003 to put New England in a tie for first with the Jets in the division.

It was a game of firsts.

Wes Welker became the first wide receiver to catch at least six passes in his team’s first nine games of the season. The Pats wide out caught 10 of Matt Cassel’s 23 completions – including stealing a 21-yard completion in the first half – for 107 total yards.

Welker has become Cassel’s go-to-guy. When the Pats quarterback starts to feel the pressure, he always looks for the scrappy wide out who typically can be found running across the middle confusing defenders twice his size. If he was on the Red Sox, fans would refer to him as a Dirt Dog. But Welker was not the only Patriot that helped guide the team to their sixth win of the season.

After injuries to Sammy Morris, LaMont Jordan and Laurence Maroney forcing them to into the spectator role, the undrafted free agent out of OleMiss, BenJarvus Green-Ellis was thrown into the starting role. From the second he stepped on the field he has impressed Patriot coaches as well as the fans. Green-Ellis’s running style as a down hill back is an up-grade over the injury-prone, dancing Maroney.

Since making his debut against the Denver Broncos on Monday night, Green-Ellis has improved immensely. With his mother in the Gillette Stadium stands, the 23-year-old reached the century mark for the first time in his career. On 26 carries, Green-Ellis, also known as “The Law Firm,” accumulated 105 yards including one fourth quarter touchdown to seal the deal for the Patriots.

Along with Welker and Green-Ellis, Cassel also added to his short NFL resume with his first touchdown run of his career in the first quarter. On the Patriots first possession of the game, Cassel drove the team down field from their own 29-yard line to set up the game’s first score. With the ball on the 13-yard line, on second and six, the Pats QB could not find an open receiver so he tucked the ball and ran for the first down. Except there was one more thing, Cassel did not stop once he reached the three, he kept running before diving into the endzone to put the Patriots up 6-0. Stephen Gostkowski added the extra point to give the Pats the seven to nothing advantage.

The score may look close but it never really was in doubt. The Patriots had the game early on thanks to Homeland Defense and new Defense Secretary Jerod Mayo, who recorded four tackles in the game to increase his team lead in tackles to 59. The former Tennessee Volunteer is making an excellent bid at becoming the 2008 Defensive Rookie of the Year. The defense gets top billing for today’s game as Ty Warren sacked Bills quarterback Trent Edwards for a loss of five yards. It was Warren’s first sack of the season while fellow defensive lineman Richard Seymour recorded his fourth sack of the year early in the game for a loss of six yards.

Early in the season, Buffalo was on fire but it appears as if they have already peaked. Between the Bills and Patriots, we witnessed two teams heading in opposite directions.

It will be a short week for the Pats as they welcome their AFC East Division rivals, the New York Jets, to Gillette Stadium Thursday night. The Jets are coming off a 44-point win against the hapless St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

Pats Mental Errors leads to third loss

11.3.08 12:55AM

Christmas Came Early for the Colts

Pats defeated from the brink of victory

Entering the game the Colts had the edge because their season was on the line with a 3-4 record. If they lost this game, their chances of making the playoffs would fall further from slim to none. Coming into the game, the Patriots were leading the AFC East at 5-2 thanks to the Bills loss to the Jets earlier. Nothing was on the line for the Pats and it showed. The The Patriots had the game in the bag but gave the Colts an early Christmas present with mental errors leading to stupid penalties. Thus giving the Colts new life and bolstering their confidence for a strong second half push.

After last week’s 23-16 come-from-behind victory against the St. Louis Rams on the back of Matt Cassel, Cassel once again put the team on his back in Indianapolis.

After Adam Vinatieri put the Colts on top 18-15 with a 52-yard field, his longest in six years, Cassel drove the Patriots down field from their own 19 and into Colts territory. The Pats were rolling. Cassel was converting every third down the team was in and it looked as if the Patriots were going to get a touchdown on the 49-yard drive. There was no way the Colts were going to stop the Pats.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed up the middle on second and two for a one yard gain but after the play, tight end, David Thomas, joined the likes of Grady Little and Terry Francona. Thomas made the stupidest play a player can make under Bill Belichick as he was flagged for unnecessary roughness after he charged into a Colts safety after the play had been whistled dead. Just as Little and Francona cost the Red Sox the game by leaving Pedro Martinez and Josh Beckett, respectively, in the game two long, Thomas’s brain fart cost the Patriots the chance to steal a win away from the enemy. There is no doubt that he will be in Belichick’s dog house tomorrow afternoon.

But Thomas will not be alone in Belichick’s dog house this week. Belichick might as well put himself in his dog house as he contributed to the Patriots’ three point loss. In unconventional fashion, the Patriots head coach made two key mistakes in the second half that ended up costing the Pats the win.

Early into the second half, on second and 10, Cassel tried to catch Indianapolis with two many men on the field but the 12^th Colt was able to get off before the Pats QB snapped the ball. Whoever gave Belichick the idea that the 12^th man did not get off the field fast enough and to challenge the play, probably does not have a job anymore this week.

The Patriots lost the challenge therefore also losing a crucial time-out. Later during the same drive, Cassel had to take the Patriots second time out as he could not get the play off before the play clock dripped down to zero. Even though the Patriots found the endzone on the drive, it cost them another two times, which would have come in real handy 30 minutes later. Well that is the benefit of 20-20 hind-sight.

At the tail-end of the third quarter Peyton Manning put the Colts back in the lead with a nine yard pass to Anthony Gonzalez plus a converting a two-point conversion. But Cassel, who in Tom Brady’s absence, really has improved as a quarterback and proved he can put a team on his back and lead them to victory. He was doing it again after Indianapolis took the three point lead. Once again it looked as if the Pats were going to get into the endzone but when Wes Welker came up one-yard shy on third down and the offense was still on the field, Belichick decided upon calling his last time out in favor of bringing out Stephen Gostkowski to tie the score at 15 all. Brain fart number two.

A team that prides itself on composure both on the field and on the sidelines certainly was not the team that took the field against the Colts on Sunday night, in front of a national audience. The rest of the country probably loved seeing Belichick shit his pants in front of the world but many Patriots fans threw up in their mouths when they saw the man who is worshipped as God in New England turn into Grady Little.

Now it is not fair to put the blame solely on Thomas and Belichick because there were a plethora of other mistakes made. Rookie cornerback Jonathan Wilhite got burned by opposing wide receivers for the second week in a row. After Peyton Manning completed a third and long to Reggie Wayne early in the first quarter, it became painfully obvious Manning was going to go to Wilhite’s side. Manning can make a veteran corner look silly but a first-year was way to easy for the former league MVP. It was Wilhite who was responsible for Gonzalez in the first quarter where the Colts wide-out walked uncontested into the endzone a caught the12-yard pass for an easy six points.

Matt Cassel did everything in his power to win the game for the Patriots. He threw for 204 yards completing 25 of 34 attempts (73.5) – better than Manning’s 21 for 29 (72.4). Even though he did throw one pick, the interception was because of Thomas’s egregious penalty that pushed the Pats well out of field goal range. Every week that goes by, Cassel has improved and is “leaps and bounds” above where he was even four weeks ago. He is no Brady but he has done a tremendous job filling in for some big shoes and you must tip your cap to him. If Cassel plays like he has in the past games and keeps improving, the Patriots will be in the playoff hunt in December.

This may sound like the bitterness talking here but the Colts did not the win the game. It was the Patriots beating themselves with the stupid mental mistakes and some bad coaching at critical times.

We all talked at the beginning of the season about Cassel looking like he regressed during his time in the pros but last night it was Belichick who regressed to his days with the Browns. So this is what the man who has a 15-4 post-season record was like in Cleveland?