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