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
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