You watched the Sunday Night Football telecast on NBC. You heard Al Michaels and John Madden talk about nothing in particular, and you saw the New England Patriots get embarrassed on the road in Qualcomm Stadium at the hands of the San Diego Chargers.
Why? The Patriots, even without Tom Brady, still have Randy Moss and all the offensive weapons. They still have Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels calling the plays from the same playbook, and they still have Richard Seymour and Vince Wilfork anchoring the 3-4 defense with Jerod Mayo, a good-looking rookie outside linebacker in place of the released Rosevelt Colvin.
Did I mention they still have everything...everything except Tom Brady? When Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard grabbed the ankle of No. 12 in week one, the New England Patriots organization fell down awkwardly and screamed right along with him.
Matt Cassel, the lifetime backup who hadn't started a game of football since high school, stepped onto the field and the slightly shell shocked Patriots played mediocre football and came away beating the hapless Chiefs 17-10.
Cassel stepped up week two, and the Patriots looked as if they might be alright, if not among the top five offenses in the league. But as you saw, they are not alright; they are clearly in trouble.
I think the problem is not Brady's injury, per se, but a total loss of confidence and heart from every single player in that locker room. Clearly, losing last season's MVP, the man who set the single-season touchdown pass record hurts your aerial attack, but intangibly it hurts even more.
Randy Moss is clearly starting to "tank it," not fighting for passes or putting on the extra burst to get to an off-target pass. The offensive line is being manhandled, and letting the pocket collapse quickly. The defensive line is not getting a forceful push at the opposing quarterback and the secondary gave up several big plays and looked simply over-matched.
The Patriot defense has gotten old, and they have great difficulty recognizing plays and stopping strong offenses. The Dolphins ran their now infamous "Wildcat" formation several times on the Patriot defense and Ronnie Brown had a record-setting day, ripping them up for five total touchdowns.
Philip Rivers, Vincent Jackson, and the Chargers took no pity on the unit either, running it up on them, just as the Patriots became known for a season ago. And the Patriot players—offense and defense—all look discouraged, lost, and upset on the sidelines.
I am a strong believer that anything can happen in the NFL, and you should never be surprised by the ending in a game of football. A team that plays with strong emotion can beat a team that is clearly better, just as the Chiefs did to my Denver Broncos two weeks ago.
The Patriots can turn this thing around and be a nine or 10 win team, but the first step is regaining their confidence and playing with emotion.
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about 1 month ago
I think the San Diego game was closer than you're giving them credit for. They were on the goaline in the third quarter, trying to close the score to 17-10 before the game got blown open. I think it's safe to say they are still reeling somewhat from the loss of Brady, and trying to find an identity on offense. Cassel has looked okay, but clearly they are a team still trying to figure out who they are. I expect them to come out hard against the Broncos, especially given that the Pats #1 weakness against the Chargers (long pass) is one of Denver's biggest strengths.
about 1 month ago
They need to bench Matt Cassel now. O'Connell might be a rookie, but I guarantee we won't see him missing receivers the way Matt has. He's playing absolutely horribly. All the Patriots need is a bus-driver, and Cassel can't even seem to get that right.
from about 1 month ago
Yup, Cassel allowed 30 points.
Cassel allowed the chargers to score after a 4 play drive that started on their 1 yard line.
Cassel is not the problem, Chris.
from about 1 month ago
Did you watch the game? Every time he dropped back he looked lost! He completely missed his target almost half the time! He had no idea what to do at the goal line on fourth down, when he had guys open and an open field to his left.
The guy is not an instinctual football player. He should have stayed in baseball.
from about 1 month ago
Also ... his inablility to hang onto the football doesn't make it easy for the defense to get rest on the sidelines. He tends to fumble and throw INTs. Not good.
about 1 month ago
"Philip Rivers, Vincent Jackson, and the Chargers took no pity on the unit either, running it up on them, just as the Patriots became known for a season ago. And the Patriot players—offense and defense—all look discouraged, lost, and upset on the sidelines."
Do you remember Shannon Sharpe saying, "Call out the national guard because we are killing the Patriots."
Yes, no one ever ran up the score until 2008.:rolleyes:
Donkey fan, ask why Cutler is comparing himself to Elway before he has won even one Super Bowl. Then, maybe you'll have enough respect to be able to take pot shots and not be called on them.
about 1 month ago
I agree with Chris on this all the way. Cassel is not a leader, and he's killing the Patriots right now. I'm not even a Patriots fan, but I could see it for the entire game during which I was hoping for a Chargers loss.
William, I understand that many teams want "revenge" so-to-speak on the Patriots, but that means nothing if New England could actually score some points and stay in these games.
And yes, I also realize that "running it up" has been going on long before last season, but the 2007 Patriots made the term famous last year with the 52-7 type wins.
And finally, did I say anything about Jay Cutler and John Elway? I am well aware of all the comparisons being drawn between the two, but that is natural considering Elway was the best QB in Broncos history and as with Dallas, Green Bay, and every other team who has had a hall of fame QB depart or retire recently, they are looking for the "next" Elway, Aikman, Favre, etc. And yes, Cutler has one of the strongest arms in the NFL today.
about 1 month ago
And besides, this article is written from an outsider's perspective. I am not a Patriots fan, obviously I can talk about the Patriots with less bias than a fan could.
about 1 month ago
This is sad, watching moss not go up for passes, he needs to help cassel out here and make some plays
defense - need to get some pressure on the qb, they have played tough, but between the secondary letting up bomb after bomb, and the lack of pressure on the quarterback.. they need to do something different
about 1 month ago
I never count the Pats out no matter how bad they look. Something about them gives me the creeps even with a horrible back up!
about 1 month ago
The Patriots are merely still trying to master the learning curve of how to deal with life without Tom Brady. I agree that they have a lack of confidence, and the lack of swagger that they are displaying is somewhat disheartening. I still think that we win 10 games this year and make the playoffs, and we will start monday night versus the broncos (5-1 against us since 02)
about 1 month ago
I think that both the Cassel and the Pats D are major issues. If you watched the Chargers-Pats game, the Pats secondary absolutely looked horrible. They gave up big play after big play and couldn't get a key stop. Cassel was a disaster as well. He missed open men on numerous occasions and made the Pats offense anemic. The Pats couldn't run the ball either because the Chargers could load up the line with no fear of a pass. I think that the Chargers are a pretty good team, but the Patriots need to seriously fix this defense and hope that Cassel plays better if they are to have any chance of winning anything this year.
about 1 month ago
No, the Patriots will not beat the Broncos. Common logic tells us that with how good the Pats were with Brady under center, they were often pounded by Denver. What's going to happen without him and a defense that many Patriots fans admit is putrid. No, the Pats might still win 9-10 games but they're going to have to wait another week to begin their alleged winning streak.
about 1 month ago
Every dog has his day ! maybe that time has come......
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