Well, Pats fans. Can you feel it? Can you feel what it would be like to have an elite level WR to match up with our playmaking QB? Can you feel what a tall and fast wideout would do for this team? Can you feel what it would be like to be able to stretch the opposing team’s defense?

Every fan of the Patriots had a dream of what Randy Moss would do for this team. It now appears that we may need to re-calibrate out expectations. Re-calibrate them upwards. By quite a bit.

This is what we fans all got so amped up about back in April when the BBioli brain trust traded a 4th rounder to Oakland for the ‘disgruntled’ and ‘unproductive’ WR out of Marshall. In a scene reminiscent of a Pavlovian laboratory, New England fans began to salivate en-mass at the potential production that Mr. Moss would most assuredly bring. Fans began to imagine Brady playing catch with Moss. Envisioning how he would not only improve the passing game but the running game as well. We knew that while he would not get hundreds of yards or lead the team in catches that his mere presence would allow other receivers to make catches and the backs to get more yards on the ground. Still the questions remained, “Would we really see the Randy of old?”, “Will he be able to run with any effectiveness after the hamstring on August 1st?”

Well, I know it has only one game, but thus far, the answers to all these seem to be a resounding YES!

For the day, Moss made 9 grabs for 183 yards including a 51 yard TD. And while that TD pass, into triple coverage, where Brady hit him in stride, was impressive, it was not the most inspiring catch of the day. And this despite the impression that on the score that Moss did not even appear to be really running hard while he caught and passed the 3 defenders charged with stopping him.

For me the Brady to Moss combination which was most inspiring and a foreshadowing of things to come was in the 2nd quarter. After a first down a pass to Stallworth bounced to the receiver the team faced 2nd and 10 at its own 38. On that 2nd down Moss took off down the right sideline and while he had yet to separate from the cornerback who was assigned to cover him, Brady threw a ball that came on a high arcing trajectory. In the past this was the kind of pass that had slim to no chance of being completed. Despite it being a timing route the defender was covering the receiver very closely. Now, on this day, with tall and fleet Randy Moss in position, our No. 81 snatched ball from the air before the defender had a chance to do more than register that it had been thrown, trying to contain the damage, pushing the receiver out of bounds for a gain of 33 yards. So effortless. So fast. So beautiful. It was on this play, finally in a game that mattered, that it was clear that all we hoped for him to be, was within our grasp. It was clear that “the second best wide receiver ever to come out of Marshall” was going to have the kind of effect that the Patriots traded for.

I have repeatedly watched, and will do so again and again, the 51 yard TD catch. It gives me goose bumps every time. But that 33 yard completion down the sideline will be, for me, where the Moss Era in New England began.

Astonishing
How was it possible that the offensive line was giving Tom Brady that much time to pass? Apart from one hit, just after he releases the ball which by the way the receiver caught, Brady was basically untouched for the day. While the Jets have struggled with applying pressure to opposing QBs, the O-line did a fantastic job of picking up all pressure and blitzes. Favorite, and easiest to see of these, was when Neal came off a double team with Koppen to help out O’Callaghan when he was getting driven back.

Anomaly
On Chris Hansen’s first punt, one of the cover guys down at the Jets goal line was Willie Andrews. After the return man called for a fair catch he then pulled away from the ball as it sailed over his head. He was at least 10 yards from where it hit the ground. Andrews hit the ball before it could bounce into the end-zone. A ref ruled that Andrews had illegally touched the ball, and that despite the fact that the balled was downed on the 2, that by definition the play was to be ruled a touch back. At the time this completely baffled me. How could he illegally touch it if the other player was not going for the ball? The only thing I can come up with is that there is a rule that IF the return man calls for a fair catch, then the ball must be allowed to hit the ground before being touched by the punt team. I need to check this out.

Arsenal
With Richard Seymour out for at least the first 6 weeks, how the defense would fare against the run and with applying pressure on the QB was a matter of concern. Yes, Wilfork (NT) and Warren (LE) are formidable player, but Seymour is considered by many to be the leader of the line. Well, his replacement, Jarvis Green was certainly up to the task. Number 97 recorded 2 sacks and was generally in the face of the Jets passers the whole day, applying pressure that allowed Mike Vrabel to also record 2.5 sacks on the day.

Asinine
While it did not result in a turnover, there was one play were Wes Welker made a questionable decision when he was in to return a punt. Punt comes up field, Welker does not call for a fair catch. The ball bounces a yard or two in front of him, but just beyond the ball is a defender approaching. After the ball bounces, Welker grabs the ball and is instantaneously grabbed by the defender. With the punting team player so close, I would think that BB would rather concede the 3-5 yards the ball MIGHT have bounced down field than risk a turn over which could occur when the ball and coverage player arrive at almost the same time.

Asante
To start the game the cornerback were Ellis Hobbs and Randall Gay. And then on the second defensive series, Asante Samuel came in and played much of not all of the rest of the game. Yes, he had only been activated just before the game, but it did seem to indicate that BB was making a wee bit of a statement about not being in camp, meant that he would not start the season. I am hoping that it was more of a reward for the hard work that Gay put in this summer than it might have been of a punishment for Samuel. I want to think that there is a chance that we can sign him to a new contract once the season ends (and he is a free agent) even though we could not get one done this past off season and the team franchised him. All that being said, I still noticed him relying on that knock out punch type of tackle, where a DB will apply a big hit with the shoulder, but not wrap up the offensive player with the ball. This is a league wide trend and one that can produce turnovers but also has the tendency to allow a larger running back to recover and move up field for lots of extra yardage. On the play that I am thinking of Ty Warren crashed into the back field driving the running play deep into the backfield and outside to the right. Asante came up and applied the big hit but did not take down the ball carrier. Fortunately a second defender arrived and tackled the Jet for a 4 yard loss. But the loss would have been closer to 7 yards if #22 had actually tackled. Should he be back in as the defacto starter? Hmm, he did after all allow Laveranues Coles to get into the end-zone for that touchdown.

All the Way
If you are honest, you will admit that when the second half kick off settled into Ellis Hobbs arms 8 yards deep in the end-zone, you were thinking that he would surely take a knee. And you know that you began to scream NO!! (either inwardly or in fact quite verbally) thinking that he had gone completely crazy. Well, Ellis was crazy. Like a fox. On a play that initially looked as promising as the chances of Lindsay Lohan staying out of rehab, our own #27 found a seem or two, broke through one tackle at about the 30 yard line and ran all the way to a new NFL record. His 108 yard kickoff return established a new mark that is not likely to be broken soon. The longest possible would be 109 yards. The previous record of 106 yards was last achieved in 1979. Way to go Ellis!

Addition
Bringing in Sammy Morris may just prove to be the most important, yet seemingly unheralded move, of the season. While he is not as fast as Laurence Maroney, on this day he made much more of his chances to carry the ball gaining 54 yards on 11 carries. Against the Jets he was hitting the line with more power and getting more yards par carry, by far, than #39. And most impressively he did this when the Jets knew the Patriots were going to be running the ball. In the 4th quarter, with the visitors ahead 31-14 and wanting to take time off the game clock the Patriots began running the ball. New York saw this coming and began putting more people at the line of scrimmage to stop the Patriot runners. During these final 8 to 10 minutes the general rule was that Maroney would get 2 yards per carry and Morris would get 5. There has to be some reason that during the same period of the game, that Morris was getting better production than Maroney. Some have mentioned that Maroney has been trying to make a cut behind the line of scrimmage, that he is trying to make more than one cut or that he is simply not hitting the holes head on or at full speed. All I know is that as the day wore on, Maroney’s yards per carry continued to drop. Final point on Morris: I loved when, after falling down just behind the LOS that he got back up and still hit the hole turning a loss of one into a 7 yard gain. He is not going to be stopped, and I am glad he is on the team.

Airborne
I loved how Heath Evans got a second chance at scoring a TD and then made sure he got it when he went flying over the pile into the end-zone. He, of course, was following right behind his flight leader Junior Seau whom went leaping over the pile just before him.

Well, all in all it was a good start to the season. A win is a win. But next week, the Chargers will pose a formidable foe. I think we have more than a chance against them. Certainly our offense has to be more of a challenge to them than the one the Bears put on the field.

Go Pats

Erdoboy
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