Expectations Everywhere

Every one seems to be jumping on the bandwagon. And in the process of jumping seems to be missing a lot of the things that happened in the game. I get so tired of listening to those on TV who prattle on about how the Patriots once again won big and are still undefeated and looking powerful. Clearly these people are pulling a Ron Borges and commenting on something that they have not even watched. Because there was plenty to be concerned about in the Browns game if you had a mind to be honest, open and took notes. And it is clear that a lot of the professional analysts seem to be just playing follow the leader and not sticking their necks out to do much actual reporting.

I am not trying to rain on the parade, but the Dallas Cowboys are a pretty darn good team and are unlikely to play the same low level of execution that they committed in Buffalo. Seriously, about the only QB who could serve up 5 INTs in back to back games will be in Chicago on Sunday.

Erratic
Say what you will about the blowout victory. Say what you want about Brady still boasting a QB rating of 128. Say what you want about players dropping some balls in this game.

In the second half Tom Brady was not throwing very well. And on this point I am directing my attention to his release and throwing motion. In watching the game I noticed that there was a clear change in the third quarter as the ball began to take off on Da Prince. It appeared that the ball was leaving his hand from a different point and was not coming in a direct path, but more of a looping motion. During this season when has he EVER overthrown Randy Moss? Before this game would anyone have thought that it was even possible to overthrown Randy Moss? And yet as the game wore on, the passes continued to sail far over the head of number 81 who in some cases was not even able to make a valiant effort to catch the ball that was headed for, well, to Cleveland.

Having recently read his book, and noting that he often talks to a coach in California about his throwing mechanics, I fervently hope that a phone call to that number in Northern Cali is made this week. Please.

Because we need to have back what we saw those first 4 weeks. We need to see what will happen if everyone can bring their A game to Dallas. And mostly because if Brady continues to be so erratic, he will surely have a game similar to the one Tony Romo had in Buffalo on Monday night.

BTW, if you do not get down on your knees each and every day and thank God for allowing YOUR New England Patriots to have drafted No. 12, then you need a wake up call or to have your head examined. Players like this come along only once a generation. And thankful is the only term that should be used to describe him being in Patriot Blue.

The day will come when we look back on him and his time on the team and say, “Man, do you remember watching Brady work his magic? And that 2007 season was just insane!”

Don’t ever take it for granted.

Ends, Defensively
One thing that the Browns did to great success on Sunday was to run to the weak side of the defense, right at Jarvis Green and Roosevelt Colvin. And on many plays Green, despite being in the back field and having clear shots at the running back, was unable to secure a tackle or stop the runner. IN general the tackling on defense was the worst that it has been of the first 5 games. For some reason, the first man through rarely was able to wrap up the tackler and make the stop.

Often this type of failure comes from the defender trying to make that knockout punch hit instead of a tackle. Were that the case then I would be less concerned as this would be a matter that the coaches could, well, coach. However what I saw was Defensive ends Green and Warren as well as end linebackers allowing running backs to slip through their fingers. The Patriots' front 7 has long prided itself on being able to stop the run. On this day they gave up way too many yards on the ground(after the initial hit). (Could this be a new stat? Instead of YAC, there would be a YAH Yards After Hit.)If that were a rating, we would have not done too well on this last week.

No matter, it must improve against Dallas' two headed running back attack.

Extension
His string of 100 yard rushing games was extended this week. More correctly, his string of 100 yard rushing games, BEGAN. Sammy Morris, hit the century mark for only the third time in his NFL career, but for the second consecutive week. Also consider that for almost three quarters of the game, Morris WAS the ground game. His duty in the game was extended to all 3 downs when Kevin Faulk left the game with a leg injury. At one point he was in the game for 32 consecutive plays. When was the last time we saw that? Corey Dillon would have been tapping his helmet after the 3rd play. It does raise the questions “When are we going to see Laurence Maroney?” and “Is he going to be one of those what if backs who fails to stand up to rigors of the game in the NFL?”

But for now, we know that the Morris is playing strong. Stronger than anyone expected back in the spring.

Eagle Down, Help!
What I know is that despite Russ Hockstein doing a serviceable job at center, we really missed the Boston College grad. Belichick has been heaping praise on No.67 for his line calls and his play. Yet, there were several places in the game where it seemed that having Koppen in the game would have meant touchdowns instead of kicks for three. In the second quarter, with the Patriots up 10-0 they got into the Browns red zone and were set up with a goal to go situation. Yet with Dan out of the plan, and the marker at 3rd and goal at the 4 the called running play was a total disaster. Lineman Robaire Smith, No.98, shot past Hochstein like a arrow and dropped Sammy Morris for a 3 yard loss.

Call it a hunch, but I believe if our starting center was in there, we would have gotten closer to the goal line.

Effort
On New England’s first TD drive, Donté Stallworth showed that he was waiting for a chance to shine and was not going to be denied. From the Browns’ 34 Brady hit Donté with a 7 yard pass and the defenders closed in for the tackle. However on this play he was determined to score and set out on a mission to get the ball across the line. He ran to the left side of the field and was hit by two defenders. Somehow he remained vertical and fought his way up field where another player hit him. He began to drag the tackler and then broke free racing the last 10 yards into the end zone. This is the kind of effort that is reminiscent of the 2001 team in the playoffs. And it impressed me greatly.

Encourager
In this game I saw something about Bill Belichick that once again made me understand why these players will run through walls and fire for him. We saw it last year in the final game of the regular season when he gave Vinny Testevede the chance to set the consecutive seasons with a TD pass record. This time Belichick, through the play calling of Josh McDaniels, gave one Donté Stallworth a shot at redeeming himself.

On third down, just inside Cleveland territory Brady fired a pass in Stallworth’s direction that would have been enough for a 1st down and kept a scoring drive alive. Stallworth was wide open and the ball hit him dead on. However, Donté made a rookie mistake in trying to do too much and began to run before he had possession of the ball. Result being that the ball bounced off his hands and fell to earth, killing the teams chance to maintain momentum and adding to the ever increasing number of incompletions for Brady in this game. You could see that Stallworth was very upset with himself. For the first 4 games, he had been taking a back seat to the play and pass catching skills of Moss. And here in a game where the opposing defense had taken number 81 out of the equation, BB and company had flipped across the field to number 18 to fill the void. And now he had showed that he was not up to the task. Might this not affect his opportunities to contribute?

Yet, as soon as the Patriots’ offense retook the field the coaches decided to show Donté that he was not in the dog house and would still be counted on to be a big part of the offense. Lined up to the right, number 18 ran to the left through the backfield and took the ball on a reverse. He cut the corner and picked up 10 yards and a new first down. Three plays later Brady hit Stall worth again from the Cleveland 26 to the 9 to set up a first and goal.

Stallworth was kept in the game both physically and mentally. And certainly more importantly, for the season. I think #18 is going to not get jaded and resigned to mistakes and work his brains out to be an important part of this team.

Effusive
Of course our recently adopted malcontent WR had been a happy camper through the first 4 weeks. He was catching balls and scoring TDs literally at a record pace. But the cynics among us were worried and speculated that once he dropped from being the lead catcher that the pouting would begin and Randy would be more like moss. Well this was not the ultimate test, seeing as the Patriots still managed to win, but number 81 seems to have weathered his first test. Limited to a mere 3 catches for a lowly 46 yards with no scores and watching team-mates Stallworth and Watson score and catch at will, Moss was still in good spirits at the end of the game, smiling and enjoying the win.

Mr. Moss seems to have re-found the joy of the game, the joy of winning and the joy, if you will, of being a decoy. Because he knows that the team will use him to its advantage, to the purpose of winning. He has seen the machine and has been assimilated. He is....drinking the kool-aid. And it makes him smile.

End Notes
In summary of the game, there is one amazing thing that we can take from this game when compared to the the season thus far.

The Patriots did play a pretty decent game on Sunday. And they won by a pretty respectable 17 points. And yet I and many look at it as a let down, a failure to execute. That alone tells you how unprecedented the first 4 games have been.

This team's BAD day is still at the level of play that most teams dream of playing. And their good days? Heads and shoulders above the other teams.

What is really scary?
I believe we have yet to see this team play anywhere close to a great or perfect game.
Heaven help the team on the other side of the ball when that happens.

Oh, and once again, be sure to say a prayer of thanks for Tom Brady.

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Erdoboy
Go Pats!!