Early on in the week I was thinking that the Steelers had a very good chance of winning this game. Then as I went back and watched the tape of the game I began to get a peaceful feeling. And by Saturday evening I was all mellow and happy with the upcoming game. Along comes Sunday. Before the game, I went to Panera (Moto: We have more coffee than you can ever drink. Guaranteed!) I was O.K. until a worker began offering to refill my cup for me and escalated the consumption of the juice of the coffee bean. To the tune of 6 cups of coffee. And just like that the calm of the day was gone. I came back to the house and was a bundle of nerves. Did we have a chance? The Steelers are really good. And this would be game number 13. I had said it would be lucky 13 for us but what if I was just being foolish. Yes, I had a caffeine monkey on my back and needed to get rid of it. So I went and did all sorts of cleaning and Christmas decorating in the hour before the game. And it all took about 15 minutes. And I was still bouncing.

All I know is that I am never drinking that much coffee before a game ever again.

Mother Nature
A word of thanks to her for holding off on the precipitation that MR. weather man was calling for. As far as I can tell there was no snow or worse rain until after the game.

Mrs. B
Along about Saturday night I realized that one of the things that I had not been doing the last two weeks, when the Patriots had been squeaking by, was to call her before the game. For the previous 10 weeks I had called each week before the game started. So this week I called her just before kick-off, knowing that she is convalescing at home with a bad back. And so began a game of tag all game long as we called each other following most of the scores. Then as that seemed to be daring fate we both sensed that it was time to chill on the calls lest we gloat before the mojo of the phone.

Mojo Hat
I had it. I wore it. It worked. That is all you need to know. Except that I will need to get a replacement battery before the next game. The fiber-optic lights are growing weak and faint.

Mono D-Line
Taking a page from Belichick’s book of crazy defenses, Dick LeBeau sent the Steelers into a freaking alignment with 1 tackle and about 53 linebackers. This happened twice, both times when New England had a 3rd down and 10. In both cases the only pass catcher that Brady could find open was Ben Watson. In both cases, he caught the ball far short of the first down, killing the drive. And in both cases they happened on the same drive. Sort of. (Remember how the punt was touched by a Pittsburgh player who was blocking the New England cover man.

This crazy formation which forwent pressure on the passer focused on not allowing any of the receivers to really get open. And it worked like magic.

Milestones
It has been a while since I addressed the numbers the offense has been putting up. So to get us caught up:
- Brady had 4 TDs giving him 45 for the season. No.2 all time and needing only 4 more over the last 3 games to tie the NFL record. He could get that next week.

- Brady has gone over 4,000 yards on the season. With potential big scoring games the next two weeks he has a shot at breaking the NFL record. Especially since the Patriots are using the passing as a running game AND a passing game 330 yards per game is almost doable. I predict that Belichick will want to stick it to the Jets next week for Spygate, so even if the Pats are up 50-0 I think Brady stays in the game. The with a chance to sweep the division for the first time ever he will want to bury the Dolphins. Look for mega numbers the next 2 weeks. I am.

- Team scoring has now eclipsed the 500 point mark. See above. This amazing number is almost lost in the aftermath of the win over the Steelers. After the last 2 weeks I began to wonder if they would pass the 2001 Rams. Now it seems that they are back on pace. Like Buzz Lightyear, to infinity and beyond.

- Randy Moss has now caught 19 TD passes. He had a sure no. 20 but let it go through his hands, Now he is second all time behind Rice at 22.

And finally,
- Coach Bill Belichick achieved his 100th career victory in New England. If you include the Playoffs.

McDaniels
Offensive coordinator and wizened (age31) play calling guru certainly had his auxiliary bag of tricks open for this game. The one that he keeps on the shelf behind his Harry Potter books. A double reverse lateral pass converted to a long TD? Insane. But Josh, How about a few more screens? Oh, how about a lateral pass fake screen. No, I have no idea what that would look like either.

Magician
On the 2nd TD pass to Randy Moss Brady and Maroney engaged in an impressive bit of slight of hand that enables No, 81 to get open to the point it were as if he were a cheetah being followed by a Basset Hound. This play involved one of Brady’s favorite things, the play action. He fakes a hand off to Maroney that was so impressive that even the TV cameraman begins to follow no.39. I mean the ball just disappeared. Maroney doubled over to aid in the illusion, but Brady must have hid the ball as well as I have ever seen him do it. It reminded me of the times in the 2001 season, when with Charlie Weiss he would fake that snap over his head and it looked real. Tonight against the Steelers, because of them doing such a good job selling the run, the safeties both bit herd on the run and never came close to dropping back to help cover the middle of the secondary. It also left Pittsburgh’s cornerback, no. 24 alone with Randy Moss. By the time the ball arrived in Moss’ hands he was a good 10 yards behind the cornerback.

Another aspect to why this play was so successful was in how Moss sold the beginning. He lined up wide left. Began a slant route where he was sort of jogging. Hey Jawarski, Randy is taking this play off because it is a running play and he had no involvement. And just as the safeties were looking at this with the amazing disappearing ball, Moss hits the NOs and explodes down the middle of the field.

Moss
First of all, WOW!
Second, OH WOW!
Third, um..WOW WOW WOW??

Color me over-analytical but I think that when Randy “dropped” that ball from Brady on the flea-flicker. I think that this was part of the plan so that the players in the secondary might think it was an incomplete pass and not what it was, a backwards pass; a.k.a. a lateral. Ok, so maybe I am assuming a bit. But that drop was what really sold the play to make it work.

One other thing, It would seem that Mr. Moss got the message about taking plays off. In “THE” running play of the game, where Maroney ran into a pile, seemed to be stopped and then the pile began to move and move and move. One of the things that helped the pile to keep rolling was Moss coming in from the outside and knocking off a defensive back that was pushing back at the front of the pile. This, THIS is what the team needs to do. Everyone involved on every play. And look what happened.

Money in the bank
As much as Wes Welker has become known for his routes over the middle and his toughness in taking hits, I contend that he has a more lethal use.

The quick square out.

I noted that during the Colts game this play was open all day. And it was there during much of this game as well. If Welker lines up in about 3 yards outside the left tackle or tight end and a yard of the ball. Who ever the wide out is to his left just has to run a clearing route. Welker sprints to the first down marker, about 2-4 yards, and cuts hard left instead of inside like he normally does. The defender is trying to play him close so as to not allow the first down. But when Brady throws the ball he can throw in front of No.83 or behind him. And here is what makes this play so deadly. Because Welker can basically change directions 180 degrees in a split second, he can catch either one. And if the defender plays one way, Wes just goes the other breaking the ankles of the DB trying to stay with him. They ran this play again on Sunday afternoon with 3:39 left in the 3rd qtr putting the Patriots over 500 points for the season.

Man Wave
I could watch Vince Wilfork’s “sack” of Ben Roethlisberger non stop for the next week. It was not so much a sack as it was a wall of blue water crashing down on the Pittsburgh QB. No. 75 just broke through the line and swept over No.7. A thing of beauty.

Mystery Call
When New England went ahead 17-13 with 47 seconds left in the half there was a flag thrown on the ensuing kickoff. What was the call on the field? “There is no foul for an illegal block in the back.” Um, if it is illegal, how can there not be a foul?

Matt, Matt, Matt (shaking head)
Well, once again our left table Matt Light had what seems to be his obligatory false start of the game. At least he has found a way to work it into the game further along into the game. When he does it on the first drive of the game it just kills drives. And again I ask, how is this happening at home where the fans should be relatively quiet. I mean he KNOWS the snap count. What is there to be confused about and move early?

Finally

Mangini
Suddenly all the hype for this up coming game seems to not even be close to what I now feel will happen when Eric Mangini and his NY Jets come to town. Before, this game out there in the future. The Dec. 16 game with the jets has been a thing of lore and speculation. Now, suddenly it is here. Smack dab in our sites. With no distractions, Gang Green will have the total attention of the team. The team that made life a living hell for Patriot Nation and most specifically Bill Belichick. I think for this week, the Boys in Blue will once again have Bill’s Back. And they will not need 6 cups of coffee to do it. Mangini, Be Afraid. Be VERY Afraid.

As Always
Go Pats!

Erdoboy
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