tedylb

I'll try not to mention the obvious, such as how hard it is to defend the Pats' offense, how valuable Faulk and Maroney and our O-line are, how lucky we are to be NE sports fans, etc. But a few players seemed to get overlooked:

* Heath Evans. Evans showed his value with two key first downs and great lead blocks to spring Maroney. And is it true that our RB's and receivers have not lost a fumble all year? Incredible.

*Kelly Washington. One of the big plays of the game was Washington's great save of the punt, downing it on the 4. A few plays later, Rivers tossed a pick and Brady put us in the endzone in three plays. Kelly's a fine receiver who has accepted his role as a valuable STer. BTW, special teams were terrific too.

* The old guys. Junior, Tedy & Rodney were all huge in the red zone. Junior's stop on Turner with third and goal at the one, saved 4 points. These three are on a mission and won't be denied. People say they're too old, but what team has finished stronger against our D in the fourth quarter? They're not too old for me.

We have a roster where everyone knows his role and executes it. This allows a rare Brady three pick game, and Moss only one reception. But Moss had a key first down on the reverse, and he knocked 290 pound Luis Castillo out of the game with a crushing block. He's just one of 53 quietly doing his job. As long as they all do, I'm not going to worry. San Diego is a great team. They won 8 straight and outplayed the Colts. But they couldn't match us when it counted. Do you think the Giants will on their second try?

ctpatsfan77

Another person who deserves credit--whoever it was who got the first hit on Antonio Cromartie after his INT (Kaczur is listed as getting the tackle, but he wasn't the one who brought him down). [It was clearly one of the skill players, but I'm not sure which one.]

__________________
"Momentum was quickly snatched away by New England, who once again proved that any Patriot, at any moment, can make a play." —Inside the NFL, Packers v. Patriots

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Heck67

Mankins was a beast

JoeSixPat

I already waxed poetic about Washington and Evans in another thread... so I'll just second here that the Red Zone defense was really the difference in this game

If they played half as good - which still would have been pretty good - we lose this game.

'nuff said... we're not unbeatable and need to play better in two weeks

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

ironwasp

It was Welker. It was a good tackle, not least because he was momentarily caught off guard and had to wake up quickly so snag him around the ankles.

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

DW Toys

It was Welker and I think Gaffney got a piece.
DW Toys