Pats Pulpit

Patriots Friday Practice/Injury Report

2009-11-20T21:34:07Z

Patriots Friday Practice/Injury Report

QUESTIONABLE
WR Sam Aiken (hip)
LB Eric Alexander (groin)
TE Chris Baker (shoulder)
LB Tully Banta-Cain (groin) (practiced today for the first time this week: limited.)
NT Ron Brace (ankle)
WR Julian Edelman (forearm)
DE Jarvis Green (knee) (practiced for the first time this week: limited.)
C Dan Koppen (knee)
T Matt Light (knee)
RB Sammy Morris (knee)
G Stephen Neal (head)
LB Rob Ninkovich (knee)
DE Ty Warren (ankle)

PROBABLE
QB Tom Brady (right shoulder)
CB Shawn Springs (knee)
TE Benjamin Watson (knee)

The only player officially out for Sunday is Fred Taylor (ankle)

Focusing on Jersey: Patriots take on Jets this Sunday

2009-11-20T20:16:01Z

More photos » by Stephan Savoia - AP

Somehow he looks taller than he really is

Browse more photos »

Rivalries are great things. They pit one team against another and, in our cases, one fanbase against the other. Head writers from our AFC East blogs always get a little "what about us" when I go into depth about the Patriots rivalry with the Colts and, to an extent, they have a point. Division rivalries are usually a bit more geographic, hence more tangible in a sense. The closer a city or state is, the more likelihood of having traveled there. Aside from geography, we play the other 3 teams in our division twice a year and typically have to get through them to make the playoffs. You know, win the division? This hasn't been a problem in past years. In fact, New England owned the division from 2003-2007, up until last year when the 11-5 Dolphins were crowned AFC East Division Champions.

The Indianapolis Colts rivalry stems from a number of things, but 2 come to mind: both teams possess 2 of the best quarterbacks to have ever played the game and our teams typically have to contend with each other for playoff consideration. After Sunday's heart wrenching loss, there's not much else we can do but focus on the rest of the season and concentrate on taking the division. In the cross hairs for this coming Sunday are the New York Jets.

Aside from the fact that Bostonians typically have an irrational dislike of New Yorkers and vice versa, there's an enormous amount of history between these 2 franchises. After losing Super Bowl XXXI in 1996 to Green Bay, then New England head coach Bill Parcells, still in the last year of a 5 year contract with Kraft, took the head coaching job with the Jets. As compensation, the Jets handed the Patriots a first round draft pick. NE defensive coordinator Bill Belichick, and most of the coaching staff, went to New York with Bill Parcells.

Belichick was being groomed to assume head coaching duties for the Jets and when Parcells retired from coaching in 1999, Hoodie was the heir apparent. The next day, Belichick took the podium and issued his now infamous resignation, "I resign as HC of the NYJ". Belichick later accepted the head coaching job with the New England Patriots. The Jets claimed he was still under contract and demanded compensation. Then Commissioner Paul Tagliabue agreed and NE gave up a first round draft pick to New York.

The rest is history.

This year, NE still sits atop the division, but with a tenuous lead over the Miami Dolphins. At 6-3, our Patriots MUST continue to distance themselves from the 5-5 Dolphins. After our last minute loss to Indy, New York looks like a likely target for a drubbing. And head coach Rex Ryan is making it easy. Swagger is one thing, but outright trash talk will get your statements taped to someone's locker.

"I’ll just put it this way: Having Revis allows us to do things that most people don’t do, or have the courage for," Ryan said. "Man coverage. Man-up, and say, ‘Here we are.’ Now, Kerry Rhodes covers a lot of ground. So what may look like cover-2, because of the range Kerry has, might’ve been cover-1. Hey, all I can say is, we’ve got the best corner in the league and I don’t think there’s any dispute about that."

Best corner in the league? Revis is very good, don't get me wrong, but best in the league? If so we're happy to seem him taken out of the game all day covering Randy Moss. Tom Brady will simply carve up the Jets secondary with Wes Welker, Benjamin Watson, and Julian Edelman. Moss as a decoy? It's worked before.

Back to the division. After a fairly hot start, Rex and his boys have gotten banged around a bit. After going 3-0 to start the season, they managed a 1-5 record since, there only win in the last 6 games against the dreadful Oakland Raiders. Even Jacksonville and Buffalo took them to task, so it's interesting to see how Rex's swagger has dulled a bit and he's really only spouting about player matchups.

Ryan will need to remember this is a very different Patriots than he faced in Week 2. Brady's shaken off a lot of rust, Welker is back, Julian Edelman has distinguished himself as a legitimate "Welker Jr.", and there's significantly more film on Ryan's defensive strategies than in the beginning of the year. Oh, did I mention the loss to the Colts? I think Belichick is going to work to hang as many points on the Jets as he can humanly muster. If he hits triple digits, I don't think there's many that will cry foul. 59 points on the hapless Titans was roundly condemned by rival fans who know squat about football. Even THEY won't have an issue if we hang a hundred on Jabba the Rex.

New England Patriots Links 11/20/09 - Jets' CB Darrelle Revis Had Help Against Moss

2009-11-20T15:13:59Z

See if Revis can stop me when I hop like this...

View full size photo »

Dave Hutchison (Newark Star-Ledger) NY Jets D-Coordinator Mike Pettine says Darrelle Revis had help vs. Moss.

Asked Thursday how much of Revis' coverage of Moss in the first game was man-to-man, Pettine said:

"I don't have numbers. We mixed our coverages up a lot. You have to do that against New England. You can't give them one look. I can say this, we weren't in a lot of true cover zero (man-on-man) with no help. Nobody in the league is. Most teams in the league, I would be shocked if they averaged more than four or five snaps a game of straight man coverage with no help.''

Phil Simms shares his thoughts on Pats-Jets, including this opinion of last week's 4th & 2:

"It’s been documented that this was a premeditated thought. The whole week leading up to the game, he decided he was going to do this. I always tell people this about coaches: if it’s fourth-and-one from the one, the last play of the game, coaches already know what play they’re going to call. They determine those kinds of things during the week.

So do I agree? It’s not about agreeing. Would I have done it? No, I would not have done it. What gets overlooked is not having timeouts. If he would have had one, I believe he would have won the challenge because in my mind Kevin Faulk was past the 30 yard line and clearly had possession of the football. It’s a general rule in the NFL to use your timeouts, no matter what, in the first half. In the second half, save them regardless of almost any situation, unless it’s a scoring opportunity. Save those timeouts for the end of the game."

Christopher Price lists his Five Things to watch for Sunday afternoon, including success in the red zone.

"We’re not doing as well in that area of the field as we’d like to do, as we feel like we can do, and we need to do a better job of it," Belichick said. "There’s no other way to put it, and those are important points — the difference between 3 and 7 — those are important points both ways and we have to coach it better, we have to play it better. We’ve got to play our best football in that area of the field because there’s a lot at stake, and there are a lot of things we need to do better.’’

TEAM TALK

Erik Scalavino reports Julian Edelman is still learning, contributing; Jerod Mayo is looking to sharpen his focus; Plus Thursday news and notes from Gillette.
Andy Hart presents Jerod Mayo's response to Tedy Bruschi and the media.
Patriots Today: Jets are heading in; Hannah and more. (9:12 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

Adam Kilgore hears Jerod Mayo and the Patriots come to the defense of Bill Belichick, respectfully dismissing Bruschi's post-game comments.
Ian Rapoport reports Wes Welker's presence will make all the difference against the Jets Sunday.
Chris Gasper notes the Patriots might be catching kleenex Rex and his Jets at just the right time on Sunday, with their season in a downward spiral.
Christopher Price says the Patriots haven't relied on so many first year players as they have this season since 2003 — when Ty Warren, Asante Samuel, Eugene Wilson, Dan Koppen and Dan Klecko were all rookies on a team that ended up winning Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Mike Reiss looks at the penalty count for the Patriots this season, saying they were flagged for just four accepted penalties last Sunday.
Adam Kilgore reports the Patriots have settled into something of a return-by-committee operation.
Jeff Howe focuses on center Dan Koppen and why he's so trusted by Tom Brady.
Albert Breer notes Leon Washington is one Jet the Patriots don't have to worry about this time, out for the season with a broken leg.
Mike Reiss reports the Patriots signed new roster members Isaiah Stanback and Kyle Arrington to 2 year contracts.
Mike Reiss and Tedy Bruschi offer the transcript of their Thursday on-line chat. Good insight here as usual.
Tom Curran offers a few interesting articles on his Comcast Sportsnet blog that I can't link to individually but are easy enough to scroll to: PFT breaks down Moss coverage; The slow slide of Mark Sanchez; and Last words on 4th & 2 from NFLN.
Mike Reiss highlights the importance of sub-packages, and charts how the numbers break down this season based on press-box charting.
Boston Globe Patriots Notebook: Teams will have different looks this matchup; Kevin Faulk is first pick in picking up the blitz; Dan Koppen said his knee felt good against the Colts; Isaiah Stanback continues to practice at both WR and QB.

NATIONAL NEWS

Pat Fitzmaurice (ProFootballWeekly) Ten most intriguing players of Week 11. Randy Moss at number 1.
Tiki Barber and Jason Cole (Yahoo! Sports) Jets-Patriots Preview. (4:46 min. video)
Dan Graziano (NFL Fanhouse) It's Rex Ryan's party, he can cry if he wants to.
Tim Graham (ESPN) Dolphins still swimming in playoff pool.
Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) Players' picks Week 11. Pats over Jets 23-16.
Dan Pompei (NBC Sports) Nothing's normal for NFL coaches - it's all ball.
Kerry Byrne (ColdHardFootballFacts) Colts, Patriots top teams at sustaining drives.

VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Manish Mehta (Newark Star-Ledger) NY Jets know Tom Brady is back in a big way.
Rich Cimini (NY Daily News) NY Jets CB Darrelle Revis wants to cover Randy Moss man-to-man.
Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post) Revis ready for rematch against Moss.
Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post) Jets look for big returns from new special teamers.
Tim Smith (NY Daily News) NY Jets must punch New England Patriots in the mouth.
Greg Bishop (NY Times) Facing Patriots, Jets know it's now or never mind.

Jabba the Rex

2009-11-20T02:22:42Z

Jabba the Rex

This is a pretty funny animation from the Global Sports Fraternity. Cool stuff...

Series History: Patriots vs. Jets

2009-11-19T21:19:30Z

A few Pats-Jets Nuggets of Note, courtesy of the New England Patriots Media Department:

May all of the holes appear this big to Laurence Maroney on Sunday.

The Patriots, who fell to the Jets at the Meadowlands, 16-9, on Sept. 20, have not been swept in a season series with a divisional opponent since 2000.

New England owns a 41-12 (.774) record in regular season AFC East games since the beginning of the 2001 season, compiling the best intra-division record of any team in the NFL over the last eight seasons.

Since the beginning of the 2003 season, the Patriots are 20-1 (.952) in games following a regular-season loss, including a 2-0 record in such games this season. Over the last five-plus seasons (2003-09), the Patriots have only lost back-to-back games on one occasion (Nov.5 and Nov. 12, 2006).

STRONG IN THE SECOND HALF
The Patriots have traditionally stepped things up a notch as the calendar has flipped to November. Since 2001, New England has done a remarkable job of finishing the season strong, compiling a 71-18 (.798) record after Nov. 1, including playoff games. Additionally, since 2001, the Patriots are 52-10 (.839) in games played after Thanksgiving Day and are 23-4 (.852) in games played after Christmas.

SERIES HISTORY
The Patriots and Jets will meet for the second time in 2009, with the Patriots looking to avenge the 16-9 loss in Week 2 at the Meadowlands. It will be the 101st meeting since the series between the AFC East rivals began in 1960. The Jets are leading the all-time series with a 50-49-1 advantage. The teams split the season series last season with the Patriots beating the Jets, 19-10, at the Meadowlands and the Jets beating the Patriots, 34-31, in overtime at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots have won 11 of their last 14 games against the Jets (including one playoff game). The Patriots have swept the season series with the Jets in four of the last six seasons. New England is 20-12 against the Jets since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994. New England's 49 victories over the Jets (including two playoff wins) are the second most over any single opponent, trailing only Buffalo with 59 all-time wins.

Tully Banta-Cain will hopefully be back to his quarterback-sacking ways soon.

SERIES BREAKDOWN
NEW YORK 50, New England 49, 1 Tie
(Including New England 2, New York 0 in Playoffs)

Home Record, 25-24-1 (incl. 1-0 in playoffs)
- Record in Foxborough, 21-18
- Gillette Stadium, 5-3
- Foxboro Stadium, 16-15
- Record in Boston, 4-5-1
- Record in Birmingham, Alabama, 0-1

Away Record, 24-26 (incl. 1-0 in playoffs)
- Giants Stadium, 17-10 (incl. 1-0 playoffs)
- Shea Stadium, 5-14
- Polo Grounds, 2-2

Seasonal Sweeps, Jets 14 (most recent '00), Patriots 13 ('07)

Bill Belichick vs. N.Y. Jets, 14-8 (13-7 with New England)

DIVISIONAL DOMINANCE
The New England Patriots own a 41-12 (.774) record in regular season AFC East games since the beginning of the 2001 season, compiling the best intra-division record of any team in the NFL over the last eight seasons.

RECENT PATRIOTS-JETS GAMES
The Patriots and Jets have played 18 times since 2001, with New England holding a 13-5 advantage in those games. Since 2003, the Patriots are 11-3 against the Jets and have allowed New York to score more than 17 points in a game just two times over that span.

PASSING PERFORMANCES
Tom Brady owns a 12-3 record against the Jets as a starting quarterback including regular-season and playoff games. Brady's 12 overall victories over the Jets are his second highest total over a single opponent, trailing only his 14 wins over the Buffalo Bills.

Patriots Thursday Practice/Injury Report

2009-11-19T22:13:37Z

Patriots Thursday Practice/Injury Report

Did Not Practice:
OLB Tully Banta Cain (groin/rib)
DE Jarvis Green (knee)
G Stephen Neal (head)
LB Rob Ninkovich (knee)
RB Fred Taylor (ankle)

Limited participation:
WR Sam Aiken (hip)
LB Eric Alexander (groin)
TE Chris Baker (shoulder)
NT Ron Brace (ankle)
WR Julian Edelman (forearm)
C Dan Koppen (knee)
LT Matt Light (knee)
RB Sammy Morris (knee)
DE Ty Warren (ankle)

Full participation:
QB Tom Brady (right shoulder)
CB Shawn Springs (knee)
TE Benjamin Watson (back)

LB Gary Guyton (illness) and WR Randy Moss (not injury related) were removed from the participation report.

Jets Week: A Tale of Two Coaches

2009-11-19T17:25:00Z

Jets Week: A Tale of Two Coaches

New England Patriots Links 11/19/09 - Jets Go From Swagger To Stagger

2009-11-19T14:37:39Z

More photos » by Stephan Savoia - AP

Brandon McGowan and Jonathan Wilhite stretch before practice.

Browse more photos »

Karen Guregian notes Rex Ryan was asked if he would have made the same call as Bill Belichick.

If I would have made that decision and it wouldn’t have worked, I’d be hanging from the Empire State Building.

Bill Belichick responds to whether the Jets defense surprised them in week 2.

No. We knew they were a pressure team. They're a good defense. They've done a good job. They're one of the best defenses in the league. They haven't given up very many points at all on the defensive side of the ball. They have a good scheme. They've got good players. They've played well against everybody and they certainly played well against us down there in Giants Stadium. We know they're a good defense and they do a good job. For us to win, we're going to have to be more competitive in all three phases of the game, but certainly offensively we're going to have to get the ball in the end zone. I don't think you can expect to beat the Jets just by kicking a couple of field goals. That's not going to be enough.

Chris Baker on if the Patriots have contempt for the Jets

I don't think so. I thought there was when I came up here, but it's really not. It has everything to do with one game at a time. Obviously, it's a rivalry. They know us. We know them. It was nothing that I thought it was being on that side of the rivalry. I always thought that they didn't respect us. It couldn't be further than what is in here. We have more of a healthy respect for what they do.

TEAM TALK

Erik Scalavino says the Patriots are still working on improving their red zone production, plus news and notes from Wednesday's practice.
Wednesday Press Conferences: Tom Brady (15 min.) and Bill Belichick (17:46 min.)
Wednesday Conference Calls: Bill Belichick and Chris Baker. Transcripts.
Patriots Today: Message is simple, moving on to the Jets. (9:09 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

Karen Guregian notes Belichick's Patriots know how to bounce back from a loss.
The Herald reports since Belichick took over in 2000, the Pats have only had six losing streaks of two or more games and looks at the rare occasions the Pats haven’t regrouped after a loss.
Mike Reiss observes it's times like these [moving on from and emotional loss] when the leadership of players such as Brady and Seau is particularly noticeable. It wasn't that they were pretending the Colts loss didn't happen; it was more about them putting the result in its proper perspective.
Christopher Price considers the numbers showing how Tom Brady has managed to shake off the inconsistencies that plagued him over the first few weeks of the 2009 season and return to the same familiar pre-knee injury form.
Shalise Manza Young reports Brady spilled that Belichick cursed out the team when the players came back to work on Wednesday. Brady added that the best way to get over a loss is to get back to work.
Karen Guregian notes Rex Ryan is still confident his team can beat the Patriots again.
Shalise Manza Young reports Rex Ryan has been humbled in recent weeks, but only just a bit. Says Jets are better than their 4-5 record.
Ian Rapoport focuses on steady Dan Koppen and his important role at center.
Chris Forsberg catches up with Kevin Faulk and his thoughts about his bobbled catch, Maroney's rare fumble and moving on to the Jets.
Ian Rapoport notes NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira said 'the call' would have been hard to dispute and would have stood no matter what call linesman Ted Stabile made.
Mike Reiss looks at the snaps played by defenders against the Colts, tracks Patriots trends on that side of the ball, and updates us on the injury situation in Foxborough.
Boston Herald Patriots Notebook:: Jonathan Wilhite is focusing on the Jets and Braylon Edwards, not anymore on Reggie Wayne and the Colts; Tom Brady was honored by GQ magazine for Comeback of the Year; Florida QB Tim Tebow has scored 53 touchdowns, a Southeastern Conference mark that ties him with former Louisiana State star Faulk.
Ian Rapoport notes Jets CB Darrelle Revis is still jawing about stopping Moss in week 2, insisting he did it single-handedly.
Adam Kilgore and Monique Walker hear Darrelle Revis still pressing the Moss issue from week 2.

NATIONAL NEWS

Tim Graham (ESPN) Dolphins offense suffers Brown out.
Ross Tucker (SI) Five reasons why longer regular season would work in the NFL.
Alex Marvez (Fox Sports) It's a QBs world in today's NFL.
NFL.com Official Review Week 10. (7.48 min. video)
Jason Cole (Yahoo! Sports) Patriots' defense put Belichick in tough position. This is not the same defense of the Super Bowl years.
Richard Sandomir (NY Times) 'Sunday Night' gives NBC No. 1 prime-time program.

VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Gary Myers (NY Daily News) NY Jets head coach Rex Ryan still has a long history, culture to overhaul.
Hank Gola (NY Daily News ) New England Patriots quickly put Indianapolis Colts behind them, prepare for New York Jets.
Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post) Jets' week 2 win could be costly.
Jay Greenberg (NY Post) Ryan's missteps no joking matter.
Greg Bishop (NY Times) Ryan hasn't changed, he still believes in the Jets.
Tom Monkovic (NY Times) Is there a problem with Rex Ryan's crying?

MBTA driver Charice Lewis to be honored by Patriots

2009-11-19T01:19:49Z

View full size photo »

If you're not from the Boston area, you may not have read about this story. A little background, if I may. The "T", short for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is a network of trains, subways, buses, and boats that comprises much of the public transportation in the Boston area and its suburbs. I've used the MBTA for many years, especially during sporting events or concerts at "The Gahden".

Of particular note to this story, the subway system is divided into "Lines" which use colors to designate their routes. Orange Line, Green Line, Blue Line... you get the picture. I frequented the Orange and Green Lines in my youth because they went right through North Station, a stone's throw from Boston Garden, or whatever it's called today.

The subway system runs on electricity, the infamous "third rail" taking on the role of "Ole Sparky". We grew up getting a good scolding from our parents to avoid the third rail or ZAP!! Well, a few weeks back, a woman was waiting for the train at North Station where she was seen wobbling on the landing. She subsequently fell onto the tracks, inches from the third rail and seconds from being run over by an oncoming train. Alert bystanders waved frantically and the driver Charice Lewis stopped the train inches from the drunk woman. Check out the surveillance video (1:45 is about the best angle).

The Patriots have selected Charice to be their coach of the week and will replay the ceremony at halftime during this Sunday's Jets matchup.

Hats off Charice Lewis!

Interview: "Sports Jobs with Junior Seau" on VERSUS

2009-11-19T00:15:20Z

More photos » by Stephan Savoia - AP

Browse more photos »

One of the fun parts of this gig is the chance to interview people in the sports world. From athletes to sports columnists, it's cool playing "big time" sports media guy (I'm a legend in my own head). I also like to give you a bit of behind-the-scenes; to me, that's more fun than just listening to a plain, old interview.

I was contacted by a guy who knew a guy (seriously) to interview Junior Seau. VERSUS is broadcasting "Sports Jobs with Junior Seau". The concept is this: Junior takes on various sports jobs that are mostly behind the scenes type occupations. Check out the video after the jump for more about the jobs.

You get the picture. Well, representatives for VERSUS reached out to the blogging community to get on a conference call and interview Junior about the show. There were 2 of us football guys, but Hockey as well as MMA was represented. All in all, a good mix of people. Junior had done jobs in all these areas, so it turned out to be pretty interesting.

When I first got the email, I figured I'd get a chance to ask Junior a lot of football questions. It's a good thing I'd prepared some questions about the show! Once on the call, the moderator introduced himself and let me know that I should be concentrating my interview on "Sports Jobs". Uh oh. After scrambling a bit while the other interviewers did there thing, I had my turn (if you want to fast forward through, I'm at about 15:30).

Without further delay, check out us bloggers interviewing Junior about his new VERSUS show, Sports Jobs with Junior Seau.

Schefter: Bills contact Mike Shanahan regarding coaching vacancy

2009-11-18T23:29:20Z

Schefter: Bills contact Mike Shanahan regarding coaching vacancy

"So this is a huge challenge," he repeated. "But this is the same team we beat in Week 2, so we...

2009-11-18T22:17:18Z

"So this is a huge challenge," he repeated. "But this is the same team we beat in Week 2, so we know we can beat 'em. You hear 'Oh, they're going to be mad, they'll be ready to get after it, they're going to try to whip us.' Guess what. We're going to try to whip them again."

Rex Ryan's Press Conference

New England Patriots Links 11/18/09 - Humbled But [Still] Loveable

2009-11-18T15:35:05Z

Injured Matt Light practiced for the first time Friday and is eager to return to action.

View full size photo »

Bill Belichick is all about the Jets as he addresses the media Tuesday.

OK, we're getting ready for the Jets and that's in addition to what we saw from them earlier in the year. They have added some things offensively [and] defensively. [They have] a real good running game, of course. They present the usual scheme problems, the ones we worked on the first game and that they did a good job with. We have a lot of work to do there. It's a division game [and] it's November, so we've got to play well Sunday. We need to play a good game here against the Jets. They got us the last time and we need to win the division.

Joe Fitzgerald feels the fans made the wrong call after Belichick's gamble.

It’s odd how we express contempt for coaches who are too conservative, too unimaginative, who play it too close to the vest, then vilify one for throwing caution to the wind, even though his track record suggests his instincts are usually correct.

We profess to admire those who swing from their heels, shoot for the moon, exhibit the courage of their convictions, never cautioning them to play it safe.

Truth be told, if Belichick’s move had worked we’d now be basking in its glory. But because it fell 30 inches short we’re offended by its failure. And we view ourselves as sophisticated? Please.

Deshawn Zombie, Colt's blogger (18to88.com) can't believe he's defending Bill Belichick.

The Pats offense did NOTHING in the final 2.5 quarters. They scored 10 points on drives that started from the Indy 7 and the Indy 31. They also turned the ball over twice. That's the definition of doing nothing. The Pats defense gave up 28 points already and was about to have Peyton Manning drive the length of the field on them. Instead, Belichick flipped the script. Instead of the headlines being, "PATS WEAK", "PATS BLOW LEAD", "PATS DEFENSE SOFT", "BRADY GREAT IN FIRST HALF, WEAK IN SECOND HALF" everyone is focused on what an idiot Belichick is, as if he gives two craps what they say. Bill Belichick fell on his sword for his team Sunday night. They folded, and he took responsibility in the most manly way possible. No one is questioning the players about their mistakes. They are all focused on the coach. It's brilliant.

Belichick might have killed the Colts on Sunday night. By being aggressive and failing, he has opened the door for Jim Caldwell to play passive the rest of the year and get away with it. Now when Jim punts instead of going for it, the local fans and media will embrace the conservative calls. This possibility terrifies me. Don't listen to the pundits. Belichick did the right thing. I can only hope Caldwell has the balls to do the same when it matters.

TEAM TALK

Game Preview: New England Patriots vs. New York Jets. Series history, team connections, broadcast info and more.
Patriots sign DL Adrian Grady to practice squad.
Ask PFW: The decision.
Tuesday Conference Calls: Bill Belichick (14:48), Nick Caserio (7:26), Dean Pees (7:57). Plus Transcripts.
Patriots Today: Analysis, news and numbers from loss to Colts. (10:04 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

Kerry Byrne separates facts from myths when it comes to the Patriots.
Albert Breer takes a closer look at some of the intricacies of Sunday's showdown between the Patriots and Colts.
Chris Gasper notes removing the emotion of how the Patriots lost, you have to feel better about their chances of matching up with Peyton Manning and Co., and anybody else in the NFL than before.
Albert Breer breaks down the rush: How the Patriots rushed Peyton Manning, and how the Colts got after Tom Brady.
Mike Reiss looks at the positional groupings utilized by the Patriots' offense against the Colts.
Robert Lee notes the Patriots see red-zone issues in matchups with the Jets.
Mike Reiss looks at where the Patriots rank in key statistical categories through 10 weeks of the NFL season:
Albert Breer reports New England’s Tom Brady-driven attack ranks 25th in converting red-zone opportunities. Ouch!
Ian Rapoport catches up with injured Matt Light at a charity ball in Foxboro, honoring Steve Grogan. Light described himself as "getting there. Almost there." Practicing for the first time Friday, it's unclear if he'll play Sunday.
Mike Reiss offers Ten Things to know about the Jets.
Ron Borges has even more contempt for a crying coach than he does for Bill Belichick. "Jets have become a team you can rely on. Talk all week, shut up on Sunday. Bank on it."
Adam Kilgore notes Left tackle Matt Light and guard Steve Neal each addressed their injuries tonight while attending a charity event. Light is 'improving' and Neal is optimistic.
Christopher Price offers his weekly reader mailbag. One last look back at Pats-Colts.
Mike Reiss presents his weekly reader mailbag. 4th and 2, mismanaging timeouts, etc..
Chris Penfield offers a breakdown of Sunday's game, which despite the score was mostly positive.
Boston Herald Patriots Notebook: Belichick has moved on to the Jets; Steve Grogan surprised at the decision; Nick Caserio expresses confidence in Maroney's play.
Steve DeOssie grades the Patriots in his weekly report card. Not a banner day for the coaches.

NATIONAL NEWS

Gregg Easterbrook (ESPN) Bottom line is, Bill Belichick was right.
NFL Live Chat with Junior Seau. "We support Bill Belichick."
Eric Edholm (PFW) Lack of faith in defense won't hurt Patriots long term.
Tim Graham (ESPN) A look at AFC East in Pro Bowl balloting.
Don Banks (SI) Bill Belichick fallout was comical, but no one is laughing in Patriots locker room.
Tim Graham (ESPN) Who will be Buffalo's coach in 2010?
Michael Lombardi (Nat'l Football Post) Bills need a team built for the elements: They need a Parcells-like team.

VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Rich Cimini (NY Daily News) Rex Ryan breaks down, cries in front of players.
Gary Myers (NY Daily News) Cryin' shame: Rex Ryan must handle emotions for Jets to succeed.
Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post) Rex Ryan needs to keep on yappin' and stay true to himself.
Steve Serby (NY Post) Papa Ryan believes Rex will leave Pats crying.

Image FanShot

2009-11-18T13:59:07Z

4th and 2: Why Belichick was wrong

2009-11-18T00:55:11Z

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

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I rarely question Bill Belichick. The man is obviously light years ahead of me when it comes to football. Heck, he's light years ahead of most people who KNOW football. If there was a classroom full of football brains and Bill was in it, he'd be the guy the teacher got sick of calling on. You know, the only guy with his hand up.

Even though he's much smarter than me about football, I do not subscribe to the "In Belichick We Trust" theory. I think it's ok to question and discuss his decisions, be they draft choices, cuts, or whether or not to go for it on 4th and 2.

Before I get into it, a brief tangent into some silliness that's going on out there. After torturing myself with some Boston Sports Radio, I've come to believe many sports fans are no more than thugs on a street corner. Since when is a football decision considered arrogant? If it was Tony Dungy making the same decision (last year, that is) would it be considered arrogant? The thought that Belichick was thumbing his nose at the Colts' defence is utter lunacy. It's a cheap shot by the small minded. I also think guys like Indy DE Robert Mathis and LB Clint Session should let other teammates do the talking. Both Session and Mathis sounded like common street thugs by playing the disrespect card. Like the "arrogance" comments, it simply doesn't make any sense. Maybe it's a way to get fired up, but it's a football decision. Again, I don't think Belichick set out to say, "You can't stop me, therefore I'm going to go for it." He was trying to make a play. Session and Mathis should let DE Dwight Freeney do the talking; he at least sounds like an intelligent guy:

Said Dwight Freeney, the Colts' other DE: "As a defense, we take a lot of pride. When you go for it on fourth down in that situation, we have to make a play, and that's what we did. We stepped up."

Fair enough. Well said.

Back to the decision. This has been beaten to death. The horse is dead and buried, but I'm going to dig it up and beat it some more. Going for it on 4th and 2 was the wrong decision. And it's not because hindsight is 20/20. I remember thinking to myself, "Hmm... he's going for it. Is that wise?"

The golden rule when playing quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning is this: Keep the ball out of their hands!! Why? Because they WILL make plays, that's why. Manning proved that by using his hurry up offense to its fullest potential on 2 fourth quarter sprints for a total of 14 points. Belichick had a very tough decision to make: try to convert a 4th and 2 with a 70% chance of success or punt and put the ball in Mannings hands, against a gassed Patriots defence, at roughly the Indy 30. That gives Manning 2 minutes to go 70 yards, which he'd already done twice.

While percentages are good, there's a couple of issues for me:

The Indy defense was fired up. That was the game right there. They were playing for Truth, Justice, and the Indy way...at home...in front of THEIR crowd. They were on pure adrenalin at that point. I contend the success rate of that play, in that situation, is a far cry from 70%.
The decision shouldn't have been whether or not to go for it. It SHOULD have been this: which choice has the least risk of failure, failure being an Indy TD?

We've just discussed the percentage for making that: about 70%. But I contend differently; I'd suggest it was more like 30% in that situation. Assuming I am correct, that's a 70% chance you'll give Manning the ball on the Patriot 29 with 2 minutes to go. Giving the ball back to Manning after a punt and 70 yards to go is not an ideal situation either. He just proved he can march down the field in under 2 minutes. However, as gassed as the Patriots D was, they would also be playing for Truth, Justice, and the Patriot way. I believe they could've risen to the challenge and stopped the Indy offense. To sum it up, I believe punting had the least risk of an Indy TD.

Bill Belichick is a lot smarter about football than I am. And he only had seconds to make this decision. I am thankful for a coach who has a pair because this coach has done so much for us Patriot fans. But you need to ask yourself, if you agree with his decision, if this was another "In Bill We Trust" moment. If you truly believe he made the right decision, you're comfortable with the risk, and it's not a blind faith following of Hoodie, that's good. I can respect that opinion. However, I'm of the opinion punting would've given us the best chance of winning.

These games are so close. So close...

Buffalo Bills fire Head Coach Dick Jauron

2009-11-17T20:37:31Z

Buffalo Bills fire Head Coach Dick Jauron

Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell will take over as interim HC.

EDIT: SMP beat me to it.

New England Patriots Links 11/17/09 - Undebatable: Time To Focus On The Jersey Jets

2009-11-17T15:00:07Z

Sebastian Vollmer did his job Sunday, neutralizing Dwight Freeney.

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Bill Belichick talks about the game at his Monday Press Conference.

I thought it was our best chance to win. I thought we needed to make that one play and then we could basically run out the clock. We weren't able to make it.

Well, there're a lot of the decisions in the game that we all have to make - coaches, players. Each play is filled with decisions and you try to do the best you can on those and I think that's what we all do.

I tell the team - and I think they believe that I do what I feel like is best for our football team to win every game. I put the team first and I put those decisions first. I would hope everybody understands that.

[Asked if he would make that call again] You only get one chance.

[On the Colts moving the ball quickly downfield] We knew that. It didn't take those drives to figure that out. It's an explosive offense; we've seen them do it in one play. They did it to us two years ago on a 73-yard check down to [Joseph] Addai. It went the whole length of the field. We know how explosive they are. Anytime they have the ball they are capable of scoring. They're capable of scoring touchdowns. They're capable of scoring them in a hurry. They're capable of scoring them in one play. That's playing the Colts. I don't think that's anything that was overly significant in this game and that's the way it is in every game.

It’s disappointing to come up short in a game like that and I think we all feel it - as we should - [because] we put a lot into it,’’ Belichick said. "There were a lot of plays in that game that you think about. Obviously from a coaching standpoint, there are always a lot of things that could have been done better by me, the players, and everybody else.

You always feel that way after a tough loss like that. We’ve all got to do a better job, starting with me, and find a way to win those games.

TEAM TALK

Erik Scalavino notes Belichick granted the team a rare Monday off to recoup and come back prepared to focus on the Jets.
Monday Press Conference: Bill Belichick (13:54 min. video) Plus Transcript.
Patriots Today: A stunner in Indy. (11.35 min. video)
WEEI Patriots Monday: Brandon Meriweather (9:07 min. audio) and Bill Belichick (35:40 min.)

LOCAL LINKS

Adam Kilgore offers another vote for Bill Belichick and an intriguing argument in support of his decision.
Jim Donaldson feels Belichick made the right call, it just didn't work out.
Bill Reynolds thinks Belichick's decision was foolish, even if it worked.
Chris Gasper puts that Belichick decision on the wrong side of the line between genius and madness.
Albert Breer notes Charles Gruden had Belichick's back.
Mike Reiss notes there are no updates yet on Patriots injured in Sunday's game: Banta-Cain (rib), Sam Aiken (hip), Stephen Neal (head) and Rob Ninkovich (knee).
Christopher Price lists his Ten Things we learned from Sunday.
Mike Reiss presents his Ten Quick Hit Thoughts on the Patriots.
Christopher Price discusses Belichick's history of 4th downs. It's anything but conventional.
Tony Massarotti asserts that the damage done to their season Sunday night was considerable.
Monique Walker says this isn't the first daring decision Belichick made this year. Against the Falcons, he went for it on 4th and 1 from the Patriots own 24.
Robert Lee talks about the coach's decision to go for it on 4th and 2, and the final timeout that was called beforehand.
Ian Rapoport notes Belichick has been hit from all sides over his decision, even from supporters and ex-players such as Tedy Bruschi (who took it waaaaay too personally) and Rodney Harrison.
Karen Guregian argues that right now the Patriots defense is not up to the task of stopping the league's best quarterbacks.
Dan Duggan reports on Belichick facing the chorus of criticism from the media.
Gerry Callahan points out that Jim Zorn, Todd Haley, John Fox and Norv Turner won Sunday but 'the great Belichick' lost because he out-geniused himself.
Dan Guttenplan tells everyone to stop hating on Belichick. You can question his decision, but you can’t question his motive.
Ron Borges grades the Patriots in his weekly report card. Brady and Moss at the head of the class. C'mon, take a guess at what he gave Belichick?
Boston Herald Patriots Notebook: Rookie Sebastian Vollmer made Dwight Freeney disappear; Kevin Faulk was distraught after the loss; The Patriots lead charter bus hit a parked police car on the way out of the parking lot sustaining only minor damage and no one was hurt.

NATIONAL NEWS

Michael Lombardi (Nat'l Football Post) Patriots' Belichick confident, not arrogant.
Alok Pattani (ESPN Stats and Information) Formula seems to validate Patriot's 4th-down call.
Michael Lombardi (Nat'l Football Post) Belichick prepares for every situation, even this one.
Joe Posnanski (SI) Why Bill Belichick made the right decision.
Tim Graham (ESPN) Whisenhunt stands behind Belichick.
Dan Wetzel (Yahoo! Sports) Criticism for Belichick is misguided: Blame the refs who blew the call.
Steve Wyche (NFL.com) Easy to second guess, but Belichick was just playing the percentages.
Judy Battista (NY Times) Belichick's latest gamble backfires.
Dan Shanoff (Sporting News) Belichick made the right call.
Brian Burke (NY Times) Defending Belichick's fourth-down decision.
John Czarnecki (Fox Sports) The real problem with Belichick's call wasn't that he went for it, it was the actual play that was called.
Michael Lombardi (NFL.com) Belichick's move done out of respect for Manning's abilities.
Clifton Brown (Sporting News) Sunday night blunder: Belichick's bold move backfires.
Andrew Perloff (SI) Does Belichick's relationship with the media play a big part in their attacks?
Tim Graham (ESPN) Who are the go-to guys on third down?

VIEW FROM NEW YORK

Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post) Loss makes Jets coach emotional Rex: Team meeting after Jags debacle brings impassioned coach to tears.
Steve Serby (NY Post) These Jets ought to be ashamed.
William C. Rhoden (NY Times) After all that bluster, the Jets are barely breathing.
Mike Vaccaro (NY Post) Rex's blatherers forced to eat their own words.
Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post) Jets D-Line coach Locklin shown the door.

Game Recap: Colts defeat Patriots, 35-34

2009-11-16T21:07:57Z

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

4 days ago: New England Patriots NFL football head coach Bill Belichick speaks at a news conference in Foxborough, Mass. Monday, Nov. 16, 2009, in the aftermath of Sunday's 35-34 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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I am stunned, but not surprised. I am stunned because as our biggest rival in the AFC, a win would've meant a lot: a chance to go 2-4 against Indy, a better face-to-face record for potential home field advantage (if tie breakers come into play), seeding... you name it. Most of all, I simply wanted to beat Indy. And for a large portion of the game, New England had the upper hand.

I am not surprised because the Colts are that good. When the Patriots get up on a team with as wide a margin as they had, it's usually lights out. Rivals simply can't recover and usually get stymied in all three phases of the game. Not so with the Colts, especially Peyton Manning. I remember thinking to myself that Manning just wasn't clicking with his receivers Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, and Austin Collie. If he DID begin clicking, it would create problems.

For most of the first half, Tom Brady appeared to be firing on all cylinders and doing an excellent job of finding the weak spots in the Indy defense. As I discussed in my game preview, picking on the young, inexperienced Indy secondary was one of the keys to success and Brady did a good job of that. With the half coming to a close, Brady had managed 24 points and our defense held Peyton Manning and crew to 14, an admirable task. I remember thinking, "This is cool. We seem to have control of the game, but it ain't over until it's over." Boy, was I right.

The third quarter remained scoreless which was ok in my book; maintaining a 10 point lead against Indy for 15 minutes is a VERY good thing. Then, as if to guarantee the win, Wes Welker broke loose for a 69 yard punt return to the Indy 7 yard line. A 2 yard pass to Kevin Faulk was followed by a beautiful leaping grab by Randy Moss for a 5 yard TD. Brady put the ball where the 6-4 Moss could catch it and no one else. 31-14 - a 3 score lead with 14:23 left in the 4^th quarter. As if in response, the Indy offense drove down the field with 5 plays in 2:04 minutes to reduce the lead to 10. I remember thinking, "Uh oh." The Patriots, working off of a Jonathan Wilhite interception, marched back down the field, only to settle for a Stephen Gostkowski field goal; 34-21.

Some call it momentum, but I call it pacing. NE seems to have a methodical, calculated approach to pacing a game - much like our head coach is perceived to be. After teams are lulled into this pacing, we switch it up. The Colts' hurry up offense is a major weapon in their arsenal and one that appears to win games on a regular basis. It's built for sprinting down the field and sets a frenetic pace that defenses have a hard time adjusting to. The result is a defense that can't work in substitutions, causing them to get gassed, especially the large defensive linemen.

In yet another sprint, the Colts scored on a 6 play, 1:49 minute drive; 34-28. A really big, "UH OH!!" NE would get the ball on their 20 after a McAfee touchback and before the drive even started, Brady burned timeout #2. Kevin Faulk went up the middle for no gain. Timeout #3. Then, Brady went to his old standby, Wes Welker, for an 8 yarder up the middle, putting us at third down and 2. Another pass to Welker was broken up by Powers, leaving us with fourth and 2. Decision time.

We've discussed the odds ad nauseam on this site. From a statistical perspective, going for it was the right thing to do. And Belichick trusted his offense to convert. Knee the ball 3 times, punt away, and Manning has almost no time to score. That was Bill's calculated risk. There's more. Belichick won't say this, but his defense was exhausted and he probably felt the offenses' chances of converting that fourth and 2 were better than the defense's chances of sustaining another Peyton Manning drive, even if a Chris Hanson punt would've planted Indy at their 30 or so. After all, the Indy offense had just demonstrated how they can score with a pair of 2 minute sprints. Hindsight is 20/20 and we now know Belichick's calculated risk more than likely lost the game. We all know what happened next. Handing the ball to a Manning lead offense on your own 29 is most likely suicide. And it was.

1 single play, player, or coaching decision does not win or lose a game; I have never subscribed to that theory because it ignores the hundreds of plays and decisions that lead up to it. But there are some that are certainly memorable.

To correct a misconception, the Laurence Maroney fumble would not have been the difference maker in the game. Horrid to see, but Indy did nothing with that gift, punted away to Welker for a 69 yard return, and a 5 yard TD pass to Moss followed. The most a LoMo TD could've accomplished was to keep 2 minutes on the clock.
The 31 yard PI against Darius Butler with 3:03 left in the fourth was questionable, but Austin Collie made a veteran play by recognizing he didn't have the ball and slowing down, allowing Butler to collide with him and giving the refs the impression Butler impeded his progress.
A questionable timeout to start NE's last drive. We may never know what the reasoning was, but Brady felt he needed it.
Not converting with 4:17 left in the fourth, forcing a field goal. RedZone efficiency (or lack thereof) strikes again.

There are a number of positives from last night:

The rust appears to have worn off. Brady and his receivers are connecting well and didn't seem to make any mental errors like we saw in the beginning of the season.
Sebastian Vollmer is a beast. Any rookie who can take on Dwight Freeney and be relatively successful is ok in my book. He's made a case for a starting position at left tackle while Matt Light should be moved to right tackle and Nick Kaczur benched; Colts DE Robert Mathis abused Kaczur, allowing too much pressure on Brady.
The return of Julian Edelman was good to see. The more receivers we have, the more opponents have to worry about. Spreading the field is a good thing.
This game was so close, it came down to a yard. If we can do that against Indy, just think what we can accomplish against the rest of the NFL.

That's all I can stomach for now. I'd like to send a shoutout to the Stampede Blue crowd for a fun week of cross blogging leading up to this matchup. We had many well mannered and thoughtful exchanges which is what it's all about for me.

Belichick Made the Right Call

2009-11-16T08:21:51Z

[Editor's Note: I thought this was an excellent read by Professor Todd. While some may not agree with his assessment of Belichick's 4th and 2, he at least presents a very cogent analysis of the game and why our head coach went in that direction]

I know, I know. Everybody on NBC and on NFL network (except Deion Sanders) couldn't believe that Bill Belichick
went for it on 4th and 2 at the 30 but come on....does anyone really think the Patriots (or anybody else in the NFL) would have stopped Manning if they had punted the ball in that situation? He had just moved 70 yards against our defense in what seemed like 25 seconds. What exactly would have prevented a replay of that?

The most effective defense against Manning is to keep the ball out of his hands. That's what gaining a first down on the pass to Faulk would have done, enabling the Pats to take three knees and THEN punt. If I remember right, the Colts had one timeout left which they would have used to stop the clock after first down. But the Pats would have ended up giving Manning the ball with about 30 seconds left and no timeouts left and about 70 yards to go. In that situation, our chances would have been much better.

Let's reexamine the call. The Patriots offense is one of the best around and they moved the ball at will against the NFL's top-ranked defense last night and scored 34 points. They just needed two yards to get a new set of downs and Belichick--justifiably--believed his offense could get those two yards. Maybe you can question the play call itself--Welker looked open slightly deeper down the field, or maybe you run the ball on 3rd and 2 to set up another run or Brady sneak on 4th and inches--but the logic behind going for it there is still good. It's not just that the New England offense is really good and can get two yards but that the effect of a first down there is to keep the ball away from Manning. With a better spot--did they ever show a measurement or the exact placement of the ball?--they would have gotten it, run out the clock, and won the game. Belichick went for it on 4th and short against Atlanta in week 3 at our own 24 (or something) and later explained his decision by saying simply: "I thought we could gain a yard." Last night it was two yards but the logic and the thinking was the same--and, again, it was the best (maybe the ONLY) possible defense against Manning in that situation.

Give the Colts credit for playing until the very end and for making the plays they had to make. Manning is absolutely phenomenal. But the Colts benefited from two questionable calls that greatly aided their comeback: a phantom pass interference call against Butler defending Austin Collie that resulted in a 31 yard gain and set up the Addai touchdown that cut the margin to 34-28; and the spot and the call on Faulk's catch on the 4th and 2.

But those officiating calls weren't where the Patriots lost the game, any more than they supposedly lost it because of Belichick's decision to go for it. Instead, New England lost last night because, while dominating the 3rd quarter and possessing the ball for over 11 minutes, they failed to score on either of two deep drives into the red zone. On the first, Brady was intercepted in the end zone by Bethea after a nice drive. Then, after an even better drive, Maroney fumbled inside the 5 and the Colts recovered in the end zone for a touch back. A field goal on either one of those drives would have put us ahead 27-14 athe the time; 34-14 after the Brady to Moss TD early in the 4th (after Welker's great return), and 37-21 after the Gostkowski field goal at around 4 minutes. That's a three score game and would have required the Colts to score two TDs and two 2-point conversions just to tie. Needless to say, a touchdown on either of those drives would have given the Pats leads of 31-14 on that score, 38-14 after the Brady to Moss TD, and 41-21 after the field goal with 4 minutes left. Game over. But these season-long red zone miscues--while only holding down our victory margin in previous games--killed us tonight. By not closing out the Colts in the 3rd and early 4th quarter, the Patriots gave them just enough space and time to come back.

The loss is extremely disappointing. New England had possibly the best team in the league on the ropes and beaten. On the road. A win would have given us a 3 game lead in the division and moved us right into great position to claim home field advantage for the playoffs in the event of a tiebreaker with the Colts.

But there is much to be pleased about with this game. The Patriots pushed around possibly the best team in the league for most of the game. They moved the ball at will and scored 34 points and the defense came up with two picks and some big stops during the first 56 minutes of the game. Special teams played great. There is a lot about to be happy about despite the loss (although that's all that Patriot nation can really feel right now). And let's not forget that Indianapolis--for whatever reasons--turns into pumpkins at playoff time (especially if San Diego is their opponent). The Colts might lose before the Patriots would have to face them in Indy in the playoffs. But even if the Colts win and there's a playoff rematch at Lucas Oil Stadium, New England knows that it came in here and pushed the Colts back on the heels and (coulda, shoulda, woulda) beatem them. In fact, the Pats did everything except win the game--but, of course, that's the only thing that counts. I doubt they will have any fears of facing Indianapolis here again in January if it comes to that. All the pressure would be on the Colts and I'd like the Pats chances in that game.

Besides how well they played for most of the game last night, there's another silver lining about yesterday's results. The Jets lost again and are now in free fall, coming into Foxboro next week. As a result, even with the loss tonight New England is still two games up in the division. The Patriots already have a score to settle with the Jets already, and now need to exorcise the demons from the Indianapolis game as well. A win next week and we're 7-3 and lead the division by at least two games (if Miami wins) or three games (if Miami loses). Sure, the Saints are great but I don't think Brees is quite as good as Manning, nor do I think the Saints D is as good as the Colts defense. I like our chances in the Monday night game in New Orleans. And then it's a tough road game in Miami and then on to the final four-pack of games against very beatable foes and a chance to wrap up the season with a nice medium sized winning streak.

You do what you have to do to win games and, although in an ideal world we would have so far ahead that it wouldn't have come down to this, Belichick's call last night was exactly the right one. It's not so much a matter of not trusting your defense, it's a matter of trusting your offense to pick up two yards and run out the clock. I still say keeping the ball out of Manning's hands entirely is better than kicking it two him with 2 minutes, one timeout, and 70 yards to go. The game was lost by the failure to score in the 3rd quarter; not by the decision to go for it on 4th down.

Now, let's go run up the score on the Jets. In the meantime, we should probably all just ignore the torrent of second-guessing and criticism from the national sports media that is sure to come in the days ahead.

"It's a game of inches, guys," Brady reasoned with reporters at his postgame news conference. "It's...

2009-11-16T14:11:56Z

"It's a game of inches, guys," Brady reasoned with reporters at his postgame news conference. "It's easy to second-guess, obviously. If we gain seven more inches, then it's a great call."

Tom Brady post-game remarks