Brown out

WEEK 9
I thought the Pats would be 6-2 at the halfway point of the season. That was my ceiling.

6-2 it is. That is a good first half regardless of what happened in Cleveland.  In a year when any team can beat any other team, and not just in the old "any given Sunday" cliched way but in a real way, the fact that the Pats are 6-2 is a sign that the team has done a lot more right than wrong so far.

Except for today. That was a day of wrong. The two-win Browns 34, the six-win Pats 14. Can it be chalked up to just one of those games? Or an exploiting of some of the team's weaknesses? The next two weeks will answer that.

WEEK 9: Outsmarted.

The Browns jumped on the Pats for 10 points in the opening four minutes, thanks to a quick field goal drive and then a botched kickoff by Sammy Morris that led to an even quicker Patrick Hillis touchdown. The two teams traded a few punts before Brady led the offense on an 11-play touchdown drive that ended with Hernandez catching a pass that tipped off fellow rookie tight end Gronkowski. The drive began a lot less enjoyably. Brady dropped back and got sacked for a 9-yard loss to set up a 2nd-and-19 from the New England 12. The Pats were starting to look like they did against the Ravens in the playoffs last year.

Then they made a smart decision. They went no huddle early in the second quarter. Brady hit Gronkowski for a 22-yard completion and the offense no-huddled in for a huge TD to cut the score to 10-7. The Pats were back on their feet and back in the game. The winner would be decided by which team could make more plays the rest of the way. The final score will tell you which team that was.

I could go into how the Browns made a huge third down play inside the Pats 20 to keep the next drive alive and then scored on a trick play where student (Mangini) got the best of teacher (Belichick). Or how Gronkowski had the ball ripped from his hands on a first-down play at the Browns' 3-yard line with 22 seconds left in the half that killed an impressive -- and crucial -- two-minute drive. Or how the Pats started the second half with two weak drives while the Browns were putting up 10 more points to push the score 27-7 by the end of the third quarter. Or how rookie QB Colt McCoy rode a great running game to victory. I could go into all of that. But why bother? The spouting heads on radio and TV will be doing that all week. I say plug in your iPod.

Fact is the Browns outcoached, outplayed, and outsmarted the Patriots for much of the game. They deserved to win. Once again the Pats defense allowed more than 400 yards in offense. That just can't continue. That's not bend but don't break. That's bend and about to snap. The offense continues to run hot and cold. Most importantly, the Pats lost the turnover battle and that almost always costs you on the road. There's a lot for Belichick to work on to get ready for the two biggest back-to-back games of the year.

So the Patriots are at 6-2. Next up: At Pittsburgh, which could be 6-2 if they win on the road in Cincy tomorrow night. In a season where there are no sure things, the Pats going into the land of the towels and winning big would not surprise. In fact, I feel good about that happening.