Say hello to my little friend

SIZE MATTERS: 83 never looked so good.

WEEK 4
So this is what it's like to watch football on an HD television. I still play Madden '04 on Gamecube and still use a VCR to tape Pats' games. But I've finally entered the new millennium when it comes to TV.

A great football season just got better.

The Patriots -- as they have done so many times under Belichick -- rebounded from a tough loss with a big win. Forget the final stats. The 31-19 victory was impressive. Style points don't count when it comes to road wins in the NFL. They are all good. The mighty Jets got smoked on their west coast trip to Oakland last week. So the Raiders were no pushover. The Pats got an early lead -- and this time stayed mostly mistake free.

The same couldn't be said for Oakland. I love that about the Silver and Black. No matter what decade it is. Who is coaching. Who is playing QB. Or what city they call home. The Raiders will commit more stupid penalties and mistakes than the other team on the field. Bank it.

Ex-Pat Richard Seymour got the ball rolling with TWO personal foul penalties on the Pats' first touchdown drive. He single-handedly rescued Brady and the offense from the shadow of their own goal line with a ridiculous roughing-the-passer play well after the whistle blew on 3rd-and-9. The Pats would have been punting, instead they drove from their own 10 in just more than four minutes to take the lead. Seymour added a face-mask penalty during the drive.

Wes Welker -- who may give Brady a battle for league MVP -- had another huge game. He had nine catches for 158 yards. Brady only completed 16 passes. More than half of them to #83. Brady has lots of weapons to choose from, but Welker is the guy who makes this team go. Rookie Stevan Ridley had a big 33-yard touchdown run -- credit to Deion Branch with a big block. Branch -- who had a quiet game catching but a huge game blocking -- caught a late TD pass to seal the victory. The passing game took a rare backseat to the running game. Something that was great to see. The Pats ran for 183 yards on 30 attempts. In case people forgot, the Pats can run the ball. When Brady actually hands it off.

The Raiders moved the ball all day but only put up 13 points till a last second garbage-time score. Points allowed. That's the key stat. All the other stats say the Pats are the worst D in the league after four weeks. But they are right in the middle of the pack in points allowed. Surrounded by teams like Green Bay, New Orleans, and Chicago. Even the good defenses are having trouble stopping teams from moving up and down the field. It's the ones that keep them out of the end zone that will be still standing when the playoffs start.

The Pats D gave up another stadium-full of yards. But once again they made plays when they had to. No doubt about it, they are living dangerously. But as of now the Pats have the players to get away with it. Although losing Mayo with a knee injury is going to make that a lot harder. Maybe Phat Albert can play a little football this week. It's sort of a big game.

The rematch with Mt. Ryan and the Jets. At Gillette. The forecast is mostly sunny in the 70s. It should be a great tailgate and hopefully a great game. I'll miss my new HD friend, but the view from Section 109 is pretty sweet too.