Return policy

Hundreds of people endured blistering heat to return their Aaron Hernandez jerseys at the Pats' Pro Shop. The Pats gave fans a chance to trade in the jersey of their fallen hero for one of a player that hasn't been charged with a crime -- yet. To be on the safe side I'd have to go with Brady or Vince.

I have just one question... Can I return my Asante Samuel jersey? He killed a Super Bowl title and a perfect season.

Week 14 rewind

Get ready for the onslaught of stories anointing the Patriots as unbeatable. Because here they come.

The Pats' domination of the Texans on Monday night was as complete a game against a good opponent as the team has had in a few years. When you beat the top seed in the conference 42-14 there's not much to put into the bad column. I guess the only bad would be that it wasn't the Super Bowl. I expected the Patriots to play like that in the '07 Super Bowl ... I'm still waiting.

GOOD

• Brady may have locked up another MVP trophy with this one. He completed 21 out of 35 passes for 296 yards. Not eye-popping stats. But he was in command the whole game. Four touchdowns. No picks. He led touchdown drives of 36, 82, 70, 74, 72, and 68 yards. Total command.
• This was supposed to be the year of Aaron Hernandez. The other tight end. But an ankle sprain in the second game of the season has put a dent in that. But Hernandez seems to be healthy again as his eight catches and two touchdowns showed. If Gronk and Hernandez are both healthy come playoff time then the Pats just might be unbeatable. Because both should be pretty fresh.
• Devin McCourty is you new starting safety. The rookie of the year cornerback lost his touch playing his natural position. It's been a puzzling development. But since being moved to safety McCourty has gotten his touch back. He made a huge interception in the end zone to snuff out an early Houston drive  and he had five solo tackles.
• Big Vince keeps playing bigger and bigger. There may be no better defensive player in football. The Pats are one of the top teams against the run and Wilfork is the main reason. The defense held Arian Foster to under 50 yards rushing. That's impressive.
• Rookie Chandler Jones was having a rookie-of-the-year type of season before he got hurt. He's back now and hopefully can get back in gear by playoff time. The other top rookie the team drafted in the first round, D'onta Hightower, has had more of a struggle so far. But against Houston, the linebacker tied for the team lead with six tackles. He was all over the place. He may be a factor when it really counts.

BAD

• Like I said, the only bad thing about this game was that it wasn't the Super Bowl. But it still meant a lot. Suddenly the top seed is a possibility because Houston has to play the red-hot Colts twice. If the Pats play this solid in their final three games then, as they say, the road to the Super Bowl goes through Gillette.

Week 11 rewind

It's the dreaded short week for the Pats. Play (and win big) on Sunday and play (and hopefully win big) on Thursday night. Win two games in four days and you go from 6-3 to 8-3 and are in charge of your division. Lose two in four days and your season suddenly changes for the worse. The Pats took care of the first step Sunday with a convincing win over the surprising Colts. Is there much doubt they will take care of business against the Jets on Thanksgiving?

GOOD

• Offense, offense, offense. The Patriots are one of four teams that have a point differential of more than 100 points on the positive side. The other three teams -- Niners, Bears, Texans -- do it mostly with defense. Not that Pats. They put up lots of points. They have lots of weapons. Gronk (before he got hurt) had two more TDs. Edelman had a score. Ridley. Vereen. Throw in Welker, Lloyd, and a soon-to-return Hernandez and the offense with Brady at the helm is as good as it has ever been.
• Special teams. Julian Edelman's 68-yard punt return for a touchdown was the second big kick return this season. The other being McCourty against the Jets. Edelman had 117 yards in punt returns and McCourty added 94 yards in kick-off returns. Nothing like giving the best offense in the league great field position.
• Turnovers. The defense had four more Sunday against the Colts. They returned two of their three picks for touchdowns. The defense is still giving up too many yards and too many big plays, but the turnovers are offsetting that for now.

BAD

• Gronk broke his arm on the extra point at the end of the game. Now that's bad. There'll be lots of talk about why Belichick leaves his starters in games when they are out of reach blah blah blah. But really? Gronk breaks his arm blocking on an extra point? Has a guy ever broken his arm on an extra point? It's just bad luck. He could have just as likely broken his arm standing on the sideline.

The Gronk-less Pats head to the new Meadowlands for a Thanksgiving night clash with their enemies. It's a game all Pats fans couldn't wait for when the schedule came out. With or without Gronk, the Pats will be ready for this one.

Character study

WEEK 4
There is one trait that the Patriots have consistently shown so far this season. Resiliency. In the NFL -- with its wild ups and downs from week to week and even quarter to quarter -- it is one of the best traits a team can have. It's one that Belichick's teams have had almost every year (except maybe 2009). Yesterday in Buffalo it was on full display.

The Patriots found themselves down 21-7 with eleven minutes to go in the third quarter. If it wasn't for rare fumbles by Gronk and Welker, two more missed field goals for Gosty, and one long play by the Bills the Patriots would have been ahead comfortably. They were outplaying the Bills but Buffalo had made almost all the big plays. Thus, 21-7.

Then Brady, Welker, Gronk, Lloyd, Vince, Spikes -- and more importantly the banged up offensive line and running backs Ridley and Brandon Bolden -- decided enough was enough. Just about the time my nephew and I were texting each other "enough of this crap," the Patriots were embarking on a five touchdown spree that turned around the game and -- to steal a little hyperbole from the Blabosphere -- maybe even the season. Because 1-3 is 1-3 no matter how you slice it.

Suddenly Gronk looked like Gronk again. Brady was running in for a touchdown. Yes, Brady. Welker and Lloyd were catching everything that came their way. And Ridley and Bolden were combining for 243 yards and three touchdowns. The defense gave up too many yards again, but time after time in the second half they came up with the big hit or the big turnover. The biggest hit and the biggest turnover came courtesy of Big Vince, the team's emotional leader. With two minutes to play in the half and the Bills up 14-7, Welker fumbled at his own 20 setting the Bills up for a chance to deliver a crushing blow. It was the Pats D that delivered the blow.

Buffalo's C.J. Spiller slammed into the Pats D at the goal line and was slammed back by Brandon Spikes and the ball popped out and into Big Vince's hands. It was the second of six huge turnovers that helped keep the Pats in the game and then helped them put the game away.

As good as the Patriots were on offense, the defense was just as big despite giving up four touchdowns and a lot of yards. Like many games last year, a lot of those yards came after the game was well over.

Like every team in the NFL the Pats still have a lot of questions to answer moving forward. Do they have the depth to continue to overcome injuries? Can they be consistent in the running game? Can they ever get a pass rush? And can the secondary stop giving up big plays and taking bad penalties?

Peyton Manning returns to Gillette Sunday, this time with a horse on his helmet instead of a horseshoe. The Broncos will be another tough test for the Pats. It's likely to be a very close game. That would give the Pats a chance to answer maybe the biggest question still in need of an answer ... can they win a close game?

Week 2 rewind

Oh, ye of little faith. A look on ESPNBoston.com shows that almost all the "experts" are picking the Ravens Sunday night. Most of the picks have it a very close game but everyone -- except Mike Ditka and Matt Light -- gives the nod to Baltimore. Well, it's in Baltimore so that makes sense. Home field advantage is often the deciding factor in these games. The Ravens are the smart bet.

It's the comments accompanying these picks that are somewhat baffling.

Tedy Bruschi says the Pats "will be better after Thanksgiving than they are now." Mike Reiss goes with the Ravens due to "some of the shaky play from the the Patriots' offense in recent weeks." The Pats are "a work in progress" says Jackie "Welkergate" MacMullen.

So the Pats lose one game and suddenly the defending AFC champs are a work in progress? I don't remember any of the experts saying that after they dominated Tennessee on the road in Week 1. Quite the opposite. But apparently one bad game -- which the Pats could have won anyway -- turns a Super Bowl contender into a "shaky" team. Hmmm.

Sunday night will show if there's any merit to this line of thinking. I look back at the AFC title game last January and still see a game that the Pats dominated. I know, it came down to a Billy Cundiff missed field goal to decide it. But what it really came down to was Tom Brady -- in his words -- sucking. I don't expect that to happen again. As I don't expect Zoltan to have a punt blocked or the team to commit foolish penalties. Belichick's Pats have a history of responding to the challenge. Go ahead and bet on the Ravens. Just don't bet too much.

The Pats first-ever home opening loss at Gillette had more than the usual share of bad. But it also had a decent share of good. No. Really. It did.

GOOD

• The defense. For the second week in a row the Pats held the other team below 300 yards. The rushing defense may be the best in the league. It will be really tested by Ray Rice and the Ravens Sunday night. The pass defense continues to look good. Kevin Kolb only threw for 140 yards. Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald -- a man most experts predicted would get eight or nine catches for 110 yards or so -- was held to just one catch and four yards. Actually, that should be put under the "great" category, not just "good."
• The comeback. Brady and the offense struggled most of the day. Losing Hernandez early on didn't help. Nor did Brady seeing pass rushers where there didn't seem to be any. Even the best have those days. But in the fourth quarter the offense went no huddle and Brady, Welker, Lloyd, and Gronk marched down the field for the touchdown that brought them within two points.
• Ridley wasn't as dominant as he was in Week 1 running the ball but that was more a case of not getting the ball as much. Which was unfortunate since the game was close almost the whole way. He finished with a solid 71 yards on 18 carries.
• Stephen Gostkowski. (Yes, he will show up in the "bad" category too). Gosty hit field goals of 46, 34, 51, and 53! yards to keep the Pats in the game. He was having a sensational day ...

BAD

• ... till he missed that 42-yarder with the game on the line. And he missed it badly. Gosty hasn't had to make too many game winners during his career but missing one in Week 2 isn't the same as missing one in Week 15 or in the playoffs. I hope he gets a chance to redeem himself soon.
• Aaron Hernandez's high/middle/low ankle sprain is one of those bad breaks that you hope a team can avoid. But if it's going to happen it's better to happen in Week 2 than in the AFC title game. You really have to feel bad for Hernandez because he was poised to have a Pro Bowl year. He still might if the ankle heels fast enough.
• The missed two pointer. Where's Kevin Faulk when you need him? The Pats are the best in the league at the two-point conversion. The play they ran was a good one, getting Gronk in one-on-one coverage on the right corner of the end zone. But Brady threw the ball a little too far ahead and the coverage was very tight. Next time go back to the direct snap to Woody,
• Penalties. The Pats had eight penalties for 60 yards. The two penalties on the last drive by Gronk were the worst and cost the Pats what would have been the winning TD. The Pats played with an unusual lack of discipline all day.

Take away the penalties and miscues and the Pats would have won this game by 10 points. Which -- if Brady doesn't suck this time -- is what I think the Pats will beat the Ravens by Sunday night.

Reinforcements

Deion is back! Well that's the one good thing I can say about Aaron Hernandez's injury. The Pats re-signed veteran wide receiver Deion Branch to give the offense some help. So I guess I can re-purpose my ode to Deion another time. Maybe in two weeks. Maybe in two days. You never know with Belichick.

The Pats also reportedly signed veteran tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. to try and fill the second tight end spot. Winslow Jr. is no Aaron Hernandez. He's no Kellen Winslow Sr. either. But he is a soldier.

Mistaken identity

WEEK 2
The Patriots had not lost a home opener since Gillette Stadium opened its gates 10 years ago. I had not missed a home opener in those 10 years. Both streaks are over.

If I didn't have enough good reasons to be glad to be on the Cape this week, being away from the "panic button" talk of the Sports Blabosphere after the 20-18 loss to Arizona is another one. The Pats are 1-1. The Cards are 2-0. Who wants to bet a 12-pack on which team will end up with the better record at the end of Week 17? The Patriots went into Buffalo last season in Week 3 and lost. The Pats were 2-1. The Bills were a surprising 3-0. The Pats finished 13-3. The Bills finished 6-10. Leave the panic button alone.

The difference in last year's early-season loss to Buffalo, other than one was on the road and the other was at Gillette, was that in the Buffalo game the Patriots looked unstoppable as they took a 21-0 lead only to make a slew of mistakes and allow the Bills to come back and steal the game. Yesterday the Pats looked anything but unstoppable. They were unfocused, undisciplined, unprepared, and unlucky.

But -- just as in the Buffalo game -- it was the slew of mistakes that cost the Pats the game. My guess is that they won't make that many mistakes in the next 14 games combined. The same thing happened in 2010 when the 6-1 Patriots went into Cleveland to face the 2-5 Browns. The Pats turned the ball over three times including a fumbled kickoff. It was an ugly game and it ended in a 34-14 beating. The Pats didn't lose a game the rest of the season to finish 14-2. The Browns? They finished 5-11.

"Stunning" seems to be the word of choice to describe the loss. When you have an interception on your first offensive play, lose one of your key offensive players to injury, have a punt blocked at your own goal line, commit eight mostly stupid penalties, drop several key passes, and have your quarterback turtle one too many times it's not stunning at all ... it's inevitable. Any time all those things happen in one game you are very likely going to lose.

There were a lot of things not to like about the loss. One look at Belichick's face at the post-game press conference told you that. That's the way it is with losses. Especially at home. Of course, the biggest thing not to like is the loss of Aaron Hernandez (especially since he's the best player on my fantasy team the Rozzie Rats). If it's a high ankle sprain he could miss a month or more. That really hurts. But the Pats offense will be fine. With Brady, Gronk, Lloyd, Welker (yes, he's still on the team), Woody, and Ridley it's still one of the best in the game.

As is the defense. And that's one of the things you can like after a disappointing loss. Go to NFL.com and click on the Team Stats page. What team is ranked second in total defense? That would be your young, fast, and nasty New England Patriots D. Who's seventh against the pass? Also the Pats. Fifth against the run? Yup, the Pats D. Granted, the Titans and Cards are not the most dangerous offenses in the league. But the Pats have pretty much shut them both down. Something they couldn't do against anyone the last few years. The Cards scored three points after the Brady pick and a touchdown after the bocked punt. Take away those two scores and the defense only allowed 10 points after allowing just 13 in Week 1. When the Pats lost those ugly games against the Browns (2010) and the Bills (2011) the defense allowed more than 400 yards in offense. In the loss to the Cards they allowed just 245.

It was that defense the ripped the ball from the Cardinals with just seconds to play and gave the Pats the chance to steal the game.

So I'm actually feeling very positive about the Pats today. They just have to eliminate the mistakes they made. And if there's one thing the Pats have excelled at under Belichick, it's eliminating mistakes.

Next up: An AFC title game rematch Sunday night in Baltimore. That will be a great game. Make no mistake about it.

Ground rules

WEEK 1
The two biggest questions I had about the 2012 Patriots coming into yesterday's opener was how would their running game do and how would their defense do against a healthy Chris Johnson and the Titans' running game.

The answers: Stevan Ridley... 125 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Chris Johnson... 4 yards and no touchdowns on 11 carries. Ridley will face stouter defenses and Wilfork and company will face fiercer running attacks, but the early signs are good.

As are the early signs from the Patriots rookie class. First-found picks Chandler Jones and D'onta Hightower teamed up for a forced fumble and recovery for a touchdown that broke open a close game in the second quarter. Jones and third-year man Jermaine Cunningham each had a sack and were around the quarterback all day. In the defensive backfield, rookie Tavon Wilson had an interception. Many times last year the secondary would give up more than 300 yards passing to a mediocre quarterback like Jake Locker and allow the other team to stick around. Not yesterday. Locker finished with just 229 yards (backup Matt Hasselbeck added 43) and the Titans were never in the game in the second half. That's the way a good defense should play against a mediocre offense.

The Pats offense put up close to 400 well-balanced yards. It was a clinic. Second-year man Ridley established himself as the lead back with his solid (fumble free) play. With the running game moving the chains and eating the clock, Brady didn't have to be his usual spectacular self. He just had to be efficient and he was, finishing with 236 yards, two touchdowns, no picks, and one smashed nose. The patched-up offensive line only allowed that one nose-busting sack and moved the line of scrimmage in the running game. Mankins, who was heaving in the huddle at one point, had a great game.

Brandon Lloyd put the shine back on the number 85 with a solid game and, of course, the two most important offensive players in the NFL, Gronk and Hernandez, each had a touchdown catch.

The only real miscue of the day was Gronk dropping the ball when he went to give it the Gronk spike after his great catch in the corner of the end zone. He'll have a chance to improve on that in the home opener this Sunday against Arizona. He may have quite a few chances.

Pick-up football

The Patriots and the Giants closed out the preseason with a classic 6-3 snoozer. The last practice game is often a snoozer. Not much more than a pick-up game. Unless you are one of the guys on either team fighting for the last few open roster spots. Then it was one of the biggest games of your life ... or possibly the last game.

For the Pats, guys like Jermaine Cunningham, Brandon Bolden, Jesse Holley, and Sergio Brown got one last chance to show they can help the team. Cunningham and Bolden had strong games, making a bid to stick on the roster when the final cutdowns to the 53-man roster are made on Friday.

The preseason was not very pretty for the Pats. There weren't too many fun moments. In fact, the most entertaining football I saw either on TV or at Gillette came last night during the broadcast when a film showed Brady, Hernandez, Branch, and Gronk playing some pick-up football on the New Jersey turf before the game. The video below shows Gronk trying to cover Brady.

The fun is about to start.

Break it down -- tight end

My love-hate relationship with the tight end position is all love these days. After years of trying to find the right tight end to be a big part of the offense, Belichick went out and found two.

His obsession with the position goes back to his days with the Giants and Mark Bavaro. And then Ben Coates in the '90s with the Pats. Those guys can spoil a coach. Belichick is so obsessed with the position that he just snagged tight end Jake Ballard off the waiver wire the other day. Ballard had ACL surgery and won't be putting on shoulder pads until next season. But he's a good one with Super Bowl experience. And it pisses off the Giants. Good move all around.

STARTERS
Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. There's not much to break down at the tight end position with the New England Patriots. Gronk and Hernandez are as dynamic a duo as you can find. Batman and Robin? More like the Hulk and Robin. Gronk set a record for most touchdowns (17) by a tight end last season and was rewarded with the biggest contract ever for a tight end. The Pats don't pay their players. Ya, right. It's unreasonable to expect Gronk to match his numbers from last year, but that won't make him any less a game changer. Hernandez is the anti-Gronk. He is shifty. Pretty much a slot receiver. He's almost impossible to cover sometimes and, unlike Gronk, still hasn't reached his peak. His use out of the backfield near the end of last season was something we should see more of in 2012.

BACK-UPS
When Gronk and Hernandez were rookies the Pats had veteran Alge Crumpler on the roster as mentor and motivator. It sure worked. I was disappointed when Coach Crump wasn't brought back last year but Belichick figured the two young players didn't need any more mentoring. Once again he was right. Daniel Fells and rookie Tyler Urban are currently the other tight ends on the roster. Belichick uses tight ends so much in the offense that a third one is actually needed. Right now that guy is Fells.

I love the tight end position.

Faith no more

WEEK 15
My fantasy football team made the playoffs for the first time since 2005. I was playing my nephew Pete. He had Drew Brees. I had Tim Tebow.

He killed me.

The Patriots went to Denver for a huge game between playoff contenders. The Pats had Tom Brady. The Broncos had Tim Tebow.

The Pats killed 'em.

Tebow had a pretty good game. But Brady had a much better one. (As did Drew Brees, thus ending my fantasy football season).

The Pats are now 11-3 and won their (are you listening, Rex?) ninth AFC East title in 11 years. They lost defensive MVP Andre Carter for the rest of the year and what's left of that defense will be seriously tested come playoff time. But they are 11-3 a year after going 14-2. Just enjoy it. They seem to be.

The 41-23 victory over the sainted Broncos was as big a statement game as you can get in the regular season. No. The Broncos aren't the Ravens. Steelers, Packers, or Saints. But they were on one of those magical rolls that teams get on sometimes. Remember Morgan Magic? It's never easy to beat a team on a roll like that. On the road. Especially when that team comes out of the gate at full speed. Denver had 167 yards rushing in the first quarter ... the first quarter alone. Tebow broke a Ninko tackle and trotted for a nine yard score on the opening drive. Everyone knew the Broncos were going to run it, but the Pats D was showing no signs of being able to stop it.

The Pats answered back in a most unexpected way... a touchdown by Ochocinco. (Ocho reverted to his useless self the rest of the game). The Denver running game then easily gashed its way to another touchdown and the red-hot Broncos were up 13-7. The Pats were being challenged on the road. Pressure -- as Borges would say -- was being put on the offense. How did the respond?

Brady and the offense would outscore the Broncos 34-10 the rest of the way, notably without touchdowns by either Gronk or Welker. Aaron Hernandez had a big game as did the running game that put up 141 yards. By the time Danny Woodhead lunged over the goal line near the end of the third quarter the Pats had locked up a convincing road win and the AFC East.

As Tedy Bruschi would say, hats and T-shirts for everyone.

The Patriots finish the regular season with home games on Christmas Eve against Miami and on New Year's Day against Buffalo. "Tis the season for some holiday tailgating.