Week 1 rewind

There was a strange sight on Sunday... A Patriots' wide receiver other than Troy Brown wearing #80 in a regular season game. A couple of guys have worn the number since Mr. Patriot retired, but this was the first time anyone noticed.

Danny Amendola did the number proud. And, of course, being Danny Amendola he might not get another chance to do that for a while. The first of the weekly rewind of the good and the bad of each game starts off with the Pats' new receiver qualifying in both categories. The team's last-second 23-21 win was that kind of game.

GOOD

• Amendola. Wes Welker's replacement had 10 catches for 104 yards. And most of those 10 were of the key variety. Very Welker-like. A few of them were of the "did you see that?" variety. Not so Welker-like. Amendola is younger, faster, and bigger than Welker. He can get to balls that Welker couldn't. I'm thinking of a pass in a Super Bowl a few years ago.
• Vereen. I was pretty happy when the Pats brought veteran Leon Washington back last weekend. I love the guy. I've been hoping he will take over the Kevin Faulk/Woody role. No need. That role belongs to Shane Vereen. And he may do it better than either of them.
• Gosty: As the Pats moved into position for the game-winning kick, my nephew texted me "How's your confidence level in Gosty?"  "Strong," I replied. It was more wishful thinking than actual confidence. Gosty missed a game-winner in the home opener last year and missed six for the season. Six is just a few too many. But he was 3-for-3 yesterday and confidence is strong.
• Defense. It wasn't exactly Matt Ryan and the Falcons' offense. (That comes in a few weeks). But the Pats D held the Bills to under 300 total yards (286) and forced two big turnovers. The secondary did a solid job considering the Pats' pass rush hasn't arrived for the season yet. Talib and co. gave up two 18-yard TD passes, but also made many big stops on third down. The Bills scored seven points on a turnover and another touchdown came after a Brady pick. It's the way the D needs to play against lesser offenses.
• Brady. He did not have one of his best days numbers-wise. He had a fumble at the Buffalo two and a pick at the Pats' 37. It took him 52 passes to throw for 288 yards. He and his young group of receivers are far away from gelling. But with the game on the line he was classic Brady. He's as good as ever.

BAD

• Amendola. The knock on him is that he is injury-prone. Not that he's not tough because it's clear he is. But that he can't stay on the field. It didn't take long for that problem to return. When he wasn't catching passes, Amendola was limping around with a sore groin. He will probably miss some games.
• Ridley. BenJarvus spoiled Pats' fans. And Belichick. He went his entire career here (53 games) without fumbling. Ever. It's a pretty tough act to follow when it comes to ball security. Ridley fumbled four times last year and found himself in the coach's dog house a few times. He moved into the outhouse yesterday when he fell down and fumbled without being touched.  
• Pass rush. Or more accurately... Where the hell is the pass rush? The Pats got zero sacks. They need more out of Chandler Jones in his second year. And Tommy Kelly and Ninko. Lots more.
• Rookies. It's not often you see the Pats' snap the ball and then watch as the wide receivers run into each other like they were pieces on an electric football field. But it happened a couple of times in Week 1. But that's what happens when you starts a season with more than a dozen rookies on the roster.

I'm sure there will be lots of concern from the Blabosphere due to the fact that the heavily-favored Pats had to steal a win. But steal it they did. The 2013 Patriots are a work in progress. All the mistakes they made are fixable. They have till Thursday to get some of them fixed.

First contact

WEEK 1
So Roger Goodell doesn't think there needs to be four preseason games. Hmmmm. Wonder what he thinks after watching the action from the opening week of the 2013 season.

There was a lot of exciting football. Close games. Upsets. Last second victories. Hard hits. Big plays. But there was also a big dose of turnovers, penalties, missed tackles, receivers running into each other (Patriots), and general sloppiness. Think how bad it would have been with only three preseason games to get ready. Not pretty.

Not pretty. That perfectly describes the Pats season-opening victory in Buffalo. The Pats have dominated the Bills during the Belichick era. But not yesterday. It took a Gosty field goal as time expired to pull out a mistake filled 23-21 victory.

The mistakes? A Ridley fumble that was returned for a touchdown. A Brady fumble. A Brady pick (that was more like a Sudfeld fumble). Too many dropped passes by rookie receivers to count. A poor punting performance by the guy who took Zoltan's job. Brady getting sacked twice and feeling the heat several more times. The secondary giving up a couple of long touchdowns and the pass rush being non-existent once again.  Bill Belichick not re-signing Wes Welker. Wait. That last mistake was a few months ago.

Not pretty. Mistakes are usually the difference between winning and losing. Were the Baltimore Ravens the best team in the NFL last year. Hell no. But when it counted, during the playoffs, they were the team that made the fewest mistakes. By far. The difference between a 10-6 playoff contender and a 6-10 also-ran is very small despite what most people think. The 10-6 team is almost always the one that doesn't beat itself. For the past decade-plus the Patriots have been that team.

Yesterday they made more mistakes in four quarters than they usually make in four games. When Ridley fumbled, the Pats were up 10-0 and driving inside the Buffalo 30 with a chance to take control of the game. One mistake later, it was 10-7 and the Bills and their victory-starved fans were back into the game.

The Pats regrouped, as only a well-coached team can, and regained the lead 17-7 and were once again in control with the ball and just more than a minute till the half. That's when Brady and Sudfeld misconnected and the Bills were set up at the Pats' 37. Two plays later and the Bills had scored again to cut the lead to 17-14. The Bills took that momentum and drove 80 yards in 11 plays to take the lead 21-17. The Pats responded with their own long drive but came up empty when Brady fumbled at the 2-yard line. How often does THAT happen?

A lot of teams would have folded at that point, but the Patriots, even with all their young players, held the Bills off the scoreboard the rest of the way and Gosty made two clutch field goals to steal away the all-important road divisional victory.

Not pretty. But 1-0.

Week 10 rewind

At the top of the list of golden rules of the NFL season is "Thou must win thy division games."

The Pats have rode that rule to nine AFC East titles in the last 11 years. Adhering to that rule almost always gets you into the playoffs. After beating the Bills at Gillette Sunday the Pats have made it halfway through their division battles without a loss. 3-0. Everyone else in the division has at least two losses.

Every win in the division is a good win.

GOOD

• No turnovers. OK, when the best thing you can say about a win is that there were no turnovers you know it wasn't the most impressive performance. But the second golden rule of the NFL is "Thou shalt not coughest up the ball." That's Pats continue to religiously follow that rule too.
• Stevan Ridley. The second-year back finished with 98 yards and a touchdown. If the Pats weren't able to run the ball with Ridley there's no telling how many points the Bills could have put up against the Pats' D. Ridley and the running game continue to be a huge factor.
• Woody. Danny Woodhead has taken over the Kevin Faulk role. That means he may not play a huge part in every game, but when he does it's usually key. Against the Bills he had a great 15-yard touchdown run in the first half and then an even better 18-yard touchdown grab where he and Brady kept a play alive and got a big score.
• Clutch play. One of the biggest knocks on the team earlier in the year (and the last few years) was that the Pats weren't winning close games. Well, they are winning them now. Devin McCourty's pick in the end zone may have been a bad pass by Fitzpatrick but it was still a clutch play. He could have dropped it.

BAD

• Speaking of drops, there were too many of them. Welker dropped a sure touchdown and then another that could have gone for a long gain. Brandon Lloyd continue to have some drops. It's not a "bad' that you should see too much of.
• 481 yards of total offense by the Bills. Fitzpatrick and the Bills have been able to move the ball on the defense for the past few years so it's no big surprise. But still, allowing nearly 500 yards of offense at home is very very bad.
• The Pats may be winning close games, but this one shouldn't have been a close game. The Pats led 24-10 after Gronk had a touchdown spike late in the second quarter. But the D let the Bills march for a score right before the half and let them stay in the game from that point on. Holding on to leads is still a bit of a problem.

It wasn't a pretty win. But it was a division win. 

The long bye

WEEK 10
Patriots 37, Bills 31 (11/11/'12): The Patriots under Bill Belichick have been almost unbeatable after the bye week. Going into last season they hadn't lost after the bye in almost ten years. But last year they lost back-to-back games against the Steelers and the Giants after their week off. They looked out of sync. The bye can do that to you. Take you off your game a bit. It happens for players and coaches. And for tailgaters.

I got a late start for yesterday's 1 p.m. game at Gillette. As Mark and Bergs were rolling into the Enchanted Forest around 8:30 in the morning, I was just starting to think about getting out of bed. A few hours later I was making my way down the scenic Route 1 with Dunkin's caramel swirl ice coffee in hand. About five miles from the stadium -- and about 10 a.m. -- I got a call from Shep. "Are you almost here?" he asked. I figured the group was starting to get annoyed at the straggler. "Just passed the Walpole Mall. Will be there soon," I assured him. "We have an emergency," Shep said. "We have no charcoal for the only grill we brought."

Bye week. Totally out of sync.

"Well, it's a good thing I slept in today," I said. "I'll make a charcoal stop."

"We need lighter fluid, too," Shep added.

Less than an hour later I arrived at the tailgate with the ingredients for fire. The key to every successful tailgate. It wasn't long before the fire -- and I -- were nicely glowing. And it wasn't long before the burgers were ready and the tailgate was in full swing.

"We finished strong," said Shep's son, Matt. "That's what counts."

Same goes for football. Finish strong. The Pats were able to do it against the Bills yesterday thanks to an interception from Devin McCourty with just 23 seconds left. Bergs and I watched the game from the ramps where the Super Bowl banners hang just to see what the view is like from up there. It's a pretty good place to watch a game. You get to see the plays unfold from such a high vantage point. You get to see how the Bills were able to gash through the middle of the defense because there was often no one in the middle. And you get to see how the Bills were able to mess up the D with simple counter plays. You get to see how quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was able to lead his team back from an early 24-10 deficit and have a chance to steal the game. And you get to see him make a big mistake at the worst possible moment to give the game away.

You also get to see Tom Brady scramble to make some great plays in a game where he and the offense looked a little out of sync too.

"It's all about how you finish," Bergs said as we headed back to the tailgate to fire up the charcoal for a second round of burgers.

Week 4 rewind

I could watch this hit over and over and over and over again.

Big Vince may one day be in the NFL Hall of Fame. If he can play another four or five years at the level he has played the last three -- and maybe win a Super Bowl or two -- he will go down as the greatest nose tackle of his generation. And he seems like truly one of the good guys. Except when he's about to unload on you with all his 325-plus pounds.

The Wilfork hit was tops on a very entertaining highlight reel from the Pats' victory over Buffalo. On the good and bad list the best thing is the Pats avoided a 1-3 start. That would have been very very bad.

GOOD

• The offense put up 52 points. That's more than some teams score in a month of football. Pats fans just need to savor every moment of this because the end for Brady is a lot closer than the beginning. He's in his 13th season and -- other than the times he ducks a little too soon -- he's playing as well as he ever has. The touchdown he threw to Woody and the one he ran in himself were great veteran plays. 
• The offensive line. How does Scarnecchia keep doing it? I don't know either. With Mankins out, the offensive line kept Brady upright against the new and improved Bills pass rush and, more importantly, blew open holes to allow the running game pile up an impressive 247 yards. 
• Speaking of 247 yards, backs Stevan Ridley and Brandon Bolden each ran for more than 100 yards. Ridley looks good but Bolden is the back I would want carrying the ball most of the time. I'm not a big fan of the time-share running back approach. And that's not even considering the fantasy football aspect. Just as I like fullbacks, I also like have one feature back and having him run the ball 25 times a game. You know. Like a Corey Dillon. It's unlikely either Ridley or Bolden are going to be the next Dillon, but maybe together than can come close.
• Brandon Spikes. The fourth-year linebacker has been a little inconsistent, but when he is on his game he is nasty. He has been delivering some crunching hits this season. On Sunday, two of those hits resulted in big fumbles. One at the goal line late in the first half with the Bills threatening to break the game open. He still misses some reads and hits the wrong hole, but if he can stay healthy he should quickly improve on that.
• Devin McCourty. I may be one of the few people who were so thrilled with his rookie year that I will still believe in him right up to the moment he is cut. But if he plays like he did Sunday that moment will be a ways off. The thing I like about McCourty is he is always near the ball. If he can keep remembering to look for the ball he can get back to what he did as a rookie,

BAD

• Stephen Gostkowski has to snap out of it and fast. He badly missed the game winner with seconds left in Week 2 against Arizona and he missed back-to-back attempts in Buffalo. His kickoffs are still rocket launched and I think most people still have confidence in him. Time for him to go on a 15-for-15 streak.
• The forecast for Sunday ... It looks like rain for Brady vs. Manning. Time to break out the tailgating tent and the rain gear. It's Week 5 and my first tailgate of the season. The ribs and chicken will taste good even if they'r a little soggy. As will the Don Julio.

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?

The other guys

The Patriots go to Buffalo to play as important an early season division game as you can get. A loss and the Bills will go to 3-1 and the Pats will fall to 1-3. There's a lot of football left to play, but there's a lot on the line in this one.

The Buffalo Bills are the other guys in the AFC East. The Patriots have had a heated rivalry with the hated Jets and the arrogant Dolphins for decades. No matter how good or bad those two franchises are in any given season it's always sweet to beat them. The Bills? ... eh. Even when Buffalo was dominating the NFL in the early '90s (except in the Super Bowl) there wasn't much anti-Buffalo sentiment in New England.

Why? Because the Bills' fans have been as long-suffering as Pats' fans were before Bill Belichick and Tom Brady arrived. And unlike the always annoying Jets or always cocky Dolphins, the Bills are always classy. As are their fans. And that's saying something with all the heartbreak they have endured. I worked with a diehard Bills fan for many years. She would proudly wear her white jersey with the big blue buffalo in the center as her team lost Super Bowl after crushing Super Bowl.

When I was a kid the Bills were O.J. Simpson. He would come into Foxborough and run for what seemed like 300 yards every game. But even with one of the greatest running backs of all time the Bills were never really a contender. It wasn't until Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, and the rest of one of the best teams ever to play in the NFL was assembled in the '90s. The K-Gun offense. Marv Levy telling war stories. A ferocious defense. The Bills dominated the AFC and went to four straight Super Bowls. It was an amazing feat. And I was rooting for them each time. They lost the first one to the Giants on the famous "wide right" last second kick and each loss got progressively worse. Never has so good a team left their fans with so sour a taste.

The Bills haven't been a contender since. They've had a few good seasons but seem to always find a way to lose. There was the "Music City Miracle" where they lost on a crazy kick return lateral on the last play of the game. There was even the game in 2001 where they took the Patriots to overtime only to lose when David Patten's fumble was ruled not a fumble because his unconscious head was touching the sideline when he dropped the ball.

Then they got Lawyer Milloy and Drew Bledsoe from the Pats and beat them 31-0 on opening day in 2003 and thought they were going to make another run at a Super Bowl only to see the Patriots return the 31-0 favor in the last week of the season on their way to their second of three Super Bowls. The Pats would go on to dominate the Bills for a decade. The Patriots have won 21 out of the last 23 games against the team from western New York. The Bills have managed to find lots of ways to lose to the Pats. Here's hoping they find another way today.

Fresh start

NEW YEAR, SAME RESULT: 1-0 in 2012.

WEEK 17
Patriots 49, Bills 21 (1/1/'12): Some highlights from another entertaining victory on a 45 degree sunny New Year's Day at Gillette...

Chili and sausages. A cooler full of cold beer. Sweatshirts and hoodies instead of parkas and wool caps. Chung and Spikes back in uniform. A scoreboard update of the Miami D picking off Sanchez. A couple of refreshing margaritas. Another update of the Miami D picking off Sanchez. The Bills breaking out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Bill O'Brien screaming at his entire offense this time.

OK, those last two certainly weren't highlights. But everything that happened in the next three quarters after that was. The Pats scored 49 straight points as the offense that struggled in the first quarter kicked into high gear and the defense that looked lost -- again -- seemed to find itself thanks to the return of #25 and #55. The Pats D is never going to fill one with confidence, but the return of leaders Chung and Spikes sure helps. Too bad Andre Carter isn't still on the field.

The next two weeks the Blabosphere will be buzzing with warnings about how the 13-3 Patriots are not a serious Super Bowl contender because of their slow starts on offense and false starts on defense. Many will predict another one-and-done playoff run. Or a two-and-done. But done before they even get started. Predictions are tough to get right. Just ask Rex Ryan ... again.

Mo, Larry, and  Curly (a.k.a. Borges, Felger, and Shaughnessy) will be leading the chorus I'm sure. They will acknowledge that the Pats have the best offense in the AFC, but they will tell you that's all they have. They will tell you the defense will bring it all crashing down in the playoffs. They may be right. The Pats will either win or lose so it's a 50-50 shot.

But the Patriots will show up in two weeks to face either Cincy, Denver, or Pittsburgh. If they win they are hosting the AFC title game. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have lost their last three playoffs games dating back to the '07 Super Bowl. Brady has not been the reason they lost those games but he was far from his best. He's due to be at his best. If Brady and the offense can be at their best -- very best -- for the next three games, the Pats will raise that fourth Lombardi that they should have had a few years ago.

Now the fun begins.

The first rule of football

WEEK 3
I take the blame for this loss. The first rule of football-watching is if your team is winning big you don't leave where you are watching the game. I broke that rule.

My 10-year old 37'' not flat-screen, not HD, not plasma TV died. Finally. I watched a lot of great football (and "The Wire") on that TV. I didn't have time to get a replacement (check in next week on that) so I was watching the Pats trounce the Bills on my 15'' (you read that right) screen that we sometimes bring to the tailgate. I had to go over my parents' house to fix a few things -- and they have a 37'' screen -- so I got in my car late in the first half. While I was driving over the Bills put up 10 points. And then things just got worse.

I scanned back through the Pats scores of the past decade to see if I could find a game where the team blew a 21-0 lead with Brady as the QB. The only one I could find was that little AFC title game at Indy in '06. That one was a lot tougher to take.

WES: King Rat

The Pats started this game playing like a machine. Considering they were without Koppen, Vollmer, Hernandez, Dowling, Haynesworth, Wright, and (most importantly) Pat Chung, it was impressive. Brady and the offense took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in nine plays in the face of a fired-up Bills crowd. Brady and Welker capped the drive, connecting on a 14-yard TD pass. It was the start of a record day for Welker. He finished with 16 catches for 217 yards. It was more than enough to give my fantasy football team (Rozzie Rats) its first victory. But not quite enough to prevent the Pats from their first loss.

The Pats D then picked off Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (deflection to Arrington), giving Brady the ball at the Buffalo 35. Six plays later Brady hit Gronk for the first of his two TD catches and the Pats were up 14-0 and the fire in the Bills fans was snuffed out. Just like that. Arrington picked off Fitzpatrick on the next drive as well, nicely cutting in front of the receiver on a fourth-down play. Brady hit Gronk for another touchdown midway through the second quarter and the 2-0 Pats were dominating the 2-0 Bills 21-0. The Pats looked unstoppable. All seemed right with the world.

And then things started to go wrong. And often. While I was in my car, the Bills put together a big seven-play touchdown drive to stop the Pats momentum, cutting the score to 21-7. Brady then threw the first of his four interceptions. And like all the others, it was just a tough break more than a bad play by #12. Brady threw the ball into the flat for Woodhead at the Buffalo 10-yard line but he couldn't grab it and instead tipped it into the air as he fell and the defensive back made a great play to dive and get the ball. Turnover #1.

The Bills drove from their own 10 to the Pats' 24 in the last minute and  kicked a field goal. What could have been a 28-7 halftime lead was instead 21-10 with the Bills getting the ball to start the third quarter. It was a Patriot-like drive. But the Bills couldn't do anything with the ball to start the second half and had to punt. Brady got the ball at the Pats 43 with a chance to put some crucial points on the board. One play later the Bills had their second interception and the comeback was on. Like that AFC title game a few years back it was a fun game to watch. Back and forth. Like that game, it ended with the Pats coming up short.

It's a big win for Buffalo. They beat the Pats for the first time in forever. Move to 3-0 and sole possession of the AFC East lead thanks to the Jets also losing. I was actually happy for Bills fans. They have had a bad team for a long time. But 3-0 in September doesn't mean that much. There's a lot of football left. I seem to remember the Jets beating the Pats early last season. The Pats still won the division easily.

I'll avoid the Sports Blabosphere for most of this week.They'll be all over Ochocinco. And the defense. Deservedly so. Both looked shaky. I got a brief taste of it last night and heard Felger utter this line: "This game proves that if Tom Brady is not having a great game then this team is in trouble." The game proved nothing of the kind.

It proved the first rule of football playing. If you turn the ball over four times -- especially on the road -- then you are probably going to lose. Take away those fluky turnovers and the Pats win easily.

I don't think the Pats will make that many mistakes in a game again. I know I won't make the mistake of getting in my car with the Pats up 21-0.

Those are the first rules of football.

Bringing it home

WEEK 16
The day after Christmas is usually one of relaxing, returning gifts, digesting the holiday meal, and -- in my case -- working. The newspaper comes out every day. You know. Newspapers. Remember?

WEEK 16: Finishing strong.

I knew I would be driving my way through a blizzard to and from work but that was OK because there would be lots of great sports radio to listen to because the Patriots had gone into usually snowy Buffalo and thumped the Bills 34-3 to wrap up the AFC East and homefield throughout the playoffs.

Each year Mark and I say there are three goals for the regular season: 1. Win your division. 2. Earn a first-round bye. 3. Get homefield advantage. Check. Check. Check. Rex Ryan always skips those goals and goes right to winning the Super Bowl. Which explains why the Jets are runners-up in the division yet again.

The Patriots jumped all over the Bills early, putting up 27 points in the first half. Brady threw three more TDs while BenJarvis broke 100 yards rushing. Woody came close too, putting up 93 yards. It was a solid offensive performance. But it was the defense that was the story, forcing seven turnovers. Since starting the season giving up points and yards in healthy doses, the youngest defense in the league has started to cut down on both. Since the first half of the Thanksgiving game in Detroit, the D has given up very few big plays and even fewer points. It's key to the team's playoff hopes. The offense will be able to make plays when the games get even tougher. The question all year has been will the defense be able to? As of the moment, the answer is looking like yes.

There's one more home game to go in the regular season -- the day after New Year's against Miami. It should be fun, although probably frigid. It will be good practice for the playoffs at Gillete, where the Patriots will play all their games for as long as they are alive.

Perfect day for imperfect football

WEEK 3

Patriots 38. Bills 30 (9/26/'10): As Mark and I stood in the parking lot on a beautiful late-September Sunday eating pulled-pork sandwiches (served in a sauce of apple cider vinegar, mustard, ketchup, hot pepper, and brown sugar) with homemade cole slaw, we both agreed the Pats needed to not just beat the very beatable Bills, they needed to look sharp in all phases of the game doing it.

A few cocktails later we walked into the stadium with Mark's brother Adam and his three teenage daughters (their first game) to the sounds of the Who. The much-maligned Gillette crowd was buzzing in every sense of the word. We knew that Brady wouldn't need us to be too vocal for the Pats to take Buffalo. I thought what a perfect day for Don Julio margaritas, er, I mean a perfect day for football.


It was a perfect day for football. Just not perfect football. 

WEEK 3: A win is a win.

The Pats looked sharp on offense -- putting up 38 points on 200 yards rushing and 245 passing -- and the Brady to rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez connection is fast becoming an another big weapon. As for the other phases of the game?

Well, not even a few Don Julios could make the defense and kicking game look good. The D had two interceptions (Chung, Meriweather) but only forced the Bills to punt once. The Bills -- a team that had scored a total of 17 points in its first two games -- rolled up 30 on 374 yards of offense. Buffalo had to settle for field goal attempts on four drives, and they often stopped themselves on those possessions. The Pats defense has now given up 24, 28, and 30 points. That's 82 points through three weeks. Only four teams have allowed more and they have a combined two victories. There's no disguising it. The D is not good enough. What's that? The defense really only gave up 23 points yesterday?

Right. That brings us to the other phase of the game that is not good enough. Special teams.

The Pats opened the second half with a quick, 5-play drive that ended with the second Brady-to-Moss TD pass of the day. Pats 24, Buffalo 16. Just when it looked like the Patriots had taken command of the game, the kick-coverage team allowed rookie CJ Spiller to take the ball 95 yards for a touchdown. Spiller is a fast playmaker, but the Pats special teams tackling was sad. As was Zoltan Mesko's punts. The rookie's 37.7-yard average on three punts was also not good enough

But it was an entertaining -- if not encouraging -- day at Gillette. Ben-Jarvis Green-Ellis -- with the trade of Maroney and injury to Faulk -- is now, suddenly, an important part of the offense. Against the Bills he ran for 98 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown. He looked good enough. As did the passing game of Brady, Moss, Welker, Hernandez, et al.

Enjoying the postgame hot dogs and beer with Shep and Matt, I started thinking about the play of the offensive line (solid as always), the running game, young players like Hernandez, McCourty, and Chung. I started to feel optimistic about the team's chances of going into Miami next Monday night and finally -- finally! -- getting the big road win.

Then I got home and turned on the Dolphins-Jets Sunday night game. What a game. Two great defenses each gave up more than 400 yards and yet made big plays when needed. Two questionable offenses showed they have the mental toughness to put together long, crucial drives. Both teams played at a much higher level than the Pats. As the Jets defense made the last big play to pull out a huge road win, I thought are the Pats good enough to win a game like that?

At the moment: No. Not good enough.

One for the road

WEEK 15

A trip to Buffalo has never looked better from my vantage point on the couch. The Pats came away with a solid 17-10 victory and the Jets and Wildcats both dropped close games to fall two behind in the AFC East with two games to go. Win this weekend at home against the Jags and the Pats claim another division title. All-in-all, that seems like a pretty productive road trip.

It's considered the first genuine road victory because for some reason traveling to London and winning a game doesn't seem to count as a road win for most people. London seems as road as you can get. But a win in the cold of Buffalo on a day when the division title was hanging in the balance is a much bigger road win. No argument about that. And it sure didn't start out looking too good.

The Bills opened the game clearly intent on taking advantage of the absence of Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren on the D line. And take advantage they did. Buffalo put together a 14-play, nine minute drive that included nine running plays and only ended in a field goal after a holding call on third down at the Pats two-yard line stopped their momentum. Mark texted me that "this could be a long day." It was looking that way after Brady threw a pick on the Pats' first series, setting up the Bills at their own 39. The Patriots were in need of someone to make a big play before they got in a big hole and Mike Wright, not surprisingly, was that someone. Wright, playing for Warren on the end, came on a delayed rush and sacked Fitzpatrick on second down. That was followed by a sack by Derrick Burgess that stole the early momentum away from the Bills. Brady then led the team on a nine-play scoring drive, connecting with Randy Moss in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown and the Pats were in control the rest of the way.

Ah, Randy Moss. He finished the game with five catches for 70 yards and the touchdown. That gives him 10 TDs for the season. Certainly not on his 2007 pace of 25 but darn good. He's still one of the three or four most dangerous wideouts in the game. And yet, if you read the newspapers and listened to the radio all week you would think he was single-handedly responsible for all the team's problems this season. After last week's much-needed win against the Panthers (in which Moss had a one-catch/one-fumble lousy game) the Globe featured a story across the top of the sports front focusing not on the victory but on the comments made by the Panthers D backs saying that Moss quit on the team. The losing Panthers D backs. Who were not a factor in the game. It was an interesting news choice. The Panthers players were saying that they knew if they hit Moss early and often he would be less effective. Really? Did they just come up with that idea because there have been very few wide receivers in the history of the game that strategy doesn't work on. Be aggressive with Moss? No kidding. Too bad they forgot about Wes Welker and the Pats running game.

The media madness continued with one columnist stating that Moss's performance was a disgrace to the position of wide receiver. I'm not sure such a thing is even possible because receivers aren't known as the real "character" guys on football teams. But whatever. The media's disdain for Moss is understandable. He's a little "out there" most of the time. But from my seat at the stadium these past three years Moss has been a solid citizen. Sure, after Brady went down in Game 1 of last year Moss often sat at the far end of the bench -- instead of working with Matt Cassell -- acting like his hot girlfriend had just dumped him. But he knew another shot at a ring was probably lost so cut him some slack. He still had a good year.

The offense has had a very good season. They trail only the Saints in total offense. They have had red zone issues for sure. But Brady, Moss, Welker, Faulk, and Watson are one of the most dangerous passing attacks in the league. And Moss has had a big role in that again. Unlike last weeks ground-it-out win over Carolina, the Pats went for the deep ball against the Bills. Brady and Moss stretched the D several times. Even though they didn't hit one, it was a key part of the game plan. That's the thing about the Pats that makes me think they could make some noise in the playoffs. Their depth and their versatility. The have won this year playing many different styles.

A talk radio voice, citing the Pats less-than overwhelming victories these past two weeks, said that the reason the Pats haven't looked too great is because "they really aren't that talented." That's a ridiculous statement on the face of it when you have players like Brady, Moss, Welker, Faulk, and Mayo. But it also ignores the offensive line depth with Light, Mankins, Koppen, and Vollmer. And the defensive line of Wilfork, Warren, Green, and Wright. And don't forget players such as Banta-Cain, Meriweather, Bodden, and Maroney.

That seems like a lot of talent to me. Is it enough to go on the road to San Diego or Indy (or both) and pull out a huge playoff win? I'm still convinced it is. Take care of business this weekend against the Panthers and we should get a chance to find out once and for all what this team is capable of.

Crowd noise

WEEK 1
Patriots 25, Bills 24 (9/14/09): A memorable season opener. The Pats are 1-0. Nothing surprising about that considering they were at home, against the offensively-challenged Bills, and Tom Brady was back. My thinking during the tailgate (What a tailgate! 78 degrees. Shorts. Giant inflatable beer bottle. Steak wrapped in bacon.) was a 34-13 Pats victory if the game played out as expected. Well, it didn't. But come time to decide who makes the playoffs and who doesn't... it counts as a W.

Lots of story lines after this one. Brady and the offense misfiring in the early going; then catching fire down the stretch for the dramatic win. The question-mark defense looking very much like a question mark, at least till the final moments. The introduction of the Pats all-time team at the half (big cheers for Troy Brown, Rodney Harrison, and, of course, Tedy Bruschi). The blood oath that coach Dick Jauron has with his good friend Bill Belichick to do whatever it takes to stop his Bills from winning when they play each other.

A storyline that won't be talked about, however, is the Gillette Stadium crowd. Or should I say the much-maligned Gillette Stadium crowd. The noise -- or lack thereof -- at Pats games in the "new" stadium has long been an annoying topic. One of those "Are we really talking about this?" issues. Perfect to kill time on sports talk radio during slow days. It goes back to 2005 when Richard Seymour (you remember him) said after a lackluster 16-3 win over the Jets: "It is really disappointing. The loudest they ever got was when there was a Victoria's Secret model on the scoreboard. They don't know when to cheer. You look up and see half the stands empty."

First: That Victoria's Secret model was Gisele. As in the future Mrs. Tom Brady. As in one of the hottest women in the world. So I would say that proves that Pats fans do know when to cheer. Second: I was at that game. It was boring. The weather was lousy. Both teams were lousy. It was cold. Snowing. Not every game has the atmosphere of a playoff game. It is what it is. Granted. It was against the hated Jets. But it was a bad game. During a season of several bad games. The Pats finished 10-6 that year. It was win one, lose one. Win two, lose two. One of those years.

Early in the season the Patriots were 2-1 (having come off a great road win against the Steelers) and were hosting the explosive Chargers. It was the game of the week. And the crowd was into it. Better than any regular season game at the old Schaefer/ Sullivan/Foxboro Stadium. If, like me, you have a large collection of videotapes (yes, VHS) of old Pats games go back and watch the first half of that game. It was electric. Both teams were playing at a high level, matching each other big play for big play. It was a beautiful late summer day. There was a moment late in the first half where the Pats were driving to tie the score at 17. Brady, coming off back-to-back 14-2 Super Bowl seasons, was looking more and more like the best QB to ever play the game. Everyone was on their feet anticipating a touchdown. I looked around and soaked in the moment. After all those years in a crappy stadium with a less than mediocre team, I almost couldn't believe my good fortune to be standing in this state-of-the-art building watching a team led by one of the best coaches and quarterbacks of all-time. I looked at Paul, another newspaper guy, and I could tell he was thinking pretty much the same thing. We were football fans and it didn't get any better than this.

Unfortunately the Chargers proceeded to destroy the Pats in the second half, rolling off 24 unanswered points. A real buzz kill in every sense of the phrase. Antonio Gates had his way with every DB and LB the Pats put up against him. It wasn't pretty. And the Pats never really recovered that season, struggling to stay above .500. By the time they got to the Jets game they also had been spanked by the Colts and the Chiefs. They hadn't lost a home game in the previous two seasons, this year they lost three. The Jets couldn't score. Their inept offense being as much or more the reason than anything the Pats D was doing. The crowd was cold and only mildly riled up when the Jets offense was on the field because there never seemed to be much threat of them suddenly doing anything. But on third downs, as is pretty much mandatory unless you have an injury, the fans were up and making noise. (If you're not gonna get up and make noise on third down plays to disrupt the other team's offense, please stay home on your couch.) The Pats won what was your run-of-the-mill regular season snoozer. One that I paid $135 to watch. And was glad to. Not sure how much Seymour had to pay to be there.

Back to opening night. Brady's return. Lots of questions and lots of promise. And even though the somewhat lowly Bills were playing the Pats even and then playing the Pats ahead by 11, a good 85 percent of the fans were still there, still cheering, still believing. Because they've seen Brady do some amazing things and you don't want to be in your car when he pulls off another miracle win. The Pats drove down the field and scored to cut the gap to five and the place went nuts. Still down by five with less than three minutes to go and the crowd that doesn't know when to cheer was behind their team as they had been all game. As they have been all decade.

ESPN's Bill Simmons, the go-to sports columnist of the day if you are a Boston fan and even if you aren't, wrote a piece last year about the lack of crowd noise. How the new stadium is the "Gillette Mausoleum." How loud and into the game the fans at the old stadium were. How his friend Bug didn't have as much fun at Gillette. Oh, how good things look through the golden haze of nostalgia. With all respect to Mr. Simmons, it doesn't sound like he's been to too many games over the years. Certainly not too many at Gillette. I've been to close to 200 games over the last 20 years. Is it different at Gillette? Of course. But the fans are more into the game. The other night the guys in front of us were talking about possible LBs they could bring in to replace Mayo in case he was out for weeks (which turns out he will be). A few others were debating Maroney vs. Fred Taylor (my vote: Taylor). In other words, when not cheering we were talking about the game. Except for when the woman in the tight pink Welker jersey and very small skirt stood up to wave her sign. But then we would go right back to talking about the game.

There wasn't too much of that in the old stadium. Lulls in the games usually meant fights in the stands. Or beer getting spilled all over you as someone tried to wedge themselves along the rows of people jammed into the aluminum benches. Or having crap hurled at you from the seats behind you which was surprising in our case since our seats at the old stadium were only about 10 rows from the top. Sure it was fun. As I said in a "Tales from the Tailgate" post ("The Snow Bowl"): The place was a pit and sometimes I miss it. But there were more games there where the crowd was asleep. Well, mostly passed out. Everyone thinks of the old stadium and thinks of the Snow Bowl. Or the '96 AFC title game. Or some of the great Drew Bledsoe led victories. But for every one of those games there were 10 where the game was bad, or boring, and the crowd was out in the lot grilling by the end of the third quarter.

The idea that Pats fans are spoiled by the success of the past decade has never made sense to me. There were always fair-weather fans and there always will be. And if you are under the age of 30 I guess you might think that if the Pats don't win it all then the season is a failure. But not me. And not the people I talk to. The beauty of the NFL is that each game is an event. In baseball when the Kansas City Royals (out of contention before the season starts) knock off the Twins or some other division rival late in the season it's no big deal. Just one of 162 games. But go to a Chiefs-Raiders game in Week 14 with both teams out of the playoff hunt and you will think you are at a playoff game. Pats fans are no different. If the game is exciting the crowd is into it.

Sometimes the games just aren't that good. That was true in the old stadium, and it's true at Gillette. But the crowd still drinks (Don Julio margaritas in the snow! Nice call Mr. Kraft), still has a good time, and still cheers the D to make a three-and-out and still yells "first down!" after another Brady-Moss hookup. Gillette isn't as good a home-field advantage as the old place? The team's record at Gillette: 52-12, with two 14-2 seasons, a 16-0 season, and two Super Bowls. 52 and 12! So much for that. Gillette has seen the two classic playoff battles with the Colts, the game after Spygate broke when the stadium rallied behind their coach and the team destroyed the Chargers, and the great snowstorm game against Miami where the snow was used like fireworks by the fans to celebrate Bruschi's pick-six. Just to name a few. I don't know about Bug, but Gillette felt alive to me on those days.

Some might say that a regular season game like Pats-Bills would have been a lot louder in the old stadium. They would probably be right. During the third quarter when the Pats were losing and the Gillette crowd wasn't all that loud, the highly-intoxicated crowd at the old stadium would have been much rowdier and noisier. No doubt about it. They just wouldn't have been paying too much attention to the game.