Patriots 27, Wildcats 17 (11/8/09): I'm not sure what was the best part of the day. The beautiful 60 degree weather in November. The Pats' gutty victory over the Miami Wildcats. Or the fact that Mark and I watched the game from the comfort of the luxurious Fidelity Investment Clubhouse. Let's call it a three-way tie.
The first of the four crucial November games is in the books and what a game it was. The Wildcats are one of the most unusual teams the NFL has seen in years. As the Wildcat fan wearing a Marino jersey sitting next to me said "They aren't a very good team but they are tough to beat." So true. And they are fun to play.
The Wildcats waited till midway through the second quarter to finally bust out what we had all been waiting to see -- the wildcat offense. At that point the Pats were leading 10-3 but could/should have had a 17-3 lead or more. The red-zone woes of the first few weeks of the season made an unexpected return. Some missed plays. Some not-so-great
calls. (Next week in the game of the year would be a bad time for any more of that.) The Wildcats turned to their unorthodox attack with just more than eight minutes to go in the half. Till that point Chad Henne and the Miami offense hadn't done too much. That changed quickly.
Miami got the ball at their own 20 yard line. The crowd was enjoying the glow of the weather and the pre-game tailgate. I was settled into my nicely cushioned seat checking out the shiny stats card with each team's rosters on it that they hand to those in the luxury suites. I wasn't quite paying attention to who was on the field for the Wildcats at that moment. Seems neither were the Patriots. The quarterback was not #7 (Henne), but #6. And #6 took the snap, ran left, faked a pitch, and rambled 33 yards before the Pats defense finally realized what was happening and tackled him. "Who the heck is that?" I said out loud. Marino jersey guy couldn't wait to tell me. "That's Pat White. Their second round pick out of West Virginia. They got him just to run the option. He can't throw but he can run." Every sentence that came out of Marino jersey guy came with a "but." "They aren't very good but they are tough to beat." "They won the division last year but they really weren't a playoff team." "Parcells is doing a great job but I wish he was coaching."
For me it's "The Pats D has played surprisingly well this season but I wish they could learn to stop this wildcat offense." Miami took the ball into the red zone and they had no trouble scoring as Ricky Williams (on the bench for my fantasy team) took the option pitch and ran into the end zone mostly untouched. 10-10. "We have a game," Mark said as he came back with his double tequila on the rocks. "A game we have to win." Thanks to Tom Brady and Randy Moss, they did.
The biggest play was the Brady-to-Moss slant pass that went for a 71-yard touchdown after Moss stiff-armed the defender to the ground. Miami had just opened the second half with a machine-like 16-play, 10 minute drive to take a 17-16 lead. It's what the Wildcats do best of all. Eat clock. In large chunks. And then the Pats did what they do best. Strike quickly and erase all the hard work of the other team in a flash. Up 22-17 the Pats lined up for a two-point conversion. When and when not to try for a two-point conversion is one of the favorite topics of football fans. There are as many schools of thought on the two-point play as there are on a public option for health insurance. "It's too early to go for two," Mark said. And I agreed. We had been talking about just that during the tailgate with Shep and his sons Matt, Zandy, and Russell. Belichick, unlike most other coaches, seemed to get that you don't chase points too early in the second half. But there was Brady and the offense lining up for two. "That's a mistake," I said. "If they miss it they could be beaten by two field goals." Mark agreed. Brady took the snap. Stepped back and casually lobbed the ball to Moss who caught it for two. Pats up by a touchdown. "Perfect time to go for two," Mark laughed. I agreed.
The Brady-to-Moss TD is what will be remembered as the key play of the game. It wasn't. There was an innocuous 3rd-and-11 on the Pats 39-yard line with 13 minutes to go in the first half and the Pats up 7-3. It was a key possession early in the game. The kind that gets lost later in the highlight reels of one-handed catches and Joey Porter missed tackles. Brady dropped back and saw a blitzing defensive back coming in untouched on his blind side. Most QBs throw the ball away and walk to the sidelines to make room for the punter. Brady took a few quick steps to his right to delay the hit and threw across his body to Wes Welker cutting, as he always does, across the middle in the opposite direction. Brady hit Welker on the run and he took it 12 yards for a first down.
The Pats held the ball for eight more plays and five more minutes before Gostowski added a field goal. What could have been a sack and decent field position for Miami turned into points for the Pats. It's the kind of play that wins games. The kind that Brady has been making for years. Watching the highlights later I heard Dan Dierdoff saying after that play "Tom Brady is back. Tom Brady is back." Brady looks to be just about all the way back from his injury. We'll know for sure come next Sunday night.
As we were getting in the escalator to leave the Fidelity Clubhouse (pre-game visit by the cheerleaders, couches in front of a fireplace, TVs everywhere, hot drink bar with an "Irish Kiss" -- just to name a few of the comforts) Mark turned to me and said "I could get used to this." He was talking about the life of luxury we had just enjoyed, but he could have also been talking about Brady leading the Patriots to another great win in a big game. I guess we are already used to that luxury.
The first of the four crucial November games is in the books and what a game it was. The Wildcats are one of the most unusual teams the NFL has seen in years. As the Wildcat fan wearing a Marino jersey sitting next to me said "They aren't a very good team but they are tough to beat." So true. And they are fun to play.
The Wildcats waited till midway through the second quarter to finally bust out what we had all been waiting to see -- the wildcat offense. At that point the Pats were leading 10-3 but could/should have had a 17-3 lead or more. The red-zone woes of the first few weeks of the season made an unexpected return. Some missed plays. Some not-so-great
calls. (Next week in the game of the year would be a bad time for any more of that.) The Wildcats turned to their unorthodox attack with just more than eight minutes to go in the half. Till that point Chad Henne and the Miami offense hadn't done too much. That changed quickly.Miami got the ball at their own 20 yard line. The crowd was enjoying the glow of the weather and the pre-game tailgate. I was settled into my nicely cushioned seat checking out the shiny stats card with each team's rosters on it that they hand to those in the luxury suites. I wasn't quite paying attention to who was on the field for the Wildcats at that moment. Seems neither were the Patriots. The quarterback was not #7 (Henne), but #6. And #6 took the snap, ran left, faked a pitch, and rambled 33 yards before the Pats defense finally realized what was happening and tackled him. "Who the heck is that?" I said out loud. Marino jersey guy couldn't wait to tell me. "That's Pat White. Their second round pick out of West Virginia. They got him just to run the option. He can't throw but he can run." Every sentence that came out of Marino jersey guy came with a "but." "They aren't very good but they are tough to beat." "They won the division last year but they really weren't a playoff team." "Parcells is doing a great job but I wish he was coaching."
For me it's "The Pats D has played surprisingly well this season but I wish they could learn to stop this wildcat offense." Miami took the ball into the red zone and they had no trouble scoring as Ricky Williams (on the bench for my fantasy team) took the option pitch and ran into the end zone mostly untouched. 10-10. "We have a game," Mark said as he came back with his double tequila on the rocks. "A game we have to win." Thanks to Tom Brady and Randy Moss, they did.
The biggest play was the Brady-to-Moss slant pass that went for a 71-yard touchdown after Moss stiff-armed the defender to the ground. Miami had just opened the second half with a machine-like 16-play, 10 minute drive to take a 17-16 lead. It's what the Wildcats do best of all. Eat clock. In large chunks. And then the Pats did what they do best. Strike quickly and erase all the hard work of the other team in a flash. Up 22-17 the Pats lined up for a two-point conversion. When and when not to try for a two-point conversion is one of the favorite topics of football fans. There are as many schools of thought on the two-point play as there are on a public option for health insurance. "It's too early to go for two," Mark said. And I agreed. We had been talking about just that during the tailgate with Shep and his sons Matt, Zandy, and Russell. Belichick, unlike most other coaches, seemed to get that you don't chase points too early in the second half. But there was Brady and the offense lining up for two. "That's a mistake," I said. "If they miss it they could be beaten by two field goals." Mark agreed. Brady took the snap. Stepped back and casually lobbed the ball to Moss who caught it for two. Pats up by a touchdown. "Perfect time to go for two," Mark laughed. I agreed.
The Brady-to-Moss TD is what will be remembered as the key play of the game. It wasn't. There was an innocuous 3rd-and-11 on the Pats 39-yard line with 13 minutes to go in the first half and the Pats up 7-3. It was a key possession early in the game. The kind that gets lost later in the highlight reels of one-handed catches and Joey Porter missed tackles. Brady dropped back and saw a blitzing defensive back coming in untouched on his blind side. Most QBs throw the ball away and walk to the sidelines to make room for the punter. Brady took a few quick steps to his right to delay the hit and threw across his body to Wes Welker cutting, as he always does, across the middle in the opposite direction. Brady hit Welker on the run and he took it 12 yards for a first down.
The Pats held the ball for eight more plays and five more minutes before Gostowski added a field goal. What could have been a sack and decent field position for Miami turned into points for the Pats. It's the kind of play that wins games. The kind that Brady has been making for years. Watching the highlights later I heard Dan Dierdoff saying after that play "Tom Brady is back. Tom Brady is back." Brady looks to be just about all the way back from his injury. We'll know for sure come next Sunday night.
As we were getting in the escalator to leave the Fidelity Clubhouse (pre-game visit by the cheerleaders, couches in front of a fireplace, TVs everywhere, hot drink bar with an "Irish Kiss" -- just to name a few of the comforts) Mark turned to me and said "I could get used to this." He was talking about the life of luxury we had just enjoyed, but he could have also been talking about Brady leading the Patriots to another great win in a big game. I guess we are already used to that luxury.
