Patriots 26, Falcons 10 (9/27/09): It seems the sky isn't falling. And it seems the Pats aren't done just yet. You won't see any retractions or corrections. But you should. In Week 3, Bill Belichick's Patriots did what they have done season after season this decade. Put the distractions and doubts aside and go out and play a solid, winning football game. The Falcons are a good team and they played a good road game in damp conditions but the Pats were better. If a few missed deep passes connected this game would have looked a lot like some of the '07 romps. You just have the feeling it's a matter of time before the offense puts up 40 points. Not next week against Baltimore. But soon.
Picking up Mark at the commuter rail station in Providence, the expected steady rain was starting to kick in. As we got closer to Gillette. the rain let up. Like the predictions of the Patriots demise, the forecast of very wet weather was slightly overstated. It turned out to be a decent day. With the help of the canopy we now have (After 15 seasons of tailgating we finally got a canopy. That either
proves we are getting smarter -- or just older.) After enjoying the spareribs that Shep and Matt had ready for us when we got to the lot, we headed to our seats. I was not expecting to be dry at the start of the game. Fortunately I was.I also did not expect Randy Moss to be suited up, due to reports he had a bad back. I figured there was no way the Pats risk Moss on a wet field even if they already were missing Wes Welker. I was so sure of it I benched Moss on my fantasy football team in the league I'm in with my two brothers, sister, and five nephews. My team, Moss Racing (renamed so after Randy bought a racing team), was off to an 0-2 start so I couldn't afford to have an inactive guy starting for me. Down went Moss and up came TJ Houshmandzadeh or however you spell it. So I sit down with my two Don Julio margaritas and fortunately (or unfortunately for my fantasy team) there was #81 looking ready to go. "Any one in the stands have a laptop?" Doh!
There were too many empty seats for such a big game, especially in the upper decks. I guess people watched the same forecast I did. Or they decided to move to one of the standing-room sections that is much closer to sea level. The attendance may have been a little dampened but the Patriots -- especially Moss, sore back and all -- were not. They were ready to put the Jets loss behind them.
And Belichick made sure they did. As if to personally rebut Bill Simmons's column that he may have lost the fire to win, he goes for it on 4th and 1 from his own 24-yard line with just over five minutes to go in the third quarter up by six. Analysts saw this as a sign that Belichick had no confidence in his defense. The defense that is ranked in the top 10 in just about every category in this young season. What it looked like to me was Belichick saying "If the guys on this offense are as good as they think they are then they should be able to make a stinking yard at a critical moment in the season." And they did. Belichick wasn't protecting his emerging defense, he was challenging his talented offense. Show me another coach who would go for it on that play. There isn't one.
The Pats may not win it all this year. Hell, they may not even win the AFC East which is looking pretty competitive. Even 0-3 Miami is a dangerous team. But this game showed that any forecasts of a long, dreary season were nothing more than knee-jerks. The Pats have a tough season ahead, but that's the way it usually is. Back-to-back 14-2 seasons and that 16-0 run seem to have created a ridiculous level of expectations. Those seasons are rare and are to be enjoyed. But there's something just as enjoyable about watching your team battle to say, 10-6 or 11-5, and fight for a playoff spot. That's all you can really ask as a fan. Just be competitive and don't beat yourself. And the Pats will be able to do at least that for a while. That's my forecast.
No comments:
Post a Comment