Give away game

WEEK 14
Patriots 20, Panthers 10 (12/13/09): The Carolina Panthers brought their 5-7 record to Gillette. It was the first tailgate since mid-November when the Pats convincingly beat the Jets and Topher's car got smashed. The Pats have looked more like Toph's car since then so a tailgate was long overdue. And much needed.

Mark, Shep, Matt, and Bergs took a day off. It's what we call a "give away game" in the season ticket world. A game against a crappy team from the other conference whose starting QB is hurt. Not one you circle on the schedule at the start of the season as "must be there." And the weather forecast was not so promising. Thus a game season ticket holders look to "give away" to friends and family.

And that means a lot of people going to their first Patriots game. Like my wife Devra and our co-worker Katie, a Broncos fan from Colorado (Broncos vintage T-shirt on but hidden under the layers). Bringing people to their first Pats game is one of the best parts of being a long-time season ticket holder. They have that wide-eyed look (thanks to the Bailey's and coffee maybe) like a kid at the circus. Things that you take for granted are fun again. Me, Dev, Paul, and Katie rolled into P2 around 10:30 under mostly gray skies. But we were feeling pretty good because we knew rain was coming our way but it looked like the pregame tailgate would be enjoyed in dry -- if not toasty -- weather. And enjoyed it was. As Devra said when questioning the lack of beads and tie-dyed T-shirts (or NFL equivalent) being sold in the lot ... "It has a definite Dead show atmosphere."

We listened to a tailgate mix Toph made during the 16-0 season (Dead featured prominently) and grilled up some flank steak for sandwiches. But not just any steak sandwiches. Dev prepared banh mi -- a Vietnamese version. The recipe includes some pickled vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, radishes) and a rub for the meat (soy sauce, coriander, white pepper) that has a rich flavor. Add a little sriracha and it will warm you up almost as much as Maker's Mark and Coke (Katie's excellent addition to the menu -- flask and all). It was the tastiest -- and prettiest -- steak sandwich ever consumed at a tailgate.

The game itself was not so pretty. The Pats actually looked much better in most of their loss to Miami than they did beating the Panthers. Neither team was really in sync. As the first half drew to a close the drizzle started. It was just one of those regular season games where all that really matters -- for the team and the fans sitting in the wet and the cold -- is to get a win. That makes it all good.

The Pats ran the ball 40 times. (Katie and Dev didn't get to admire Brady's passing form too often, but there was admiring going on nonetheless.) They ran 40 times! That is the story of the game. The Patriots brought a certain mindset. A late-season, grind-the-game-out mindset. And it worked. Maroney again looked strong, gaining 94-yards on 22 tough carries. The team had close to 200 yards rushing. And Gostkowski made two kicks (one a 48-yarder) in a close game under tough conditions. He's quietly having another excellent season and confidence in him going into the playoffs has to be high.

There's a lot to talk about on the positive side after the victory, but you know the thing that will be talked about the most this week is the performance of Randy Moss. The future hall-of-famer had a lousy game. He only had one catch and on that play he fumbled the ball. That's a lousy game. But he really wasn't a featured part of the game plan. Anyone who was at the game could see that. You could tell Moss knew on most plays that the ball wasn't coming anywhere near him. Sometimes he went through the motions. Sometimes he didn't. The interception that Brady threw early in the game when he was trying to hit Moss on a out looked like a bad pass and bad decision on Brady's part. Moss didn't react fast enough to prevent the pick but there wasn't much he could do. That pretty sums up his day. There wasn't much he could -- or was asked -- to do. That happens. Fortunately there was a lot Wes Welker was asked to do -- and did. Another ridiculously great game -- 10 catches for 105 yards. Moss wasn't asked to do anything pretty in this game. Next week he might. And odds are he'll deliver.

So it wasn't a pretty game for the Pats, but it keeps them ahead of Miami and New York. Now they head to Buffalo. They haven't recorded a real road win all season (they are due, right?). If they can handle the always challenging Buffalo weather and crowd noise conditions and bring home a win -- even against a mediocre opponent -- that would be a very enouraging sign. No matter how pretty -- or ugly -- the game might be.