'It's always a great time'

WEEK 2
Patriots 35, Chargers 21: Nothing makes the anticipation level for the first tailgate of the season higher than being stuck in traffic for two hours. I failed to adjust for the fact that I no longer live eight miles from Gillette. Sorry Paul.

By the time we arrived at the Enchanted Forest lot just south of the stadium we were -- to quote a former lawyer/bar owner I knew -- ready to Watusi. Paul -- a longtime newspaper guy who has been to several big games over the years -- hadn't been to a tailgate the last few seasons so I was feeling guilty about the lost time. We made up for it. And then some.

65 degrees. Beautiful late summer day. Steak. Spare ribs. Chicken. Potato salad. Crab rangoon and fries fresh out of the deep fryer. Cold beer. Martinis. Good friends. And one heck of an entertaining football game. As we stood in the dark eating our post-game hamburgers, celebrating another victory and watching a blonde Pats fan throwing the football around (nice arm), Paul said out loud what I think every tailgate: "It's always a great time."

The pre-game tailgate -- albeit shortened -- was indeed great. The group next to us had a deep fryer and we did a little food share. They got some ribs. We got some crab rangoon and fries. An excellent swap. We arrived at our seats in Section 109 for the first time since the playoff loss to the Jets accompanied by our good friends Sam Adams and Don Julio. The view was the same. The drinks were the same. The game was very different.

Brady and the offense got the ball and drove from their own 8-yard line in 12 plays. A 6-yard run by BenJarvis. A 17-yard pass to Welker. A 16-yarder to Hernandez. A 3-yard run, a 5-yard catch, and a 6-yard run from BenJarvis. A 5-yard run by Woody. A 15-yard diving catch by the Ocho. (Followed by a supportive ovation). All capped off with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Hernandez with two guys on him. The crowd was buzzing with anticipation on each play. And rewarded each time.

The Chargers, being the playoff team they likely are, responded with an impressive touchdown drive of their own and we knew a great, hard-fought game was ahead of us. We just didn't know how great. Me, Paul, Mark, Bergs and everyone around us spent the rest of the afternoon yelling, cheering, high-fiving, hugging ... and mostly smiling. Especially in the last 10 minutes of the half.

First the Pats D made a huge goal line stand, stuffing Mike Tolbert on a 4th down from the 1. Tolbert, a monster of a back, ran wide and was nailed by Mayo. He ran wide. Nice call, Norv. Then Brady led the Pats on a 99-yard drive that had Gillette as loud and rowdy as it's been in years. Seems like most fans took Brady's advice and were well hydrated. Brady ended the drive with a TD pass to Gronk 1 and the Pats were up 17-7.

Rivers and the Chargers drove into Pats territory again and were threatening to cut the lead to three when Big Vince made what could well be the play of the year. Rivers threw a pass out to his right at the 35-yard line with about 20 seconds left in the half. Wilfork anticipated the pass, leaped in the air and tipped the ball, reached out and caught it, and then steamed down the field into San Diego territory. He looked like one of those Disney cartoons where the pink hippo is doing ballet.

Two quick passes later and Gostkowski nailed a field goal as time expired in the half. Pats 20, Chargers 7. It was another example of why the Pats have had so much success under Belichick. After the Wilfork play I watched Brady, Belichick, and offensive coach Bill O'Brien huddled together to figure out how to get a last second three points. On the other sideline I could see Norv Turner walking around rubbing his forehead with a confused look on his face.

The second half was almost as entertaining. The Chargers, the team with the second best offense last season, moved the ball all over the field. But the Pats D kept coming up with big plays when needed. They came away with four turnovers and lots of big hits. It was a formula that worked very well last year. As did the formula of Brady having so many options on offense that the opposing defense is often helpless to figure out what is coming next.

What is coming next is a suddenly big game against the 2-0 Bills in Buffalo. The Patriots haven't lost to the Bills since government-mandated retirement plans actually had money in them. The Bills think this will be the year. It will be a good test for both teams.

One home game down. At least seven more to go. The next home game is the rematch with Mt. Ryan and the Jets in three weeks. We are considering investing in a deep fryer.