Week 2 rewind

Oh, ye of little faith. A look on ESPNBoston.com shows that almost all the "experts" are picking the Ravens Sunday night. Most of the picks have it a very close game but everyone -- except Mike Ditka and Matt Light -- gives the nod to Baltimore. Well, it's in Baltimore so that makes sense. Home field advantage is often the deciding factor in these games. The Ravens are the smart bet.

It's the comments accompanying these picks that are somewhat baffling.

Tedy Bruschi says the Pats "will be better after Thanksgiving than they are now." Mike Reiss goes with the Ravens due to "some of the shaky play from the the Patriots' offense in recent weeks." The Pats are "a work in progress" says Jackie "Welkergate" MacMullen.

So the Pats lose one game and suddenly the defending AFC champs are a work in progress? I don't remember any of the experts saying that after they dominated Tennessee on the road in Week 1. Quite the opposite. But apparently one bad game -- which the Pats could have won anyway -- turns a Super Bowl contender into a "shaky" team. Hmmm.

Sunday night will show if there's any merit to this line of thinking. I look back at the AFC title game last January and still see a game that the Pats dominated. I know, it came down to a Billy Cundiff missed field goal to decide it. But what it really came down to was Tom Brady -- in his words -- sucking. I don't expect that to happen again. As I don't expect Zoltan to have a punt blocked or the team to commit foolish penalties. Belichick's Pats have a history of responding to the challenge. Go ahead and bet on the Ravens. Just don't bet too much.

The Pats first-ever home opening loss at Gillette had more than the usual share of bad. But it also had a decent share of good. No. Really. It did.

GOOD

• The defense. For the second week in a row the Pats held the other team below 300 yards. The rushing defense may be the best in the league. It will be really tested by Ray Rice and the Ravens Sunday night. The pass defense continues to look good. Kevin Kolb only threw for 140 yards. Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald -- a man most experts predicted would get eight or nine catches for 110 yards or so -- was held to just one catch and four yards. Actually, that should be put under the "great" category, not just "good."
• The comeback. Brady and the offense struggled most of the day. Losing Hernandez early on didn't help. Nor did Brady seeing pass rushers where there didn't seem to be any. Even the best have those days. But in the fourth quarter the offense went no huddle and Brady, Welker, Lloyd, and Gronk marched down the field for the touchdown that brought them within two points.
• Ridley wasn't as dominant as he was in Week 1 running the ball but that was more a case of not getting the ball as much. Which was unfortunate since the game was close almost the whole way. He finished with a solid 71 yards on 18 carries.
• Stephen Gostkowski. (Yes, he will show up in the "bad" category too). Gosty hit field goals of 46, 34, 51, and 53! yards to keep the Pats in the game. He was having a sensational day ...

BAD

• ... till he missed that 42-yarder with the game on the line. And he missed it badly. Gosty hasn't had to make too many game winners during his career but missing one in Week 2 isn't the same as missing one in Week 15 or in the playoffs. I hope he gets a chance to redeem himself soon.
• Aaron Hernandez's high/middle/low ankle sprain is one of those bad breaks that you hope a team can avoid. But if it's going to happen it's better to happen in Week 2 than in the AFC title game. You really have to feel bad for Hernandez because he was poised to have a Pro Bowl year. He still might if the ankle heels fast enough.
• The missed two pointer. Where's Kevin Faulk when you need him? The Pats are the best in the league at the two-point conversion. The play they ran was a good one, getting Gronk in one-on-one coverage on the right corner of the end zone. But Brady threw the ball a little too far ahead and the coverage was very tight. Next time go back to the direct snap to Woody,
• Penalties. The Pats had eight penalties for 60 yards. The two penalties on the last drive by Gronk were the worst and cost the Pats what would have been the winning TD. The Pats played with an unusual lack of discipline all day.

Take away the penalties and miscues and the Pats would have won this game by 10 points. Which -- if Brady doesn't suck this time -- is what I think the Pats will beat the Ravens by Sunday night.