Week 1 rewind

There was a strange sight on Sunday... A Patriots' wide receiver other than Troy Brown wearing #80 in a regular season game. A couple of guys have worn the number since Mr. Patriot retired, but this was the first time anyone noticed.

Danny Amendola did the number proud. And, of course, being Danny Amendola he might not get another chance to do that for a while. The first of the weekly rewind of the good and the bad of each game starts off with the Pats' new receiver qualifying in both categories. The team's last-second 23-21 win was that kind of game.

GOOD

• Amendola. Wes Welker's replacement had 10 catches for 104 yards. And most of those 10 were of the key variety. Very Welker-like. A few of them were of the "did you see that?" variety. Not so Welker-like. Amendola is younger, faster, and bigger than Welker. He can get to balls that Welker couldn't. I'm thinking of a pass in a Super Bowl a few years ago.
• Vereen. I was pretty happy when the Pats brought veteran Leon Washington back last weekend. I love the guy. I've been hoping he will take over the Kevin Faulk/Woody role. No need. That role belongs to Shane Vereen. And he may do it better than either of them.
• Gosty: As the Pats moved into position for the game-winning kick, my nephew texted me "How's your confidence level in Gosty?"  "Strong," I replied. It was more wishful thinking than actual confidence. Gosty missed a game-winner in the home opener last year and missed six for the season. Six is just a few too many. But he was 3-for-3 yesterday and confidence is strong.
• Defense. It wasn't exactly Matt Ryan and the Falcons' offense. (That comes in a few weeks). But the Pats D held the Bills to under 300 total yards (286) and forced two big turnovers. The secondary did a solid job considering the Pats' pass rush hasn't arrived for the season yet. Talib and co. gave up two 18-yard TD passes, but also made many big stops on third down. The Bills scored seven points on a turnover and another touchdown came after a Brady pick. It's the way the D needs to play against lesser offenses.
• Brady. He did not have one of his best days numbers-wise. He had a fumble at the Buffalo two and a pick at the Pats' 37. It took him 52 passes to throw for 288 yards. He and his young group of receivers are far away from gelling. But with the game on the line he was classic Brady. He's as good as ever.

BAD

• Amendola. The knock on him is that he is injury-prone. Not that he's not tough because it's clear he is. But that he can't stay on the field. It didn't take long for that problem to return. When he wasn't catching passes, Amendola was limping around with a sore groin. He will probably miss some games.
• Ridley. BenJarvus spoiled Pats' fans. And Belichick. He went his entire career here (53 games) without fumbling. Ever. It's a pretty tough act to follow when it comes to ball security. Ridley fumbled four times last year and found himself in the coach's dog house a few times. He moved into the outhouse yesterday when he fell down and fumbled without being touched.  
• Pass rush. Or more accurately... Where the hell is the pass rush? The Pats got zero sacks. They need more out of Chandler Jones in his second year. And Tommy Kelly and Ninko. Lots more.
• Rookies. It's not often you see the Pats' snap the ball and then watch as the wide receivers run into each other like they were pieces on an electric football field. But it happened a couple of times in Week 1. But that's what happens when you starts a season with more than a dozen rookies on the roster.

I'm sure there will be lots of concern from the Blabosphere due to the fact that the heavily-favored Pats had to steal a win. But steal it they did. The 2013 Patriots are a work in progress. All the mistakes they made are fixable. They have till Thursday to get some of them fixed.

First contact

WEEK 1
So Roger Goodell doesn't think there needs to be four preseason games. Hmmmm. Wonder what he thinks after watching the action from the opening week of the 2013 season.

There was a lot of exciting football. Close games. Upsets. Last second victories. Hard hits. Big plays. But there was also a big dose of turnovers, penalties, missed tackles, receivers running into each other (Patriots), and general sloppiness. Think how bad it would have been with only three preseason games to get ready. Not pretty.

Not pretty. That perfectly describes the Pats season-opening victory in Buffalo. The Pats have dominated the Bills during the Belichick era. But not yesterday. It took a Gosty field goal as time expired to pull out a mistake filled 23-21 victory.

The mistakes? A Ridley fumble that was returned for a touchdown. A Brady fumble. A Brady pick (that was more like a Sudfeld fumble). Too many dropped passes by rookie receivers to count. A poor punting performance by the guy who took Zoltan's job. Brady getting sacked twice and feeling the heat several more times. The secondary giving up a couple of long touchdowns and the pass rush being non-existent once again.  Bill Belichick not re-signing Wes Welker. Wait. That last mistake was a few months ago.

Not pretty. Mistakes are usually the difference between winning and losing. Were the Baltimore Ravens the best team in the NFL last year. Hell no. But when it counted, during the playoffs, they were the team that made the fewest mistakes. By far. The difference between a 10-6 playoff contender and a 6-10 also-ran is very small despite what most people think. The 10-6 team is almost always the one that doesn't beat itself. For the past decade-plus the Patriots have been that team.

Yesterday they made more mistakes in four quarters than they usually make in four games. When Ridley fumbled, the Pats were up 10-0 and driving inside the Buffalo 30 with a chance to take control of the game. One mistake later, it was 10-7 and the Bills and their victory-starved fans were back into the game.

The Pats regrouped, as only a well-coached team can, and regained the lead 17-7 and were once again in control with the ball and just more than a minute till the half. That's when Brady and Sudfeld misconnected and the Bills were set up at the Pats' 37. Two plays later and the Bills had scored again to cut the lead to 17-14. The Bills took that momentum and drove 80 yards in 11 plays to take the lead 21-17. The Pats responded with their own long drive but came up empty when Brady fumbled at the 2-yard line. How often does THAT happen?

A lot of teams would have folded at that point, but the Patriots, even with all their young players, held the Bills off the scoreboard the rest of the way and Gosty made two clutch field goals to steal away the all-important road divisional victory.

Not pretty. But 1-0.

Start 'em young

A fan is born.

Enjoy it while it lasts

Tom Brady says he wants to play into his 40s. I'm guessing he has not cleared that with Mrs. Brady.

Brady turned 36 last month. It was 12 Septembers ago when he walked onto the field as Bledsoe staggered off. Since then the skinny kid from Michigan by way of California has had one of the greatest -- if not the greatest -- careers of any NFL quarterback. First ballot Hall of Fame for sure. A break here or there and he has four or five rings.

I get why most non-Patriots fans can't stand him. Gisele. The hair. The sheep. The dimple-chinned smile everywhere. The mansion with the moat. You don't get more famous than Tom Brady. But when he is on the field he is still the guy who was drafted in the sixth round and almost didn't have an NFL career. You can't help but admire that Tom Brady and the way he plays the game (kick of Ed Reed's crotch excluded).

Brady steps on the field today to resume the quest for Lombardi #4.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

Miss him now, Bill?

Well that should put an end to the "it's not Welker, it's the system" crap.

In his debut with Peyton Manning -- oh, and the rest of the Broncos -- Wes Welker grabbed 9 passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns. It would seem that another 100-catch season has begun for #83. What else would you expect? The guy can't be covered. 

You could see the Welker departure coming for a while, so when he did leave for Denver there was a lot disappointment but an equal amount of acceptance. That's the way it goes. As I've said before, Bobby Orr didn't finish his career a Bruin so nothing should surprise. The Pats made Welker a solid offer before last season, Welker turned it down, then the Pats took their usual stonewall stance, Welker hit the market and, although settling for a little less, he was quickly lured to the Rockies. It's called free agency.

It didn't bother me too much until I saw the photo above. Manning and Welker could be better than Brady and Welker. They could be better than anyone. Ever. The photo above says it all. As smart as Brady is as a quarterback, Manning is just a little smarter. Now he has a guy who plays the game just as smart. Manning's quick mind with Welker's quick feet will be tough to stop. 

The Sports Blabosphere offered the theory that although Welker is good, it was Brady and Belichick that made him great. Of course they played a key role. But it was more Welker's quickness, football instincts, tireless work ethic, tough-as-nails attitude, competitive drive, and athletic talent. The guy can't be covered.

The Patriots should be just fine. But it will be just a little less fun to watch without Welker catching those Brady lasers across the middle on 3rd-and-8 or grabbing the ball and spinning around to add on a handful of YACs.

OK, Danny Amendola. Let's see something.

Where's the beef?

I have to say it. I miss Fat Rex. I know. That's not appropriate. The Jets' brilliant head coach has shed a lot of pounds to get healthy and live a longer, stronger life. Great for him.

But I miss the "Let's go get a goddamn snack" Rex. I miss the "Eat a lot of goddamn snacks" Rex. I miss the "I'm gonna give you a goddamn smack" Rex.

Who is that guy in the video above? Rex Ryan? Really? That soft-voiced little guy doesn't even sound like him. Did he shed his big voice along with his big stomach? It's kind of sad. I've said it before. A coach with Ryan's style works when things are going well. That's how it is with loudmouths. They are tough guys till they've been knocked around a little. Then? Not so much.

Rex Ryan came to the Jets in January of 2009 talking the talk and walking the walk. He wasted no time promising Super Bowls and in setting his sights on Bill Belichick and the Pats. For good reason. Ryan knew that the Jets would have to go through the team from New England to get where he wanted to go. Mt. Ryan said he wasn't going to be kissing Belichick's rings and planned on taking it to the division dominators every chance he got. A rivalry was reborn.

The Jets finished his first season with the best rushing attack and the best defense. Ground and pound with just the right amount of clutch passing by rookie QB Mark Sanchez. The Jets started the season 3-0, including a 16-9 win over the Patriots, and Big Rex was feeling it. Then Gang Green lost six of its next seven to fall to 4-6. The last loss was a 31-14 pounding at Gillette. The Jets lost to Atlanta in Week 15 to fall to 7-7 and Rex lamented that his promising team had been eliminated from playoff contention. Turns out the big guy was wrong. The Jets were still very much alive if they could win their last two games. Unfortunately their next game was against the unbeaten Colts. The Colts were toying with the Jets when their coach Jim Caldwell decided he didn't want to have an undefeated regular season and pulled his starters. The Colt backups handed the game to the Jets and Rex found himself in the playoffs in his first year as head coach. He was feeling pretty good about things.

He was feeling even better about things a few weeks later as the Jets advanced to the AFC title game and a rematch with Peyton Manning and the Colts. Rex and the Jets led 17-10 at half but -- in what would become a pattern for Ryan's teams -- they let a game they should have won slip away. No Super Bowl for Rex this time.

In year two Ryan made another Super Bowl guarantee and the team roared out to a 9-2 record and a Monday night showdown with the Patriots at Gillette. First place in the division on the line. The moment Mt. Ryan had been waiting for. Leading up to the game Rex, Sanchez, and the Jets were all talk. The Patriots' time was over. They were the new team to fear. They were gonna show the world. Final score: Patriots 45, Jets 3. One of the best regular season games I've been to.

The Jets lost three of their last five to finish 11-5. Good enough for a wildcard. The Jets knocked off the Colts in the first round and Big Rex and his brash boys came back to Gillette for a shot at redemption. This time the Jets were the better team and stunned the Pats -- and me -- 28-21. Rex had been head coach of the Jets for two seasons and was going to his second AFC title game. Impressive. A little lucky. But impressive. It was the peak of the Rex Ryan era in New York. The Jets fell behind the Steelers 24-0 in the title game and almost came all the way back to earn a ticket to the Super Bowl but fell short, 24-19. That must seem so long ago for Jets fans.

In year three of Big Rex things started to fall apart. The season started as usual, with the coach talking Super Bowl. The Jets won two to start. Lost three. Won three. Lost two. Won three more. Lost three more. What does that kind of inconsistency get you? No. Not fired. It gets you 8-8 and no playoff berth. Sanchez threw 18 picks and the ground and pound had turned to dust. The team lacked discipline and often beat itself. But Big Rex refused to accept that things were going bad and continued to talk the talk. It seemed that he was the only one who couldn't see that his team could no longer walk the walk. Dissension in the locker room began to bubble up, a sure sign that a collapse was near.

That brings us to last season, year four. The arrival of Skinny Rex and the end of any Super Bowl bravado. It was a collapse so glorious that only a Patriot fan (we know about collapses) could truly appreciate it. The Jets inked Sanchez to a big-bucks contract extension during the offseason even though it was clear he had lost all his confidence and most of his game. Then... the team signed Tim Tebow to be Sanchez's back-up and held a circus-like press conference to announce the move. Sanchez was done right then and there. The Jets finished 6-10, losing their last three games as the home crowd chanted for Tebow to play and for Rex to go. The NJY lost by scores of 27-10, 34-0, 30-9, 28-7, 49-19 (butt fumble), and concluded the whole mess by getting crushed by the equally bad Bills 28-9 in the season finale.

I have never seen a team play that bad in a coach's fourth year and not have it end with the coach being canned. Never. But this is the Jets. Sure, oddball owner Woody Johnson fired the GM. But he hired the new guy with the help of Skinny Rex. Woody loves Rex. It's sweet. But it's foolish. And that's how Rex looked in the post-game press conference after their preseason game against the Giants the other night. Foolish.

The assembled media rose to the occasion as only it can when there is a big, easy bone they can grab hold of. Ryan sent Sanchez on the field late in a preseason game and the quarterback's shoulder got hurt. Everyone wanted to know what Rex was thinking. Why put his valuable starting QB at risk in a meaningless game? It was a feeding frenzy. Skinny Rex choked. He mumbled stuff about competing and deciding and then went into an SNL comedy routine. Fat Rex would never have acted like that. He would have barked that he was trying to get the team ready for the regular season and that Sanchez plays when he tells him to play. He might have even questioned why all the writers, bloggers, and blabbers were talking about Sanchez as if he was suddenly the equal of Brady or Brees or Rodgers when they have been dumping on him for three years now. Instead of talking about competing he could have talked about a team and a quarterback that have a lot to prove, thus making no game meaningless and no guy above playing at any time.

That would have been fun. I miss Fat Rex. This is how I will remember him...

A thumpin'

Here's a highlight from last night's Pats preseason loss to the Lions.

I didn't see too much of the game, but from the looks of this play it's easy to see why the Pats got hammered 40-9. Total lack of execution. The wide receivers looked lost. The blocking schemes were a mess. Brady looked even less mobile than usual. And that's just the offense. The defense wasn't much better.

Just an ugly, ugly game.

Fortunately, it doesn't count.