Almost Another Fantastic Comeback

Go on, admit it. You just knew that Tom Brady was going to lead them back for another fantastic come from behind win. I know I did. But don't go blaming Brady for this loss. He showed just how great he really is: on the road, in a hostile stadium, taking hit after hit, with barely any running game to speak of, with the defense knowing he was going to pass, with no Troy Brown, no starting left tackle and he STILL would have won the game had it not been for a drop. There should be no doubt who the best player in the NFL is.

So we have to cope with another tough loss. I believe the game would have had an entirely different outcome if it weren't for 4 plays.
The first play happened on the Pats 1st posession. They are driving and come up just short of the first down. Brady lines them up to go for it on 4th and we all know the play the Pats use on 4th and short and so did Denver. Brady gets to the line, the backfield empties, the TE's split wide, Brady's going to sneak for the first down. Only Denver knew it too and as soon as the Pats motioned to an empty backfield one of the Denver outside linebackers went running to the middle, right over the ball waiting for Brady. Brady called timeout and they kicked. Had they gotten a first down it may have meant 7 points instead of 3.
Second, Vinatieri missed a field goal wide right. Add those 3 points to the 4 from play one and you're only down by one.
Third, The bomb to Ashley Lelie. I know, what about the bomb to Rod Smith, right? Smith's caught the Pats off gaurd. The Lelie bomb was the EXACT SAME play as Smith's. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Belichick/Mangini should have shown the secondary why/how they got beat so it wouldn't happen again. I know, what about Tatum Bell's 65 yard run, right? That's just what Bell does. He did it twice last week.
Fourth, David 'butter fingers' Givens dropping the pass on the final drive. Not only was he open, not only did Brady lay it out there perfectly, not only did he have 20 or 30 more yards to run, but he also took away the Pats momentum on that drive. The next play was the intentional grounding, which Givens and Branch ran the same route and one of them should have been where Brady threw it. Then it was 3rd and 20 and Brach dropped his ball, but at least he had some semblence of an excuse for dropping his. (And in my humble opinion that play should have been reviewed because it sure looked to me like he caught it, tucked it, got hit and then it came out AFTER he hit the ground.)

That's it. 4 plays.

Hat's off to Patrick Pass who played a terrific game.

Since Rodney Harrison has been with the Pats, their longest run allowed was 33 yards against San Fran last year when the backups were in. The next longest run was in 2003 and that was 19 yards. How good is Rodney Harrison?

I'm not going to tell you what you already know about Tedy Bruschi.

The trade deadline in the NFL is week 6 (tomorrow). Rumors are flying, I'll see what I can come up with.

Thanks for waiting for me to return, I'll try to make it worth your while.