1. The team has something to prove, again.

The Bill Belichick Patriots love one thing above all else, proving people wrong. The world doubted them against the St. Louis Rams, and the Patriots relished in the scrappy underdog team role against the flashy group of superstars. For the first time in six NFL seasons, the world again heavily doubted these New England Patriots. They’ve taken that criticism to heart and have scraped together a 7-4 record that could easily be 9-2. They still have a long way to go and face a tough schedule for the rest of the season with big games against the Steelers, Cardinals and Bills still remaining.

2. Belichick will have to return to his roots and coach a simple but solid game-plan.

The limitations of Cassel’s arm (at least compared to Brady, who could launch the the pigskin 70 yards on target) have also forced Belichick to abandon the “All Streaks” play from Madden that he loved to run last year (e.g. the everyone go deep, Tom throw the ball to Randy play). It’s created a stronger team that can run and pass the ball very well in the short to medium ranges, with rare chances to connect deep too provided by the defense being lulled via the short game.

3. The games will be closer, the crowd will be livelier.

It’s not Foxboro and it never will be but it seems the fans have stepped up a little bit over the past few weeks. There is still a ton of room for improvement here though. Perhaps I’ve just gotten used to the deafening decibels at the Garden but I think many of the diehard fans finally got priced out of Gillette.

4. Everyone will try even harder.

Did you see the fight between Matt Light and Channing Chowder? There’s a lot to say on the negative side about the fight (possible suspension) but I love the passion and fight these Patriots are showing. They got taken down a notch last year and got a gut check to start this season and transformed themselves from last year’s glitzy team to the gritty team we see this year. Honestly the less glitzy more gritty persona fits them much better and is a return to the roots of their first three super bowl championships. They’re playing like a team again instead of a collection of superstars.

5. They will lose regular season games.

Or four or five of them. Looking at the last five games the Pats really need to win at least three of them to guarantee themselves a playoff spot. There is still a lot of regular season left, hopefully the remainder will be filled with more wins than losses.

6. Matt Cassel will have a relatively easy schedule to ease himself into the starting role.

Check. In my original post I replied to a comment that


I’m not expecting Matt Cassel to set records or carry the Pats, rather I expect him to make mistakes, learn, and eventually end up managing the game well and making a few plays here and there.

Well, it turns out Cassel proved me wrong and is setting records and even carrying the Pats. Look, I thought he’d be good, but he’s been wicked good! I won’t say great because great players are born in the playoffs, not the regular season. It doesn’t necessarily mean the Pats have to win the Super Bowl for me to consider Cassel great, but he does have to help the Pats make it to the playoffs and play well there.

Meanwhile, the AFC East is proving itself as the toughest division in football, with all four teams sporting wining records at this point. Yesterday one of the announcers for the Dolphins-Patriots game mentioned the players were fighting (literally) like it was a playoff game and I’d agree. The rivalries in the AFC East are amongst the fiercest in the league and the big game experience Cassel and the other young Pats are getting from these games will be extremely valuable come playoff time.

So far, my predictions are right on track.

::pats self on back::

Seriously though, even I would not have predicted that Matt Cassel would perform this well.

1. The team has something to prove, again.

I’ll let Rodney Harrison answer this one [via ESPN.com]:

To come in here, to this hostile environment, and win when everyone picked you to lose, is great,

Experts, media and even some fans doubting the team can do it without Tom Brady serves as a huge motivator for this group, who take any sleight, perceived or not, and turn it into a war.

2. Belichick will have to return to his roots and coach a simple but solid game-plan.

Now, I did not watch the game. OK, I lied, I watched one play (first play I’ve seen this year), which was the sole Jets touchdown, after which I promptly turned off the TV (not due to disgust, but due to the odd correlation between how many plays I saw and how many touchdowns the Jets scored, which again was 1 to 1) and checked the score every now and then via ESPN.com.

Still, judging from the box score and from what I’ve heard from people who did see the game, Bill has returned to his formula from the 2001-02 season and is calling a simple, fundamentally sound football game. Screen passes, screen passes, screen passes and short ins, outs, and slants that pick up a few yards consistently are crucial to any offense, especially one with a new quarterback.

3. The games will be closer, the crowd will be livelier.

Well, it was an away game but the game certainly was closer.

4. Everyone will try even harder.

Again, I did not watch the game so I can’t really comment here. Instead, here’s a quotation from Jets safety Kerry Rhodes [also via ESPN.com]:

They kept it simple…They didn’t want [Cassel] to lose the game, so they did a lot of screens and safe passes. They tried to keep it safe for him.

Note the emphasis on everyone around Cassel playing well so that he did not have to perform any heroics.

5. They will lose regular season games.

OK, so it’s only been one game so we can’t really judge this prediction but they will lose, especially as I keep jinxing myself by writing these post game analysis instead of keeping my mouth shut!

6. Matt Cassel will have a relatively easy schedule to ease himself into the starting role.

Well, their first two opponents are now a combined 1-3 and their next three opponents are a combined 1-5. Obviously they’re not playing the best of the league at the start of this season.

So far so good. The media acted shocked that the Patriots could win without Brady while Belichick reminded everyone how we won our first Super Bowl, with solid defense and basic, sound offense.

I’ll repeat it so you know it’s not a typo, the 2008-2009 New England Patriots will win Super Bowl XLIII.

They will not go undefeated, they might not even win the division, but they will win the biggest game of the year, unlike last year.

Here’s six reasons why.

1. The team has something to prove, again.

One of the biggest reasons the Patriots lost last year’s championship is they became comfortable and started believing the media, the fans, and the hype that they were the greatest team ever. I mean, did you see Brady’s press conference where he laughed at the Giants defense?

Let’s face it, he deserved the manhandling the Giants gave him (let me be clear, he did not deserve to get hurt). The almighty Brady really truly thought he was going to simply walk over the Giants. The young and humble Tom would have stayed home, away from the cameras, and healed his injuries over those two weeks. Instead he was galavanting about New York City (of all places) in the days before his team played the New York Giants.

Unbelievable.

2. Belichick will have to return to his roots and coach a simple but solid game-plan.

I don’t know how many people saw each play of each game of last year’s season but I did and many, many times it felt like Bill thought he was playing Madden as the Pats simply heaved the ball down-field to Randy Moss, again and again and again.

Now, it worked a heck of a lot of times, but the old Bill would have came out with a completely different strategy for the Super Bowl. Instead we saw Tom try to throw 10 TD’s in one game to Randy Moss.

3. The games will be closer, the crowd will be livelier.

Boy, that Gillette crowd has really fallen asleep the past couple of years. Here’s hoping they rise to their feet again instead of being awed to silence by the Brady-Moss show.

4. Everyone will try even harder.

Again, the team now has something to prove. Can they do it with Tom Brady, or was it all just Brady all along? Personally, I see the defense digging in and become a wall, especially as we hit the tail end of the regular season going into the playoffs. Knowing they can’t rely on the Brady-Moss show to put up 50+ points a game, everyone will have to give it their all for these Patriots to win the division and go deep into the playoffs. I for one think these Pats are up to the challenge.

5. They will lose regular season games.

Unlike last year, this year’s New England Patriots will lose a regular season game, more than once. It will be good though, as it’ll remind the players what it’s like to lose and that they are not invincible. For all the talk of staying grounded, last year’s team lost their grip and seemed to start believing they were unstoppable.

6. Matt Cassel will have a relatively easy schedule to ease himself into the starting role.

From the sound of the vulturous Boston sports media, you’d think it couldn’t get any worse for the Patriots and their fans. Well, actually it could have been much, much worse. This injury to Tom could have happened in week 15, 16, 17, or even later. At least now Matt Cassel gets to take his knocks early in the season against one of the NFL’s (apparently) easiest schedules and hopefully learn enough and grow enough to lead this team to and through the playoffs.

Go ahead, call me an overly optimistic homer but I’ve got a gut feeling all is not as dire as every media outlet makes it. When the 2008-09 New England Patriots are hoisting their fourth Lombardi trophy of this decade, just remember where you heard it first!

Good punt, good coverage for the boys, but the best offense in the NFL gets the ball now.

And the thing with the best offense is the defense has to believe they run a reverse giving Brady time to throw down the field…too far down the field overthrowing Moss. Wes Welker is a great replacement for third down Troy Brown. Haha. Just as I’m wondering where our running game is, Morris gets stopped right at the line.

Stallworth is stacking up as another great possession receiver. Our whole receiving corps has great possession abilities. Looks like they’re shifting coverage to each hot receiver as Dante just got triple tackled by the Cowboys after getting a few catches…will they forget about Randy Moss though?

My buddy Josh perfectly describes the Kevin Faulk catch and run for four yards as “I can’t believe he held onto that”. Every Faulk possession adds to my heart attack meter. It just seems he forgets he has the football sometimes. Big 3rd down. 2/2 so far on 3rd down this the drive. Nice catch and run by Welker for the first and then some. Awesome job taking the hit and recovering the fumble caused by the flip from the 2nd Cowboy defender hitting Wes. Welker runs with reckless abandon.

Pats need a TD here on the 6 yard line to set the pace of scoring in this game. NICE. Brady makes up for missing Moss on the first play of the drive with a nice pass n catch by the Brady-Moss connection Dallas so feared before the game. The rest of the drive was dominated by Brady sprinkling passes to our OTHER receivers…hint Dallas, you can’t double-cover Moss because our other receivers will light you up all day long.

WoW…World of Warcraft in a Toyota commercial…what an awesome combination.

FOUR WHEELS OF FURY!!!!

Wolfork absolutely eats up the boys’ running back. Asante breaks up a. Rodney Harrison makes a big play to put Tony and the boys at the eight yard line forcing them to punt on 4th and 17.

The one girl in the room says “Sweet, looks like a blowout like our other games” and every guy in the room jaws drop followed by a loud “No”…the game just started, you never know what will happen, every true Bostonian sports fan will always remember the times things didn’t go as they should’ve…for the good (Greatest comeback/biggest collapse in A history/) and the bad (1986).

We’re passing the ball a bit too much for my liking. Sammy Morris has been impressive this year, as has our offensive line. The cowboys knew to watch out for the screen on 3rd and 14 since that is a money play for us and we haven’t been running all day. 3/16 running plays makes the defense look out for passes, all types of passes. The running game isn’t usually a surprise.

Good defensive stand to force a punt. We need to see runs on 1st and 1st/2nd down here.

FOUR WHEELS OF FURY!!!!

3rd and 6…looks like Brady is struggling a bit with the crown of the hill throwing to the sidelines.

Oooh…but he’s still on an equilibrium throwing down the middle to his money target, Ben Watson.

Moss almost makes a nice catch at the sideline on a low Tom pass.

Welker for 6 down the middle on a perfect post. How are you not looking for this on the Cowboys defense? I figure we get one more pass down the middle for a long gain before they put four backs in the middle at all times.

Pats looking good, up 14.

End of the 1st Quarter

UPDATE

Start of 2nd quarter.

The Pats play with intensity in all games at all times, that’s why we sometimes get penalties and fines for wanting to get too much of an advantage over everyone else.

Good hold by the defense to force a field goal…14-3 Pats and we’ve only run the ball five times. Let’s get a nice 11 minute drive going here and send it to the half.

Brady just threw the ball 70 yards down the field on a flea flicker but Moss couldn’t keep up with him as the Dallas cornerback’s legs got mixed up with Randy. But Tom literally threw the ball 70 yards.

Dammit..a 70 yard Brady pass was just wasted AND the Cowboys score a touchdown on the NEXT play. Aaaargh…hence why you don’t call games in the first quarter. Senor John states it well…”a touchdown on the return would be real nice right here”.

4th and inches Brady sneaks for the 1st down after two bad spots. NICE Welker for a touchdown, aided by a block from the refs.

Pats 21-Cowboys 10.

Pizza…

Dammit…Cowboys TD…21 17 46 seconds left.

41 seconds left.

Brady takes a knee.

Pats get the ball at the start of the third. Let’s see some runs.

End of the 1st half

UPDATE

Start of the 2nd half

Ouch…Sammy Morris takes a huge hit and is off to the locker room. Kevin Faulk is now our main back…and I’m getting a bit of indigestion from my DIY calzone from Mama Lisas’s in Somerville…which was delicious . I might have to disappear from this commentary as I lay in shock.

Ouch…Cowboys go up. 24-17.

Nice 5 minute 10 play drive by the Pats there, helped out by a pass interference the announcers though should have gone against Moss, even though he was going for the ball. Kyle Brady (yes he’s on our team too, Corey) puts the good guys up by four.

Pats 28, Boys 24 5 minutes in the third.

WoW…Marion Barber gets the best 2 yard run in history narrowly avoiding a safety as he slipped through four or five defenders. Dallas punts.

WoW…Randy Moss makes an awesome catch at the edge of the end zone!

My buddy Josh is yelling for Moss to get off the field so we can kick the extra point before Dallas can challenge but the officials are conferencing around the spot and are throwing a flag on the play.

Nice, roughing the passer. Dallas challenges the play. Too bad for them that Randy Moss made an amazing catch just inside the lines and held onto it.

Pats up 34-24.

UPDATE

The officials reversed the call!! WTF! He held onto the ball, his elbow hit the ground, that’s a touchdown. Terrible call by the refs. 1st down, Pats up 28-24.

Pats 31, Boys 24.

Dallas gets a questionable 3rd and 1 spot but get a holding call on a enough for a first down run (though Jones fumbled it to himself) and the Cowboys punt on 4th and 11. Pats come back with a bomb 69 yard pass to Stallworth who gets free from a Cowboys defender and goes down the field for a touchdown.

Very nice. Pats up 38-24.

Ugh. Cowboy # 28 Thompson, brings Dallas up to the Pat’s 23 on the return, near-guaranteeing them a field goal, which they promptly stumble towards (after an initial first down).

Pats await the ball up 14, 38-27. Welker starts them off at the 36 and Randy drives us further up the field. Btw, Tom Brady has five, count em, five touchdown passes. We really should have ran the ball more.

Welker eludes a Cowboy past their forty yard line. Seven and a half minutes to go…definitely time to run, run, run.

Touchdown Randy Moss…ahh there’s a flag…a nonexistent pass interference call…dangit..

Nice, back to Moss five yards short of the 1st down line.

Kevin Faulk slinks through for a ten yard gain to the seven. Tick-tock, tick-tock…Faulk runs for a couple.

My internet connection hasn’t been working for a while now…time for a refresh.

Brady throws it out the back of the end zone for an incomplete pass and we “settle” for the field goal and a fourteen point lead. Cowboys down by 14 with four minutes to go….

….

FOUR WHEELS OF FURY!!!!

Junior Seau picks Romo and Rodney Harrision tells him to sit down and shut up with a finger in his face.

WoW…

3rd and ten….is Brady going for #6?

Welker for the first down…

Two minute warning.

We’re all hoping for a FOUR WHEELS OF FURY!!!! commercial.

Geico…which isn’t available in Massachusetts, home of the Patriots…advertises low low rates we’re not allowed to purchase…way to infuriate a good portion of your target audience Geico…

Pats 41-Cowboys 27.

Game Ovah

Eckel to the one inch line….30 seconds left…

Touchdown.

48-27.

19 seconds left.

Cowboys take a knee.

Game Ovah!