(Michael MacDonald October 4, 2009)
Patriots rookie cornerback Darius Butler (28) and safety Brandon McGowan converge on Ravens wide reciver Mark Clayton with 28 seconds remaining in the game. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Though Las Vegas officially installed the New England Patriots as 1-point favorites, most fans and experts expected that a terrific Baltimore Ravens team would travel to Foxboro and leave with their unbeaten record intact. They came within a dropped pass of having a chance to do exactly that. With time running out and trailing the Patriots 27-21, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco moved the ball and his team quickly down the field. With 28 seconds remaining and facing a 4th down on the Patriots 10-yard line, Flacco threw a near perfect pass to Ravens wide receiver Mark Clayton. If caught, the Ravens would have at least a first down around the Patriots 5-yard line. With a timeout in hand and perhaps 25 seconds to play with, the Ravens may well have won the game.
The ball hit Clayton in the numbers on his chest and he dropped the pass. (Patriots cornerback Darius Butler and safety Brandon McGowan were both converging on Clayton as the ball entered his hands and he may well not have been able to hang on to the ball anyway.)
The play capped a nearly 3.5 hour well-played game between two teams that may well meet again the playoffs. The Patriots established an effective running game and discovered their red-zone offense for the first time this season. The Ravens had not allowed a rushing touchdown this season until Brady carried the ball in early in the second quarter. Sammy Morris had a 12-yard scoring rush late in the second quarter.
Patriot Rushing
Though the rushing game certainly wasn’t dominant, it was effective enough to keep the Ravens defense on its heels most of the game; few teams will ever establish a dominant rush against the Ravens anyway. Still, it was painful to watch Laurence Maroney be ineffective yet again. In 7 attempts, he mustered just 6 yards (though he did have one pass reception with a nice run after for 17-yards). Kevin Faulk had 5 handles for 22 yards in addition to one reception. Fred Taylor had 7 rushes for 25 yards before leaving the game with some leg injury. Sammy Morris had 21 rushing yards along with 35 receiving yards on 5 receptions.
Call me a broken-record but I just don’t see that Maroney is the Patriots’ future. His talent is undeniable. His propensity to injury when he’s not bouncing harmlessly off of defensive lines is also undeniable. Sitting in the wings is the multi-faceted and hungry BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Perhaps the young man will get his chance next Sunday?
Brady Hits 9 Different Receivers
Randy Moss was double-teamed most of the game forcing quarterback Tom Brady to pick other targets. Moss still managed to snag 3 passes for 50 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Wes Welker, returned from a knee injury, was also aggressively covered but still managed to pull in 6 passes for 48 yards. Once again, tight-end Benjamin Watson was an effective receiver pulling in 2 passes for 51 yards including a 35-yards strike in the second quarter. Julian Edelman was targeted only once but made some nice moves for a 12-yard pickup.Brady also hit Morris, Sam Aiken, Maroney, Taylor and Faulk.
Joey Galloway wasn’t activated for the game.
Defense Gels
Still playing without Jerod Mayo (who should be back next week), the Patriots defense looked sharp and crisp. Flacco was harassed most of the day with an effective pass rush and blitz and the Patriot backfield forced many dropped passes while punishing receivers who did catch the ball. Brandon McGowan had an interception late in the second quarter but the Pats came close to picks several other times. Brandon Meriweather was all over the field making life miserable for Raven receivers.
Patriot Futures
Today’s win was hard-fought and deserved. The Pats are coming off of two wins over physical teams that were both expected to test the New England mettle. Clearly, coach Bill Belichick is yet again remaking the team making the system fit the available talent. Whether the Patriots advance to the Super Bowl or fail to make the playoffs, this will be a formidable team for the rest of the season.
The team travels to the stadium-in-the-sky next week to play the Denver Broncos. Regardless of records, the Pats have always struggled in Denver and I don’t expect next week to be different. The Broncos head into the game with a 4-0 record and the NFL’s top-ranked defense. Both numbers may be blown out of proportion since their first 3 games were victories over Cincinnati, Cleveland and Oakland. The Broncos did beat the Cowboys today but I’m not quite sure how much to make of that. Certainly, the Patriots will be a good test of the Bronco defense.
The Patriots then return home to face a the 0-4 Tennessee Titans. With a game next weekend against the Indianapolis Colts, the Titans may well be 0-5 when they travel to Foxboro but just as the Broncos’ perfect record should be taken with a grain-of-salt, so too should the Titans winless record be regarded. Tennessee is a good football team that is going to ruin more than a few weekends this year.
The Patriots travel to Tampa Bay on October 25 for a game with the Bucs before a week 8 bye on November 1.
Junior Seau To Return?
Veteran linebacker Junior Seau may be signing with the Patriots. (AP Photo)
After several days of rumors, WEEI radio in Boston announced earlier today that 40-year linebacker Junior Seau old will be signing with the Patriots as early as this week. ESPNBoston reported yesterday that Seau underwent and passed a physical for the Patriots earlier this week while in Boston filming an episode of the Versus network’s “Sports Jobs With Junior Seau”.
Seau had told XX Radio in San Diego that if the Patriots needed him, he would return to the NFL because of his relationship with the Kraft family, owners of the Patriots, and with Coach Belichick.
Seau retired in 2006 after playing 13 years for the San Diego Chargers and 3 more years for the Miami Dolphins. The Patriots subsequently signed him and he played 10 games in 2006 and 16 games.
In 2008, Seau again came off the couch to play the final 4 games of the season with the Patriots.
Willie McGinest, another veteran Patriots linebacker has also expressed an interest in possibly coming out of retirement. Like Seau, McGinest has said that the only team he would play for would be the New England Patriots.
So, has anyone seen Troy Brown recently?
