Patriots Wrestle Bears Into Submission, 38-31

The Patriots alternated brilliant plays with idiotic plays and held on to beat the Bears, 38-31 yesterday. The win puts them at 5-2, a game up on Miami for the AFC East crown and tied with the Chargers for second place in the conference. Next up are the hapless Bills next Monday night.

This was easily the sloppiest game the Patriots have one in at least ten years. Three turnovers without an interception. Two hideous penalties on special teams that gave the Bears life twice in the game. Losing outside contain over and over to allow the Chicago QB Mitchell Trubisky to run all over the place. Horrible clock management. Unnecessary timeouts in the first half that left them nearly unable to challenge plays.

It's the kind of football we've grown accustomed to seeing other teams play when facing the Pats. Rarely does  New England play that way, and when they do, they usually lose (see the Eagles game in 2015). The reason they won? The Bears were very accommodating hosts.

Trubisky missed multiple wide open receivers, and he was intercepted twice (and should have been intercepted two other times). The tried to get Cordarrelle Patterson to return kickoffs, and he rewarded them with a fumble -- before he killed them with a 95-yard return for touchdown. And of course, the Pats blocked a punt and returned that for a TD, too.

Painting in broad strokes, here is what went well and poorly.

The pass rush disrupted the Bears offense, pushing the QB out of the pocket and slowing the running game at the same time. However, Adrian Clayborn lost containment way too often, allowing Trubisky to extend drives with third-down runs and to total 81 yards and a touchdown. This game is Exhibit A of why Belichick preaches "setting the edge" and "holding your contain."

It is interesting to see them blitzing more. This probably owes to the new semi-D-Coordinator, Brian Flores. And I suspect they are experimenting a bit to prepare for what they'll need in the playoffs.

The secondary was way up and way down. Far too many open receivers running around, many of which were missed by the Bears. But both interceptions were 50-50 balls that the Pats defenders simply out-fought the Bears for. J.C. Jackson's INT was extremely impressive, as he dove down with the receiver and scooped it away with one hand.

On offense, the Pats mixed run and pass very well. Sony Michel (4 rushes for 22 yards) fumbled once, on a play where he injured his knee and was done for the day. And once he was out, James White (11 for 40) picked up the slack nicely, aided by Kenjon Barner (10 for 36). Add in Tom Brady's "slowest six yards you'll ever see," and the Pats topped 100 rushing yards for the fourth time this season (they are 4-0 in those games).

The run blocking has been excellent for weeks now (they had 173 yards against KC, sorry I didn't write up that one). And in this game, they were actually able to gain rushing yards even when everyone in the stadium knew they were going to run. That's impressive, because they usually can't.

Julian Edelman was doubled all day long, without Rob Gronkowski (who missed the trip with a back injury) to take up defenders. So the Pats depended on White for the short stuff (8 catches for 57 yards and 2 TDs) and Josh Gordon for the long stuff (4 for 100). Chris Hogan had a nice game, too (6 for 63). And all the receivers get special praise for their run-blocking, both on rushing plays and downfield after pass receptions.

Which brings us to special teams. What to say about special teams... hmmmm. Okay, they were great and they sucked.

The good:

• The blocked punt was something they obviously saw on film. Because they brought 9 or 10 people on that play, when they usually only rush about 5 or 6.
• Patterson's electrifying 95-yard kickoff return, where he ran right up the gut, made one move, and was then off to the races.

And the bad:

• A delay-of-game-penalty on the kickoff after Patterson's big return. On a kickoff -- I haven't seen any of the crap teams in the NFL do that in a long time. And I wouldn't expect it from this team.
• An unsportsman-like penalty on a punt that brought the ball from Chicago's 23 to their 38, giving them a chance to score before the half (which thankfully they did not).
• A facemask penalty on a kickoff that gave the Bears great field position, from which they scored a touchdown.
• Short Stephen Gostkowski kicks. Enough already, Joe Judge -- have him kick it through the end zone!
• A list of unacceptable "net yards" on Ryan Allen punts: 30, 38, and 13. That last one was booted through the end zone from the CHI 33 yard line. No excuse... if you can't drop it down inside the 10, then try for the coffin corner kick. But don't kick it through the end zone (that's Gostkowski's job, Joe Judge!).

The coaches had good offensive and defensive gameplans. But the offense executed while the defense did not. As for special teams, most of what you see above is on the coaches. Might be time for a change there.

Where does that leave us? 5-2 is better than 4-3, so the win was important. I suspect this was a hangover game, after playing KC in prime time last week. At least that's what I tell myself, as I'm whistling past the graveyard :D

Biggest ongoing problem: Still special teams.

Non-Brady MVP: Trent Brown, the left tackle who destroyed one defensive end after another. Not a bad pickup for a swap of draft picks with the 49ers.

Statistical oddity: Including yesterday, the 2018 Patriots have twice lost the turnover battle 3-2, and twice they won the game. (Trivia question: what was the other game... answer below.)

Weekly water-cooler wisdom: "Take the win and do better next week."

Keep the faith,

- Scott

PS. 5-2!

PPS. Trivia answer:V
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The Pats beat the Houston Texans opening day despite losing the turnover battle 3-2.

Patriots Pummel Bears, 51-23

The Patriots blew out the Bears yesterday, 51-23, in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the score indicated. The win gives the Patriots a 6-2 record halfway through the season, and keeps them ahead of the victorious Bills and Dolphins in the division. Next week it's the seemingly annual "Brady vs. Manning" Bowl, at Foxboro on Sunday afternoon. Should be another barn-burner; though one thing you can expect is great weather, since my friend, Al, the Foxboro Weather God, will be at the game.

The Patriots offense dominated from the beginning, scoring on six consecutive possessions to start the game, and not punting until 4:10 left in the third quarter. And with the offense clicking, the defense spent the first three quarters fending off any challenges to make it a laugher before they went into the prevent and Chicago scored in garbage-time.

Sometimes you don't learn as much from a blowout as from a close game. But there was plenty to learn in this one. Here are the bright lights from the game, in bullet form so they don't take 5,000 words:

• Quarterback Tom Brady completed 30 of 35 passes (four of the misses were drops) for 354 yards, 5 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and a QB rating of 148.4. He also moved well in the pocket, with one TD coming off a scramble to his right.
• Tight end Rob Gronkowski caught 9 passes on 9 targets for 149 yards and 3 touchdowns. On a 46-yard TD, he threw off a safety and outran the rest of the Chicago defense to the end zone. And believe it or not, he still isn't all the way back, showing some weakness in run blocking and pass protection.
• Tight end Tim Wright had 7 receptions on 7 targets for 61 yards and a touchdown.
• Receiver Brandon LaFell had 11 grabs on 11 targets for 124 yards and 1 touchdown. Seems like a loooong time ago I was calling him LaFail -- though you could use that moniker for a Bears defense that repeatedly gave LaFell a free release and zone coverage to slice up.
• Running back Jonas Gray gained 86 yards on 17 carries (5.1 ypc), and the team racked up 122 for the day. Not bad for a guy in his second NFL game.
• Linebackers Dont'a Hightower (10 tackles, 0.5 sacks) and Jamie Collins (11 tackles) held up well, though Collins had the superior day, making his tackles closer to the line of scrimmage on running plays.
• Defensive back Brandon Browner laid the lumber on a few receivers, had a tackle for a loss, and knocked away one pass. His first start for the Pats, and by far his best game for the team.
• Rob Ninkovich had an up-and-down game, but he recovered a fumble and ran it back for a touchdown late in the first half, pretty much putting away the game. Note: Ninkovich leads the NFL with 12 fumble recoveries since 2009 (the year he joined the Patriots).
• A great game-plan on offense -- kudos to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels

Here is what didn't go so well, again in bullet form:

• The run defense is still struggling some. In the first half -- before the game got out of hand -- Bears running back Matt Forte averaged 5.9 yards a carry. And even though it didn't come back to bite the Patriots yesterday, it could be a problem against better teams.
• Safety Devin McCourty doesn't look right, ever since he got dinged against the Bengals. His tackle numbers are down, and he gave up two receptions yesterday that he wouldn't normally give up.
• Note to safety Tavon Wilson: that dropped INT is the reason you are a reserve.
• Two dropped passes by receiver Julian Edelman. Usually Mister Reliable, Edelman has been deemphasized in the passing game of late, and has at least four drops in the past two games (two of those drops would have given the Pats big first downs).
• 9 penalties for 64 yards. The Pats have now committed the second-most penalties in the NFL (70) and have given up the most yards via penalties (628). Not a good place to be, and it's a trend that hasn't improved all season. (Trivia Question: Only one year under Bill Belichick have the Patriots been among the five worst in one of those penalty categories , name the year... answer below).

What I learned in this game, in bullet form to keep things consistent:

• Danny Amendola is a good punt returner, but Julian Edelman is a great one. Amendola had 2 returns for just 11 yards, and it appeared his technique left yards on the field. Edelman had 1 return for 42 yards, and he left no extra yards on the field.
• Linebacker Akeem Ayers has a nice burst at the snap; he got pressure on the Bears QB several times and sacked him once. But until he knows the defense better, he'll be a liability doing anything except rushing the passer.
• Running back Brandon Bolden had two big tackles on special teams, and might have outplayed special teams captain Matthew Slater.
• Rookie DB Malcolm Butler (#21 in your program) got burned on a touchdown, but battled back to knock down two passes in the game. Not great, not terrible, but nice to see him fighting back.

So where does that leave us? A 6-2 record projects out to 12-4, though the iron of the schedule is coming up. The Broncos (6-1) come to town next week, and then after a bye week, the Patriots play the Colts (5-3), Lions (6-2), Packers (5-3), and Chargers (5-3). How they fare over the next five games will determine if they compete for a playoff bye or slug it out with Buffalo and Miami for the division crown.

Statistical Oddity of the Week: Since the Bears beat the Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX, the Patriots are 7-1 against Chicago and have outscored them 228-110.

Statistical Oddity #2: Not only did the Patriots tie their own NFL record by scoring three touchdowns in 57-seconds -- they scored another quick one in the second half, meaning they scored 28 points in 4:01 of playing time.

Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "If you bought Bears stock when Trestman took over, would you sell now or hope for a turn-around?"

Keep the faith,

- Scott

PS. 6-2!

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The 2006 Patriots ranked fourth-worst in penalty yards assessed, with 940 yards marked off against them. Other than that, the Patriots haven't finished any worse than tenth in either penalty category under Bill Belichick.

Patriots 36, Bears 7

If you're keeping score at home, that's consecutive wins by an aggregate 91-10 score over teams with a combined 18-8 record.  Not bad for six days work.  The Patriots kept the train a-rollin', outclassing the Bears 36-7 yesterday in snowy, windy Chicago.  The win gives the Pats a two-game lead in the division and essentially a two-game lead (with tie-breakers) over the Steelers in the AFC.  A desperate Green Bay team comes to town Sunday night for their shot at the Pats.

I will never understand how a quarterback from California plays so well in the snow, but Tom Brady is undefeated when the white stuff is flying.  His statline in horrible conditions yesterday: 27 of 40 for 369 yards, 2 touchdowns and (as always) zero interceptions.  He threw some bad passes, including two easy picks that the Bears kindly dropped.  But overall his command of the field and seemingly unaffected play in the face of the snow and wind was mind-boggling.  He led three touchdown drives of at least 80 yards; whereas the Bears could only muster one touchdown all day -- on a 35-yard drive after a long kick return.

Not that Brady did it alone.  The offensive line spent most of the day in superlative-land, and three sacks notwithstanding, they gave Brady plenty of time and great protection most of the day.  Logan Mankins and Dan Koppen played the part of road-graders, blowing the Bears defense off the ball and getting downfield for additional blocks on runs and screen passes.  They combined with tight ends Alge Crumpler and Rob Gronkowski to push the Bears around on wide runs and push them back on up-the-gut plays.  There were a few plays in the second half where the Bears pass-rushing talent shone through, getting to Brady from the inside and outside.  But the game was well in hand by then.

The receivers didn't let the cold affect them too much, with only a few drops and not a single fumble, despite some hard hits.   Deion Branch and Wes Welker had 8 catches each, and both topped 100 yards (151 and 115, respectively).  And it's been a long time since something on the football field made me say "Wow!" out loud, but Branch's 59-yard touchdown with time expired in the second quarter did the trick.  No excuse for the Bears to let it happen, and kudos to Branch and Brady for eschewing the kneel-down the sideline was recommending and going for the jugular instead.

Gronkowski just chugs along, showing excellent technique to get open for his touchdown and grabbing important first downs all game long.  Aaron Hernandez is returning to form after his four-week hiatus in the middle of the season.  Gronkowski leads NFL rookie tight ends with 7 touchdowns, and Hernandez is second with 4 of his own, along with 532 receiving yards (also tops among rookie tight ends).  Heck, even Brandon Tate held on to an amazing catch along the sideline, so *anything* is possible :)

The O-line also gave the running game lots of lanes, some of them huge gashes right up the middle.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis refuses to give way to veteran Fred Taylor, staking his claim again with 87 tough yards and 4.1 yards a carry -- both against a team that you supposedly can't run against.  Danny Woodhead is slowing down a bit; but his role is growing in the outside running and slant passing games.  Even Sammie Morris pitched in on Sunday with a key third-down conversion to keep a touchdown drive alive.

During the game, commentator Phil Simms said repeatedly that this is the best offense in the NFL, and that teams will be copying it for years to come.  It's tough to argue with that, except to say that if you don't have the right trigger-man and player versatility, this offense is not for you.  The Patriots excel at doing the best with what they have, and right now it's Brady, the short-to-intermediate passing game, and a flexible offensive line coached by one of the best in the NFL, longtime assistant Dante Scarnecchia.

The defense played smart and tough under difficult conditions, showing more resilience than the hometown Bears by a mile.  You don't hold your opponent to just 20:19 of possession time without killing drives and taking the ball away.  The Pats defense did both; holding the Bears to 38% on third down conversions and nabbing four turnovers.

I hate to say the secondary is all about Devin McCourty, but they'd be lost without him (and here's hoping his injury is minor).  He stripped the ball to cause a turnover that Gary Guyton returned for an early touchdown, and McCourty knocked away another pass and had three tackles, one for a loss when he blew up an outside run.  If only Bodden hadn't gotten injured, we wouldn't have Kyle Arrington on the other side.  Oh wait, Arrington actually had a good game.  He did give up some completions, but made sure tackles in the second half, knocked away a third-down pass to stall a drive, and had two tackles on special teams.

And the safety combination of James Sanders and Pat Chung excelled again this week.  Chung led the team with six tackles, and James Sanders doled out jarring hits across the middle and made sure not to get beaten deep.  Brandon Meriweather still looks lost sometimes, which is beyond explanation since he's been here for years.  He might never figure it out; but as long as Sanders and Chung stay healthy the Pats will be okay.

The defensive line was thin, with injuries to Mike Wright and Myron Pryor.  So the Pats plugged in someone named Eric Moore.  They signed him this past week, and he immediately notched four tackles and a sack.  Vince Wilfork was his usual dominant self, and Gerard Warren proves every week that he is a more than capable fill-in for Ty Warren.  The line still doesn't get great pressure, but they cleaned up multiple plays when Bears QB Jay Cutler was forced up in the pocket.  They harassed Cutler into an awful day, his worst passer rating of the season, a pathetic 32.9.  (Trivia question: Cutler played the Patriots one other time: when was the other game, and did Cutler win or lose?  Answer below.)

Linebacker play baffled even me yesterday.  Gary Guyton stepped in for the suspended Brandon Spikes, and he picked off a pass and returned a fumble for a touchdown.  But then he whiffed twice on the Bears' only scoring drive.  Jermaine Cunningham and Tully Banta-Cain continue to go a bit too wide on their pass rush, allowing QBs to step up too easily; but then Rob Ninkovich might blast up the middle or hold up at the end of the line -- or maybe make a saving tackle to force a punt.  It can be maddening to watch; but you can't argue with the results; the bend-but-don't-break defense is alive and well and living in Foxboro.  However, the team will welcome Spikes back for the playoffs; they'll need him to hold up against the running attacks they would face in the post season.

Shane Graham was Mr. Up-and-down.  He went 3-of-3 field goals off a frozen and slippery field through howling winds.  Then he missed an extra point.  And to top it all off, his kickoffs were returned for far too many yards.  Special teams coach Scott O'Brien has to work with Graham to use either squibs or directional kicks against better return men; they can't go into the playoffs playing Russian roulette every time Graham kicks it away.

So where does that leave us?  11-2 and a playoff berth sounds pretty good.  But if Aaron Rodgers plays next week (and you should expect him to play), the Packers present a lot of offensive problems for the Pats, with the kind of balance that can expose the Patriots defensive weaknesses.  The Pack also plays the 3-4 defense, which is better at stopping the pass, so that favors Green Bay, too.  And if you factor in that the Packers are fighting for their playoff life, while the Pats are already in, this becomes a very dangerous game.  So bring your pom-poms, and given Brady's record in the snow, hope for a blizzard.

Statistical Oddity of the Week: At the half, the Patriots had outscored two opponents 92-0 in their last 90 minutes played in the snow (59-0 over Tennessee last year, 33-0 over Chicago in the first half yesterday).

Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "If the Patriots were a stock, they'd be Google."

Bonus Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "If the Pats go 2-1 the rest of the way, they are the #1 playoff seed in the AFC."

Keep the faith,

- Scott

PS.  11-2!

PPS.  Trivia answer:

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Playing for the Denver Broncos, Cutler lost 41-7 to the Patriots on October 20, 2008.  He is now an aggregate 77-14 loser in two tries against the Pats, with 1 touchdown, 4 interceptions, and a passer rating of 40.5.

Patriots 17, Bears 13 (11/26/2006)

Sometimes defensive football isn't pretty. And with two teams that shutout their previous week's opponents and that led the NFL in fewest points allowed, everyone got what they expected yesterday -- a 17-13 game that was won by the team that made the most big plays, i.e. your New England Patriots. The win helped them keep pace with the upper-echelon of the AFC (they are now behind only Baltimore and San Diego for the coveted second playoff spot), and maintained their two-game lead in the AFC East. With a home contest against the Lions next Sunday, they look good to continue the current streak before traveling to Miami for their final division game of the year.

Sunday's game reminded me of Super Bowl XXXVIII against the Carolina Panthers, with two teams just whaling the crap out of each other for 60 minutes. That game had more scoring (it was a 32-29 final), and this one could have been just as high-scoring if not for turnovers. Usually the give-away/take-away ratio tells the story, but it became almost a non-issue because both teams had so many (the Bears turned it over four times, the Patriots five). And I can't remember a game with so many turnovers inside the opponent's 20 yard-line, which is the real reason the final score was 17-13 instead of 34-31.

Brady started his post-game press conference with, "Must be the turf," a reference to his amazing 20-1 record on artificial surfaces. (Quick trivia question: do you remember the one loss? I'll never forget it; answer below.) But it wasn't the turf; it was the sparkling performance of the five layers of protection in front of him, the offensive line, that explains his gaudy stats. Well, gaudy might not be the right word, maybe effective works better. He competed two-thirds of his passes (22 of 33) for 269 yards and posted a QB rating almost 20 points higher than what the Bear defense usually gives up. He got a late touchdown (the winning points) and had two INTs on tipped balls. His receiving corps continued to solidify their current pecking order -- with Watson and Caldwell the preferred targets (combining for 146 yards on 9 catches) and Kevin Faulk this week's mystery guest receiver (37 yards on 6 catches).

But to get back to the offensive line, they gave up zero sacks on 33 pass attempts and Brady was hurried on only three passes all day. Even when tackle Ryan O'Callaghan was injured early in the second quarter, the line held off rushers to keep a nice pocket for the QB and to allow for extra time on plays that were just killers (Ben Watson's late 40-yard grab on 3rd-and-3 comes to mind). Their run-blocking left something to be desired, with a 2.5 yard per carry average for the game. But on this day, they bottled up the Bears pressure and kept Brady upright long enough to make enough big passing plays to win. In fact, the best offensive plays by the Patriots were passes with very little QB pressure. Contrast that with Chicago's best offensive plays -- long throws under pressure that ended in questionable defensive penalties.

The other reason the running game was stuffed all day was unimaginative play-calling (again). Once the Patriots got the lead, they fell back into the old run-run-pass pattern that can't continue if they hope to do anything in the playoffs. Add to that at least four times in the game the Patriots threw long passes on third down with short distances to go -- and only one of those plays worked (the aforementioned Watson catch) -- and you've got questions about the play selection. Josh McDaniels needs to manage the game as well as his QB does -- try some play-action passes on first-down, go for the big plays on second-and-short, and go for first down on third-and-manageable. It's not rocket science, and the playoffs are coming, so get to it, Josh.

The defense had consistently excellent play for almost the entire day. Asante Samuel was the obvious star, with three interceptions, nine tackles, and three passes defensed. He started things right with an early INT and finished the Bears for good with a late INT -- nice bookends on a performance that gives him a legitimate chance at the NFL Defensive Player of the Week award. The rest of the secondary played okay, with some solid hitting from James Sanders and Artrell Hawkins, but both Hawkins and Ellis Hobbs were flagged for pass interference (for a total of 75 yards, on very questionable penalty calls), and Hobbs had a bogus holding call against him that set up a Chicago touchdown that tied the game. The only reason I called their performance "okay" is that I think all three penalties were bad calls -- but they've got to do a better job defending without drawing flags.

The linebackers were outstanding all day long. Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi alternated between taking away the short passing routes and pressuring Bears quarterback Rex Grossman. Grossman was forced to throw long, and even though it meant giving up a lot of yards on bad penalty calls, it worked well in the end. Rosevelt Colvin was his usual disruptive force, both on the pass rush and in pass coverage. Junior Seau broke his arm in the second quarter, and they moved Vrabel inside to replace him and brought in Tully Banta-Cain to replace Vrabel. The results were mixed, with better play against the pass and worse against the run. That situation will bear close scrutiny, as Seau is out for the year.

And the defensive line... well, what can I say. The wrecking crew of Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, and Ty Warren are simply the best three-man line I've seen in years. Teams can't run between the tackles when Wilfork is in there, even when they double-team him, and Vince even slid over to provide pass coverage on two plays yesterday. And Ty Warren has been the leading D-line tackler in six of ten games he played this year, even though he left one game injured and played at less than 100% in two others. He is likely in line for a significant pay raise this off-season. And Richard Seymour is a future Hall of Famer for sure, so enjoy watching him while you can. There are very few defenders who merit a double-team when the offense is running *away* from them; but I've seen it happen to Richard. That, boys and girls, is called "respect." Add backup Jarvis Green and it's one of the dominant units in the NFL. Mike Wright is not a great replacement for Wilfork; but he's good enough to hold his own if the Pats switch to a 4-3 when he enters the game to give Wilfork a breather. I think they should try that.

The special teams had a really strange day. They blocked and early field goal (Seymour got it) and deflected a punt (Mike Wright), and after Chicago called a last-second timeout to ice kicker Stephen Gostkowski, he nailed a 52-yard field goal just before the half. In a game decided by four points, those plays loomed large. New punter Ken Walter averaged 37.3 yards a kick, only one yard less than the Bears punter on the day, which I guess is okay. However, his average was significantly lower than Josh Miller's 46.6 yard average (before he was injured). The kickoff coverage team kept a very good Bears return team in check all day, so I guess on balance they had a better day than the Bears. But it was a strange one for sure.

Aside from my earlier comments on the offensive play-calling, I have nothing big to say about the coaching staff. The special teams coach has gotten it together nicely the past two weeks. And the defensive game plans and play-calling under new coordinator Dean Pees are much better than last year. At this point, the Patriots probably have a championship-level defense; the question is, will the offense get their game together in time to make themselves championship-level, too.

So where does that leave us. At 8-3, the Pats are one game behind both San Diego and Baltimore for the second playoff seed, but they have no chance to catch Indianapolis for the #1 seed (the Colts are two games ahead and they hold a tie-breaker over the Pats). With winnable games the rest of the way, the Pats could end up 13-3, which would give them a great position going into the playoffs. However, with road games against Jacksonville, Miami, and (especially) Tennessee, they will more likely end up 12-4. That will certainly win the division, but it won't get them a first-round playoff bye.

Statistical Oddity of the Week: At a McDonalds just outside Gillette Stadium, the cheeseburgers cost more than the double-cheeseburgers -- $1.05 vs. $1.00. (Thanks for lunch, Al!)

Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "The Patriots might be the fourth or fifth best team in the AFC, and they just beat the class of the NFC. I might watch the conference championship games and skip the Super Bowl, because the NFC has no chance at all."

Keep the faith,

- Scott

PS. Answer to the trivia question; the Patriots lost 31-0 in Buffalo on opening day of the 2003 season, giving Brady his only loss on artificial turf so far. You might remember it as the "Lawyer Milloy Bowl," as the former Patriots safety ended up in Buffalo after being cut by the Pats at the end of the pre-season. The Pats got their revenge, however. They beat the Bills 31-0 to end that season and won their second Super Bowl.

PPS. 8-3!