Times Like These...

Times like these you miss Adam Vinatieri. Its just kills me to think about how this game ended. Everything looked good, and the whole team trusted Steven Gostkowski to seal the deal. We wasted 0:40 of good game time that we could have used to try for a touchdown.

The Danny Woodhead almost-TD that got called back hurt like hell. It was so exciting to see him break loose, and so devastating to see that it was a good call by the ref. It wasn't the consistent call though. Still, I think that they should have continued to run the ball with a running back to maybe cut the FG to 35 yards.

Obviously there are a whole bunch of shoulda coulda wouldas in a game that you lose on the last play, but this game was just one of those games. It was one of those games where not much went right for us. The Hernandez injury, the INT on the first play, the blocked punt, the ineffectiveness of Ridley/Woodhead, the choke FG. Its just one of those days where the team has to battle for 60 minutes.

Overall, I am proud of the effort. The Offense was dismal at best, but Brady did well to get them in FG range 5 times. 4/5 on FGs is an acceptable percentage on 40+ yarders, but its times like these that you miss the cocksure Automatic Adam Vinatieri.

The Defense gives me a lot to be happy about. Quite simply, these guys continued to rise to the challenge in big moments. The Cardinals TD after the blocked punt was just a solid play call and good execution by AZ. The Defense did force 2 turnovers and hold the opponent under 21 points. They carried the team, and it should have been enough.

The Patriots Offense really let them down today, but poor Special Teams play is what lost the game. The Offense did enough to win today (almost 400 yards, 25 first downs), and the Defense looked much better than last year (though still not dominant). I think this loss may serve as a wake-up call though. We've got to compensate for this Hernandez injury in other areas, and that will be the primary story moving forward. Special Teams is usually a deciding factor in close games like this. In this one, Mesko gave up field position with 2 touchbacks and a blocked punt. His protection was just as bad as Brady's. Likewise, Gostkowski has to hit that 42 yarder.

More to come on Monday...