BY SHALISE MANZA YOUNG
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- Playing against a secondary that had been pretty porous through its first two games, the New England offense didn't seem to take advantage yesterday. Quarterback Matt Cassel, starting his second game, had just two pass attempts of over 20 yards, as again the Patriots used a lot of quick passes and underneath routes, mostly to Wes Welker.

Receiver Randy Moss did have four catches, doubling the number from last week against New York, but totaled just 25 yards as the Pats didn't stretch the field. The lack of shots downfield was likely a product of both play-calling -- there could be a question of whether the coaches believe Cassel is a strong vertical passer -- and protection, as the offensive line struggled. Nick Kaczur in particular had a day to forget.

Though Cassel completed 60 percent of his passes, he was sacked three times and hit several times more. His longest completion was 21 yards, but that was on a lucky play -- Cassel's pass for Welker went off safety Renaldo Hill's hands and popped into the air. Welker corralled it with one hand.

"They stopped us today," Cassel said. "We had some opportunities and we didn't take advantage of that. They played physical and they played tough and you just have to give credit to their defense."

There were no surprises from the Dolphins' defense, Cassel said; they just played better than they had the first two weeks of the season.

"I've said this before -- from one week to the next in the NFL a lot of things can change. They played well today and they played better than us today. That's sometimes how it goes. You wish that you could go out there and score a bunch of points and win every week and sometimes it just doesn't happen," he said.

Interestingly, when Tom Brady took over the offense in 2001, he began with a win against the Colts in which he did just enough, and followed it up with a loss to Miami in which both he and the rest of the team played poorly.

For Cassel, who has now absorbed his first loss as the starter, there will be lessons culled from the day.

"You learn something every time you go out there," he said. "This is just one where we have to go out and regroup. They beat us today, and it is one of those situations where it is a learning situation for me, playing from behind. You have to continue to rally the guys on the sideline and continue to go out there each and every series and know that it means something."