Projo Pats Blog

The Miami Dolphins came into Gillette Stadium on Sunday with a suspect team but an excellent game plan, and their players ran the plan to near perfection with stunning results. It's not surprising that Miami players gave the game ball to head coach Tony Sparano, because Sparano had the rare distinction of totally outcoaching the Patriots staff. Six times the Dolphins went to a formation that Ricky Williams called the "wildcat," with fellow running back Ronnie Brown lined up as quarterback and Chad Pennington out wide, and six times the play worked. As Mike Reiss of The Globe points out, you can call the Dolphins' formation a gimmick, but gimmick plays aren't supposed to work more than a few times in a season, let alone six times in a game. (You can see video of all Brown's big plays here.)

For all the time spent fretting about how the Patriots would fare without Tom Brady at quarterback, it was the defense that really let them down Sunday. While Cassel was not real good, particularly in turning the ball over inside the red zone early in the game, his efforts would have been hard-pressed to dig the Patriots out from an avalanche of Dolphins points.

Cassel also didn't get a lot of help from some of his offensive weapons, other than Wes Welker. Randy Moss short-armed an on-the-money pass in the second half, and was seen sitting alone on the sidelines during parts of the game. SI blogger Arash Markazi watched Moss' body language late in the game and saw a problem: "Moss on a team without Brady could quickly deteriorate into a bigger problem than Dennis Rodman on a team without Michael Jordan."

We'll see about that. The Patriots have a long time to get things working better before they take the field again, on the road against a weak San Francisco team. It's a good opportunity for them to rebound, but with problems evident in all facets of the game, Patriots fans can no longer take anything for granted, for as Jim Donaldson points out, Sunday's game showed that the Patriots are capable of losing to anyone now.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD: ESPN's Tim Graham says the game shows that the Patriots as we know them are dead, and the 3-0 Bills are now the team to beat in the AFC East.

A LONG TIME IN THE MAKING: Sports Illustrated's Don Banks points out that the Patriots' last regular-season loss, in December 2006, came just six days after current vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was sworn in as governor of Alaska.

AND WHAT DOES HE THINK TODAY? St. Paul Pioneer Press writer Charley Walters wrote Sunday morning that Cassel could be the Vikings' best choice for a new quarterback next season.

A MORE TYPICAL OUTCOME: Michael Salfino notes on our Fantasy Sports Blog that the Falcons used Jerious Norwood against the Chiefs in the same way that the Dolphins used Brown, but a short gain by the running back out of the shotgun was followed up by a big loss.

TOUGH BATTLE: The Eagles beat the Steelers in the battle for Pennsylvania, 15-6, in a game that was painful for both teams. Ben Roethlisberger was hurt yet again, this time sustaining a hand injury that caused him to leave the game early. (NFL.com) Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb missed his team's first series of the second half with a chest injury, but he did return. Most concerning to the Eagles is the ankle injury that forced Brian Westbrook from the game early in the second quarter. Westbrook left with a noticeable limp; x-rays Sunday showed the ankle wasn't broken, but Westbrook was on crutches after the game and will receive an MRI today. (projo.com)

PLAYING WITH A HEAVY HEART: Eagles center Jamaal Jackson missed practice in the week leading up to the game after his brother was killed by an alleged drunk driver in Miami. (Trenton Times)

KITNA INJURED: Lions quarterback Jon Kitna left late in the fourth quarter and had his knee examined after being sacked by Parys Haralson of the 49ers.

SPINAL INJURY FOR RAVENS' LANDRY: Baltimore safety Dawan Landry left his team's victory over Cleveland with what the team is calling a "spinal chord concussion." (Baltimore Sun) His availability for next week's game is not known.

FROM TRIUMPH TO TRIBULATION: One moment the Raiders were closing in on a 2-1 record, the next they were licking their wounds from an improbable loss to the Bills. Immediately the future of Lane Kiffin seemed to hang in the balance again, and the Oakland players are getting tired of all the drama. (Yahoo! Sports)

CHANGE ON THE WAY? An ultimatum from ownership didn't do much to improve the play of the St. Louis Rams, and now the questions about Scott Linehan's future will intensify following his team's latest ugly loss, this time to previously 0-2 Seattle. (ESPN)

PRIME-TIME PLAYER: Cowboys rookie Felix Jones, who electrified the Monday night audience a week ago with his kick returns against the Eagles, had a 60-yard touchdown run on a handoff from Tony Romo on Sunday Night Football. (profootballtalk) The only player on the field who could keep up with Jones? Wide receiver Terrell Owens, who almost ran right past him while looking for Packers to block.

A MILESTONE FOR COLLINS: Kerry Collins' career resurrection continued yesterday as he led the Titans to their third consecutive victory, and in the process became the 15th quarterback in NFL history to reach 35,000 yards passing. (Yahoo! Sports)

STRENGTH ON STRENGTH: The Minnesota Vikings' outstanding run defense shut down Carolina's vaunted ground attack, giving the Purple their first win and putting a damper on the Panthers' soaring hopes of running away with the NFC South. (ESPN)

QUIET, ED: ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that referee Ed Hochuli was asked by the league to stop discussing his miscall that helped the Broncos beat the Chargers in Week 2. The NFL was apparently irritated when Hochuli began personally answering Chargers fans' e-mails to apologize for his mistake.

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