Projo Pats Blog

They knew what was coming. And they didn't do anything to stop it.

As much praise as the Patriots are getting for winning on Sunday despite great adversity, the Jets are receiving a fair amount of criticism for their uninspired game plan. Coming into this game, everyone knew that the Patriots would run a safe offensive scheme based on short passes to players like Wes Welker and Kevin Faulk, designed to get Matt Cassel's confidence and comfort level up. And yet, even though the Jets knew just what was coming, they let New England roll down the field and control the clock. (Yahoo! Sports)

Now it will be interesting to see how, going forward, the Patriots utilize wide receiver Randy Moss. Cassel made only a couple of connections to the supremely talented wide receiver on Sunday, and the one attempt he made to connect deep with Moss failed because the ball was underthrown. Moss was living a dream last season playing with Brady after seeing his career languish in Oakland. But he gave a good indication on Sunday that he is going to not only keep his head in the game going forward -- he is planning to take on an increased role as a leader on the team. Moss was one of the first Patriots on the field for pregame warmups on Sunday (Boston Herald), he was an active cheerleader for the defense on the sidelines, and after the game he was taking on the Rodney Harrison role of dissing the media for dissing on the Patriots.

READY IF CALLED: When Cassel came back up a little gimpy after taking a hit in the second quarter, Kevin O'Connell got loose and was ready to potentially make his NFL debut. (boston.com)

JAMES SANDERS INJURED: The Patriots' safety left Sunday's game with an undisclosed injury; maybe will find out more as the week goes along. (Boston.com)

THE FUTURE ISN'T NOW: Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano has no plans, yet, to go away from Chad Pennington as his starting quarterback, but he says that rookie Chad Henne will see action when the games get out of hand. (South Florida Sun Sentinel)

RUNNING WITH RICKY: Sparano plays to stay with Ricky Williams as his starting tailback on Sunday, but he may use more of Ronnie Brown against the Patriots. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

A WILD AND CRAZY GAME: Last night's Cowboys-Eagles game on Monday Night Football was, as they say at ESPN, an instant classic that had some of everything. (Dallas Morning News) That includes bone-headed mistakes, and the Eagles made the last two of them, mistakes which ultimately cost them the game. First there was Donovan McNabb botching a handoff to Brian Westbrook deep inside Cowboys territory in a moment of indecisiveness, and then, on a do-or-die play on fourth and 17, there was Andy Reid calling a designed hook and lateral that didn't get Philly close to the first-down marker. In the end, the Cowboys' defense couldn't stop the Eagles, only the Eagles could stop the Eagles -- and the same could be said about the Cowboys' offense -- making you wonder if these teams really are as primed for Super Bowl runs as everyone seemed to think they were.

POLITICALLY INCORRECT KORNHEISER? MNF analyst Tony Kornheiser, in the middle of making hyperbolic statements about the epic nature of last night's game, made a flip remark after hearing the Spanish-language replay of Felix Jones' kickoff return for a touchdown ("that either means 'nobody is going to touch him' or 'could you pick up my dry cleaning in the morning' "), and ended up apologizing for it on-air just moments later.

INJURED COWBOYS: Safety Roy Williams fractured his forearm on a special teams play and will miss three weeks (NFL.com), and tight end Jason Witten had a tough time playing through a shoulder injury. (Fort Worth Star Telegram)

STILL ON THE SHELF: Donte' Stallworth sat out his second consecutive game with a quad injury on Sunday, and head coach Romeo Crennel provided no insight yesterday on when the former Patriot would make his Cleveland debut. (Clevelandbrowns.com)

THE MOVING TARGET: Deion Branch's return to the Seattle lineup won't be this week, and probably won't be until at least Week 5, head coach Mike Holmgren revealed. By the way, if you ever wanted to play wide receiver in the NFL but lacked the credentials, here's your chance: Send your resume to Seattle; if accepted, you get to face the Rams this week. (Seattle Times)

STRANGE BUT APPARENTLY TRUE: Redskins tight end Chris Cooley posted a photo on his personal web site of himself studying head coach Jim Zorn's playbook, not realizing that he was naked in the photo. (projo.com)

CONSEQUENCES FOR DENVER REFEREE: Strong-armed Ed Hochuli is as close as an NFL official can get to a star, but his chances of officiating in the postseason -- or even officiating at all in the future -- could be hurt by his blown call on a Jay Cutler fumble that cost the Chargers the game against the division rival Broncos. (projo.com) Meanwhile, the league is looking into changing the rule on "inadvertent whistles." (N.Y. Daily News)

THE ENABLER: Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan can make gutsy calls like he did on Sunday against San Diego, going for two points to win the game instead of an extra point to tie, because Cutler is a bona fide star. (Yahoo! Sports)

A PAINFUL OUTLOOK: That's what Steelers quarterback Ben Roetlisberger faces, as he plays through a low-grade shoulder separation that will probably cause him discomfort for several weeks. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

THE GOOD NEWS ONLY LASTS SO LONG: Darren McFadden of the Raiders had a coming-out party on Sunday, but he apparently had to leave because of turf toe. (Sacramento Bee) Meanwhile, head coach Lane Kiffin said he did not meet with Al Davis about his future employment with Oakland, but seemed to acknowledge that his future is in question. Oh yeah, and McFadden's fellow running back, Justin Fargas, had an MRI yesterday on his pulled groin.

HIS JOB TO LOSE: No matter what happens with Vince Young, Kerry Collins will continue to quarterback the 2-0 Titans as long as the team keeps winning, head coach Jeff Fisher says. (The Tennessean)

FED UP: After their team's second straight blowout loss, Rams veterans Leonard Little and Dane Looker reportedly lit into their teammates in the locker room. (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

BAD TEAMS BREED DISSENT: Along with the aforementioned Rams, the Lions are an early favorite for the worst team in the league title. Wide receiver Roy Williams is ticked off out there, saying that he feels like a role player in Motown. Apparently he does not want to be a role player. Of course, making Williams more than that won't change the fact that the Lions defense is an abomination. (Detroit Free Press)

ONE THING THAT WON'T HAPPEN: In Detroit is quarterback Jon Kitna losing his job -- at least not yet -- even though he threw three interceptions against the Packers on Sunday and had two of them returned for touchdowns. (mlive.com)

ONE THING THAT MIGHT HAPPEN: In Minnesota is chronically ineffective quarterback Tarvaris Jackson losing his job. Head coach Brad Childress yesterday backed off his commitment to Jackson, saying that he would go with whomever gave the Vikings the best chances to win. His alternatives to Jackson: Gus Frerotte and John David Booty. Yeesh. (St. Paul Pioneer Press)

NOT IMPRESSED: David Garrard of the 0-2 Jaguars is beginning to belie his reputation as a mistake-free performer, and head coach Jack Del Rio offered some pointed criticism. (Florida Times Union)

WAITING ON HESTER: The Bears' aren't sure about the status of their electric special-teams man for this week's game against the Buccaneers. (Chicago Tribune)

AN OLD FRIEND IN TROUBLE: Former Patriots defensive back Lawyer Milloy has been charged with DUI. Head coach Mike Smith said the situation is "totally unacceptable," and will be handled internally. (Atlantafalcons.com)

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