Keller 8 for 87, 6 for 55 in the 4th quarter
Cotchery 5 for 87, TD

Without Thomas and Harrison they can’t cover the WR/TE hybrid guys and they don’t have a #2 CB.

I’ve been thinking about it all morning. This is the same Cassel I assumed would have been let go after pre-season in favor of Gutierrez and O’Connell. 400 yards passing, 62 yards rushing, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions. First QB in NFL history to pass and rush for that many yards in the same game. Go figure.

One other item of note after doing the links this morning (a shortened version due to an unexpected interruption), was how the media portrayed this game. The descriptions of the Jets win were loaded with even more respect for the Patriots and how they hung in there, than with accolades for the Jets (with the exception of the almighty Favre of course.) Even Steve Mariucci, when he came up for air, was full of praise for how tough a team the Patriots were.

The mistakes were glaring, of course (Ben Watson, Dan Koppen’s miscue on the snap, Dustin Keller left open when only a long ball was going to save Favre’s butt, special teams allowing Leon Washington to score, etc…) I’m not going to pretend they didn’t exist or that they cost the Pats the game, but I’m not going to dwell on them either.
  
Too much good, fixable bad, more football ahead. I just hate the Jets, and I hate being in a position where some other team has to lose for us to catch up or move ahead.

I have never thrived under the duress of that close a game. Call me fair weather, but I’ve been around too long for that. I was literally pulling my hair out.
I love this photo. I might make a poster. Beautiful catch, the kind Randy was born to make.

It was apparent that the Pats were playing against not only the Jets but against the Referees. This game reminded me of the Steelers/Seahawks SB whereby ridiculous calls made by the referees went on to favor the Steelers and of course, we all know the outcome of that game. Seahawks played very well, but to go against two teams (refs and steelers) is just absolutely unjust. So, nevertheless, this Pats/Jets game was very favoring the Jets. With that said, Vrabel: You’re the the #1 versatile Player in the League!

Matt Cassel played very well…in fact, he was wicked awesome in disproving all those critics who like to emphasize his lack of experience. Hell, Cassel pretty much had Favre shaking in his cup. To go up against supposedly “great veteran” QB Favre (he’s so overrated), Cassel was very Bradyesque (No one can be Brady), but he resembled some true traits of a great QB. Cassel has a lot of potential, and I would hate to lose him when Brady comes back to start because if Cassel keeps up the excellent work and keeps growing, some desperate team will go broke just to try to win him…we’ve seen this happen to Asante Samuel to the desperate Iggles, and Jets stooped so low as to overpaid acquire Favre.

Moreover, it should not go unnoticed that despite the players dropping like flies due to injuries, Pats still managed to do superb job for having to play with rookies. How? Duh, who’s been the constant director of the team? Great coach Belichick! I dismiss all nonsense morons say about him regarding how apathetic he appears in press conferences, how he always wears his hoodie, and stores the challenge flag in his sock (um, didn’t I see Zorn from the Skins mimicking Belichick by doing this the other night?) THe public does not see what goes on inside the locker rooms, on the field, and so forth. There’s a reason why everyone on the team (coaches, players, owner, GM, etc) have so much respect for Belichick and supported him through last year’s controversy. There’s a reason why Moss has so much respect for Belichick and for the team. Why did Moss decide to stay with the Pats? Even when the Iggles couldn’t acquire him because they overbudgeted with the gain of Samuel, but I’m sure other teams would’ve loved to have Moss. We’re seeing something in Moss that we did not see previously when he played for Vikings and Raiders. Loyalty to his team! That’s what a true Patriot is! You bleed the Red, White, and Blue!

In sum, despite some ridiculous, nonsensical construction of OT policy in the NFL that typically dictates the outcome of the game by a damn coin toss, to have overcome a deficit and force the game into OT, Patriots are the Sh*t! In fact, Red Sox did the same thing in Postseason game 5 to force a complete series of 7 games! In New England, we Believe! Go Pats! Go Celtics (it ridiculous how the media still have no faith in the champs! umm, news flash, by how many points did the Celtics shut down the Lakers in the final game?)