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The Patriots were manhandled last night by the Houston Texans, not only out-played, but, astoundingly, out-coached. The score, 28-22, makes the contest sound almost respectable, but most of the Pats statistical damage was done in garbage time when the hosts took their foot off the pedal and made it closer than it should have been by playing prevent defense.
So I’m seeking explanations. I’m trying to understand why the Super Bowl champs were made to look, dare I say, like the Jets. And, by the way, let me digress by noting that the Bengals, Dolphins, and Redskins all won this weekend. So it’s quite easy to understand why the world is upside down and explanations are not easy to come by after this NFL weekend.
Could it be the flu? Not likely, although the Patriots who flew on the “healthy plane” certainly played as if they had low-grade versions of their teammates’ nasty condition.
Maybe it was the Russians, or even the Ukrainians, cyber-attacking the Patriots playbook. Chris Collinsworth, who was calling the game and has become a pretty astute observer, noted that the Texans’ cornerbacks seemed to know just where the New England receivers were going. They played tight when the Pats were going short, and they took away the middle when Tom Brady wanted to go there. They seemed to know what was coming and set their defense, successfully, to stop it
More than the Russians, did familiarity with Josh McDaniels’ tendencies give the Texans their advantage. Could it simply be that Bill O’Brien and Romeo Crennel, formerly in charge of the Patriots offensive and defensive schemes, were able to pick apart the their former employer’s tendencies and out-scheme the Pats in setting their coverages?
Maybe Tom is getting old. He is still able to glide around in the pocket and duck his way through the scrum, but when he’s at all rushed he’s far less accurate than we’d like him to be. But it’s just too easy to pull out the “Tom-is-too-old” excuse every time the Patriots lose. There’s far more to it than that.
More likely it’s the personnel. Mohamed Sanu, whose Patriots debut was so strong, was virtually invisible. Philip Dorsett was on the field, but was hardly in the box score. Poor N’Keal Harry was deemed so ineffective that he watched most of the second half from the side line. And, yes, Matt LaCosse and Ben Watson each had a nice reception. But what does it say about the Patriots tight end situation that we set bar so low as to heap praise upon the tight ends for a catch apiece.
Our dear Patriots seem to do this to us every year. We go through the same two-phase vicious cycle: 1. The Pats throw in a game or two, real stinkers, that make us doubters. We worry that the ship is sinking and get ready to board the life boats, only to see the SS Patriots ride safely over the waves. 2. We feel guilty for ever doubting Captain Bill and his crew, saying we’ll never do it again until… we start the cycle all over again. In fact, I can’t think of a Super Bowl season that hasn’t given me cause to wonder whether this will be the year that the big winner is the monsoon rather than the Pats.
After last night I’ve got my life preserver on. Two storms, known as the Chiefs and Bills, are on the horizon. I’m hoping to stay dry, but we’ll see how it goes this year.
