"How to ruin a once proud franchise" by Al Davis

It's hard to imagine two professional sports teams taking a more divergent path than the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders after they met in the 2001 playoffs. The Patriots pulled out that controversial game in overtime, a springboard to their first of three Super Bowl titles in four seasons.

Sure the Raiders made the next Super Bowl but they lost that to the Bucs and then since then they've been living on NFL's version of skid row with the Detroit Lions.

How else can you describe such a putrid franchise after yesterday's joke of a game in Oakland?

After two weeks on the west coast, the Patriots (9-5) came home with a 49-26 win that wasn't anywhere near that close.

New England scored on its first three drives and led 21-0 with 3:43 left in the first quarter.

The Raiders (3-11) certainly scored some points of their own but the outcome of this one was decided in the first half.

Matt Cassel's dad died unexpectedly last week but any thoughts of that being a distraction were quickly erased as Cassel set a career-high with four touchdown passes. He finished 18-for-30 for 218 yards and an interception (which clanged off stone hands Ben Watson who was wide open).

Even more impressive was the Pats three-headed rushing attack that for one day at least resembled the Giants' vaunted trio.

Sammy Morris (14 carries, 117 yards), LaMont Jordan (12 carries, 97 yards) and Kevin Faulk (45 yards rushing, 66 yards receiving) ran through the biggest holes in California, this side of your garden variety porn stars.

Faulk began the barrage with a 7-yard catch and run for a score (with a great block from Wes Welker).

Ex-Raider Randy Moss (5 catches, 67 yards) got his revenge for a couple wasted years of his life by hauling in a 20-yard pass from Cassel.

Morris made it 21-0 with a 29-yard run.

Oakland got on the board late in the first quarter when JaMarcus Russell hit Johnnie Lee Higgins with a 56-yard TD.

Welker (6 catches, 69 yards) scored a rare TD with a 13-yard catch.

Then on back-to-back plays, the Raiders and Patriots had kickoff returns for touchdowns.

Justin Miller (91 yards) did the honors for Oakland while Ellis Hobbs (95 yards) answered for New England.

In the third quarter, Moss' second TD (9-yards) put the Pats up 42-14 and sent many of the Raider faithful back to their various prisons and rehab facilities.

Still, in a driving rainstorm and watching their team get embarrassed, there was something very captivating about fans sticking it out. They are called many things but Raider fans are not frauds.

Russell (17-for-31, 242 yards, interception) completed his erratic day with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Curry.

In garbage time, Jordan (another ex-Raider) scampered 49 yards (longest run of the year for New England) and rookie stud Darren McFadden (46 yards rushing; 68 yards receiving) ran in from 11 yards away.

There were only two bad things yesterday for the Patriots. Left tackle Matt Light left the game and appeared to have seriously injured his shoulder. Also, the Jets and Dolphins both hung on to win close games, meaning the Patriots are still tied with those two teams.

Only two games remain and the Patriots have to win out. They might not even make it if that happens but it would be surprising nonetheless.

The Cardinals, who have already clinched a playoff spot and are terrible on the road (especially on the east coast) come to Gillette next weekend. Hopefully Mother Nature helps the Pats out with some classic New England winter weather.

I don't Want to Live in a World Where Joey Porter is a Prophet

After a misleading win over the Jets last Sunday, the New England Patriots started to realize what they're missing since Tom Brady went down with a season-ending injury. The Miami Dolphins-losers of 18 of their last 20 games-came into Foxborough and thoroughly dominated the Pats, leaving with a 38-13 win that didn't even seem that close.

A fully healthy Ronnie Brown was the best player on the field. He ran 17 times for 113 yards (with a nine-yard catch), 4 touchdowns and he threw a 19-yard TD pass to tight end Anthony Fasano. Miami used a Wildcat formation (the Wildhog look that Arkansas used the last few seasons with Darren McFadden). Apparently, the Pats and none of their coaches have turned on a college game lately as Brown and Ricky Williams (16 carries, 98 yards; 2 catches, 21 yards) repeatedly gashed the New England defense for huge gains.

Things never seemed right from the start, even against such a bad team in a very winnable game at home. Brown started his scoring binge with a 2-yard plunge in the first quarter. Once again, Matt Cassel (19 for 31, 131 yards, touchdown, interception) and the Patriots offense struggled in the red zone. Stephen Gostkowski got New England on the board with a 37-yard kick in the beginning of the second quarter.

Brown answered with a 15-yard run to put Miami (1-2) up 14-3. Clearly, the Pats (2-1) couldn't keep settling for field goals when their defense wasn't making any stops. Gostkowski added a 44-yard field goal and New England was lucky to get that. Cassel's pass for Wes Welker (6 catches, 55 yards; 1 carry, 19 yards) went through a Dolphin's arms and Welker grabbed it for a 21-yard gain.

Cassel threw an interception to Miami defensive end Randy Starks, who returned it eight yards. Brown's 5-yard TD run with less than a minute left in the half was a killer as it put Miami up 21-6 going into the break.

New England would make radical adjustments at halftime, right? Not really. Chad Pennington (17 for 20, 226 yards) kept finding open receivers down the field while the Patriots' D could never get off the field.

Fasano hauled in the 19-yard pass from Brown to give the Dolphins an insurmountable 28-6 lead in the third quarter. New England received a temporary boost when Cassel found Jabar Gaffney for a 5-yard TD pass but it was too little too late.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Brown went 61 yards for his final score. Dolphins kicker Dan Carpenter added a 39-yard kick to make the final margin 38-13.

Randy Moss (4 catches, 25 yards) was completely nonexistent for the second week in a row. The bye week actually comes at a fitting time for New England as they have to go back to the drawing board. This ultra-conservative play-calling isn't working and they have to figure out how to improve things on defense or else there will be a bunch more ugly games like yesterday.

Their schedule is still cake and although the Bills are 3-0 (and probably the class of the AFC East), their division is still miserable. It's one game and it will probably force the Patriots to look in the mirror and realize that Brady ain't coming back this season so they have to develop a new identity. They can't get much lower than yesterday.

In a sign of how bad it was, the best player for New England was probably Ellis Hobbs who returned six kicks for 237 yards, including an 81-yard burst. Joey Porter, who is washed up and talked trash during the week to the three people that paid attention, backed it up with three sacks.

After next week's bye, the Pats will travel to San Francisco then San Diego.

And there goes the 2008 season for the Patriots

110 consecutive starts. That's the third longest current streak for an NFL quarterback and it's likely to have ended as Tom Brady seriously injured his left knee yesterday in the Patriots' season-opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Backup quarterback Matt Cassel and the Patriots hung on for a 17-10 win at Gillette Stadium but make no mistake, without the 2007 NFL MVP (Brady) healthy, the Patriots will struggle to make the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl.

The game got off to a strange start as New England turned it over on their first two possessions. The normally sure handed Wes Welker and Randy Moss both fumbled after making catches. Moss's fumble happened after he hauled in the pass that Brady threw before getting hit on the knee by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard.

Was the hit dirty? It was low and Pollard was basically out of the play after Sammy Morris blocked him to the ground but stuff like this happens in football. Brady has been incredibly durable so it's not like he's Donovan McNabb (going down with an injury every season).

Cassel (13 for 18, 152 yards, 1 touchdown) made the biggest throw of his life on the last play of the first quarter. With the Pats backed up on their own 1, Cassel looked deep and found Moss (6 catches, 116 yards, touchdown) for a 51-yard gain. It sparked the offense as New England eventually scored on a 10-yard toss from Cassel to Moss in the back of the end zone.

Chiefs kicker Nick Novak hit a 40-yard field goal right before halftime as New England went into the locker room with a 7-3 lead.

Credit Cassel and the Patriots offense for not completely falling apart without Brady at the helm. Sammy Morris (10 carries, 53 yards; 5 catches, 34 yards) looked great after missing most of last season. Laurence Maroney had his typical (10 carries, 51 yards) flashes of brilliance but overall nothing special performance.

Kansas City had quarterback problems of its own as starter Brodie Croyle (11 for 19, 88 yards) separated his shoulder in the third quarter after an Adalius Thomas hit. Backup Damon Huard (who's gotta be pushing 60 years old) came in and things surprisingly went well. Huard finished 8 of 12 for 118 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

Morris scored on a 5-yard run, with three minutes left the third quarter as the Pats went up 14-3.

The Chiefs wouldn't go away though-which is a real bad sign for New England-as Dwayne Bowe caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Huard two minutes into the fourth quarter.

Stephen Gostowski made it a seven-point game with 2:26 left by hitting a 37-yard field goal. Ellis Hobbs gave the Pats great field position with a 51-yard kickoff return. The much-maligned cornerback had a great game (by his standards) with an interception and sack.

Things got dicey as Kansas City marched down the field with a 68-yard catch and run from Huard to Devard Darling. The Chiefs had first-and-10 at the Pats' 5 but couldn't cash it in with four chances.

Big picture: without Brady, the Patriots will struggle to go 8-8. Kansas City is a young team, one of the worst in the league and New England had a real hard time putting them away, at home. The AFC East is still nothing special but Buffalo is getting better and the Jets are certainly more dangerous than they were last season. New England has one of the easiest schedules in the league but it's hard to think that Cassel will consistently play like he did yesterday. There's no use in crying or whining since the Patriots have had a remarkable run the last seven years. Injuries occur all the time, we're frankly lucky that Brady had never missed regular season time before. Now the ultimate question will be answered: can a great team survive without its best player?

Cassel's first NFL regular season start will be next Sunday at the Jets.