Patriots Open Up Two-Game Lead In The AFC East With Easy 34-3 Win Vs. Chiefs On MNF

It's rare that an NFL game follows a script that everybody expects, that's what makes the league the best of the four major American sports and so exciting. It is usually so unpredictable from week to week.

Well once Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel went down with a hand injury last week and it was announced that he'd sit out, with backup Tyler Palko taking his place (for his first career start), the stars began to align for the rare 2011 New England Patriots blowout. That's exactly what happened as the Pats (7-3) took advantage on Monday Night Football with a 34-3 win that didn't even seem that close.

The poor Chiefs (4-6) have seen their season slip away due to major injuries to some key players: tight end Tony Moeaki, safety Eric Berry, running back Jamaal Charles, etc. Yes I know that every team in the NFL has injuries but it's impossible to top that list (Cassel was placed on IR today).

The MNF crew tried to sell the audience on Palko's (25 of 38, 236 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs) limited abilities and for a spell, it kind of worked as Kansas City led 3-0 after the first quarter thanks to a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Succop.

It took a while for Tom Brady (15 of 27, 234 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs) to get going but once New England's offense was in gear and Palko started to give the ball away like it was on fire, this one was over quick.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis had his best game in weeks as New England racked up 157 yards rushing as a team. He had 20 carries for 81 yards and added a 25-yard catch.

Rob Gronkowski (4 catches, 96 yards, 2 TDs) woke up his team and the Gillette Stadium crowd from their collective slumber with a 52-yard catch and run touchdown with 4:18 left in the first half. Stephen Gostkowski's PAT made it 7-3 and he added a 21-yard kick with 10 seconds left in the half after Brady and Co. couldn't punch it in.

Things started to get silly in third quarter as Gronk scored a 19-yard touchdown which ended with him hurdling a guy and then falling right on his neck. No worries though, the cyborg was fine. I'd worry about a concussion with him but could you really tell if he had one or not?

Gronk set a record by getting to 20 career touchdowns (in 26 games) faster than any tight end in NFL history. Also, Bill Belichick jumped ahead of former Patriots head coach Bill Parcells for ninth all-time on the NFL win list with 118 career victories.

It was time for nearly every player on the roster to make a contribution as Kyle Arrington picked off two passes (he leads the NFL with 7); along with extensive time on defense in the secondary, Julian Edelman returned a punt 72 yards for a score (his second career punt return TD); Philip Adams had his first career interception while Mark Anderson (1.5 sacks) and Andre Carter (.5 sack) continued to wreak havoc on mediocre quarterbacks (hi Sanchez!).

Gostkowski's 19-yard field goal closed out the third quarter and then even rookie running back Shane Vereen (8 carries, 39 yards) made a cameo appearance in the fourth. Vereen scored his first career touchdown with a four-yard jaunt. Those were the first carries of the regular season for the mysterious 2011 second-round draft pick out of Cal.

It kind of felt like 2008 (old times) as no doubt the national media will be whining about the Patriots running up the score.

New England started off slow tonight but nobody will remember that since they woke up in time to pummel an awful team. With the Jets and Bills tied at 5-5 and meeting next Sunday, the Patriots are sitting pretty with their two-game advantage. In addition, New England is tied with Houston and Pittsburgh for the best record in the AFC.

The Pats will travel to Philadelphia (4-6) on Sunday to meet the desperate Eagles. Philly pretty much has to win out to have a shot at the playoffs and we shall see if Vince Young or Mike Vick gets the start at quarterback for a team which is loaded with talent but has really struggled to find consistency and/or close out wins in the fourth.

Matt Light left late in the game after getting rolled up on by Tamba Hali. Rookie Marcus Cannon got his first snaps as a pro at right tackle. That situation will be something to monitor as this short week goes on.

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Devin McCourty Separated His Shoulder Last Night, Expected To Miss 2-3 Weeks

Well if you watched the Patriots-Jets game last night, and if you're reading this I'm going to guess that you did, you saw that Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty left in the second quarter with an injury.

I feared it was a broken collarbone but WBZ in Boston reported last night that he suffered a separated right shoulder when rookie safety Sterling Moore (in his first NFL start) ran into his teammate while they both attempted to tackle Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

McCourty didn't return to the game and it is feared that he'll miss 2-3 weeks (Kansas City, at Philadelphia, Indianapolis). He's having a terrible season after an incredible rookie campaign but McCourty is still the Patriots most talented cornerback (sorry Kyle Arrington). We'll see if he ever regains his surprising performance from 2010 but regardless, it's going to be tough to see the likes of Philip Adams and Antwaun Molden trying to replace him.

On the bright side for New England, Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel is expected to miss next Monday's night game at Gillette (his first meeting with his former team). That means Tyler Palko (former Pitt scrub) will take the reins for Kansas City which is a huge break for the Pats. Likewise, the Eagles are pretty much guaranteed now of missing the playoffs and we know that the Colts won't win a game this season so maybe this injury came an opportune time (as much as they ever can be).

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Wait, So Kyle Arrington, Sergio Brown And No. 26 (Philip Adams) AREN'T Championship Quality Defenders?

Admit it. When Eli Manning and the Giants got the ball with a minute in change left in the game, you already knew. You knew that this defense wasn't going to step up when it mattered most.

On balance, they did a decent job versus the Giants, but thanks to a perfect combination of below average talent, bizarre personel decisions and poor coaching, the Patriots defense was not able to stop the Giants on their final possession on Sunday in Foxboro.

Barely protecting a lead after a Tom Brady touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots defense wilted. A tough 30-yard pass interference penalty by Kyle Arrington put the Giants in great position to tie the game at 20. Sergio Brown then had an inexcusable pass interference penalty in the end zone on his only snap of the game. Brown was surprised to get flagged. I'm surprised that he is on an NFL roster. Manning connected on the game-winning touchdown pass over the head of, you guessed it, Arrington.

With regards to the last few editions of this defense, there has been more than enough blame to go around. As with most franchises, success and failures start from the top. If we praise Bill Belichick for the unparalleled level of success from 2001-2004, we must also question some of his personnel moves over the past few years.

With the exception of Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo (and possibly Patrick Chung one day) the Patriots have failed to acquire any impact players through the draft, even though they stockpile draft picks like the football version or A&E's Hoarders. Rather than use their first rounders on proven collegiate talent, the Patriots regularly trade down to get more "value" from their picks.

Using this philosophy, they have failed in drafting players (the terrible cornerback trio of Terence Wheatley, Jonathan Wilhite, Darius Butler) and have replaced them with more mid-level draft picks to make up for their failures. Thing is, these replacement players quite frankly, suck.

The Patriots have also failed in free agency (Adalius Thomas, Shawn Springs, Duane Starks) and thus have been unable to actually develop talent on defense. I find it maddening that the Patriots feel that the best team they can roll out there features special teams staple Tracy White, Brown and Arrington. Releasing Brandon Meriweather amd James Sanders earlier this year looks like the worst move ever right now.

I don't blame the players for being out there, it's not like it this is an injury ravaged unit either. Yet I can blame them for the way they have defended in the passing game, especially over the middle of the field. Pittsburgh tight end Heath Miller looked unstoppable on the Steelers first drive two weeks ago and they could not get off the field.

Last week they looked a little better, but their inexperience showed in the biggest point of the game. I shudder to think what will happen if this team makes the playoffs with the defense the way it is. The trade deadline has came and went and there isn't much out there for free agents. This is our defense, Pats fans get used to it.

Tom Brady will not be here forever and if the defense keeps playing like this, Belichick will have his toughest test to date.

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Enjoy The Bye Week Ross Ventrone & Sterling Moore But Please Keep Your Phones On

The New England Patriots bye week has begun and with it, they have already made a few roster moves in anticipation of injured players returning before their next game Sunday, October 30 in Pittsburgh.

Now that six weeks have gone by in the 2011 NFL season, players that started on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list are eligible to start returning. For New England, that means defensive linemen Ron Brace and Brandon Deaderick along with rookie offensive lineman Marcus Cannon and iconic running back Kevin Faulk can start practicing and could even play against the Steelers if all goes well.

Safety Ross Ventrone and cornerback Sterling Moore were both released although they each are eligible for the practice squad (which has one empty spot since Moore was promoted this past weekend).

Apparently Moore played on special teams (punt return) vs. Dallas yesterday but I can't say I saw him. He might have been out there or not, who knows other than him and his relatives plus the Patriots special teams coach?

I am certain that Ventrone had been playing on all four special teams units (kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return, punt coverage) and I almost spit out my dinner last night when I realized he had subbed in when the Cowboys were near the goalline. Luckily Dallas and its quarterback Tony Romo were too dumb to notice that scary fact.

Enjoy the time off guys but remember that you'll more than likely be needed in some capacity next week when the team fully reconvenes at Gillette Stadium.

UPDATE: 10/18 The Pats re-signed cornerback Philip Adams while Faulk, Deaderick and Brace were taken off the PUP list.

UPDATE 2: 10/19 Ventrone was signed to the 53-man roster while Moore was signed to the practice squad. Their agents (assuming they have them) must be the busiest guys in the NFL, this is absurd.

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Marcus Harrison Joins The Patriots

So the New England Patriots signed some defensive tackle named Marcus Harrison today. He went to Arkansas and he was a third-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 2008.

The Pats had interest because reportedly defensive lineman Kyle Love hurt his back in practice yesterday. Who knows?

I read that Harrison showed up too fat for training camp twice with the Bears so head coach Lovie Smith and Co. had enough of this tub of goo. Fantastic, hopefully Fat Albert can mentor him here on the finer points of being lazy and useless.

In 37 career games, including just nine starts, Harrison had 43 solo tackles and 12 assists, three sacks and three passes defensed.

To make room for him, cornerback Philip Adams-who was just re-signed yesterday-was released. If this goes how I expect it to, Harrison will be dumped in a week or two and Adams or some other similar no-name bum will take his place. Ah yes, the life at the bottom of an NFL roster.

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Mike Wright's Season Ends Prematurely For The Second Year In A Row

You have to feel awful to New England Patriots defensive lineman Mike Wright. For the second straight season (and fourth time in seven years), his season is coming to an early end with a trip to IR (injured reserve).

Wright missed the last seven games of the 2010 season with a concussion and he picked up another one in the 2011 season-opener at Miami. He tried to come back in practice last week but today the Pats put him on IR and re-signed cornerback Philip Adams to the 53-man roster.

You have to wonder if Wright will retire at this point. He's picked up a litany of injuries (ankle, foot, head) that have to be really breaking down his body. It's too bad because when he's healthy, the undrafted guy out of Cincinnati was productive and very easy to root for.

In 81 career games with the Pats (the only NFL team he's ever played for), he amassed 174 tackles and 15 sacks. His loss puts more pressure on New England's defensive line to produce since now they know officially that Wright is not coming back in 2011.

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