Patriotic thoughts

When all is said and done, taking into account the Patriots lost last night, that was actually a pretty entertaining, enjoyable game to watch, as New England lost 15-18 in Indianapolis.

Consider the wall of obstacles the Patriots faced going into the showdown with their fierce rivals.

• The Patriots secondary is about as formidable right now as Texas Rangers pitching staff
• The Patriots starting running back as an undrafted free agent picked off the streets
• Tom Brady wasn't playing
• The game was in Indianapolis where the trained-seal Colts fans were going extra ballistic
• Vegas had the Patriots as +7 underdogs
• The Colts has Addai, Clarke, Harrisson, Wayne and Manning all suited, every single one of their potent offensive weapons

You probably would have excused them a 32-21 battering. I know my expectations were suitably low. In any event, the Patriots turned in a gritty, tough stint at the office and although they lost, consider the numerous silver linings on display last night;

• The D-Line absolutely stuffed the Indy running game, stuffed it like a turkey, actually
• Matt Cassell may yet be a decent NFL quarterback. Cassell looked poised and mature leading the Patriots on several long drives.
• Myron Gyton has come out of nowhere to be a decent little player
• Randy Moss continues to play 'good soldier', blocking and doing the little things
• The offensive line looked very solid all night - possibly beginning to return to it's 16-0 form from last season, Cassell stayed on his feet all night
• Stephen Gostowski continues to look nails
• Wes Welker looks like he is about to hit a really strong patch as Cassell gets more comfortable

All in all, glass half full, right?


.