Patriots Week 6 Twitter: the Paper Tiger Edition

The Patriots look bad.  Three weeks ago, it was still to early to pass judgement, and last week's win against the hapless 49ers papered over many glaring deficiencies.  But now there can be no dispute, the Patriots are a mediocre team, capable of beating the schlubs of the NFL but utterly impotent against the big boys.  There was a reason they were the lowest ranked one-loss team in Football Outsiders DVOA rankings going into this week.  Other thoughts:

-  There can be no doubt that Cassel made a number of fundamental mistakes tonight - under throwing a wide open Randy Moss in the first quarter, missing a wide open Ben Watson in the endzone in the second, tossing an ill advised screen pass for an interception in the third.  His passes look wobbly.  He appears uncomfortable in the pocket.  He seems incapable of throwing to receivers running medium or deep patterns.  At best, Cassel is a work in progress;  at worst, he is a disaster.  

-  Cassel is not the only one to blame, of course.  Anytime the defense spots your opponent 30 points, you are probably going to lose.  Deltha O'Neal earns obvious "goat of the game"™ honors for being burnt twice for long gainers, but the Patriots defensive line deserves equal blame.  You line up in the 4-3 and you are unable to stop the run or record a single sack?

- Should I be inspired or depressed that Cassel had more rushing yards Sammy Morris?   

-  I cannot wait to read the speculation about what Josh McDaniels and Bill Belichick were jawing about prior to halftime.  Perhaps Daniels was asking whether Cialis or Viagra would better rehabilitate the Patriots limp and sagging offense.

- Should I be inspired or depressed that Morris had more receiving yards than Randy Moss?

- At least Brady's surgery went well.

Game 3 Twitter: the Dink and Dunk Edition

So this is what it feels like to be steamrolled by a superior team.   Some are calling this game an "upset," but that is very generous to our squad and a little too dismissive to the Dolphins.  Miami controlled this game from start to finish, on both sides of the ball, in every way possible.  It was more painful to watch than that "Laugh In" bit on the Emmys.  Other random thoughts:

-  I am on record as a big Cassel fan, but screen passes to Wes Welker and quick outs to Randy Moss are just not going to do the job.  The Patriots had only one play in the first half that went for more than twenty yards, and that was the "should have been intercepted until a chorus of angels guided the ball into Welker's outstretched hands" play.

-  Have you heard of this new restaurant called the CBS Scene®?  I hear they offer a revolutionary dining and sports experience.

-  Has protecting the QB has gone too far?  Miami is awarded an "in the grass" sack in the first quarter despite the fact that the replay showed the Dolphin's defensive lineman had a negligible grip on Cassel.   Later in the game, however, the Patriots benefited from the quarterback protection obsession when a Matt Cassel interception was negated by a bogus Vonnie Holliday roughing the passer penalty.

-  I can't believe E*Trade is still running their "so easy a baby can do it" ads.  So easy, you can lose your life savings!

-  For all the ire being directed towards Cassel, what was up with our defense making Ronnie Brown look like the second coming of Walter Payton?  And why were we burned not once but three times on gadget plays involving Pennington lining up as a wide receiver?  Is this a college football scrimmage?  

-  Memo to all of the Patriots "fans" who were flooding out of Gillette with 13:28 left in the fourth quarter - you are the reason the rest of the world hates us, you fairweather jackasses.