Postgame: Preseason 1: Pats @ Cincinnati

Not surprisingly, there were very few surprises in this game. In the end, New England accomplished their goals and came away with a 23-13 preseason victory over Cincinnati. The Patriots got good looks at players in several competitive positions, the coaches worked on communication, and the team apparently suffered only one minor injury.

It's very easy to over-analyze a game like this. It's preseason and the game is absolutely meaningless. Bill Belichick will tell you that one moment, and the next try to convince you that this team isn't going to win many games if they continue to play like that. The good news is they probably won't continue to play like that.

The first surprise was that Tom Brady didn't play at all. The second surprise was that neither did Doug Flutie. The only conclusion I can draw from those facts (other than the team didn't want to risk injuries) is that Rohan Davey and Matt Cassel were auditioning the for the last quarterback spot on the team. (Yes, I know Davey is listed second on the depth chart and the competition is allegedly between Flutie and Cassel for the No. 3 spot, but that's not what this game told me.) With so much else to worry about, the coaches probably want to settle this issue ASAP and making one of the necessary cuts.

That said, with four years in the NFL and one in NFL Europe, Davey did not impress, while Cassel, with 33 passing attempts (20 completions, 192 yards, 1 interception) in college, looked like a poised, wily veteran with rookie skittishness. Cassel finished 13 of 20 for 135 yards and a touchdown. He ran the no-huddle with a controlled chaos, scrambled three times for good gains, and generally made good passes and good decisions. Davey was 4 of 7 for 42 yards, an interception and a couple other poorly thrown balls.

I can't say anything else really surprised me. One thing that certainly hasn't changed is the reliability of Adam Vinatieri. He strolled into the game in the second quarter and knocked through a 48-yard field goal like it was midseason. Vinatieri was 3-for-3 with kicks of 29, 42 and 48, plus two extra points.

The defensive secondary looked a little soft on short routes, solid on deep routes, and excellent in the red zone (barring the garbage-time TD). I didn't see much (if any) bumping at the line of scrimmage, and Bengal receivers took advantage running a bucketful of slants. You'd see less of that with Ty Law; someone better jump in there and get these guys fired up. The linebackers didn't help much there, either, though their pursuit was good all over the field on most plays. There were also a few holes up front on running plays. Nothing to get all worked up about.

Speaking of linebackers, Mike Vrabel is the lone injury. He tweaked his left ankle when a Bengal played rolled over it on a special teams play. He was walking with a slight limp to the tunnel at the start of the second quarter and should be fine.

I'm going to make something of a brash statement. Some of you will think I'm insane, but that's pretty much par for the course. OK, you read it here first: Logan Mankins is the second coming of John Hannah. History will bear that out.

Without the benefit of game film or even highlights (I still have a business to run, and I was unable to watch any postgame activity), I can't say too much about anything else.

Except this: Channel 5's coverage was horrendous. I can understand rustiness, but how long have they had to prepare for this? And the first graphic introducing players has "Logan Manking" starting at left guard for New England. I guess it could have been worse. They could have had "Log and Man King" or "Lion King".

Besides that, the camera work was awful. The halftime Flutie interview was barely audible over Mike Lynch's sideline microphone that was left open. Don Criqui made several glaring mistakes early in the game, mis-spotting the ball, reporting the incorrect down, missing officials' calls -- stuff that was plainly obvious to the viewer who doesn't even have a good look at the field or the action, like he didn't have any spotters and he was trying to report on the game by listening to the radio feed (which I'm sure was much better). Randy Cross is a clown, and he spent more time trying to come up with a clever line than analyzing the action -- which is what he's supposed to do, you know, as "an analyst."

I hate ripping on the media, but most of these guys have been getting progressively worse since John Madden joined Monday Night Football and somehow nearly every two-man team has turned into third rate copies of Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon -- with apologies to both Carson and McMahon.

Final note, a question: Anyone have any idea what Patrick Pass said or did that made the offensive coaches call his number a grueling six or seven times straight? It's almost like he was being punished for saying "How come I'm not getting the ball?"