Pats 28, Bucs 0: Commentary and Analysis

Just in case the other 31 teams forgot, just a reminder: These are the two-time defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.

Now, I don't believe, like the rest of the NFL-covering media, that this was a "statement" game. The Patriots don't like making statements. They don't want other teams knowing anything. They don't want you to know they're coming. They want you to think they're crippled, ready for the taking. They want to sneak up on you and hit you with a hammer.

I think Bill Belichick would have been just as pleased to beat Tampa Bay, 3-0.

If they were to send a message, it would be short and sweet, and in this case very much like Tom Brady said to open the pregame show to Super Bowl XXXIV: "We're Baaaaaaack."

For the rest of us, we forget about the statement and just talk about this one game, and what a game it was.

The offense that everyone has been complaining has been kicking too many field goals scored four touchdows against the 3rd best scoring defense in the league. They were four of five in the red zone, three of three from goal-to-go. The put up 336 yards and gave up no turnovers to the No. 2 ranked defense in the NFL. Brady hit nine different receivers, including an offensive tackle coming out of the backfield, as three other receivers did. One actual wide receiver made a career high in yardage.

The one thing lacking on offense was a devastating running game, but Tampa had the fifth-ranked rushing defense. OK, so you can't have everything. Corey Dillon wasn't completely ineffective, either. He picked up nearly 50 yards on the ground, scored on a 3-yard run, and caught a short touchdown pass.

As exciting as it was to watch the offense, it was the defense that put on the real show.

The Patriots totalled the "Cadillac," and it looked like Phil Simms was quarterbacking. Phil Simms today, not Phil Simms from 20 years ago.

I don't want to hear anymore about how great Chris Simms has been improving. How he's so poised under pressure in the late game.

And Carnell "Cadillac" Williams can park his nickname in the garage until he earns it in the NFL. Hand over the keys, young man. And that's enough of these stupid college nicknames being used by the national media and field announcers.

Here's what I said before the game:

"I don't think Tampa will have success if they try to open the game by running against New England. Gruden has a couple very good receivers in Joey Galloway, Ike Hilliard and Michael Clayton. Look for the Bucs to open up the passing to set up the running of Carnell "Cadillac" Williams.

To stop this, the Patriots will need to pressure Simms all day. That will prevent (a) Sims from throwing deep against New England terrible secondary, and (b) clogging up Williams' running lanes."

So what does Tampa do? They try to run the ball. And when that doesn't work, they try to have Simms shoulder the load, where he was under pressure all day. Gruden! The Bucs won the only Super Bowl in the last four that the Patriots didn't, and you have to wonder how with a coach like Gruden. Does this guy even watch game film?

The New Four Horseman

Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork and Jarvis Green were simply outstanding Sunday. Really, if the Apocolypse comes, I wouldn't be surprised to see these four guys riding in front of it. They brought battle to the line of scrimmage, a pestilence of pressure to Simms, a famine of Buccaneer points, and an ultimate conquest of the Tampa offense.

Don't come to me and quote stats. I've told you before that this defense doesn't translate into stats for individuals. The Patriots had seven sacks, not one of them by a defensive lineman, and all four of them had just four tackles each. Those are Dwight Freeney or Jason Taylor stats. Freeney and Taylor only wished that days like these four had Sunday.

Seymour, Wilfork, Warren and Green utterly dominated -- I mean D-O-M-I-N-A-T-E-D -- the Bucs offensive line, allowing the linebackers and an occassional defensive back to wreak havoc in the Tampa Bay backfield. The push at the line was so great, I don't think the Tampa line won a single battle at scrimmage. As a result, Williams never had a gain greater than 3, and Simms looked like a man standing in front of a breaking dam.

The defensive backfield is still a major concern, but the danger is far less when the front seven, and especially that front four, play like they did Sunday. The defense probably also allowed a couple too many third-down conversions (7 of 16 for 44%), but that's a vast improvement over earlier games.

Any questions or comments about the game? Post a comment or email me.

The Final Two Regular Season Games

New England wraps up the season with a post-Christmas Monday Night game in New Jersey a week from tonight and then a visit from our good friends the Miami Dolphins who love coming to Gillette Stadium in winter. That game is set for New Year's Day.

People are already asking, "Should they sit Brady and Dillon and others to make sure they're healthy for the playoffs."

Answer: Hell, no!

You play them until the game is well in hand, or until the opposition shows a willingness to purposely cause injury -- which would be shocking -- and then you can sit them. There are lots of reason for this, but the main one is this: The pieces are just falling into place. You don't have it perfect yet. There are still some combinations to try. There is still a little bit to learn about this team.

Now, there is secondary concern, the matter of playoff seeding. If the Patriots win the final two and Cincinnati somehow loses the final two, they'll both end up 11-5. (Denver could lose both and end up 11-5 as well, but they beat New England head-to-head, so they win that tiebreaker.) I don't know what the other tiebreakers are or who leads them, but it's conceivable the Pats could advance to the No. 3 seed. Unfortunately, the Bengals have Buffalo at home Saturday, so that will probably render the point moot.

Yes, it's great to have the luxury of a bye week; and, yes, you could effectively force one on most of your players by sitting them either this week or next, but that is a distant consideration. Just about everyone except Brady has had time off this season anyway.

Last year, the starters played in the meaningless last game against San Francisco for more than three quarters, having played ineffectively until then. The Patriots just Sunday played their best game. If they can lead 21-0 at halftime over the Jets and Dolphins, then I have no problem sitting the starters for the second half. But you don't sit them the full game.

The Gillette Stadium Experience, Part II

My brother and I spend the whole game behind the West end zone (that's the end with the lighthouse). We were on the opposite side of the scoreboard from the lighthouse about even with the top of it. There are two smaller sections there, one closer to the scoreboard right behind the last row of seats, the other more in the corner behind a row of handicap seating which is perched a little higher above the last row of seating in front of that.

When there are no people in the handicap seating, this is a great place to stand. You can see everything but the very near corner of the field, and the regular seating was so far below that they could stand the whole game and not affect your vision of the field. If there are people in the handicap section, they really impair your view. It's hit or miss. We had a couple people there, but it was easy to move a step to the side and look around.

The crowd was great, too. One of the best I'd experienced at Gillette, from opening snap to the final gun, the crowd was really into it, made a lot of noise, and generally had a great time. I think it's the cold. You have to keep moving to stay warm, and that keeps people mobile and adrenaline pumping. My brother and I had a great time with the small group that congregated around us .

I didn't get to write about our experience at the New Orleans game, so here are a couple notes:

We spent the first half in the same location I just described, except in the area closer to the scoreboard. We never saw anything that happened inside the 20 or 25. We had to watch the scoreboard.

We walked to the other end of the stadium where the banners are hanging. There are lots of good places to stand there, if you get there early enough. Those would be especially good if there's precipitation. The West end zone would be a disaster.

Unfortunately, neither end zone area has easy access to rest rooms or concessions. You have to do a lot of walking, and there's a good chance you're going to miss some of the action.

Leave the Chili, Take the Fries

For the New Orleans game, I had a bowl of fries with chili and cheese. I think it was $5.75. It was a pretty big bowl and there were a lot of fries, and they were good and hot and crispy. The chili and cheese both got squeezed out of plastic bags. The cheese was the typical plasticized orangy substance that tastes very little like cheese that you get everywhere. The chili ... I don't know how to describe it. It was nearly offensive, very chemical-like. You couldn't get rid of the taste, and it stayed with you, if you follow me. I'd probably get the fries again, maybe with the cheese (because it's warm, at least). I'd give them an extra $1 to keep the chili.