Patriots Win Stunner

After a tight win over the Ravens yesterday, it’s obvious that the Patriots are horrible.  They should be underdogs to the Steelers next week, there is no way they will win.  The undefeated streak is over.  The Patriots are tired and worn out.  There is an easy blueprint to beating them.  The Patriots only won because of bad calls.

Although the Patriots were able to win yesterday, this was the headline of every media outlet across the country.  And I have to say, I am extremely ticked off.  I’m looking at their record, and I see no losses.  All season I have been saying the game we might lose could be the Steelers, but nothing has changed since yesterday.

Yes, the Patriots were outplayed.  However, the better team won the game, and the final score is the only thing that matters.  For everyone who believes the refs made bad calls, and that’s why the Patriots won; sit down, and shut up .  Stop whining.  The Patriots won the game, and although some of the calls were unfortunate to the Ravens, they were not bad calls.

On the fourth and one, the Ravens called a timeout.  And although it didn’t get to the players on time, it still counts.  If Tom Brady wasn’t “stopped,” and the Patriots then didn’t convert, the timeout would be getting praised.  Then, the false start the next snap, was a false start, not a cheap call.  In case you didn’t notice, the only reason Evans was “stopped,” was because Neal moved off the line, opening up a gap.  Then, two series later, the defensive holding on fourth and five was totally legit.  Yeah, pulling the receiver down, that’s nothing.  The refs didn’t screw this game up, and fans/players alike shouldn’t complain about bad calls that didn’t even exist.

Next, I want to touch on the Monday Night Football telecast.  After Baltimore scored one touchdown, Cornheiser and Jaws wouldn’t stop talking about how the Patriots were going to be beaten.  And on top of that, they wouldn’t stop talking about how the Patriots might go undefeated.  Too much!  I got so tired of hearing Jaws’ random “analysis” and “breakdowns” that I literally turned on mute for about half an hour.  Since ESPN has been making such a big deal about their Monday night telecasts, you’d think they could make a more interesting telecast (some more varied content), although I did enjoy the Shula segment (despite what he said).

 Lastly, I wanted to touch on a few things from the actual game.  First, I didn’t like our pass protection.  Light was constantly getting burned off the line, and the empty shotgun sets just weren’t working.  Secondly, the linebackers seemed to be getting worn out.  Usually, the Patriots are leading by a great enough margin that teams are forced to work through the air.  Last night, however, things were tight, and McGahee just kept pounding the ball out.  However, when it mattered most, the defense did step it up (all Ravens 4th quarter drives).  Lastly, don’t take anything into the offense’s poor performance.  Winds were gusting up to 50 MPH, which took away the majority of the deep game from the Patriots.  And, the Ravens defense is still pretty darn good, despite the fact that they had been struggling slightly in a few prior weeks.

Overall, a win is a win.  Next week, the Patriots will go up against the Steelers.  With a Patriots win, and a Colts loss, they can clinch first seed.