I didn't want to admit it before this weekend but I knew that the Chargers needed a win much more than the Patriots did. Throw in the added motivation of the Pats ending San Diego's season the past two years, and I knew deep down there was a strong chance it wasn't going to be pretty.
The Pats sit at 3-2, which is a whole lot better than they looked on the field last night. I drink the Bill Belichick Kool-Aid as readily as anyone, but now even I have to admit this team has concerns that run far deeper than just Matt Cassel keeping Tom Brady's spot warm.
My Notes On What Was Still a Fun Day In So Cal:
There was an excellent contingent of Pats fans that congregated together in the parking lot. This is one of the best parts of attending an away game: getting to meet fellow fans from all parts of the country. We went 2-1 in the bean bag toss.
For all those who asked me at the tailgate, you can get the bean bag toss game here.
Thanks to the sister Mary and the BF-in-law Geno for giving me the single seat down close. I was happy until a guy in a Brady jersey sat down next to me and I found out he was a) from New York and b) did not shut up the entire game.
Props to the knowledgeable Chargers fans who were sitting in front of me. I had to feel for the two guys who had been in New England for the 2007 week two massacre. I enjoyed talking to football fans who knew what they were talking about.
Pats Observations:
The Pats opened up with four down lineman, two linebackers, two cornerbacks, and three safeties. Meriweather and Sanders were the deep safeties and Rodney played down close, mostly on Gates.
It looked like the Chargers went after O'Neal. Rodney was a target in coverage as well.
Cassel took another four sacks and had to throw the ball nearly 40 times. He's been fairly consistent in that he completes a good portion of his passes, takes a couple sacks, and is good for one interception at least per game. That's not a good thing. Now, if Moss can just hold on to the ball we might've made a game of it...
From Michael Lombardi: New England QB Matt Cassel does not make very quick decisions and his accuracy on some easy throws is a concern. He looks like he cannot process the decisions with any real conviction.
I'm not in the crowd calling for Kevin O'Connell, but I'm starting to wonder how high Cassel's ceiling really is. I still think it will be early December before we see a quarterback switch made. O'Connell was far from ready coming out of college, where he took the majority of snaps in the shotgun. Though now that I think of it, why can't he just do that with Moss/Welker and company?
Right now the word that comes to mind for Cassel is: Stop—Gap.
The Pats need Maroney and Jordan back now. Sammie Morris isn't the same runner as he was last year. I'm not enough of an expert to know how much that has to do with the O-line play, but the Pats were unable to produce any kind of consistent run game.
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