In Bill I Trust (aka, it's all gonna be okay...just maybe not this season)

I got thinking about the embarrassment that was Monday night's game and while this is probably not our year, I suddenly had some insights that made me feel better. As we all know, Belichick is a smart guy, so anything that I'm seeing I would think he is seeing even more acutely. And I was reminded of a trauma moment in Patriots' history (I feel like 'trauma moment' should have its own German word, which would be something like 'Traumaaugenblick'). There have been three Traumaaugenblicken to me in the past three years: 1) We blow a 21-3 lead to the Colts for the AFC Championship in 2006; 2) The FREAKING HELMET CATCH (not to mention Eli dodging the sack) during Superbowl in 2007; 3) Tom Brady takes the helmet to the knee and ends his season in 2008. What is more important, though, is how we handled those moments. Belichick learns, fixes, and tries to improve the problems. For instance, after 2006, with the understanding that maybe we need real receivers, he signs Moss and Welker. There is another important theme in this story that emerges here: Belichick's willingness to take risks (Moss certainly was one), and having a back-up plan in case it doesn't pan out (Welker being the back-up plan in case Moss didn't work). As we all know, that went pretty well, right up until Traumaaugenblick #2. I think that last season we didn't get much of a chance to understand how the team had changed after the 2007 SB because the first couple of months were spent evaluating Cassel. In the end, things turned out okay, and had Brady been our QB, we almost certainly would have been a playoff team.

However, where we got beat last year was on defense (think about the Miami game we lost, the Chargers game, and the Jets game as moments when our defense broke down). So this year, Belichick took another risk and revamped the defense. For the first 10 weeks of the season, that risk seemed to have paid off pretty well; we were 2nd overall in points allowed and even after the past few weeks, we are still 7th. Consider that we have played the leading team for offensive points scored (the Saints), and the third-leading team (the Colts) -- if you're wondering, we're the second-best team for points scored. That's not too shabby considering the changes. And I can't stress enough that the changes needed to happen. I still believe that aside from the aging LBs (Eli dodges the sack, remember?), the other flaw that needed correction was the secondary, which was a freaking mess last season. That appeared to be mostly fixed until this past game, where suddenly there were major gaps. Something tells me that another attempt will be made to fix it this year. One of the qualities I most admire about Belichick is his ability to stop a bad situation from getting worse: he's not too proud (or arrogant) to admit his mistakes in the roster.

One of the key factors in this season which I think is overlooked is the Joey Galloway one (dammit, I need to revive that tag!). He was supposed to be our third receiver and would not have been a shabby one. But that didn't turn out...who knew that he couldn't keep his feet inbounds? So we gambled (by getting rid of Gaffney) and that did not pay off. There isn't anything anyone can do about it now, and it doesn't help that a lot of the other potentials, such as Edelman and Tate, have been injured.

Why am I saying this now? Because I can promise you that no one watched last week's game more acutely than Belichick and he sees those weaknesses. More importantly, he will try to correct them. While it might not be possible this late in the season -- and let's not forget that barring a complete meltdown of Bucc-ish proportions, this team is still going to the playoffs -- he will try to change it for next year. It may not work: consider that our secondary is not where it should be. More continuity in the coaching staff would help, I think, since there has been a lot of turnover during the past few seasons. The situation at running back would benefit from more stability; again, it was a gamble signing Fred Taylor and it appeared to be a good one right up until the point when he got injured (imagine if we had Maroney and Taylor, our running game might be pretty solid). So did this season turn out the way we had hoped? No, it's not 2007, and it never will be again. However, 2007 also ended in one of the most painful Traumaaugenblicken imaginable, so we should be happy it's a new team. It may not be perfect, but it's ours, and as always, in Bill I trust.

Things are going down in Foxborough

1) Last night, the team announced that it had cut Tully Banta-Cain, which surprised the hell out of just about everyone. Tully Banta-Cain, besides having one of the best names in the league, was leading the team in sacks and had played relatively well. However, then everyone speculated that either Belichick was certifiable or perhaps TBC (as he is now known) would be re-signed soon. TBC confirmed that when he talked to a radio station yesterday (not that Belichick is certifiable, that he expects to be re-signed soon).

2) No one knows what the deal is with Adalius Thomas (also defense). He was a healthy scratch for Sunday's game, which was weird. He also missed several practices earlier this season for non-health issues, which I thought was weird at the time, but I forgot to post on that.

3) Today, the Patriots released Galloway, Michael Matthews, and Eric Alexander. Galloway is gone, no re-signing there. It appears that Matthews is also gone. Who knows with Alexander. There is still no word on the Thomas situation.

4) Rumors are flying about a potential trade for the Patriots. Maybe a WR to replace Galloway? One rumor is Deion Branch, because, let's face it, who doesn't love Deion Branch? I mean, one of my favorite things in playing my old Madden is that I can throw Brady to Branch for ridiculous yards. But that doesn't mean that he's still the same old guy (he's had injuries). Others speculate about Julius Peppers (DB for Carolina), a speculation that has been going on for quite a while and started last off-season. Trading deadline is today at 4pm.

Let's give them credit: they were not boring in the past few days.

Also, I am unbelievably grateful to be able to retire the 'Joey Galloway' tag. I had such high hopes. Just goes to show that not everyone can be fit into the Belichick system and win, you need quality players to execute on this level.

Probably the stupidest column I have ever read

Finally, someone has topped the idiocy of the 'good vs. evil = Colts vs. Pats' column from 2007.

Apparently, Randy Moss didn't put any effort into Sunday's game.

Really? Because he looked pretty good to me. Made a few good plays, caught a few necessary balls, at no time put his feet out of the end zone, thus nullifying the play.

I feel like the reporter, Mike Freeman, meant to write 'Joey Galloway,' then erred.

Dramatic ending for Vikes and a what if?

The Vikings won today on an extremely dramatic pass to the end zone from Favre. It was a long one. It was one of those ones you assume will get intercepted when you see Favre throwing it. Yet it wasn't, and Greg Lewis came up with it (if that name sounds familiar, the reason will be clear soon enough), barely managing to keep his feet in bounds and winning the game for the Vikings. It was exciting. Trust me. Rusty Old Man looked like he was going to need a nap immediately following.

Meanwhile, over in Foxborough, the Patriots came up with a great drive in the first quarter only to get it to the end zone, then have the touchdown nullified because Joey Galloway couldn't keep his feet in bounds on what seemed like a pretty routine play.

Greg Lewis is the WR the Patriots cut prior to the start of the season in favor of Galloway.

I shall say no more on this matter. Although I think that Galloway pretty much lost Tom Brady's trust today with some genuinely bad plays on what should have been easy completions. Tom seemed kind of upset (especially with a classic moment, shown in slow motion, where he yelled 'HOW F–––ING HARD IS THAT?!?' right at him after a particularly frustrating play).

Fabulously structured sentence

Reiss no longer writing for the Boston Globe (he's with ESPN Boston where he maintains a Patriots blog), so this is from 'Extra Points,' which is the Globe replacement. This quote comes from an article today about Tom Brady addressing the media. The way this sentence is structured cleverly reveals the writer's point of view:

'Brady didn't throw Galloway, who has been targeted 14 times in two games and only had five receptions, under the bus.'

Ha ha ha ha. Not quite as good as Mr. Cowboy Hater earlier this week. But still good.

Was Greg Lewis really that bad?

I'm wondering now about just how bad Greg Lewis was, the guy we got from the Eagles who was cut during training camp. He was a WR. What is he up to these days? Would he like to come back? Was he really that bad?

I am so annoyed with Galloway right now!

Loss to the Jets

Okay, but at least we can feel slightly better that we did not lose to Mangini's Jets on the same play that they had been running all game (which is how we lost to them last year).

This year, they put up a good battle and eventually won it. The final score was 16-9, so we were within a TD. I'm concerned that, like last year, we're having problems completing once we get into the red zone. If we had scored three TDs instead of three FGs...well, speculation gets us nowhere, really.

I feel like in a way, there is positive here. We saw our weaknesses. That is good. I'd rather see them in Week 2 than in Week 10, when we can't change much. The defense was very good in the first half (mind you, the Jets got smarter in the second half and decided maybe they should, you know, try letting their QB throw). We'll be better in our next match-up because there will be tape of this Jets team that our coaches can study. Things are still a bit rusty, but I feel like we have potential. It would be great if we started living up to that soon.

Wes Welker was out with a knee injury, BOO! I thought that his replacement, Edelman, did pretty well. Not Wes Welker well, but let's be reasonable.

PS - Dear Joey Galloway, PLEASE CATCH THE DAMNED BALL!!!

An Open Letter to Joey Galloway

Dear Joey Galloway,

Please hold onto the ball.

(Dropping easy passes...maybe you could get away with that in Tampa Bay because the games didn't matter but you're on the Patriots now...have a fun season because it's going to be your last at this rate).

PS - Galloway is #13.

Wide receiver paradise

The Patriots have signed Joey Galloway from Tampa Bay. That means that we have, like, the greatest WR combinations ever: Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Greg Lewis, and Joey Galloway. Provided everyone stays healthy, our offense should be utterly and completely ridiculous.

Not to mention that we will have Tom Freaking Brady throwing the ball.

*drooling already*