NFL Week 5 -- New England 30, San Francisco 21

This season for the New England Patriots has never felt quite right. Whether it be the hangover from Super Bowl XLII, Tom Brady’s preseason injury woes, or the actual season-ending hit that put him down during the first quarter of Week 1, something has been a little off.

As I sat in the living room waiting for the weekly football crowd to arrive, my dear mother asked me a question that appeared naïve at first. After a few minutes, I realized it wasn’t so obscure.

“You and the guys are watching the Patriots today, right?”
“Yeah?”
“Does Randy Moss still play for them?”
“Of course…why wouldn’t he?”
“I haven’t heard anyone mention his name in awhile.”

Thus is a summary of New England’s 2008 campaign. Without Brady, the ship isn’t sailing as smoothly. Yet somehow they’ve managed to scrape together a 3-1 record after yesterday’s victory in San Francisco over a hungry 49ers team.

It started out how most expected it to – badly. This is a new feeling for Patriot fans. We’re used to our club getting out to a three or four touchdown lead…in the first quarter alone. But with the reigning NFL MVP riding the sideline for the season, it seems as if our franchise has been set back ten years. San Francisco hopped all over now-starting-quarterback Matt Cassel and bullied their way to a 14-7 lead. The Patriots’ seven points, by the way, came on a stellar – yet desperate – 66-yard chuck from Cassel to Moss. It was the longest completion of Cassel’s professional career.

After trailing by seven, the tide – somehow – seemed to turn. The Patriots seemed like the champions of old, and they got back to doing what made them famous (or infamous, depending on whom you ask). From that point on, they outscored the Niners 23-7. The Pats even revived a play from many years ago. On a 3rd-and-Goal, they ran a direct snap to RB Kevin Faulk that led them into the end zone. If you’ll open up your NFL history books to “Super Bowl XXXVIII,” you’ll see that they also ran the direct snap to Faulk for a successful fourth-quarter two-point conversion against Carolina. Yes, I remembered that off the top of my head.

This week’s win leaves me feeling both optimistic and cautious. While I want so badly to believe that Cassel could “manage the game” like he did yesterday, there sits an underlying tone of anxiety that leads me to expect his eventual downfall. In other words, the success isn’t fooling me. I’m waiting for him to implode. Next week will be his greatest test to date as the Patriots travel down the Pacific coast to San Diego to meet the Chargers. Cassel will hope to catch lightning in a bottle.

Posted by Dan Zappulla, VendorBall Columnist.