Sports Redux: Signs Of Life

Someday, we're going to know what exactly we're supposed to expect out of the 2009 New England Patriots.

They're obviously not the same team that steamrolled almost everybody two years ago. And they're not horrible. But there's a huge gap in between those two extremes, and we've seen the lower end as they struggled just to beat Buffalo and lose to the Jets. Yesterday was better - much better - but is it their best? Are they going to be able to shift it into the next gear? Do they have a next gear?

There's nothing to legitimately complain about from yesterday's 26-10 slow suffocation of the Atlanta Falcons. Tom Brady was still a little more off-target than we like (we may, though, have to send out for an order of Fred Biletnikoff's Stickum for some of the receivers), but the running game was livelier than it's been in a while, and the defense kept Atlanta frustrated and head coach Steve Martin Mike Smith cranky on the sidelines.

In sloppy conditions at Gillette, the Pats had to trust their running game to do more of the work than they'd done in the first two games. And Fred Taylor delivered, rushing 21 times for 105 yards. "He’s really shifty," praised Brady, "so even when there’s not a lot of room in there he makes yards whenever we give him the ball." But still, a few long marches down the field stalled and the Pats had to settle for field goals. Brady finally connected, from outside the red zone, and hit Chris Baker for a backbreaking 36-yard TD with 7:47 to go.

Meanwhile, the defense kept young BC star Matt Ryan flummoxed all day; his favorite target, tight end Tony Gonzalez, only caught one pass. "The plan was for him to not have any catches and he had one, so obviously the plan failed," said safety Brandon McGowan, which is the kind of old-school Patriots talk we like to hear. The Pats kept Atlanta 2-for-9 on third downs, and kept the ball for 14:43 of the final fifteen minutes (by our unofficial count). Atlanta GM Thomas Dimitroff: "I knew — I knew — that [the Patriots get] agitated when it’s suggested they’re losing something." In that spirit, we'll suggest that the boys are in for a load of trouble with the 3-0 Ravens coming to town next week.

In other NFL news, the Detroit Lions are 1-2, which doesn't seem that great unless you remember they were 0-16 last year. Washington, on the losing end, at least got the headline of the year out of it. The Jets won and still lead the AFC East, and are one of seven undefeated teams left.

The Red Sox completed a miserable weekend in New York by blowing a 2-0 lead and losing 4-2 to the Yankees to complete the sweep and allow the Yanks to celebrate clinching the AL East right in front of them. The Sox have seven games left to try to finally officially sew up that wild card spot; they'll start tonight with Beckett going against the Blue Jays.