No taking offense with title defense
The football team trudges on, one cleat in front of another, one opponent after the next. Yesterday is of no consequence, and tomorrow is irrelevant. It is today, here and now, that matters. So goes the mantra of the New England Patriots.
But wait. Hold on just a minute.
It may be in coach Bill Belichick's best interest to move on, but those of us who are not under his authoritative thumb have the luxury of lingering a little longer alongside the highlight reel. Let's not dismiss what transpired last Sunday in St. Louis so quickly.
It starts this way. New England is ahead, 6-0, in the first quarter, but the lead has that tenuous feel to it. The Patriots are coming off their first loss in 13 months, and they are banged up. The offensive line is propped up with Band-Aids and Scotch tape. The secondary, riddled by the losses of Ty Law and Tyrone Poole, then depleted further by the temporary derailment of Asante Samuel, is tied together by a strand of thread -- and a receiver converted into a cornerback.
The Franchise, Tom Brady, drops back to pass from his 6-yard line, and he is under pressure. He is standing in the end zone, and he knows he has to get rid of the football, but as he cocks his arm to pass, Rams defensive tackle Damione Lewis knocks the ball free. It is a fumble, and a touchdown for the Rams.
It is the kind of play the Patriots usually cause. It is not the kind of play that happens to them.
The defending Super Bowl champions look momentarily stunned. Confused, even. Mortal, for sure.
"It was a critical part of the game," Brady acknowledged. "But what we have on our side is we don't let one bad play affect us."
It is more than that. What the Patriots have on their side is experience, poise, preparation beyond reproach, and a resolve that has set them apart. It wasn't just that they ended up punishing the Rams, 40-22. It was how they did it.
Linebacker Mike Vrabel has good hands. Conventional wisdom says that's all well and fine, but his job is to stop touchdowns, not score them. Patriots wisdom says Vrabel is quick enough and smart enough and skilled enough to catch a pass in the end zone (see Super Bowl XXXVIII).
And so he does -- quite acrobatically, in fact.
Adam Vinatieri is a money player. He has worked extremely hard to become a legitimate part of this football team, not just a flaky kicker-for-hire, like some of his contemporaries. So that means he should be a quarterback?
"I played a little high school quarterback back in the day," Vinatieri revealed yesterday. "We ran the ball a lot more than we threw it."
Conventional wisdom says having a kicker attempting to throw a touchdown pass is far too risky. Patriots wisdom says that kind of play plunges a dagger into almost any team if it succeeds.
Which it did. Vinatieri's 4-yard toss to a wide-open Troy Brown off a fake field goal was the ultimate football face job, like Michael Jordan jamming on your head, or Barry Bonds whacking your best fastball out of the park for a grand slam.
These individual plays have no importance when discussing Sunday's game with Buffalo. It is highly unlikely you will see Vrabel or Vinatieri reprise their roles this week, or the rest of the way, for that matter. Yet the knowledge that such "trickery," in Vinatieri's words, could work so flawlessly again and again proves the calls are not gimmicks. They are planned football plays. In other words, they are wrinkles that make sense -- unlike, for instance, Brady playing linebacker.
"We're all in trouble if I'm playing defense," said the quarterback. "I can't guard anybody out there."
Brady confessed yesterday that the 2004 season has been, at times, "a bit of a struggle," but those "struggles" have produced a 7-1 record, which matches Pittsburgh and Philadelphia for the best mark in the league. Last time New England was the defending Super Bowl champion, the struggles buried the Patriots and kept them from having the chance to defend their title.
They have learned from that season, which is why they were not just giving lip service yesterday in expressing concern about the Bills. Buffalo submitted its best outing last Sunday in upending the Jets. It starts with the Bills' defense, which likes to blitz and won't alter that game plan just because it's Brady in the pocket. It continues with an offense that is showing new signs of life featuring young running back Willis McGahee, who burned the Jets for 132 yards rushing, and has led his team to a 3-1 record since being inserted into the starting lineup.
That's why the win over the Rams four days ago, which Belichick hailed "probably as much of a team victory as anything I've ever been around," is officially in the rearview mirror.
Last Sunday at St. Louis has nothing to do with Buffalo this Sunday. True. But it also has everything to do with it. The offensive line is still beat up. The secondary still has gaping holes. Brown might still play cornerback. Brady still won't play linebacker.
And New England can say with confidence: Who cares?
Jackie MacMullan is a Globe columnist. Her e-mail address is macmullan@globe.com.
