The New England Patriots dropped a key game against a division rival last week, succumbing 34-31 in overtime to the New York Jets.  Although the loss drops the Patriots back into third place in the division (tied with Miami), the season is not lost.  Here are some things we learned.

With Thomas Out, Pats Still Have Players at LB

We said that losing Adalius Thomas would have, or at least could have, a huge impact on what New England can do with their linebacker unit.  With the Patriots relying more on a quicker defense to stop the Jets, it became obvious late in the game that no pressure on Bett Favre allowed him to scramble long enough to find the open man.  Jerod Mayo, Gary Guyton, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel and Pierre Woods all contributed for New England’s linebacker unit, but none have the size and speed Thomas used to bull his way past blockers. 

In Thomas’ role, Woods finished with 10 tackles (6 solo) and 2 tackles for a loss, a quarterback hurry and a sack. Not a bad showing for his first serious action of the season. In the middle, Jerod Mayo was a monster. Mayo had a game high 20 tackles (16 solo), two tackles for a loss and a pass defended.  Bruschi saw a bit more action, recording 10 tackles, while Vrabel and Guyton were on the field, but didn’t show up well in the stats column.

The New England Patriots turned in an impressive outing against the New York Jets last night at Gillette Stadium.  Had the Pats not put themselves in a hole early, New England — not New York — would sit alone atop the AFC East standings.

One very clear lesson was learned by New England last night.  Never giving up means that the Patriots - even without Tom Brady — can come back late in a game against a good opponent to compete to the very end.  Plenty will be written about this contest, but the top story is Matt Cassel can play.  He had the game of his life last night, but even that wasn’t enough to secure a victory in overtime as New England fell 31 to 34 when Jets kicker Jay Feely booted the game winner in OT.

Here are some notes on the game from the team’s media relations department:

PATRIOTS HAVE MOST TOTAL NET YARDS IN A GAME SINCE 1979
The Patriots gained 511 total net yards against the Jets (386 passing, 125 rushing), marking the franchise’s highest offensive output since gaining a franchise-record 597 total net yards on Sept. 9, 1979 against the Jets. New England’s 511 total net yards stand as the fourth-highest single-game total in team history. Last season, the Patriots’ season high was 510 total net yards at Buffalo on Nov. 18, 2007.

CASSEL IS FIRST PLAYER SINCE 1970 AFL-NFL MERGER TO TOTAL AT LEAST 400 PASSING YARDS AND AT LEAST 60 RUSHING YARDS IN A GAME

The New England Patriots used the balanced attack of two first-year NFL starters, Matt Cassel and BenJarvus Green-Ellis, to knock off the Buffalo Bills Sunday in Foxboro. New England won the AFC East battle 20-10 to improve to 6-3 on the season and retain a share of the division lead with the New York Jets who also won on Sunday. 

Here are some notes from the game courtesy Patriots media relations:

WELKER SETS NFL RECORD WITH NINTH STRAIGHT GAME WITH 6+ CATCHES TO BEGIN SEASON
On a 12-yard reception in the third quarter - his sixth catch of the day - Wes Welker became the first player in NFL history to have six or more receptions in each of the first nine games of a season. Welker topped the previous league record of eight games, achieved by Jacksonville’s Jimmy Smith in 2001. Dating back to last season (and including the playoffs), Welker has had six or more receptions in 13 straight games. The NFL record for most consecutive games with six or more receptions is 16, achieved by Marvin Harrison of the Colts from 2002-03.

Thursday Night Football Tonight

The Cleveland Browns play the Denver Broncos
Cleveland Browns Stadium
Cleveland Ohio

So I know a couple of Browns fans that think that the move to Brady Quinn will save the franchise.  Here’s one reason why they’re not alone.

The Browns are at 3-5, and have a severely underperformed based upon preseason predictions (mine included).  They lost in horrible fashion against their most hated rivals (The Baltimore Carpetbaggers), and they had no hope headed into the second half of the season.

Why bring this up?

If you would have asked Patriots fans if they wanted to trade places with Browns fans after Tom Brady went down with an injury and the Miami Dolphins blew them out of the water in week 3, I bet you would have had a lot of takers.  Panic had set in with Pats fans, because Brady’s replacement, Matt Cassel, was hardly looking like he could survive the season, let alone thrive in it.

Browns fans entered the season coming off a 10-6 record, they had a Pro Bowl quarterback, an amazingly talented wide receiver, an all-world tight end a top tier offensive line and a running back with the power of a Mack truck. Yet, they continued to see horrible meltdowns like the one on Sunday.  

What to Watch

Patriots Running Game vs Colts Front Seven

New England will be without Sammy Morris and LaMont Jordan for this game and will need to rely on just Kevin Faulk, Heath Evans and rookie BenJarvus Green-Ellis to carry the load.  The Colts have one of the worst run defenses in the league (26th) giving up 144.1 yards per game.  If the Patriots can piggyback on their success last week against the Rams, then it will help to offset the pressure on Matt Cassel.  Indianapolis certainly is aware of the situation and will do what’s necessary to make the Patriots one-dimensional, especially with a first year starter at quarterback.   Note: the Colts were able to limit the Undefeated Tennessee Titans to just 88 yards on the ground last week.  Tennessee entered the game with the 4th best rushing attack with 145 yards per game heading in.  New England has the 6th best rushing attack averaging 130.4 yards per game on average.

Patriots Offensive Line vs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis

This has been an issue for the Patriots even when they had Tom Brady under center.  With Brady’s ability to make adjustments and sidestep pressure, he mitigated the damage Freeney and Mathis could do.   If New England is to have a chance in the passing game against a Colts defense ranked 2nd overall against the pass, they will have to find a way to neutralize both defenders from crushing Matt Cassel like a fresh taco.

The New England Patriots came back from a 16-13 fourth quarter deficit to defeat the St. Louis Rams tonight 23-16.  It was an all around victory for New England who improve to 5-2 to claim a share of the lead in the AFC east.  The Rams fall to 2-5 on the year.

Patriots vs. Rams - October 26, 2008

PATRIOTS TURN IN FRANCHISE’S FIRST PENALTY-FREE PERFORMANCE
The Patriots were not flagged for any accepted penalties against St. Louis, marking the first penalty-free game in the franchise’s 731-game history. The Patriots have been called for just one penalty in a game on 13 occasions, most recently on Sept. 10, 2006 against Buffalo. New England’s penalty-free performance was the first in the NFL this season and the first for an NFL team since Seattle was not flagged for any accepted infractions against Baltimore on Dec. 23, 2007. The Patriots’ penalty-free game was the 50th such performance by an NFL team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

PATRIOTS ARE 5-2 OR BETTER THROUGH SEVEN GAMES FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR
The Patriots have begun the 2008 season tied for first place in their division with a 5-2 record and are the only AFC team to start each of the last three seasons by winning at least five of their first seven games. New England joins the New York Giants as the only two NFL teams to achieve the feat in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The Patriots have begun the season with at least five wins in their first seven games for the fifth time in the last six seasons.

The New England Patriots demolished the Denver Broncos 41-7 on Monday Night Football at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro last night.  New England improves to 4-2 on the year, while Denver drops to 4-3.

Here are some game notes from the Patriots Media Relations Staff:

FOUR OUT OF SIX TO START THE SEASON
The Patriots have begun the season with a 4-2 record, marking the third straight season that they have won at least four of their first six games. The Patriots are the only AFC team to start each of the last three seasons with a six-game record of 4-2 or better (the Patriots started 6-0 in 2007 and 5-1 in 2006). New England joins the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers as the only NFL teams to start with four or more wins in their first six games in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

PATRIOTS RUSHING TOTAL TIES MOST IN A SINGLE GAME SINCE 1985
As a team, the Patriots ran for 257 yards on 38 carries (6.8 avg.), tying the team’s highest single-game rushing total since Dec. 22, 1985, when the Patriots posted 281 yards on 46 carries (6.1 avg.) against the Cincinnati Bengals. New England rushing total against Denver matched their Dec. 26, 1993 total of 257 yards (on 58 carries) against Indianapolis as the highest since that 1985 game. Against Denver, Sammy Morris led the way with a career-high 138 rushing yards, while rookie BenJarvus Green-Ellis added 65 yards on 13 carries, Kevin Faulk picked up 50 yards on four carries, Heath Evans had three yards on one carry and Matt Cassel has one yard on four carries, including three game-ending kneeldowns.

The New England Patriots defeated the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park 30-21 on Sunday. Here is  a look back at our What To Watch key points.

Key Review

Cassel to Moss is Inevitable
I said it was going to happen, and sure enough the team made it so on Sunday.  Randy Moss has beaten the coverage deep in the past few games, but Matt Cassel either wasn’t looking for Moss or didn’t’ have time to find him.  This week the play calling allowed for more opportunities to throw the ball deep and the pair connected on 5 passes for 11 yards and 1 touchdown

Patriots Front Seven vs JT O’Sullivan
The Patriots front seven managed to pressure JT O’Sullivan by mixing up the defensive alignments.  Not only did they throw in an occasional 4-3 look, the team used 1, 2, or even just 3 defensive linemen along the line of scrimmage filling in the rest of the front seven with additional linebackers and defensive backs. O’Sullivan was pressured through most of the game having to scramble 6 times with just one sack. 

Turnovers
The Patriots won the turnover battle, beginning with Brandon Meriweather’s interception of an O’Sullivan pass down on the Patriots 6.  New England added two more interceptions, while Matt Cassel gave up a pair of his own.  Cassel’s first pick came when he was hit while throwing.  The second was a deep pass intended for Randy Moss.  Both teams blew opportunities to score with the turnovers, though New Englnad’s final interception sealed any chance of a 49er comeback.

Randy Moss warms up before the Baltimore Ravens game August 7, 2008 (Jim Rogash/Getty Images) " class="imgcaption" src="http://newengland.comcastsportsnet.com/wp-content/image/wgs/scott/games/randy-moss-ravens-82210513-600.jpg" />

Randy Moss spoke to the media Friday for the first time since re-joining the team in March. In certain discussions among members of the press, the question of whether Moss would ever speak before the start of the regular season continued into the second week of the preseason before Moss opted to break his silence.

The last time Moss spoke was during the 2007 season. Since then he has become a free agent, re-signed with the team, started an autobiography book venture, purchased an interested in his own NASCAR team, launched a new apparel deal with Pony and attended a number of charitable events.

Yes, he’s busy, but he could have let us know about things before now, don’t you think?

Here are three quick questions with Randy from Friday:

Q: What made you decide to re-sign with the New England Patriots?

RM: First and foremost, we have some unfinished business. I like the camaraderie around here, especially in the locker room and on the field. They have a great group of guys in the locker room. I think that is all you can ask for. Coach [Bill] Belichick understands football and understands his players. He puts us together as one and we come together as a team. That is something you can respect playing in this profession and in this league.

Q: As much success as the offense had last year, how excited are you to get back on the field?

Randy Moss #81 of the New England Patriots celebrates with teammates after catching a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium December 3, 2007 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) " src="http://newengland.comcastsportsnet.com/wp-content/image/wgs/scott/prior-years/78237163-moss-ravens-600.jpg" class="imgcaption" />

Patriots – Ravens Preview

Thursday night the New England Patriots host the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

Reliving the Great Escape

The last time these two teams met was in during the regular season last year on December 3, 2007. The Patriots needed a miraculous comeback to overcome a 24-17 fourth quarter deficit/ A key interception by James Sanders coupled with two critical drives orchestrated by Tom Brady, the first to cut the lead to 24-20, and the final last gasp drive to secure the victory on a Brady to Gaffney touchdown.

Ravens players, and their fans, haven’t forgotten the game. While this is just a preseason contest, and the debut of Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, there’s plenty of bad blood between the franchises – specifically between Ray Lewis and former Raven Adalius Thomas who called out Lewis for being selfish. From here, Thomas was right, I’ve had to endure Lewis’ me first persona covering the AFC North and to be honest, it gets old quickly. He’s a great linebacker, but really has issues when the defensive line doesn’t keep blockers off him.

Historical Trends

New England has owned the series 4-0

10/06/96 Patriots 46-38 @ Baltimore
01/02/00 Patriots 20-3 @ Foxboro
11/28/04 Patriots 24-3 @ Foxboro
12/03/07 Patriots 27-24 @ Baltimore

Before 1996, the Ravens didn’t exist. The former team, the Cleveland Browns, kept the historical records and team colors in Cleveland.

Mohegan Sun’s Sports Tonight wants you to decide the verdict of this "Wicked Good Argument". Tune-in at 6:30 and 10pm weeknights to see Gary Tanguay, Michael Felger, and our guests opinions on the argument below.

In this edition, we debate which part of the following duos is more important to the success of the pairing. Cast your vote below. If you’ve got more to say, leave us a comment at the bottom of the page.

1.)    Randy Moss (WR) – New England Patriots
All I can say about Moss is that he’s the best wide receiver that I’ve ever seen in my entire life. During his record-setting 23-touchdown 2007 campaign, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound slinky more than doubled his touchdown total (11) from his two seasons with the lowly Oakland Raiders. He also registered two or more touchdown catches in eight games and notched seven or more receptions in six contests. Moss is an anomaly, a king amongst peasants, his game is superior and his skill set is supernatural. Although, I expect some serious adjustments on the part of opposing defenses, don’t be surprised if you see 90 catches for 1,300-plus yards and 20 touchdowns from the 31-year-old future Hall of Famer.
 
2.)    Terrell Owens (WR) – Dallas Cowboys
We saw a brighter side of the enigma that is Owens when he lent a helping hand to ESPN’s Page 2 scribe Sam Alipour who was hit by a car after ESPN’s ESPY Awards Show. Is Owens a different man? We shall see, at least we know he’ll shed a tear for quarterback Tony Romo when needed. At 34, it seems that Owens gets better with age. In 15 games last season, he caught 81 passes for 1,355 yards (a career-high 16.7 yards per catch) and 15 touchdowns. He recorded 125 or more receiving yards in five contests and caught seven or more passes on five occasions as well. Owens’ connection with Romo is what people base novels on, well maybe not, but you get my drift. Expect Owens to put up another big season in Dallas with at least 12-15 touchdown grabs for his gleefully grinning fantasy owners to chew on.

Dan Koppen leads the offensive line as they deal with injuries (Getty Images)

10 Observations From Camp

The second day of training camp for the Patriots went much better than the first – at least in terms of weather conditions. Practice was held on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium under a bright sun and a light breeze. For the first time this year, fans were able to see the team practice, and they made the most of it, cheering loudly when players made a good catch, or a solid hit. The atmosphere was electric for most of the fans.

Here are 10 quick observations from the first two days of practice:

Belichick’s Season Has Already Started
Bill Belichick isn’t one to lose his thoughts at the start of training camp due to excitement. For the Patriots head coach football season doesn’t begin in July, it starts shortly after the Super Bowl. Though most fans feel that training camp is the start of the season, Belichick explained that the tam breaks down the roster shortly after the end of the previous season. For Belichick, the work is never truly done. Maybe that’s why the Patriots have been so successful for so long.

Former Patriots Tight End Christian Fauria joins Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh in this installment of "Camp Checklist" on Comcast SportsNet to discuss Randy Moss’ second season with the New England Patriots. Moss is coming of a historic first season with Tom Brady, catching 98 balls and scoring 23 touchdown’s.