Week 5-Decisive Victory

The 49ers came out strong at the start of the game, forcing Matt Cassel to throw an interception on the Patriots third play of their opening drive. But, the Patriots responded by picking off 49ers quarterback, J. T. O'Sullivan on their first play.

It seemed equal in the early stretch, with the 49ers puting up the first touchdown, then a Patriots touchdown, and then another 49er touchdown. Both teams were playing fairly well, and it seemed like the defenses were playing rather loose and unagressive. But, with the Patriots trailing, 14-7, the defense and offensive came alive. They started quickly by marching downfield with wide reciever, Wes Welker, and using a rotation of 4 running backs. They nailed a field goal, cuting the lead to 4. Shortly after a defensive interception, they flew downfield again, this time Randy Moss, being the key component, catching several deep passes on the way, to set up a Kevin Faulk rushing touchdown. The defense continued to play strong, stopping the 49ers, and their star running back, Frank Gore(Who led the NFL in rushing yards before this game). Kevin Faulk continued to help the Pats, moving them downfield again, and recieving a direct snap on 4rth down to achieve a 2nd rushing touchdown for the game.

Watching the Patriots lately, without Tom Brady, I am seeing a similiar aproach that Belichick used in his earlier years with the Patriots. The running game is a bigger factor for us, as it takes more pressure of Matt Cassel, and our defense is the key component to winning our games. Last year, we were an offensive machine, leading in every catagory, while our defense, while good, was slugging behind. Part of which, is our playmakers on defense are getting older, and we didn't have much youth in the linebacking corps.

This year, however, our defense has showed a second wind, and with some new faces put in through the NFL draft, is looking strong again, as it did when we won our 3 Super Bowls.

Matt Cassel did get away with throwing 2 interceptions yesterday, but on one of them, he was hit when he threw the ball, resulting in an easy interception for the 49er defense, and the other on a deep ball down the field to Randy Moss. Otherwise, he looked poised and comfortable, especially after coming off that painfull loss a couple weeks ago against the Dolphins.

But,It was immensly refreshing to see Cassel throw an accurate and deep pass to Randy Moss early in the game yesterday. Hopefully, that can become a usual way of attack for the Pats as the season goes on.
With the Patriots improving to 3-1 and the Buffalo Bills taking their first loss this week, falling to 4-1, the division lead would seem to be up for grabs. The Bills enter their bye week this week, while the Patriots have a chance to tie for the division with a victory over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. The Chargers just took a close loss to the Dolphins this week, and are more than likely going to come out strong against the Patriots in hopes of getting back to the playoff-bound team they were a year ago. But, the Pats have had the Chargers number the past couple of years, and after a comforting victory this week, may play farly well against them. This will be the first playoff team from last year that the Pats play this season, and I definitely hope they have what it takes to come home from the West Coast at a comfortable 4-1. Go Pats!