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October 19: at Miami
Dolphins
Physically and Mentally Tough Team Overcomes Adversity
New England Patriots 19 - Miami Dolphins 13
For the 2003 New England Patriots there is no longer a
belief in excuses. On September 7 they went into the game with
their heads seemingly hanging and a pre-made excuse for a loss in the
game and perhaps much of the season. They did nothing to dislodge
such a notion and were embarrassed in what has proven to be an aberration.
Since that time the Patriots have endured more injuries than any year
prior and many key individuals were impacted. The role players
have stepped to the fore-front and performed admirably within the
systems. Those systems are by and large well suited for the
strengths and liabilities of these players yet more notably is their
ability to rise to this challenge.
So facing their annual visit to the land of humidity,
sweltering hear and 13 consecutive losses (September and October) the
Patriots showed up to face a talented Dolphin team which had won 4
straight games and was playing tremendous defense. Nine predicted
starters for the Patriot defense alone were out of the game (counting
Milloy). Ultimately they would be beset by several highly
questionable calls and a few blatantly incorrect official decisions,
most notably a 31 yard 'completion' in which Thompson was out of bounds
illegally before the 'catch' and as he landed. Not only was
this missed but it was further exacerbated by the lack of a replay
official requesting it get a closer look. The Dolphins were gifted
Field Goal range and yet still the Patriots did not back down.
Their own attempt to win in regulation was derailed by a Grade F (not
Grady) play selection by Charlie Weiss who beLittled his team's chances
with horrific decisions in the final moments. Despite all the
varying forms of adversity thrust upon this team, they continuously put
forth full effort and sufficient talent to overcome the challenges and
capture first place in the AFC East.
The Defense continuously rose to the challenge with
disciplined and impressive performances from their top performers such
as Seymour and Bruschi to their under-appreciated yet equally deserving
workers such as Bobby Hamilton and Matt Chatham. The offense
received clutch plays even in it's unsteady battle against such a
talented defense. Troy Brown would be hard to miss in this notion
as would several key passes by Brady and a solid outing from Matt
Light. This entire team evaluation should also include the
surprisingly effective talent and effort of several young players:
Koppen, Samuels, Wilson and Givens amongst them.
The Patriots opted to run vastly man coverage which
enabled them to stack the line against Ricky Williams. This put
tremendous pressure on a secondary which also lacked Ty Law for the
first time this season. The plan put pressure on the linemen to
contain the outside edges, converge on the middle runs and put enough
pressure on Fiedler to allow the man to man a functioning chance.
It was nearly flawless. The first four possessions yielded drives
totaling 14 plays which is exceedingly efficient even before you add the
pair of turnovers retrieved. The next two possessions were scores
based vastly on the offense turning the ball over in their own end at
the 16 and 40 respectively. A pretty solid first half of defensive
work. In the second half they would allow more yards and first
downs but only a single field goal worth of points. They certainly
did have to pay a price for the strategy and it was in the form of Tight
End Randy McMichael finding 8 receptions for 102 yards. He was
able to attack Roman Phifer often without support and aided by some
great touch from Fiedler they worked those connections in the heart of
the field. In the red zone the Patriots defense tightened the
screws and won the battles. For their sixth consecutive game this
same defensive crew failed to allow a 100 yard rusher although Ricky
Williams came close with 94 yards on his 27 carries. It should be
noted 24 of those did come from the overtime frame which would otherwise
have held him to 70 yards. The heroes litter Ostend's
Award page in greater number than even the impressive injury reports
logged each week in Patriot Nation.
The offensive counterparts learned steadily the speed
and ability of the Dolphin run defense. They averaged barely 2
yards per carry and still managed to generate the offense needed to work
a victory. The unit relied on some fine play by Deion Branch to
keep pace through the game but it seemed they were just trying to avoid
mistakes when Brady and Faulk each managed a Fumble to aid their
opposition in achieving 10 points. Brady was sloppy on the
exchange during a Quarterback sneak attempt. Faulk fell victim in
the same fashion Dolphin receiver Chambers had to an official crew which
was a bit slow in blowing plays dead. While the Dolphin's pair of
turnovers was only cashed in for a single field goal, New England's had
put them in an early hole 10-3. An 11 play drive with four first
downs. It was extended by a close roughing the passer call but was
victimized when a Fauria Touchdown came off the board on an offensive
pass interference charged to Tackle eligible Ashworth.
The second half offense struggled on the first series
but powered their way to a tie after the Dolphins drove for a field
goal. The drive used 14 plays and 81 yards to march for their
touchdowns and was highlighted by a pair of plays critical to the
victory. On a third and 6 Tom Brady was being pulled to the ground
when he used pure arm strength to hit Deion Branch for an 11 yard
gain. Three plays later Brady found a great bit of pocket
protection as he stepped up to fire a line drive up the middle to David
Givens. Givens did a miraculous job of planting and lunging
forward amidst a pair of hits on the way to the game tying
touchdown. They would receive only three more possessions in
regulation and squandered the first two on a pair of 3 and out
performances. One of these involved an excellent play call by
Charlie Weiss in which a fake handoff, fake reverse deep ball to Branch
should have been 7 points if Brady had been just a bit more accurate
with his deep ball. Their last possession followed the blocked
punt by Richard Seymour and had all the promise of the Washington
Redskin finale without the risk of losing in regulation. Time
allowed 1:52 in the game but New England lacked even a single
time-out. A ten yard pass to Branch placed the Pats at the Miami
45 needing roughly 10 yards for a reasonable game winning attempt by
Adam Vinatieri. Allowing the clock to run a bit more than most
would counsel in this situation, the offense surprisingly opted for a 2
yard draw play which kept the clock running and fell well short of the
needed yards. Second down was a disastrous call by Weiss in which
he used a toss sweep to Faulk against a speedy Dolphin defense.
Terrell Buckley read the play all the way and came off his slot receiver
to make the tackle for a 7 yard loss which virtually guaranteed New
England would not have a chance to win. These were horrific calls
at a time when the game was New England's to win but perhaps in their
only redeeming value setup the eventual game winning play. It
would not be the next play as a short pass to Branch allowed time to
expire in regulation.
Special teams would have their moment of lime-light in
this game which notably began on the Dolphins final play of
regulation. Having driven 16 plays to the New England 17 on a
miraculous if dubious run by Ricky Williams allegedly not touching down,
Miami lined up for a seeming game winner. Richard Seymour had been
a significant star on defense and would match it on special teams during
a "Push Right Block" in which Tedy Bruschi moved back the
lineman to give Seymour the chance to leap his large frame and big hands
into the path of Olindo Mare's kick which was made from the dirt of a
baseball infield rather than the grass he would have most
preferred. In this the Dolphins had their first excuse which may
have to console them as New England's team refused to concede the kick,
the game or any such excuses. After a controversial coin toss
awarded the ball to Miami, New England chose to avoid the infield dirt
for their potential winning field goal. Miami was gifted a 31 yard
'reception' when Thompson went out of bounds before and during
his catch without the officials noting. Having taken place
directly in front of the Coaches who took a page from New England and
demanded a hurry up to thwart the booth calling for a replay. The
ploy succeeded and a demoralized defense yielded 26 more yards on the
ground to Williams setting up a 35 yard field goal from the NFL's second
most accurate field goal kicker in history. Set him up exactly in
the same location as the prior block complete with baseball infield
'dirt.' Mare was wide right, sufficiently safe from Richard
Seymour and sufficiently safe for the New England Patriots chance at
victory.
The game still was not quick to end as New England
almost gave Mare another immediate chance. Facing a 3rd and 8 from
midfield, Tom Brady was sacked for the first time on the
afternoon. Jason Taylor finally beat a resilient Patriot offensive
line and dropped Brady at the 40 yard line for a 10 yard loss. A
loss which included a fumble which fortunately for New England came with
a serendipitous bounce back into the arms of Tom Brady. Ken Walter
actually managed to better his 21 yard and his 27 yard misfires.
Despite then allowing another 17 yard completion to Randy McMichaels,
the defense stood resolved. Facing a 3rd and 12 Fiedler found
himself in the grasp of Tedy Bruschi on a blitz. He managed to
escape and roll out only to have Tyrone Pool intercept his pass and give
New England yet another offensive opportunity. This time there
would be no error. Brady faked a toss sweep to the right which
caused a slight reaction underneath perhaps in part because of the
foolish sweep at the end of regulation. He then pump-faked a slant
to Branch which pulled Brock Marion off his deep responsibilities.
It was a fatal error as Sammy Knight was in pursuit of Troy Brown into
Marion's zone. Brady had five seconds of stellar protection before
he threw the ball and might very well have had another dozen given the
seeming resolve of the Patriot Offensive Line. The ball sailed 54
yards perfectly into the hands of Troy Brown. He outraced the
safety duo for an 82 yard gain and New England victory.
A victory celebrated by an entire team of swarming
Patriots including a head coach who launched his headset into orbit. It
wasn't celebrated by the offense or the defense or even the special
teams. It was celebrated by a united group. This unified
team has much accomplishment for which they should be very proud.
Much as they have become a mentally and physically tough team, there's
also a touch of erudition. Their work is not even half way done
this year. If you want to continually overcome adversity you can
not dwell on the adversity. If you want to continually win games
you cannot overlong dwell on the past accomplishments. As the
Boston Herald derived: ``We got it done. Cool,'' said linebacker Tedy
Bruschi [news].
``Now let's move on.'' It seems very reasonable the Patriots will
move on with a character which will set the 2003 New England Patriots in
the position all teams desire by season's end: Champions.
Zip's Five Key Points of the Game:
1. Brown and Brady for 82 yards to end the game - Great O-line
work, Great Pocket movement, Great throw, great route, great catch,
great run after the catch, great win... get the picture? It was
excellent execution by the whole team for this play to work - fake toss
right, pump fake the pass and roll out a bit to step into the pass with
plenty of time and space. 2. Richard Seymour blocks the
4th quarter go ahead FG attempt. This likely was the mental block
of the Overtime Field Goal attempt as well.
3. Olindo Mare misses the Overtime Field Goal attempt - a
play which should never have come to pass as it was based on a 31 yard
'incomplete' gift from the officials.
4. At 4:00 of the 3rd quarter, Brady on 3rd down and 6
hits Branch for 11 yards while falling down under a tackle.
5. Givens makes a great 24 yard TD catch of a perfect
pass from Brady for the tying score.
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board!
See also: Ostend's Awards
and Modi's Doghouse
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