It's hard to know who to blame more for the embarrassment that took place on the previously unconquered field turf of Gilette Stadium Sunday.
Matt Cassel was lackluster to say the least, losing a fumble and throwing what should've been two interceptions had the Dolphins' Channing Crowder not driven him into the ground, drawing a penalty that negated a second pick.
The scoring drives that the Pats did manage to put together were aided by timely penalty calls, excellent special teams play (see Ellis Hobbs) and lucky catches (see Wes Welker). Not once did the the offense show any kind of rhythm or confidence.
On Sunday, Cassel was who we thought he was. He completed 19 of 31 passes but nearly all of them were for short gains, leaving the Pats Offense with 15 third downs. They only converted 4 of them.
Many of Cassel's throws appeared off target and he took a fair number of hits from the Dolphins Defense that put their money where their mouths were.
Perhaps even worse was the defense. We knew coming in that the D had to shut down Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams and that's exactly what they didn't do. Brown rushed for four TDs and both combined for over 200 yards on the ground.
The Patriots D was fooled multiple times on the same trick formation that featured Chad Pennington lined up at wide receiver. You'd think the Pats would've adjusted at half time but almost every play Miami ran from the formation went for a big gain, including a 62-yard touchdown scamper by Ronnie Brown.
There hasn't been a loss this ugly since 2005's 41-17 loss to the San Diego Chargers.
While the smell of it will linger for the next two weeks, it's clear that the Patriots need this time to regroup and put together a plan going forward with Matt Cassel. Or someone else, though it's still probably too early for that talk.
You can be sure that Josh McDaniels and Bill Belichick will spend much of the bye week figuring out a way to move the ball with Cassel. Clearly short passes and an inconsistent run game are not going to get it done.
Luckily there's not an elite NFL team waiting for the Pats after the bye week. The 49ers will still prove to be a challenge, but not one that cannot be overcome if the New England defense shows up to play.
For those Pats fans under the delusion after last week's victory over the Jets, that the train would just keep on chugging no matter who was playing Quarterback, welcome to the Matt Cassel Era. Every game will be a battle.
At least we got the 16-0 talk out of the way early.
Keywords: New england Patriots Miami Dolphins Bill Belichick
