1. I have to take a moment and pay respect to Al Davis. The legendary Oakland Raiders owner passed away on Saturday. Born in Brockton, MA, the rebel and leader of the Silver and Black was a steward of the AFL and helped form the modern day NFL. The Patriots held a moment of silence before the game to honor Davis. The league lost an icon.
2. RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis pounded away all afternoon for a career-best 136 yards and two touchdowns. He bested his previous career high by 24 yards, set last year against Minnesota. It is Green-Ellis’ third career 100-yard game.
3. Brady’s streak of games with at least two touchdown passes came to an end when a pass went through TE Aaron Hernandez’s hands and into CB Antonio Cromartie’s waiting palms. I heard one analyst say it was Brady’s first red zone interception of his career. Maybe he meant regular season red zone interception because I recall a playoff pick in 2005 to Denver. It was memorable not because CB Champ Bailey nearly went goal line to goal line on the return, but for TE Benjamin Watson chasing Bailey down and knocking Bailey out of bounds. Sorry for bringing up a bad memory, but...
4. Best stoppage of play: New York Jets OT D’Brickashaw Ferguson’s heel got stuck in a Patriots helmet facemask. How it happened is beyond me, but it was lighthearted moment during an intense game.
5. After goose eggs the past two weeks, New England’s pass rush made a brief appearance. They sacked Jets QB Mark Sanchez twice on the afternoon, raising the season total up to eight in five games.
6. Before the game the Boston Bruins were on the field with the Stanley Cup and were saluted by the Gillette Stadium crowd. The contents of a Gatorade bottle were emptied onto the Flying Elvis logo. That goes back to game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals when Nathan Horton poured water from the TD Garden ice onto the Rogers Arena surface before the game. The Bruins won that game, and the Patriots won yesterday. The Bruins are weeks too late to save the Red Sox.
Extra Point: The Patriots looked great in their vintage 1985 Pat Patriot uniform. That, along with the Jets in their updated vintage threads made me wish this game was played on a muddy natural grass field.
Question? Comments? Send to talktome@randolphc.com.
Keywords: Al Davis, Antonio Cromartie, Benjamin Watson, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Boston Bruins, Champ Bailey, D.Brickashawk Ferguson, Denver Broncos, Mark Sanchez, Nathan Horton, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Pat Patriot, Stanley Cup, Stanley Cup Finals, Tom Brady Aaron Hernandez
