Final grades in Patriots win …
Oct 5th, 2008 by Bill Burt
I want you all to understand that this in no way takes away from the Patriots effort and win. Mike Carey’s officiating crew absolutely is intimidated by Bill Belichick. It wasn’t the difference by a longshot, but it’s a nice luxury.
Here are my final grades for the victory:
Offense
Line (B): They’re not exactly paving the way, but all these screens and draws and improvisation have them looking quite pretty. Solid, solid work.
Backs (B+): Kevin Faulk’s A+ carries an awful lot of weight here. Maroney’s F is lessened by some decent work from Morris or Jordan.
Receivers (A) Moss and Welker performed like Moss and Welker. Gaffney was superb. Ben Watson and Dave Thomas were there in spirit only.
Quarterbacks (B): For the 15th-rated QB in the NFL, a TD, two picks and five sacks taken isn’t a bad day when you put up 27 points.
Defense
Line (B): Once the emotion was sucked out of the Niners, this unit took charge.
Linebackers (B): New England’s best defense was its offense. The backers did little wrong, and Adalius Thomas actually made a couple impact plays late.
Secondary (C): A C+ took a demerit when Deltha O’Neal picked off JT O’sullivan’s late fourth-down fling, instead of just knocking it down like any high schooler would do.
Coaching (A): Any team with Mike Martz will never beat any team with Bill Belichick. NE wins this battle easily, once again.
