Something’s missing in New England
By Hunter Ansley on December 1, 2009 · Comment · 
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Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton talks on the sideline with head coach Josh McDaniels, who was hired away from the New England Patriots in January 2009.
For the five people who missed the New England Patriots’ visiting the Big Easy, the Saints won with ease. Surrealistic ease.
So anytime the New York Jets, and undefeated Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints would like to send a bouquet of daisies and a Hallmark thank you card to Pat Bowlen, I’m sure he’d be waiting.
When Josh McDaniels was hired back in January, a window opened in New England and its invincibility was whipped out on an autumn wind. If there’s ever been a clearer case of missing an offensive coordinator, I haven’t seen it, though no one seemed to notice at the time.
That’s not to take anything away from the Saints or Colts. Both are undefeated, and after Monday night’s shellacking the Saints are the undisputed top dogs in the NFL. But that wasn’t the New England offense we’ve all grown accustomed to groaning over outside of Boston. That was an incomplete puzzle that has the Spygate genius befuddled, bewildered and just plain beaten.
It’s an unprecedented phenomenon for the Patriots to lose a member of their organization and actually struggle in the wake.
Romeo Crennel left and nothing changed, other than the black hole that formed over Cleveland. Eric Mangini flirted with success in New York but was eventually sucked into the same vortex. Charlie Weis was fired Monday after failing to break .500 with one of the supposedly easiest schedules in Notre Dame history. Heck, even the players loosed by Bill Belichick have struggled sans Foxboro. Just ask Mangini, who has traded for more ex-Patriots than King George and Benedict Arnold, and has come up almost as empty-handed.
But through it all, the Patriots remained the vanguard of scintillating success in the NFL.
Until now.
New England’s season is far from over. It’s firmly in control of a weaker-than-expected division, but Monday night provided an eerie sneak peak of what may be to come for Tom Brady, Wes Welker and Randy Moss. Without McDaniels, they’re just not the same team.
They lost to a New York Jets squad that boasts an interception-hound rookie quarterback and a defense that was torched for more than 30 points by the Dolphins. Twice. The Patriots managed a meager nine points in their first meeting with Rex Ryan. Then the Pats hung 34 on the Colts and their rookie corners but couldn’t convert on a certain fourth-and-2 that you may have heard about. Not even with Brady, Moss and Welker.
And under the microscope of Monday Night Football, with a chance to reassert their status as elite, they converted only four of 13 third downs against a New Orleans defense that was forced to start two ancient athletes in lieu of both starting cornerbacks. Mike McKenzie and Chris McCalister looked as fresh as rookie Malcolm Jenkins all night long.
Clearly, something’s missing in New England. They might want to try searching under the lights at Invesco.
If you need more proof, direct your attention to the fact that a Denver defense, full of its own long-in-the-tooth defensive stars, held the Pats to 17 points in five quarters and knocked off their new leader’s mentor. Not enough? How about the fact that Denver, despite lacking the same level of pure talent, has the same record. Both clubs are 7-4.
You could argue that the New England defense should shoulder the weight of the sudden vulnerability of the former heavyweights of the NFL, and you’d be due some credit for that opinion, but offenses that can’t generate points in crunch time put their defenses in impossible situations. It’s a fact that Mile-Highers are well aware of.
Monday night was supposed to be a banner game for the New England offense. The Saints’ defense was banged up. Starting corners Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter were inactive, yet Tom Brady finished with no touchdowns, two interceptions and a 55.0 quarterback rating. One of the worst of his career. Brady’s not suddenly inept. Welker hasn’t forgotten how to earn yards after the catch. Moss didn’t lose his deep-threat danger. New England simply lost its secret weapon: McDaniels.
The Denver offense hasn’t been spectacular this season, but it has been better than expected. Losing Jay Cutler was supposed to cripple this scoring machine, but it has gotten by even if there have been expected growing pains. It has dropped at least 26 points three times against three defenses that have had their smothering moments.
McDaniels coerced enough scoring out of Matt Cassell, a quarterback who currently ranks 22nd in the league in passing efficiency, to rank eighth in the NFL in points per game in 2008. With future Hall-of-Famer Tom Brady at the helm and McDaniels on the Invesco sideline, New England has twice failed to outscore teams missing both starting cornerbacks.
It’s a long season, and perhaps a much longer career for the shiny new Denver headman, and more time is needed to accurately render a verdict on his offense in Orange and Blue. But after watching so many teams gamble on Belichick assistants with slumping results, the Broncos might have finally beaten the house odds.
I doubt the Saints, Colts or Jets will ever say it, so I’ll do it for them. Thank you, Pat Bowlen. Thanks for turning the tables and leaving the Patriots on the wrong end of a personnel deal. Apparently, there’s a first time for everything.
See more from Hunter Ansley at DraftZoo.com
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