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September 16, 2007

FINAL: Patriots 38, Chargers 14

BY SHALISE MANZA YOUNG
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO – Well at least we can assume the San Diego Chargers weren’t cheating.

And if they were, it might be time to fire their spy.

Because for all the talk about Sunday night being a revenge game for the Chargers against the New England Patriots, they didn’t exact a whole lot of it against the team that upset them in the playoffs on their home field eight months ago.

If anything, the Patriots were out to prove that their win at Qualcomm Stadium in the AFC Divisional round wasn’t luck or a fluke. And that everyone who thinks they need to cheat to win is wrong.

New England dominated from the opening snap of the game, getting a 38-14 win in their 2007 home opener at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots won the coin toss, Ellis Hobbs brought the opening kickoff out to the 31-yard line, and from there Tom Brady was at his surgical best, methodically picking apart the San Diego defense and putting all of his weapons on display.

For the second straight week, New England scored on their first drive. Brady went to tight end Benjamin Watson on the first two snaps, for gains of nine and six yards. Then Randy Moss had back-to-back catches totaling 13 yards.

After an incompletion, Kevin Faulk displayed great blitz pickup on linebacker Stephen Cooper (a Massachusetts native and UMaine product), giving Brady ample opportunity to find Wes Welker for a 34-yard pickup.

On the next play, Watson was as lonely as the stinky kid in the cafeteria in the right side of the end zone to put New England on the board.

But it wasn’t just on the offensive side of the ball that the Patriots exerted their will on the defending AFC West champions.

The Chargers’ first play from scrimmage – a pass from Philip Rivers intended for rookie receiver Craig Davis, ended up in the hands of Rosevelt Colvin.
New England didn’t get any points from the turnover (Stephen Gostkowski missed the 41-yard field goal attempt wide right) but the message had been delivered, by a loudly singing messenger.

As they staked their way to a 24-0 halftime lead, the Patriots’ offensive game plan was pass-heavy, basically taking the Chargers’ stellar front seven out of the equation.
Instead, Brady used a mix of quick looks – taking the snap and hitting a receiver in one beat – short gains and downfield passes to keep San Diego on its heels.

In the opening 30 minutes, Brady went 17-for-23 for 193 yards, with two touchdowns.
New England ran the ball just 13 times, once on a keeper by the quarterback.

Meanwhile, Colvin, whom the Chargers accused of standing outside their locker room and chanting “the lights are out now!,” a reference to Shawne Merriman’s sack dance, after New England’s playoff win, did a lot more talking last night.

And he did plenty to back it up.

In addition to the first-play interception, he also strip-sacked Rivers twice, with one of those fumbles recovered by defensive lineman Vince Wilfork.

After helping Mike Vrabel and Ty Warren finish off a fourth-quarter sack, Colvin lingered on top of Rivers, and the two continued to have words for a few more moments.

Adalius Thomas also got in on the act, showing off his basketball skills, plucking a high Rivers pass out of the air and toting it 65 yards for the longest interception return touchdown of his career.

But New England’s standout play wasn’t just in pass defense. The team held reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson to just 43 yards on 18 carries, just 2.4 yards per attempt.

In the first half, San Diego was 0-for-4 on third down, foreshadowing Bill Belichick’s notion earlier in the week that if you could get the Chargers to third down – the ‘Bolts were the best team in the league on first- and second-down last year – you can have success against them.

For the game, the Chargers were 2-for-7 on third down (28 percent).

With Tomlinson, who earlier in the week took a jab at New England, claiming the team lives by the motto, “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying,” stymied, the Gillette Stadium crowd took great glee in letting him know just what it thought of him as the night wound down.

In their own way, the Patriots let the Chargers know how they feel about them too.

Posted by Art Martone  at 11:40 PM | Permalink