Coming off an enormous win against the Denver Broncos in Denver last Monday night, the New England Patriots continue to find ways to win. Throughout the game, the Patriots traded leads with the Broncos despite the referees’ best efforts to serve the Broncos a win on a silver platter. The Patriots were flagged 14 times, while Denver was penalized only four times, but it was nothing new to me.
Over the years, I have come to expect one-sided officiating from Denver referees, and this year has been no different. Of the four games Denver has played at home, they have been penalized no more than six times over the course of a 60-minute football game, yet their opponents have been flagged no less than 8 times this season.
To put things into perspective, Denver has been penalized a total of 22 times at home, while their opponents have had 44 penalties called against them, which shakes out to be a 2:1 ratio in favor of the Broncos.
To add to my frustrations, I had to listen to Al Michaels and John Madden talk about Denver for the entire game (which is a trend that happens with New England teams who have games nationally televised). John Madden may have been a good coach, but when it comes to announcing football games, I rate him somewhere in between Tim McCarver (i.e. Admiral Asinine) and Phil Simms (i.e. Captain Obvious).
Having watched plenty of Monday Night Football, I have come to realize that John Madden’s vocabulary derives from old episodes of Batman, where the words “Boom”, “Pow”, and “Bang” were highlighted in jagged, unspoken clouds that flashed across the screen when the superhero punched one of his villainous foes. As sad this may seem, I have heard Mike Tyson speak more poignantly than John Madden. Understanding John Madden’s personality (and sometimes even Al Michaels), I am surprised neither one of them declared that Monday to be the new Flag Day based on all the flags that were thrown by the officials.
I could speak at length about these two, but there was a point that has been lost somewhere amidst this column that I need to address. Besides the “terrific” tandem of bad broadcasting and terrible officiating, there was a football game being played that same night. The Patriots held down the fort in the first half despite a strong first half performance by third string quarterback Danny Kanell and running back Clinton Portis. Playing without key defensive personnel like Roosevelt Colvin (out for the year), Ted Washington, Ted Johnson, and a list of others, the replacements have stepped up in an unbelievable way.
Roman Phifer, Mike Vrabel, Matt Chatham, and a host of rookies have done a nice job in lieu of all the injuries. The second half should never have been as close as it was. The offense was terrific, as Brady marched down the field as if there were no cornerbacks covering his receivers. The offense was fairly productive, but could have scored more if they had not been penalized so much down in the red zone.
On the offensive side of things, there is a receiver who appears to be coming into his own, and made a great touchdown catch with 30 seconds to go in the game that helped put the Pats ahead for good, and that’s David Givens. Last year, I can recall several deep routes where Givens had great opportunities to help the Pats put some points on the board, but dropped numerous passes that hit him right in the palms of his hands while being wide-open. I also remember saying how he would be dangerous as a wide receiver if Brady threw a dart at the opening in Givens’ helmet since he could not catch the ball with any consistency down the field. After watching him make great adjustments to the ball all game (not to mention catching the ball as well), I finally got to see the David Givens I was hoping to see this season. If David Givens can step it up and play consistently the whole season, this could be a solid receiving core despite losing David Patten for the rest of the season to injury. Givens, Troy Brown, Daniel Graham, Deion Branch and Kevin Faulk are a formidable offense for any defensive to have to prepare for, not to forget Charlie Weiss’ offensive game plans.
With all the good luck and solid performances the Patriots have had in the past five games, they still need to address the punting issues that nearly handed the game over to Denver on Monday. Ken Walter averaged a woeful 20+ yards a punt during that game, one of which was a line drive that was returned for a touchdown late in the game to put the Broncos ahead. Ken Walter simply cannot kick for distance, and the only aspect of his game that is remotely appealing is his hang time. After watching his performance in Denver, I thought about who could replace him as punter. Scott “Missin'” Sisson? No, he is a specialist at missing clutch field goals. Reggie Roby? Nope, he retired. And then it came to me, who better than Michael Flatly! He can run, kick, and dance without breaking a sweat, which is what I would be doing if I were Ken Walter’s agent right now.