Patriots Win in Glitzy Kick Off Followed by a Ragged Game

Good morning, Fantastic Football Fans!

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Do you ever remember seeing a less football related opening to the regular season?

I was appalled. It's as though ABC wants to become ABF . . . Anything But Football.

Until Bob Kraft came out to thank the Patriots fans and to display the 2004 Championship banner at 8:52, the 8-9 p.m. show was just like any other concert on New Year's Eve.

As a result, there was precious little opportunity for John Madden and Al Michaels to say anything about the game before the real kick off. Too bad! I would rather listen to one sentence from John Madden about the game than watch an entire hour including all my favorite entertainers.

The game itself looked more like a preseason affair than the start of the regular season by the World Champions.

I was disappointed in so many things it's hard to track them all down. Tom Brady summed it up best after the game when he observed that the Patriots need to improve a lot but that a win is a win and the Patriots should be grateful to have this one.

Here were some of the more obvious problems:

Patriots

1. The run blocking was terrible. On a key fourth and short, Dan Klecko came in at fullback and ran through the whole ahead of Corey Dillon with blocking anybody. The Patriots failed to make the first down.

2. The pass blocking became very sloppy in the second half. The line looked like it was out of shape.

3. The secondary looked confused on several plays and receivers were wide open.

4. The point after and punt blocking were beyond inadequate. Both a PAT and a punt were blocked. That's inexecusable.

5. Blitzes couldn't add much pressure to the Raiders passing game.

Raiders

1. Randy Moss could get open, but the Raiders didn't have enough pass blocking to hold the pocket until Moss could get down field.

2. Kerry Collins is easily frustrated, and was off his game whenever he was hurried.

3. The Raiders play calling emphasized plays they couldn't execute.

4. The Raiders secondary bore a major resemblance to Swiss cheese.

Now, how would a billionaire handle these problems?

Frankly, I don't know. But it's pretty clear that the players and coaches have a lot of work to do if these two teams are to prosper throughout the season.

Hopefully, the billionaire would realize that he should leave it up to the coaches. I'm sure that's what Bob Kraft will do. I'm less sure what Al Davis will do.

As you watch these teams, look for improvement. It's unlikely to get much worse.

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Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell