Patriots vs. Chargers: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Patriots Game 5: Patriots 10 – Chargers 30

The Good:
(yes, there was some good...)

Defensively the Patriots did a good job against the run (the Chargers had 28 rushes for 98 yards), on third down (San Diego was 3 of 10) and even in pass defense on short and intermediate routes.

Belichick had a positive assessment of the job Mark LeVoir did filling in for Kaczur at right tackle, after Kaczur was forced to leave the game in the first quarter.

The Bad:

Quarterback Mark Cassel struggled in finishing 22 of 38 for 203 yards and one interception. He also was sacked four times. He needs to release the ball sooner.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers dropped back to pass 27 times and was hit a grand total of zero times.

A 59-yard pass from Philip Rivers to Vincent Jackson set up a 1-yard touchdown pass to Antontio Gates to make it 24-3.

Offensively, the Patriots struggled to generate consistency in any phase of the game. The San Diego defenders tackled well, limiting the effectiveness of the Patriots’ screen game.

Wide Receiver Randy Moss cannot come up with two grabs along the sidelines. He was open two other times but the ball wasn't delivered accurately.

The Ugly:

Big plays hurt the Patriots, and specifically the coverage of cornerback Deltha O’Neal.

Cornerbacks Ellis Hobbs/Deltha O'Neal/Terrence Wheatley all get beaten for big plays or are called for costly penalties (mostly in man-to-man coverage) as the Chargers attacked them in the deep part of the field.

Final Thoughts:

Belichick was asked if he still has confidence in quarterback Matt Cassel leading the team, and he simply replied yes. “Matt is our starting quarterback. He gives our team the best chance to win. We’ve all got to play better, and coach better than we did last week. We have to do a better job than we did against San Diego. But he’s our quarterback.”

“San Diego obviously did a good job tonight, a lot better than we did. They hit the deep balls on us. They did a good job of getting field position in the kicking game, and offensively. They were able to keep us out of the end zone, until the end. They played a solid game in all three phases. They just did a better job than we did. Give them credit. We need to work harder and just do a better job all the way around than we did tonight. It’s as simple as that.” -- Patriots Coach Bill Belichick

"I think it took a lot out of the Patriots, offensively and defensively. Any time you stop a team on the 2-yard yard line and then drive it 98 yards, it's deflating to anybody." -- San Diego CB Quentin Jammer

“We did a terrible job of playing the deep balls. You just can’t win the National Football League giving up 50 yard bombs and pass interference for 50-plus yards.” -- Patriots S Rodney Harrison