Patriots Week 3 in Review:

Let's see: what did the Pats do right in Week Three.

Kickoff returns.

That just about does it. They failed in just about every conceivable category. The offense was bad but the defense was much worse. You would think that they would eventually figure out that Ronnie Brown was going to get the ball in that bizarre shotgun formation that the Dolphins ran 6 times. Nope. Both of the offensive and defensive lines were awful, the linebackers were invisible and the secondary let Chad ****ing Pennington pass at will. Just an awful awful game from every conceivable standpoint.

The team has a lot of work to do. Many people are trying to pass this game off as an aberration. That might be true. The problem is, that it's just as likely that this is the culmination of the team taking a nose dive that started during some of the closer games last year and continued through the pre-season and first three weeks. It will be interesting to see what kind of team will take the field against the 49ers next Sunday.

Other thoughts:

-Why the kerfuffle over the fans booing the Patriots? The way they played, I can't understand any other reaction. I don't think "years of goodwill" or being a "spoiled" fan base has a thing to do. If the team plays awful, they deserve what they get. This is just as moronic as the on going bellyaching over how the Red Sox "over-celebrate". Excuse me? Why is this an issue? They're having fun. LET THEM. Gee, it didn't seem to affect them last year. Similarly, let the fans do what they want. As long as they aren't endangering players, swearing like sailors, or lighting themselves on fire, they should be allowed to express themselves.

-The NFL's power structure this year is awesome: the only teams that look good right now play in the NFC East. The rest of the league is a complete mess. The Steelers looked good for two weeks, then get beaten by the Eagles. The Bills might be the best team in the AFC, but they have trouble with the awful Raiders. And weren't the Jet's supposed to challenge for the AFC East title this year? Whoops!

-Patriots haters last year overindulged themselves with talk of * this and * that. The way this messed up season is going, everyone is going to have an *.