Nitpicks & Nitwits: Does Getting Close Count?

My grandfather taught me this years’ ago, after falling a wee bit short of a stated goal on a youth football field, but still feeling pretty good about myself afterward:

“Close only counts, son, in horseshoes and hand grenades.”

He was, in his folksy way, trying to pick me up and motivate me for the next opportunity. His analogy fits the New England Patriots today, after dropping a 27-24 overtime game on the road at Lambeau Field. Sure, the Pats faced a Hall of Fame QB on the other side of the field and depended on a 4th round rookie draft pick of their own to save the day.

And he darn near did it. Yes, he got close. The team was close, going into Sunday as a double-digit road underdog for only the fourth time in the past 22 years. There’s reason enough to feel better about this team even with the record standing at 1-3 through four weeks, and the Patriots occupying (gulp!) last place in the AFC East.

Rookie QB Bailey Zappe – who began his college career at little-known Houston Baptist University (now Houston Christian) and then set NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision passing records for single-season yards and TD passes thrown at Western Kentucky – accounted well in his first active NFL appearance. Some jittery moments were likely there, and some plays he’d probably like to have back were made.

But he did zap the Pack enough to throw his first touchdown pass to DeVante Parker in the 3rd quarter, and finish a respectable 10-of-15 for 99 yards. The TD in Week 4 was the latest a scoring pass has been thrown by a rookie QB in an NFL game since 2007.

But wait, there’s more on the positive side:

• Matthew Judon became the second Patriots player to have a sack in first four games of the season.
• Rookie cornerback Jack Jones forced a fumble and returned a pick for a TD in his first NFL start.
• Nick Folk extended the NFL record for most consecutive field goals made under 50 yards.

Reason enough to feel a little better about what this team might still accomplish this season? After all, four regular starters were missing from the lineup. The Patriots were relying upon a third-string, never-used rookie at the most important position in the game.

But since when does a six-time Super Bowl championship franchise consider moral victories over actual wins a positive step?

This one might, if only because it knows it’s in a rebuilding mode and it’s still missing some pieces to the current puzzle. And…the NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint to the finish line. 1-and-3 isn’t the death-knell to start a season it could be, with so much parity existing between the hashmarks these days.

But thanks for the advice anyway, grandpa. It’s spot on. A loss is still a loss. And the Patriots need to take your wisdom to heart from here.

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On the firing line

Could there have been a more disappointing start to a football game than the one right tackle Isaiah Wynn had Sunday?

His 1st quarter sequence, on successive plays toward the end of the period, went like this:

1. Got his starting QB, Brian Hoyer, flattened, concussed and knocked out of the game.
2. Called for a false start inside his own 10-yard line, backing his team into a deeper hole.
3. Called for a hold, which was actually declined by Green Bay.

Bill Belichick did say that the plan was for recently-signed tackle Marcus Cannon to play in the game. And Cannon reported as a tackle-eligible player before the next snap of the ball.

Yikes. Wynn’s “play” has led to the Patriots being forced to use three different quarterbacks in the first four weeks of the season.

Button it up

Sure, there were players missing from the Patriots’ lineup that might have made a difference. It does seem clear, however, that the opposition is targeting Myles Bryant in the defensive backfield – not because he doesn’t have talent.

But because he’s a physical mismatch against the players he’s covering. Add to this a seeming ability to make punt returns extra-exciting through his bobbles, and…well, auditions for some of his playing time should be taking place.

And seven penalties for 75 yards didn’t help the cause, five of those coming in the first half.

Decisions, decisions

Second-guessing anything today? What about tomorrow, or the next time opportunities present themselves?

Defensively, New England had a solid day against Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay’s receivers. But inexplicably, the defensive backs decided to play back from those receivers at the end of overtime. Rodgers hit Romeo Doubs for two rather simple outs to his left that put his team in position to win it.

Which they did.

But that point might have been rendered moot if the Patriots had decided to go for a 4th and 5 at the Packers’ 46 yard line with 6:54 left in overtime. Maybe you had played Rodgers well to that point, ok. And maybe your rookie QB hasn’t had much (if any) experience in this situation.

But in a situation like this, where you’re already exceeding expectations, doesn’t fortune often favor the bold? What else do you have to lose at this point by going for it?