During a game of chess, the first part of the game usually features the trading of pieces: winning a Pawn-losing a Pawn, winning a Knight, losing a Knight. That was how the first half of tonight’s Patriots games went. Usually the turning point in a game of chess is when you trade pieces, but someone loses a more valuable piece in the exchange. Win a Knight, but only lose a Pawn. That was happened in the 3rd quarter tonight. The Patriots got a TD then only gave up a field goal. After that, like in chess, all you have to do is make the basic smart moves and not make any major mistakes and you win the game. So it was with the Patriots tonight.
Here are some other thoughts about tonight’s game:
•Maroney was winner of a new award I just created the P.O.T.G.O.T.B. (Player Of The Game Other Then Brady) Award. He hit the holes hard. Picked up short first downs and broke some long runs.
•What else can be said about Brady? He broke the NFL post season completion record. The 2 incompletions where a drop by Welker after Phil Simms and Jim Nantz jinxed him by talking about the completion percentage and the other one was when Watson was being mauled by the cornerback like a losing dog in  Vick’s backyard when he was trying to catch the ball.
•The joke is already cliché 2 hours after it happened but Brady should get an Oscar (but in the non broadcast version of the awards that they will probably have this year) for his performance selling the Statue of Liberty play before he threw the TD pass to Welker.
•Moss did a good job blocking and being a decoy today.
•Watson came up big tonight. Especially that first TD which was a hard catch to make.
•Faulk made an amazing 1 handed catch. That guy should end up in the Patriots Hall of Fame
•Props to Garrard for a good game and that amazing TD pass he threw while falling down. While it might have been overturned, I am glad Belichick did not throw the red flag on that play.
•The Patriots got lucky when Northcutt dropped that catchable ball on the 1 yard line that probably would have ended up as a TD.
•Kudos to Stallworth for making 2 huge plays. One the broken play where Brady made a great throw on the run and Stallworth broke it up the sidelined and almost broke away for a TD and near the end of the game when he fought to get the final first down that put the nail in the coffin on the Jaguars.
•Small complaints. Merriweather and Harrison both dropped interceptions. Gostkowski missed a 35 yard field goal. Stuff like that can’t happen next week against the Colts.
•On a side note, good job by the Bruins today pulling out the win in overtime after losing the lead in the 3rd quarter.