What a weird season for the New England Patriots.  Even a 20-10 win over the Carolina Panthers doesn’t quite feel like a victory.  That’s what happens when Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has to spend time addressing his roster decisions (RE: OLB Adalius Thomas getting benched).  That’s what happens when we have to wonder if QB Tom Brady made it through a game without a new injury (or baby).  That’s what happens when the other three AFC East teams also win.  And that’s what happens when Panthers defensive backs are commenting on the visible difference of effort between Patriots WRs Randy Moss and Wes Welker.

The victory puts the Patriots at 8-5 and they maintain their one game lead on the AFC East with three games remaining, but the seeds of dissension have been planted internally and externally.  According to Panthers CB Chris Gamble, the Panthers knew that Randy Moss would “shut it down”, and Gamble wound up catching as many passes from Tom Brady (one) as Moss did.  Moss’ effort has been questioned before (”I play when I want to play” still might be Moss’ defining quote as an NFL player), but this December has been particularly bad for him.  He hasn’t caught a pass in the second half the last two weeks, and seven of Brady’s 11 INTs this season have been on passes intended for Moss.  At this point, it’s not merely a coincidence.  He lost a fumble after his only catch, and he dropped two passes.  Imagine if the Patriots would have lost THIS game; Moss’ no-show to the media would have dominated the team’s focus indefinitely.

While Brady has been quick to defend Moss, saying the receiver is hard on himself and is having trouble putting past mistakes behind him, his toughness pales in comparison to Wes Welker.  To remind people, Welker’s a 5-9, 185 pound undrafted free agent without exceptional speed on his third team.  He caught ten more passes today, for 105 yards.  Outside of Welker, Brady completed only nine passes for 87 yards.  For anyone keeping track, that’s 50 catches for 590 yards in the last five games for Welker.  He IS the Patriots’ offense right  now.  The only problem with that is that none of Welker’s catches have gone for a TD.  Defenses will concede yards and catches to Welker because he won’t run away from anybody or catch passes over anybody.  That’s no slight to Welker, simply reality.  Unlike Moss, the Panthers had respect for Welker’s effort.  According to Gamble, Welker and Moss are “two different breeds”.  Where as Welker is a tough player who can take a hit, Gamble can’t see Moss running the routes that Welker runs and taking the hits that Welker takes.  Panthers SS Chris Harris also commented on how well Welker runs his routes compared to how Moss can be taken out of his game physically.  How will that fly in the Patriots’ locker room?

And don’t look now, but the Patriots are 2-0 when Adalius Thomas does not play.  OLB Derrick Burgess got his third sack of the season in his place (Burgess was also late to work Wednesday, as was ILB Gary Guyton), and DE Jarvis Green finally got his first sack of the season.  Both sacks came on third down in the 4th quarter.  I’m not sure the Patriots are a better team without Thomas, but they surely aren’t worse with him not playing.  I would not be surprised if Thomas didn’t see the field as a Patriot again, this season or beyond.

Other things happened in this game though that didn’t involve players in kindergarten:

*Ben Watson lives! After gaining only 40 yards in the previous four games combined, Watson had 37 yards on three catches, including the go ahead TD from five yards out in the third quarter to cap a 13 play, 96 yard drive that lasted 7:20.  Watson also drew a 30 yard pass interference penalty on WLB James Anderson, which was the key play on the Patriots’ first TD drive that ended with a 3 yard TD run by RB Kevin Faulk.

*WR Sam Aiken missed the game with a shoulder injury, and WR Julian Edelman didn’t catch a pass in his place.  Again, Welker was the only receiver who made an impact in this game for the Patriots.  But against a weak Panthers run defense, the Patriots gave the ball to their three RBs 38 times for 187 yards, beating the Panthers at their own game.  RB Laurence Maroney had 94 yards on 22 carries, FB Sammy Morris had 35 yards on 6 carries (although he failed to convert another 4th and short and he lost a fumble), and Faulk had 58 yards on 10 carries, including the TD.  Maroney’s 4th down conversion inside the 2nd half two-minute warning allowed Brady to take a couple of QB kneels to end the game.

*RG Stephen Neal was inactive and RT Nick Kaczur was injured during the game, but the Patriots offensive line allowed no sacks on the day.  Along with pushing the Panthers around for 4.6 yards per carry, the Patriots offensive line had a good day.  Panthers DE Julius Peppers had no impact whatsoever, and the biggest play DE Everette Brown made was a 15 yard roughing the kicker penalty that kept a Patriots drive alive.

*Also, K Stephen Gostkowski rediscovered his kicking leg, making 4th quarter FGs of 48 and 47 yards.  Gostkowski came through for the Patriots in a place where Panthers K John Kasay couldn’t, as Kasay missed a 53 yard FG.

*Can someone please keep SS Brandon Meriweather in position?  Two plays after Gamble’s INT, the Panthers ran play action.  Meriweather was caught cheating, and Panthers QB Matt Moore threw a perfect pass to WR Steve Smith for a 41 yard TD pass, beating CB Shawn Springs (yes, he played) on the play.  Give the Patriots pass defense credit though, as Smith was shut out in the second half.  And 20 points is the least amount of points the Patriots have scored in a win this season.

*Patriots DE Ty Warren was very active in tallying six tackles, but he and NT Vince Wilfork left the game with injuries.  In addition, RB DeAngelo Williams gained 82 yards on 13 carries and RB Jonathan Stewart gained 29 yards on 7 carries.  The Panthers had success running the football, but Moore threw a career high 30 passes, completing only 15 of them.  It is clear that the Panthers were conflicted on how they wanted to attack the Patriots defense, and they are now 0-7 when they pass the ball more than the run this season.

The Patriots are still have plenty of issues to figure out despite the win, but this is still an 8-5 football team that is dangerous when everybody is on the same page and in sync.  They still have plenty of work to do this week, and it will have to start in the locker room, the film room, the training room, and perhaps early in the morning on the way to the practice field.

-1SKILLZ