Now it's official. The Matt Cassel era has finally arrived in New England. Any real hopes of a return to the Super Bowl this year departed Gillette Stadium in unison with the thousands of fans making an early exit from Sunday's 38-13 loss to Miami. And leave it to the Dolphins, of all teams, to impose the reality check on the defending AFC champs, snapping their streak of 21 consecutive regular-season wins. Ironically, it was those same Dolphins who last turned the trick on the Patriots nearly two years ago during the '06 season.
Funny how one door closes and another opens. Enter the first place Buffalo Bills. After an impressive come-from-behind 24-23 win over the Raiders, the Bills sit at 3-0 for the first time since 1992, back when times were good at Rich Stadium. Trent Edwards is starting to prove his worth as a clutch, big-time quarterback. After a lacklustre three quarters, he stepped up late, pulling out a pair of seven-play scoring drives to steal the win. In my opinion, the division is theirs for the taking.
Berlin's Studs from Week 3:
Ronnie Brown - His performance from the single-wing formation vs. New England (4 TD rushing, 1 TD passing) should give him AFC offensive player honours for this week and next. Amazing how bad Belichick's boys can play when they don't have videotape of a team's pre-game walkthrough.
Brian Griese - The ex-Bear, turned Buccaneer returned to Chicago and bit his old team in the butt. Big time! Brian will need some ice for that throwing arm, after tossing a whopping team-record 67 attempts for 407 yards. Not like the Bears could use him anymore. They've still got Kyle Orton.
John Carney - Washed up at 44? Don't tell that to the Giants' new hometown hero. Rescued off the scrap-heap at the start of the year, Carney is now 9-for-9 in field goal attempts since replacing the injured Lawrence Tynes, including Sunday's game winning 22-yard field goal to beat the Bengals.
Berlin's Duds from Week 3:
Derek Anderson - Another subpar performance - 14-37, 125 yds, TD, three INT vs. Baltimore - drops the Browns to a disappointing 0-3 record. Hey Brady, start warming up. You're going in.
Mike Tomlin - Down two scores against Philadelphia with just under a minute to go, the supposed "brains" of the Steelers elected to go for it on fourth down inside the Eagles 30, instead of taking the points and trying an onside kick. Second-guessing is easy to do from one's couch, but this was a no-brainer. After 20 more seconds ticked off the clock, Byron Leftwich's pass fell incomplete, ending the Steelers' chances. I'm not saying Pittsburgh would've made such an improbable comeback, but isn't it the coach's job to put his team in the best position to win the game?
Charles Tillman - How dumb do you have to be to take a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty after an incompletion on third down in overtime, that not only cost your Bears possession at midfield, but ultimately prolonged the eventual game-winning drive for Tampa Bay?
What stood out for you in Week 3? I'd love to hear your opinions.