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To paraphrase, �This week has all the signs of a trap game, don�t let up, don�t go into this match thinking about the week after.� And still the Pats almost got themselves beat by a two-and-nine team, one whose only real motivation at this time is to act the spoiler. A spoiler team is, by loose definition, a team who mathematically cannot make the playoffs, so they play out the rest of their pathetic regular season games in hopes of �spoiling� the playoff ambitions of other contenders, or in this case, to upset the playoff seeding/ first round positioning of the New England Patriots. Yes, the spoiler team is the most loathsome of the NFL species, and yes, in effect the spoiler�s ambition stems from the cheapest form of sabotage. But hell, can you blame a team for adding a little excitement to their otherwise meaningless season by overachieving? Absolutely you can, because now I�m forced to make sense of it all. <BR><IMG SRC="tab.gif"> So what went wrong? Why did the Patriot�s come dangerously close to being upset by a 2-9 team, one week after beating a 9-1 team? The answer to that has more to do with the New England Patriots than it does the Detroit Lions. On the day, the Pat�s incurred a total of 10 penalties for 72 yards, had three turnovers and also a safety against them. Couple that with last week�s 5 turnovers against the Bear�s, and the problem becomes obvious- the Patriot�s are handing over the games by beating themselves. Luckily, the Lion�s can�t help themselves when it comes to squandering leads, and in the end, finding ways to lose. �Frustrating, embarrassing, but a win is a win,� said fullback Heath Evans, summing up succinctly the way everybody in New England was feeling after the game, right on up to the big man himself, Bill Belichick. �Well, we talk about it every week-try to take care of the ball and not give it up. We had too many of them (turnovers) today�.Fortunately we were able to make enough plays there in the end to come out on top,� The coach said of the performance. You wouldn�t know it by that, but for three quarters of football, the possibility of an at home loss to the Detroit Lion�s became a very real and very frightening possibility. <BR><IMG SRC="fumble1.jpg" ALIGN="RIGHT" BORDER=0 VSPACE=5> For what it�s worth, that�s what it was- three quarters of mistake riddled, sloppy football followed by a dominant fourth quarter that presented an entirely different looking team. Maybe, in that last quarter the Patriot�s finally heeded Bill�s pre-game warning. Maybe it dawned on the team, in those final moments, that the Lion�s might actually run-away with this one. Maybe, well�who knows, but something definitely lit a fire under the New England Patriots. With 5:57 left in the game, The Pat�s offense orchestrated a nice go-ahead scoring drive, capped off by a Corey Dillon TD run- his third of the day. <BR><IMG SRC="tab.gif"> So leave it at that. A win is a win is a win, especially in December. Do I think that some aspects of the Patriot�s game/personnel are cause for concern, especially at this point in the season? No question. The upside to that is in the AFC playoff picture, right now each contending team has its share of flaws- from the Colts to the Broncos, right on down to the San Diego chargers. The Patriot�s play their final divisional opponent away this Sunday, the Miami Dolphins. It should be interesting to see how the Pat�s will respond this time around to another alleged �pushover� team with a losing record. If anything, I can say they probably won�t come out flat again. <BR><IMG SRC="tab.gif"> As a closing aside, pay attention to RB Laurence Maroney�s physical status in the coming weeks. He was sidelined on Sunday with an undisclosed injury after taking a hard tackle, and was not in the locker room post-game. His presence (or absence) in the oncoming weeks will be critical. <BR> <BR> <B>Tell me, Tell me. <A HREF="mailto:josh@southcoast247.com">josh@southcoast247.com</A>. </B> <BR><BR><BR> <SPAN CLASS="LARGETEXT"><A HREF="pats.shtml">Read more from STATS ON PATS WEEKLY...</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> </SPAN> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <DIV ALIGN="CENTER">  <SCRIPT LANGUAGE=JavaScript>  </SCRIPT>  <BR></DIV> </TD> <TD VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH=225 BGCOLOR="#CC9900"> <SPAN CLASS="TEXT"> <IMG SRC="http://www.southcoast247.com/column_images/ev_calx.gif"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.trumba.com/scripts/spuds.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> $Trumba.addSpud({ webName: "southcoast-calendar-arts-entertainment-nightlife-clubs", spudType : "upcomingfader" , teaserBase : "http://www.southcoasttoday.com/static/247calendar.html" }); document.write('<br /><a href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/static/247calendar.html"><font color="#ffffff">View All Events</font></a>'); </script> <noscript>Your browser must support JavaScript to view this content. 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