State of the Hub

Over the weekend, strange things happened in Boston. First the Celtics lost two straight to teams they should have beaten (Atlanta and Indiana). Second, the Bruins found a way to lose in overtime while giving up the game-tying goal with just 0.4 seconds left. Then last and most bizarrely, the Patriots squandered a three score Fourth Quarter lead to lose to the rival Colts.

Most people immediately dismiss the Celtics and Bruins because their seasons are their infancy and the losses did not come to hated rivals. I'll agree with that. However, in both cases these were games the teams needed to win to prove something, at least to themselves. The Celtics took on a young Hawks team that currently leads the Eastern Conference, not to mention took them to seven games in 2008. The C's then come out and lose the next night at Indiana, who could be a first round playoff match-up, and things are questionable on Causeway. At least they followed it up with a solid win over a less than solid Golden State team last night.

The Bruins are in a similar situation. They had started to play better after an average start. David Krecji and Michael Ryder look to be headed back to last seasons scoring. They scored five goals against the defending champion Penguins. All this to give up the tying goal with under a second to play and then lose in overtime after a miscue from Tim Thomas. If the Bruins want to be contenders they have to get hot like they did last year, and they can start by winning games in which they have the lead in the final 10 seconds. They had already beaten the Pens earlier in the week in Boston and to beat them in Pittsburgh in a comeback effort would have been a good boost for this team. Instead, more disappointment and another lack luster performance on Monday, losing at home to the Islanders, 4-1.

Lastly, the state of the Patriots. They lost to the Colts. Often times this would not upset us New Englanders, but this time it's different. The Patriots lead 31-14. Tom Brady was awesome. The defense was good for three quarters. Then it all fell apart. Give Peyton Manning credit, he was his usual self throwing for four TD's and 300 yards. The biggest play, was not made by Manning however. Rather, it was Bill Belichick going for it on fourth and two from his own 28 yard-line with 2:08 to go. You've probably heard and read every side of the argument so I'll keep it short. My feeling is that Belichick did not trust his defense to stop the Colts, so what difference does it make if it is 30 yards or 70 yards? The difference is in the intangibles. Not a lot can go wrong when you only have to go 1/3 of a football field, but 3/4 is a much different story. Passes can get tipped, fumbles can happen, hell look at Laurence Maroney. In Bill we trust, but we can still question.