Here are the two aforementioned articles in their entirity, plus two new ones, one bad and one good.
Trent Green's 52-yard touchdown pass to Dante Hall with 10:28 left in the third quarter, which gave the Chiefs a 26-3 lead. The Patriots had gamely tried to stay close, limiting the Chiefs to four second-quarter field goals, but Hall's touchdown, in which he got behind rookie CB Ellis Hobbs one play after Hobbs had been called for interference, was the killer. "They just got too far out in front too early," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "And it was too far to come back from."
What Went Right
The Patriots played good red zone defense in the second quarter, keeping the Chiefs from blowing them out in the first half. On the Chiefs' four second-quarter possessions, they drove to first downs at the New England 4, 8, 16 and 29, but had to settle for a Lawrence Tynes field goal each time. On first-and-goal at the 8, Green threw to Tony Gonzalez in the end zone on third-and-2 for an apparent touchdown, but Patriots LB Larry Izzo knocked the ball out of Gonzalez's grasp. ... The Patriots can't blame penalties for this loss. This was their "cleanest" game of the season (two penalties, 22 yards). ... The Patriots had no injuries to report.
What Went Wrong
A lack of big plays by the Patriots offense. The receivers had five receptions between 20 and 25 yards, while the Chiefs had pass plays of 30, 42 and 52 yards. "The playmakers on this team," Patriots WR Deion Branch said, "didn't make any plays." ... Tom Brady threw four interceptions, three by Chiefs S Greg Wesley. The four interceptions were the most Brady has thrown since a 20-19 loss Dec. 20 in Miami and the fourth time in his career he has thrown four in a game. He threw two in the first half, something he hadn't done since the Oct. 31, 2004, loss in Pittsburgh that ended the Patriots' NFL record 21-game winning streak. Brady was sacked three times (minus-16 yards) and was constantly under pressure. ... The Patriots pass defense continued to be horrendous, allowing Green (19 of 26) to throw for 323 yards. ... The Chiefs moved 66 yards in nine plays the first time they touched the ball to take a 7-0 lead. "They walked the ball down," LB Mike Vrabel said. The Patriots also failed to stop the run, and Chiefs TB Larry Johnson (31 carries, 119 yards) might have done more damage had he not slipped twice in the open field when it began raining heavily in the second half. "Not being able to stop the run," LB Rosevelt Colvin said, "sets you back on your heels. ... We've just got to go out and play better. I know you get tired of hearing it, and I get tired of saying it." ... Despite playing soft coverage and allowing the Chiefs receivers to catch everything in front of them, the Patriots secondary got beat deep when Hobbs let Hall get behind him for the 52-yard TD pass. "They shifted at the line of scrimmage," Patriots S Michael Stone said, "a lot more than the teams we've been playing. We had to make a lot more adjustments." ... The Chiefs didn't have to punt until the third quarter. ... They shut down the Corey Dillon-less (calf injury) running game, especially Heath Evans (six carries, 11 yards), who came back down to earth after running so well against the Dolphins and Saints. Take away the Patriots' longest runs - a 15-yard Brady scramble and WR Tim Dwight's 12-yard gain on an end around - and the Patriots rushed 16 times for 47 yards, a 2.9 average.
They Said It
Brady: "When you're 6-5, it's not like you're thinking you're going to win every game by just showing up." On his errant throws: "Being off this much, sometimes those are catches, sometimes they're picks."
Of Note
Troy Brown made his 500th reception, second in franchise history to Stanley Morgan (534). ... TE Christian Fauria's 1-yard TD reception was his first TD this season. ... The Chiefs averaged 11 yards a pass, the Patriots 5.4 yards.
Here's the second article.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The last time Tom Brady had a passer rating this low - 42.5 - he was a rookie making his first appearance in a regular season game.
In relief of Drew Bledsoe, in the late stages of a 34-9 loss to the Lions in Detroit on Nov. 23, 2000, Brady completed 1 of 3 passes. The completion was a 6-yard flip to running back J.R. Redmond.
Brady completed 22 of 40 for 248 yards in Sunday's 26-16 loss to the Chiefs, but he threw four interceptions for the fourth time in his career. Like this one, all were losses on the road (Denver on Oct. 28, 2001; Buffalo on Sept. 7, 2003; and Miami on Dec. 20, 2004).
With the worst defense in their six seasons under Bill Belichick, the Patriots need Brady to carry this team, but his shoulders were sagging Sunday. His best running back, Corey Dillon, and his No.2 receiver, David Givens, have been out with injuries the last few weeks, as well as his starting tackles and center.
Asked if he had enough time to throw against the Chiefs, who sacked him three times and were in his face on a dozen other occasions, Brady said, "Yes." If he had been strapped to a lie detector, it would have exploded.
"Tough day," Brady said.
These days, a tough day for Brady almost guarantees a Patriots defeat.
Heath Evans, who ran so well two weeks ago in his debut against the Dolphins and last week against the Saints, was brought back to reality as the Chiefs defense limited him to 11 yards on six carries. The Patriots' longest run was Brady's third-quarter, 15-yard scramble up the middle on their first touchdown drive. That, to use a favorite Belichick expression, is not what the Patriots are looking for.
When Brady's passes missed their target or were intercepted, it was usually because they were thrown too high. The first interception, which seemed catchable, glanced off 5-foot-9 Deion Branch's raised arms. The second, also too high, would have required a great snare by Troy Brown. The third sailed over Branch's head. The fourth was too high for 5-8 Tim Dwight.
Even Brady's best chance for a first-half touchdown, to 6-3 tight end Benjamin Watson, sailed over Watson's head in the back of the end zone, incomplete. But with three Chiefs aligned just a few yards in front of Watson, a high pass was Brady's only chance.
"You just keep throwing them high," Brady said. "You don't get scared away by [interceptions]. You just go back and try to make the throws. ... I'm going to stand in there whether I've got 2 seconds or 5 seconds. Too many times, [the chance to make the big play] just wasn't there."
It wasn't there because the Chiefs are much better defensively than they were a year ago, when Brady threw for 315 yards (no INTs), and because Brady's offensive line is a mess. Brady, who was sacked only seven times in the first six games, has been sacked 12 times in the last five.
"You just try to do the best you can with what you've got," Brady said. "This is the NFL. You're not going to go 14-2 every year."
Here's part of another article written by some pukesqueak named Vinnie Iyer.
Running back
Patrick Pass, RB, Patriots. It's unclear when Corey Dillon (ankle) and Kevin Faulk (knee) will be able to return to take on roles resembling a "feature back", and Heath Evans, despite his tough running, is better suited to be a pure fullback. That opens the door for New England to run with Pass as a rusher and a receiver. Pass had only 26 yards rushing Sunday because the Pats were playing catch-up vs. the Chiefs for most of the game, but he found the end zone late. The production should come easier as the team plays the Jets and Bills the next two weeks.
On second thought: DeShaun Foster, Panthers. Considering he didn't do much for a while before his combined 101-yard game on Sunday at Buffalo, he probably was dumped in several shallow leagues. The team has committed to giving Foster more touches to save late-season wear on Stephen Davis' old knees, and Foster has the dual-threat talent to produce some big games.
Here's a somewhat complimentary article I just found on Heath. It is about Dillon being out.
But the best laid plans ... and New England's running game has been a huge question mark through the first 12 weeks. Dillon has been injured for more than a month, and even when healthy, he's averaging less than 4 yards a carry.
Kevin Faulk (broken foot) and Patrick Pass (hamstring), New England's third-down back and fullback, respectively, to start the season, have also missed time to injury. In their absences, the team added Amos Zereoue, Michael Cloud and Heath Evans. Surprisingly, Evans, a 'tweener back who played the first four weeks as Miami's fullback, has been the most productive of all of the team's backs in recent weeks. In three weeks with New England, Evans has 39 carries for 169 yards (4.3 average), to go along with eight receptions for 64 yards.
Pass, when not limited by the hamstring injury, has 42 carries for 205 yards (4.8 average) and 20 catches for 221 yards.
The production from the two has given the Patriots better numbers on the ground without Dillon, who hopes to play this week against the Jets. With Faulk, upgraded on the injury report from out to doubtful to questionable in consecutive weeks, also ready for a return to the lineup, the mix of players could leave the Patriots with a far more productive stable of runners to turn to down the stretch.
While Evans came back to reality a bit with just six carries for 11 yards in last Sunday's loss in Kansas City, include Dillon among those who've been impressed by what Evans has been able to accomplish over the last few weeks in the most significant action of his five-year career. Dillon hopes his return to the mix, along with Evans, Faulk, Pass and Cloud, could be just what the doctor ordered for New England's ground struggles.
"He's doing a good job," Dillon said of Evans' play. "Hopefully, when I get back, we'll have a one-two-three-four-five punch going on, and we can do some things."
But while he's enjoying watching Evans' powerful running style, Dillon is still focused on returning to his role as New England's workhorse and giving the team a boost of production.
"I don't like it, man," Dillon said of having to watch from the sideline over the last few weeks. "I don't like it at all. Never have. Like I said, my favorite (saying) is, 'Stuff happens.' All I can do with it is try to get healthy and come back for the stretch (run). That's what I am looking at."
And with Faulk on his way back, Pass working to full health and Evans now established as at least a contributor for the defending Super Bowl champs, the action in the backfield may finally be taking a turn for the better. At least that's the plan right now, but the New England ground attack has shown through 11 games that things don't always play out as planned.