Drew Brees had another reason to celebrate Monday night as he threw 5 TDs in the Saints 38-17 win // Image courtesy of boston.com

It was over when the Patriots took the field.

To be honest, I didn’t throw in the towel until the mid-fourth quarter. After Tom Brady missed a wide open Sam Aiken that would have at least made the game a bit more competitive, Drew Brees kept converting third downs against the Patriots defensive backs, ending his sweet offensive symphony with a touchdown to Marques Colston.

This was possibly the most embarrassing game for me, as a Patriots fan, to watch since last year’s 38-13 crushing at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Heck, it may even rival the loss to the Giants in the Super Bowl. National television. Everyone watching. The Saints down two of their top men (Reggie Bush and Lance Moore) as well as their two top cornerbacks (Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter.)

And still, this crushing loss.

Now, while I did respect the Saints and their 10-0 record, I didn’t expect them to be THIS good. Drew Brees, without a doubt, should be MVP this season the way he’s slinging the football. Every single pass was hash-perfect. Pierre Thomas is exactly the back that kills the Patriots; speedy and quick, forcing them to miss tackles. The receiving core is made up of young, athletic guys who can stretch the field and catch everything. And the defense surpassed even my expectations, playing about as well as one can play facing a future Hall of Fame quarterback like Brady.

As for the Patriots…well…it was a less than inspired effort. I don’t like aspersing blame on the team for not trying because, well, that’s a completely unfair and, possibly, incorrect assumption to make. However, the way it looked in the game tonight, it was stupid mistakes. Missed tackles (especially by Adalius Thomas, who seems to be transforming into the missed tackle king.) Absolutely TERRIBLE angles in coverage. It looked like Meriweather regressed tonight; he didn’t attack the receivers like he has in the past. As for the pass rush; we KNEW it was bad, tonight just confirmed it. And the offensive line couldn’t protect worth a darn (making it even clearer that Sebastian Vollmer is an integral part to this team and NEEDS to start.)

Honestly, I was a bit disgusted tonight. The Saints came out to cheers and just LOOKED more pumped up. The Patriots had a nice opening drive (a healthy dose of Maroney who, despite his fumbling issue which needs to be worked on, played well once again) but, after Brady threw an interception to Mike McKenzie, didn’t look the same at all. It was just a sloppy effort all around. Even Randy Moss and Wes Welker, who are usually both so reliable, dropped a few and, more importantly, disappeared from the game for a few seconds.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, I mused to myself that there was something different about this Patriots team than in years past. They didn’t have the IT factor. I wasn’t confident that we were going to win. I didn’t go into this game thinking that it was going to be a blowout. In past years, I’d have done the simple math in my head; Belichick + Brady + young defense = comeback victory. Now, I’m not so sure. Don’t get me wrong; Bill Belichick is still a great coach and Brady is a future Hall of Fame quarterback. But that mystique that made this Patriots team so special, both on offense and on defense, is gone.

As for the outlook on the rest of the season, the Patriots should make the playoffs. They don’t have any competition for the divisional crown and could even still feasibly get a first-round bye (though, if they do get that, I’m not sure they’d deserve it.) They could get their rematch shot against the Colts and, who knows, maybe even the Saints.

However, to get far enough to snatch that opportunity, a few things have to change. And it starts from the top.

Bill Belichick has to get these players nasty again. The grit is gone. Tedy Bruschi took it with him to ESPN, and Rodney Harrison with him to NBC. Jerod Mayo misses way too many tackles; Gary Guyton outplayed him tonight, though that isn’t saying much. Vince Wilfork was pushed around by Jahri Evans (who’s, given, one of the best guards in the NFL.) Tully Banta-Cain even underwhelmed tonight. There wasn’t a guy who oozed the kind of presence that a Tedy, or even a Rodney, had on this team in the past. Belichick has to make it a prerogative to find someone on this defense that can step it up and play that enforcer. Who could it be? Mayo? Meriweather? Maybe even Tully? I don’t know; but someone has to step up.

Next, the team has to go through some tackling drills. Way too many missed tackles tonight. The Pierre Thomas screen TD? Derrick Burgess had him in the backfield for a loss, only couldn’t wrap up. Then, Butler missed a tackle that could have prevented a first down. ANGLES! The Marques Colston 60 yard pass could have been held to just a 15ish yard gain had Meriweather taken a better angle to the ball carrier! Just simple, fundamental things that the team needs to go over.

On the offensive side of the ball, I expect Stephen Neal and Nick Kaczur to get a lot of reps. Then, I expect Kaczur to take his rightful seat on the bench whenever Vollmer gets back. Please give me one reason why Vollmer should not be starting over Kaczur (and over Light at left tackle) when healthy. There isn’t one. I also want Bill O’Brien to write himself a memo; on third and five, stop having guys run two yard routes. For a Brown graduate, it seems elementary to have your man run routes at the marker on tough third downs, but I suppose it’s more complicated than that.

I am a Patriots fan, and I support this team wholeheartedly. But, in this role, I am first and foremost the person who needs to point out flaws so the team can improve. I’m not one to go all Dan Shaughnessy and ride horseback proclaiming “The end is near!” every time the Patriots lose a tough game to a clearly better team. However, this team is far from where it needs to be if they wish to contend for a Super Bowl.

So, what can we take from this game? First of all, the Saints are the best team in the NFL, and Drew Brees should be the front-runner for MVP honors. Secondly, the Patriots still have a lot of work to do if they want to be legitimate championship contenders. And thirdly, this team has lost its edge from years past and needs to find a way to regain it.

Two weeks ago, after the Patriots lost to the Colts, I said that I hoped that loss would be the worst of the year and, from there, things would look up. After this game, I’m forced to reiterate that statement. Miami is in six days, they always play the Patriots tough and if there was any Patriots team that could lose back-to-back games, I fear this could be the one.

Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and this team have five weeks to rekindle the magic that made them so unstoppable earlier this decade in preparation for their playoff berth. Is it possible? Sure; look at the Giants of two years ago and the Cardinals of last season for two teams that heated up at the right time.

Am I hopeful? I’ll have to get back to you on that in a week.

- Ethan Hammerman