Eric Heise dot Com ~ The Monday Analysis 31 October 2005 ~ A Writer's March

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has reportedly declined the Red Sox offer for a three-year deal, and will leave the ball club.

Tedy Bruschi's return wasn't a pretty game to watch, but in the end, the Patriots got it done with 21-16 victory over Buffalo for sole possession of first place in the AFC East.

The Patriots played terrible. As for Bruschi, he got the loss of training camp and six regular season games wrapped up into one. The Defense was on the field for 40 minutes. Bruschi himself was in on 64 of 77 Defensive plays, plus special teams. He looked visibly spent during the second quarter, but was never came off the field for more than a play, and he was in on big tackles, make 44 stops and 11 tackles.

The Patriots Offense was pathetic. When they were on the field and they were playing, things were good, but they didn't stay out there long enough. The Defense got hammered by the Bills Offense - who still could not take advantage of the scoring opportunities - and were lucky enough to not collapse in the middle of it all.

For as little time that he was out there, Corey Dillon still rush 18 times for 72 yards and 2 TDs. Patrick Pass started the game and rushed three time for 17 yards, plus a 23 yard reception before leaving with an injury. David Givens caught 7 passes for 58 yards, and Deion Branch came up big with three receptions for 93 yards and a TD. Tom Brady went 14-21 for 199 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble and a 113 rating.

"It was a good win for our football team," said head coach Bill Belichick after the game. "We are really proud of the guys. They hung in there, down by nine with, whatever it was, eight minutes to go in the game or something like that, and to come back and then get the lead and even have the ball with a couple of minutes to go, a lot of things went in our favor. We made some big plays when we needed to and it was a good win for us."

The Bruschi Return Tour returns next week for a Monday nighter in Foxboro as the Patriots host the Colts. Patriots Nation should be beyond crazy.

The Monday Analysis POWER Rankings

I love the middle of the season. The fakes die and the real team emerge.

1. Indy (7-0). Bye week, still on top.

2. Denver (6-2). Playing well, surprising. I didn't think Jake Plummer could hold on to it this long.

I love the middle of the season. The fakes die and the real team emerge.

1. Indy (7-0). Bye week, still on top.

2. Denver (6-2). Playing well, surprising. I didn't think Jake Plummer could hold on to it this long.

3. NJ Giants (5-2). Ok, imagine this: Manning No. 2 versus Manning No. 3 in XL. Who would YOU want to win?

4. Cincinnati (5-2). I like Marvin Lewis, I like the Bengals, but they're really not blowing people away.

5. Tampa Bay (5-2). Stumble, stumble, stumble...

6. Dallas (5-3). A typical Parcells-led team. Inconsistent at beast, but this is a nice bounce back from last week's loss.

7. Seattle (5-2). Mike Holmgren has this team playing the best ever in his tenure.

8. Atlanta (5-2). A nice two game win streak and a Bye gives them top of the NFC South.

9. Carolina (5-2). Carolina didn't waste anytime regaining momentum left over from last year.

10. New England (4-3). If they could only start playing with the discipline they won all those Super Bowls with, they'd be higher on this list.

11. Pittsburgh (4-2). I flopped them all the way down here, and I don't remember why. Oh yeah, I hate Bill Cowher.

12. (tie) Washington (4-3). How do you let Jersey goose-egg you?

12. (tie) Kansas City (4-3). I don't get it. You have two days less to win on the road last week, and a full ten days to lose on the road this week.