It was another all-access week for Inside the NFL. So when the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots got blown out 41-17 by the San Diego Chargers, Inside the NFL was there to cover it.
Going into the game, New England coach Bill Belichick was worried about the threat of Chargers wide receivers Keenan McCardell and Eric Parker. His fears became reality. While it is rare that Belichick talks about specific players breaking down the Pats' defensive schemes, the one-two punch of McCardell and Parker on Sunday merited such attention.
Parker and McCardell did an excellent job of breaking down the New England zone and undercutting the defensive backs. Parker had three catches for 50 yards in the first half. The San Diego offense didn't stop there - even the team's third wide receiver, Reche Caldwell, caught a touchdown pass.
San Diego was successful at picking up Patriots blitz packages. The New England defense was completely silent after the second quarter, as the Chargers scored four touchdowns in the final three quarters to win the game.
Patriots' safeties Eugene Wilson and Guss Scott both unsuccessfully attempted to cover Charger tight-end Antonio Gates. Gates was too much, and Wilson was called for a 44-yard pass interference penalty that set-up the Chargers' second touchdown.
San Diego kept the ball on the ground for most of the second half, but Gates still hauled in three passes for 69 yards in the final two quarters.
Belichick remained quiet about the impact of not having safety Rodney Harrison, who will sit out the rest of the season with an ACL injury. He emphasized the team has confidence in all players, and it has to use the current healthy members on its roster. None of the players that talked to the media were ready to admit that not having Harrison made an impact.
His role must have been important, considering comments cornerback Randall Gay made about last year's team.
"Rodney was the glue that held the entire team together," he said.
One of Harrison's specialties is his ability to come to the line of scrimmage and stuff the run. The Patriots got little momentum against the run on Saturday, and Harrison's absence exacerbated the problem. Former Patriot linebacker Ted Johnson told Inside the NFL that the Patriots had a difficult time figuring out double team assignments and filling in the holes created by the Chargers' offensive line.
Patriots' defensive lineman Richard Seymour demonstrated his usual calm after both wins and losses.
"[We don't get] too high on wins or too low on losses," he said.
Seymour also took some of the credit for New England's sub-par effort.
"We are going to take this one on the chin and some of the responsibility is on my shoulders," the lineman said. "There is a lot of football left to be played."
The Patriots cannot afford to sulk in their defeat, as they have two tough road games against the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos coming up before their bye-week.
New England Notes: This was the first Patriot loss at Gillette Stadium since a December 2002 against the New York Jets. Brady acknowledged the team's failure.
"We didn't hold up our end of the bargain today," he said.
The Chargers shut down the Patriots receiving corps, as evidenced by Patriots backup running back Patrick Pass leading receivers with eight catches.
Belichick spread the blame around for the decisive loss in his post-game press conference.
"We got out-played and out-coached in every phase of the game," he said. "I would be hard-pressed to find one [specific area of failure] at this point."
