Pro football isn't supposed to be like backyard touch on Stanford Drive, but the Patriots sure made it look that easy yesterday.
When Tom Brady faded back and unleashed a 50-yard bomb to Randy Moss in the second quarter - after his offensive line afforded him enough time to call his mom, tie his shoe, tuck in his shirt, and check his iPhone to see if Jacoby Ellsbury was in the lineup again - you kind of got the feeling they were on their way to smucking the hapless Miami Dolphins.
On that particular play, Moss sprinted down the right side of the field, blew past safety Renaldo Hill, then nudged aside safety Cameron Worrell as he rose above the defenders to gather in his 10th touchdown pass of the season (and second of the day).
It was ridiculous. Ridiculous that Brady had that much time, ridiculous that Moss came up with the ball, ridiculous how embarrassing this once-proud Dolphins defense looked on the play.
"Brady is just throwing up jump balls," said Miami cornerback Will Allen. "That's the way I saw it. Like basketball. He throws it up there, and Moss comes down with it.
"Those are plays we've got to make. But they won't let us."
That TD made the score 35-7 Patriots, and it was barely midway through the second quarter. If there was such thing as an NFL mercy rule, it would have been an appropriate time to implement it.
Although the chatter about New England becoming the first team since the 1972 Dolphins to run the table remains premature, it certainly will gain steam with yet another dominant Patriots performance. It would only be prudent, however, to pose the obvious question in the wake of this 49-28 shellacking: Are the Patriots really this good, or are the Dolphins really that bad?
Answer: A healthy combination of both.
The once-vaunted Fins defense, anchored by one-time Pro Bowlers Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor, appears to have calcified overnight. It was giving up 30.3 points and 352.2 yards a game before the Patriots cruised in and pummeled it.
In fact, while we're speculating, how ironic would it be if New England (7-0) won 'em all in the same season Miami (0-7) lost 'em all?
