A positive storyline is emerging amid the injury-induced rubble of this 2008 Patriots season.

   

We're getting to see a glimpse of the future.

   

Between Jerod Mayo, Gary Guyton and Pierre Woods (not to mention the injured Shawn Crable), the Pats have finally transitioned to youth at linebacker. Mayo can really play, Guyton looks like a legitimate force on passing downs despite his undrafted status and there's no reason to believe Woods can't fill a role for years to come.

In the secondary, Brandon Meriweather is coming off a terrible game against the Jets, but he's in just his second year and he should get better. James Sanders is a fine No. 2. It's too bad rookie corner Terrence Wheatley is hurt because he finally showed a little something in Indianapolis three weeks ago before going down.

   

The bottom line is that, for the first time in years, you can start to see the vague outlines of a nucleus forming on the Pats' defense.

  

And on offense, it turns out the Pats also have a young quarterback who can play. Unfortunately, Matt Cassel will be part of someone else's nucleus starting next year.

   

On to the grades from Thursday's crushing defeat. Sorry to bring you back….

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QUARTERBACK — A-

   

Cassel's performance has been labeled a coming-out party, but the truth is that he's been pretty good for a while now. The numbers jumped off the page because the Pats dropped him back to pass more than 60 times (50 attempts, three sacks, eight rushing attempts). Still, what a game for the young quarterback.

The two most impressive drives came at the end of each half, when he used the clock, took what the defense gave him and then, when he needed to put the ball in a tough spot for seven points, did exactly that. The first one—a 10-play, 68-yard march that took 1:29 and used just one timeout—was capped by a beautiful, 19-yard strike to Jabar Gaffney on third-and-10. The second—an eight-play, 62 yard drive that took 1:03 and used no timeouts—concluded with an on-the-run, 16-yard laser to Randy Moss on fourth-and-1.

Mixed in with those drives were several plays where he stood in the pocket and delivered the ball on time and on target, and several more where he took off running to pick up key first downs. One of his most impressive plays came when he combined the two, as he tucked the ball to run on a second-and-2 in the third quarter only to spot Wes Welker in the flat and hit him for a catch-and-run that went for 29 yards.

Finally, Cassel has been getting the blame for overthrowing Moss early in the fourth quarter when Moss was open with no one over the top, but Moss stumbled on the play and threw off the timing. Cassel deserves more blame for a handful of poor throws that were behind their intended target, including one intended for Dave Thomas in the fourth quarter that should have been picked off by Dwight Lowery.

 

RUNNING BACKS — B-

   

Kevin Faulk had his standard productive night (38 rushing yards on eight carries for a 4.8-yard average; four catches for 49 yards) but there wasn't much else to sink your teeth into. Sammy Morris returned from injury and was a non-factor while BenJarvus Green-Ellis (nine yards on two carries) simply returned to earth. The Pats didn't run the ball well in the first half (33 yards on 14 non-Cassel carries) and by the third quarter it was strictly a passing game.

RECEIVERS — C+

   

What a freaking catch by Randy Moss.

   

On much of the rest, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. On balance this year, I have found Moss' play uninspiring (not bad; just not great), and Thursday was merely the latest chapter. It doesn't seem like he's separating from defenders consistently, and he's certainly not coming down with balls in traffic like he did last season.

Thursday's game-tying catch was definitely a “wow” moment. But how many of those have we had this year? I'm not saying he's dogging it, but I don't think he's fighting through it, either.

Ty Law got in his kitchen early, and it felt like Moss just accepted it. On most routes, Moss carried himself like a receiver who knew he was going to be covered and the ball was going to go to someone else, which it was. In fact, Moss worked much harder blocking downfield (most notably hustling out in front of a Sam Aiken screen and blocking safety Kerry Rhodes) than he did trying to get open.

   

When Bill Belichick oversold Moss' performance on the Big Show on Friday, calling it “dominant,” you knew something was up. Welcome to the spin zone. Maybe Belichick didn't like the knee-jerk storyline—Law spurning the Pats in favor of the Jets (again) and then coming into Foxboro and, at the age of 34, having been out of football for a year, with just two practices under his belt, shutting down the Pats best player.

Maybe Bill heard about Chris Collinsworth, a Spygate nemesis, being critical up in the booth. Maybe he felt it was important to show Randy the love. Whatever, the coach made sure he had the player's back (as he should), saying repeatedly that Moss fought to get open all game.

   

Hmm. If you had the DVR rolling at home, I encourage you to go back and watch the Pats' fourth-and-3 play at the 2:40 mark of the second quarter. Moss is up top against Law. Either Moss was the primary target at the stakes (Cassel was looking right at him as he dropped back), or he was meant to clear out for Kevin Faulk coming across underneath.

Unfortunately, Moss didn't get open and he didn't clear out. He basically ran five yards in a straight line and stopped as Cassel took the sack. If that was working hard to get open, then I'd hate to see what a lazy route looked like. Actually, the NFL Network gave us a good example of one in the third quarter (at the 1:21 mark), when Moss ran a three-quarter-speed, banana-shaped in-cut against Lowery, who easily stayed with Moss and batted the ball away.

Unfortunately, that's what a lot of Moss' routes looked like in this game. Belichick also made it clear that Cassel was to blame for the overthrown deep ball in the fourth quarter, barely acknowledging Moss' stumble.

   

Obviously, Moss drew safety help to his side of the field most of the game, and there's tremendous value in that. His mere presence absolutely opened up the field.

   

But that doesn't mean he played well.

   

Send hate mail to mfelger@weei.com and we'll air it out in Thursday's mailbag.

   

Here's one thing I'll admit, and it very much hurts my anti-Moss obsession: what the coaches are doing with Cassel is smart and to be commended. That is, when Cassel reads defenders shaded to one side (Moss’), he's going the other way instead of forcing the ball into coverage. The temptation must be strong to just “throw it up to Randy,” but you don't learn to play the position that way.

So Cassel is—all together now—taking what the defense gives him. That explains Jabar Gaffney's night (seven catches, 86 yards, touchdown) and Ben Watson's stat line (eight catches, 88 yards, touchdown). With Darrelle Revis checking Welker for much of the night, Welker managed just two catches in the first half. Welker was more of a factor as the game opened up in the second half, and finished with his standard production: seven catches, 108 yards.

   

The overall grade is low here because of Moss' play through the first 59:59 of the game, a couple of misplays by Gaffney and a fumble from Watson that was, in a word, pathetic. He basically stripped the ball out of his own hands while being tackled at the ankles by Eric Barton to kill a key possession in the third quarter. Afterward, Belichick had to go to Watson on the sideline and instruct him on how to hold a football. Not good.

 

OFFENSIVE LINE — B-

   

There were times the men up front got manhandled, particularly Dan Koppen and Logan Mankins. And the running game was mostly a non-factor outside of Cassel scrambles (the Pats rushed for 63 yards on 17 non-Cassel carries).

Yet there were many more times that Cassel had a firm pocket and all the time he needed. Overall, when an offense scores 31 points and amasses 511 yards of offense, something good is obviously happening up front. For example, Cassel had a lifetime to find Watson in the end zone at the end of the third quarter, as the line took care of business against the Jets' three-man rush.

   

Then again, some of the individual failures were glaring, with many of them coming against whatever poor bastard was trying to block nose tackle Kris Jenkins. That meant a long, painful night for Koppen, who had to leave the game in the second quarter after Heath Evans ran into his arm/elbow.

The play was no accident, as Jenkins had gotten under Koppen's pads and driven him three yards back into the backfield. Jenkins did the same thing to Mankins in the fourth quarter, pushing him back into Cassel, who then threw wildly and should have been picked off by Lowery.

It got worse for Mankins on the next play, when Jenkins went Reggie White on him and one-armed him to the ground on his way to a sack. Mankins, who has had some bad ups and downs this year, also got beat on the second-quarter sack of Cassel on fourth-and-3, this time by tackle C.J. Mosley. Meanwhile, Koppen returned to play in the second half and proceeded to jump the gun, so to speak, sending a snap over Cassel's shoulder for a 24-yard loss in the third quarter.

DEFENSIVE LINE — C+

   

Richard Seymour was once again active and explosive (10 tackles, sack), but this was not a good overall night for the front three. If it weren't for some spotty blocking by the once-great Alan Faneca, the front would have been a non-factor.

The Pats certainly missed Ty Warren, who missed the game with a groin injury. On the first play of the game, Vince Wilfork slanted to the right of center Nick Mangold, Thomas Jones hit the hole on the other side and wound up with 13 yards—and that pretty much set the tone. Jones would finish with a 100-yard night, the Jets would amass 140 yards as a team and Brett Favre would go through portions of the game way, way too comfortable despite being sacked three times.

Seymour was the main protagonist on the times he wasn’t, pulling a “Jenkins” (a.k.a., a Reggie White) on Faneca on the second series but just missing a sack. Seymour again beat Faneca on the non-call of the Favre intentional grounding at the end of the second quarter. Wilfork victimized Mangold and Faneca on his third quarter sack. Two plays later, Seymour beat Faneca again to the outside for his sixth sack of the year. Suffice it to say, Faneca is no longer one of the best guards in football. 

 

LINEBACKERS — C-

   

It's hard to give such a low grade to this group, because Jerod Mayo was terrific (20 tackles, including 16 solo and two for losses). The rookie has been stellar as a two-way defender all season, but what stood out in this game was his closing speed, such as on his takedown of Jones for a two-yard loss on the opening series, his near-sack of Favre for a one-yard gain in the third quarter, his throttling of Washington for a yard loss to open the fourth quarter and his demolition of Chansi Stuckey with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth.

Fellow youngsters Woods and Guyton continued to contribute as well. Woods had the unblocked sack of Favre on the first play of overtime that should have led to bigger and better things. Woods also got Favre on a near sack to open the fourth quarter (Favre gained a yard) and read a quick screen in the first quarter to drop Jericho Cotchery for a one-yard loss.

As for the speedy Guyton, he had the primary pressure on the Favre incomplete / intentional grounding as well as the coverage on Washington to help snuff out a third-and-short in the third quarter. He also recovered Cotchery’s fourth-quarter fumble.

   

But for all those good things, this was also a group that helped allow the Jets to score 27 points on offense, convert 9-of-16 third downs and win the time of possession battle (31:28 to 28:32 in regulation). If the Pats linebackers were so good, those numbers wouldn't look like that.

Woods, for example, was victimized on the Leon Washington screen for a touchdown on the opening drive and later took a bad late-hit penalty that led to more points. Guyton also let tight end Dustin Keller slip behind him for a 14-yard gain to convert a second-and-long on the Jets’ go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.

And while Mayo was everywhere throughout the course of the game, he may not have been in the one spot he needed to be on the Jets' killer, third-and-15 conversion to Keller in overtime.

SECONDARY — D-

    

This was a bad, bad day for the safeties, particularly Meriweather. Talk about back-sliding.

After showing steady improvement through the course of the year, the 2007 first-round pick threw up a clunker. He missed a tackle on Keller on his 20-yard pickup on the Jets’ first series, had another bad tackle attempt on Brad Smith on a 17-yard wildcat run on the second series and took a bad angle on Cotchery's second-quarter touchdown. While Meriweather was taking a bad angle over the top of that throw, James Sanders was taking a bad angle underneath. It was a twofer. And that was just the first half.

Meriweather gave Leon Washington way too much room to pick up a third-and-9 in the third quarter and he couldn't come up with the tackle of Keller short of the stakes in overtime. And as bad as the holding call was on Mike Vrabel in the end zone, that's how legitimate the holding call was on Sanders two plays later.

Finally, what was Deltha O'Neal pointing at on the Jets' game-winning overtime drive? While he was gesturing, Laveranues Coles got off the line clean and picked up 16 yards on second-and-10, a play that saw yet another missed tackle from Meriweather.

On the good side, Jason Webster forced Cotchery’s fourth-quarter fumble and Ellis Hobbs was okay, other than his interference call on Cotchery in the second quarter.

But overall, Favre completed 79 percent of his passes and never came close to giving the ball away. That's ridiculous. 

 

SPECIAL TEAMS — D+

   

One of the underrated plays of the game occurred on the opening kickoff, when Ray Ventrone was taken out with a vicious block by the Jets' James Ihedigbo (a UMass product). With Ventrone on Planet Zippy, the Pats were without one of their starting cover guys.

So perhaps it's no coincidence the Pats were as bad on kickoffs in this game as they've been all season, allowing a 92-yard return for a score by Washington in the second quarter (Sanders and Jonathan Wilhite slipped coming down the field, providing Washington with a huge running lane) and other first-half returns of 30 and 37 yards.

Stephen Gostkowski didn't help matters with a few short kickoffs, until he got to overtime, that is. Then he boomed one deep into the end zone at the lighthouse end. The Pats could have used a few of those in the first half. Gostkowski made up for it with another great night on field goals. He was good from 42 and 31 yards in the first half and then nailed a clutch 47-yarder into the open end to tie the game with ten minutes left in the fourth quarter.

 

COACHING — C

   

The Jets exploited the Pats with passes up the seam all game, and the coaches were never able to make the proper adjustment. It remained a problem right up until Keller’s killer catch in overtime.

It'd be one thing if the Pats had coverage on Keller and he and Favre just made the play. In that case, you tip your cap and say maybe the injury-replacements you had on the field for Adalius Thomas and Rodney Harrison weren't good enough.

But the Pats didn't have anyone in the immediate vicinity on that play and many others, which speaks to coaching as much as anything. Otherwise, the Pats competed hard to the end despite the injuries and despite the scoreboard in the first half. Everyone deserves credit for that.

THREE UP

Matt Cassel -- His work in the two-minute drill was the most important.

Jerod Mayo -- A destroyer.

Ty Law -- Off the street and in Randy Moss' grill. Pretty impressive.

THREE DOWN

Brandon Meriweather -- A big step back.

Logan Mankins -- A Super Bowl redux. 

Ben Watson -- As lame a fumble as you'll see.

FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH

--In terms of degree of difficulty, I'll take the one-handed, off-the-helmet catch by Cotchery against Ellis Hobbs (while being interfered with) over the one by David Tyree in the Super Bowl last year.

--Did you find it odd that the nationally televised game by the league-owned network didn't include a single beauty shot of Patriot Place? Coming in and out of commercial breaks we saw the Charles River, Cheers, the Big Dig and even Fenway Park, for crying out loud. But where was Bob Kraft's pride and joy? The telecast also barely covered Troy Brown night, providing only a quick shot of him at the podium. Weird.

Michael Felger can be seen nightly on Comcast Sportsnet and is a regular contributor for WEEI.com. He can be reached at mfelger@weei.com.