Remember the “Bizarro” episode of "Seinfeld"? That was this past weekend. The opposite of everything normal in the Boston sports world was happening everywhere. Jonathan Papelbon and the Red Sox blew a two-run lead in the ninth inning to get swept by an Angels team they had always spanked in the playoffs. The high point of sports in town for the weekend was a Bruins win. Stephen Gostkowski hit a 53-yard field goal but missed a 40-yard try in the Patriots' 20-17 overtime loss to the Broncos. Tom Brady could not get 15 or 20 yards to set up a game-winning field goal at the end of the game. And to further prove that the sports world is upside-down, A-Rod is getting clutch hits and driving in runs in the playoffs. Nostradamus could not have predicted this past weekend for the Boston teams.

OFFENSE: D-

In what was really a tale of two halves, the New England offense was pretty good in the first half and non-existent in the second. When they needed first downs or even just three points in the clutch, the Patriots were unable to get the job done. Even with the loss of Matt Light and Benjamin Watson in the second half, there should have been enough firepower to handle the Broncos defense.

Brady started the game looking even more comfortable in the pocket than previous weeks. The Pats moved the ball almost at will on two of their drives. There were a couple of plays in the first half that kept Denver in the game. Brady's horrible overthrow of a wide-open Randy Moss in the end zone and the Logan Mankins 15-yard penalty kept at least four and maybe seven points off the board. Kyle Orton played great but he has yet to show the ability to be a comeback QB, and if the Patriots were up by 17 points at the half instead of 10 this would have been a different game.

The offensive line gave Brady ample protection most of the time. This was partly due to its effort and partly to the fact that Denver did not bring many blitzes. A bad penalty and an allowed sack/strip were the low points. The run-blocking was adequate.

Most of the time, the Broncos defense had someone over the top of Moss and clamped down hard and quick on the other receivers. The Patriots had better get used to that coverage. They have seen it in three of their five games — and some of it in the other two. Wes Welker told us on Monday that the seemingly errant pass by Brady on the wide-open seam route was a misread on his part. The group needs someone to at least draw the attention of the safety on the side away from Moss. Joey Galloway was supposed to be that guy, but for the second straight week he was a healthy scratch.

The running backs were fine. Nothing outstanding and nothing too bad. Laurence Maroney looked like he may have been dancing less. I still would like to see BenJarvus Green-Ellis now that Fred Taylor has gone down.

DEFENSE: D

Missed tackles will make a coach crazy. There were enough missed tackles in this game to drive the entire staff insane. Denver had entirely too many yards gained after the first contact. There was minimal gang-tackling on the part of the New England defense.

The defensive backs were the worst offenders when it came to tackling. First they were giving way too much cushion to a team that has yet to prove there is a deep threat in its offense. Then when the passes were completed in front of them, they too often missed a tackle. This was a step back for the secondary.

It was good to see Jerod Mayo out there ahead of schedule. He played well enough and was showing no ill effects from the knee injury. Gary Guyton was active and involved against Denver and has earned playing time even with the return of Mayo. Expect to see Guyton playing more outside 'backer as Mayo reclaims the middle spot. Rob Ninkovich was the unexpected contributor at linebacker with a sack and a tipped pass. Adalius Thomas continues to be an enigma. At times he looks great and at others he is nowhere to be found. The linebackers also missed some tackles.

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03/3/2012

Boston Red Sox vs Northeastern - JetBlue Park, Lee County , FL
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03/3/2012

Boston Red Sox vs Boston College Eagles - JetBlue Park, Lee County , FL
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03/4/2012

Boston Red Sox vs Minnesota Twins - JetBlue Park, Lee County , FL
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Vince Wilfork was the best defensive player on the field against the Broncos. He is dominating his position so far this year. On the whole, the D line was average against the run and below average with the pass rush. Granted, the bulk of the Denver passing game consisted of short routes and quick throws, but you still need more pressure up front.

The defense did come up with a stop toward the end of regulation, giving the offense the ball and the team a chance to win. However, when you give up two 90-plus-yard scoring drives you are not getting the job done.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C

Just as you would expect, Gostkowski was booming the kickoffs in the light air of Denver. He did miss a chip-shot 40-yard FG attempt. But he made the 53-yarder with relative ease. The returns were nothing special and the limited kick coverage chances were fine. Punter Chris Hanson did a nice acting job to draw the running-into-the-kicker penalty.

COACHING: D

The Patriots offensive coaches are not opening up the offense. I have to believe that Brady wants to open it up. The defense will not be the reason this team makes the playoffs. The D will be good enough, but the offense is what will make this team a contender.

After the Light injury the Patriots seemed to go into protective mode. Not that they were lighting it up before that, but when Sebastian Vollmer came in at left tackle some of the play-calling seemed designed more to hide Vollmer than to attack Denver.