WHAT THE  %!&#@?

That was the text message I received from at least 10 different friends on Sunday night after the game. And that has pretty much been the sentiment of everyone I have talked to since that debacle in Indy, otherwise known as a 35-34 loss for the Patriots. The decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the 28-yard line will overshadow some pretty good individual performances as well as some uncharacteristic mistakes by the Patriots.

OFFENSE: B-

The best news from the Indy game is that Tom Brady is back to where he needs to be. Tom was as impressive as he has been all year. His long passes were as accurate as his '07 efforts and his medium-range passing was very precise. Brady even looked like his old self with his pocket presence. He was moving around in the pocket just enough to buy the time he needed. There were a couple of missed opportunities with some open receivers but the production more than made up for those few instances.

Randy Moss was incredible again. The first touchdown reception was the epitome of concentration. Antoine Bethea had very good coverage, and actually got his arm in between Moss' hands. Moss made a difficult catch look very easy. Then again, Moss does that a lot.

The only thing that can keep Wes Welker out of the Pro Bowl is players and coaches from the rest of the league not wanting to vote for two guys on the same team. Moss will get in. Welker might not, but he is as deserving as any receiver out there. It appeared that Indy paid as much attention to Welker as Moss with its defensive schemes. Bad idea. Welker and Moss made the Colts pay for that mistake. Imagine all that offensive output from a receiver who also goes out and returns a punt for 69 yards.

Kevin Faulk came up big in another big game. He not only gained a bunch of yards, he helped keep the Indy pass rush in check with the threat of a draw. Laurence Maroney was ineffective and compounded the problem with that terrible fumble on the goal line. He looked a little too upright on that attempt. I know he is not a fumbler, but that was almost unforgivable.

Nick Kaczur struggled against the smaller and faster Robert Mathis. On the other side of the line, Sebastian Vollmer continued to show that he is getting better. The times he was one-on-one with Dwight Freeney, he did very well. The Patriots mixed up the help they gave him. Some came from a chip by the receiver or tight end and some came from sliding the line his way. The interior line play was solid, with Dan Koppen coming back to play quicker than anticipated.

The grade could have been higher on production alone, but the Pats failed to make the plays when they needed to at the end of the game.

DEFENSE: C

It is obvious that Belichick believed he needed more speed on defense in order to compete with the faster offenses around the league. Between the speed of the Colts' players and the pace at which they run their offense, Indy is the best example of why defensive speed is a must in today's NFL.

The defensive line is seriously hurting. The injuries to Ty Warren and Jarvis Green put a big hurt on the defense. The unavailability of those two forced the Pats to give up most of their usual rotation of front-line players. Granted, they were in nickel or dime most of the time, but it seriously helps the pass rush when you can keep fresh legs on the field. Vince Wilfork and Mike Wright were working hard but between the no huddle offense and the lack of available subs it was inevitable that they would get tired.

Late in the game it was obvious they were nearly spent.

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The linebackers played well. Early in the game, Indy tight end Dallas Clark was getting a free release off the line. Gary Guyton was eventually part of the group that did a reasonable job containing the best tight end in football. Derrick Burgess actually got some pressure on Manning and Tully Banta-Cain was playing well enough before getting hurt.

In the defensive backfield, it seemed like feast or famine. The secondary helped force the Indy offense into more first half punts than Peyton Manning has ever seen. But then Manning turned around and burned the group for 327 yards and four touchdowns. Some of his completions were incredible throws and catches, but the secondary had its share of good plays. That is the nature of playing against one of the best quarterbacks ever. Eventually he is going to make some plays. The safeties worked well on Clark.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

Excellent kicks, great coverage and a spectacular Welker punt return led the Patriots to a dominating special teams performance. Punter Chris Hanson even had one of his best days of the year with great distance and hang time on his punts.

COACHING: D

You cannot get past the fourth-and-2 call by Belichick. This seemed like either an incredibly gutsy call or an unbelievably dumb one. I suspect the reality is somewhere in between. As expected, the players are pretty much backing up the call, but there must be some questions even in the locker room.

The overall offensive game plan was very good. The Patriots took advantage of most of the weaknesses presented by the Indy defense and were very good in both facets of offense.

Defensively the game plan was pretty good, too. The first half went very well. The fourth-quarter breakdown was a combination of fatigue by the Patriots defense and the Colts' serious offensive firepower eventually making plays. After the failure to convert the fourth-down play, I thought the defense should bring the house on Manning. I thought it would be a no-lose situation with an all-out blitz. Either you get to him and sack him or they score and you have time on the clock to drive for a field goal.

This grade would have been much higher if not for the miscues in the fourth quarter. A timeout after a change of possession may have cost the Patriots a chance to review the fourth-down play. It probably would not have been overturned, but the Patriots didn't even have the chance to challenge because all of their timeouts had been burned.

There is no telling whether Indy would have scored if the Patriots had punted that ball. They were moving the ball very well at that point. Even so, maybe it's the old linebacker in me, but I wanted the defense to have a chance to stop Manning.