New England Patriots: 5 observations from win over Dolphins

Playing Unpatriotic

President Trump has been all over Twitter questioning the Patriotism of NFL players who peacefully support what they believe in during the National Anthem. Yes, really. He’s even called for their being fired. Very unfair!

When a non-New Englander thinks of Patriotism, they think about the stars and stripes and loving your country. When a Patriots fan thinks of being Patriotic, they think about unmatched preparedness and not making stupid mistakes on either side of the ball.

Yesterday, the Patriots played very unpatriotic. The most notable blunder was a mistimed snap by Ted Karras which resulted in a scoop and score from the Dolphins. It was a rare error that’s almost never seen on a Belichick led team.

"When asked about the mistake, Karras said “That’s 100 percent my fault, I just snapped it early. It was 100 percent on me. Kind of a nightmare, but we overcame it.”"

Overcome they did. Kudos for Karras for not packing up his locker and leaving the facility the moment the final whistle blew. To quote Rocky Balboa, “it ain’t about how hard ya hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward”.

It wasn’t enough to lose them the game, but mistakes allowed the Dolphins to stay within reach. Mistakes happen, but limiting mental errors is what the Patriots do best. Expect a cleaner game from them next weekend.