Whenever your team’s player of the game is a punter who was unemployed just two weeks ago, chances are it wasn’t a good day for the home team. And let’s face it, it wasn’t a good day for the home team.

Now we could break this game down, tell you how the zone blocking adjustments at half time by the Patriots offensive line allowed them to dictate the game to the Ravens in the second half; we could point out that the Patriots intensity level dwarfed that of the Ravens after the break and how the battle of field position was won decisively by the Patriots special teams in quarters 3 and 4. But you already know that, right? Why belabor it? You don’t really want to read it, do you? Wasn’t watching that second half painful enough?

Like the outcome, the game conditions were wretched but guess what -- the Patriots had to play in the same mess. We questioned during GAMETIME on Sunday whether the driving rain would be detrimental to the Ravens chances. Not to make excuses but if the truth be known, the Ravens are a defensive team that is built for speed. And sloppy conditions act as an equalizer -- they take away the advantage of speed.

It took the Patriots the first half to figure that out. Once they did, the game was over. The Patriots determination and strength combined to register a dominating second half of football. The Ravens should however, move ahead undaunted. Let Sunday be a learning experience. Watch the tape, study it and gauge what needs to be done to compete with the elite teams in the league on the road.

We’ll leave the film study for the Ravens in the classroom. I won’t bother with the film today but I will share some of my observations per usual by position:

QUARTERBACK

Obviously Kyle Boller had difficulties gripping the football. He alternated between using gloves and then not using them, hoping to gain a greater degree of comfort. He never did as evidenced by his inaccuracy. You have to admire his determination and willingness to absorb punishment but the results matched the beauty of the playing surface. He forced passes and should have had at least 3 interceptions instead of one. It’s not a good day when your best play can be described as follows: “Boller from the shotgun…the snap goes over his head…he races back towards the loose ball…scoops it up in the end zone, avoids the oncoming rush and fires a perfect spiral 25 yards out of bounds.”

RUNNING BACK  1/2

Gutty performance by Chester Taylor, gaining 61 yards on 16 carries. While those numbers aren’t all that impressive, Taylor’s determination was, often picking up extra yardage when none appeared to be available. Support in pass protection by Taylor and Ricard was mediocre.

RECEIVERS

ESPN had a feature on the Chargers Antonio Gates during their pre-game show. During the segment, the point was made that receivers like Gates and Tony Gonzales who are experienced basketball players, attack the ball while it is in the air like a rebounder would attack the glass. Randy Hymes apparently did not play much basketball or if he did, he certainly didn’t play in the paint. At the end of the first half with 9 seconds remaining, Hymes had a chance to make a play. He didn’t. Granted, it would have been a tough catch but when you have 4 inches on the defender and a reach advantage that more than doubles that, you need to attack the ball -- make it yours and go towards it and snag it. Otherwise, the height and reach advantages are neutralized. Besides Hymes, Ravens’ receivers had very few chances to make plays. Moore dropped a streak down the right side late in the game.

OFFENSIVE LINE  1/2

The line was decent in pass protection and was fairly effective picking up most Patriots’ blitzes. They never had an opportunity to get untracked in the running game. Eight of the Ravens’ first 10 plays were passes.

DEFENSIVE LINE  1/2

The D-Line’s performance was certainly a tale of two halves. In the first half, they were disruptive to the rhythm of Tom Brady. In the second half when the Patriots decided to establish the run, they were pushed around, smacked in the mouth and well….hit in the face with mud.

LINEBACKERS  1/2

Ditto the D-Line

SECONDARY

Chris McAlister played like a man that was trying to preserve himself. The stinger clearly had its hold on C-Mac. He was very passive in run support and during downfield tackling opportunities. Ed Reed and Gary Baxter made plays. Will Demps continues to appear lost at times and fails to finish when blitzing; Corey Fuller and Ray Walls may as well strap on bulls eyes; Chad Williams was at times disruptive during blitzing situations.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Nick Murphy will likely need to spend time in the cold tub tomorrow. His leg has to be sore after 10 punts in the mud. He was outstanding yet often out kicked the coverage team despite decent hang time in awful playing conditions. Rod Green is developing into a beast on special teams. Will Demps chipped in; B.J. Sams’ lateral mobility and shiftiness was mitigated by the slop.

COACHING  1/2

It’s often said that the first and third quarters are heavily influenced by coaching and the second and fourth quarters are controlled by player performance. In the first half, it’s safe to say that coaching like the scoreboard, was deadlocked. Belichick is known for his halftime adjustments and on Sunday, those adjustments were more like overhauls. The Patriots came out fired up, more determined and equipped with a better plan. The Ravens coaching staff failed to checkmate. Then with the game completely out of hand and with the result very obvious to everyone except the Ravens staff, Billick & Co. decided to keep most of their starters in the game. Why? Take your medicine, start licking your wounds and get out without further injury. Don’t make emotional choices and stay focused on the big picture.

FINAL THOUGHTS

* The Jets and Chargers winning were slight blows to the Ravens playoff chances. Yet 11-5 still appears to be a safe bet for a playoff berth. The game plan hasn’t changed. The Ravens need to take care of business at home and win one of their road games against Pittsburgh or Indianapolis. There is evidence of cracks in the Black & Gold armor. And the Ravens are very capable of beating the Colts even in Indy. Keep in mind that few gave the Ravens a chance to defeat the Rams last year in St. Louis. They were well on their way to defeating that high flying offense, choking it off almost completely and limiting the Rams or should I say the Lambs, to 121 yards of offense. Fact is, the Ravens are built for speed and the indoor facilities accentuate that advantage. But let’s get Deion healthy.

** Next week, the Ravens will come home to what promises to be a raucous home crowd at The Vault. Todd Heap and Jamal Lewis are expected to return to the field as is Orlando Brown. The Ravens are 7-4 and certainly within reach of a playoff berth. They’ve accomplished this despite only having Heap, Jamal Lewis and J.O. on the field together for a grand total of 29 minutes this season. TWENTY-NINE MINUTES!

*** The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail. ~ Nelson Mandella

**** “Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.” Robert Schuller