Live Blog: Panthers at Patriots

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Dec 13, 2009

Live Blog: Panthers at Patriots Patriots 20, Panthers 10. Final: It wasn't pretty, but the Patriots got better as the game progressed and wrapped up a workmanlike victory against the Panthers at Gillette Stadium. Stick with NESN.com for complete postgame coverage.

Fourth quarter, 2:00: With the win, the Patriots will snap their two-game losing streak. They haven't lost three in a row since 2002, a streak of 132 games, including the playoffs.

Fourth quarter, 2:32: That's just about that. The Panthers turned the ball over on downs, and the Patriots take over at the Carolina 24. New England will improve to 8-5 with the victory and maintain control of the AFC East.

Patriots 20, Panthers 10. Fourth quarter, 3:56: Stephen Gostkowski has a big leg and might have just iced the Patriots' victory with a 46-yard field goal that smoked through the uprights.

Fourth quarter, 4:21: The Panthers just committed one of football's biggest sins. Rookie Everette Brown was flagged for roughing the punter, and the Patriots retain possession on Carolina's side of the field. The Panthers would have taken over at their own 20 with three timeouts and a chance to tie the game, but Brown's penalty negated that chance.

Fourth quarter, 5:53: Who said the Patriots don't have a pass rush? OK, everyone does. But Jarvis Green just recorded the team's first sack of the day to halt the Panthers' drive on third down. New England takes over at the Carolina 42 after Wes Welker's punt return.

Patriots 17, Panthers 10. Fourth quarter, 7:20: Stephen Gostkowski squeezed home a 48-yard field goal on the same end of the field as John Kasay's first-half miss. Even with the wind moving favorably in that direction, the ball isn't traveling well Sunday.

Earlier in the drive, Randy Moss was heavily booed for dropping a pass. He has been targeted four times in this game, and it's resulted in four negative plays. He's got two drops, one catch and fumble, and allowed one pass to get intercepted.

Patriots 14, Panthers 10. Fourth quarter, 12:14: John Kasay knocked home a 36-yard field goal to tighten the margin. The Panthers capitalized off of two big plays on that drive — a 22-yard run from DeAngelo Williams to start the drive, and a 21-yard reception from Dante Rosario in the middle of double coverage along the right sideline.

End of third quarter. Patriots 14, Panthers 7: The Pats finally took a lead on the Pants, but Carolina is making a little bit of noise on this drive. The Panthers have a second-and-5 at the New England 49-yard line.

Patriots 14, Panthers 7. Third quarter, 1:06: Tom Brady hit Ben Watson for a five-yard touchdown on third-and-goal, solving the Patriots' red-zone and second-half issues all on one play. And it's certainly worth noting that Randy Moss was the first person to run over to Watson to lift him up and congratulate him after the score. Brady hit Welker five times for 64 yards on the drive, and Welker has nine receptions for 92 yards so far in the game. He's one catch away from his sixth 10-reception game of the season, which would be one less than Andre Johnson's single-season record. The Patriots traversed 96 yards on 13 plays to score there.

Third quarter, 6:30: Wes Welker ignited the Gillette Stadium crowd after back-to-back catches. He got leveled after his first of those catches, which was good for a six-yard gain. More importantly, that was Welker's 100th catch of the season, and he's got three consecutive seasons with triple-digit receptions, which is tied for the second longest streak in NFL history. Welker then caught a 13-yard pass on the next play to convert on third down. Welker was shown on the video boards excitedly raising his arms, and the crowd responded by joining his cheers.

Third quarter, 8:26: Now, that's a home-field advantage. One of the Panthers gunners had his foot touching the plane of the end zone when he made initial contact with the punt, and the Patriots' video board operators froze a shot of that during a TV timeout. Bill Belichick noticed the video boards and promptly threw the challenge flag. It looks like the Patriots will get the ball at the 20 due to a touchback. (Update: Apparently, the officials are working with something different because the play was upheld.)

Third quarter, 8:26: The Panthers reversed the field on the Patriots, as Jason Baker's punt was downed at the 4-yard line.

Third quarter, 11:15: Vince Wilfork appeared to aggravate his foot injury and departed for the locker room. Wilfork was angry while leaving the field, throwing his helmet in the process.

Third quarter, 11:57: Just when it looked like the Patriots were turning around their offensive issues, Sammy Morris fumbled the ball away to Carolina, which takes over at its own 14-yard line. This was very similar to a few of the Patriots' second-half drives against the Dolphins during last week's loss. The Pats moved the ball down the field into the red zone and didn't score. It's on the defense again.

Third quarter, 14:55: Well, that's one way to start the second half. After a short return by Laurence Maroney and a holding call, the Patriots take possession at their own 11.

Halftime. Patriots 7, Panthers 7: The Panthers' last gasp to score before the half was halted, and the teams head into the break tied up. On a side note, Randy Moss was not on the field with the Hail Mary prevention team. He has played defense at least twice this season and recorded an interception earlier in the year.

I'm guessing Moss wasn't on the field for one of three reasons:

1. He's not playing well, and Bill Belichick doesn't want him on the field.

2. It's raining, and it's not worth the injury risk.

3. Maybe I'm just overstating how much the Patriots use him in those situations.

Second quarter, 0:10: The play was overturned, and the Panthers retain possession at their own 42. Also, three seconds were added to the clock. If John Kasay's last field-goal try was any indication, the Panthers need to pick up about 40 yards on their next play to give Kasay a shot.

Second quarter, 0:07: The play is under review, but as it stands, Leigh Bodden has his sixth interception of the season. It's a close call, and it looks like it might get overturned. Either way, that was a weird possession for the Panthers, who were clearly trying to advance the ball up the field but didn't call either of their timeouts after two complete passes. I mean, either go for it or don't.

Patriots 7, Panthers 7. Second quarter, 1:08: Kevin Faulk scored on a three-yard run, and the Patriots capitalized after a 30-yard pass interference call put them deep in Panthers territory. Faulk, who has been emotional on the field and the sidelines Sunday, slammed the ball into the wall after scoring. He was jacked up to score his second rushing touchdown in as many weeks.

Second quarter, 1:30: The Patriots announced Vince Wilfork has a foot injury, and his return is questionable. Wilfork was having himself another good game, too. Titus Adams has been playing in Wilfork's place.

Second quarter, 3:29: John Kasay came up well short on a 53-yard field-goal attempt, and the score remains 7-0. The rain must have really had an effect on that kick, as the wind was at Kasay's back and he might not have even reached from 43 yards.

Second quarter, 7:34: The Patriots went three-and-out, and Carolina takes over at its own 20. With the offense's ineffectiveness Sunday, the Patriots are going to need the defense to put up a score — or, at least, assist a score — to get this thing moving in the right direction.

Second quarter, 8:23: It's starting to rain here at Gillette, and the Patriots take over at their own 43 trying to do something about this 7-0 deficit.

Second quarter, 9:30: The Panthers just used wide receiver Steve Smith to quarterback a Wildcat play, which the Patriots sniffed out on third-and-1, but two missed tackles from Tully Banta-Cain and Leigh Bodden allowed Smith to pick up two yards and a first down. The Patriots are great at stopping Wildcat plays — thanks to so much preparation they put in for the Dolphins — so it was a good sign to see them play disciplined football on that play, even as the team struggles to find the energy it will need to win this game.

Second quarter, 11:04: This place is dead. The only time the crowd turns up the volume is when they boo the offense, and the Patriots aren't giving them a reason to be excited. It's actually tough to tell who has less energy — the team or the fans. This is an odd sight at Gillette in December.

Second quarter, 12:36: Carolina couldn't do anything with the ball, and the Patriots take over at the Panthers' 41 after the punt. Let's see if Tom Brady is reluctant to throw in Randy Moss' direction.

Second quarter, 14:51: Randy Moss fumbled away the ball at the Carolina 21-yard line, and it was recovered by the Panthers. Moss walked straight to the sideline and sat by himself on the bench. The boos are getting louder and louder as the Patriots' mistakes mount. And this is the second turnover you can attribute to Moss in this game, as replays showed he let up on his route during Tom Brady's interception in the first quarter.

End of first quarter. Panthers 7, Patriots 0: The Patriots come back with a first-and-10 at the Panthers' 37 on the other side of the break. Interestingly, the Pats are rotating their three tackles, with Sebastian Vollmer playing both sides to give Matt Light and Nick Kaczur a series off at a time. It's been effective so far.

Panthers 7, Patriots 0. First quarter, 2:53: Steve Smith burnt Shawn Springs down the middle of the field, and Matt Moore hit his receiver for a 42-yard touchdown. The fans have been booing their team here, and it's only going to get worse if the offense doesn't show some life soon.

First quarter, 3:25: Tom Brady's pass to Randy Moss at the right sideline was picked off by cornerback Chris Gamble. It was tough to tell if the fault lies on the shoulders of Moss or Brady on that play. It wasn't a great throw, but it looked like Moss could have gotten a hand in the way of Gamble, who picked it off and went out of bounds at the New England 48.

First quarter, 4:51: Ho hum, another punt. The Patriots take over at their own 22. Let's see if they stick with the successful running attack on this drive.

First quarter, 7:28: The Patriots' passing attack looks lifeless against the Panthers' stingy pass defense. Laurence Maroney is running well — four carries for 28 yards — and he sprung one for 17 yards on the Pats' previous possession, thanks in large part to a great block by Chris Baker on Julius Peppers. But New England stalled and punted for the second time in the game. Carolina takes over at its own 20.

First quarter, 10:56: Darius Butler made a nice play to knock aside a pass and force a Carolina punt. Butler has been the Patriots' second best cornerback this season and deserves more playing time, in my opinion. The Pats take over at their own 21.

First quarter, 11:53: It's deja vu all over again. The Patriots went for it on fourth-and-1 and were unsuccessful with a Sammy Morris fullback dive. Ah, a tale as old as time.

First quarter, 13:54: The Panthers went three-and-out to start the game, and Wes Welker returned the punt to the Pats' 36-yard line. Dan Connolly started at right guard for the injured Stephen Neal, while Matt Light and Nick Kaczur remained in their starting tackle spots. Sebastian Vollmer is on the sideline.

First quarter, 14:11: Pierre Woods started at outside linebacker in place of Adalius Thomas, Shawn Springs started at corner for Jonathan Wilhite and James Sanders opened the game at safety in place of Brandon McGowan.

First quarter, 14:56: Tyrell Sutton returned the opening kickoff to the Carolina 32, and the Panthers are in business at Gillette Stadium.

1:00 p.m.: The Patriots won the toss and have deferred to the second half. Carolina will receive the kickoff to start this shindig.

12:53 p.m.: The nice weather around Gillette Stadium has disappeared with Adalius Thomas. It's cloudy with a game-time temperature of 40 degrees. The Patriots are about to run onto the field, and we're less than 10 minutes away from kickoff.

11:45 a.m.: Here's a little more detail with the Pats' inactive list. Adalius Thomas (not on injury report) is missing his second game of the season. Fred Taylor is missing his ninth in a row with an ankle injury. Cornerback Terrence Wheatley (not on injury report) is missing his second consecutive game and eighth overall. Rich Ohrnberger (not on injury report) is missing his 11th game. Stephen Neal (ankle) is missing his second straight game and third overall. Sam Aiken is missing his second game of the season with a new shoulder injury. Myron Pryor (chest) is missing his second game overall. Ron Brace, who missed the last two games with an ankle injury, was not on the injured list this week. It's the seventh game he's missed this season.

Sunday marks the return of cornerback Shawn Springs, who missed the last four games with a "knee injury." (I used the quotations because he never missed a practice.) Wide receiver Julian Edelman is back after missing two straight games with a forearm injury, and he'll likely fill in as the team's third receiver. Safety Bret Lockett returns after missing last week's contest with a groin injury. Tackle Sebastian Vollmer is back in the lineup after missing two games with a head injury.

11:31 a.m.: The Patriots announced their inactive list for Sunday's game against the Panthers. Running back Fred Taylor, cornerback Terrence Wheatley, offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger, right guard Stephen Neal, wide receiver and special teams captain Sam Aiken, defensive lineman Myron Pryor, linebacker Adalius Thomas and defensive tackle Ron Brace are out.

Neal is the important name on this list. Dan Connolly will likely start at right guard, and right tackle Nick Kaczur has struggled without Neal next to him. Sunday will also mark the return of tackle Sebastian Vollmer, so we'll see if he gets his starting job back or maybe even takes over at right tackle. That's something I'll definitely keep an eye on. I'll provide more detail with the inactive list shortly.

10:30 a.m.: It's a nice day here at Gillette Stadium — a little on the cold side but definitely not uncomfortable. If the rain holds off, these should be great conditions for a game.

By now, you probably know the Patriots have benched linebacker Adalius Thomas, according to multiple reports. I don't think it's a stretch to believe Thomas will never wear a Patriots jersey again. This will be the second time in 2009 he's been inactive for non-injury related reasons, and each time, Thomas has publicly voiced his dismay with Bill Belichick's decisions.

Thomas is signed through 2011. According to reports, the Patriots would have suffered a $13.2 million cap hit if they cut him before this season. Based on Peter King's initial breakdown of Thomas' contract — which Thomas signed prior to the 2007 season — I believe the Patriots would suffer a $9 million cap hit if they cut him after this season. (I based that number off of my understanding of the NFL's salary cap structure, so there is definitely room for error but I know I'm at least in the ballpark.) So, basically, he's the Patriots' version of Julio Lugo.

9:17 a.m.: Let's face it. We've got almost no idea what to expect from the Patriots when they play the Panthers at Gillette Stadium.

It's been a unique week in Foxborough, to say the least, and Sunday gives the Patriots a chance to put their controversial issues in the past. New England should have a strong showing against the cowardly Panthers, but the Patriots simply haven't been themselves lately.

Will the Pats get back to their old ways, or will the locker room distractions cause a negative effect on the field? Stay with NESN.com's live blog throughout the day to find out.

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