HOUSTON -- Shorthanded in the wide receiver department and working against a gritty Houston Texans team that is expert at making things hard on an offense, what did Charlie Weis do?
The Patriots offensive coordinator threw the book at 'em.
Mixing in screens, counters, stretch plays, three different running backs, five different wide receivers and two tight ends, Weis called a brilliant game from the Patriots sideline yesterday in New England's 23-20 win.
"We made enough plays to win," he said. "We had a lot of yards (472), but we had some dropped balls and turnovers and that got a little discouraging, but the good thing about our team is that they never quit. It doesn't make a difference. They never panic and they never quit."
On a day full of imaginative calls, the one that stands out is the fourth-and-1 bootleg Weis called with 48 seconds left from the Houston 4.
"To be honest with you, we had a lot of discussion right before that play," divulged Weis. "We were talking about running the ball but at the last second I said, 'Listen, we went into this game and that play was our lead goal-line play. Why will we go through all this planning and then change and go to a different play?' It didn't turn out the way we planned, but Tommy (Brady) made a play, made a good throw, Daniel (Graham) made a good (touchdown) catch and we won it in overtime."
There are times when Graham's hands seem so hard they could cut glass. But Weis -- and Brady -- kept going to him (he finished with four catches for 53 yards). That's what Graham needs, said Weis.
"As I've gotten a little older I've learned certain people don't react positively to you jumping all over them," Weis explained. "When I was younger I was hammering people. But Daniel's a guy who cares. (Football) is important to him. You don't need to hammer him. Daniel could have shut it down when things weren't going well but he turned around and made two of the biggest plays in the game."
Kevin Faulk is another player benefiting from Weis's offense. He's proven since about last November that he can make plays regularly and Weis has tailored his playcalling to Faulk's skills.
"Kevin Faulk is a football player," Weis stated. "He understands football. He plays to his strengths and tries to limit his weaknesses. When he has the ball in his hands, Kevin Faulk is usually making plays."
Weis can never be faulted for not being imaginative enough. There are games when he makes calls that leave you shaking your head. There are games -- like yesterday's -- when he is the master strategist, finding and exploiting weaknesses with players of every size, shape and skill.
Yesterday, shorthanded against a tough defense, Weis did a terrific job of putting the Pats offense in positions to win.
