01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, December 22, 2004

BY TOM CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

MIAMI -- This must be what it's like when an honor roll kid who's never caused a moment's worry stumbles up the family's front walk at 4:30 a.m. looking like he came straight from Bourbon Street.

The kid's parents aren't quite angry. They're more . . . concerned. Stunned. Wary. And wondering, "Did I miss something? Should I have seen the signs that would lead to this? Is this just a one-time thing? Is this even a big deal?"

What happened to the Patriots Monday night in Miami was uncomfortable to watch. And in the aftermath, it's hard to figure what to make of it.

Does the 29-28 loss to the Dolphins send up a flare that New England is in real trouble as the playoffs approach? Or was this just one of those "On any given Monday . . ." games where the Patriots got beat by a bunch of guys who get free sneakers and drive big cars?

Would there be even a peep of discomfort if Miami's Brendon Ayanbadejo wasn't where he was when Tom Brady went Full Metal Bledsoe with 1:45 left in the game?

And had that ill-fated fling hit the ground, wouldn't the talk be about those resourceful Patriots winning without their "A" game against a pesky group of Dolphins? Of course it would.

But it doesn't matter now. Ayanbadejo was there. And so was Derrius Thompson soon after. And so, unfortunately, was Troy Brown. And then the 'ands' begin to multiply. And Arturo Freeman intercepted this. And Charlie Weis should have called that. And what's up with Rodney Harrison? And can't Matt Light block fast guys? And will this team ever win another game? And blah, blah, blah.

Monday is in the books. It was worse than a loss, it was a blown win. And it shined a light on some Patriot deficiencies that could be highlighted again.

But the 28 wins in the previous 29 games should at least serve as proof that the Patriots and their coaches know what they should be doing when games are on the line. They didn't do those things Monday. Why not? And what does it mean that they didn't?

For instance, what does it mean when A.J. Feeley can direct two scoring drives to erase an 11-point lead in the final four minutes a week after the Bengals put up 478 total yards? It means that the defense is lagging. And where is it lagging? In the secondary, which is no surprise. Both starting corners are out -- one for the rest of the season -- and the best corner not named Ty or Tyrone is rookie Randall Gay. And Gay was off the field for most of the second half against the Dolphins.

That left the Pats with Earthwind Moreland, Brown and Asante Samuel covering some fairly large and capable Dolphin receivers. And they got beat by a marginal quarterback playing pretty well. The gig's up. The quarterbacks are going to get better from here on out, and unless Ty Law returns soon it's going to be a white-knuckle ride for the Patriots' pass defense the rest of the way.

Next problem: What does it mean when Brady throws four interceptions -- two of which were heinous, all of which came while he was getting hit? It means that Brady is getting too much pressure from opposing pass rushes. Why? Because teams with athletic front-sevens present large problems for the New England offensive line as it's presently constituted.

Again, the gig's up. The Patriots' offensive line is smart and hard-working. But while most NFL lines have either size or athleticism as strengths, the Patriots are just average in both departments. They will do a terrific job blocking for the run or the pass as long as the offense stays in balance. When they lurch toward predictability and teams can load up on the pass, for instance, they have issues.

Finally, what does it mean when Brady makes a completely uncharacteristic throw that leads to a loss? It means that he felt desperate enough to make that throw. Desperate because he did not want his defense to have to come back onto the field. He knew they were in a bad way and he figured he'd try to seal a win rather than leave it in the hands of a tired group that had just been scored upon.

Brady, using the same words that Drew Bledsoe so often leaned on after losses, said he was just, "Trying to make a play." Normally, the play he would choose to make would be to eat that ball and let his defense make the plays. But he cast a vote of low confidence in his defense when he threw that pass.

The Patriots have been flogging themselves even after their recent wins. They said there was serious room for improvement in pass protection after they beat Cleveland. They knew the pass defense was in a shambles after they beat Cincinnati. Monday showed that those things are not yet on the road to improvement.

"Teams are getting better and better each week," said wide receiver/cornerback Troy Brown. "And we don't seem to be getting better, while everyone else is. We knew about (the problems). We knew we had to play better than the last week and the week before that, and we didn't learn from that. We got lucky the last couple of weeks, and won some games by not playing very well, but it catches up to you, and some good teams will take advantage of it."

Starting Sunday, the Patriots will begin to get a steady diet of good teams (save for the finale against San Francisco). How well they are able to fix, hide or compensate for those problems will determine how long their 2004 season lasts.