halftime thoughts from the Meadowlands

I'm sitting here from the press box of the Patriots-Jets showdown, and while the first half (a 6-3 New England lead) may not have provided the thrills many of us were seeking, it had to be an assuring 30 minutes if you're a Pats fan.

The Patriots may have scaled the offense down for Matt Cassel in the previously-unknown quarterback's first NFL start (and as I'm sure you've all heard from anywhere to 50-100 times this week, his first start at any level since 1999), but it's pretty apparent the team has a fair share of confidence in Tom Brady's successor. That was evident on New England's opening drive, when the offense lined up in shotgun formation on a key 3rd-and-2 from the Jets' 34-yard line and let Cassel throw the ball (he completed the pass to running back Sammy Morris for a first down). Cassel completed a very respectable 9-of-13 throws for 96 yards in the first half while looking very comfortable in the pocket.

The same probably can't be said for Matt Ryan. Atlanta's $72 million investment threw nine straight incompletions with two interceptions to begin his first NFL road start today. At last check, the rookie was 3-of-15 for a mere 36 yards and the Falcons were trailing Tampa Bay, 17-3, late in the first half.

By the way, the player picked right below Ryan in April's draft, running back Darren McFadden, put up an impressive 164 yards and a touchdowns in Oakland's 23-8 victory at Kansas City earlier in the day. McFadden's performance may have been to the chagrin of mercurial owner Al Davis, who now has to keep head coach Lane Kiffin on the payroll for at least one more week.

One last thought before watch the second half: Isn't Rod Marinelli's speciality supposed to be defense? One week after his Detroit Lions put on possibly the worst tackling display the NFL has seen this century in a loss at Atlanta, the team submitted 447 total yards (324 passing) to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers this afternoon. Lions quarterback Jon Kitna gets a share of blame as well for his club's 48-25 loss; he threw three INT's, two of which were returned for touchdowns in the game's final 3 1/2 minutes.

One injury note from the game here -- Patriots running back Laurence Maroney left in the second quarter with a shoulder problem and wasn't on the field when the New England offense came out after the intermission.