Patriots' Game

Was the game over when the Ravens' defensive coordinator negated the Ravens' historical stop on fourth-and-one by one of those chic, too-cute-by-half pre-snap timeouts?

No.

Too many times--times we condition ourselves to forget--we think: Ah, it's over.

Carlton Fisk's home run, Jake Plummer's fourth-and-eleven gallop, Alfonso Soriano going deep against Schilling . . .

. . . So, okay, this is what I was thinking: in sports, the first rule is, beware of false omens.

So: a stop on fourth and short negated by a cutesy time-out, as Ray Lewis flops on the turf in disbelief.

Another fourth-and-short. Another stop.

Tweet. False start. Can't be declined.

Fourth and six. Brady, flushed out, scampers for the first.

Illegal contact.

Three plays later, fourth-and-five. Brady throws to the end zone, incomplete . . .

Tweet. Holding.

One play later, touchdown pass to Gaffney . . . who was once cut by the Texans.

Yeah, had 'em all the time. Knew it the instant Baltimore called time out.

More here.