Well, I wallowed in the aftermath of this loss a long time last night/this morning/today. I tossed and turned in bed, as I am sure a great many of my brethren did. I called various friends and family to share my grief. I received plenty of "I-dont-wanna-talk-about-it's" and "WTF's", as well as my share of New York fans gloating via email. To which I respond: Shut up all of you, your still 4-5. I listened to Dr. Hoodie's presser, and then his subsequent radio interview on WEEI. I waited for the 'my bad' mea culpa that did not arrive. Having been struck by his morose tone, I came to the following conclusions as to what this game meant.

• This is not the end of the world. This is not Tom Brady blowing out his ACL/MCL, it's not blowing a big lead in the 2006 AFC Championship, nor is it the stark 'I feel like someone died' loss in the Super Bowl, a shot at football immortality gone. It's a regular season loss to a conference opponent that the Pats have a great history with. It's certainly not Buckner-esque or a Grady Little move, as both of those were in championship games, the latter in a deciding win-or-go-home game. The Pats go home all right, to face the Jets this week and exact a little revenge for a previous loss. Plenty of season left.
• This is not about The Hoodie's ego or arrogance. People who say that it's about his ego to show he's a smarter coach than everyone else clearly hasn't been paying attention to the last 9 years. Dr. Belichick gambles. A lot. He gambled Brady was better than Bledsoe, gambled he could cut Lawyer Milloy, gambled Brady could get it done vs. the Rams with 1:43 left. I've covered it before, it's what he does. For the most part, he right. Sometimes, Reche Caldwell, Monty Beisel, 4th and 13 in the Super Bowl vs. the Giants, he's wrong. The 4th down call was a gamble to ice the game, and he was wrong. I am sure The Hoodie and his staff have the statistics and percentages that they know how often they can convert that situation. They just didn't get it done.
• It does have a great effect on playoff seeding. A win put them within 1 game of the top seed. A loss put them 3 out. The loss further challenged the team's chances to capture a 2 seed and get the coveted 1st round playoff bye. Now they need help to get ahead of the Bengals (The Bungles??) and Denver. San Diego is right there, too. The Hoodie would tell us that 'there's a lot of football left, and this week we're working on the Jets.' He would be right. But now they have a long way to go to get that 2 seed.
• Dr. Hoodie's decision to go for it was an indictment on the defense. It seems clear to me that The Doctor felt the best defense, at least last night, was a good offense. I would have rather made Manning move the Colts 60-70 yards than run the risk of giving him a short field. It seems to me this defense still lacks a defining play maker. There's no huge hit from Rodney, not big stop by Willie, no big sack by Big See, no Tedy stealing the ball. As Tedy said after stripping Dominic Rhodes in the '04 playoffs "They ain't got it." I am not seeing "IT" from this defense. These moments usually come in the post season, so there is time to develop an identity, but I don't see it. Yet.
• I'm done defending #39. 31 yards on 13 carries? A fumble going in for a TD? I'm out.
• Vollmer has earned the right to be a starter. This is a good problem to have.
• The 4th down call was not the reason they lost. Poor personnel substitutions cost them all three time outs. Welker called one with the wrong personnel in, Brady called one with the wrong people in the huddle, and they called one when half the punt unit went out on 4th down with 2:08 left. Looked like a Herman Edwards coached squad.
• Two key turnovers in the 'red area' hurt badly. Either one of those turn into points, and we're talking about the Pats being the best team in the AFC.
• The play calling on the last series was abysmal. I hated the out pattern on 3rd down to Welker. In man coverage, that is a very dangerous play that could turn into a pick-6. Empty backfield 5 wide on 4th and 2? How about shotgun formation, draw or direct snap to Faulk on 3rd and 2, keeping the clock moving. On 4th down, go big, 2 TE set, with Moss out wide, I-formation. Play action dive or power, and then hit Moss on a 5-7 yard pattern, in or out, depending on the read of positioning of his man covering him. I like my chances with The Freak vs. a rookie corner better than Faulk on a 2 yard flare.

Lots of football left, guys. Gang Green comes to town Sunday. All this is going to be forgotten once Coach Fat Bastard opens his pie hole this week and says something dumb. The Disciples of Dr. Hoodie are still going to run the table in December, barring any key injuries. As Rams FB Justin Watson said near the end of Super Bowl XXXVI:

I like our chances.