Welcome to Season 14, Episode 2 of the Unconventional Preview, a serious yet lighthearted, nostalgia-tinted look at the Patriots’ weekly matchup . . .
The natural reaction after the Mike Vrabel era began with a Jerod Mayo-season-looking 20-13 loss to the Raiders was that it was all too reminiscent of the lousy football Patriots fans have endured the last few years.
With a little more time to ponder how the opener played out, it wasn’t that bad. It was frustrating, sure, particularly since the Patriots were sloppy (nine penalties) and the defense got burned repeatedly for huge gains.