Defining "special"

In football, there are three types of plays that make up the game. The first two are pretty obvious, offense and defense. The third, and not so obvious, is special teams. On Monday night, the Patriots showed the world just how special special teams can be. It started with the beginning of the second half. Down 7-6, after being walked on for thirty minutes by the Dolphins, they kicked into gear. On the opening kickoff of the second half, Brandon Tate, using an amazing block from Sammy Morris and a fast pair of legs bolted into the end zone for a 103 yard kickoff return while bolting the patriots into the lead.

Then, a little bit later, the Dolphins were punting in their own territory and just as the kick was being fired off, it was blocked. Patrick Chung, who talk about in a minute, came in and got a forearm on the football, blocking it before it was recovered by the Patriots, who took over inside the Dolphins' 30, who got another score.

A little later still, when the Patriots had a lead that was just starting to seem comfortable, the Dolphins kicking team came out for a field goal try. Can you guess what happens next? If you said "they made the field goal to claw a little closer to the Pats".....you'd be wrong. The field goal was blocked, AGAIN. By Patrick Chung, AGAIN. This time, it was picked up by cornerback Kyle Arrington and returned all the way for a touchdown. Now, back to Chung. He played the game of his life. Not only did he get two huge special teams plays, he also managed to intercept a Chad Henne pass and return it 51 yards for a score. Hopefully, this will silence any critics of the Patriots and their defensive and special teams schemes, as it more than definitely should.