Brady, Seymour guide Patriots past Raiders

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- The New England Patriots lost two

linebackers and two coaches in the offseason.

They still know how to win, thanks in large part to two stars

they didn't lose.

Tom Brady threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns and Richard

Seymour helped make a game-turning defensive play as the Patriots

opened their quest for an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl

victory by beating Oakland 30-20 on Thursday night.

In the process, they held Randy Moss, the Raiders' new star, to

one big play: a 73-yard touchdown catch.

"Richard's so disruptive," Brady said of Seymour, who helped

force the turnover that broke open a tight game in the third

quarter. "He's the best defensive lineman in the league."

New England's 35th win in 39 games since the start of the 2003

season was an odd one -- all offense at the start, mostly defense

after intermission. One key early adjustment was made by the

Patriots, switching from their traditional 3-4 defense to a 4-3 to

help fill the gap caused by the loss of inside linebackers Tedy

Bruschi and Ted Johnson.

It paid off in the third quarter, when the Patriots held a

tenuous three-point lead and neither team could really get going.

Seymour, who as usual made a half-dozen big plays on defense,

pushed Raiders center Jake Grove into quarterback Kerry Collins.

Meanwhile, Jarvis Green, who became the fourth lineman when the

Pats switched to the 4-3, came around from the right side and

sandwiched Collins as he was throwing. The ball popped into the air

and into the hands of 325-pound nose tackle Vince Wilfork at the

Raiders 20.

Three plays later, Corey Dillon ran in from 8 yards to give New

England a 23-14 lead -- Adam Vinatieri's extra-point attempt was

blocked. The Patriots never really were threatened after that.

"We know Richard is a pretty good force inside. He has been for

four years," coach Bill Belichick said of the two-time All-Pro.

"We thought we could get some force from the outside with Jarvis

and Rosie (Rosevelt Colvin.)"

Said Grove: "Seymour did a twist and he caught me in an awkward

angle. We were handling it pretty well until that play."

The Patriots, who also lost coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo

Crennel to head coaching jobs, led 17-14 at halftime on touchdown

passes by Brady of 29 yards to Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch and 5

yards to newcomer Tim Dwight. That offset a 2-yard TD pass by Kerry

Collins to tight end Courtney Anderson on the game's first series

and the bomb to Moss, who at 6-foot-4, simply went over 5-8 Tyrone

Poole.

Dillon's TD after the turnover made it 23-14, and Dillon scored

again in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard run set up by a 24-yard

pass interference penalty on rookie Stanford Routt, as the Patriots

won their 21st straight home game. The call on Routt was one of 14

penalties for 139 yards by Oakland, traditionally one of the NFL's

most flagged teams.

"I thought we played a competitive game against a championship

team," Raiders coach Norv Turner said. "There's a reason why they

have won 20 straight games in this stadium."

Anderson caught a 5-yard touchdown pass with 3:04 left set up by

Randal Williams' block of Josh Miller's punt. But Moss was called

for offensive pass interference on the 2-point conversion play.

That wasn't Moss' only mistake. He also dropped a short

first-down pass that could have gotten the Raiders out a hole early

in the third quarter.

That eventually led to the game-turning play by Seymour, Green

and Wilfork.

The Raiders, 9-23 the last two seasons, showed more improvement

on defense than on offense, holding the Patriots to 73 yards on the

ground. Dillon started with 11 yards on his first 11 carries before

finishing with 69 yards on 23 carries.

Collins, who threw for 159 yards in the first half, finished 18

of 40 for 265 yards. Moss had five catches for 130 yards.

Overall, the Patriots were satisfied with the win, not

necessarily the way it went. Belichick acknowledged he might go to

the 4-3 more often, but added that "it will go week-to-week and it

will depend on who we play and how the matchups go."

Added Brady:

"I'm glad we're not peaking here in Week One. This is a long

season, as we all realize."Game notes
This was the ninth 300-yard passing game for Brady in his

four-plus years as a starter. ... The blocked extra point marked

the first time Vinatieri had missed a conversion in 28 games and 82

kicks, including playoffs. ... Moss' touchdown catch was the 91st

of his career. With Jerry Rice's retirement, he is the active

leader. ... Collins passed 30,000 yards passing for his career. He

now has 30,143.