While i am not among the ones who dogmatically say "bad call", i do think Belichek rather dissed his defense.
That having been said, if the running back who caught the ball, Kevin Faulk, does not bobble the ball as the db is driving him backwords, i think the spot may have been enough for the 1st down. Ended up being short by about 7 inches. The ref correctly made the spot at the point where Faulk secured the ball.
On all 4th downs of going for it (not just game enders), the Pats have an excellent ratio of "fourth-and-2 or shorter 68 out of 89 times (76.4 percent) since 2001, Brady's first year as a starter."