Last week the story was, “haven’t seen the Patriots play like that in a long time.” Their poor and unmotivated performance in New York was extremely uncharacteristic of the New England Patriots. This week the story remains, “haven’t seen the Patriots play like that in a long time.” What a difference one week can make. As you figured, the Patriots would come out this week much sharper than last week from both sides of the ball. The play in this game that we have not seen in a long time from the Patriots is great success on the ground, and also a young, energetic defense taking another step towards an elite defense like the ones in the early 2000s.
Brady looked respectable, missing some throws but converting on some big ones. He missed a few open guys including Moss on a bomb downfield, and a few mid-range passes. Brady will be able to connect on those passes soon enough. He will continue to get better as the season goes on, hopefully developing back into his old self entirely by mid to late season. I say mid to late season on the contrary to NBC NFL analyst and former Patriot Rodney Harrison who, based on his own injury experiences, thinks it will take at least a full season for 100% production from Tom. I think it will be quicker thanks to the success they are having running the ball. A good running game will help Brady become comfortable quicker since he will not have as much pressure on himself if they can move the chains on the ground.
Fred Taylor was running like a beast all game. He seems to be exactly what we wished Maroney would be like. Taylor is a natural football player with a passion and feel for the game. He ran hard all game eating up consistent chunks of yardage which is better than having a guy who is inconsistent that can break off an occasional big play like Maroney. Morris would fill in once in a while and make a big play. The big guys up front were pushing around the Falcon line, and doing an excellent job protecting Brady. Outstanding job today by the offensive line, and by the backs Taylor, Morris and Faulk.
The defense looked a little shaky in the opening drive when Atlanta drove down the field 72 yards and then kicked a field goal. The most critical point in the game was holding them to 3 instead of 7 on that opening drive. After the poor performance last week in New York, the last thing you want to do is go down 7 immediately at home the following week. That would be the only long drive of the game allowed by the New England defense. Later they gave up a 59 yard TD drive and the buckled down after that. Atlanta’s drive sequence went fumble, end of half, punt, punt, punt, punt. The defensive line pressured Ryan, and did a good enough job shutting down the run game because for some reason ATL totally abandoned it in the first half. The D has not given up more than 20 points yet this season, and recovered another fumble today, which has been 1 recovery in each game so far.
Hopefully the Wilfork injury isn’t too serious and he will be back soon. We may never know with the way the Patriots management covers injuries, but look for the defense to continue to improve each week of this season as they become more comfortable and trusting in each other as a defensive unit. Trust is very important within a defense and it takes a while to establish that connection. It will also take a little while for Brady to get his touch back, but we saw hints of that today when he erupted on the sidelines and in the locker room leading to a great second half by everyone. Be patient with this team, when they start to click on all cylinders – look out.
Labels: football, fred-taylor, new-england-patriots, nfl, tom-brady
