Just another step towards contention.
While the 30-21 point win over their arch rival (and the team that eliminated them last year) must have been sweet for both the Patriots and Patriot fans, the real story was how they went about it. The Patriots went back to the ground game and were rewarded with a decisive win that put the Jets in an early season hole. The game really reminded me of the 20-3 playoff win over the colts where Corey Dillon rushed for 144 yards. I did not realize this, but when doing some research for this weeks report, I got this gem from ESPN:
"When the offense totals 25 rushes or more under coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots are 107-19"
107 and 19! That statistic almost feels made up. The fact that coach Bill Belichick was unafraid to go to the ground (when he has one of the most potent air attacks in NFL history at his disposal) shows that he can still out-think his opponents in any given game. This is a huge positive as most Patriots fans would probably agree, especially considering that the 'Patriots Mystique' has faded over the years and this could be the first step in getting it back.
I hate having to constantly bring it up every week, but the Patriots need to play better defense. This was a game they easily could have won 40-3 but allowing the 'Sanchize' to post a 105.6 Quarterback rating and letting Greene get 4.0 yards per rush will not cut it. While letting teams get 21 points in the regular season is fine, in the playoffs its a recipe for disaster. There really is no point in talking about the offence, we know they are good and we know that Welker and Branch should send half their paycheck to Brady (especially Branch, people forgot he existed when he went to Seattle). We know that their offensive line is arguably the best in the league and we know that their young tight ends are a luxury to such a great offense. The most important thing we know however, is that offense will not win you a championship, you don't even have to look far for proof (18-1 sound familiar anyone?). The reason I say that this game was a step towards contention is because that is just how things stand right now, the Patriots are not at the level of being called a contender in my opinion.
Back in the day just having the Brady and Belichick tandem was enough but teams have caught up to them and the Patriots lost three important things that defined their Superbowl runs. They lost the ability to completely stun teams with their game plan (although today was an exception, I really miss seeing Vrabel catch Touchdown passes), they lost the once great defense, and maybe most importantly, they lost their 'underdog/no one believed we could win' status. The Patriots used to thrive off of sneaking up on teams and winning games they had no business of winning. Now they are favored to win almost every game and we have all seen how it turns out for them: watching the Superbowl at home. With all of that said I still believe that New England can improve and develop into a legitimate contender before the season is done, at this point, with 11 games to go it isn't an issue, lets see how they look in week 15.
I will be following the Patriots progress throughout the season and writing weekly reports, not simply recaps but some additional insight. Thank you for reading. For more my twitter feed is Daki_4
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