Last night the Patriots were brought back down to earth by the up and coming Detroit Lions. I take nothing away from the Lions (they're for real this season) but New England looked slow and out of rhythm the whole game. It's a long list of bad and a not so lengthy list of good.
- Tom and Ocho are not on the same page. Maybe I'm overreacting. Yes its early. I know they didn't have mini camps, OTA's, all that stuff. But right now Ocho looks like he has about as much chemistry with Tom as Joey Galloway did. Last night Chad was targeted four times but finished with no receptions. He looks like a rookie on the bubble, not an established veteran. Can they fix it? Of course. But right now it's not even close.
- Where did the pass rush go? A little more than a week after dismantling the Bucs offense, little to no pressure was put on Matt Stafford and the Lions QB's. It felt like Stafford was going to make the Hall of Fame based on that performance. Looked like he was running plays against air. Fix it please.
- McCourty was on again off again. Seemed like one play he'd get beat, recover, lose sight of the ball and give up a big play. And then the next he'd be right there the whole time and break up the pass. It's tough to expect consistent playmaking from a cornerback but after that rookie campaign McCourty is going to have to deal with that standard.
- Tom was off. It didn't help that Matt Stafford had the half of his life either. But what's great about Tom is he expects better of himself. He missed a few throws. Some were his fault, some weren't. He'll be solid come week 1.
BRIGHT SPOTS!
- Gronk is going to be extra Gronky this year. Mama there goes that man. Anyone who thought this guy was partying too hard during the lockout clearly didn't have an appreciation for this guys work ethic. He obviously was putting his time in working out with all 11 of his professional athlete siblings. Goal-line plays in training camp have been absolutely dominated by number 87. Wouldn't surprise me if he gets close to 15 touchdown grabs this year. You heard it here first. But don't say a word to me if that doesn't pan out.
- Julian Edelman. Probably tweeted about him about six times last night. I'm telling you, every single time this guy doesn't reach the end zone that play should be considered a fluke. He runs like the key to saving the universe lies beyond those pylons. But that seems to go unnoticed. I understand he has a case of the drops every now and then. But theres no reason he shouldn't be returning kicks as well as punts. And I think everyone forgets how he looked in the 09 season when Welker went down. Early that year against the Jets, 8 receptions for 98 yards. The game against the Texans, 10 receptions for 103 yards after Wes left. And he caught the Patriots only two scores in that dreadful playoff game against the Ravens. Last year against the Jets in the playoffs he was pretty much the only thing that was working down the stretch. He ripped off a long punt return so they had him run a reverse that series. And he picked up some more yardage. Play him. Pretty please. Enough Brandon Tate.
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