OK, everyone who was assuming the worst for this Patriots defense, raise your hand. Unless you are one of the two Patriot Pom-Poms I work with on The Big Show, you were just like me. You thought the defense would be helped out mostly by a prolific, high-scoring offense. When Seymour was traded we all said, “Tom Terrific will just have to score more points.” When Jerod Mayo went down we figured there would still be enough Brady-to-Moss hook-ups to cover the loss. I am not anointing these guys as the '85 Bears by any means, but I know that nobody predicted this early success for the defense … except Pete and Fred.
OFFENSE: B
I think I overestimated this Atlanta defense. The Falcons cannot stop the run or the pass. Other than that, they are fine. The Patriots offense could have scored 40 easily. For that reason, the grade is not as high as it should have been.
Randy Moss was excellent, winning a game ball from the coaching staff. Joey Galloway had two terrible plays. Worse yet, his pass-drop and the back-of the-end-zone step-out were in scoring situations. Inexcusable. Julian Edelman and Ben Watson had drops. Sam Aiken cutting his route short in the end zone cost the Pats a touchdown and got Brady's blood boiling. Chris Baker improvised nicely on his touchdown catch, turning an out that was covered into an out-and-up for the score.
The running backs were very good. Fred Taylor was patient and explosive. He did a great job waiting for the holes to open and worked very well with his blockers. Sammy Morris contributed a nice run of 15 yards and was a factor in the passing game with solid catching and blocking. I am sure I will get bored quickly with commenting on Kevin Faulk. Is there a more reliable player on the Pats? Laurence Maroney was fine before he got hurt.
The offensive line played very well. Granted, these guys were not tested near like they were against the Jets. But they basically had their way with the Falcons’ front seven. Matt Light played great against the only true Atlanta defensive threat. Light handled John Abraham with ease. After a tough day of penalties last week, the O line rebounded with zero infractions on the day.
Tom Brady was visibly frustrated with some of his receivers. He was probably frustrated as much if not more with a few of his own mistakes. Brady played well enough, and most NFL fans would be ecstatic if their quarterback put up the numbers Tom did on Sunday. But we have been spoiled. Two obvious overthrows and one throw where he did not lead an open receiver in the end zone made this a less than spectacular day. Brady will make those completions as the season goes along, but against the Falcons he left some points on the table.
DEFENSE: A-
Overall, the only things the defense did not do was pressure the quarterback a little more and get an interception. Everything else was very good. This was an excellent group effort to stop what is a very balanced offense. The Patriots defense held Atlanta scoreless for the final 39 minutes of the game. New England had twice the time of possession of Atlanta due in large part to the defense. Four drives, 15 plays and four punts for the Falcons in the second half — that is dominant.
Vince Wilfork was playing great football before he went down. He was manhandling the Falcons' interior offensive line. Mike Wright had another strong game before he went down, too. The group as a whole was very stout against the run. Derrick Burgess appeared to lose contain twice on the same type of roll-out. No sacks and only one hit on the quarterback from the defensive line.
The linebackers played solid as a group. Gary Guyton was better at the point of attack this week. Adalius Thomas made a great tackle for a 5-yard loss and was very active in the defensive communication. The backers played a part in eliminating tight end Tony Gonzalez from the game.
The defensive backs played their best game yet. Much of the defensive emphasis was on stopping Gonzalez. The Patriots safeties did a great job in that coverage. Brandon McGowan and Brandon Meriweather were very active, and James Sanders did a good job overall. Leigh Bodden and Shawn Springs did a good job against a decent receiving corps and a good quarterback.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-
Gostkowski was perfect in scoring attempts and had two touchbacks on kickoffs. He is in the same form early on that put him in the Pro Bowl last season.
The return game was only average. The kickoff coverage is still not where it needs to be, giving up 28 yards per return. Patrick Chung and Brandon McGowan are very aggressive on special teams.
There also is a noticeable difference in the snaps from LS Jake Ingram as compared to Lonie Paxton. Ingram is not bad, but Paxton was one of the best.
COACHING: B+
The coaching staff was not happy with the 11 penalties last week. It was a point of emphasis in practice this week and the team responded. One penalty on special teams and one on offense was a great improvement.
The defensive scheme worked almost perfectly. The plan helped take Gonzalez out of the equation.
I still do not think the entire defensive playbook is being used yet.
The offensive coaches knew they would be able to run the ball and they had a very good game plan to do just that. Belichick looks like he is calling the offensive plays. The only knock is that some receivers have not caught on well enough yet and the coaches need to find a way to help them get it.
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