The Patriots are a work in progress. This past Sunday was a big step. Baltimore came into Gillette highly ranked on both sides of the ball and New England more than answered the bell. This was easily the Patriots’ best all-around effort yet.
The biggest fear that Patriots fans had going into this game was that the Ravens defense would do what the Jets had done a few weeks earlier. Instead, the Patriots offense did a great job against what Bill Belichick has called “the best defense of the last decade.” Three sacks and untimely penalties drag the grade down slightly.
Leading the way was the offensive line. While the Ravens are not as blitz-happy as they have been in the past, they still are one of the more aggressive defenses in the league. The O line handled the blitzes very well. When the Ravens did not blitz they barely got near Tom Brady.
There was excellent coordination with the interior linemen. Dan Koppen, Logan Mankins and Stephen Neal worked well together. The tackles played well enough. Matt Light was good on 90 percent of the plays but did have a holding penalty and then bit on an inside move by Terrell Suggs leading to the sack/strip/TD. But overall, the offensive line had its best effort of the short season.
Sammy Morris was fantastic. His effort on third downs made a huge difference in the game. Fred Taylor ran hard, as did Kevin Faulk. All the running backs blocked well in blitz pick-up. Laurence Maroney continues to tip-toe and dance way too much.
The return of Wes Welker was timed perfectly. Against a defense like the Ravens, it was imperative that there was a receiver who could make the right reads and be in the right place. Welker was that guy. Randy Moss was good again. His adjustment to the ball on the touchdown catch was vintage Moss. From the “Who'd-a thunk it” department: Ben Watson has better numbers so far than Tony Gonzalez, Dustin Keller, Jeremy Shockey, Todd Heap, Alge Crumpler and Kellen Winslow.
Brady is getting better each week. He played well on Sunday, but even Tom will tell you there is room for improvement.
DEFENSE: A-
The one thing that was missing from what has been a better-than-expected defense was the big play. On Sunday, the defense stepped up with a number of game-changing plays.
The secondary looked terrible on the first Ravens touchdown drive. It looked like it was going to be a long day for the defense. Then adjustments were made and things changed. This secondary looked aggressive and confident. Brandon Meriweather is developing into a pretty good young safety. He and Brandon McGowan are both strong hitters. Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden made some good plays and generally appeared to be close to the receivers all day after giving up that first touchdown. The pass coverage was helped by a strong pass rush.
Gary Guyton has improved with all this playing time. His tackle of Willis McGahee on the fourth-and-1 play late in the game was a very big play. He was more active with his pass defense and rushed the QB well a few times. It did look like he picked a side and was a little high on the blocker when Ray Rice ripped off a 50-yard run.
The defensive line was very good against a pretty good Baltimore offensive line. Ty Warren was very active and was pushing the pocket on Joe Flacco all day. Vince Wilfork played very well on a bum ankle, clogging up the middle effectively despite the injury. Mike Wright was immense and has been applying more pressure than anybody in these first four games.
This 2009 version of Belichick's defense looks quicker than his previous Patriot defenses. It also looks like the defensive players are getting comfortable with a more complicated game plan.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B
This grade got bumped up by the fumble recovery on the opening kickoff of the game. Forcing turnovers or scoring touchdowns on special teams will always get you extra credit.
McGowan recovered the fumble that Eric Alexander caused, but after that the kickoff team struggled in coverage. Eventually, poor kick coverage is going to cost this team.
Punter Chris Hanson had a bad day. On two occasions he punted the ball into the end zone for touchbacks when both kicks should have been easy chances to pin the Ravens inside the 10-yard line.
Stephen Gostkowski was very good with the scoring chances and pretty good with the kickoffs. What’s new?
Maroney has to hit the kickoff returns with some speed and decisiveness. The more he dances, the easier it is for the opponent’s coverage team.
COACHING: B
The offense was well-prepared for the Baltimore blitz packages. The defense was using more of the playbook. This defensive game plan was considerably more intricate than the previous three. The blitzes looked good, and after the first Ravens touchdown there were no glaring mistakes other than Rice's 50-yard run.
The play-calling was suspect when the offense took over after the defense stopped Baltimore on the fourth-and-1. I know you have to use up some clock, but the calls were less aggressive than what was working previously.
Everyone is scratching their heads trying to figure out why Maroney still is getting carries. The only thing I can come up with is that maybe the Patriots coaches do not want to wear down Taylor with a steady diet of 20-carry games and therefore are using Maroney early in the game to spread the carries. Later in the game, Taylor is the go-to guy for the run.
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