Month: September 2017

After a 36-20 victory in the Big Easy, the New England Patriots are back to where we thought they would be.  It was a long 10 day break after a wildly disappointing season opener versus Kansas City, but now all is well again in Foxboro.  Here are some of my take aways from yesterdays win:

• Tom Brady, is in fact, not done yet. There was some chirping about if the 40 year old quarter back may finally be on the decline, but 477 yards and 3 touchdowns later it’s safe to say he’s still, somehow, at the top of his game. Despite missing 3 key receivers Brady moved the ball around well, was very efficient and looked calm cool and collected in the pocket. Should be in store for another great season by TB12.
• James White is ready to become a star in this league. He is well renowned throughout New England for his heroic Super Bowl 51 performance, but yesterday he showed how dependable he can be for Tom Brady. White saw just two carries for 11 yards but reeled in 8 catches for 85 yards and was a key contributor to the teams victory. With the lack of depth and injuries at the receiver position, White was Brady’s go to look on several big passing downs. Perhaps the most impressive thing for James White yesterday was what Tom Brady had to say about him in the post game press conference:

“Every time [White] touches the ball it’s important,” said Brady. “He’s just so dependable and consistent and hard-working and tough, and just shows up to work every day just doing the job the best he can with the best attitude. He’s team-first all the time. He’s just a great teammate. And I’ve played with a lot of great teammates, and James is right there at the top. I just love his effort. I love his style.” via CBS Boston

• It was great to see Rob Gronkowski back torturing defenders as well. Gronk finished the day with 6 catches, 116 yards and a touchdown. He did leave the game in the second half, as we all began to hold our breathes, but Gronk’s groin injury is not believed to serious, and after the game Gronk simply smiled, and told reporters, “I’m good.”

 

• The two young defensive linemen played fantastic for New England yesterday as well, those men being Deatrich Wise Jr and Adam Butler. Butler looked very comfortable yesterday, playing close to 70% of the defensive snaps, while Wise, who played just 43% of the snaps, absolutely dominated. He finished the game with the team’s lone sack, and tacked on 5 quarterback hits and 2 tackles for losses. It appears as though the 4th round draft pick will be a key contributor to this defense going forward.

The boys return home to Foxboro this week to take on a familiar foe in the Houston Texans (1-1). I believe New England has moved on from their poor performance and week one, and is back to where they belong, the AFC’s very best team.

#OnToHouston

When Brandin Cooks’ was added to an offense that was fresh off a 5th Super Bowl victory, it appeared as though he was nothing more than another weapon to contribute to Tom Brady’s troops. Obviously, Cooks is a far bigger name and far more athletically impressive than some of his new counter part receivers, but nonetheless if things didn’t work out, the New England offense was still in good hands. One hard cut by Julian Edelman, a head injury to Danny Amendola, a short term IR placement for Malcolm Mitchell and an unimpressive performance by Chris Hogan and Rob Gronkowski on Thursdays opener later changes things up a bit.

Because of Cooks game breaking ability he has drawn a lot of Randy Moss comparisons in the few months he’s been in New  England, which is frankly just not fair, but he is now in a position where he can be one of the main center pieces of this New England offense. Cooks hauled in only three passes on Thursday night but did cover 88 yards. All three catches were impressive, where cooks showed great route running ability,dashing speed and good hands. It is also worth nothing that Cooks drew 4 penalties, two holds, and two pass interference calls that totaled for 38 yards.

Over the last ten years, the Patriots offense has been built around possession receivers that move the chains onhigh percentage throws, whether that be Wes Welker or Julian Edelman. Despite Edelman’s injury, I don’t expect New England to go away with that all together, but the style of the offense will have to change. When healthy,  Danny Amendola can certainly play that possession receiver role, however New England will still have to throw the ball down field more often.

It was clear on Thursday that New England tried to do exactly that, but did not find much success. It took a turn for the worst when Amendola, who had 6 catches for 100 yards, left the game. This is when the offense ran out of gas, and in order for cooks to succeed, he’ll need some help. The leagues undisputed best tight end is Rob Gronkowski, who had a very disappointing night.

I believe that the offense will and should run through number 87, and If Gronk can get back to dominating defenses as he has done over the course of his entire career, he will open things up for everyone, specifically Cooks.

Even without much contribution from Gronkowski, Cooks showed a lot of promise going forward. His speed was a clear factor, he and Brady connected on one 54 yard bomb, and came very close on a few others. The biggest thing to look for in Brandin Cooks is if he can be more than the deep threat receiver, but be a consistent weapon for Brady on third down. There is no understating the complication of the Patriot offense, demonstrating how valuable guys like Welker and Edelman have been. I expect it to take a few weeks before we truly see what Cooks will bring to the table but should still have some fun going up against his former team in New Orleans with a secondary that allowed 346 yards and 3 touchdowns in week one.