When I watch my Patriots play I don't just watch like a "normal" fan. You're more likely to find me jumping up and down, yelling at the TV like Belichick can hear me, and tweeting about every little thing that's happening. Patriots fans take their sports very seriously. They're the die-hard, my-mood-for-this-week-depends-on-whether-my-team-wins-or-loses, fans. And I'm no exception to that. I love football, and I especially love New England football. I love nothing more than to break down plays and see what went wrong and who could've done what differently. I'm not one of those Patriots fans that thinks our beloved Brady can do no wrong. In fact, I'm pretty hard on Brady at times. I love the guy and think he is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play and I'm grateful for each and every time he steps onto the field in a Patriots uniform. But, with that being said, he's still human, he makes mistakes.
Alright, so back to today's game. The first quarter was rough. Luckily our defense was able to hold the Raiders to field goals the entire game. Brady & Co. couldn't seem to get in synch and find a rhythm. It was honestly atrocious at times. Our offensive line has been a problem the past 2 two seasons and continues to be one of the most blatant issues the team has. I say it all the time, but a quarterback cannot do his job if his offensive line can't protect him and the pocket is continuously collapsing around him. Far too often Brady has no time to throw and plays are rushed. I'm not blaming all of our offensive woes on the OLine but something has to be done, and I think it starts there.
Alright, so back to today's game. The first quarter was rough. Luckily our defense was able to hold the Raiders to field goals the entire game. Brady & Co. couldn't seem to get in synch and find a rhythm. It was honestly atrocious at times. Our offensive line has been a problem the past 2 two seasons and continues to be one of the most blatant issues the team has. I say it all the time, but a quarterback cannot do his job if his offensive line can't protect him and the pocket is continuously collapsing around him. Far too often Brady has no time to throw and plays are rushed. I'm not blaming all of our offensive woes on the OLine but something has to be done, and I think it starts there.
Passing game: Brady is still working on developing chemistry with his receivers. The only player he seems comfortable throwing to is Edelman. I love Jules and think he's a great player, a nice security blanket for Brady, but it's only week 3 and he's already taken some big hits. He's a pretty small guy. Durable, but small. I hope to see chemistry develop and Brady spread the ball around a little more. We have Dobson, Thompkins, LaFell, Amendola, Gronk, and the newly acquired Wright. Not a lot of big names outside of Gronk but I think with time (and patience), we could have a nice receiving corp. On one drive in particular, there were 2 opportunities for a touchdown, but on 2nd and goal, and 3rd and goal, the ball was dropped in the end zone, and we had to settle for a field goal. Those are critical things that the offense needs to work on and correct, sooner rather than later. It took until over halfway through the first half for the Patriots to finally put some points on the board. That's something that has to change before we play elite teams, like Denver, Cincinnati, San Diego, Detroit, Green Bay, etc. We can't have slow starts like we've had the past 3 games. All in all though, I really do think it all comes back to the offensive line.
Running game: Our running game was pretty solid today, for the most part. Ridley showed me a lot of good things, and had several strong runs. Thankfully Ridley has been able to hold onto the ball, thus far, so that's an automatic plus. I love Vereen. I think he's a great versatile player and reminds me of one of my all time favorite Patriots, Kevin Faulk. He can run the ball pretty well, catch passes out of the backfield, or even get off the line quickly, and get open for a short yardage pass from Brady. Bolden isn't my favorite, and I definitely don't think he should be running up the middle, especially if we're trying to gain any yards, but he has his moments.
Defense: Defense is where it gets tricky. With the talent that we have, you would think that we should be able to do more than what we're doing, especially today. Wilfork's interception at the end of the game was sweeeet. Logan Ryan tipped it to him, Wilfork did a great job catching it and falling on it, securing the win for us. Revis got smoked a couple times, and he allowed 5 out of 6 catches. I like Revis and think he's good, but I'd like to see more from him. Our secondary had its moments... I'd say it was half and half. We didn't allow Oakland to score a single touchdown, so that says something, but we could thank the Oakland receivers that dropped passes on crucial 3rd down plays, for that. Our secondary plays too far off the receivers 90% of the time, and practically leaves them wide open. They need to play right on them, and not act scared to death to make a tackle. You play football, a contact sport...where tackling is required... I mean, really. I was hoping to see more pressure on Carr, who I thought was too comfortable in the pocket most of the game. We had trouble stopping Darren McFadden more times than we should have. Our run defense, just like the rest of the team, has flaws, that can, should, and probably will be fixed. I'm just thankful that Maurice Jones-Drew wasn't active because I'm not sure how we would've stopped him. On the defensive side, we have a good amount of talent, but for the most part, we're a young team, and it's going to take time to mesh together and play as a unit. Another big issue with our defense is Matt Patricia, our defensive coordinator. There need to be better schemes and play calling. Use who we have to their strengths. Don't be afraid to move players around a bit and find what works. Once we do, and we get Brandon Browner back from his 4 game suspension, we could have a nasty, physical defense, which is just what New England has been missing the past 4 seasons. We saw great things from our defense last week, but not as much this week. We'll get there.
Special teams: Special teams was pretty spot-on today. Matt Slater is everything you could want in a special teams player. Speed, agility, and dedication to his team. Ryan Allen was pretty good with the punts today, and Gostowski nailed his FG's, per usual.
Overall: A win is a win, in my book, but it was far from a pretty one today. Brady & Co found their rhythm a few times today, especially in the second half, but, still there were too many missed opportunities and wasted drives. Play calling on both sides of the ball needs to improve tremendously. The offensive line needs major help and defense needs to play nastier and more physically.
Grateful for another win and glad Big Vince got the INT to seal the deal. GO PATS.
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