Tom Brady & Co. came out dominating from the first snap. With everyone questioning his elite quarterback status this season, especially after Monday nights embarrassment, Brady was playing to prove everyone wrong. Which he did. From the minute he ran onto the field for warm-ups, you could already tell something was different from the past 4 weeks. The look in his eyes let everyone know he was hungry for a win. He had a near-perfect QB rating and finally looked like the Tom Brady we all know.
Brady also became the 6th quarterback ever to pass for over 50,000 yards, Sunday night. No big deal or anything.
Everyone was involved
The offensive line was much improved, and as you can tell it made all the difference. It's amazing how good Brady is when he has time to throw. Edelman, Gronk, LaFell, Amendola, Dobson, Vereen, Develin, and Wright all hauled in passes Sunday night. Brady had more weapons to play around with and was noticeably more comfortable in the pocket. The Patriots finished the night with 30 first downs and zero three and outs. ZERO. That's a huge stat. Major difference from the past four games.
I wanna talk a little bit more about one of my favorite players from last night, Tim Wright. I, like the rest of the Patriots fans around the world, have been waiting for his breakout game. I was beginning to wonder if we would ever give him any significant playing time. And last night, they did just that. Wright caught five passes for 85 yards and his first touchdown as a Patriot. Number 81 was killing it last night. Okay, okay, too soon.
This is only week 5. Imagine how much better Wright will be as the season progresses. He and Gronk are going to be a nightmare for opposing defenses. I can't wait.
Success running the ball...finally
The Pats run game was pretty solid last night. Ridley rushed for over 113 yards and a touchdown. Vereen racked up 90 yards of his own and was a monster on 3rd downs. This type of running game is the perfect complement to Brady and the passing game.
McDaniels seems to have finally found a good balance between passing and running the ball. Let's hope he keeps it up. For once, I actually liked the play calling. More of last night, please!
Patriots...Island?
Holding the Bengals' offense to 17 points is a pretty nice feat. Revis did a fantastic job shutting down AJ Green last night. I mean, if we're talking in terms of islands, Andy Dalton and the rest of the offense was on mainland, while Green had a mini vacation on Revis Island, all night long. They finally let Revis do what Revis does best...play press-man coverage. And it couldn't have worked much better. Green had 4 catches for just over 60 yards and fumbled once, thanks to Revis.
Wilfork and the defensive line played with visible intensity, rising to the occasion to stop the Bengals run game when it counted most. While they were far from perfect, DLine played well considering Chandler Jones was limited all night. Chris Jones played an impressive game, handing Andy Dalton his first sack of the season.
Secondary played well most of the game, despite losing McCourty, and temporarily Revis, in the second half.
One player I want to point out is Kyle Arrington. He had a shockingly good game. He recorded one forced fumble, and recovered a fumble, which he returned for a touchdown. Props to Arrington.
*more in depth post coming later in the week*
Things to work on
Last night's win was definitely a step in the right direction, but there's still a lot to work on:
- Red zone offense- need to improve accuracy here; let's stop settling for 3 when we could have 7
- Defensive line
- Penalties- the Patriots racked up 12 penalties for over 100 yards last night. While a couple of those are questionable, it's still too many and unacceptable.
3 positives to take away
- Offensive line- the Patriots may have (finally) found their starting OLine combination: Solder-Connolly-Stork-Wendell-Vollmer. 'Twas a beauty to watch.
- Offensive chemistry- Brady to: LaFell/Gronk/Amendola/Jules/Wright/Dobson!! Take your pick. Things seem to be on the up with Brady & Co.
- Refreshed defense- defense played with a different attitude Sunday night. More attitude, more confidence, and more aggressively. Plus, Browner was activated today. Patriots fans can't wait to get a look at what Browner's addition does for our secondary.
Last nights performance was New England football at its best. Go Pats!
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