Takeaways from Pats @ Chargers

First and foremost, I think it's worth mentioning that the reason we won this game is because of the incredible performance by our defense. This was one of their best games of the season. They held a high-powered offense to only 7 points...the same offense that put up 30 points on the Seahawks, and 34 on the Ravens just last week. And what's more, we did it without two of our best defensive players: Chandler Jones and Hightower. This defense is playing like they have something to prove. I like it.

Most obvious concerns:

Quarterback: Can't even lie, we've seen much, much better performances from Tommy. His interception straight to Manti Te'o was one of his worst I've ever seen. When it comes down to it, he showed up and got the job done when it counted most. 

     Offensive Line: First half? Attrocious. I would have cut everyone at halftime, starting with Solder. Second half was slightly better. Solder started to find his footing and do his job a little better. O-Line deserves half the blame for Brady's off game. 

     Play calling/Josh McDaniels: if you know me or follow my twitter, you had to know this one was coming. During the first 3 quarters on Sunday night, I have never missed Bill O'Brien so bad. Almost every week I complain about McDaniels and say he needs to go. But tonight I started thinking, "who do I want to replace him?" Because as much as I joke around about Brady calling all of the offensive plays himself, that's just not logical. It wouldn't happen. And to be honest, I don't know who I'd want as our next OC. It's not that McDaniel's doesn't have the offensive mind to succeed in the NFL; it's that he gets too conservative and leaves you scratching your head, wondering why this guy is getting paid millions, when you know 9 year olds that can call better plays. 

     Penalties: if the ultimate goal is to win Super Bowl 49, which this is the impression I was under, then the Patriots have to get their penalty problem under control. If Belichick can take no names and turn them into stud, standout players, he can surely fix this problem. Penalties have been killing momentum for us all season.

Red Zone offense! - inability to score, or even make plays in the red zone this late in the season is usually not a good sign. Luckily, somehow the Pats have found a way to correct their errors, usually mid-game, and win despite slow offensive starts, unsuccessful trips to the red zone, and turnovers. 

Teams have finally started to figure out that if you double-team Gronk and force Brady to throw elsewhere, we're nowhere near as successful in the red zone. It was only a matter of time. And I blame McDaniels and Belichick for not having a backup plan for when this (inevitably) started happening. 

Revis delivered another shutdown performance and put on a clinic. He was targeted exactly once, allowing only 3 yards the entire night. Man oh man, I love the non-Jet Darrelle Revis.

Brandon Browner had a pretty good night, too. Still not over that “helmet-to-helmet” penalty, that negated McCourty’s pick-6 and gave the Chargers a first down. I didn’t agree with that call at all. I still think Browner is at his best when he’s covering big tight ends. When he covers wide receivers, he needs McCourty’s help. All in all, still love what he brings to our defense. I know that about 75% of the Pats penalties seem to come from Browner, but in my opinion, we signed a physical corner, to bring a nasty, physical presence to New England's defense (something we haven’t had since Rodney Harrison or even Brandon Meriweather), what else do you expect. It kind of comes with the territory.

More in-depth thoughts and analysis coming in the next couple days! 

As always, go Pats!