Pats Posits: And We’re Off…

The Patriots got the 2018 season rolling yesterday with a 27-20 win over the Texans. For all the talk of last season and offseason drama, the Patriots very much looked like the same old Patriots that have laid waste to the league for the last 17 seasons.

Tom Brady finished with three touchdowns and one tipped-ball interception, looking nothing like an average 41-year old should look navigating an NFL pocket. The biggest difference was that he still had Rob Gronkowski, and the devastating QB-TE combo was just unstoppable.

This was nothing like last year’s maddening loss in the opener to the Chiefs. The Patriots have depth and new personnel issues, but they managed to rotate plenty of players in and showed that there isn’t any personnel problem that can’t be overcome with good coaching. Most exciting is a defense that has had an influx of improvement on a variety of fronts.

Yes, if you’re not a self-hating, self-punishing Patriots fan you should feel pretty good today. Clearly, the New England Football Machine is still firing on all cylinders and looks like they’ll once again be a formidable opponent for every team they face.

Let’s fire off a bunch of Posits and we finally get into the regular season flow!

— The biggest surprise of the game to me was that Ju’Whaun Bentley played 69 percent of the snaps, more than anyone outside of the starting four in the secondary. Bentley truly came out of nowhere for me, never really standing out in the limited early camp practices I saw, but then he just exploded onto the scene once the games started and that continued into the opener. I can’t express how much having a rookie linebacker step right in and play means. It was the one spot I really wanted to upgrade, no offense to Elandon Roberts who played 20 snaps and is still a good role player. Despite the dreaded “thumper” moniker, Bentley appears much more fluid in space than expected. He had his rookie moments, but if he continues on this trajectory the Patriots have found a much-needed player for their defense.

— I am not sure if I can read too much into the defensive rotation though, because it was very clear — with Trey Flowers and Keionta Davis the base ends, and Dietrich Wise and Adrian Clayborn the sub (pass rushing) ends. It was very specialized which allowed a number of players to get snaps. Davis has been another surprise of the summer and the Patriots continue to give him heavy work. He’s one to focus on in then re-watch because I thought he had his ups and downs like Bentley. Simply, I think Davis is the better base run player than Rivers, who also doesn’t have the pass rushing skills of Wise-Clayborn. As the season progresses it should get a little more refined but I like how they’re protecting Clayborn a bit by letting Davis get his feet wet and do the dirty work.

— The injury to Jeremy Hill is significant, especially when you consider Rex Burkhead‘s health history. This means that Sony Michel and perhaps, Ralph Webb from the practice squad will be needed this season and maybe more than anyone realizes. Really disappointing about Hill, who was looking like a solid overall contributor on track to resurrect his career.

— If I have to get critical about the team it has to come at the punt returner spot, a spot they basically ignored all summer, using just-elevated Riley McCarron, who had a potentially game-changing muff. McCarron even played 15 offensive snaps but didn’t record a catch. I continue to think he’s the definition of a “JAG” or a spot filler until Edelman gets back but having absolutely no expected impact from the punt return game is a frustrating concession.

Tom’s pumped. (via USATSI) pic.twitter.com/G9osGwRcUO

— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) September 9, 2018

— Ho hum Tom Brady is still Tom Brady, except for the new helmet which I’m just going to have to accept. I still haven’t given up hope that he’ll go back to the old one. That happened in 2011 when he wore a new helmet the first couple games but then tossed them for old faithful.

— Take away the tipped interception and the muffed punt and is this game even close? I heard some complaints about the run game but that’s situational football. Allowing rushing yards when you’re up by a couple scores in the second half is fine. This is the heart of efficiency rankings and why stats are for losers. Yeah, they gave up 167 yards rushing but were 2-11 on third down held 2-5 in the red zone. That’s where games are won or lost not based on the rushing yardage when you’re winning and selling out to stop any big passing plays.

— I have to study how much more aggressive the Pats were with their blitzing, if at all. Really it just came down to having three fresh pass rushers (Wise, Butler, Clayborn) ready to cause hell on passing downs. The Pats never had that kind of depth last year. Plus the progression of Wise and Butler has been remarkable.

— It was assured that the Pats would throw Phillip Dorsett into the fire and he played 57 percent of the snaps and had seven catches for 66 yards and a TD. It was a really encouraging performance and a prime exhibit of why the Pats weren’t interested in bringing in a “name” wide receiver, they like Dorsett and have demonstrated that throughout the summer. If he can build on this performance and gain more confidence/Brady trust, Dorsett could be on pace for a breakout season.

— Chris Hogan‘s one catch for 11 yards was another slightly disappointing spot.

— I felt like my gameplan was pretty accurate, with James Develin playing almost half the snaps and grabbing four catches. Until Edelman and Hollister return, the Pats will have to manufacture things in the middle of the field. They also made sure to get the ball in Cordarrelle Patterson‘s hands a bunch of times to mixed results. But a nice bonus was that they didn’t have to over-rely on James White. Gronk did carry the load so the hope is that they can pull back on that a little bit.

— The offense was just 4-14 on third down, a number that could hurt them going forward. We knew staying out of third and longs would be critical and that bore out. It just didn’t matter as far as the results because Gronk and Brady were still so dominant.

Hopefully, this kind of impressive win puts some of the drama behind the Patriots. We all saw it continue to pop up yesterday in pregame with reports of Gronk trades, Guerrero agreements and the rest. We should be officially on to 2018 now and there’s plenty to be excited about.