PatsPropaganda

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Pats Posits: Full Speed Ahead

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The Patriots put together another impressive performance, winning their third game of the season with a 38-24 trouncing of the Colts on Thursday night. Tom Brady threw his 500th touchdown pass, a 2007 Moss-esque connection with Josh Gordon that saw the receiver outleap three nearby defenders. Meanwhile Julian Edelman returned to his first game action since Super Bowl 51 and the defense had three takeaways, leaving everyone to rest assured that the Patriots are still very much the Patriots.

Sony Michel took some monster strides as well, rushing for 98 yards and a touchdown that featured an impressive stiff arm. James White caught a team-leading 10 balls as everything seemed to finally be coming into focus for the Pats offense. It wasn’t all perfect, games on Thursday nights never are, but there was enough carryover from the bounce back Dolphins win to feel like the 3-2 Pats are starting to establish a true identity.

More on it all in a bleary-eyed Posits as I get ready to head out to shoot episode two of Foxboro & Friends.

— 500 touchdowns to 71 different receivers. It’s a staggering number and to think I’ve seen the vast majority of them live just makes me appreciate how long this thing has been going on. Throw in Adam Vinatieri in this one and it was just another in a long list of superlative performances that have been happening for what feels like all of my adult life. Thank you, Tom Brady.

— I’m sure some of you (cough Nick Stevens) had your moments of defensive freakouts when it looked like the comeback was on, just before the score got blown open from 24-17 to 38-17 in the turn of Gordon’s touchdown, Jonathan Jones’ interception and then Michel’s 34-yard touchdown run. But that’s just Belichick, playing the odds, giving up yards as the clock bleeds. Worrying about the Pats defense when they’re defending a two-plus score game is a waste of time. The real positives to take away are a) the takeaways and b) the tackling. Unlike those two losses, everyone on defense is rallying to the ball and taking guys down in their tracks even when they pick up a nice little chunk of yardage. The Jags and Lions games are slowly becoming complete anomalies. The other three games have been really really good.

— Speaking of good, Michel and White looked like a dream team last night. It’s always terrifying only having two running backs but man, they did the job last night. White is just so freakin’ reliable. He’s effortless in the way he plays the game and when the offense is on and rallying around him, he’s just about unstoppable. Indy had no answer for White, who had the 5th-best receiving total of his career.

— Trey Flowers’ value to the defense is so apparent, nothing would make me happier than signing him to a long-term extension asap. Not letting him get away next offseason has to be priority number one right now. Flowers is just all over the place and a nightmare for defenders on every down. He’s strong but such a technician, it’s fun to watch.

— This was the total balance offense we’ve been waiting for, and while Gronk, White and Edelman carried the big parts of the load, it allowed Hogan, Dorsett, Patterson and Gordon to just chip in with key contributions and not carry the load. It’s a long way to January, but if these guys stay intact there should be zero concerns about WEAPONZ.

— Maybe my favorite thing about this game was the callback aspect. McCourty tore the ball from a Colts’ hands like Bruschi, Gordon caught one like Moss and the Patriots pounded the Colts like they have for so long now. It was just nice to feel the connection to those old days and still see the same kind of impressive plays being made. The unblocked trio sack was pretty amazing too.

Now the Pats get a bit of a breather before a huge matchup against the Chiefs next Sunday night. That one will give us a real sense of how good these Pats are as the Chiefs are explosive and always seem to give the Pats a good game.