Just like the yearly September loss to an inferior opponent, the October blowout is another annual tradition for the Patriots. Yesterday’s victim were the Bears, a team that we all knew would close up shop if the Pats got off to a good start.
The Pats got off to a great start and never looked back, proving how an offense can take time to come together – just because they were out of sync last month didn’t mean they weren’t going to put it together.
Now, the ceiling has been set, and that couldn’t have happened at a better time. Had the Pats squeaked one out over the Bears like the did the Jets, nobody would be giving them a chance this weekend.
Suddenly Julian Edelman can disappear for a game and they don’t even miss him. I’ll be interested to see what the Bears did to keep him a non-factor. But I’m really not concerned outside of the drops that continued in this game. Edelman’s is too good to fall off a cliff production-wise. But it’s great to know he’s not the entire offense anymore.
Of course the biggest damage was done by Rob Gronkowski and Brandon LaFell who each had off-the-chart games.
For all the talk of Emmanuel Sanders, give me LaFell for the Patriots every time. His size and run-after-catch ability make him such a perfect fit for the offense. Brady’s been a lot better throwing deep in recent weeks, but I’m not sure he would truly be able to maximize Sanders’ skillset. With LaFell it’s a dream combination.
Gronk’s blocking is catching up with his route running and the rest of the NFL should be on notice – the best tight end in the game is back to reclaim his crown. It’s not surprising that the Pats offensive rise to excellence has coincided with Gronkowksi getting back to his old self.
Jonas Grey ran hard and looked capable yesterday. While injuries always stink, it is fun to see new guys get their shots and especially fun when they take advantage of them. The run blocking still isn’t great, but given what he had to work with, Grey looks like he earned another chance vs. Denver.
Three penalties on Stork… just going to put my fingers in my ears and “alalalalala I can’t hear you he had a concussion alalalalala…”
I thought Dominique Easley finally looked like a first round pick starting at defensive end in place of Chandler Jones. Easley was strong on the edge and picked up his first sack (thanks to Vince) as well. He gave me a lot of reasons for optimism that he could be an effective edge player which is really remarkable considering I was a huge fan of his in the draft but only really projected him as a sub-package interior rusher. Easley seems like he’s so much more than that and he’s only scratching the surface.
Part of me can’t help but feel like the Jerod Mayo era on defense is over and now it will be the Dont’a Hightower era, and I’m actually okay with it. There’s a lot to love about Mayo, and I really don’t want to minimize his value to the team or how good of a player he was, but I’m kind of enjoying the Hightower feel to the defense. He’s just so strong, and even if he’s not as fast as Mayo, he’s a playmaker.
Not sure if there are auditions at slot corner going on right now or if Arrington and Dennard have not been practicing well. Nothing I’ve seen in games has warranted a benching of Arrington. Though with Dennard I love a lot of what he brings but the penalties and untimely catches allowed were consistent problems. Perhaps this was a message to step back and play more consistently and cleaner.
The pass rush wasn’t great yesterday but the coverage came through, including Browner’s two plays on the first two third downs to force punts. Those were game-defining plays and you’ll see one of them pop up in our Three Plays piece later today. As I’ve said, third down is what it’s all about for this defense and yesterday they were really good on third down (4-of-11).
I don’t use the word elite unless absolutely necessary but Brady and Revis are elite. If those guys keep playing at their respective levels, the Pats are going to be a very hard out in the playoffs. If the pass rush comes alive that’s what will put them over the top as a Super Bowl favorite.
Looks like the offensive line is finally settling in, but they’ll have a huge test this weekend. The tackles get Demarcus Ware and Von Miller. The interior gets a chance to prove they won’t get owned by Terrence Knighton like they did in the playoffs.
Finally, I’ll headed to Foxboro for the game this weekend, ready to cross Brady-Manning off my bucket list, but also to throw a tailgate party with tons of giveaways from NRG. Hope to see anyone who’s there stop by. Keep an eye on twitter as we give clues to our location. Those who find us get stuff.