My second Pats Pilgrimage of the season was a brilliant-though-wet success, raising my record at games attended to 12-3 since 2006. I am always surprised by how many Patriots fans show up for away games and this one was close to 2014’s in San Diego. There’s nothing quite like the pure joy of passionate Pats fans assembling on the road to cheer our favorite team on.
It was clear we were in Foxboro west from the moment arrival.
First I was accosted on the BART after landing by an airport employee who had been waiting 16 years for Tom Brady to play in his home city. He was more fired up that I was! From that point there were just Patriots fans every where you looked and by the time we got to the stadium it looked like they outnumbered the 49ers fans.
When Brady came out for warmups the stadium exploded. Every section he walked by erupted in cheers, and during the game there were multiple “Brady” chants throughout. I’ve had two amazing game experiences this season that were just loaded with Brady love.
The game itself seemed like a no-win situation outside of a dominating blow out and really, that’s pretty much what we got. I know there were some things that didn’t look great at times and Matthew Slater got hurt, but overall things are progressing and the Pats are in the driver’s seat in the AFC.
More on a great weekend with family and Pats fans and another Patriots win in the Posits…
— All I kept saying going in was that I wanted to see Dion Lewis make someone miss a tackle and boy oh boy, he looked like he hadn’t missed a beat from where he left off last season, when he was setting a record pace for breaking tackles. Lewis had eight touches with 49 total yards a perfect start. The rest of the league better take notice of what a weapon Lewis will be. Now if the Pats can make it to the playoffs with both Lewis and Blount they’ll have a running game that must be reckoned with.
— Defensively there were two bad drives (14 plays, 60 yards, FG and 11 plays, 92 yards, TD). Those were frustrating, but when you realize the Pats forced six-straight punts after that touchdown drive, there are some silver linings. Obviously the five sacks jumps off the stat sheet, especially when were used to rationalizing a lack of sacks against a QB who can run. But there just seemed to be a renewed fire from the defense, at least in person. We’ll see if that’s still there on the rewatch.
— Jabaal Sheard not traveling with the team was the major pregame storyline and it’s been an incredibly surprising descent for a player who we thought would be our best defensive end this season. Does Sheard get out of this hole? That’s the million dollar question. He should get another shot (I think), but we’ve seen situations like this where it only gets worse. No question he’s firmly at the crossroads.
— Shea McClellin moved to one of the sub linebacker spots and got off to a pretty good start before he faded down the stretch. I’m still waiting for a “wow” play from him, but this was his best game of the season and perhaps a sign that he should’ve started at linebacker from the get-go in New England like most of us thought he would.
— Nice to Edelman really returning to the old form. He has 28 catches in the last four games, a pace that would put him at a season-high for receptions. So yes, Edelman’s usage is right where it’s been since he became “the man” in 2013. As Lewis, Gronk/Bennett, Mitchell/Hogan continue to develop it should only make things easier for Edelman. He should be seeing the least attentive coverage since he was just a guy pre-2013.
— Kyle Van Noy also showed up a couple times and really, in a more distinctive way than McClellin has. He did enough to earn some more passing down snaps and he might be the unknown who steps into a significant role down the stretch. Let’s face it, the Pats are going to have to hold onto leads in a lot of games, that means the pure pass rush package is vital. Van Noy will be one to focus on in the re-watch to see exactly how they balanced him between rush and coverage.
— I’m still worried about the lack of speed at linebacker now. Of course if Chung is on his game taking away the tight ends, I don’t think many teams can beat the Patriots on their receiving backs alone. But expect that area to be where teams attack us on key downs.
— Maybe my favorite moment of the pregame was when I was giving out Brady “Ignore the Noise” tees to random passionate Patriots fans. We crossed paths with a bunch of Pats psychos as we walked toward the stadium and I tossed one guy a tee. He caught it, not really processing what it was at first. Moments later I hear him yell “that guy just gave me this awesome t-shirt! IGNORE THE NOISE!!!” Wish I had gotten a picture with him, but nothing makes me happier than spreading some Patriots joy.
— The Patriots went another game without forcing a turnover, their third-straight. They have just two in their last seven games. Has anyone figured out a way to blame Deflategate for this? Because it’s incredibly strange for a Patriots defense to not force turnovers. The good news is that they’re winning without getting them. I think in 2010 we got lulled into a false sense of security because they had just two games without a turnover in the regular season (lost to NYJ and won in overtime vs. BAL) and then got none in the AFCDG and lost that one to the Jets as well.
— Nice to see Malcolm Mitchell have a breakout game in Chris Hogan‘s absence. The Patriots now have four receivers who Brady really seems to like and trust. Doesn’t feel like there’s been that many on the roster at one time since 2007.
Now it’s on to Ryan Fitzpatrick (yes, again) and the Jets. So maybe that’s just what the defense needs to break the ice on some interceptions. If they can’t pick off Fitztragic there might really be a problem here.
Again, this NFL season is the ultimate survivor pool. All that matters is staying healthy and getting the win. Do I suddenly think the defense is is all better? Nope. Unfortunately we’re still waiting three weeks against Flacco to even start to think this is a defense we can lean on if the offense sputters.
But it’s undeniable that the Patriots defense always improves as the season progresses. And given the shear volume of weaponry they have, it should be enough to overcome a middling defensive performance, just not a terrible one.
Most of all I’m holding out hope that this season is truly different from 2007, 2010 and 2015. Those years the Patriots roared out to incredible starts and then injuries and bad play befell them and they didn’t win the Super Bowl.
Maybe this year we won’t truly see the peak of the Patriots until January. It’s all there on paper, especially on offense. Before the season it was there for the defense too, and as bad as they’ve been so far this season, there’s no question in my mind that the Patriots can still win the Super Bowl with them. There’s just some pieces that still need to fall into place, whether it’s someone like Van Noy stepping into a pass rush role and delivering or Sheard remembering how to play well again.
Thanksgiving is Thursday. This is when the good teams truly round into form. We’ll see if this Patriots team can continue to solidify and put their best football forward. The ingredients are all there, they’re in commanding position in the standings so you have to like their chances.