It had pretty much been smooth sailing for the New England Patriots
through the first three games of their season. But in Dallas things weren’t quite as easy as they had been and the offense struggled for extended periods to protect Tom Brady
.
The quick throws weren’t there early on but the Patriots offense remained patient and eventually found spots to exploit Dallas’ defense.
The Patriots’ defense looked every bit as dominant as you’d hope they’d look going against this depleted Cowboy offense. But you can never dismiss a great defensive performance in the NFL and that was what this was.
There were plenty of times no-name QBs threw for lots of yards on the Patriots defenses of 2010-2012. This is a different defense, and one that is possibly better than last year’s because of their array of pass rush options.
There were questions about the run defense coming into this one, but it’s clear the Pats can stop the run when they want to. All the edge players were strong and the inside tackles didn’t give up a lot of ground.
Most exciting of all was seeing the Pats play some press man like they did last year. They’ve played plenty of man defense this year, but haven’t tried to be physical at the line of scrimmage. That changed against the Cowboys and never allowed Weeden to find a rhythm through the air.
Now the stage is set for a visit to the Colts on prime time next Sunday night (followed by my yearly Pats excursion to the Jets game). It will be a fun two weeks of football. But first, the Posits…
Dont’a Hightower and Nate Solder.
That’s all I really care about coming out of this one. Yes, we saw Brady take a beating and bounce back strong, but there hasn’t really been a significant injury in a while. Hightower looked in clear pain, and I can’t imagine something like a broken rub doesn’t take at least a couple weeks. Solder spoke to the media afterwards, so that’s a good sign. And really, Cannon wouldn’t be that bad.
No season is without adversity and this team has yet to really face any. On one hand you’re just waiting for something bad to happen, but sigh relief when no one gets carted off. Hopefully Hightower is back sooner than later and the health train can keep chugging.
A lot to like from the defense, who have really been sparked by Jabaal Sheard. He’s the finisher they’ve really needed to rotate in with Ninkovich and Chandler Jones. Sheard gets used all over the place. All were strong on the edges and with their rushes.
Jamie Collins is on everyone’s next superstar list and he keeps living up to those expectations. He’s simply all over the place on defense, making plays at every level with raw athleticism, speed and length.
Hard not to love the Pats showing some aggressive press man coverage and actually doing okay with it. That will need further evaluation this week. Seemed like there might’ve been more McCourty closer to the LOS, and Jordan Richards got more playing time this week after a strong debut against the Jags.
Malcolm Butler seemed like he made Terrance Williams invisible. Now it’s Terrance Williams, but still.
Jerod Mayo is likely about to be thrown into the fire and I’m not sure he’s ready for it. As soon as Bostic is ready to go, it should make for an interesting situation. Healthy Mayo is still better than Jonathan Freeny, but not by much.
Need to dive into the numbers this week, but I have some concerns about the short yardage game on both sides of the ball.
Wasn’t a big Easley game but I saw him blow up a run pretty well. Curious the snaps on him and the rest.
Dion Lewis
, I’m running out of things to say. What an electric, exciting player and he just keeps blowing minds and breaking ankles! Brady targeted him 11 times, more than Gronk and Edelman combined. Every time you think he’s about to go down he gets three more yards.
I’m okay with continuing the OL rotation going a bit longer, it’s why they’ll be fine has to miss time. Cannon catches a lot of crap but when he’s had to step in and start he’s been fine. It’s the experimenting at guard and the quick rotation in at tackle when he plays poorly.
That’s a good Cowboys front and they had a good gameplan. All the tackles were beat, but it’s the inside I’m more curious to focus on. The OL will be fine.
Edelman had a couple brain farts and a couple clutch plays. Bit of a trend this season, but he’ll clean it up. Brandon LaFell will come back at a good time as neither Keshawn Martin nor Aaron Dobson can replicate his presence.
Yes, I turned the page to the Colts pretty quick. The North East Remembers.
