For many spectators around the league, the New England Patriots season opener would act as a measuring stick for the 2010 season. The team passed with flying colors in a 38 – 24 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals. The team put on an impressive display in all three phases of the game; offense, defense, special teams. Here is my teams report card for week 1.
Offense Grade: A -
The offense looked potent and balanced throughout the game. Fred Taylor, Kevin Faulk, Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis, and Sammy Morris toted the rock as Laurence Maroney sat out with a thigh injury. Fred Taylor did most of the running and looked fresh; if his production can stay at the same level, the offense really opens up.
 Tom Brady proved yet again why he deserves to be the highest paid player in the NFL Sunday. (PHOTO:Icon/SMI) |
Wes Welker was the story of the day however. He was all over the field, back to his usual slot machine self totaling a team high 8 receptions and two touchdowns. Â Everyone seemed to play a role in the offense and the play calling overall was absolutely superb. Tom Brady had a fantastic game, throwing three touch down passes; proving yet again, why he deserves to be the highest paid player in the NFL. Â I believe that the optimism Patriots fans had about the offense is legitimate.
Special Teams Grade: A
Special teams played a large role in the game as well. The only real disappointments were two missed field goal attempts by Stephen Gostkowski. As many fans saw in the pre-season, the returns were fantastic. That continued today as Brandon Tate had an excellent return to start the second half. I thought that was the best way to continue the momentum that the team created from the beginning of the game. The kick coverage was also great and this phase of the game should not be overlooked.
Defense Grade: A
This unit played outstanding. Honestly, I do not think they could have started the year much better. This grade could have been an A+ but, they did ease up in the 3rd quarter and I would have loved to see them finish stronger, but thankfully that job was left to the offense.
Defensively, the team looked fast, fans have heard that the team was younger, but had not really seen the affects of that youth. I thought the team had excellent speed and tackled very well. There are lots to feel positive about on defense, especially the play of the young defensive backs in Darius Butler and Devin McCourty. Patrick Chung seemed to be in on every tackle, flying all over the field. Their overall play has to shed some light on the future.
One aspect I did want to mention though was communication. The team seemed to be talking and was active during the game. This is a Bengals offense with a lot of weapons, and to hold them in check as the Patriots did for most of the day Sunday, says a lot about this young unit moving forward.
Overall Game Grade: A
There were tons of positives to pull away from the opening weekend victory. In all three phases the Patriots were sharp. Many thought the Patriots would regress this year while some seemed to think they were an under-the-radar threat. New England showed they could handle a very good Bengals team with relative ease in week one and now face the division rival New York Jets in week 2. The camaraderie of the players also caught my eye and I enjoyed watching the team play at a high level while having fun. That is an aspect should not to be overlooked.
Overall, a great way to kick-off the NFL season and the Patriots certainly made a statement.
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What the heck kind of report card is that. You remind me of a teacher I once had who was retiring at the end of the year. She gave everyone A’s because what the heck___she was on the way out the door anyways.
I could not disagree more with Tom and not agree more with Derek. This was a straight A performance. When you have a 31-3 lead 15 seconds into the third quarter, that is as good as it gets. We knew what we have in the offense, but the defense that looked faster and not green and immature was a great surprise. Although, with the coach we have, we probably should not have been so surprised.
Hello Mr. Rose,
I did not mean to act like a “school teacher” as you put it, however; The overall performance of the team was an A, was it not? I mean list a point in the game when they played below an A level? The only point I can look to is perhaps the garbage time minutes the Pats defense let up and the Bengals made small run in the third quarter. Never the less, are you not surprised by the complete team performance? The offense many people (including myself) thought they would be great. The defense and special teams showed up BIG and that definitely was a surprise compared to last season.
Hi,
Have to be a little more objective and give the defense a B. Touchdown to OchoCinco, plus too many 3rd and long conversions and no other sacks even when we knew Palmer had to pass, knock it down to B.
Hey Keith,
I did think about knocking down the grade to a B. But, the defense more than exceeded their expectations against a Bengals offense that could have exposed them. Also, they did score a touchdown which raises the grade mightily. Not to mention, the defense held Cedric Benson to 0 rushing yards in the first half. Even though they did allow the Bengals to take advantage of garbage time minutes and score (which by the way I would have liked the play calling on the sidelines to keep the pressure on the Bengals instead of playing prevent D) they closed out the game. So maybe, the grade should be an A- or a B+ but, no matter what you think about what I wrote in the blog, how would you not be impressed with what you saw on Sunday? After all, many thought the Patriots had the potential to be embarrassed by the Bengals offense.
Also, for those of you who did not see, Grogan gave the defense a grade of A-… Steve is never wrong.
Am absolutely thrilled we won, although here in India we dont get to see the games
I am liking what I hear around the web that we played well. Here’s the kicker though: Have we stopped to think that Bengals just weren’t coached well or just didnt execute very well on their coaching.. different from teams we will face over the season- teams like the Steelers, heck even the Jets!
Also Carson Palmer is known to not have learned much about coverages & adjustments that defenses make (easy to confuse i think is the term used).. so lets celebrate the win but be cautious in doling out A grades.. the real test will come against Ravens, Steelers, Titans, Packers, Texans, Colts and other well coached teams who are not going to be sloppy and will execute their game plan and would have studied a ton of tape..
A win a win I understand and will take the 1-0 over the other option any day but I am concerned about Sunday!
Go Pats! (Miss NYC bars – i loved to go their and jump around as PATS put a beating on teams esp Giants n Jets!)
I would give the passing game an (A). Brady is unstoppable and he was toying with the Bengals. I would give the running game a B. The running game was decent if not spectacular. I would give the secondary a B. This young secondary, if not experienced, is fun to watch and it is going to be a pleasure to watch them mature. I give the run defense an A. The Bengals became very predictable when the Patriots front seven stopped their running. I would give the special teams an A without Goskowski but a B+ with Goskowski for obvious reasons.
There is no way all facets of the team got an A. In regards to Steve Grogan’s grade, he can give them anything he wants; he’s earned that right.
The one thing I will say about Goskowski is that he is known league wide from his pinpoint accuracy, not for his leg. He missed two FGs and while one of them he should have nailed, the other was a 57 yarder. If he had made that, I would have been stunned and too my surprise he had the distance but it simply pulled right.