Friday Patriots Headlines

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS HEADLINES - 8/20/10

The Patriots are 2-0 after beating the Atlanta Falcons 28-10 in last night's exhibition win, and here are today's headlines.

Jeff Howe of NESN.com looks at Tom Brady's impressive performance during last night's victory, and feels that things could be shaping up for a special season for the Patriots.

Erik Scalavino of Patriots.com takes a look at how the depth chart appears to be shaping up after watching New England's second exhibition game.

Albert Breer of the Boston Globe looks at some of the positives from last night's game, including the fact the team has done a good job of generating a pass rush, along with the improvement of some of the rookies.

WEEI.com also has head coach Bill Belichick's postgame comments for anyone who missed them.

Last night's game also saw the return of Wes Welker to the line-up who started the game with a 15-yard reception and Breer writes that "all looks well" with Welker based on what we saw last night.

Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com also touches on what Welker's return meant to the offense, although Welker said after the game" that there were no "touchy-feely moments".

Karen Guregian also has an article on Welker, who talked about his performance during last night's game, and that getting back on the field has been his goal the entire offseason.

"This is something I've been really working toward, really trying to come back and get back out on the field," Welker said afterward. "To be able to do it here in the second preseason game is kind of a milestone for me. It's something I've really been looking forward to and something I've worked my tail off to get to this whole offseason. So it was pretty significant to get out there and get those reps out there."

Monique Walker and Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe have an article this morning on the emergence of the Patriots rookie tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, who both had good performances Thursday night.

Karen Guregian also chimes in on the play of both of the rookie tight ends, as both scored big last night after the two each reached the endzone, and appear poised to really help Brady and the offense become a dangerous group this season.

Veteran Runningback Fred Taylor started last night's game and played well, carrying 11 times for 54 yards and a touchdown. The Boston Globe has an article on the veteran's performance last night as he got his first chance to carry the football for the Patriots this preseason. Taylor would have actually had another 13-yards after having a nice carry to start the game, but Stephen Neal was called for a holding penalty which negated the run.

Rapoport talks about Taylor's peformance along with the fact that Sammy Morris also had a great night, with both running wild against Atlanta's defense.

Rapoport also looks at the return of defensive lineman Ron Brace, who saw his first preseason action last night and even forced a fumble during the team's win over Atlanta.

Monique Walker of the Gobe has an article on the fact that punter Zoltan Mesko and Stephen Gostkowski are handling the kicking transition well, with Mesko doing a good job as Gostowski's new holder.

Tom Curran points out that they had a balanced attack last night, rushing and throwing for an equal number of times, and were very diverse in how they won last night's game.

Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe also looks at last night's offensive performance, which was balanced and also saw some good things both rushing and throwing the football.

Christopher Price offers up 10 things we learned from last night's game, including the fact that Hernandez is going to be a special player at tight end for Brady this season.

That's it for this morning. Hope everyone has a good day and we'll have some more updates later on.