aluminum seats

--Wow…just wow. Forget those 16 points Pittsburgh scored in the 4th—as Tomlin said, teams that far behind are usually able to move the ball. That was a domination.

--One of the things that was bugging me when Moss was still around was the feeling that Brady had to babysit—that is, sit next to him all the time. Winning or losing, the Brady of the Super Bowl years, charging around the sideline, talking to guys, was replaced by Brady sitting next to Randy. It started changing the minute Moss was traded, and yesterday the old Brady was all the way back.

--Chung Chung Chung. Seemed like the Pats D was finding its identity until he got hurt a few games ago, and then they found it again last night (and while the Steelers points were garbage time, wonder if they would have been as easy w/Chung in there.) One guy can make an absolutely huge difference. Remember the ridiculous W/L splits the Pats had with Rodney Harrison vs. without? They essentially never lost w/him. Chung’s starting to seem like that kind of guy. I hear on the board that he’s OK, so a big whew! on that.

--Speaking of Chung, he came out of nowhere to flatten the Pittsburgh receiver on the last play of the 1st Q—I thought he stopped him short of the first down. Second Q., it was first down w/no mention of a measurement or anything. Did I miss something?

--The line play was outstanding on both sides of the ball. Anyone who was getting pissy about Mankins holding out should realize now you gotta shake that stuff off. Brady could have drawn pictures of his receivers he had so much time. Fantastic.

--No matter how much time he had, Brady was awesome. Still trying to figure out how he got that one ball to Gronk, I think it was the first TD.

--Speaking of Gronk, many have been wishing he would be more involved, so his contributions were great. Wonder if it was partially motivated by his mistakes last week--get the guy back in the mix before he loses confidence. Whatever, that's what we've been looking for. And it gives Hernandez a bit of a breather too, which could help down the road.

--OT….man, the Jets are lucky, huh? All that matters is the record, as we always say, but wow. That’s 3 Ws in a row they easily could have lost. Having said that, I don’t have a problem w/the Pats getting pushed by another team in the division. Hell, maybe it helps ‘em in some way. Bring it on.

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ATippett56

The New England Patriots defense was dominant in the first half.

The New England Patriots have moved on from the Randy Moss Era. In the meantime, Brandon Tate is essentially a rookie wide receiver in this year's Patriots offense; Deion Branch needs to reacclimate himself to this year's Patriots offense; Wes Welker is returning from knee surgery alot sooner than most of us probably predicted. Throw in two rookie tight ends and a running back who was not in training camp for the New England Patriots, and it will take time for this offense to gel. The bottom line is the Pittsburgh Steelers game illustrated the potential of the New England Patriots offense near or at its best.

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The End of the Chad Ochostinko Era!

Patriot_in_NY

Yeah, this D is definitely different with Chung in there. No question.

Speaking of that. He left late in the 4th after what looked like minor leg cramps (??) and never returned. I hope they just put him on the shelf for the rest of the game and he's not gonna miss any more time.

Anyone know?

Uncle Rico

Yeah, the parts were all (well, mostly) on display last night. Would like to see more from Tate -- I think if Brady led him more to the corner on that one deep ball to the end zone it would have been 6, but IIRC Tate also had a weak drop later.

We also saw very little of Hernandez, maybe because of the blocking help that was needed on the line. I'm guessing we see more of him next week; set him free while Woodhead helps take care of blocking Feeney/Mathis.

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JackBauer

Chung is a beast. Seems like they're using him in coverage quite a bit, with Meriweather just playing deep in center field. Either way, wherever the ball is Pat Chung is sure to be nearby.

Deus Irae

Chung's pass coverage seems to be vastly improved from last year. He's still subpar, and he's a holding call just waiting to happen, but he's clearly getting better. Another year or two could see him turn into a truly complete safety.

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amazinPats

[QUOTE=aluminum seats;2341037--One of the things that was bugging me when Moss was still around was the feeling that Brady had to babysit—that is, sit next to him all the time. Winning or losing, the Brady of the Super Bowl years, charging around the sideline, talking to guys, was replaced by Brady sitting next to Randy. It started changing the minute Moss was traded, and yesterday the old Brady was all the way back.
[/QUOTE]

Well said. I felt this way too. We don't have time to babysit prima donna players. There is nothing that he brings to the table which can offset this kind of damage.

JackBauer

I saw the same thing. Lucky for us he's only 23 years old... don't want to be premature but it's hard not to imagine what this guy could become under BB's tutelage.

ATippett56

That's why Randy Moss, Adalius Thomas, Derrick Burgess, and Shawn Springs are no longer on the roster.

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The End of the Chad Ochostinko Era!

Speedy Welker

Rodney said that first TD Brady threw to Gronk HAD to be a perfect a perfect, and he really. That should have been an incomplete pass if not throw perfect