PatsBoy12
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2009
- Messages
- 16,502
- Reaction score
- 10,026
Here are my snap judgement ups and downs from the game in no particular order. . .
UPs:
TOM BRADY: The QB once again showed everyone once again that his demise was greatly exaggerated. The QB had just five incompletions on the day and four of them were drops . . . FOUR. His stat line at the end of the game:
30/35 354 yards 5 TDs 0 INTs
It really doesn't get much better than that. He said he would stop playing when he sucks. It looks like he has some years left in him, huh?
ROB GRONKOWSKI: The TE had his best game of the season and was absolutely unstoppable. It was almost as if he and the QB were playing catch against no defenders. The TD that should not have been was still a beautiful throw and *catch* and the 46-yard run was amazing. Gronk's stats through slightly over two quarters of play:
9/9 rec 149 yards 3 TDs
BRANDON LAFELL: Brady's favorite target on first down. Brandon LaFell gave QB someone reliable outside the numbers. The receiver seemed to catch everything thrown his way. He continues to show growth every week:
11/11 rec 124 yards 1 TD
O-LINE: The big day that Brady, Gronkowski, and LaFell had would not have been possible without the O-Line playing the way they did. The Bears have a pretty good pass rush, but they came nowhere near Brady yesterday. They gave him enough time in play action and the QB rarely had to make any moves outside the pocket. He was comfortable and clean all day long. Stork struggled.
JONAS GRAY: The RB set the tone yesterday. He proved that, at least yesterday, he could carry the load. Some will undoubtedly point out that the Bears played with a depleted LB unit and, though that's true, you can take away from the fact that he found the holes and he hit them hard and fast (tee hee). Many of us were calling for him, and he showed up big early in the game.
TEAM DEFENSE: Several players played well, but the group played well collectively and there was great team defense being played yesterday. Patricia mixed things up all day and that kept the Bears off balance. The secondary played well in both zone and man coverage. The D-Line made Cutler uncomfortable for most of the game, and the secondary kept the best WR tandem in the NFL in check. The run defense continues to be a bit worrisome, but keeping an explosive offense under control is no small thing.
DOWNs:
JULIAN EDELMAN: Still struggling with dropped passes, dropping two more in yesterday's game. The WR seems out of sync, coinciding somewhat with Gronkowski returning to just about full strength and the emergence of LaFell and, to a lesser degree, Tim Wright. He must now adjust from being the focal point to being more a complementary player in an offense that is rounding into shape.
JAMIE COLLINS: Young player who is still learning, but he must do better in coverage. The LB allowed a critical third-down conversion to Matt Forte when the game was still somewhat within reach.
BRYAN STORK: Needless to say . . . you can't get three false starts if you're the center. I mean, c'mon.
It's hard to find enough to be down about when a team performs the way the Patriots did yesterday. I'll remain just slightly more cautiously optimistic because the Bears really do have enough talent on that team to be that bad. Nonetheless, I am happy with my Patriots this morning. They played extremely well and won a game they needed to win. We are entering the tough stretch and, if I'm being objective, NE will drop a few games during the stretch. They had to beat the Bears and they handled business.
UPs:
TOM BRADY: The QB once again showed everyone once again that his demise was greatly exaggerated. The QB had just five incompletions on the day and four of them were drops . . . FOUR. His stat line at the end of the game:
30/35 354 yards 5 TDs 0 INTs
It really doesn't get much better than that. He said he would stop playing when he sucks. It looks like he has some years left in him, huh?
ROB GRONKOWSKI: The TE had his best game of the season and was absolutely unstoppable. It was almost as if he and the QB were playing catch against no defenders. The TD that should not have been was still a beautiful throw and *catch* and the 46-yard run was amazing. Gronk's stats through slightly over two quarters of play:
9/9 rec 149 yards 3 TDs
BRANDON LAFELL: Brady's favorite target on first down. Brandon LaFell gave QB someone reliable outside the numbers. The receiver seemed to catch everything thrown his way. He continues to show growth every week:
11/11 rec 124 yards 1 TD
O-LINE: The big day that Brady, Gronkowski, and LaFell had would not have been possible without the O-Line playing the way they did. The Bears have a pretty good pass rush, but they came nowhere near Brady yesterday. They gave him enough time in play action and the QB rarely had to make any moves outside the pocket. He was comfortable and clean all day long. Stork struggled.
JONAS GRAY: The RB set the tone yesterday. He proved that, at least yesterday, he could carry the load. Some will undoubtedly point out that the Bears played with a depleted LB unit and, though that's true, you can take away from the fact that he found the holes and he hit them hard and fast (tee hee). Many of us were calling for him, and he showed up big early in the game.
TEAM DEFENSE: Several players played well, but the group played well collectively and there was great team defense being played yesterday. Patricia mixed things up all day and that kept the Bears off balance. The secondary played well in both zone and man coverage. The D-Line made Cutler uncomfortable for most of the game, and the secondary kept the best WR tandem in the NFL in check. The run defense continues to be a bit worrisome, but keeping an explosive offense under control is no small thing.
DOWNs:
JULIAN EDELMAN: Still struggling with dropped passes, dropping two more in yesterday's game. The WR seems out of sync, coinciding somewhat with Gronkowski returning to just about full strength and the emergence of LaFell and, to a lesser degree, Tim Wright. He must now adjust from being the focal point to being more a complementary player in an offense that is rounding into shape.
JAMIE COLLINS: Young player who is still learning, but he must do better in coverage. The LB allowed a critical third-down conversion to Matt Forte when the game was still somewhat within reach.
BRYAN STORK: Needless to say . . . you can't get three false starts if you're the center. I mean, c'mon.
It's hard to find enough to be down about when a team performs the way the Patriots did yesterday. I'll remain just slightly more cautiously optimistic because the Bears really do have enough talent on that team to be that bad. Nonetheless, I am happy with my Patriots this morning. They played extremely well and won a game they needed to win. We are entering the tough stretch and, if I'm being objective, NE will drop a few games during the stretch. They had to beat the Bears and they handled business.
Last edited:
