Tuesday's New England Patriots Links 9/13
This one took a while this morning (nearly two hours) to put together, but here are this morning's top stories after last night's big win over the Dolphins:
Chris Forsberg has an article on defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth, who made his first regular season debut for the Patriots last night and played well.
He also has more on Haynesworth, who said after the game it felt good to be back on the field.
Forsberg also writes that there's still plenty of room for improvement for New England's defense.
Mike Reiss has his normal "3 Up, 3 Down" breakdown from last night's performance.
Jeff Howe of NESN writes that this deep group of defensive lineman should be instrumental to their success this season.
Howe also has an entry on Devin McCourty, who he writes had one of the best battles of his career last night against Miami's Brandon Marshall.
Paul Kenyon and Jim Donaldson of the Providence Journal combine for a "notebook" this morning, and leads off with the fact that Matthew Slater made his first regular season catch last night.
Mike Reiss and Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston have an article on Nate Solder, who they write passed his first test during last night's win.
WEEI.com takes a look at what went right last night, along with what didn't work out well during the game.
Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe has a good article this morning in his "On Football" breakdown, and looks at the defense - which looked like a group that hadn't fully practiced together toward the early part of last night's game, but got it together as the game went on.
The Globe also has a gallery from last night's game, which you can view here.
Monique Walker of the Globe writes that the Patriots made a transaction before last night's game, promoting offensive lineman Thomas Welch from the practice squad, while waiving linebacker Jeff Tarpinian.
Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald has an article on Jerod Mayo, and writes that the veteran linebacker is seeing things clearly this season after having undergone Lasik eye surgery during the offseason.
Rapoport also has an article on Dan Koppen, who went down with a broken ankle last night. Rapoport writes while there's no timetable on his return, there is still a possibility he could return this season.
Monique Walker of the Boston Globe writes that the offensive line got it together after Koppen went down, with the newspaper posting a photo of Koppen standing on the sidelines in crutches.
Jeff Howe of NESN has an entry on Nate Solder, who did a great job at handling Miami's Cameron Wake, but said after he's not looking to take Sebastian Vollmer's job.
Rapoport also has an article on Tom Brady and the offense, and writes that for those who have seen it before, there was probably a little bit of awe - but not much surprise.
Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe writes that Brady had Madden like numbers last night, but writes that his pace was much faster than even the video game against Miami.
Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe has an article this morning on the fact he had heard there was some concern about Brady being 'off his game' during training camp, but if that's the case - he didn't see it last night.
Erik Scalavino of Patriots.com has his analysis/reaction to last night's game, including the fact that New England continued to bring in new sets of defensive linemen last night, which prevented the Dolphins from wearing them down.
Monique Walker also has an article on Mike Wright, who is glad to be back on the field contributing after dealing with a concussion that ended his 2010 campaign.
Walker and Young have an article on Brandon Spikes, who was a surprise scratch last night.
Rapoport also has a blog entry on tight end Aaron Hernandez, who 'made it rain' after scoring his touchdown last night.
Greg Rosenthal of ProFootballTalk.com writes that the improved play of their tight ends makes New England's offense even more dangerous than ever heading into this season.
Mark Farinella of the Attleboro Sun Chronicle writes that the young tight ends did a good job of shredding the Dolphins defense last night.
Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston also has an article on Hernandez, who he writes highlighted last night's performances by the tight ends. There's also a video of an interview with the 2nd year tight end at the top of the piece.
Christopher Price has 10 things we learned from last night, with a terrific in-depth look at last night's game. Definitely recommended.
David Teel of The Daily Press out of Virginia has a local take on rookie Ras-I Dowling, with the former UVA product having a solid outing during his first regular season game last night.
USA Today has a quick entry on the fact that ESPN Monday Night Football anlyst Ron Jaworski dropped an "S-Bomb" on the air during last night's game.
Ron Borges has a good article this morning on Brady, who he writes if he was playing chess against Dolphins defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, he would have left him looking like some baffled undergrad sitting across from him after last night's performance.
Borges also has a great article on the fact that Belichick may have just helped make the 3-4 defense extinct after seeing what they put together in last night's game.
Karen Guregian of the Herald has a good breakdown of the "Best and Worst" from last night.
Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com has an article on Brady's performance, and writes, "This was watching Michelangelo sculpt David in only a couple of days."
And finally, an odd story this morning in the Attleboro Sun Chronicle, with a Mississippi man named James Roberts out on $10,000 bail after reportedly raping a woman in the former Foxboro home of Brandon Meriweather. According to the report, Meriweather has not been charged in the matter. "There has been no allegation against anyone but Roberts," said David Traub, spokesman for Norfolk County District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey. It's a bizarre story to say the least.
That's it for this morning. We'll have more later on, including a couple of breakdowns from last night's game.
