What surprised you most about the Pats this week?

[amazinPats]

This is going to be a beast of a defensive backfield as these young guys continue to improve.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

1. Bodden is legit. He is going to get a very large contract this offseason. He's very close to a shutdown corner.

2. Butler is doing very well for a rookie and with he and Bodden the Pats are gonna have two really good starters by season's end.

3. McGowan is a steal and he's really good(we need all the safeties for the long haul)

4. Meriwether is developing into a very good player. he bailed out Sander on that long pass early in the game.

5. With the progression of the secondary the Pats are trusting them which is enabling more aggresive playcalling.

6. The playcalling has radically changed, become more diverse and more aggresive since the Jets game. makes me wonder what happened behind the scenes.

7. We are going to have a very good defense when Mayo comes back.

8 Ron Brace has not appeared. I wonder why.

9. We can run the ball against good defenses.

 

[Patriot Missile]

1. Bodden is legit. He is going to get a very large contract this offseason. He's very close to a shutdown corner.

2. Butler is doing very well for a rookie and with he and Bodden the Pats are gonna have two really good starters by season's end.

3. McGowan is a steal and he's really good(we need all the safeties for the long haul)

4. Meriwether is developing into a very good player. he bailed out Sander on that long pass early in the game.

5. With the progression of the secondary the Pats are trusting them which is enabling more aggresive playcalling.

6. The playcalling has radically changed, become more diverse and more aggresive since the Jets game. makes me wonder what happened behind the scenes.

7. We are going to have a very good defense when Mayo comes back.

8 Ron Brace has not appeared. I wonder why.

9. We can run the ball against good defenses.

Point 6. I can't help but wonder about that as well.

 

[Patspsycho]

Point 6. I can't help but wonder about that as well.

This is a young defense, they needed to get the base schemes down before delving into the exotic blitzes and rushes.

By mid-season, they'll be pulling all kinds of fronts, looks, and formations.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

This is a young defense, they needed to get the base schemes down before delving into the exotic blitzes and rushes.

By mid-season, they'll be pulling all kinds of fronts, looks, and formations.

so play conservative game 2 and go exotic game 3 and 4?

too much of a jump. something happened.

we are not talking game 2 and then game 12

 

[mayoclinic]

1. Bodden is legit. He is going to get a very large contract this offseason. He's very close to a shutdown corner.

2. Butler is doing very well for a rookie and with he and Bodden the Pats are gonna have two really good starters by season's end.

3. McGowan is a steal and he's really good(we need all the safeties for the long haul)

4. Meriwether is developing into a very good player. he bailed out Sander on that long pass early in the game.

5. With the progression of the secondary the Pats are trusting them which is enabling more aggresive playcalling.

6. The playcalling has radically changed, become more diverse and more aggresive since the Jets game. makes me wonder what happened behind the scenes.

7. We are going to have a very good defense when Mayo comes back.

8 Ron Brace has not appeared. I wonder why.

9. We can run the ball against good defenses.

Very nice summary.

2 things disappointed me in the first 2 games (especially the Jets game):

1. The offense was unbalanced, and there was no commitment to the running game.

2. Both the offensive and defensive playcalling were very vanilla, passive, and unimaginative.

2 things have changed in the past 2 games:

1. The offense has become much more balanced - less shotgun, more play action, and more running (32 passes, 30 rushes against Baltimore). We ran effectively in 2008, and we've proven we can run effectively in 2009 (170 yards against the Falcons, half that against a Baltimore defense previously averaging 51 YPG rushing).

2. The offensive and defensive playcalling has been noticeably better, with more variety, better scheming, and more aggressiveness on both sides of the ball. Going for it on 4th and 1. Blitzing against the run and the pass. Attacking on both sides of the ball.

We have a pass rush and a running game. We can stop the run. We have a very good secondary, and a top flight passing offense. We are on our way to being a complete team.

 

[Kontradiction]

The physicality with which this team played. I thought they certainly outmuscled the Ravens in this game.

 

[Patspsycho]

so play conservative game 2 and go exotic game 3 and 4?

too much of a jump. something happened.

we are not talking game 2 and then game 12

Game 12 would be too late.

 

[ALP]

The physicality with which this team played. I thought they certainly outmuscled the Ravens in this game.

ohh yea...its amazing the difference

i noticed when we played the bills....this defense LIKES to hit

lol, was missing that

 

[102 Pat]

I was surprised at how good the blitzing was yesterday. The defense has been a real surprise so far and I'm loving the balance of the offence with running/passing. Throw in the fact the offence got TD's instead of FG's for the most part yesterday in the red zone and this team is coming together at the right time.

This isn't much of a surprise, but did anybody else watch when the CBS had an extended shot on the Pats sideline after Morris scored? Lots of energy, high fiving, and what stood out to me, was defensive guys coming to give Morris some love. This seems to be a team that genuninely likes each other.

 

[ricogatenby99]

Definatley Mcgowan, the D is exciting me!

 

[Mack Herron]

Kudos to the coaches. Can you remember the last time a Patriots defensive came after a QB like that? No read-and-react on this day.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

The defense is hitting even harder than last week. We ran for 80+ yards and 2 TDs against the vaunted Ravens defense that avg 50 yards per game and no TDs allowed rushing! Redzone improvements on offense and defense. Ravens in redzone twice for NO points. Pats in redzone 5 times for 3 TDs......

 

[BSR]

TBC has a suprisingly quick first step off the line.

I was also pleasently suprised by how well Butler played and he was being tested by a veteran receiver.

 

[Bostonian1962]

I gotta go with the play of Mike Wright. I never knew Wright had so much explosion off the line of scrimmage. It will be interesting to see if he can keep up this level of play or if fatigue will be a factor as we get closer to the midpoint of the season.

What's your biggest surprise this week?

I'm glad you said that, because I sometimes see folks (in the preseason) talk about cutting him, yet everytime I see him play, he looks solid. I love when he's out there.

Now, to answer your question as to what surprised me most? Definitely the blitzing by the Patriots. It was effective, and I hope that approach stays. I was still a bit surprised that the team doesn't want to run the ball much also.

 

[Kontradiction]

ohh yea...its amazing the difference

i noticed when we played the bills....this defense LIKES to hit

lol, was missing that

It wasn't only the defense though. Our RBs were making some bone jarring hits as well and our O-Line did a great job of being physical against a front seven whose known to outmuscle their opponents. The whole team has been more physical than they have been in recent memory.

 

[Kontradiction]

TBC has a suprisingly quick first step off the line.

I was also pleasently suprised by how well Butler played and he was being tested by a veteran receiver.

Yeah, TBC has been great at generating a pass rush for us when we've needed him to. Butler's done a solid job in the playing time he's been given thus far as well.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Wright stepped up big time. Butler looked surprisingly good for a rookie. Mcgowan was also a pleasant surprise. Guyton has been filling in nicely. Lots of good things from the defense.

On offense, Galloway still looks out of synch, and the player that shall not be named had a forgettable day. However overall the offense was balanced and TB hooked up with Moss. And the Pats scored more in the redzone. So it's pretty good overall and will get better once the timing is there.

 

[CrazyDave]

I was happily surprised by this teams ability and willingness to get mean and nasty.
The Baltimore player put his hand up in Brady's face on the one roughing call, but later, on Wright's roughing call, Wright did the same to Flacco. He also gave him a right hook to the gut. Check the replay.
I liked the toughness on both sides of the ball.

 

[PatsfanGlo]

Pryor getting reps while Brace is not.