Mark Morse's Archive:

Cleveland wanted to shut down the run and make the third-string New England Patriots rookie beat them, and beat them he did.

The Cleveland Browns present a formidable opponent for the Patriots’ week 6 opponent.  Not many think much of the Browns and to look past them would be a mistake. 

I expected a big win by the Patriots and that was exactly what they went out and did. 

Coach Dan Campbell has the Detroit Lions working hard and together as a team despite a rash of injuries.  Don’t dismiss their 1-3 record. 

Shame that such a strong effort ends up with the Patriots coming up short.

Green Bay comes into this game with a 14-game home unbeaten streak.  It’s third to two Patriots records of 16 and 18 games.  They are the 13th team to have three straight 13+ win seasons.

Mac Jones’s decision-making has been awful. He has regressed badly from last year.  I strictly blame the coaches and the change of offense.  Who does that to a second-year QB?

The Ravens are coming off an embarrassing 42-38 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.  They had a 21-point lead at halftime and let Miami back in with some sloppy play. 

The Patriots didn’t exactly jump into the win column but played well enough to win.  They for the most part avoided the crucial mistakes that prevented them from winning the week before.  The execution was much better, especially along the offensive line.  The same can’t be said for Mac Jones who played perhaps his worst game in a Patriots uniform.

This week’s opponent is the Pittsburgh Steelers.  We haven’t played them in three years after being perennial opponents when both teams were making the playoffs.  The game is being played in Pittsburgh and that may be the deciding factor on who wins this game.

Patriots lost to the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami by the score of 20-7.  The score was not indicative of the game.  Miami’s victory was never in doubt. 

As we start the season I will produce weekly analysis of the opponent for that week.

Training Camp is done and we are getting ready to kick off the regular season on Sunday, September 11th at 1:00 in Miami against the Dolphins.

The cutdown to 53 has been made and there are a few surprises as there always is.

The injuries to Tyquan Thornton and Kristian Wilkerson’s concussion necessitate two veterans being cut so they can short-term IR these 2 players, then re-sign these vets.