I haven't written in this blog for quite a long time. Today I start again. I'm a loyal Pats fan. Have been since Drew Bledsoe started. The full story is somewhere on this blog.
WEEK 1 @BUFFALO SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2013
First off, I'd like to say that Buffalo isn't the easiest place to play. It's extremely loud, I know that for a fact. I was in Buffalo for the Pats/Bills game in 2012, and the roar of that crowd is like no roar I've ever heard in any stadium/arena before. The Buffalo Bills have one of the most loyalest fan bases in any sport. Not once did they leave early last year despite the ass kicking they were getting in the fourth quarter when the Pats scored 31 pts to win what was at first a close game. They love their team, and they let you know how they feel about you being a Pats fan haha.
Onto the 2013 meeting.
I'm sure all of you were as pumped as I was for the first game of the season. We've been so anxious to see what the offense has to offer with some key departures (no need to name them, you're well aware of who they are). So we bring in Amendola, re-sign Edelman, and throw in a bunch of rookies to take over on offense. Ridley looked terrible. I'm pretty sure the guy rubs his arms with butter before he goes onto the field. The last thing we wanted to see him do was struggle in the first game of the season knowing that we're gonna need him big time this season. So in comes Vereen. The guy looked solid. Vereen definitely showed that he was poised to take that number 1 spot away from Ridley. Unfortunately with the way the Patsies luck is going, Vereen is now on the IR with a busted wrist. He under went surgery is out til at least Week 7 or 8.
Amendola hurt his wee wee. Yes, another injury for Amendola. We were forewarned with his injury history and it was almost inevitable that something was going to happen. He toughed it out catching 10 passes for 100+ yards. Some of those catches were incredible... no no no... all of those catches were incredible considering that he was probably playing through pain. He too is out now for a while. When he comes back 100%, I can't wait to see what he's capable of doing.
Edelman is a breath of fresh air. He knows the routes, he knows where Tom Brady wants him to be, and I think it's time he becomes that guy. I think (if he hasn't already) becomes the voice of that receiving team. He too was solid against Buffalo. He's probably my MVP of that game along with Amendola, and Vereen.
Brady looked decent. He's not gonna be the Brady of old with all the new receivers. It's gonna take time. I think a big thorn in the Pats side that game was Searcy. He was really all over the field for the Bills and showing that he was the guy that could've easily been a game changer.
Lastly I think the D was solid. We didn't let up points. We stopped the run by holding Spiller to 47 yards on 17 carries. It seems as if Fred Jackson was carrying better against the Patriots D. We let up some big passes for TD's but overall I was pleased with the Defense. There weren't any sacks, or picks, but we held them to 14 points offensively. Our secondary was able to hold Stevie Johnson to 3 receptions even though one was a TD.
Overall I'd say that it was a hard fought battle for the Pats. It wasn't pretty, but it was a win, and we'll take it.
WEEK 2 VS. JETS SEPTEMBER 12TH, 2013
Well to be honest, I didn't know what to expect in this game. I thought the Jets would come into this game with something up their sleeves knowing that they could easily take advantage of the beaten down Pats and be 2-0 by the end of the night. I was completely wrong. In fact, there was no dominating side to the game whatsoever. This was probably the sloppiest game I've seen since the Giants and 49ers playoff game in 2011.
Geno Smith is now the man in New York. Sanchez is most likely done with this season with an injury, yet he's still pushing to play. Despite his turnovers, I think Geno is a good QB and the right guy for the Jets. The Jets' receivers had the same problems the Pats receivers had, dropping the ball. The Jets had the better run game going. Powell and Ivory showed a consistency that the Pats RB's couldn't find.
I had hoped to see Ridley come back strong. He did but he didn't. Good thing is he didn't fumble the ball, the bad thing is that he was held to 40 yds on 16 carries. The New York Jets' Dline and linebackers pretty much join together like an Autobot to form a brick wall. There was no way we were running the ball that night. Not even Big Blount could break through.
Edelmania is now in full effect. The only problem is, if he becomes the number 1 receiver, that small guys gonna get double teamed every time. He's not an outside receiver by any means. This could be a problem. I love his kickoff returns though. He's got some moves (some I wish he didn't try to during the torrential downpour last night that could've easily made him fumble the ball). Perhaps Edelman is Brady's new security blanket.
Thompkins and Aaron "Dropson" Dobson need to start learning their routes, and catching some balls. Last night their route running was dominant over the Jets DB's. We were beating them, we just weren't catching the balls. Imagine if the chemistry between Brady and his rookie receivers start clicking? They need time, and I'm almost sure they'll be a better team by Week 4 or 5.
Brady wasn't Brady. His frustration and anger was shown more last night than usual and now the media is making a big deal of it. They shouldn't. This is Brady, this is how Brady's been all of his career. If a receiver messes up, he has no fear in yelling at them, and letting them know what they did wrong. It makes them better players. He used to rip Edelman apart, and now look who his go to guy is.
The Patriots defense was incendiary. Chandler Jones looked to be the Chandler Jones we expected him to be. The Patriots secondary came up big when they needed to be. This was the first time in a VERY VERY long time that I felt comfortable with the Patriots defense holding the Jets back. Surely they looked tired, but they did it. They held on. They were the stars of the game. I love Big Vince's interview at the end about how he enjoyed winning the "dog fight" between the two teams. They're so used to blowing out other teams that it never felt like a challenge. Now that it's a different story, this toughens up the defense knowing that they've gotta be 110%.
Overall it's a win. Nothing to really say about it.
UPS
- The Patriots Defense. The first two games of the season has showed something we haven't seen in years. We're stopping the run, and forcing 3 and outs. I'm excited to see how this defense improves over the next few months. Jones, Talib, Kelly, Dennard, Arrington, and Mayo are a few names that stand out right now. Nink is my favorite player on the D, and he too has already made an impact.
- Julian Edelman. I didn't want to bring the name "Welker" up, and I won't much after this, but too many people are comparing Edelman to him. Stop it. Edelman is Edelman. He's a different style of player, and he's damn good at what he does. It's safe to say that if it weren't for him, there's a good chance we'd be 0-2 right now.
- We're 2-0 right now. We're 2-0 in our division, and conference. We'll take it.
- We have an extra 3 days of prep time, and healing time for the Buccaneers. Here's to hoping by next Sunday we'll have Amendola (doubt it), Sudfeld, Gronk (doubt it), and Bolden back. The good thing is that we've scrimmaged with the Buccaneers a lot of times so we'll be better prepared for them. We also dominate Freeman when we play him (even though it was preseason games) so that's a plus for the Pats.
- Penalties. As of right now the Pats have a combined 7 penalties from the first two games. They've only given up 66 yards with penalties in 120 minutes of football. That to me is a good sign that Belicheck has these players focused at all times. The whole second half of the Jets game the penalties were limited on both sides until that late hit by Mangold.
DOWNS
- The Patriots Offense. Despite our record, our offense looks horrible. There is no chemistry yet. The receivers can't hold on to the ball. Like Brady said, "There's no one coming to save the day" so for anyone who thought we'd pick up a veteran receiver, they're wrong. That to me wouldn't benefit us anyway because they'd have to learn the playbook anyways and that's what Thompkins and Dobson are doing right now. Lloyd and Branch are not coming back. Let's face it, this is a learning phase for the Pats rookie WR's. It's gonna take time, and if they were meant to be, then they'll catch on. Dobson and Thompkins both show signs of talent. This will surely get better as the weeks go on... hopefully.
- Legarrette Blount. I don't understand his purpose on the team right now. He's not a good kick returner, and against a big powerful D line like the Jets, he's not moving the chains. Why wasn't Washington doing the kick returns? That's where Washington thrives. When we kept Blount, I honestly thought that he'd be a good TE option considering his size. He's around the same build as Hernandez and I was expecting Bill Belicheck to possibly plug Blount into some of those plays.
I'm sure there are more downs to talk about but overall I'm pleased with this team. It's a work in progress, and that's something we haven't been able to experience since 2006 when Reche Caldwell was our top receiver. Back then it was a mystery who was going to show up on 3rd downs. It kept us on the edge of our feet. The past 7 years we've had big named players making big plays for us. We don't have that right now. All the pessimistic Pats fans out there saying we're done, saying we're not going anywhere, need to relax and hold off on that panic button. We're rebuilding an offense around the best QB to ever play the game. We're gonna be just fine. We're not bringing in T.O., we're not trading for anyone, we're sticking with what we got. When our team is in full health, you'll see how good we are.
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