The New England Patriots handled the best the 'homeless' New Orleans Saints could dish out, beating them easily 24 - 17.
Which is a good thing, of course, but I can't help but start to wonder. With the remaining schedule: Kansas City, N.Y. Jets twice, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, and Miami coming up, it's going to be easy to get excited about these Patriots. As fans, we have to keep in mind the the first 8 games of the season. We need to keep in mind the Pats are not playing like the best team in the league.
It would be too easy to turn into the 'talking heads' who talk all day long about the Indianapolis Colt's defense and how much improved it has been. How can you tell? The Colts defense still has not shown it's true colors. It has faced two offenses of note, the Rams and the Pats. Against the Rams, they looked terrible letting Bulger score 17 points easily (until they knocked him out of the game). They kept the Pats to 21 points, but that was more a case of the Colts offense keeping the Pats offense off the field (TOP for Pats was only 23:19).
So let's not get carried away by the 'New' Pats. Yes, they'll be better than the teams they are facing over the rest of the season, but that does not mean the road will be paved with gold from now on. The playoffs will bring some big challenges to this defense, and I hope they're up to it.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Not surprising
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2 comments:
The good news is the Pats should skate into the payoffs with home field advantage for at least the first game. The bad is we know who the pieces will be to fill the back field and they just do not have the talent needed to do the job. The one thing that I am hopeful for is that the front defensive line continues to get healthier. A healthy Seymore and McGinest can change a game if they can put continued pressure on the QB and protect out DBs.
As for the Colts, I think last night they just showed the league how suspect their defense is. The problem is they have such a prolific offense I’m not sure how much it matters.
All points that I can agree with. I would point out that the Colts had the most prolific offense last year as well, and look where that got them.
As for the Pats, I'm really wondering where they can get help for that secondary. I mean, where is McGinest this year? He hasn't been an impact player like last year.
Also, is it possible for this secondary to get better? The past two weeks have shown sub-par QB's shredding them (300+ yards). As you said, hopefully pressure from the front will keep the opposition's QB running.
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