The Patriots will play the Oakland Raiders on the road in Week 4 of the regular season.
If the previous game didn't teach people not to take success for granted, maybe this week will. This is because the Patriots have run into another team on a little hot streak, but experts still question the Raiders' potential. I don't think the Patriots underestimated how good the Buffalo Bills were, they just didn't play well down the stretch and failed to execute in 3 out of the 4 aspects of football, offense, defense, and coaching. They turned the ball over 4 times on offense, the defense couldn't stop anything, and Belichick blew a crucial timeout, which was apparently caused by an argument he had with an official. In those situations, coaches just have to keep their composure. (The special teams weren't major contributors to the loss on Sunday.)
However, this does not mean the Patriots cannot rebound as a unit and play extremely well after a hard loss. In fact, I believe they will come out roaring and play with passion and energy. The major concerns I have for the Patriots going in to this game are the defensive backs and stopping the run. In other words, the defense as a whole has to perform better if this team wishes not only to win this game, but to go deep into the playoffs.
I will predict that the Patriots will win this game by 10 points.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Well, that's something you don't see every week, out of Tom Brady, and the Patriots organization as a whole. To every Patriot fan's disgust, the Buffalo Bills stole the show Sunday afternoon as they went on to defeat the New England Patriots, 34-31. The Bills improved their regular season record to 3-0 and are the only undefeated team left in the AFC East division. Here are top 4 things we learned from the epic upset.
#1 The Bills are Legit Contenders
Yes, it is only 3 games into the season, but to have the will power to overcome a 21-0 deficit and go on to win the game in the clutch against what is still a very good Patriots team says a lot about the Buffalo squad. This is not to be taken the wrong way, however, because the Bills are still extremely far from being classified as Superbowl contenders. Their first two wins came against mediocre teams, and 0 out of their 3 wins have been dominant victories. I see them fighting for a wild card spot late in the season as they may finish with around 9 wins.
# 2 Tom Brady is Human
Although he did throw 4 touchdowns and passed for almost 400 yards, 4 interceptions in one game for this guy is pretty much unheard of, but it does happen. "You win some, and you lose some" is a common expression amongst coaches, especially in little league. But this my friends is no little league, and these games are damn sure not being played for "fun". Competitors like Brady, Belichick, and others on the Patriots staff refuse to take no for an answer, but in reality, its pretty much impossible to never lose. People learned that Brady is bound to have some of these games along the way, but to expect that it will become a routine thing is insane. I expect Brady to be back to form this week in Oakland.
# 3 The Harvard Guy Knows How to Win
Ryan Fitzpatrick has done in this one game what Philip Rivers has failed to do during the span of his entire career, beat Tom Brady.That alone is impressive considering that he doesn't have the receiver core Brady does. In addition, Fred Jackson, who I think is one of the most underrated players in the NFL, pitched in with 74 yards rushing on only 12 carries with a 6.2 average, and 1 touchdown.
# 4 The Need for Change
Although there were some key players injured, like Aaron Hernandez and Dan Koppen, NFL teams generally have a no excuse policy, because everyone knows injuries happen in this league and they're part of the game. But things need to either change or be figured out in terms of the secondary, which remains the largest area of concern for this team going forward. Although Kyle Arrington had two interceptions, he was only one of the few players in the secondary who performed well. Unfortunately, in the first 3 regular season games, we have seen the Patriots secondary collapse faster than the Redsox in September.
#1 The Bills are Legit Contenders
Yes, it is only 3 games into the season, but to have the will power to overcome a 21-0 deficit and go on to win the game in the clutch against what is still a very good Patriots team says a lot about the Buffalo squad. This is not to be taken the wrong way, however, because the Bills are still extremely far from being classified as Superbowl contenders. Their first two wins came against mediocre teams, and 0 out of their 3 wins have been dominant victories. I see them fighting for a wild card spot late in the season as they may finish with around 9 wins.
# 2 Tom Brady is Human
Although he did throw 4 touchdowns and passed for almost 400 yards, 4 interceptions in one game for this guy is pretty much unheard of, but it does happen. "You win some, and you lose some" is a common expression amongst coaches, especially in little league. But this my friends is no little league, and these games are damn sure not being played for "fun". Competitors like Brady, Belichick, and others on the Patriots staff refuse to take no for an answer, but in reality, its pretty much impossible to never lose. People learned that Brady is bound to have some of these games along the way, but to expect that it will become a routine thing is insane. I expect Brady to be back to form this week in Oakland.
# 3 The Harvard Guy Knows How to Win
Ryan Fitzpatrick has done in this one game what Philip Rivers has failed to do during the span of his entire career, beat Tom Brady.That alone is impressive considering that he doesn't have the receiver core Brady does. In addition, Fred Jackson, who I think is one of the most underrated players in the NFL, pitched in with 74 yards rushing on only 12 carries with a 6.2 average, and 1 touchdown.
# 4 The Need for Change
Although there were some key players injured, like Aaron Hernandez and Dan Koppen, NFL teams generally have a no excuse policy, because everyone knows injuries happen in this league and they're part of the game. But things need to either change or be figured out in terms of the secondary, which remains the largest area of concern for this team going forward. Although Kyle Arrington had two interceptions, he was only one of the few players in the secondary who performed well. Unfortunately, in the first 3 regular season games, we have seen the Patriots secondary collapse faster than the Redsox in September.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The New England Patriots won in an impressive fashion against the San Diego Chargers at Gillette Stadium, 35-21, to improve to 2-0 on the young season.
It is incredibly hard to beat the Patriots at home. Their record at home in recent years has probably been one of the best in the NFL. The Patriots are simply too much to handle when they're playing at Gillette Stadium, and they always seem to find ways to win games there one way or another.
Coming into Sundays game, Philip Rivers had never won a game against Tom Brady, and this did not change, although his performance was not bad. Unfortunately for Rivers, the Chargers defense just couldn't hold up in the clutch and the team as a whole made way too many mistakes to overcome an already powerful offensive attack of the Patriots.
To nobody's surprise, Brady and the offense, including Deion Branch, Wes Welker, and the tight ends had another spectacular day. The running game also seemed good as Green Ellis performed well.
But what really stood out to me were plays like Vince Wilfork's interception that established the fact that so far this season, although the defense hasn't done very well in terms of yards and points allowed, they are making plays when they really matter late in the game, and that is certainly a sign of good things to come.
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