New England Patriots: Building on First Half Success

Part of the New England Patriots‘ more enthusiastic fan base exists on the internet in much the same way the Mongols existed in Eurasia at the beginning of the last millennium. “I think they believe they’re Patriots-beaters”.

“I don’t know what they’re going to do, to be honest”.

Both players filled in admirably, with Stork succeeding noticeably at the position.

The Patriots are 16th against the pass and have allowed only one 100-yard receiver this season (Antonio Brown of the Steelers, who had 133 yards in the opener). What they are also displaying is a real desire to catch and overhaul the Packers in the NFC North Division.

All Beckham did was get his hands under a low pass for a 9-yard gain on third down that helped NY use up most of the final five minutes in what turned out to be a 32-18 win. The Patriots’ leading rusher, LeGarrette Blount, is way back in the pack in 20 place among the league’s running backs. Wide receiver Julian Edelman had never been better. Rueben Randle continues to be in the 5 catch range for 40-70 yards.

Brady is completing 68.6 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,709 yards and 22 touchdowns compared to just two interceptions.

New England’s 27-10 win over Washington in Week 9 played out exactly as expected. In fact, Belichick’s only career victory over Coughlin – that 38-35 epic in the Meadowlands to punctuate the 2007 regular season – proved to be something of a pyrrhic one.

The ten-time Pro Bowler Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have started the 2015 NFL regular season much like their 2007 era: The team now sits atop the American Football Conference (AFC) Eastern division with an 8-0 winning streak.

“New England likes to take away what you do well and capitalize on what you don’t do well”, said Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas, who won Super Bowl XLIX with the Patriots last season.

Vereen’s performance in the Super Bowl was exactly why the Patriots drafted him as his receptions picked up crucial first down after crucial first down. Ouch, and double ouch!

Belichick has been known to create a few insane alignments and coverages in his defensive laboratory, and as he prepares to face Beckham for the first time, he’s probably concocting plenty of ways to slow down the Giants’ best playmaker. “We’ve always had very, very close games against them, even when we’ve won”, Brady said. They have alternated wins and losses over their last four games. So, while we may see James White or Brandon Bolden in certain passing situations on Sunday against the Giants, I would expect to see a departure from the reliance on passing to the running backs and would look for other adaptations to emerge.

The most encouraging thing for Big Blue’s defense was the play of Jason Pierre-Paul last week in Tampa in his first game back after a July 4th fireworks accident kept him out of preseason and the first eight games. Like in XLII, the Giants still needed to drive down the field after the Brady-Welker miscue and score the points and that’s what they did.

Cornerback Justin Coleman, who is questionable, practiced this week with a hard cast that covers his right hand and thumb, but he has been able to cut off the cast after practice. This matchup seems just as shrouded in mystery and uncertainty. It was even better to see the Patriots respect the consistency center David Andrews has provided to the offensive line and not disturb the chemistry he has built with Brady. The Pats secondary should be capable of shutting down the supporting cast of Giants receivers.

In his past two games, Drew Brees passed for 892 yards and 10 TDs, only the second player to reach those numbers in a two-game span. But the Saints went 1-1 because their defense has been a sieve, ranked 31st overall.