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After Monday night’s performance, I have to admit – I am afraid of the Patriots. It’s clear now, if it wasn’t before, that New England brings a whole new definition to the term “loaded.” Against Cincinnati’s “high-powered” offense, the Patriots allowed just 13 points and 283 total yards, including just 57 rushing yards. Due to running back Laurence Maroney’s absence because of a groin injury, the running game was supposed to struggle for the Patriots, but instead? Backup Sammy Morris stepped in and busted out 121 yards and a touchdown on just 17 carries. And, of course, the golden boy Tom Brady has another 80 percent completion average with three touchdowns, two of which landed in the hands of revived superstar Randy Moss.
Let’s just point out a few statistics from the first quarter of the season. Brady has a touchdown-interception ratio of 13-2 and a quarterback rating of 134.7, both tops in the league. He’s completing a ridiculous 79 percent of his passes, while most quarterbacks are happy to hit 60. On top of that, Randy Moss is making a case to be the best receiver in the NFL right now. Project his current stats to a full 16 games and you get a season of 124 catches, 2,020 yards and 28 touchdowns. Granted, he likely won’t keep that pace but broken records are certainly not out of the question.
Now don’t get me wrong – I despise the Patriots. As a die-hard Broncos fan, nothing bothers me more than watching our conference rival start off the season so emphatically. But as a fan of football, I have to respect what they’ve accomplished thus far. Outscoring their first four opponents 148-48 (a 3:1 ratio, by the way) the Patriots aren’t just beating teams – they’re embarrassing them. Through this point in the season, they’ve shown the league that they are without any major weaknesses for other teams to exploit.
On the offensive end, finally giving Brady a respectable supporting cast has paid huge dividends. So far the team is second in the league in both points for game and total offense. The receiving trio of Moss, Wes Welker, and Donte’ Stallworth has provided a whole new dimension to the passing game. To mix it up, the rushing tandem of Maroney and Morris has allowed New England to run teams down, as they did against Cincinnati. Basically, the offense can be effective in any type of formation, which causes nightmares for opposing defensive coordinators.
Defensively, the key word is versatility. Not many teams can alter between their defensive formations on a play-to-play basis, but the Pats handle it with ease without even switching their personnel. It all comes down to the linebackers, with athletes like newcomer Adalius Thomas and veterans Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel able to move around and confuse the offense. They are the top defense in the league, allowing just 226 total yards per game. Keep in mind that this is without two of their most important defensive starters, who are due back soon, safety Rodney Harrison and lineman Richard Seymour.
And then there’s the coaching factor, where the Patriots have arguably one of the best game planners and football minds in the league. Bill Belichick has made a reputation of attention to detail that leads to brilliant game planning. The team has got to be confident coming into any match-up, knowing they are set up in the best possible way to win.
This raises the question – though there’s a lot of season left, can the Pats be perfect? It’s only been done once in NFL history, and with two huge games against also-undefeated Dallas and Indianapolis, it’s too difficult to call. However, I’m fairly certain the Pats will be winning a lot of games this year, and I’m even more certain that I’m happy New England is not on the Broncos schedule.
