Uppers & Downers

This segment chronicles individual players to acknowledge their performance as up or down. Since this week featured a tough loss, there is plenty of blame to go around. Very few players played great games, so we're a bit thin on true uppers.

I think that Slater and the Special Teams did okay. Likewise, Mankins and the Offensive Line did just well enough to be negligible in this exercise, but every other unit is represented by a team captain that will answer for the successes or failures of their teammates.

UPPERS
Wes Welker - 10 targets and 8 receptions for 142 yards pretty much says it all. Wes Welker had a big game, even before Julian Edelman left with injury. This vacancy should produce more time for Wes moving forward. I don't buy the phase-out talk, but hopefully a performance like this will help put it to bed.

Brandon Lloyd - He just continues to make spectacular catches. He can get open on a double move every time, and if Brady has time he is looking outside to Lloyd. Brady to Lloyd is not about the deep pass or taking the top off a D, but its cruelly efficient sometimes. He's as good as it gets when it comes to getting the tip toes inbounds. 12 targets and 9 receptions for 108 yards makes him Brady's favorite target.

Patrick Chung - Chung has received some criticism from myself and other members of the media, and rightly so. Chung has not quite lived up to out expectations as a 2nd rounder, and The Patriots have run some packages with Tavon Wilson and Steve Gregory playing ahead of Chung. However, Patrick managed to make a huge stop in the backfield on a 4th down. This play would have been remembered more fondly if the Offense had been able to capitalize. Still, Chung's game was not without its faults, and he was caught out of position once or twice. However, Chung was the only member of The Patriots who registered a tackle for a loss. He comes in on the plus side, but just barely.

Brandon Bolden - Gets his first career TD, but not much else. Perhaps Bolden can be a short-yardage back for this team. He has shown up well on special teams, playing all four units. He seems to fit his role, and was rewarded with a TD.

DOWNERS
Devin McCourty - Despite being the obvious scapegoat for his pass interference penalty, McCourty managed to bat away 4 passes. Granted, 2 of those could have been INTs, but still he did some good things in this game. Nevertheless, he is the captain of a unit that gave up way too many yards, and reverted back in time to 2011 with a few of his penalties. I just want to say, "get your head around and look for the ball, and when you can...catch it, please."

Tom Brady - Wait, Brady didn't turn the ball over, and he had a pretty good fantasy day, why is he on here? Well, as much as we like to pin the bad playcalling on Josh McDaniels, Brady has the opportunity to change the play every time. Brady needs to make better checks and he needs to take more chances. He needs to will the team to victory, and convert. He had the chance to win the game if he could move the chains a few times, and he couldn't do it. Step it up, Tom.

Vince Wilfork - Big Vince really didn't show up much on tape. The Ravens made a concerted effort to block him from every angle. Birk did a good job on him, and kept him off Ray Rice. If the Patriots had been able to stop the run with their front seven, Flacco would have had more coverage to deal with. As it was, Flacco killed us whenever a Safety came down into the box. Stopping the run starts with Wilfork, so he takes the blame as a team captain.

Jerod Mayo - He had 11 tackles, but he was flagged for a critical holding call on Ray Rice, and he missed a few holes in the run game. Also, Vont'a Leach did a good job of blocking him on numerous occasions. He almost gets a pass here, but in a loss this close, everyone is accountable.

Chandler Jones - What can you say here? Jones got swallowed up, and none of his moves could shake Michael Oher. Rob Ninkovich seemed to have better success when facing Oher than Jones, but either way the pass rush was anemic. He made 2 tackles, the fewest of any Defensive starter.

Kyle Arrington - Got beat in man coverage by Torrey Smith for his first TD, no chance. Also, had a chance for an INT, but tripped over the grass. He also missed a few tackles to round out a poor showing. Pass rush was non-existent, but the corners got beat deep far too often.

Rob Gronkowski - You expect more than 2 catches for 21 yards from Gronk. Also, he was called for another holding penalty to wipe out a big gain. He needs to be better, faster, and stronger next week. Seriously, a Gronk TD would have been the difference in this game, but The Ravens bottled him up with physical play and relentless jams. Certainly there were non-calls that Michaels and Collinsworth acknowledged in the booth, but we expect Gronk to be the guy that can go out there and hit someone first. Credit The Ravens gameplan for taking away Brady's safety net.