Game Ball - Tom Brady
Knowing the media narrative, The Patriots will have to continue to prove their worth each and every week. Nevertheless, this has to be the most satisfying win of the season. The Patriots are probably the only team in the league that doesn't have a loss where the team wasn't competitive. Houston looked outclassed in this contest, and The Patriots really made a statement by dropping a 40 burger AND holding Schaub's Offense to only 7 points (not including Yates in garbage time).
I know that Belichick usually gives out game balls to everybody after big wins like this, but I've got to give all the credit to Tom Brady. He did not allow the Texans to tip any of his passes, and he had just under 300 yards and 4 TDs. He proved why he's the MVP of the league. He had dropped passes, 3rd and longs, and he was constantly getting hit. Still, Brady was lights out. His 3rd & 5 run really fired up the crowd. MVP! MVP!
I gave some consideration to Jerod Mayo, Vince Wilfork, and Devin McCourty on defense, but the biggest thing about the defense was the gang-tackling. There was great coverage all night, and I really thought that Kyle Arrington stepped up in a big way. Schaub kept picking on him, but Arrington made a few nice pass breakups on big third downs. The D was crazy, and I loved it. Still, it was a team effort. Let's not forget that Houston was the #2 Offense heading into this game (and New England is #1).
Offensively, Tom Brady just kept converting 3rd downs. He made it look easy, and just torched man-to-man coverage. Wes Welker had a nice game returning punts, but he dropped quite a few nice passes. Still, he had 3 big catches. The big star of the receiving corps was Brandon Lloyd, who grabbed 7 of his 9 targets because he just couldn't be contained in man-to-man.
Stevan Ridley and Danny Woodhead each fumbled, but luckily we fell on the loose pigskin. Those two fumbles are the biggest down note of the game, but one of them actually ended up in a touchdown.
Overall, everything seemed to go The Patriots way tonight, but in reality, you make your own luck. The Patriots executed better at every level, and in every phase of the game. The Texans kept losing ten yards on punt team penalties, and Welker kept making nice returns. It just wasn't close. The stage was just a bit too big for Houston methinks.
 |
| The deep ball finally happened! |
I gave some consideration to Jerod Mayo, Vince Wilfork, and Devin McCourty on defense, but the biggest thing about the defense was the gang-tackling. There was great coverage all night, and I really thought that Kyle Arrington stepped up in a big way. Schaub kept picking on him, but Arrington made a few nice pass breakups on big third downs. The D was crazy, and I loved it. Still, it was a team effort. Let's not forget that Houston was the #2 Offense heading into this game (and New England is #1).
Offensively, Tom Brady just kept converting 3rd downs. He made it look easy, and just torched man-to-man coverage. Wes Welker had a nice game returning punts, but he dropped quite a few nice passes. Still, he had 3 big catches. The big star of the receiving corps was Brandon Lloyd, who grabbed 7 of his 9 targets because he just couldn't be contained in man-to-man.
Stevan Ridley and Danny Woodhead each fumbled, but luckily we fell on the loose pigskin. Those two fumbles are the biggest down note of the game, but one of them actually ended up in a touchdown.
Overall, everything seemed to go The Patriots way tonight, but in reality, you make your own luck. The Patriots executed better at every level, and in every phase of the game. The Texans kept losing ten yards on punt team penalties, and Welker kept making nice returns. It just wasn't close. The stage was just a bit too big for Houston methinks.
Comments
Post a Comment