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The Lions started off well, but quickly tailed off when the Patriots and Tom Brady dominated the second half. Brady had his second straight dominant performance, completing 21 of 27 passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns. Deion Branch and W…
Following the trade of Randy Moss, all of Patriots nation was wondering how the offense would fare.Without a deep threat, would Wes Welker be as effective out of the slot? Could the rookie tight ends really step in and be difference makers? Would a …
The Week 4 edition of Monday Night Football features the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins squaring off at Landshark Stadium.The last time New England played in Miami on a Monday night, the Dolphins came back from down 11 points in the 4th qu…
As New England wrapped up week two of the pre-season with a 28-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, Patriot fans have a lot to look forward to.
After watching the game, I came away with a lot of bright signs of what this team did tonight:
5. New England’s Young Secondary
As we all know, the Patriots have a very young and inexperienced defense, but their secondary looked very strong against the Atlanta Falcons. New England’s safety, Patrick Chung, looked very impressive tonight.
Chung recorded four tackles and was very aggressive while playing the strong safety position in week two.
Other young secondary defenders, such as rookie Devin McCourty and Brandon Meriweather also recorded four tackles each and both played aggressive.
4. Establishing The Run
One weakness of the 2009 New England Patriots was their inability to consistently establish the run. During tonight’s game, the Patriots’ run game looked very impressive.
Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris both rushed for over 50 yards while both scoring a touchdown.
New England has a quality core of running backs, but it’s just a matter of finding the right guy at the right time.
New England needs a little bit more balance, and after two games of the pre-season, New England appears to be heading in that direction.
3. Tom Brady Was Efficient
Tom Brady looked great tonight. Brady put up numbers similar to his record breaking season in 2007.
Brady completed 10 out of his 12 passes while throwing one touchdown pass throughout two quarters.
Brady looked very comfortable, and had less pressure on him with the efficient running game. If New England goes more balanced, than Brady will be more efficient.
2. Young Tight Ends
The pair of rookie tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, along with veteran Alge Crumpler, looked satisfactory tonight.
Gronkowski and Hernandez both scored a touchdown each, and played very well. They both seem to be comfortable with their role on the Patriots’ roster.
I believe that with New England’s new core of tight ends, they add a whole lot more of versatility. And, both are an upgrade from last seasons Ben Watson and Chris Baker.
1. Wes Welker Is Back
Wes Welker played in his first game since injuring his knee back in early January. Welker appeared to be O.K.
He played well, in the short time had played, and snagged two passes from Brady for 20 yards.
It was also good seeing Welker take a strong hit, which knocked him right to the ground, but he got up and showed no sign of pain.
With the improvement of Julian Edelman, Welker and him can become a nightmare for defensive coordinators.
Like what you see? You can read more of Tony’s work and many other sports articles atwww.SportsHaze.com and www.BeantownObserver.com
You can also follow Tony via Twitter @TonySantorsa10
Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
Yes, I am a fantasy guy. I have the championship belts to prove it.
And yes, I have worn them on dates.
Now, as my first Fantasy column on B/R I am going to treat you with my top ten wide receivers to get if you don’t get one of the can’t miss guys.
Once those guys are gone, you get to show your true expertise.
It takes a real fantasy expert to be able to figure out when it’s too high to draft Wes Welker coming off an injury or when to spring and grab Dez Bryant.
I can’t give you all of that, but I’ll get you going.
Let’s get this party started…
