The Patriots lost to the Cincinnati Bengals
yesterday, 13-6, for their first loss of the season. That puts them at 4-1,
still in first place in their division, as the Miami Dolphins lost their game
to drop to 3-2. Unfortunately, the meat of the schedule begins now, with the
red-hot New Orleans Saints coming to town next week.
It's difficult to win in the NFL to start with, but
it gets tougher when you give up drive-killing sacks on the first two drives,
fumble in enemy territory, throw duck after duck with the game on the line (and
drop a bunch of passes, too), and convert only 1 of 11 third-downs.
Welcome to "Growing Pains II: The 2013 New
England Patriots." The team decided to replace Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd,
and Danny Woodhead with oft-injured Danny Amendola, rookies Kenbrell
Thompkins/Aaron Dobson, and... well, no one. And when they lost Rob Gronkowski
for at least the first five weeks and Aaron Hernandez forever, you knew there
would be growing pains.
The offensive line had a very uneven game. The
team averaged an impressive 4.6 yards a rush. But even against heavy blitzing,
8 QB hits and 4 sacks (for 31 yards) is too much pressure. And on the first two
drives of the game, Nate Solder whiffed on one block and he and Logan Mankins
got confused on protection on another, both leading to sacks that stalled the
drives.
Quarterback Tom Brady didn't do much to
help, holding the ball too long and misfiring on several passes. Sure he was
under pressure, but sometimes it makes more sense to throw it away than to get
sacked, and he wasn't at his best. He finished the game 18 of 38 (47.3%) for
197 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, and a QB rating of 52.2 (nearing Marc Sanchez
territory). He also threw some gawd-awful passes in the rainy fourth quarter,
though the game looked to be going Cincy's way by then.
The running backs didn't help much. LeGarrette
Blount fumbled when the Patriots were driving for the first score of the game,
and the Bengals drove the ball the other way and started the scoring themselves
with a field goal. Blount would likely have been benched for the rest of the
game, but with only him and Brandon Boldin available, he got a few more snaps
after that. The team ended up with 18 carries for 82 yards (and that 4.6 yard
average), but that fumble was a killer in a low-scoring game.
And sorry to say the wideouts didn't cover
themselves with glory. Amendola was targeted 9 times, but he came up with only
4 catches (for 55 yards), due to his inability to get separation and a few
drops. Thompkins' longest catch was 6 yards, and Dobson was Mr. Trick-or-Treat
-- with a 53-yarder and another catch for minus-4 yards. And don't start with
the drops, too many especially late in the game.
However, there are no growing pains on defense,
although there are some injury pains. Linebacker Jerod Mayo's pass
coverage is much improved, and he was a beast yesterday, ending up with 11
tackles, 1/2-sack, a QB hit, and a fumble recovery. Brandon Spikes guessed correctly
pass/run, but unfortunately overran several plays that went for big yards by
the Bengals.
In the secondary, safety Devin McCourty was
late on several long passes, but his forced fumble almost saved the game for
the Patriots (the offense couldn't cash in). He also lead the team with 12
tackles, and with corner Aqib Talib, was the star of the defensive backfield. Still
not much depth there, but if they stay healthy, this will not be a liability
this season.
The defensive line is more of a problem. Last
week Vince Wilfork went down for the season, and this week Tommy Kelly went out
for a few series with a knee problem. If Kelly's injury is serious, that likely
leaves the team with a tandem of rookies inside, and when they were in there
yesterday, they got pushed off the ball play after play.
The rest of the defensive line did well. Chandler
Jones got consistent pressure on the quarterback (and 1/2-sack), and most of
the Bengals' successful running plays went up the gut (attacking those
rookies), not to the outside. Chris Jones (no relation) tallied 2 sacks and 4
tackles, not bad for a rookie who didn't play much until the second half. And
rookie Joe Vellano actually looked okay, until he was paired with another
rookie inside, at which point it started to fall apart for them.
On special teams, on one of the bright spots
was punter Ryan Allen, who averaged 44.1 yards a kick and pinned the Bengals
inside their 20 yard line five times. That is a credit to both him and the
coverage team, which did a great job making sure the ball didn't bounce into
the end zone.
As for the coaching, it's tough to find
fault when your team gives up 13 points. However, it took to long to shore up
the offensive line, and the receivers appeared to regress this week. They also
could have challenged a late ruling, that Amendola wasn't in the end zone
before being tackled, but opted instead to go for a quick play, which was
stuffed. Lastly, on that same series, they never went play-action near the goal
line (except to try a pass to offensive lineman Solder), which seams like a
natural against an aggressive Bengals' defense.
So where does that leave us? Well,
4-1 is good enough for first place in the division, but no time to rest on that
achievement. The Saints come marching in next Sunday, and with their talented
skill position players, the Patriots can't count on a defensive struggle that
they try to pull out at the end. They need Gronkowski back this week, otherwise
they are looking at 4-2.
Statistical Oddity of the Week: To
underline how much the Patriots offense has changed this year, he Patriots lead
the NFL in field goals for only the second time since Stephen Gostkowski
arrived. (Trivia Question #1: can you name the other year... answer below.)
Bonus Trivia Question: Gostkowski
has lead the Patriots in scoring every year of his career except one. Can you
name the year and the player who led the team in scoring that season... answer
below
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "The
offense is a problem, for sure, but if they can't shore up the running defense,
they are in big trouble this year."
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 4-1!
PPS. Trivia answers:
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1. The Patriots last led the league in field goals
in 2008, the season Tom Brady missed the entire year with a knee injury.
2. Gostkowski was injured and played only eight games in 2010, opening
the door for BenJarvus Green-Ellis to lead the team in scoring with 78 points.
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