The New England Patriots won in convincing fashion yesterday, walking all over the Cincinnati Bengals. The final score may have been somewhat close (38-24), but the Pats dominated their visitors from Ohio.
So what did we learn from Week 1? Nothing for sure (it’s too early for that), but here are some of my key observations.
We’ve got weapons. I don’t know if you noticed, but Tom Brady has a loaded offense. None of the RBs are world-class, but Fred Taylor and B. Green-Ellis are good enough, and we all know about Kevin Faulk. But look at who can catch the ball. Moss. Welker. And a trio of rookies I really like: TEs Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, and WR Brandon Tate. I think surpassing 30 points will be common for the 2010 Patriots; think 2007-light.
Talent on defense. Write down the name Devin McCourty. He was drafted by the Patriots in the 1st round earlier this year, and on his first play in the NFL he covered TO stride-for-stride and broke up a potential big gain. He and the other New England DBs played well, and the front seven played well enough. As I wrote in my NFL season preview, I really like the Patriots’ defensive backfield. By Week 8 or 9, I think McCourty-Merriweather-Sanders-Bulter becomes the strength of the defense.
Tom needs a haircut. OK, I actually don’t care about Tom Brady’s long locks. But he looked really good (from a football perspective). He moved well in the pocket, he was hitting open receivers. He looked like vintage Tom Brady. What a week for the guy: car accident, big-time contact extension, opening-week win.
Rolling stones gather no Moss. I love how people were surprised at Randy Moss’ 15-minute post-game rant about his contract status. This is Randy Moss! Yes, he had been a good trooper in three seasons with New England, but he is a time bomb. I don’t think Brady and Bill will let this stand, and so I’m not really worried about it.
Rest of the season prediction: 12-4.
The Adam Bomb 