The 2014 Patriots have one in the win column and now seem on track to get their season going. Getting Oakland for their home opener is almost as big a gift as the win over the Vikings was.
Don’t get me wrong, defensively the Patriots had as solid a game as we’ve seen around here in a while. Still, it was a formula that the Pats have won a lot of games with – takeaways.
Four interceptions, five punts and one blocked field goal should have this defense feeling good. But how much is a by-product of no Adrian Peterson and Matt Cassel at quarterback?
We’ll find out for sure after Alex Smith and Andy Dalton, and that’s just the start of it. There are a lot of high-powered offenses coming down the pike.
Schematically, I really liked what the Pats did on defense. They settled into two different main groupings – a 25 hybrid with WIlfork and Siliga, and a pass rush front featuring Easley and Jones.
They got solid play out of both groupings. They tackled better. The playmakers made plays, with McCourty providing the spark.
The pass rush seemed fairly disruptive, with Chandler and Hightower leading the way. Hightower looked comfortable dropping into a short zone then laying the lumber when a receiver caught an underneath route.
Just amazed at how Wilfork has come back. The presence of Easley and Jones allows them to take Wilfork off the field. This is vital.
I didn’t come away feeling nearly as positive about the offense. They showed flashes and the blocking was certainly better, but they were far from dominant or even consistent.
They wanted to establish the run and they did. That opened up the passing game a bit.
But considering the help they got from the defense, the offense is still a work in progress. Dobson had a nice catch to open the game and then it slipped into Edelman/Gronk only.
Really liked how Ridley ran, he was just exploding out of the backfield.
Overall I think we’re just scratching the surface of this edition of the Pats. Hightower and Chandler are elevating their play in their third seasons and becoming the core playmakers of the defense.
Say what you will about the offensive line transition, but they are bigger inside than they’ve ever been now. The question is whether this size can translate to protection against the better pass rushing interiors?
Looking forward to going back and taking a closer look tomorrow but this was a strong first win of the season.
