“Special” Night for New England
When you look at the box score or read a review after a Patriots game the usual suspects hog the stat sheet. Tom Brady has some of the best offensive weapons in the NFL in Randy Moss and Wes Welker, not to mention his twin rookie tight ends. I believed all of them would have great stats in a huge divisional game early in the year. While their impact may have been felt they certainly didn’t put up the superstar stat line we’ve grown accustom to.
Tom Brady only threw for 153 yards and 1 touchdown while Randy Moss, the #1 ranked wideout for week 4 on NFL.com and the top receiver on my fantasy team, went without a catch for the first time in his career. He wasn’t even targeted in the second half as he was double teamed for a majority of his night. I’m actually shocked he didn’t say something ridiculous in his post game press conference. Wes Welker’s night: 70 yards, Aaron Hernandez: 29 yards. No, this night was special. As in special teams.
After a weekends worth of games I find myself biting my tongue in a lot of instances; non more-so than in the case of the Patriots defense. In a historic night in the NFL the Patriots became the first team in history to go for TD’s off a kick return, blocked kick, and interception.
I did get one thing right in this game, however. I knew that Brandon Tate and his big play ability would do something to help this team win. The NCAA all time returns yards leader took a 103 yd. kick return to the house to open the second half. But the man of the night was safety Patrick Chung. The second year man out of Oregon had a blocked punt, a blocked field goal that went for a touchdown, and an interception for a touchdown.
A few years ago Osi Umenyora of the New York Giants had a game early in the year where he had five solo sacks. I distinctly remember one of the announcers saying, “Umenyora just wrote his ticket to the Pro Bowl with one game.” I believe Chung has done the same. Congratulations to Patrick Chung on his incredible display of athleticism and dedication to his work.
Chad Henne tossed a solid 302-yard, 2 TD game away with 3 interceptions on poor decisions in the pocket. It wasn’t all his fault as Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams couldn’t really get a consistent running attack going. And speaking of special teams, these guys were the polar opposite of New England. The line could not give any protection and had no answer for Chung.
The AFC East is changing by the second and with both the Dolphins and the Patriots on a bye week and the Jets taking on the Vikings on Monday Night Football things could really heat up.
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