About last night, dear
It may be too early to anoint the 2007 New England Patriots as the best-ever, but it's certainly not too early to discuss it.
The Ravens got some help from the Patriots, at least in terms of the AFC North, when New England did to the Bengals last night what it has done to its every team it has played this year. The Pats pummeled Cincinnati, 34-13, to run their record to 4-0. In routing the Bengals, the Patriots became the first team to beat their first four opponents by more than 20 points since the 1920 Buffalo Americans, when the NFL was just about a barnstorming operation.
Just about every statistical category reflects the Patriots' dominance. They have 105 first downs to 60. They've outgained the opposition by nearly 2-to-1 (1,727 yards to 904). On offense they've converted more than 50 percent of their third downs (20-for-39) and held the other guys to 30 percent (12-for-40).
Tom Brady has completed nearly 80 percent of his passes for 1,118 yards, 13 TDs, just two interceptions and has been sacked just three times.
And the Patriots have a few missing pieces of their own, such as safety Rodney Harrison, who has been sitting out a suspension related to purchasing performance-enhancing substances. With starting running back Laurence Moroney sitting out last night's game with an injury, his backup, Sammy Morris, ran for 117 yards.
Already, the Patriots have a three-game lead in the AFC East and 16-0 looks realistic. Two games stand out: at Dallas on Oct. 14, and at Indianapolis on Nov. 4. The Cowboys and Colts are also 4-0. Oh yeah, the Patriots play the Ravens here in Baltimore on Dec. 3, but the Purple Gang has plenty to deal with before then, trying to figure out ways to beat the Clevelands and the Cincinnatis of the NFL.
Comments
It will definitely be interesting to see how they do down the stretch. With only a quarter of the season played thus far though, I think talk of greatness should probably be tempered until we've seen them against this year's elites -- Indianapolis and Dallas.
Though they seem to have some of the best players at every position, I feel one of their vulnerabilities will be (once again) secondary depth if they suffer a major injury to either Hobbs or Samuel. Gay can fill in but isn't an every down shutdown corner. Their aging linebacker corps can stay fresh by rotating Seau in to spell the others, but an injury there could keep some of the older guys on the field longer than they'd like (though with their front four putting heavy pressure on offenses, the linebackers' jobs get considerably easier).
On offense, Brady has proven extremely durable but the falloff to Cassell or Gutierrez would be extreme in the event of injury. At WR it wouldn't be as bad, but going from Moss/Welker/Stallworth to Welker/Stallworth/Gaffney would clearly be a downgrade as well.
As with most sports, I think the injury fortunes of the team may determine their chances for both a perfect regular season and a Super Bowl title.
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Jay,
Your point about injuries is certainly a good one. An injury at CB could be problematic but at this point, the only guy who is absolutely essential in the Patriots getting to the Super Bowl is Brady. At least as I see it. Thanks for writing.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: Jay Maduro | October 3, 2007 1:15 AM
I think GB and Dallas in the NFC championship game. I believe Patriots and Colts for the AFC championship game.
The one thing that look at with Brady and the Patriot. Moss is playing the role of a good team player and he is getting the ball and everybody is happy. What happens if they lose a tight game and Moss doesn't get the ball. Does he revert back to his previous character and become an dysfunctional teammate and a major headache?
Posted by: Captain Jack | October 3, 2007 1:35 PM