There was a moment on Sunday afternoon, with the Vikings having marched down the field for an opening drive touchdown and the Patriots just having completed a three-and-out on their first series, that I wondered if the Patriots season was about to spiral out of control. Could it be that this defense, filled with first-round picks, wasn’t built to work well as a unit? Was Tom Brady’s game slipping before our very eyes? Had the trade of Logan Mankins created a locker room fracture that was spilling over onto the field? Was all the hype, the excitement that Patriots fans had been looking so forward to all summer completely fraudulent?
Then Matt Cassel floated a long bomb down the field, and instead of the purple jersey I was expecting to see, there was a white robed Devin McCourty swooping in for the interception and bobbing and weaving his way to the goal line. I don’t scream at the TV while watching sports anywhere near as much as I used to. McCourty’s INT made me roar. I woke up my sleeping son.
The New England Patriots finally woke up too.
Risers:
Devin McCourty/Darrelle Revis/Logan Ryan/Dominique Easley (Defense) – The Patriots managed to catch an interception in each quarter of the game, upping their 2014 turnover total to a league-leading seven. New England’s aggressive, hard-hitting, ball-hawking defense is paying big dividends in this department.
Julian Edelman (WR) – This morning while I was pouring his cereal, my son randomly said to me. “Dad, Edelman – he’s really good.” Either my three year-old has a future career as an NFL scout, or Julian’s been playing so well that even a preschooler can’t help but notice. I’ll go with the latter. You can’t understate how important this former college QB turned midget receiver has been to the Patriots over the past two seasons.
Chandler Jones (DE) – Two sacks, six tackles, and one electrifying 10-point play at the end of the half. After an off day in Miami, Chandler Jones bounced back strong with perhaps the best performance of his career.
Stevan Ridley (RB) – He crossed the hundred yard threshold, and while it was largely due to the Patriots trying to run out the clock in the 4th quarter, Ridley also deserves some credit for hanging onto the ball.
Fallers:
Deonte Skinner (LB) – I feel bad coming down on the guy as he’s a practice squad player who happened to get the call up to fill in for an injured Jamie Collins. Still, what we saw from his pass coverage wasn’t pretty. Here’s hoping that Jamie comes back soon.
Danny Amendola (WR) – Unlike a lot of Patriots fans who were bitter about the Welker fiasco, I harbor no ill will towards Danny Amendola. I genuinely want the guy to succeed here in New England. Still, zero catches and only one target aren’t we expect from the receiver who is being paid like he’s the Patriots’ top guy.
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