#10? Do The Patriots Deserve That?

Weei.com has the New England Patriots listed at #10 in their NFL power rankings. Two questions here;

1.) When did EEI start doing power rankings?
2.) Do the Patriots really deserve to be at #10?

Let's start with letting you read their reasoning...

"(3) Brady doesn’t look comfortable in the pocket, and teams are going after No. 12 hard. It’s inevitable that future opponents will copy the Jets’ strategy and continue to pressure Brady and the offensive line. Let’s see how the the Pats respond Sunday when they face another tough test in the Falcons. Look for the Patriots to run the ball more and take advantage of their solid running backs, as I think Belichick realizes Brady has thrown the ball far too much over the past two games. The Patriots sit at No. 10 at this point, but by midseason Brady should be back in his groove and the defense will improve."

A couple of points here. Brady doesn't look comfortable in the pocket in week #2 because he missed an entire NFL season. he was on the sidelines while Matty Cassel was taking snaps, actually he wasn't even on the sidelines. You think any one of us armchair quarterbacks have any idea how fast an NFL game is really played? Must be hard to keep that sense about you when you're out for an entire season. Brady will be back to his usual self sooner then mid-season.

I also think his struggles are being overstated. He had a bad game. He's had games where he's thrown four picks in one game and nobody screamed bloody murder like they are doing now. Be patient with the guy and he will deliver.

As for the defense, maybe I am naive, but what was wrong with the defense. Mark Sanchez played very well and got the ball into some very tight spots. ALSO, the defense gave up only 3 points in the first half and aside from the two drives that the Jets managed to get some solid yardage did a pretty good job at containing the young, explosive offense. This is a defense that has yet to have anytime to gel together that did this. Imagine where we will be in two or three weeks.

The Patriots will be fine. Have we any reason to doubt a Bill Belichick coached team? Even with Tom Brady last year they went a very strong 11-5 and SHOULD HAVE made the playoffs. This season is NOT a wash two games in, so I invite everyone to stop acting like it is.

-Adam

Labels: Bill Belichick, Matt Cassel, New England Patriots, New York jets, Rex Ryan, Tom Brady, weei