ny33

We needed depth at CB. I'd be more concerned about what this signing means for Chan's faith in McGee and Williams' ability to recover well this season.

On top of that, "buying American" won't help much. The U.S. simply can't compete with developing nations when it comes to labor this decade. We're better off focusing on innovation in technology, an area where we've started to slip in. As for jerseys, we can only hope to see more antitrust and anti-monopoly laws implemented when jerseys of poor quality are sold at extortionate prices.

Yes, but my point is this: passing numbers will drop over the course of the season, particularly with young QBs, as evidenced by Dalton and Newton's games today. I don't think the Bengals are terrible like Seattle or Kansas City- their defensive line is excellent, and Cincy's defense is solid overall- but they're going to be nothing like the Patriots were on offense. If the Bills run early and often, with some careful throws by Fitzpatrick, we'll set the model for our gameplan against low-octane offenses this season. N Note that Kenny Britt is probably out for the year, which seriously hurts Tennessee's passing game. Vick probably won't play against us; the Giants are banged up; Washington remains a question mark. I think we've got to be the favorite in every game from here on out except the road games at New England and San Diego. I don't think we're realistically a 14-2 team, but 9-12 wins are definitely possible.

There's no doubt that our receivers played well today. Stevie, hampered by his groin injury, caught 80% of the balls thrown his way. Donald Jones messed up quite a bit in the first half, but was on the other end of Fitz's worst throws; his catch in the fourth quarter made up for his first-half failures. Everyone else played well enough, too, though I missed most of Nelson's first half catches. Our secondary did what it could despite receiving no pass rush help. The coverage on most plays was actually quite strong, even excluding the interceptions; Brady is a great QB, and Welker is a fantastic WR. We simply can't stop Gronkowski with the height in our secondary, and can only hope to force the Patriots into mistakes. If you guys have been watching other games this year, there's no question that QBs have been lighting it up. Even rookie WRs- A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Denarius Moore (unfortunately against us), and Torrey Smith (check out his stats today) have been off to unprecedented starts. Besides the rule changes, a lack of offseason preparation means that cornerbacks are probably behind receivers for some reason, particularly young guys like Devin McCourty, who had an amazing rookie season, or our own Aaron Williams. All of these things considered, I think our secondary play will continue to improve with more practice time this year, as will the secondaries of other teams. Here's where we have an advantage: our QB is probably the smartest guy in the league (the end zone pass interference play was an example of his on-field intelligence). Watch guys like Newton, Dalton, and, of course, Sanchez, begin to break down, while our smart play keeps our pass game at a high level all season.

I'm laughing and crying tears of joy here. That win defines fulfillment... for now. Philly looked poor today, and Vick is out for a while. I think we win the next two games fairly easily, barring injury. We're a better team than the 49ers and Giants are.

We need a touchdown, not a field goal. I don't feel comfortable giving Brady the ball down 3, even if he only has 30 seconds to throw.

How many timeouts does New England have left?

That's a redeeming catch for Jones.

Green-Ellis isn't playing well, and looks slow, but the run D has been solid.

Welker is an amazing player. The only way we can prevent plays like that is actually taking Brady down.

Oh, wow. This is one game I wish I could be at in person.

That was definitely interference in the end zone. I'm with the guy above you; Fitz is, I think, smart enough to recognize that interference would be called.

Whether we lose or win, we've proven that we're a good team. I like our chances for the wild card spot, but we have to hope that some young pass rushers (or Merriman) can emerge. Regardless, until just recently, the referees have been ridiculously in favor of the Patriots.

That's not true. Dareus was a key part of our pressure during the first two games, and closed a lot of gaps

Come on, defense. Let's make this play. Edit: There we go. We're shutting down Edelman. It's unfortunate to see Williams go down like that, but I think it was a shoulder injury or whiplash. The team seemed more motivated post-injury.

Welker was wide open there. I counted 4.5 seconds for Brady to get the throw off there; that's unacceptable.

Has anyone seen Moats out there today?

Coverage hasn't been terrible today, given our cornerbacks' height issues. We need a legitimate pass rush, or Brady will keep marching to the red zone. We can't rely on interceptions to stay in the game.

You can, with a good drop-back linebacker.

We need to shake Brady up, or we're going to be four points behind the rest of the game.

Brady threw a weak ball to Woodhead, which was juggled by the receiver and caught by Scott. Scott fell to the ground for a 0-yard gain on the INT. He may have been knocked out of bounds or down on contact.

In other news, take a look at the scores and stats of some of the other games. The Giants are beating Philly; Minnesota is blowing out Detroit; Cam Newton is playing poorly; and Brees is playing poorly. We're not necessarily worse than the (very strong) Lions, and Fitzpatrick looks like a legit top-5 QB so far, with Stafford, Newton, Vick, and Brees all having significantly worse games.

Jones seems to be capable of catching 8 yard passes and nothing else. I'm delighted with Johnson's and Nelson's play so far, but Jones has shown nothing but dropped balls and bad positioning.

That bullet to Jones on the left side is something Fitz couldn't throw last year. Let's hope the defense picks up, because the offense (despite some shady calls) is doing well enough.

I was appalled by the lack of holding calls against Oakland (and Buffalo, to some extent). Also, did anyone notice how Aaron Williams played?