Asante Samuel led the way for the Patriots defense with 9 tackles and 3 interceptions.  The defense had a rough time with the Bears running game as they carried the ball 36 times for 153 yards (4.3 ypc).  The Bears only completed 15 of 34 passes for 171 net yards thru the air.

Tom Brady completed 22 of 33 passes for 269 yards with 1 TD and 2 INT.  Corey Dillon carried the ball 11 times for 40 yards (3.6 ypc).  Laurence Maroney carried the ball 13 times for 33 yards (2.5 ypc) and a TD.  He also caught 4 passes for 45 yards.  Ben Watson had a huge game with 6 grabs for 89 yards and a TD.  Reche Caldwell (3 rec, 57 yards) and Kevin Faulk (6 rec, 37 yards) each pitched in.

The Patriots got a huge home win and improved to 8-3 on the season.

The Patriots dominated the Packers in every facet of the game yesterday.  The offense did whatever they wanted to on offense and the defense beat the heck out of the Packers, even knocking the indestructable Brett Favre out of the game.

Tom Brady had an awesome game for the Patriots, as he completed 20 of 31 passes for 244 yards and 4 TDs.  Laurence Maroney had a fine game as he carried the ball 19 times for 82 yards (4.3 ypc) and caught 4 passes for 34 yards and a TD.  Corey Dillon pitched in with 12 carries for 31 yards (2.6 ypc) and a TD.  Ben Watson led the receivers with 5 catches for 74 yards and a TD.  Reche Caldwell continued his fine play of late with 3 receptions for 70 yards and a TD.  TE Daniel Graham only caught 1 pass, but it was a 2-yard TD.

The Patriots just stuffed the Packers all day long.  Tedy Burschi (8 tackles, 1/2 sack) and Mike Vrabel (6 tackles, 1.5 sacks0 led the onslaught for the defense.  The Patriots only allowed the Packers to rush for 43 yards on 17 carries (2.5 ypc).   The Packers completed only 9 of 27 passes for 77 net yards passing.

The Patriots rose to the challenge and built their lead in the AFC East back up to 2 games with the Jets loss to the Bears.

The New England Patriots have lost two games in a row for the first time in a season since December 22, 2002!  The Packers have caught fire and have won 3 of their last 4 games.

Look for the Patriots to come out throwing against the Packers, the same way they did against the Vikings when they thrashed the Vikings 31-7 in the MetroDome.  Coach Belichick always adjusts the offense to the opposing teams’ weaknesses….and for the Packers, it’s the secondary.  The Packers have allowed 242.0 net yards passing per game on the season.  To combat that, the Packers need to get Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and Aaron Kampman in the backfield to put pressure on Brady.  Also look for A.J. Hawk to do some blitzing off of the edge.  The Patriots will not abandon their running game, however, as Laurence Maroney (495 yards rushing) and Corey Dillon (479 yards rushing) have run the ball very well this season.

The Packers have been running the ball well this season, but I have a hunch that they will come out throwing the ball against the Patriots.  Brett Favre (2,295 yards passing) has been hot as of late and the Patriots really don’t have anyone that can cover Donald Driver.  The Packers offensive line has only allowed 11 sacks this season, so Favre should have the time to attack the Patriots down the field.  Look for Ahman Green to get his carries to attempt to keep the Patriots offense off of the field.

I see this as being a very high scoring game.  Whoever has the better game between Brett Favre & Tom Brady will win this football game.

The Patriots have signed Testaverde to be the #3 QB the rest of the season.  Vinny has played for Belichick before and should have no problem picking up the offense quickly.  Testaverde has completed 56.6% of his passes in his career for 45,252 yards with 269 TDs and 261 INTs.  He has a career rating of 75.2.

For his career, Vinny has a record of 88-119-1 as a starting QB in the regular season and a 2-3 record in the post-season.  Testaverde also has thrown for over 300 yards in a game 30 times in his career. 

This was a good signing for the Patriots.  Especially after the beating Brady took against the Jets.

Rookie TE Garrett Mills will miss the rest of the season after being placed on the Injured Reserve list due to a thigh injury.  Mills played really well in the pre-season, but he didn’t take one snap during the regular season.

Reserve Guard Billy Yates was placed on the injured Reserve list after breaking his leg Sunday against the Jets.

 

Tom Brady just couldn’t bring the Patriots back against the Jets.  Brady completed 25 of 37 passes for 255 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.  Corey Dillon had a great game with 11 carries for 98 yards (8.9 ypc).  Laurence Maroney only had 12 carries for 37 yards (3.1 ypc).  Reche Caldwell had a good game with 9 receptions for 90 yards and a TD.  Jabar Gaffney caught 3 passes for 35 yards.

The defense played hard, but in the end it wasn’t enough to win.  Tedy Bruschi (16 tackles) and Junior Seau (15 tackles) were all over the field making plays.  Roosevelt Colvin added 7 tackles and a sack.  Safety Artrell Hawkins had six tackles and an interecption in his first game replacing Rodney Harrison.  The Jets ran the ball well with 29 carries for 117 yards (4.0 ypc).  The Patriots allowed the Jets to complete 22 of 33 passes for 161 net yards passing.

Coach Belichick lost a tough one to one of his old coaches.  The Patriots lead over the Jets has been sliced to 1 game in the AFC East.

The Jets are 4-4, but they haven’t beaten a good team this whole season.  They played tough against the Patriots in the first game played between these two teams, but lost 24-17.  The Patriots are coming off of a tough loss last Sunday night against the Colts and should be focused this week.

Look for the Jets to try to run the football against the Patriots with Leon Washington (397 yards rushing) and Kevan Barlow (252 yards rushing), but it won’t be easy because the Patriots only allow 75.1 yards rushing per game and 3.2 yards per carry.  If Pennington gets the time to throw the ball and his shoulder feels good (it looks pretty weak lately) he could have a little success through the air.  Lauveranues Coles (46rec, 606 yards) and Jerricho Cotchery (35 rec, 461 yards) could have good games, but Pennington will have to be careful.

The Patriots will attack the soft Jets run defense with rookie Laurence Maroney (458 yards rushing) and Corey Dillon (381 yards rushing).  The Jets run defense has allowed 143.0 yards rushing and 4.4 yards per carry this season as it’s adjusting to the 3-4 defense.  After the run is established look for Tom Brady to attack the Jets deep with his play-action passing. 

Look for the Patriots to kick the Jets butt on Sunday.  The Jets can’t stop the run and that is the Patriots strength on offense.  Also, look for Tom Brady to rebound from his tough game last Sunday against the Colts.

Rodney Harrison will be out multiple weeks with a broken shoulder blade.  Artrell Hawkins will replace Harrison until he can come back.  WRs will feel a little more confident going over the middle against the Patriots without the intimidator in the middle of the field.

Tom Brady has been sabotaged by the front office that let his best two receivers (Deion Branch & David Givens) walk.  Brady doesn’t seem comfortable throwing to the bunch of wide-outs and tight-ends that are on the Patriots roster.  The Pats receivers lack the speed to get deep, and that is one of Brady’s strengths is throwing the deep ball.  Brady has completed 58.1% of his passes for 1,799 yards with 14 TDs and 8 INTs.  Brady has a 83.5 QB rating which is just a tad above the league average.  Brady will find a way to make big plays as the games get bigger in the second half, because he’s better than he’s played so far this season.