The Patriots have signed 29-year old DT Terdell Sands.  Sands played in 16 games for the Raiders last season and he made 29 tackles, defensed 2 passes and he had 2 sacks.  He has now played in 76 games in his NFL career and he has made 129 tackles, has defensed 10 passes, has 4 sacks and he has picked off 1 pass.  Sands adds another big body to help out against the run for the D.  The Patriots released OLB Prescott Burgess just one week after acquiring him from the Ravens.  He must have made quite a good first impression.

The Patriots won this game by controlling the football with short passes and the running game as they had possession of the ball for 39:49.  Tom Brady was effective completing 25 of 42 passes for 277 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Fred Taylor showed he still has a lot left to offer the Patriots as he rushed for 105 yards on 21 carries (5.0 ypc) with a TD run.  In the passing game it was all about Randy Moss who caught 10 passes for 116 yards (11.6 avg).  The Patriots finished up with 445 total yards in this game on offense (168 rushing, 277 passing). 

Safety Brandon Meriweather and LB Gary Guyton led the way for the Patriots on defense yesterday with 7 tackles apiece.  The Patriots held the Falcons to only 257 total yards on offense (58 rushing, 199 passing) yesterday.  The Patriots are now back on track with a 2-1 record on the season.

The Atlanta Falcons are a very balanced team on offense and that could give the defense of the Patriots some trouble.  With the Patriots without Jared Mayo in the middle the Falcons will no doubt give the rock to Michael Turner (170 yards rushing) quite often.  When the Patriots sneak up to stop Turner that’s when Ryan will attack them over the middle with TE Tony Gonzalez and down the field with Roddy White and Michael Jenkins.  Opposing QBs have a 108.0 rating against the Patriots so they must put pressure on Ryan or he could have a field day.

This is the game that the Patriots can actually get a running game started.  The Falcons’ D is allowing 120.0 yards rushing and 5.1 yards per carry so far this season.  Fred Taylor (71 yards rushing) and Laurence Maroney (55 yards rushing) will likely get the bulk of the work in the running game for the Patriots this week.  The Patriots must do a good job blocking DE John Abraham (2 sacks) if  Tom Brady is going to have the time needed to throw the ball.  With Wes Welker back in action this weekend the Patriots will likely be clicking on all cylinders.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 31, PATRIOTS 30

The Patriots have acquired 25-year old linebacker Prescott Burgess from the Ravens for a conditional 7th round pick.  Burgess played in both games for the Ravens this season making 2 tackles.  He has now played in 10 games in his 3-year NFL career and he has six whopping tackles.  The Patriots are hoping that Burgess steps up because they need the help.

The Jets were taunting the Patriots all week long and then they beat them on the field yesterday.  Tom Brady completed 23 of 47 passes for 216 yards with no TD passes and 1 interception.  Fred Taylor led the way on the ground for the Patriots with 46 yards on 8 carries (5.8 ypc).  The Jets ganged up on Randy Moss and Wes Welker was out of action so the Patriots turned to a 7th round pick out of Kent State who was a QB last season.  Julian Edelman led the way in the passing game for the Patriots with 8 catches for 98 yards (12.3 avg).  Joey Galloway also had a solid game with 5 catches for 53 yards (10.6 avg) yesterday.  The Patriots finished up with 299 total yards in this game (83 rushing, 216 passing).

The defense gave the Patriots a winning effort in this game but the offense didn’t do their part.  LB Gary Guyton led the way for the Patriots in this game with 10 tackles.  The Jets finished up with only 254 total yards in this game (117 rushing, 137 passing).  The Patriots are now 1-1 on the season.