The Patriots are probably smiling today as they usually don’t take the pre-season too serious.  That being said they did beat the Super Bowl Champs last night.  Tom Brady wasn’t in the game too long as he completed 5 of 8 passes for 67 yards.  Brian Hoyer replaced Brady and he looked solid in completing 8 of 13 passes for 106 yards.  Rookie 7th round pick Zac Robinson struggled in his first taste of the NFL completing 3 of 8 passes for 48 yards.  Chris Taylor led the way in the running game for the Patriots last night with 8 carries for 39 yards (4.9 ypc).  BenJarvus Green-Ellis was also busy last night with 11 carries for 34 yards (3.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Laurence Maroney was tough around the goal line as he carried the ball 8 times for 30 yards (3.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs last night.  Julian Edelman was busy for the Patriots last night with 6 catches for 90 yards (15.0 avg) and he also returned 2 punts for 43 yards (21.5 avg).  The Patriots finished up with 125 yards rushing (3.6 ypc) and 204 yards passing last night.

Defensively the kids looked good for the Patriots last night.  Rookie linebacker Brandon Spikes led the way for the Patriots last night with 8 tackles.  2nd year safety Patrick Chung pitched in with 7 tackles.  Rookie cornerback Devin McCourty had 3 tackles and he also returned 3 kickoffs for 111 yards (37.0 avg) last night.  The Saints finished up with 100 yards rushing (3.4 ypc) and 205 yards passing last night.

The Patriots did have a problem on kickoff coverage on one play as Saints’ WR Larry Beavers returned one 97 yards for a  TD.