The Patriots had a so-so effort last night in New Jersey.  Tom Brady made a brief appearance as he completed 4 of 8 passes for 51 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Brian Hoyer replaced him and he played most of the rest of the game as he completed 15 of 26 passes for 266 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Zac Robinson finished up this game at QB and he completed only 1 of 5 passes for 6 yards.  Laurence Maroney led the way for the Patriots on the ground in this game with 32 yards rushing on 9 carries (3.6 ypc).  Thomas Clayton pitched in with 7 carries for 26 yards (3.7 ypc) in this game.  WRs Darnell Jenkins (5 rec, 93 yards, TD) and Rod Owens (2 rec, 73 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Patriots last night.  Rookie TE Rob Gronkowski only caught one pass last night but it went for a 5-yard TD.  The Patriots finished up with 73 yards rushing (3.2 ypc) and 310 yards passing in this game.

The Patriots were pretty awful on defense in this game despite only giving up 20 points.  LB Tyrone McKenzie led the way for the Patriots in this game with 10 tackles.  LBs Dane Fletcher (8 tackles) and Rob Ninkovich (7 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 2 QB hits) also had solid games for the Patriots.  The Giants finished up with 160 yards rushing (5.0 ypc) and 254 yards passing in this game.  The Patriots finish up the pre-season with a 2-2 record.

2nd year QB Brian Hoyer is starting to look like he might be a solid long term backup for Tom Brady.  Hoyer has completed 17 of 31 passes (54.8%) for 205 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs (96.8 QB Rating) so far this pre-season.  It appears that Bill Belichick has found another QB that no one else knew much about as Hoyer signed on as a undrafted free agent last year.  Could he be another Matt Cassel?  Only time will tell.

The Patriots only had the ball for 16:14 last night and they still almost beat the Rams.  Tom Brady was outstanding as usual completing 18 of 22 passes for 273 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Brian Hoyer finished up the game by completing 1 of 3 passes for 5 yards with 1 TD pass.  Benjarvus Green-Ellis led the Patriots in rushing last night with 13 yards on 5 carries (2.6 ypc).  Kevin Faulk only had 1 carry for 3 yards last night but he also caught 4 passes for 34 yards (8.5 avg).  Randy Moss (3 rec, 74 yards, TD) and rookie TE Rob Gronkowski (3 rec, 66 yards, 2 TDs)  led the way in the passing game for the Patriots last night.  WRs Sam Aiken (4 rec, 22 yards) and Wes Welker (2 rec, 41 yards) also pitched in last night for the Patriots.  The Patriots finished up with 28 yards (2.5 ypc) and 260 yards passing last night. 

LB Jared Mayo (10 tackles) and safety Patrick Chung (10 tackles) led the way for the Patriots’ D last night.  The Rams finished up with 136 yards rushing (3.3 ypc) and 326 yards passing in this game.

The game did start off with a bang for the Patriots due to WR/KR Brandon Tate who returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a TD.  He caught 2 passes for 17 yards last night in addition to returning 3 kickoffs for 164 yards (54.7 avg) and 1 punt return for 0 yards.  If Tate can stay healthy for the Patriots this year look out!

The Patriots got physical on Thursday Night as they pushed the Falcons around.  Tom Brady was razor sharp completing 10 of 12 passes for 85 yards with 1 TD pass.  Brian Hoyer was efficient in completing 8 of 15 passes for 94 yards with 1 TD pass.  Rookie Zac Robinson finished up the game at QB for the Patriots by completing both of his pass attempts for 17 yards.  Fred Taylor looked like a back 10 years younger than he is in this game as he carried the ball 11 times for 54 yards (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Sammy Morris was also tough with 6 carries for 52 yards (8.7 ypc) with a TD run.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis pitched in with 12 yards rushing on 7 carries (1.7 ypc) in this game.  Rookie TEs Aaron Hernandez (4th round) and Rob Gronkowski (2nd round) led the way for the Patriots in the passing game Thursday Night.  Hernandez caught 4 passes for 46 yards (11.5 avg) with a TD and Gronkowski caught 4 passes for 38 yards (9.5 avg) with a TD grab.  The Patriots finished up with 120 yards rushing (4.0 ypc) and 179 yards passing in this game.

The DBs were the standouts on D in this game for the Patriots.  Rookie CB Devin McCourty (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed), safety Patrick Chung (5 tackles) and safety Brandon Meriweather (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Pats’ D on Thursday Night.  The Falcons finished up with 98 yards rushing (3.9 ypc) and 168 yards passing in this contest.

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.