Top 10 Notes: New England Patriots Vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Here are some things I’d like to point out from the Pats game. I’ll take you through the positives and the negatives.

• Tom Brady is ahead of where he was at this time last year. He seems more comfortable in the pocket, and was throwing bullets right on target.

• The Patriots’ tight end unit is the real deal. Aaron Hernandez is quick and fast, and showed his skills with a monster pickup in the first half. Gronkowski will be a big threat in the red zone, and has the hands to be dangerous in most passing situations. Alge Crumpler had a catch that got called back due to holding, but hopefully he can come back healthy next week.

• Don’t get used to the Patriots defense from the first half, and don’t get used to the defense from the second half. The first half defense was absolutely ridiculous. Huge third down stops and very strong run defense. However, the second part of the game made the defense look very poor, but the unit had minimal rest. The pick six provided no rest, and the kickoff return put them on the field immediately after the half. Further, they were playing loose defense to prevent big plays throughout most of the game.

• This defense will improve. It is young, fast and talented, and the secondary looked very good when they had to make stops. Other than a few third down pickups made by the best 3rd down receiver in the NFL (Chad Ochocinco), Butler and McCourty played very well. Butler did get burned once, but again it was by Chad Ochocinco, and most teams don’t have wide outs with Chad’s abilities.

Read Full Article at New England Sports Online