Patriots vs. Chargers: New England's Offense Overwhelms with Aerial Diversity

Let's put it this way: New England's offense simply has too many weapons for opposing defenses to cover. 

When Tom Brady steps back to throw, defenses have to worry about Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Chad Ochocinco while still respecting the run game of BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead. 

San Diego faced that exact problem Sunday as New England thrashed the Chargers, 35-21. 

The Chargers could not stop Brady and New England's offense, no matter what they did. Brady completed an incredible 31 of his 40 passes for 423 yards and three touchdowns as he became the seventh quarterback in NFL history to pass for 400-plus yards in back-to-back games. 

New England was able to accumulate 504 yards of total offense, with 94 of those yards going on the ground. 

At times, the Chargers were able to put pressure on Brady, as he was brought down twice, but when the Patriots needed it most, they were able to execute. In fact, they went an incredible seven of 11 on third downs Sunday afternoon. 

As the Patriots scored 30-plus points for the tenth straight game, they looked like the team to beat in the AFC. 

In 2010, New England posted a league-best 14-2 record with one of the league's best offenses. Believe it or not, New England's offense looks even better this season.

The Patriots just have too weapons and can fight through adversity and score when it matters most. 

New England may not have any elite receivers, but all receivers create mismatches—whether Gronkowski is being covered by a safety or Hernandez is being covered by a linebacker, the Patriots are able to dictate what team's do defensively and can create mismatches with any of their receivers. 

The Patriots may not go a perfect 16-0 like they did just four short years ago, but believe it not, the 2011 version of New England's offense may be better than 2007's.

For more articles like this, check out PatriotsPlus.net. Be sure to follow Tony  Santorsa on Twitter.