Pats must look out for No. 1
Brady & Co. need to re-establish claim to AFC superiority vs. Texans
FOXBORO — Not too long ago, most pundits thought the Patriots were head and shoulders above the rest of the teams in the NFL. It was the Pats, and everybody else. As the Patriots head into today’s game vs. the Houston Texans, they’re still trying to find that team, and be the juggernaut everyone forecast of them. They’re still trying to find their identity, and secure their footing in the AFC.
Because right now you can’t exactly call them elite, can you? Instead, they’re like most of the rest — a team lodged in the pack and riddled with questions.
Some of the players that were pegged as major contributors, such as cornerback Malcolm Butler and defensive tackle Alan Branch, have seen reduced roles due to performance issues.
The season-ending injury to Julian Edelman has also taken its toll. So instead of dominance, there’s uncertainty.
Last week, the Pats took a step in the right direction.
After being blown out opening night by the Chiefs at Gillette Stadium of all places, the Patriots responded with a rout of their own, trouncing the Saints in New Orleans, but that didn’t solve all the issues. It just told us Tom Brady & Co. can take advantage of a very poor defense.
But what about facing another stingy defense in the Texans? Will it be the same struggle as with Kansas City, or will they light it up like New Orleans? Brady, for one, looks forward to finding the answer.
“They have some incredible players, one of the best defenses in the league. They’ve been in the top five for the last three years. They’re really good, really talented, they play hard, they’re disciplined . . . it’s a good test,” Brady said in his media session Wednesday. “We played them in the playoffs last year. It probably wasn’t our best game. They gave us a lot of challenges and we’re going to have to deal with them as best as we possibly can. It’s a tough team to face.”
A couple of months ago, this game was just the next one to be checked off on a march to perfection. Now, it’s the next team to hurdle in hopes of separating from the pack in the AFC. It’s the next opportunity for the Patriots to prove themselves and re-establish their identity, especially in where they’re supposed to be invincible — Foxboro.
“At the end of the day, winning games is about how well you play. It’s not really where you play. It’s just playing well for four quarters and playing consistent, and dependable, and smart, and tough and all the things we talk about. We’ve got to do that this week,” Brady said. “I mean, (Houston) is a team that really challenges you in those areas. They’re going to challenge us for four quarters and we’ve got to take a great approach, great attitude, great effort, great urgency, all the things that it takes against a really good football team ... they’re going to give us everything we can handle this weekend.”
With a conference loss to Kansas City on the books, a second setback won’t help in re-establishing their status. Nor would suffering back-toback home losses. It wouldn’t compute for a team that was so heavily favored and touted during the buildup to the season.
So the Patriots want to get back to piling up wins, building momentum, just as they did last season.
“Bottom line, is getting the win,” defensive end Trey Flowers said. “Then everything else that comes with that, dominating at home, dominating in the AFC, getting back to the way we play ball, all of that stuff will come after.”
Devin McCourty isn’t worried that the 2017 Patriots’ identity is a bit unsettled. It was that way last season, too. The eventual Super Bowl champions took awhile to figure things out and come together. Between Brady’s four-game suspension, and the midseason trade of linebacker Jamie Collins before the Nov.1 deadline, things were incredibly unsettled. Eventually, they found their way. Eventually, they found their identity.
“It’s always a work in progress to get better,” McCourty said Thursday. “We always say around here, you want to be playing your best football when it’s do-or-die, when it’s at the end of the season, when every game matters ... you obviously want to win games leading up to that. We just need to do a better job as we’re developing.”
A better job means not having the 31st-ranked defense in yards allowed. It means figuring it out without Edelman. It means stacking wins together, and beating the teams you’re supposed to beat. The 1-1 Texans, with rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson, certainly qualify for that category.
“We can’t talk about getting better, and then go 1-9,” McCourty said. “We need to get better each week, taking the steps necessary to win each week, and move forward like that.”
Then we’ll see about calling them elite again.
“Our main focus is always improving. We need to play better each week,” left tackle Nate Solder said. “(Re-establishing our identity) will come with winning the game. And how you win the game, and how the team plays. I think that will make an impact on people’s minds, as much as anything.”