PATS OWN THE ULTIMATE
As the Patriots continue to get their act together, particularly on defense, there’s no real need to worry about their standing in the AFC.
Judging by what we’ve seen from the other teams in the conference, and what we continue to see from a certain 40-year-old quarterback,
NFL NOTES Karen Guregian
the Patriots are always going to be in the mix.
Why? They have Tom Brady, the other AFC contenders don’t. It’s that simple.
“Yes, they have ‘Captain America,’” ESPN analyst Herm Edwards said of Brady, who just captured his second AFC Offensive Player of the Week award in as many weeks. “The first game, I told people he didn’t have his shield. Now he has his shield back. So everyone better watch out.”
The Chiefs have certainly looked terrific, and Andy Reid has been at his finest scheming game plans for quarterback Alex Smith, who’s gotten off to his best start, as he leads the league with a 132.7 passer rating. He’s been helped by having stud rookie running back Kareem Hunt, who leads the league in rushing with 401 yards. No question, they’ve been the most consistent team, pummeling the Patriots for starters, and stand as the only unbeaten team in the AFC at 3-0.
They still have to prove it in January, in which they’ve won just one postseason game during the Reid era. More to the point, Smith has to prove he can win the big games. Then there’s Oakland. Maybe people were buying in on the Raiders this season. Well, Derek Carr looked terrible in primetime last week as the Redskins completely shut down him and the vaunted Raiders offense at FedEx Field. Marshawn Lynch, Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper were kept silent as the Oakland offense produced a whopping 128 net yards. So the Raiders swallowed a big helping of humble pie and are looking to rebound in Denver today.
The Steelers, meanwhile, couldn’t beat the Bears, who in turn just got croaked by the Packers Thursday night. Ben
Roethlisberger might have been given an A-plus offense, with weapons galore, but it’s performed at a C-minus level thus far. And for those who jumped on the Trevor Siemian bandwagon after two games, the Broncos quarterback came back to earth in Buffalo last week. He threw two interceptions in the 26-16 loss to the Bills.
So once again, even though the Patriots are flawed with a suspect defense, does anyone really look that much better with the exception of the Chiefs, who tend to fade at crunch time every year?
Looking even deeper, the Ravens, who also boast a stellar defense, imploded in London last week, getting throttled by Jacksonville. The Titans have righted the ship after a shaky first week, but can you really count on them to go the distance?
Brady, meanwhile, just produced his 52nd gamewinning drive. Do any quarterbacks in the AFC have anything remotely close to that on their resumes? Maybe Roethlisberger, but right now, he’s looking much older and slower than Brady, and he’s five years younger. He also looks a bit on the chubby side. Guess he’s not a fan of the Brady diet. He’s thinking about retirement rather than playing into his mid-40s.
While Brady might have started slowly the first week, he’s quickly dialed it up and put it in overdrive.
What Brady did last week against the Texans reinforced the notion the Pats will be in the thick of things as the season progresses. While the defense couldn’t stop rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson in his second professional start, Brady was the great antidote, throwing five touchdown passes.
In three games, Brady is 21-of-29 (72.4 percent) on third down for a leaguehigh 310 yards and three touchdowns. And, with the game on the line running the two-minute drill against the Texans, the so-called washed-up oldtimer was money.
Former Patriots fullback Heath Evans and several of his NFL Network colleagues were watching the game, and knew what was coming.
“During those three drives before they won it, they could hardly get a first down,” Evans of the Pats, “and yet, when they got the ball on that last drive with two minutes, everyone, all the Hall of Famers in the building, everyone that was present at the network was like, ‘Oh, it’s over.’ ”
It was over after Brady delivered an eight-play, 75-yard drive, culminating with a perfect throw to Brandin Cooks in the left corner of the end zone.
Does Smith do that for the Chiefs come January? Maybe. How about Carr? Siemian? Marcus Mariota? Joe Flacco won a Super Bowl, but he just got the hook for Ryan Mallett in London because he was playing so poorly. Roethlisberger has won two Super Bowls, but he doesn’t look himself.
Should we even discuss Miami’s Jay Cutler, who couldn’t beat the Jets?
The Patriots have Brady. He remains a differencemaker.
Said Evans: “Tommy is 40, and better than ever. Nobody can look at the tape from 2001, when we first got a taste of No. 12, and say his feet aren’t better (now). They can’t say his straight line speed isn’t better. They can’t say his arm isn’t better. And his mind is the best to ever play the game. Listen, this isn’t homer-ism. These are other elite football minds that I work with that see the same things that I see, and it’s ‘Holy smokes!’ ”
Then, there’s the mental edge. Having Brady and the proven Patriots coaching staff makes other teams do stupid things. It happened in Super Bowl LI. It happened against the Texans. It’s an X-factor other teams don’t have.
“It’s like Tiger Woods back in the day. If you were even on Sunday, you knew that other player was going to fall apart,” Evans said. “Go back to the Super Bowl, it’s like (Brady, et al.) willed that (Atlanta) coaching staff to make some of the dumbest decisions ever. Same thing Sunday. The last drive; they willed that defense to fall apart and crumble. When you’re so dominant like Bill (Belichick) and Tom, they’re just so emotionally tough. That’s what’s most impressive.”
Elementary, Watson
The Texans might not have beaten the Patriots last week, but Watson is