Wounded Patriots Win Epic Street Fight Against Nemesis Giants

Brady fumbles here and gives the ball to the Giants deep in his own territory, but he atoned for many mistakes at the end

The New England Patriots seem to bring out the best in the New York Giants. Unfortunately for those Giants, adversity brings out the best in the Patriots.

For three quarters on Sunday evening, the Giants lived up to their hefty name and shoved the world champions all over the turf at MetLife Stadium, but when they absolutely needed it, the Patriots flexed their muscles and exerted their will, with quarterback Tom Brady atoning for a red zone interception and two fumbles by driving the offense into kicker Stephen Gostkowski's considerable range...

...Gostkowski nailing a 54 yard field goal with one second remaining as New England ran their undefeated record to 9-0 with a nail-biting, literally last-second 27-26 victory over their less-than-hospitable hosts from the NFC's eastern conference.

Brady completed 26 of 42 passes on the night for 334 yards - but in a display of both how well the Giants' defense was playing for three quarters on Sunday and also how good Brady is with the game on the line, the 16 year veteran gunslinger picked up 191 of those yards in the fourth quarter.

Not just 191 yards, however, but 191 yards behind an offensive line fresh out of tackles, and a pass catching corps missing two legitimate weapons.

Already handicapped with the loss of running back Dion Lewis for the season with a torn ACL, New England suffered a second disabling injury in as many weeks as wide receiver Julian Edelman went down with a fractured bone is his foot, but fellow pass catcher Danny Amendola stepped up with a huge, Edelman-like effort, catching 10 balls - including three on the game winning drive, one of which came on a desperation 4th and 10...

...and another a lunging nine-yarder that got the Patriots into Gostkowski's field goal range to set up the winning score - not to mention his 82 yard punt return to change field position and give New England some momentum, a level of performance that the Patriots have expected from Amendola all along, and one that they will need going forward, as Edelman will be on the shelf for the remainder of the regular season, at a minimum.

Also for the second week in a row, the Patriots went into this game with a reserve right tackle protecting Brady's blindside while center Bryan Stork took on the tackle responsibilities on the strong side as regulars Nate Solder, Marcus Cannon and Sebastian Vollmer are all on the shelf with a variety of injuries, Solder out for the season...

...with an interior made up of an undrafted rookie at center, flanked by rookie left guard Shaq Mason and third-year reserve Josh Kline - so for those keeping score, the Patriots are currently without five starters on the offensive side of the ball, with only quality coaching and versatile players on the depth chart standing between them and disaster.

And even that sort of resiliency almost wasn't enough against the Giants.

As usual, New York was able to turn the contest with New England into an NFC East-style fist fight, summoning spectres from past victories to spark an offensive effort that would have been good enough over any other team, with quarterback Eli Manning throwing for 361 yards and two touchdowns on a 24 of 44 performance - but, as seems to be the motif with the Giants this season, they couldn't close out an opponent that they had on the ropes late in the game.

Some of that due to mistakes at critical moments, the most glaring of which at the New England 31 yard line with a six-point lead - and just after Brady lost the ball on a Jasper Brinkley strip sack - Manning took a 13 yard sack at the hands of the always clutch Rob Ninkovich, taking the Giants out of field goal range and forcing a punt. Three plays later, Brady hit tight end Rob Gronkowski up the seam, who split the coverage and rumbled 76 yards for the go ahead score.

There were other faux pas by both teams - Brady would throw a red zone interception in the Patriots next series with a chance to nail the coffin shut on the Giants, and wide receiver Odell Beckham would lose a ball control battle in the end zone to fiesty Patriots' corner Malcolm Butler following that...

...Butler stripping the ball from Beckham's grip in the end zone on a play reminiscent of one made by safety Sterling Moore in an AFC title game years ago against Baltimore, then the Patriots' defense rising to meet the Giants' challenge and keeping them out of the end zone despite having a second and goal from inside the five, a Malcom Brown sack of Manning forcing the Giants to kick a field goal that gave them a two lead with just under two minutes remaining.

Critical, as that forced the Patriots to have to drive for only a field goal, as opposed to the touchdown they would have needed had Beckham converted, a difference of driving 80 yards with no time outs versus 45 to get in Stephen Gostkowski's field goal range.

But even as good as Brady was with the game on the line and needing 35 less yards, even he needed a little luck to overcome his own mistakes.

Facing a 1st and 10 from their own 20 on the first play of the drive, Brady released a floater over the middle intended for wide receiver Aaron Dobson that ended up in the hands of rookie safety Landon Collins, but Collins lost control of the ball when he hit the ground. Had he secured the ball, the Giants would have taken over near midfield and could have taken a few knees to run down the clock.

Instead, Brady drove the Patriots down the field to win the game, the 49th time in his career that he has brought the Patriots back from the brink.

But, thruth be told, there were many heroes for the Patriots on Sunday evening, from Gronkowski and Amendola to Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan to Rob Ninkovich and fellow linebacker Eric Martin, all had plays that significantly affected the outcome of this game - Martin's crushing block that sprung Amendola for his big punt return perhaps the talisman for the comeback...

...and the Patriots needed every one of those plays. Make no mistake, if one of the aforementioned plays are not made, the Patriots don't win this ball game - it was that close and that brutal.

Both teams had late touchdowns disallowed, both lost fumbles and both capitalized on their opponent's mistakes, but in the end, New England finished when New York couldn't, and in a contest between these two teams in which the game is always on the line right down to the wire, to be able to finish is the only way to win.

New England Patriots' Midseason Forum, Part 2 - Lewis' Contribution Leaves Remaining Backs Fresh

With rookie Shaq Mason clearing the way, running back LeGarrette Blount ran through the Redskins' defense

Most fans had never heard of Dion Lewis before he emerged as the winner of the passing back role with the New England Patriots.

So how in the name of Chuck Fairbanks did the kid they call "Little Dirty" become such a be all-end all entity for the Patriots - so much so that panic buttons are being pressed all over weird little New England because the guy who most people never knew existed until two months ago was shelved for the season on Monday with a torn ACL?

When head ball coach Bill Belichick and his scouting staff commenced the team building process for 2015 before last season was even over, former Hoodie confidant (When Belichick was in Cleveland) and current Patriots "Assistant to the coaching staff" Michael Lombardi advised Belichick to sign Lewis to a Futures Contract, but the general feeling was that the Pitt product was little more than a change of pace back that was fighting for a roster spot.

At the beginning of the new league year, passing back Shane Vereen bolted for the New York Giants in free agency, leaving the passing back duties competition wide open, but with the thought that - worst case scenario - they could always go with their Plan A, which was actually putting into play the team's fourth-round draft pick from 2014, James White.

But Belichick never leaves himself without options, so he signed former New Orleans passing back Travaris Cadet to compete against White, with Lewis squarely in the background - but as OTA's concluded and training camp began, Lewis was clearly outperforming both, exploding onto the scene with such an impact that Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels started inventing ways to get him the ball...

And now in the wake of Lewis' season ending injury, the Patriots' passing back duties fall back to the guy who lost the job that was his to lose in the first place, the guy that was the Patriots' Plan A, before Lewis juked him right out of the job.

James White is no slouch. Splitting time with a guy named Melvin Gordon at Wisconsin in his senior year. White earned the moniker "Sweet Feet" with an occasional reference to the great Barry Sanders with the merging connotation "Barry White", as he was the lightning to Gordon's thunder in the always insanely powerful Badgers' running attack.

What, WHAT?  Many who read this right now are going to wonder if I've ever seen a football game in my entire life, referring to the seldom-used NFL counterpart of a redshirt freshman whose name frequently appears on Belichick's inactive list by such far-reaching portrayals...

But behind Wisconsin's mammoth offensive line that featured a wall blocking scheme, White ran for an average of 6.5 yards per carry, gaining 1444 yards on the ground and caught 39 balls for 300 yards - breaking more than a few ankles along the way.


White is a different back than Lewis - in fact, he's different from most running backs in that there is very little wasted motion in his cuts. His running style is compact and centrifugal, relying on a killer stutter step and leg drive to avoid the tackle with a short-area burst rather than being overly elusive. He is a patient runner and will wait for his blockers to open holes for him in the running game, and has a powerful jump cut to get through the hole quickly, particularly when cutting against the grain to his left.

He's not as flashy as Lewis - there are few players who are - but he is the guy that the Patriots expected to win the passing back job coming into training camp, and given the same opportunities, he could fill the "Vereen Role" at least adequately enough to keep that part of the play book open...

The passing back - or third down back, if you prefer - is a vital component of the Patriots' offense, but it's been since the beginning of the dynasty that they had employed the services of such a complete back as Lewis, and while how the position is going to look in the immediate future is unclear, at least the power running game is cranked up and rounding into form.

LeGarrette Blount is just ridiculous. He's about as elusive as a freight train, but he runs with a purpose and nary a defensive back wish to cross paths with him, at least not face-to-face.

In their Week 9 matchup with the Washington Redskins, and the Patriots' offensive line the football equivalent of pot luck, Blount powered through a Redskins' front seven that was desperate to stop him, the result of a wall blocking scheme that featured budding star Shaq Mason in a role that utilizes his freakish athleticism, pulling from his left guard position to lead Blount right down the Redskins' collective throats.

Tight ends Rob Gronkowski and big Michael Williams got involved as well, each taking turns pulling into the running lanes - typically Gronkowski to the left and Williams to the right, delivering wham blocks to seal out the linebackers trying to plug the gaps. The combination of the cast of drive blockers along the line, the tight ends driving  to the second level and Blount's road grading style is an imposing thing for Patriots opponents to game plan for, and is something that is going to set them apart from their foes down the stretch.

That is important to remember moving forward, because the power running game is essential to success of the offense, particularly when facing quality defenses in the post season, and when the weather dictates a more fundamental approach to the Erhardt-Perkins scheme.

Because of the presence of Lewis, Blount is working with a fresh set of wheels, as he's carried the ball just 98 times, his roll limited to the four-minute offense - and the crazy part is that 29 of those carries came in Sunday's win over Washington, so it's fair to say that with Blount, White (14 touches) and special teams' ace Brandon Bolden (12 touches), the Patriots backfield is a devently rested and fresh group.

At present, and other than rookie power back Joey Iosefa on the practice squad, the Patriots are working with just three running backs, so it is conceivable that some sort of depth move will be made at some point, but for now, it's good policy to see what the guys on your roster can give you before making an offer to one of the many free agents available.

Lewis Done With ACL Tear; Patriots Back To "Plan A"

Well, back to "Plan A".

Before Dion Lewis burst onto the scene in Foxborough, Patriots' fans were resigned to the fact that James White was the heir-apparent to Shane Vereen's old gig as New England's passing back. Resigned, in that the seldom-used White is mostly untested, and didn't exactly light the world on fire in the chances that he did get.

That said, Ladies and Gentlemen, meet James White.

Lewis, the unexpected "Plan B", tore his ACL on Sunday afternoon as he finished off a 13-yard catch and run, and will be placed on the team's injured reserved list today, leaving White and veteran special teamer Brandon Bolden as the teams' designated passing backs.

Lewis' season ends with 36 receptions to his credit for 388 yards combined with 234 yards on 49 rushing attempts - his 622 yards from scrimmage third on the team behind tight end Rob Gronkowski (693) and receiver Julian Edelman (639) - many of his yards coming on highlight reel plays that displayed his video game-like elusiveness.

The Patriots do have many options, however.

They could decide to roll with White and Bolden to offer a change of pace for lead back LeGarrette Blount's power running style, as White has some elusiveness and has sure hands while Bolden is a bigger back with nice hands, but they could also pick up the phone and ask Travaris Cadet to come back - which makes sense given he was with the Patriots through training camp and was cut to make room for bigger needs on the roster, since the position was so well manned already.

If they decide to stand pat on what they have on the roster for backs, the Patriots could fill Lewis' roster spot with an offensive lineman from the practice squad - Chris Barker and Blaine Clausell are available - or they could activate linebacker Dane Fletcher or defensive tackle Chris Jones from the PUP list.

Still, rumors abound. This afternoon, Twitter was ablaze with pleads from fans for the team to sign former Ravens' bad boy Ray Rice, and also unconfirmed reports that former Rams and Falcons lead back Steven Jackson being spotted in Foxborough...

....and both would make sense, as the 27 year old Rice has logged 369 receptions for over 3000 yards in his six seasons in the league, while the 32 year old Jackson has 460 receptions for over 3600 yards from scrimmage - but it makes more sense to see if White steps up.

Why? He was drafted with the intent of taking over for former Patriot Shane Vereen, and spent all of last season on the active roster in preparation for taking on the role, and is more in the mold of Vereen than Lewis, with some elusiveness in the open field and some power between the tackles - but it would be a mistake for anyone to expect any of the aforementioned options to perform at the level that the explosive Lewis has.

And that's the bitch-kitty here. People are enamoured with what Lewis can do, and may be unwilling to accept and give a chance to White, but chances are excellent that Belichick will stay the course, going "back" to Plan A now that the pleasantly unexpected Plan B is down for the season...

Patriots Punk Redskins As Makeshift Offensive Line, Run Defense Dominates

The patchwork Patriots' offensive line opened up huge holes for running back LeGarrette Blount on Sunday

The New England Patriots are boring.

Well, usually they are, what with head ball coach Bill Belichick's bitchy little points of order, quarterback Tom Brady's minuscule yards per completion average and the defense's increasingly curmudgeonly behavior, but on Sunday afternoon against the overmatched Washington Redskins, the Patriots managed to throw a few curves to the home folks.

Why, Brady didn't even throw for 300 yards, and threw his first 'real' interception of the season. His favorite target, wide receiver Julian Edelman, came down with just five balls and fumbled away one of them and tight end Rob Gronkowski had the quietest game of his season.

Instead New England relied on a powerful running game to pace a balanced attack and a defense that forced two turnovers and held the Washington offense to just 250 total yards - including their second straight game holding an opponent under 40 rushing yards, and third straight under 90 - as the Patriots ran their record to 8-0 with what could turn out as a costly 27-10 victory over the Redskins at Gillette Stadium.

Costly, in that injuries continue to pile up for New England, as left tackle Sebastian Vollmer, passing back Dion Lewis, nickle safety Duron Harmon and reserve linebacker Jon Bostic all left the game in pain and did not return. Of the four, Vollmer's apparent concussion was the most critical, as the Patriots entered the game with just six healthy offensive linemen, and no reserve tackles.

But once again, the resilient Patriots managed to thrive with a patchwork offensive line that saw reserve right tackle Cam Fleming take his first snaps ever at left tackle, while just-activated center Bryan Stork manned the edge on the right.

The result? Brady completed 26 of 39 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns without being sacked, and power back LeGarrette Blount ran over, around and through the porous Redskins' front seven for 129 yard and a touchdown, running mostly behind Stork and left guard Shaq Mason pulling to the right.

For those keeping score, That's a second-year right tackle playing his first ever snaps protecting Brady's blindside, a second-year center forced into service at the strong side tackle, a rookie at the pivot and a rookie at left guard - the crusty veteran of the group being third-year swing man Josh Kline at right guard, a group that opened holes for the Patriots' backs to accumulate their best yardage total of the season and kept the franchise signal caller upright.

They had help, of course, as Gronkowski and reserve tight end Michael Williams saw time run blocking, and the backs stayed in at times to pick up blitzes, but that shouldn't take away from what the line was able to accomplish, as those things typically happen anyway.

Brandon LaFell snagged five of Brady's offerings for 102 yards, a total that equaled the production of Edelman and Gronkowski combined, though the two touchdowns through the air came courtesy of Edelman and reserve back Brandon Bolden, who took over for Lewis after the electrifying scat back strained his MCL and was lost for the game.

Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins found himself the victim of a receiving corps that developed a case of butterfingers, as seven of his throws were dropped outright, the first three of which stalled drives and allowed the New England offense to take possession and build an early lead - and with his running game being stuffed by the Patriots' stout front seven, his 26 of 37 night for 214 yards wasn't nearly enough to overcome all of the mistakes...

...which is now a trend for foes of the Patriots, as their defense is evolving into a truly elite unit of beefy gap pluggers, speedy sack artists and pretentious pass defenders who don't realize they are not supposed to be as good as they are rounding out to be.

How good? On Sunday, a full one-third of Washington's passing yardage came on their final drive of the game when the Patriots go into their three-deep "prevent" shell defense, long after the Redskins had given up hope of establishing any sort of a running game - an in-vogue tendency that has New England as the third-ranked run defense in the entire National Football League.

Which, of course, makes the Patriots even more boring.

But efficiency is boring to the casual fan - and by casual fan, that is to mean the fan that can't figure out how the Patriots keep winning regardless of sitiuation or condition, and writes it all off to them being cheaters - but for those who are true fans, the way the Patriots operate on both sides of the ball is nothing short of awe inspiring.

Some point to those dropped passes by the Redskins receivers as being a majority stockholder in the defense's overall performance - and there's no denying that they helped - but when the offense had already scored 14 points and the defense had already held the Redskins offense to one play, which resulted in a Logan Ryan interception, the game was already out of hand just ten minutes into the game, as it seemed that the Patriots made it a point to race out to a big lead and turn to the running game to offset all of the injuries along the offensive line...

...evidenced by Belichick calling for an onside kick immediately following Edelman's touchdwon reception on their first series of the game - and even though the ensuing series ended with an Edelman fumble in Redskins' territory, the aggressive nature of the play calling spoke for itself.

New England took a two score lead on their next possession, turning Ryan's fourth interception of the year into a short touchdown drive, capped off by a five yard power run by Blount, then a Stephen Gostkowski field goal put the Patriots' lead at 17-0 before the Redskins started to find their stride in their four-minute offense, putting together an almost eight minute drive with outstanding balance, but the the Patriots held in the red zone and Washington settled for a field goal to close the gap to 17-3 heading into the locker room.

The Redskins had deferred to the second half when they won the coin flip to start the game (So much for the coin flip controversy) and had a legitimate chance to double up by seizing the momentum coming out of the locker room with the first possession of the second half, driving into Patriots' territory before defensive tackle Alan Branch forced Washington running back Matt Jones to fumble at the New England 42, and the Redskins never seriously threatened after that...

...going three-and-out on their next three possessions before Belichick put the defense in their prevent shell, allowing the Redskins to put together a 12 play, 83 yard touchdown drive that effectively killed off the final four minutes of the game.

There was no official word after the game regarding the status of players that were injured, but speculation had it that Vollmer was held out as a precaution due to a possible concussion, and that Lewis was headed for an MRI, which was hoped to reveal nothing more than a sprained MCL, though some rumored reports listed him as having a "loose" ACL.

Harmon was seen tooling around the locker room with no limp after he came out of the game with what looked like a knee injury. It remains to be seen how the Patriots approach next week's clash with the hated New York Giants, who will tax and test their depleted offensive line in ways that the Redskins could not, and will put a premium on the Patriots' pass coverage against an offense superior to what Washington offered up.

Deferring To The Second Half A Powerful Tool In The Hands Of Belichick, Patriots

To defer or not to defer, that's not even a question.

At least not in New England, where Patriots' head ball coach Bill Belichick takes every little competitive advantage he can get into consideration, including his time-tested habit of sending his defense out on the field to start a football game nearly every single time he has had a choice in the matter.

The coin flip at the start of every football game - regardless of level, from Pop Warner all the way up to the professional game - is not only the first official act between two opposing teams, but since 2008, it has provided a way for coaches to control not only how a football game begins, but also to guide his strategy throughout the first half of those games.

Since a rule change in 2008 gave coaches the option of either receiving the ball to start the game or to defer that option to the second half, Belichick has taken the latter 59 times out of 61 opportunities - the only two times that he elected to take the opening kickoff was the ill-fated season opener in 2008 when quarterback Tom Brady got his knee-guts scrambled by Kansas City's Bernard Pollard, and in Week 5 of the 2013 season, when his Patriots were preparing to play in a torrential downpour in Cincinnati.

The advantage, of course, is something known as "Doubling Down", a tactic that in a perfect world would see his Patriots score points just as the first half expires, then receive the second half kickoff to hopefully put up more points without the opposition getting their turn with the ball in between.

It doesn't always turn out the way Belichick would envision it, but it does often enough to keep doing it.

Case in point, during the 2014 Super Bowl winning season, the Patriots won the coin toss an amazing 14 times in 19 games, going just 3-2 in the games that they lost the coin toss (each of their opponents deferred to the second half) while going 12-2 in games in which they won the coin toss, the only losses being to Miami in the season opener and to Buffalo in the season finale in which most of the starters were being rested in preparation for the playoffs.

That statistic in itself represents a most compelling argument for deferring to the second half, but simply deferring doesn't guarantee success, as the Miami Dolphins found out last Thursday night.

Winning the coin toss and electing to defer to the second half, the Dolphins saw their advantage dwindle to nothing as they had an opportunity with just over five minutes remaining in the first half to turn to what is called the "Four-minute offense", a tactic in which the goal of the offense is to convert first downs and slowly grind the clock down before scoring, leaving the opponent with little or no time to respond...

....but the Dolphins became impatient, being down 9-0 at the time, and tried to score quickly, but a first down out-route destined for receiver Rishard Matthews was picked off by Patriots' corner Logan Ryan - which Tom Brady and the Patriots offense turned into a field goal - then went three-and-out on their ensuing possession, giving the ball up to New England, who marched right down the field and scored a touchdown.

So instead of being patient and cutting into a slim Patriots' lead, the Dolphins whiffed on three straight possessions - on their last possession they tried a ridiculous looking 63 yard field goal as time expired - while New England turned a nine-point lead into an insurmountable total.

And what makes that even worse, is that the Dolphins scored a touchdown on their opening possession of the second half, and quite possibly could have taken a lead had they run their four-minute offense and not tried to push the ball downfield too quickly.

So far this season, New England has won the coin toss in five of their seven games, deferring each time and doubling down in each instance with the exception of the season opener against Pittsburgh, and scoring on their first possession of the second half each time.

The two times that they lost the coin toss? The Cowboys won the toss in Dallas and took the ball to start the game, and the Dolphins won the toss last Thursday and deferred - both times it was the Patriots that ended up doubling down, turning relatively close games into blowouts by virtue of scoring to end each first half and scoring to start the second half.

In the right hands, deferring to the second half is a powerful tool, but in the wrong hands, it's still advantage, Patriots

Patriots Quiet At Trade Deadline, As They Should Be

The NFL's trade deadline has come and gone, and the New England Patriots stood pat on perceived areas of need, and the most physically diverse roster in the National Football League remains intact.

Sure, the Patriots could have used some depth at corner and at offensive tackle, but depth is all they were in the market for, and with the prices on the open market dictating to the desperate teams who needed starting quality talent, the deadline passed with not so much as a whisper coming out of Patriots' Place.

Belichick is obviously set with his roster

Naturally, rumor and innuendo had media types scrambling for confirmation, and a few websites took the chance that the Patriots were destined to sign Tennessee Titans' cornerback Jason McCourty, but their move to scoop the rest of the world backfired when the Titans announced that McCourty was not available.

There could have been some validity to reports that New England had offered a 4th and a 6th round pick for the brother of Patriots' safety Devin McCourty, but when all was said and done, head ball coach Bill Belichick went fishing in a pond that was stocked with talent, but came with starter-like asking prices.

But this is all just speculation - the real story here is that we simply haven't seen the best of this defense, and we all know that Belichick builds his team and brings them along in a manner that they will be playing their best ball after Thanksgiving, and he obviously sees progress in his secondary.

Logan Ryan is finally making his fabled second year jump from wet-behind-the-ears rookie to legitimate cover corner in his third season, a year after riding the pine in favor of big name players like Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner - high-priced mercenaries brought in to complete the look at corner after New England lost Aqib Talib in free agency...

...while Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler is ignoring the constant chirping from the media and fans in regard to struggling as the Patriots' number one corner, while realizing that he, like Ryan, is suffering from lack of real-time snaps last season, and is essentially playing his rookie season - and what the media is not realizing is that in just about every occurrence when he has given up a big gainer or even a score, he has been in position to make the play.

With experience, Butler will be using his knack for position and defending those throws, or picking them off.

Depth is certainly an issue at corner, with only rookie free agent Justin Coleman and Ravens' retread Rashaan Melvin on the chart behind the starters, but it should be noted that the Patriots are becoming increasingly comfortable with the Big Nickle - that is, three safeties on the field instead of three corners - made possible by the emergence of Duron Harmon as a legitimate sideline-to-sideline centerfielder, leaving McCourty and Patrick Chung to help out in coverages and in run support.

In fact, the Patriots' safety corps is one of the top units in the league, and together with one of the most fearsome front sevens in the NFL, have helped the Patriots to an overall total defensive rating of two spots higher than at any point last season, and on par with last season's point differential, which ranked number one in the NFL...

...and are two spots better than the total pass defense was all of last season. Obviously, Belichick is comfortable with these numbers, comfortable with his players and comfortable with the fact that his team is undefeated nearly halfway through the season.

Another area where it was rumored that the Patriots needed help was at offensive tackle, and while there is credence to those rumblings - given injuries to Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon - the injury to Cannon isn't considered that serious and Pro Bowl quality right tackle Sebastian Vollmer is doing yeoman's work on the left while Cannon mends.

There are injuries on the interior of the line as well, but the depth is significant between the tackles, particularly with center Bryan Stork returning, but with rookie David Andrews performing admirably in his stead, it has created somewhat of a Bledsoe-Brady type of situation in regard to whether Stork will reclaim his job coming off of the IR, or if he will be placed in a rotation where he could fit in at right guard, where he played in his freshman and sophomore seasons in college.

So despite the rumblings from the media and the fans, Belichick will prove once again that he knows what he's doing with his roster, and will be looking for his teams' annual ascension to the pinnacle of the NFL, to be completed just in time to claim home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

New England Patriots' Midseason Forum, Part 1 - Champs Dictating Terms

Brady may be playing the best football of his career

At the start of every season, New England Patriots' head ball coach Bill Belichick reminds all of us that there are 32 teams in the National Football League, and all of them have their sites set on one goal, and that all of them have the same opportunity to grasp that brass ring called the Lombardi Trophy - and in the better part of the past two decades, the Patriots have grabbed that ring more than any other team...

...and have come up with nothing but air on a couple of other attempts, but no one can deny that the Patriots are most successful team of this generation - and all because they are blessed with the best coach and a quarterback who have been in the same system together for the entire time.

Winning championships, losing championships, it doesn't matter. Their approach to each game remains the same, within the confines of the offensive and defensive philosophies.

Defensively, it's always been a matter of taking away the opponent's top couple of strengths and daring them to beat you with plan b (or plan c or even plan d), building that plan around the strengths of the athletes at his disposal - which is the same way on offense, but with a distinct difference.

You see, the offense, having been run by the same guy for the past 16 years, has become somewhat robotic, to the point that it would be boring were it not for the explosive nature of the weapons at quarterback Tom Brady's whim, and the fact that Brady is so good at his job - so efficient - many marvel at his onfield accomplishments without stopping to think as to why the Patriots' offense has become the runaway freight train that it has.

The game plan offense is part of it, as the Patriots coaches work all week long to identify the opposition's weaknesses on defense, then pare down their massive playbook to include the concepts that have the best chances to be successful in attacking the defense - then deliver the entire package to Brady and the offensive players, who work tirelessly in the film room and practice field to ensure they have it down...

...which is how things work in every professional organization, but the command that Brady has of the antiquated Erhardt-Perkins offense that Belichick is faithful to, combined with the unquestioned loyalty that his supporting cast has in him and the system and their fellow players equates to production that few defenses can contain for even one half of football, never mind an entire game.

The Erhardt-Perkins' offense stands by the mantra "Pass to score, run to win." which, in lay terms means that the offense will try to build an early lead through the passing game, then fall back on the run and the four-minute offense to grind down the clock and limit the number of possessions by the opposition.

This is not to infer that there is a set standard of balance to the play calling, rather, balance in this offense is most often achieved through taking what they want as a unit, passing first as a general rule, and usually using the running game as something that shows up just enough to keep the opposing pass rushers aware of their assignments against the run.

It's a system tested by time to be the genuine article that Ron Erhardt and Ray Perkins developed as assistant coaches for the Patriots under Chuck Fairbanks in the mid-70's, and Belichick's unwavering faithfulness to the methodology is one of the core reasons why his offense always evolves into a juggernaut right around Halloween...

...the other reasons being his complex and thorough scouting system that exhausts every thread of knowledge in regard to an opposing defense, and the fact that both Belichick and Brady know the playbook like the Pope knows the bible, and are able to game plan for their opponent in such a meticulous manner means that the Patriots have the advantage over them before they even hit the field for warm ups.

Thursday night's punking of the Miami Dolphins is a perfect example.

On the first series of the game, Brady fed running back LeGarrette Blount four times for 22 yards, and completed four short passes to draw the linebackers and secondary closer to the line, then took advantage of the coverage by hitting tight end Rob Gronkowski over the middle behind the linebackers, and Gronkowski raced 47 yards for the touchdown, aided by a tremendous downfield block by wide receiver Brandon LaFell.

The Dolphins defense adjusted by coming after Brady, turning up the heat on the patchwork offensive line and forcing punts on the next four series by either causing penalties or by sacking Brady, but New England countered with their up-tempo look in the two minute drill and moved the ball strictly through the air to take a 19-0 lead into the locker room...

...turning primarily to their four-minute offense in the second half to grind down the Dolphins' defense and salt the game away with true balance.

So in the space of one game, the Patriots were able to start with a balanced attack to lure the Dolphins into making a mistake in coverages, switching to an up-tempo, downfield attack that no defense in the league has been able to stop, then turning things over to the grinders in the second half to wear down the Dolphins and strip the clock.

In other words, the Patriots offense lines up and says, "Here's what were going to do, now try to stop us.", and if the opposing defense does stop them, the Patriots simply morph into another entity and stomp them like a vat of grapes.

With the concept-driven playbook, a trustworthy group of sure-handed receivers, a dynamic "Thunder and Lightning" approach at the running back position, a young offensive line that is nearing full health (sans Nate Solder), and a veteran gunslinger who is playing the best football of his first ballot, Hall of Fame career, the Patriots' offense is as close to a juggernaut as there can be in the sport...

...and the defense, a unit missing both starting corners and a rock-solid nose tackle from last season's championship unit is starting to gel into what is statistically a better defense than what they fielded for their Super Bowl run - but all of that comes in subsequent articles in this series.

For the next week leading up to the midway point of the season with a matchup against Washington, we are going to take a look at what makes the 2015 Patriots tick on offense, defense and special teams, using Belichick's unique team building philosophies as a base from which to proceed...

First up, How Bill Belichick's philosophies mirror Sun Tsu's ancient tutorial The Art of War to build his team, and how he prepares them each week according to the master's military strategies combined with the rules and well-known strategies of the modern game of football.

New England Patriots' Midseason Forum is a nine-part series that examines the state of the Patriots at the midseason mark of each season. Part 2 looks at the team philosophies, parts 3,4 and 5 cover the state of the offense, parts 6, 7, and 8 cover the defense and part nine the importance of special teams...