Tennessee Titans Takeaways
Seven months of waiting for New England Patriot football. And we were very much rewarded for our patience. A great performance all round from the Patriots earned them a very comfortable 34-13 win against the Tennessee Titans.
The offense - sharp. Brandon Lloyd looks to be the downfield threat we desire, and he was back to doing what he does best, which is making some brilliant catches. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez looked as good as ever, Gronk making a great catch at the back of the endzone for his TD. And although he messed up the spike, we'll take the six points.
The offensive line was heavily questioned during preseason. But preseason needs to be ignored. Tom Brady took one sack scrambling outside the pocket (receiving a bloody nose for his trouble), apart from that, the pass blocking was solid enough for Brady to be at his imperious best (23-31, 236 yds, 2/0), and the run blocking was just superb, with Stevan Ridley benefiting greatly (21, 125yds, 1TD). As much as I liked BenJarvus Green-Ellis, it's great for us to have a guy in Ridley, who seems to have sorted out his fumbling issue, and can not only run it between the tackles, but has the burst of speed to get big yards on the outside.
Onto the defense. What a difference a draft makes. I said before the season that this front seven (Rob Ninkovic, Jermaine Cunningham, Vince Wilfork, Chandler Jones, Brandon Spikes, Jerod Mayo, Dont'a Hightower) could be one of the best in the NFL. Holding Chris Johnson to 4 yards is a positive sign to say the least. Dominant is the word to describe it. Wilfork gave the Titans offensive line issues all day, while Jones toyed with the Left Tackle, Michael Roos.
And it all came together on one play. A third and long and pinned inside their own ten, Jake Locker dropped back to throw. Wilfork occupied 2 linemen, Ninkovic occupied 2 linemen, Jones got round the back of the only lineman left and forced a sack/fumble, recovered by Hightower, who danced and powered his way into the endzone. Beautiful. This is a front seven to be feared, and it will be for many years to come.
As for the secondary - a lot more assured. Sure, they gave up a couple of big plays, so does every secondary. But they looked a lot better, and I liked Tavon Wilson a bunch too. Many questioned us taking him in the second round, but he looks a very solid safety, and another excellent scouting job by Bill Belichick.
Week 1: A good start. Next week, Arizona. Bring 'em on!
Follow me on Twitter for Patriots and NFL talk, as well as British stuff to keep you cultured! (Maybe...)
The offense - sharp. Brandon Lloyd looks to be the downfield threat we desire, and he was back to doing what he does best, which is making some brilliant catches. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez looked as good as ever, Gronk making a great catch at the back of the endzone for his TD. And although he messed up the spike, we'll take the six points.The offensive line was heavily questioned during preseason. But preseason needs to be ignored. Tom Brady took one sack scrambling outside the pocket (receiving a bloody nose for his trouble), apart from that, the pass blocking was solid enough for Brady to be at his imperious best (23-31, 236 yds, 2/0), and the run blocking was just superb, with Stevan Ridley benefiting greatly (21, 125yds, 1TD). As much as I liked BenJarvus Green-Ellis, it's great for us to have a guy in Ridley, who seems to have sorted out his fumbling issue, and can not only run it between the tackles, but has the burst of speed to get big yards on the outside.
Onto the defense. What a difference a draft makes. I said before the season that this front seven (Rob Ninkovic, Jermaine Cunningham, Vince Wilfork, Chandler Jones, Brandon Spikes, Jerod Mayo, Dont'a Hightower) could be one of the best in the NFL. Holding Chris Johnson to 4 yards is a positive sign to say the least. Dominant is the word to describe it. Wilfork gave the Titans offensive line issues all day, while Jones toyed with the Left Tackle, Michael Roos.
And it all came together on one play. A third and long and pinned inside their own ten, Jake Locker dropped back to throw. Wilfork occupied 2 linemen, Ninkovic occupied 2 linemen, Jones got round the back of the only lineman left and forced a sack/fumble, recovered by Hightower, who danced and powered his way into the endzone. Beautiful. This is a front seven to be feared, and it will be for many years to come.As for the secondary - a lot more assured. Sure, they gave up a couple of big plays, so does every secondary. But they looked a lot better, and I liked Tavon Wilson a bunch too. Many questioned us taking him in the second round, but he looks a very solid safety, and another excellent scouting job by Bill Belichick.
Week 1: A good start. Next week, Arizona. Bring 'em on!
Follow me on Twitter for Patriots and NFL talk, as well as British stuff to keep you cultured! (Maybe...)
