Patriots Report: Week 3

Not much time to do this one.

First, last week's prediction.

I predicted - Pats 28 Jets 14
Final score - Pats 9 Jets 16

Just three more touchdowns and I would have been right on! Amazing! Just one touchdown would have been nice.

THIS WEEK

Patriots 28
Falcons 14

I know you are thinking, "Hey wait a minute! That's the same score you predicted last week!"

The conventional wisdom is the Pats by 4 points. That is not going to happen in Foxboro. There is something to prove. The game could be described as a match-up of underachievers vs. overachievers.

Offensively, the Patriots look to many to be a shambles. I see this as the game where Tom Brady steps up with a little more quickness and precision. Four touchdowns easily.

Defensively, a lot has been made of the four major departures. I don't really see much of a difference in terms of stats. The Jets scored just one touchdown last week.

The most obvious adjustment they should make is running the ball a bit more. That ought to exploit an Atlanta team that is now without defensive tackle Jeria Perry.

The Pats haven't lost back-to-back games in 41 weeks. New England has won 15 straight regular-season games against NFC opponents going back to 2005. I tried to find the NFL record on that one to no avail. No doubt football expert Barack Abdul Ali will know that one off the top of his head. Barack!?

Here's an interesting trivia tidbit: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 2007 Patriots became the first American pro sports team to open a season with 18 straight victories in more than 100 years, dating back to baseball's Union Association in 1884.