Brady and the Offense Shine as Patriots Win Home Opener

The New England Patriots continued their offensive showcase Sunday against the San Diego Chargers in the home opener of the 2011 season. It was a game that had some great moments on both sides of the ball and was certainly the best overall team win the Patriots have had in a while.  

The Patriots faced one of the most high powered offenses in the NFL on Sunday in the Chargers. Philip Rivers, Vincent Jackson, and Antonio Gates are all marquee players in the NFL.

Below is a look at the great, the good, the bad, and the ugly from Sunday's game.

THE GREAT

Tom Brady played out of his mind again in week two. Brady completed 31 of 40 for 423 yards, 3 TD's and no interceptions.

Deion Branch had another productive game this week. He finished with 8 catches for 129 yards.  Branch was scrutinized by many in the media during preseason for not "lighting it up." After two regular season games, Branch is reminding everyone why he is such an important part of the Patriots.

Chad Ochocinco had a couple big catches in the game, and at important times in touchdown drives.  Getting Ochocinco into the offensive scheme is going to be crucial down the stretch.

Vince Wilfork had the first interception of his career on Sunday, as he pulled down a deflected Rivers pass and ran it back 28 yards.  

The Patriots offense scored 35 points on Sunday.  After scoring 38 in the season opener, the Pats offense is on fire to start the year.

The tight ends continue to step up big for the Patriots.  Rob Gronkowski, and Aaron Hernandez are impressive to watch.  Each had a touchdown on Sunday and are expected to be big contributors in 2011.  

THE GOOD

The Patriots defense continued to improve, and no more was that seen than on a 4 down goal line stand, preventing San Diego from getting into the end zone.  It was a huge play for the D and the team as a whole and hopefully something we will see more of this year.

The running has started to become apart of the intended balanced attack of the Patriots.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran the ball 17 times for 70 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots had 94 yards on the ground.

The defense had two sacks on the day and two interceptions.  Good strides forward, but more is needed for the Patriots to "establish" their defense.

THE BAD

The Patriots defense continues to let quarterbacks rack up huge yard numbers. Philip Rivers is an offensive machine, but the Patriots rank 31st out of 32 teams in the NFL as of week two in terms of offensive pass yards allowed. 

Aaron Hernandez suffered a sprained ACL in the game on Sunday.  He is expected to miss up to two weeks.  Hernandez has been one of Brady's favorite targets so far, and has been a very important piece of the 2011 offense.

THE UGLY

The collective breath of Gillette Stadium, as well as millions at home watching, was held as Brady was hit at the knee in an eerily deja vu play that echoed memories of Brady's season ending injury hit to the knee in 2008.  Thankfully, Brady's foot came up off the field on the hit which allowed his knee to bend with the rest of his leg, but it was a very quiet moment at Gillette. 

Third down defensive troubles continue to mount for the Patriots.  San Diego converted 10 of 12.  The offense of the Patriots out-dueled the Chargers offense, but if the Patriots can't get teams off the field on third down they are setting themselves up for big trouble later in the year.

The Chargers had 470 yards of total offense against the Patriots on Sunday.  On the days that Brady doesn't play well, this could be a major, and will be a major problem for this team.

BOTTOM LINE

This was a great team win for the Patriots.  Brady is playing on another planet right now, and the sky is the limit for him statistically in 2011.  

The offense is clicking on as many cylinders as you possibly could at this point.  Spreading the ball out to wideouts, tight ends and running backs is making it near impossible to defend the Patriots.

It's two weeks into the season, but with their AFC East victory over Miami last week, they stand in first place in the already crowded AFC East at (2-0)  However, both the Jets and surprisingly the Buffalo Bills are also (2-0). It is only week two, but the Patriots travel to Buffalo next week and it looks like it's going to be as tight a race as ever in the East.

Kickoff for next weeks game against the Bills will be at 1:00 p.m. on CBS.