By: Scott Jackson, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer

After dropping the ball last week, the report card is back.  Unfortunately the Patriots dropped the ball this week, losing to Houston 34-27.

Quarterbacks:
Tom Brady didn’t look like a man with three broken ribs.  He did, however, look like the game didn’t matter, coughing up an interception that set-up Houston’s winning score.  Backup Brian Hoyer played well; until the final drive when he couldn’t complete a pass.
My grade: C-

Runningbacks:
No Laurence Maroney.  No problem.  Future Hall of Famer Fred Taylor scored two touchdowns.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis set-up Taylor’s first score with a big block.  But the group didn’t do a great job overall, only gaining 64 yards on the ground.  And Taylor did fumble the ball in his endzone, but that was mostly the fault of the offensive line.
My grade: C-

Receivers/Tight Ends:
Wes Welker will be missed.  But Julian Edelman filled in well, catching ten passes for 103 yards (it’s weird seeing a #11 out there who can run, isn’t it?).  Despite not scoring, Randy Moss had a good game, finishing with 75 yards.  And the tight ends stepped up with Welker out, catching everything thrown their way.
My grade: B

Offensive Line:
An offensive line has two jobs.  The first is two protect the QB.  Tom Brady and Brian Hoyer had pressure in their faces all day.  The second is to open holes for the running game.  They allowed Zac Diles to hit Fred Taylor in New England’s end zone before Taylor could even take the hand-off.
My grade: D

Defensive Line:
Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren both missed the game.  And the Patriots surely missed them.  Allowed undrafted rookie Arian Foster to rack up 119 yards on the day.  Entering the game, the Texans only had one 100 yard game as a team.  On the plus side, the Patriots got a better pass rush this week than most of the year.
My grade: C-

Linebackers:
Jerrod Mayo had eight tackles.  Minus that, the group did nothing.
My grade: D

Secondary:
All-pro receiver Andre Johnson was kept, relatively, in check.  Darius Butler had a key interception return for a touchdown.  But what an awful day for safety James Sanders.  He blew the coverage on Houston’s first TD, and then got flagged for a personal foul, setting up another Texas score. 
My grade: C

Special Teams:
Same old song and dance from the crew.  Good kicking from Stephen Gostkowski (field goals of 51 and 43 yards).  And poor coverage by kicking teams (36 yard kickoff return by Andre Davis, 31 yard punt return by Jacoby Jones).
My grade: C

Overall team grade: C
Sure, they lost.  But in the grand scheme of things, the game meant nothing.  Until Wes Welker went down.

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