By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was in destroy mode Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the team’s 39-26 victory over a team that has a strong defense, and who many opine is the best team in the NFL, Brady led the way going 30-43 for 350 yards and three touchdowns as well as one rush that earned him another touchdown.
For his career, Brady 6-1 against the Steelers — 4-1 at Heinz Field — and has 14 touchdowns against the Steelers and only three interceptions. Part of it is game planning: New England throws the ball against Pittsburgh 73 percent of the time and only rushes on 27 percent of the plays, as opposed to throwing it 55 percent of the time and rushing it 45 percent against every other team in the league.
Still, in order to continue that trend, the Pats need to be successful throwing the ball, and that comes down to Tom Brady taking charge.
It isn’t just against the Steelers though. New England, especially the way it is currently constructed, places all of its burdens on Brady. It’s cliché to say the team will go as far as he does, but [...]

By: Dan Podheiser, YawkeyTalkies Assistant Editor
There were a lot of question marks surrounding this Patriots team heading into the 2010 season. I, for one, never pictured this team as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
But after Sunday’s win over Minnesota, a hard-fought, gritty showdown, I’m starting to think: Hey, maybe this team can win it all.
The Patriots have the best record in football and have beaten several good teams, but Sunday’s game really was a big one.
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the Patriots’ win on Sunday.
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady was hardly even noticeable on Sunday — and he still managed a 100.8 QB rating. Ho hum. All it took was a nice little 65-yard (mostly after the catch) toss to Brandon Tate to break the game wide open. Since Randy Moss left, Brady has had to pick his spots more finely. With just 16 completed passes — for 240 yards — he did that against the Vikings.
Grade: A-
Runningbacks
The law firm was prosecuting today. That’s right, I used it. BenJarvus Green-Ellis had himself a day against the Vikes, rushing for 112 yards on just 17 carries. Green-Ellis is looking like he could be New England’s first feature back since Corey Dillon, and even Dillon [...]

By: Dan Podheiser: YawkeyTalkies Assistant Editor
The rumors are flying, the tantrums among unhappy New Englanders are beginning and the uncertainty is the only thing that’s certain.
Why the hell would the Patriots trade Randy Moss?
Bill Simmons initially tweeted that the Pats were working out a deal with the Vikings and Jay Glazer backed it up.
Now, Minnesota is saying they’re looking at film on the deal, but the Patriots are apparently denying the rumors.
What does this all mean?
Well, there has to be some validity to the rumor. In fact, if this were 24 hours ago, a Randy Moss trade still wouldn’t be all that farfetched.
Let’s look at the reasons why he would be traded.
1. The Pats won’t be able to pay him what he wants next year.
2. New England showed it can be highly effective on offense without him, proven by his zero-catch effort against the Dolphins on Monday.
3. The Patriots’ front office, namely Bill Belichick, never cares about what fans might think during the season. Not that this is a bad thing. Business isn’t personal.
Those are all reasons why a trade could happen. However, there are also plenty of other reasons why this trade won’t happen, and those are much more [...]

By: Dan Podheiser, YawkeyTalkies Assistant Editor
The Patriots proved all the doubters wrong on Monday Night Football, defeating the Miami Dolphins 41-14 on the road.
After the first half, the Patriots looked like their usually potent offense would be held to a season-low in points.
But thanks to some timely plays on special teams and defense (I know, right!), the Pats exploded in the second half and ended up dominating their division rivals.
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of how the Patriots fared on Monday night.
Quarterbacks
He may have thrown for a season-low (by far) 153 yards against the Dolphins, but the fact is, Tom Brady didn’t need to be a gunslinger against the Dolphins. What he needed to do was be accurate and consistent, and that’s exactly what he did. Brady completed 19 of his 24 pass attempts for a mere 6.4 yards per play, and ended up with a QB rating of 107.1. Even during the first half, when the offensive line gave him virtually no protection, Brady remained poised and did not throw the game away. That’s the beauty of Tom Brady. He can beat you in a single game with his arm, but he wins championships with his head.
Grade: A
Runningbacks
Well, what’dya know? [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies staff writer
It’s no secret that New England Patriots quarterback loves throwing to Randy Moss and Wes Welker. This season, however, Brady has found a new toy in rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez.
The Patriots do spread the ball on offense and a lot of guys get their share of touches, but Hernandez is not only gaining more targets per game (two in Week 1, six in Week 2, and seven in Week 3), he is also encroaching on the balls that Moss and Welker are getting their ways. Last week the former Florida Gator even led the team in targets.
Hernandez is earning Brady’s trust. He has led the team in receptions the previous two games (six) and yards (101 against the New York Jets and 65 against the Buffalo Bills). Even though he only had one grab in the opening weekend, he made it count for 45 yards.
He hasn’t caught a touchdown pass yet and isn’t a prime look on goal-line situations, where fellow rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski gets the nod, as will running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Hernandez also isn’t expected to do much blocking, but he does create a lot of matchup problems.
He’s a tad [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
New England Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis is known as “The Law Firm” because of his multi-part name. Could he also adopt the identity of “The Answer” for the Patriots running-game woes?
Currently, the Patriots rank tenth in the league in rushing yards per game at 123.3 yards. The majority of that is thanks to Green-Ellis’ 16 carries for 98 yards against Buffalo. Prior to the game the Pats were only averaging 85 yards per game.
As commonly noted, running back has not been a stable position for the Patriots due to retirement, injuries, and inconsistent play. Since 2006, the Patriots have seen three different players lead the team in rushing yards for the season.
The Patriots have 370 yards rushing in the first three games. The top-two rushers in the NFL, Arian Foster and Adrian Peterson, have more yards than that by themselves.
As long as Tom Brady is the quarterback, the Patriots will always be a pass-first team. However, New England has had well documented problems closing and finishing out games in the past two seasons. Part of the reason could be due to the lack of balance on offense.
Green-Ellis could provide the perfect punch.
He is a [...]

By: Dan Podheiser, YawkeyTalkies Assistant Editor
In yet another run-‘n-gun, high-scoring affair on Sunday, the Patriots handled the Buffalo Bills 38-30.
The Pats have a knack for accumulating yards, on both sides of the ball.
Simply put, there’s never a dull or uneventful moment when watching a Patriots game. Sunday’s game against the Bills was no different.
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady was almost perfect on Sunday. No, really, his 142.6 quarterback rating was very close to the perfect 158.3 rating. With 252 yards and three touchdowns, “Tom Terrific” made another giant leap towards another MVP award. He hit all his receivers in stride and completed 21 of his 27 pass attempts. Like I said, he was just about perfect.
Grade: A
Runningbacks
Who would have thought that, within two weeks of the Pats losing two of their runningbacks, they would rush for a season-high 200 yards against the Bills? BenJarvus Green-Ellis was a horse on Sunday, rushing for 98 yards on just six carries. And how about Danny Woodhead? That little guy couldn’t be touched, rushing for 42 yards on three carries.
Grade: A
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Ho, hum. Another Patriots game; another dominant performance from Patriots wide receivers. This time, the love was spread around, but Randy Moss still got his [...]