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By: Tommy Rowe

Benjarvis Green-Ellis has been a vital piece to the Patriots offensive dominance the past couple years. Having great ball security, football IQ, and the instincts of an all pro veteran runningback from day one he made his contribution to the team and then more. But, during a very crazy offseason, talks about Green-Ellis apparently broke apart as the Cincinnati Bengals agreed to sign the 4 year vet out of Ole Miss to a 3 year $9 million contract where he would get 4 million his first year along with a $1.6 million bonus for incentives. Now he is not a primary back or is a superstar talent, he is a serviceable player who can make a great and solid living being that and then some. But if all he was asking was $3 million a year, then the Patriots look like the fools here and not Benny.

With a backfield with Danny Woodhead as the starter (for now) along with Stephan Ridley and Shane Vreen, who never saw the field in 2011, the Patriots have a problem on their hands. As good as Tom Brady is and always has been, he still needs help at the age he is at now and that means help from the Runningbacks also. Danny Woodhead is not a starter point and simple and the two 3 round picks from 2011 cannot be just thrown into the Lion’s den with the small experience they have. News that the Patriots may be making a big move to help fill the void left by Benny involves Tom Brady, once again, taking a pay cut to help the franchise. With Brady restructuring his contract, the Patriots save 7.2 million dollars and it’s also added to the cap for this season. Now as cheap as we call the Patriots at times, not even they would just restructure the contract of the franchise’s great player ever to save them money. If they are doing this for that reason, then we have a problem in the office. But in all likelihood, the Patriots are planning something and something big. With 7.2 million added to the cap a month before the Draft, either a trade of huge proportions or hopefully a trade up through the Draft board to land the Pats a big rookie name. Nothing has been confirmed yet and knowing Coach Belichick nothing will till Draft Day, but we can only guess for now what the Patriots plan to do with their Quarterback’s generous contribution. One thing that can definitely make this assumption proven right is that Tom Brady would not have fought so hard to get the contract he did, then give up a huge portion of it without making a big move. Brady knows what’s about to happen and considering how professionally he was to make the deal; it most certainly will be big. Though it may not be a fill in at runningback, the move they make will most likely be the one to put them over the hump that they have been failing to do since 2005.

By: Tom Rowe

BenJarvus Green-Ellis has been a very reliable asset for the Patriots’ running game, especially in 2010. The “Law Firm” has run for 1,397 yards in his service with the Patriots and totaled over 1,006 yards last season with 13 TD’s. Probably the most outstanding stat of them all is the Benny has not fumbled the football once in his NFL career. Ball security is something that Coach Belichick has always stressed to his back core over the years in New England, from guys like Antwan Smith to Lawrence Maroney. Most of them have had problems with this task; some more than others (Maroney), but BenJarvus has made this a basic instinct in his routine when carrying the football from Tom Brady.
He is no Adrain Peterson or Chris Johnson. He is not the fastest and isn’t the most athletic running back in the NFL, but he is something the Patriots have valued their whole existence; work ethic and reliability. Benny is one of the hardest workers the Patriots players can all agree they have ever seen. He makes it his number one goal to do the best job he can do and help his team in any way possible. This makes him a priority for the Patriots in free agency when the lockout is over. He is one of those work horses who will do anything asked of him no questions asked and we know those are the guys that make Guy Smiley (Bill Belichick) actually smile during a game or practice.
He has stuck the hearts of fans and is the blue collar type of player that we as New Englanders can relate and appreciate. There is no doubt in my mind that BenJarvus will being on the field for the Patriots come September, he is way too valuable to just take for granted and throw aside for a rookie like Shawn Vreen. He may not be the flashiest player and is not the go to guy in the running game, but his 13 TD’s and 1,000 yard season (first Patriot since 2004 to run for 1,000 yards) shows that he is steal that the Patriots need to hold on to. There are no negatives at all to this young man from Ole Miss and his contributions to the Pats will not go unnoticed, long live the Law Firm; New England wants you to stay Benny.

With the pre season in the books, the 2010 Patriots welcomed TO, Ochocinco, and the rest of the Bengals to town.  The pre season did not end well for the Pats, the defense looked like a young defense and the running game had some questions.  Let’s look at each phase of the game and see how I graded the Patriots.

Overall Offense Grade- A

The Pats looked great entering the game, moving right down the field and scoring on their first possession.  They were outgained by the Bengals, 428 to 376, but the Bengals played from behind the entire game.  They were great on third down, 9-13, and in the red zone, going 3-5 with three touchdowns.

Quarterback- A

You can’t get much better than a 120.9 passer rating as Brady carved up the much hyped Bengals defense.  Brady looked in mid season form, going 25-35 for 258 yards and three touchdowns.  As usual he spread the ball around hitting 7 different receivers and hitting Wes Welker for two TDs.  Brady will face a better defensive backfield in week 2, but these are players he is used to playing against, Revis and Cromartie, so he will make something happen.

Offensive Line- A

Logan who?  This was looking like a big weakness heading into week one, but they O line only let up two QB hits and no sacks allowed.  This will be a up and down season for the offensive line, so let’s not get too excited yet.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends- A

How could I not grade them with an A?  Welker came back and had 8 receptions, 64 yards, and two touchdowns in his return game.  Moss had an average game, 5 receptions for 58 yards, no TDs, but an 11.8 average and a 32 yard reception, which shows that he is still a big play WR.  The great thing to see was second year WR Brandon Tate, who missed the 09 season with an injury, had 4 receptions and 36 yards, and also made an impact in special teams.

Running Backs- B+

This is going to be a committee of backs and each week we could have a different guy stepping up.  Fred Taylor lead all backs with 14 carries, 71 yards, and a 5.1 average.  He is healthy now, and will continue to be the starting back until someone else steps up.  Kevin Faulk contributed as usual; the ageless back had 3 carries for 23 yards and four catches for 47 yards.

Overall Defense- B

Yea, I gave them a B.  They looked good at the start and some guys stepped up big and looked to be leaders out there, however, they did let up 24 points, 428 yards, 342 of them were passing yards.  Lastly, they were outscored 21-10 in the second half.  With a lead that big, the defense should have pinned their ears back and went for blood, which leads me to believe that Belichick still has some questions.

Defensive Line- B

We all know in a 3-4 defensive scheme, these guys do not get any glory, but they played well this week.  Vince Wilfork and Ron Brace chipped in with a few tackles and one pass deflected.  Mike Wright did not show up much in the box score, but that is what a true lineman does in the 3-4, take up space so the LBs can make plays.  They are thin at D-line, and will need to continue to improve each week.

Line Backers-B

The Pats have a young group of LBs this year and they will be up and down each game.  Jarod Mayo (12 tackles, 8 solo) will continue to be a rock in the middle of the field and is the leader of the front seven.  Against the Bengals, the LBs were steady, but they were outplayed by the secondary.

Secondary-A

The defensive backfield was the reason the Patriots won this game (and special teams).  Second year safety Patrick Chung was amazing having 16 tackles (12 solo) and seemed to be everywhere on the field.  Darius Butler did give up a TD to Chad Ochocinco, but he was solid as well with 8 solo tackles and a pass defended.  Brandon Meriweather, the most experienced Pat in the secondary chipped in with 7 tackles.  This is a young secondary and they will have their ups and downs, but it seems that they get what the coaches want them to do; we should see some steady improvement throughout the season.

Special Teams- B

Kicking Game-B

Stephen Gostkowski was 5 for 5 for extra points, but the usually solid kicker missed two field goal attempts missing two from 40 plus yards.  It is early in the season and he is a great kicker, so no reason to panic yet.

Rookie punter Zoltan Mesko had one punt for 43 yards.  Not much to discuss here.

Return Game-A

Second year receiver, Brandon Tate had a great first NFL game.  He missed all of last season after a knee injury in the preseason.  The speedy Tate had four returns for 184 yards, averaging 46 yards a return.  He had an electrifying 97 yard return to open up the second half and give the Pats a 31-3 lead.

Overall the Patriots had a great game, jumping out to an early lead and maintaining the lead throughout the game.  The Bengals got some yards and points in garbage time which is to be expected, but I would have liked Belichick to continue to be aggressive with his young defense.  We shall see how things work out next week against the hated Jets.

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The Patriots traveled to Atlanta to face Matt Ryan and the Falcons.  The Falcons are coming off a year in which they missed the playoffs and had many injuries.  The Falcons have many weapons on offense and would put some pressure on the young Patriots defense.  As I mentioned in the last post, the Pats have showed some swagger and look like they have something to prove with each snap.

Game two welcomed backed Wes Welker to the offense and Tom Brady threw to him right away.  Welker finished with 2 catches for 20 yards.  It was a dropped pass that made him feel like he was back; he took a hard hit as he was going down.  As many players say, it’s that first big hit that makes you feel back in the game.  Brady continued to impress, 10/12, 84 yards, and a TD.  He did take a big hit in which he fumbled but the Pats recovered.  Second year backup Brian Hoyer looked good as well, 8/15, 94 yards and a TD as well.

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I do not know if the Belichick “Jedi Mind Trick” has worked, but the Patriots seemed to come out fired up in their first game since the playoff loss to the Ravens.  Belichick has removed everything that reminds the team of prior success, pictures, clippings, whatever, it’s gone, like most of the players from that run.  I know the Saints had been on the road for a week before the game, but it was good for the Pats to come out the way they did against the Super Bowl Champs.

I still have not been able to look at Tom Brady with a straight face with his “Beiber” cut, but the man without a contract for next season looked in game shape throwing the ball down the field very easily against the Saints, connecting on 5 of 8 passes for 67 yards.  It is the first game, but he looked much better than he did a year ago.  Brian Hoyer was impressive as well, going 8/13 for 106 yards.

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