Week 12 Snapshot: Patriots, Defense, Flattened 38-17

It’s not often that you see blowouts like these in New England.  But it’s also not often that the New England Patriots play teams as good as the New Orleans Saints.

Earlier tonight, the Patriots fell flat to the New Orleans Saints, suffering their only multi-score deficit of the season, dropping the game 38-17.  There’s a lot that went on, so lets get straight to the analysis:

• Drew Brees is insane.  He was virtually unstoppable tonight.  Every pass of his was perfectly accurate.  A few of the Saints’ big plays came on perfect passes in nearly perfect coverage.  If Drew Brees proved anything tonight, it’s that he might be just as good as Brady and Manning.  Every time he stepped into a throw, every Patriots fan felt a collective sinking feeling tonight.  Brees was that good.
• The offensive line was atrocious tonight.  The Saints defensive line got consistent pressure on Brady, affecting a majority of his throws.  It seemed, just from watching the game once, that the Saints really dominated up the middle, and that Dan Koppen and Nick Kazcur really played sub-par.  Matt Light also looked rusty.  The o-line is really going to have to turn this around quick.
• The Drew Brees 2nd quarter touchdown to Devery Henderson was completely inexcusable.  I’m not sure if it was Meriweather’s or Wilhite’s fault, but that play was just a symbol for the poor play of the secondary tonight.  The only defensive back that played to his level was Leigh Bodden.  Off the top of my head, I can only think of one or two times that Drew Brees targeted his side.
• Where has Jerod Mayo gone as of late?  Haven’t seen much of him lately.
• The Saints’ interior offensive line really dominated the Patriots defensive line.  Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren were consistently being pushed off the ball resulting in 4-7 yard runs.  Kudos to that group for the Saints.  It’s not easy to push back the big boys up front for the Patriots.
• The Patriots are in desperate need of a pass rush.  The only Patriot consistently wreaking havoc is Tully Banta-Cain.  Beyond him, the pass rush has been abysmal.  It seemed that nearly every time Drew Brees dropped back to throw, he had all of the time in the world.  Something has to be fixed.  Without a pass rush, this team won’t make it far in January.
• On a positive note, I loved the running of Laurence Maroney.  He has gotten his swagger back.  He has been more decisive, and has shown brute strength when it comes to moving piles and trucking defenders.  If he keeps his play up, it will be a big bonus for the Patriots down the stretch moving into December.
• Lastly, taking a look at the playoff picture, the Patriots currently sit at fourth in the AFC with a 7-4 record.  There are two games ahead in the AFC East, and face the 5-6 Dolphins next week.  Looking at the race for the two seed, the Patriots are one game behind both the Chargers and the Bengals who are 8-3, and hold 6-3 AFC records.  The Patriots are 5-3 in the AFC, so this loss wasn’t that deep of a wound.

Photo Courtesy NFL.com