Stats on Pats Weekly By Ian Abreu, southcoast247.com correspondent
Week II Wrap-up
What surprised me the most in yesterday's 27-17 loss to the Carolina Panthers was not the fact that the Patriots had lost; it was how they lost. Yesterday's loss was very "un-Patriot" like, i.e 12 turnovers (six false starts) and an illegal hands to the face penalty on linebacker Roosevelt Colvin which wiped out an interception that would have brought the Pats into Panthers territory. The defending champs struggled in every aspect yesterday, even in special teams, giving up a 76-yard return to Chris Gamble. Here are some of the many problems the Pats were faced with in yesterday's embarrassing loss down in Charlotte.
Offense Sputtered Often
The very unusual anemic running game under Cory Dillon splattered against a gigantic wall again yesterday, rushing for only 36 yards on 14 tries. Yesterday's performance from Dillon made week 1's production (23 att, 63 yds) against the Raiders look like a vintage Walter Payton game you see on ESPN Classic. That's how bad Cory was yesterday; it came to a point where I actually didn't want to see the ball given to him. Now when your saying that about your Pro-Bowl running back, you have problems. As far as Tom Brady is concerned, he seemed very un-relaxed in the pocket, going 23-44 in passing (270 yds) while throwing for only one touchdown (Daniel Graham) and one costly interception (Will Witherspoon). Brady saw multiple looks from the Panthers defense, seeing a 4-3, 3-4, 4-4, it had to have been confusing to see all of these fronts changing so often. Every time Tom dropped back into the passing lane, he seemed to have been rushed; he could never get a clear look down-field; he was both under-throwing and over-throwing his receivers; that's something that you never see Brady do. Give Panther's head coach John Fox alot of credit, he did something that only three teams have done in the last 36 games, confuse Brady and more importantly, beat the Patriots.
Panthers Offense on the Prowl?
Surprisingly enough, the Panthers offense wasn't really locked into high gear yesterday. What they did receive, however, was a gutsy, but yet productive outing from running back Stephen Davis (77 yds, 3 td's). His performance, despite not being to flashy in the yardage department, did the trick for the Panthers offense. QB Jake Delhomme went an abysmal 11-26 in the passing department, only throwing for 154 yards, and no touchdowns; I must admit, however, his best throw of the day came with 6:08 remaining in the forth quarter as he hit Pats linebacker Mike Vrabel right in between numbers for a 24-yard interception return for a touchdown. Yesterday's game proved that you don't need your quarterback to be in sync in order to win, Stephen Davis and place kicker John Kasay's (2 fg's) performance paved the way for an important Panthers victory, bumping them to .500 at 1-1.
Pats Defense Tough, But Overshadowed by Costly Penalties/Injuries
The Champs played a decent "wack-and-smack" defense yesterday, it was a shame that the tough defensive performance was overshadowed by to many penalties and mistakes. No matter what the score or the situation was, the Pats definetly weren't out-muscled, matching the Panthers hit for hit. The main achilles heal for the Pats defense yesterday was that they couldn't bounce back from the mental, not physical errors. The Pats were also struck by the injury bug again, this time it was cornerback Randall Gay going down with an ankle injury in the second quarter; he did not return. The injury left the Pats with only three healthy cornerback's: Asante Samuel, Duane Starks, and Ellis Hobbs, while Tyrone Poole, James Sanders, and Chad Scott still remain injured from week 1. Talk about a depleted defensive backfield...
That'll wrap things up for this week's column, make sure you check me out next week as I'll have a summary of the showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Look for Cory Dillon to break out of his shell, I have a good feeling about him for next week. Well, he better do good or else I'll heavily consider sending him to the unemployment line in my fantasy league. My prediction, you ask? Ok, I'll go with Pats over the Steelers 24-17. There you go, you happy? If you want to send me some loving, then hit up my email.
See you all next for another edition of Stats on Pats Weekly. Feel free to email me your questions or comments at patsstats@southcoast247.com.
What surprised me the most in yesterday's 27-17 loss to the Carolina Panthers was not the fact that the Patriots had lost; it was how they lost. Yesterday's loss was very "un-Patriot" like, i.e 12 turnovers (six false starts) and an illegal hands to the face penalty on linebacker Roosevelt Colvin which wiped out an interception that would have brought the Pats into Panthers territory. The defending champs struggled in every aspect yesterday, even in special teams, giving up a 76-yard return to Chris Gamble. Here are some of the many problems the Pats were faced with in yesterday's embarrassing loss down in Charlotte.
