Editor’s Note: Andy Gresh will be part of The Providence Journal’s Patriots coverage for the season. “Gresh’s Grades” will appear each week in print, on providencejournal.com/sports, and on 630wpro.com following a Patriots game.
This is the outcome I talked about this week on the radio. Luck and that offense aren’t the same. Part of that is Luck himself, some of it is the talent around him, and some of it is what defenses do against them. Offensively for the Patriots, it was another step forward. They’ll enjoy this ‘mini-bye’ weekend.
QUARTERBACK— A
Both of Brady’s interceptions were aided by mistakes by the respective receivers. The offense was in rhythm all night as was Brady. He got comfortable and off to a quick start. His ball handling is excellent and underrated. He doesn’t give token play fakes, he really carries them out, and when you run the ball the way they did it makes those fakes that much more effective.
RUNNING BACKS— A
I’ve been a big proponent of, ‘just wait’, on Sony Michel. His ability to bounce to the outside makes him, and this running game, so dangerous. He is a modern day back who has the potential to be a 3 down player. James White underneath killed the Colts all night. They also paired him in formation at times with Josh Gordon and found a lot of open space.
WIDE RECEIVERS— B
The turnover by Hogan knocks the grade down. Julian Edelman looked great. His lateral movement was good, he had burst after the catch, and showed no hesitancy because of the knee. His drop in the 1st quarter really hurt the momentum. He’ll get that fixed. The Gordon play isn’t big in terms of success, it’s big because that’s the first time Brady has treated Gordon like he’s 2007 Randy Moss.
TIGHT END— A+
I thought Gronk looked great playing through an ankle. He also gets open in the play-action game because he works hard as a run blocker. An often forgotten part of his game. Dwayne Allen has been great 2 weeks in a row. He’s making a big impact on the success of the running game.
OFFENSIVE LINE— A+
Best overall game of the year. No sacks allowed and only allowed Brady to be hit 3 times, and one was a 15-yard penalty. The Colts can always be run on and this game was no exception. This group also found out its a helluva lot easier to pass protect when the ball is coming out so quickly. Good work on short rest.
DEFENSIVE LINE— B+
The score helped them in the running game as the Colts had to throw to try and stay in it. The pass rush was intermittent and that’s because the Colts themselves were getting it out quick. They did get pressure that led to turnovers. Just like the offensive line, good work on short rest.
LINEBACKERS— B
Overall, solid in handling the run game. But there were some issues in the flats and in short yardage against Eric Ebron. The late TD was because Hightower got sucked in on play action. There were some issues in dealing with running backs in the flats, and that may be becoming a bigger issue across the league.
DEFENSIVE BACKS— B-
I thought Jason McCourty played well and may be settling into becoming a part of this defense. His brother had some issues in dealing with Eric Ebron and he made a choice or two out there that was very curious. Chung was active and looks good after the concussion. I think some of the 4th quarter issues was having played 34 minutes coming off a very short week.
SPECIAL TEAMS— A-
The punt return team let up the one big return by Rodgers, but otherwise, there wasn’t much to analyze. Gostkowski pounded it out of the end zone on kickoffs and made his kicks. Allen punted well. And it was good to have Edelman in the punt return game.
3 Things to Watch For
1 Health depending, the Patriots now have very good WR depth.
2 The secondary has played pretty well overall the last 2 games. How will Eric Rowe fit in once healthy?
3 The Chiefs will be hurting after this weeks game at Jacksonville, expect a big first quarter from the Pats next Sunday vs. KC.
“The Gresh Show” airs each weeknight on 99.7FM and AM 630 WPRO from 6 to 9 p.m. Article originally posted to The Providence Journal on Sep 24, 2018.
