Patriots Are Halfway Done But Still Have Plenty to Accomplish

Now that the New England Patriots are on their bye week and at the unofficial midpoint of their season, let’s take a look at the 10 biggest story lines that surrounded the team through its first seven games.

10. Former Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan played the Patriots for his first time as a pro, but he’ll likely forget that day pretty quickly. His Falcons fell 26-10 in Week 3 at Gillette Stadium, and Ryan completed 17-of-28 passes for 199 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Not a bad day by any means, but it was a great day for the Patriots defense, which came up big in a crucial game against a tough opponent.

9. Safety Brandon Meriweather has emerged as perhaps the most exciting playmaker on the Patriots’ defense, and he is showcasing the potential he had as a first-round pick out of Miami in 2007. Meriweather had strings of strong play in his first two seasons, but he couldn’t maintain much consistency. This year, he’s been a ball hawk, leading the Patriots with 47 total tackles (26 solo), according to coaches’ film review. He also has two interceptions — both against Tampa Bay, one of which was returned for a touchdown — along with one forced fumble and five passes defensed.

8. It came as a surprise when wide receiver Wes Welker missed two games with a knee injury he suffered during training camp, especially after he played in the season opener against the Bills. Welker, the best slot receiver in the NFL, has impressed with his toughness nearly as much as his receiving skills. Even after missing those two games, Welker leads the Patriots with 46 receptions (9.2 per game). He also has 484 receiving yards and four touchdowns. This stat might be skewed a little, but it’s worth noting that the Patriots have scored 32.6 points per game with Welker in the lineup and 17.5 per game with him on the sideline.

7. Teams that trash talk the Patriots are almost certain losers on Sundays, but that wasn’t the case with the Jets in Week 2. Led by their confident new head coach Rex Ryan, the Jets unleashed a verbal barrage unseen around these parts, but they backed it up with a 16-9 victory against the Pats at Giants Stadium. New York’s win temporarily gave it control of the AFC East, although a recent slide has derailed the Jets’ mojo. If nothing else, it set the stage for a Nov. 22 rematch at Gillette.

6. A series of resounding fist pumps showed Denver’s crowd just how important the Broncos’ Week 5 victory was to head coach Josh McDaniels, who stepped out of Bill Belichick’s shadow — if only for a day — and kept his team’s record perfect. McDaniels outcoached his mentor, particularly in the second half, when the Broncos erased a 10-point deficit and completely neutralized New England’s offense. No one will question McDaniels’ bright future in this business, and against the Patriots, McDaniels earned his first marquee victory as a head coach.

5. Linebacker Adalius Thomas’ pedestrian play this season has been surprising. But nothing was as shocking as his benching for the Patriots’ Week 6 home game against the Tennessee Titans. Belichick was clearly sending a message to his high-profile linebacker, who was deactivated for non-injury reasons for the first time since his rookie season in 2000. Thomas didn’t play a ton in his first game back on Sunday against Tampa Bay because the Patriots used a lot of four-man fronts with nickel packages, so his contributions were limited. Thomas addressed the media following the benching, though, and it was clear he received the message from Belichick, even if he didn’t understand where the coach was coming from.

4. A dead crowd sat on its hands hopelessly watching a sleeping team. The Patriots trailed the Bills, 24-14, in the closing minutes of the season opener at Gillette, and New England looked too rusty to breed any optimism. Then, naturally, Tom Brady told the Patriots they’d win, so they apparently had no choice but to go out and win. Brady threw two touchdown passes to tight end Ben Watson in the final 2:06 to lift the Pats to a 25-24 victory. The Bills aided the comeback, though, as kick returner Leodis McKelvin fumbled the ball when the Bills were about to take possession and try to run out the clock.

3. That comeback temporarily masked a couple of issues the Patriots faced on opening night. One was their overall sloppy play. Another, more importantly, was the right knee injury to star linebacker Jerod Mayo. Initial reports indicated Mayo would be out six to eight weeks, but the 2008 Defensive Rookie of the Year returned in Week 5 against the Broncos, helping to avert the biggest injury scare the team has had since Brady in 2008.

2. The Patriots’ recent string of blowouts has injected some life into this team not seen since 2007. Despite one game in a driving snowstorm and another overseas in London, the Patriots dealt with the elements and abused a pair of dormant teams that would be better suited in the United Football League. They routed the Tennessee Titans by a 59-0 margin before flying to Europe to dispose of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-7. The 94 points the Patriots scored in their last two games is more than the Titans (84), Browns (72), Raiders (62) and Rams (60) have scored all season. It also matches the season output of the Panthers and is two points shy of the Redskins' and Buccaneers' totals.

1. Brady’s return will remain the focus of the 2009 season, for better or worse. As expected, the franchise quarterback has been fighting to stay consistent in his first season back from a devastating left knee injury. He hasn’t experienced any setbacks to this point, and he has improved bit by bit with each passing game. Clearly, Brady has opened it up in the last two contests, as the Patriots have hung 94 points on their opponents.

He is really looking comfortable in the pocket with his footwork, and he is combining that with a strong ability to drive off his back leg to deliver a good pass. Brady has completed 179 of 273 passes for 2,032 yards, 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. And even though Brady has been criticized at times this season for his accuracy, he is completing 65.6 percent of his passes, which would be the second-highest mark of his career.