The New England Patriots are back, but they have been overshadowed a bit because they played a bad team in the new orleans Saints. The Chiefs looked amazing behind another great performance from Kareem Hunt, and we are still talking about how bad The Chiefs made them look in week one. The Patriots are obviously back to form, but we have to wonder if they will have enough talent to sustain a long season of playing good teams.
They got a gift
You can only play the teams on your schedule, but it is clear that the Patriots got a gift when they were scheduled to play the Saints.
The game was relatively easy for the Patriots, and the Saints were clearly distracted by the fact that they were not happy with each other on the sidelines. It is clear that Adrain Peterson and Sean Payton are not best friends, and the Patriots walked all over a team in New Orleans that is too busy squabbling with itself.
A hard schedule
The Patriots have a hard schedule that could reveal chinks in the armor that they have built up over time. At the very least, the Chiefs gave us a blueprint for beating this team badly. We watched it in week one, and other teams can use that blueprint if they have a good defense. We know that the defense in New Orleans is terrible, and that is why they lost the game.
The offense could not get on the field enough, and the Patriots took advantage of that. The Patriots have a lot harder teams left to play, and they could be in trouble if they are playing really good teams a few weeks in a row. How could they be in trouble after I said they were in good shape? That is because Rob Gronkowski got hurt again.
Compare to the Raiders and Chiefs
The Raiders and Chiefs look a lot better than the Patriots overall right now, and that is partly due to the fact that the Chiefs just beat the Patriots in week one. The Raiders have had two very good performances, and the Patriots will have to get through one of these teams to get back to the Super Bowl.
The Raiders and Chiefs have to angle to ensure they are not caught from behind by a surging Broncos team, and this could make their whole division a lot stronger. How do the Patriots compete with teams like that when their own division is so bad? Spending nearly half the year playing bad teams does not make you a better team.
No panicking yet
This writer is not calling for full-scale panic in New England, but it is safe to wonder what will happen when the schedule gets harder. There is real competition in the AFC this season.
