Patriots encouraged by the depth of 2018 rush

FOXBORO – Coming off the two-minute caution, the Patriots took a seven-point lead and had the ball at their own 27s against a second and eighth.

The Texans, with their three timeouts, needed a stop and the Patriots' offense – having only managed two field goals in the second period – needed to get things moving.

Tom Brady took the picture and looked for Rob Gronkowski. Covered. Brady kept wandering around, trailing a little, running left, waiting for Gronk to discover. He could not. Finally, Brady looked at the right touchline and snatched a dart from the back of James Develin in the flat. Develin won – his fourth win of the day – and the Patriots won 10. The Texans had to burn all their timeouts before recovering the ball within one minute of the starting line. concluded with a minimum of drama after that.

There is a lot to be learned from this game. First of all, Brady, 41, showed a mobility he did not really have at the beginning of this decade. Secondly, all the strength and precision of the arm that is supposed to diminish when approaching the "cliff" that has been talked about a lot is still there. Thirdly, there is no one else but Brady wants to pass in front of Gronk and it is that he has not been more effective with a player with whom he worked during his 19 years in the league. Fourth, James Develin with the match on the line? Not Jordan Matthews or Kenny Britt or Eric Decker or Malcolm Mitchell, who all cleared the list last month. Brady throws himself in the back when he can not find Gronk. And he made it work.

The Patriots are 1-0, as they played very well on defense and protected Brady to a great extent. But more than anything else, they are 1-0 because their two renegades at work – which one tried to negotiate in April, the other they hoped to replace by Jimmy Garoppolo – are still there.

And wherever this team goes this season, she'll do it thanks to Brady and Gronkowski. This is the disturbing truth behind all this. Do not worry about the return match. Do not worry about linebackers. Worry about the back, the wide receivers and the depth of the extremities. But do not worry about the most powerful offensive combination of the game.

They will introduce themselves and take care of their business when it counts. And Brady will make sure that no matter who has been given, he will whip if he has to.

Brady said after the game that he did not have the luxury of spreading out on a curve and giving smiley stickers to get things right around him. The level of expectation can not be "pretty good for a new guy …"

"I think that's the goal of playing football," said Brady. "It's not" Oh, this guy, it's his level of expectation. That's what we should put the expectations of the team. "

"If you play in the slot machine, you have to play as well as any slot receiver we've ever had. If you play on the perimeter, you have to play as well as any receiver we've ever had – tight end, quarterback, backtrack … "And guys can play at this level. I think you can not sit here and say, well, it does not matter because you're not here yet. correct guys and you must correct yourself and have great expectations for yourself, and that is how you expect a lot from the team.

Brady pitched Gronkowski eight times on Sunday, completing seven goals for 123 yards and one touchdown. Gronk also caught a 14-yard interference in the first period.

Even though everyone on the planet knew that Gronk was the key to slowing down the Patriots' attack, Brady was determined to go to the player he trusted the most.

Even when he was covered while Gronk was late in the first period, Brady found him for a big win.

"I was going up the track," said Gronk. "I had two guys on me and when I saw the ball in the air, I literally thought of the first thing," What does Tom think? When this ball was in the air, a guy caught me and I thought, "I just have to go." I can not let them play, so I just went straight to the point. make the catch. I did the catch. I do not know how. When I went to the ground, I had it steady in my hand, so it was really a catch, but Tom went very quickly on the line just to be sure.

A message was sent by Brady Sunday with these launches to Gronkowski, intentional or not. This message was: "Let's not forget what we are capable of. Do not underestimate us. Do not worry about taking care of our business. Do not wish us

Was it received? Well, it was interesting to hear Bill Belichick talk about it in a more laudable language than he has used for a long time.

"These are two great players," Belichick said. "Both have a lot of skills, both very good in what they do. They do not need much to finish the passes. We see it every day at training camp and in practice. They are both really good. Rob is hard to cover and Tom can put the ball where only Rob can get it and Rob can get a lot. I'm glad we have them. These are two great players.

Without a doubt.