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For a team that was just a couple of weeks ago, their standards are pretty high. Particularly offensively.
They've won in back-to-back weeks and scored 38 points in back-to-back games, goal Tom Brady wants more.
"Brady told WEEI 's Kirk and Callahan Show" If you look back at the first five games we're giving away too many scoring opportunities. "That's limiting our points, I thought we should have gotten out of there, at least, maybe more."
Brady more than held up against the Colts in Week 5, and the grades reflect that. But he knows that he is going to have a lot to do to keep up with him.
"When we play a team like Kansas City, we have to take advantage of every scoring opportunity because we know they are," Brady said. "They've gotten to get along, they're distributing to their making, getting into the end zone."
Before we take a Sunday night fireworks show, let's get to the grades from the Colts game. . . .
QUARTERBACK: A-
Not much to nitpick here. The second play of the game was an odd one, where it seemed like Brady had Chris Hogan for an easy first down – Hogan was uncovered at the line and practically waving for the football – goal for James White for no gain . And on his team's first drive in the second quarter, he was on the ball for the Colts played coverage and took away short stuff, leading to a quick punt. But otherwise, he was tremendous. Even Brady's picks – which should have been Hogan and Rob Gronkowski's catches – were good throws. The interception intended for Gronkowski was exactly where Brady wanted to go with football (and exactly where he should have gone). He kept him out of harm's way, not unlike the 19-yard play-action Completion Brady hit on Gronkowski earlier in the game. Incomplete on a slant to Josh Gordon was thrown low and behind, but only because Gordon overran what looked like the soft spot in the Colts area. Julian Edelman was easy money for Brady against that coverage (though he dropped a good throw from Brady down the sideline), as was James White. The Patriots schemed things up nicely against the Colts zones, using misdirection, play-action and one fine fake screen to get defenders moving in the wrong direction, and Brady made them pay with his accuracy. Tack on a quarterback sneak touchdown for good measure and this was Brady's top performance of 2018.
RUNNING BACK: A-
There's been a lot of chatter about just how much Edelman's return will impact Gronkowski, but having another talented player on the field has a domino effect for all of Brady's targets. White has been very good, but with Edelman back on the field, things open up even more for him. His touchdown grab came when Brady looked to the side of training where Gronkowski and Edelman were situated, forced the defense back to his trusty back. White's 10 receptions were a regular-season high. Sony Michel (pictured) continue to do his best work between the tackles. He had a 16-yard run in the second where he set up his blocks effectively and showed patience. On his next run, he was hit three yards behind the line yet still picked up three. He ran hard and gained 66 of his 98 yards after contact, including a chunk of his 34-yard touchdown when he stiff-armed a defensive back to the underworld. Michel also had a timely blitz pickup, allowing Brady to find Gronkowski for a gain of six. The only reason for this is the fact that Michel is on the field. He was stopped short of the line in the second. He also had two runs to the edge where he could not beat Colts defenders. He almost failed to outrun a defensive end on a third-and-one play in the red zone when the defensive end had to flip his hips to turn and chase. That should be a race Michel, especially with a head of steam, easily.
RECEIVER: B
Edelman's return was a game-changer for Brady and the Patriots offense. Having a player who understands coverages and where does he pay? As a group Brady's receivers caught 17 of their 21 targets, which is typically a fine number, but an Edelman drop, two botched Gordon roads, and a pick that should've been to help all dock this grade significantly. Gordon's scramble-drill score was proof of Brady's trust (pictured: Gordon celebrating his touchdown with Hogan), and perhaps more than 18 snaps it is played each of the last two weeks. Hogan saw 63 snaps but that number may diminish. There were two instances where it was odd he did not see the ball: The second play of the game, mentioned above, and on Gordon's touchdown. Play-action sucked up the linebacker on Hogan 's side, and Brady' s eyes were initially on Gordon, moving the single – high safety to that side of the field. Had he come back to Hogan, he might have had an easy on-schedule score. Brady did not pull the trigger and it was Gordon who caught the 500th TD pass of the QB's career. This was our group's best day blocking. Solid day overall, but plenty of room to improve.
TIGHT END: B
This group is best done in the blocking game. (As always, we include James Develin here.) Develin and Gronkowski (pictured) Combined for punishing blocks on a third-and-one picked up by Michel in the early going. Gronkowski also had a perfect "wham" block early in the second on Michel's 14-yard scamper. Gronkowski's kick-out block on Michel's touchdown run was also a thing of beauty. His drop-turned-pick and false start bring this grade down, but he has a fine look and he finished with 75 yards on six grabs. Gordon and Edelman will help you get your hands on the road.
OFFENSIVE LINE: A-
The Colts came into the game with the second-highest sack total in football, and they did so without blitzing (they were only 14 percent of the time coming into the game). Aim Dante Scarnecchia's unit kept them off the board Thursday. Was it perfect? Nope. Joe Thuney, Shaq Mason, and Marcus Cannon, all allowed stuffed runs. Cannon and David Andrews were flagged twice each. Thuney allowed a pair of hits and Trent Brown allowed one. Still, there was more than bad here. Athleticism on the interior helped create two positive screen plays, and Michel's touchdown run was a clinic. Brown and Thuney combined to dominate two players on the offensive left, Mason pulled to eliminate a third. Good day against an underrated front.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-
First, the good. Edelman (pictured) gave the punt-return group some life with a 15-yard early return. Michel had a nice kick back for 26 yards that bumped this grade. Stephen Gostkowski drilled a 45-yarder and Ryan Allen had a first-quarter punt fair-caught at the Indy 6. The blemishes? Edelman forces three missed tackles. Nate Ebner missed a tackle on the Colts' 33-yard punt return in the third that helped set up a touchdown. And Gostkowski failed to place a pooch deep in Indy territory after the Colts were penalized on a second-quarter kick. He blasted it into the end zone – Jason McCourty was aligned incorrectly. That thong of mistakes had to be made by the patriots to be better off with their own.
DEFENSIVE LINE: B +
Adrian Clayborn had an up-and-down first, but the Patriots benefitted from an "up" performance from their pass-rushing end. He finished the game with a team-high five hurries, he drew a penalty, and he tallied a hit that forced Andrew Luck into an interception by Patrick Chung. Adam Butler (the "T" of their "TE" stunt), who has a strong game against the past, a sniffing out of a screen for force an incomplete, batting down a pass, and creating two hurries of his own. The Patriots lost Malcom Brown to injury after just 21 snaps (pictured), goal Danny Shelton stepped up with strong game against the run. Deatrich Wise had a hit and a hurry, but was a little too bad at times in the passing game, as was Lawrence Guy. Trey Flowers continues to be solid, slicing the Colts line to split with Chung. He had an offsides penalty, but like it, like Brown, broke up a screen play.
LINEBACKER: B +
Can we include Chung in this group? We will not, but we will explain why that is even a consideration in a minute. Dont'a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy (pictured) were both very strong against Indy's anemic running game. Van Noy seems to be doing a good job of crashing down the line of scrimmage to make plays as a stand-up backside defender. He had four positive plays in the run and notched three pressures. Hightower had a run-of-a-box stuff, and he also spoke to Chung just before Chung's sack, seemingly pointing to the gap to fill with Flowers stunting to the inside. Every week Hightower shows his value as a traffic cop in the middle. Elandon Roberts played 41 snaps, including 28 in coverage, allowing four catches for 35 yards. On one third-and-five in the first quarter, his drop-off after the sticks and Luck hit the vacated area for a first down. Hard to know if that was Roberts or Hightower, who was chasing in coverage, but that was a slight blow to this grade on what was overall a good day.
SECONDARY: B +
On re-watching this one, some of the coverage breakdowns were not as bad as they seemed. A few were tip-your-cap as Luck squeezed good throws into tight windows. Devin McCourty might have had Eric Ebron's touchdown back, since Ebron's road was not all that crisp, but Erik Swoope's was a great throw and catch. McCourty was right there and made a good attempt to break it up. He also had a nice breakup on Nyheim Hines on third down to force a punt, and he made one of the best individual plays of the season to simply rip off from Jordan Wilkins for a turnover. Stephon Gilmore lost Chester Rogers on one snap (which Rogers finished off with a drop), but otherwise he had three breakups and a near pick for another strong performance. Jason McCourty was also solid, despite being tested early and often in the red zone by Luck. His one deflection turned into an easy pick for Jonathan Jones. If there was a defensive back who was not really interested in eye-opening throws but miscues in coverage, it was Jones. Rogers in particular seemed to have a little issue creating separation there. Chung (pictured), meanwhile, showed why he's so valuable. He had a sack as a pass-rusher. He had a pick in coverage. And he mixed it up in the runner game at the second level like he was a linebacker. The Patriots ran a number of what looked like 3-4 (or 3-3) looks with Chung as one of the backers, where he – as usual – took on players much larger. He had one run on the middle of the field, using his help to get him off the hook, and later on in the game.
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