4 Things I am Watching For

-Secondary. Secondary. Secondary. This is without a doubt the weakest point of the team right now. Our defense has potential as we have a top front 7 in the league, but what can they do without a solid defensive backfield? The DBs played OK against the Titans; nothing more, nothing less. And just OK against a kid making his first start is not going to cut it. Granted, it is not like the Cardinals have a high flying attack, but they should be better than what the Titans were throwing out there. There are question marks everywhere back there. How is Gregory assimilating into the defense? Can he play better than last week? Which McCourty will we see? This is a question that will linger most of the season, but he can help quiet that talk by shutting down Larry Fitzgerald. What is Ras-I Dowling? Can he take over the starting spot from Arrington? Can he live up to his draft status (33rd pick)? Can Tavon Wilson build on his game from last week and continue to improve? A lot to watch for here, as if they can solidify things back there, this team has what it takes to go all the way. This should be the topic of every Patriots discussion, but it is always glossed over, and I do not get why.

-Brady to Lloyd Connection. I want to see some improvement here. That deep ball last game was tantalizingly close. They need to get on the same page and they need to do it fast. I do not want to go through another season of trying to build a rapport with a receiver, only to never get on the same page. Granted, I do not think that will happen, but I want to see more results out of this combo.

Can they pick it up and maybe hit on one of those deep balls?

-Can Ridley Keep it Up? He was the biggest topic coming out of last week, and let us see if he can keep it up. If he can continue to churn out 100 yard rushing games, this offense will be near impossible to stop. One big thing I want to see out of Ridley is more consistency in his rushes. As I noted in my blog post that mysteriously disappeared, 9 out of 21 rushes went for 2 or less yards. I want to see that percentage go down, and see him churn out a more consistent effort. Also, I want to see him lower his pad level a little when he runs. For a big guy, he leaves himself open to some big hits, and those are going to take their tole over the course of the season.

-Welker Snap Count. I am not going to be playing as close of attention to this as others, as I do not see it of as big a story. However, I do want to see if they implement more 3TE sets and how many offensive snaps Edelman gets. Welker needs to take advantage of the reps he IS getting, and not let a ball hit him in the in between the eyes again. His production last game was just a function of less snaps, it was a function of him not producing in the snaps he did have.