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Brady, Patriots keep rolling

Tyler O’ Keefe

Connector Contributor

The 2015 “revenge tour” stopped at Gillette Stadium this past Thursday and, like the prior six games this season, it ended with another win for the home team. The Patriots stomped the Dolphins 36 to 7 to remain undefeated.

Brady had that look in his eyes that he has had all season long. He is taking out his frustration on his opponents to show the people who believe the Patriots are “cheaters” that they are wrong. It is hard to believe at age 38 he is playing arguably the best football of his career.

Patriots fans are not surprised, as the team is fully healthy besides a few offensive linemen, although Brady seems to make it work with whoever is blocking for him. It’s a little early to be calling for a perfect season, but when you look at the schedule, who is going to beat them?

Brady on the season has 2410 yards passing with a 115.8 passer rating. He has thrown 20 touchdowns to only one Julian Edelman dropped interception. It is very difficult to stop this offense with weapons like Edelman, Dion Lewis, Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola and Brandon Lafell. They spread defenses out and make them look silly.

On the road in Denver or in the Meadowlands against the Jets could be scares, but the reality is that the Patriots should be favored in those games.

The front seven of the Patriots has looked absolutely amazing over the past few weeks. They are constantly putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks and making them very uncomfortable in the pocket. It seems that linebackers Jamie Collins and Donte Hightower have made the leap to being elite stars in this league. They are playing at a very high level, which spells trouble for the competition.

Questions concerned Patriots fans before the season with how the secondary would play without Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Kyle Arrington and Alfonzo Dennard. Those concerns have slowly faded with the secondary constant progression towards a high level.

After making one of the craziest plays in Super Bowl history, Malcolm Butler was expected to be the Patriots best cornerback for this season. Butler is following number-one receivers around all game long and is doing it very well. He has been matched up with studs like Antonio Brown, Ty Hilton and Brandon Marshall on the season and has played all of them very tough. He is not somebody that teams can expose every week, as he is a very good cornerback with a lot of upside.

It definitely helps when All-Pro safety Devin McCourty is looking over your shoulder. The longtime Patriot is also having a very good season, per usual.

The fact of the matter is that the Pats offense is a well-oiled machine that won’t be stopping anytime soon barring any key injuries. Brady is on a mission this year, making statements week in and week out. Teams on this “revenge tour” are in for a rude awakening if they are not prepared when they play the Patriots. 

If this defense can keep up their solid play, the Patriots will be the heavy favorite to represent the AFC in Super Bowl 50. If they do get there, then the result very well could be Brady and Bill Belichick winning a record fifth title together.

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