Pats Starters Impress Again

When the Patriots kicked off on national television tonight for their preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons, #83 was suited up and ready to go. Just about 8 months removed from major surgery on his knee, Wes Welker is back in the slot for the Patriots.

Welker was targeted on the first three consecutive pass attempts by quarterback Tom Brady, making it clear that Bill Belichick and this offense has no intentions of easing Welker back into the mix. He's ready to go now. He looked pretty comfortable overall. The Pats offense marched straight down the field on that first drive and capped it off with a big 28-yard touchdown run from Fred Taylor, who was the first-team halfback tonight. Taylor showed his stuff well, running hard and telling the world that his tank isn't empty just quite yet. After a three-and-out on the Patriots following possession, they manned an 11-play drive down the field on their third offensive series that ultimately finished with another score. Tom Brady fired a perfectly-placed ball to the back side of rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez, who spun off his coverage and hauled it in for the touchdown. Much like in the preseason opener, our first-team offense looked ready to compete with the best.

The first-team defense didn't look quite as staggering as they did last week in Foxboro, but that old bend-but-don't-break defense we saw in the beginning of the decade was in full swing tonight. Matt Ryan and his Falcons moved the ball well on their first possession, but it was cut short at the 29 and forced a 46-yard field goal from kicker Matt Bryant. On the next series, New England forced a punt. On the final series for the first team, they forced another long field goal attempt that Bryant ultimately missed from 47 yards. Rookie cornerback Devin McCourty continues to quiet some of the critics who considered his draft selection unfitting for the team. McCourty is contesting for a starting cornerback role, making some terrific plays and proving himself to be a capable four-down player. Patrick Chung looks to be the frontrunner for taking the vacant starting safety spot opposite pro-bowler Brandon Merriweather, but James Sanders will also be in the mix for that job. Overall, it's been a good go of it thus far in the preseason for this Patriots defense.

The backups are into the game now as we approach halftime. My main concern was on seeing New England's first team on both sides of the ball start clicking. In what seems like a promising development, those teams are doing just that.