Skip to main content

Three Things to Watch This Week - Week 2

The New England Patriots play Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks at Gillette Stadium on Sunday September 15th at 1:00 PM.

Rhamondre was running through dudes.

Considering how low my expectations were for week 1 and the season in general, I'm going to classify that first game as "delightful".

Can you win with a conservative, run first offense and an aggressive defense in 2024? Maybe!

HBO David Show Runners Power Rankings:

1) Chase

2) Simon

3) Milch

4) Larry

5) Benioff


Here are three things that were pretty good in week 1:

1) Rhamondre Stevenson - Game ball for Stevenson. I know we're in an era where the running game has been deprecated, but he's an absolute beast.

2) Jacoby Brissett - He's never going to blow anyone away, but just being "steady" and "adequate" felt like a huge improvement over what we saw last season.

3) The offensive line took a huge leap from what we saw in the pre-season. Thanks, David Andrews!


Dad Rock Jam of the Week

Screaming Trees - Nearly Lost You


My prediction: Patriots 14, Seahawks 17

***  

This week Thursday Morning Third Down Back is pleased to welcome Special Agent Dana Scully.

As we become older, we sometimes loose sight of what once fascinated us by the world around us. It is our job not to grow cynical, and to not let that face in the mirror become the kind of person that our younger selves would see as a stranger. Thus we seek out fellow travelers on our journey. We share each other's triumphs and burdens, in an effort to lessen the pain and extend these moments of joy.

And so, while unexpected and surprising though it may be, we cannot classify the Patriots week 1 victory over the Bengals as an X-File at this time.

***

(Thursday Morning Third Down Back is never written with AI or sponsored by foreign governments.)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Three Things to Watch This Week - Week 1

The first place New England Patriots play the Oakland   Los Angeles   Oakland  Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette on Sunday September 7th at 1:00 PM. Patriot first round pick tackle Will Campbell. Douglas Power Rankings: 1) Adams 2) DeMario 3) Michael  4) The Lincoln–Douglas debates 5) Illeana  After back to back 4 - 13 seasons, you are allowed to feel a little skeptical about this team. What do we, as Patriots fans, have to look forward to in 2025? Returning:  Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf is somehow still here. Last year, the two wide receivers he drafted in 2024 combined for 13 catches. And one of them is no longer with the team. I'm against it. Coach Mike Vrabel. His career record as a coach is 56–48. This was seen as a significant upgrade over what we had in place. Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels. He's back! Again! Not returning: Coach Jerod Mayo. It was both a bad situation AND he didn't do a great job with it. That's ba...

2025 Three Things to Watch This Week - Week 2

The last place New England Patriots play the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday September 14th at 1:00 PM. They should have kept Jakobi. Joy Power Rankings 1) Anya Taylor 2) Formidable 3) of Cooking 4) Division 5) to the World I don't know what I was expecting for the first game under the new regime, but that wasn't it. Was there anything to feel good about last week? Here's what I've got off the top of my head. 1) Kayshon Boutte had a solid six catches for 103. That's nice! 2) Free agent signing Harold Landry had two and a half sacks in his Patriots debut. 3) Maybe we'll have a top five pick again next year. Also... lots of 1:00 PM games this season. Nice early bed times for everyone. Did the Patriots score 20 points? They did not! Days since the Patriots last score 30 points in a game: 1,063 days (I kid you not.) My prediction: Pats 9, Dolphins 37 *** Thursday Morning Third Down Back is pleased to welcome back special guest columnist Pinhead to shar...

Five Things to Watch This Week - Week 5

The Patriots play their fifth regular season game at Gillette against the Denver Broncos on Sunday October 7th at 4:25 PM. He's gonna get his name in the paper. Oh you know... Just two of the five best QBs of all time playing this weekend.  NBD. I'm no scout... but Peyton has no arm strength left.  Watch how many times he throws the ball more than 15 yards.  I think he's done . I'm huge on the Patriots this week.  Especially if we can keep running the ball like we have been. Sterling Power Rankings: 1) Archer 2) Roger 3) Hayden 4) Moore 5) Ice Cream Bar ... 11,957) John Here's five things I'll be watching for this week: 1) Stevan Ridley - 106 yards and two touch downs last week.  I enjoyed the BenJarvus Green-Ellis era in New England, but I can't remember too many runs he ever had of more than five yards.  Ridley is a little more explosive. 2) Brandon Bolden - 137 yards and a touch down last week.  Welcome to the par...