Patriots Get Over Denver And Look Forward To Philadelphia
By Gregory Hunt
After last's week's 30-24 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, the New England Patriots are looking to get back to their winning ways when they face the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. The Eagles have struggled to a 4-7 record so far this season, but both quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick are taking Philadelphia very seriously.
Brady moves on from Denver
Following New England's loss to Denver, there was quite of bit of talk about the quality of the officiating in that game. Former NFL quarterback and current football analyst Boomer Esiason was one critic, saying, "It seemed like the entire fourth quarter there was a yellow flag on the field, and when it was thrown, it was against the Patriots. The whole thing was spiraling out of control."
Brady wasn't entirely happy with the officiating either. Hours after the game, he pointed out he thought wide receiver Brandon LaFell was "hooked" by a defender on the first play of overtime, but no flag was thrown on the play. He also disagreed with an offensive pass interference call made on tight end Rob Gronkowski earlier in the game, although he still refused to pin New England's loss on the officials.
"I'm certainly not going to sit here and blame the officiating. Some days you get the calls, some days you don't," said Brady.
By the time he gave a press conference at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday, he had shifted his attention to the Eagles.
"We're just going to try to do our job. We'll let them do the officiating," said Brady. "I've calmed down a little bit. And we've moved on from that game because we're facing a great opponent this week in the Eagles, and we're going to have to be at our best."
Belichick praises Philadelphia
This season has been a tough one for the Eagles, but if you were to ignore Philadelphia's record and listen to Belichick, you'd think the Patriots were about to play the best offense in the NFL.
"Offensively, it's probably as good a group of skill players as I've seen," said Belichick at a Wednesday press conference. "They're at least two deep and more really at some positions on all the skill positions; quarterback, running back, tight end, receiver. They've got big receivers who do a good job after the catch. They have the ability to get the ball down the field and make big plays."
In reality, the Eagles are ranked 12th in the league in total offense, 16th in passing and 13th in rushing.
Belichick also singled out several members of the Philadelphia defense for praise. He pointed out that safeties Walter Thurmond and Malcolm Jenkins are both converted cornerbacks, just like New England safety Devin McCourty, and he admired the speed of linebackers DeMeco Ryans, Kiko Alonso and Mychal Kendricks.
"Defensively, it's a very active defense," said Belichick. "They have a good secondary, a lot of experience back there, but their front is very disruptive. Their defensive linemen, outside linebackers, defensive ends, whatever you want to call them depending on what they're in, they're very disruptive. They have a lot of movement, and it's very explosive."
Gregory Hunt is a Boston native and a life-long fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. He's also particularly fond of lacrosse, IndyCar racing and women's college basketball. He currently works for Examiner.com where he serves as the Senior Manager of Content and Media Access. He also writes for Examiner.com as the New England Patriots Examiner. His work can be found on Examiner.com.