Patriots-Dolphins Highs and Lows: Brady Sets Franchise Record
BOSTON (CBS) -WBZ-TV's Levan Reid breaks down the New England Patriots season opener down in Miami quarter by quarter.
Final Thoughts
- Tom Brady is on a mission and he's taking the young tight ends with him. His 517 yards is just remarkable, and a franchise record. It eclipses Drew Bledsoe's 426 yards against the Vikings in 1994. It's the fifth highest total in NFL history. Tom Terrific is truly picking up right where he left off.
- As for the tight ends, Aaron Hernandez has seven receptions for 103 yards while Rob Gronkowski had six for 86 yards. Both found the endzone as well.
- Devin McCourty had a tough time with Brandon Marshall but he never stopped competing. Marshall is a tough match up for anyone in this league and McCourty never got frustrated and had an okay game.
- Rookie Ras-I Dowling played almost every snap and had a great game. So did Nate Solder, who filled in for the injured Sebastian Vollmer.
- The defense is behind the offense, but they weren't that bad. We need to see more Shaun Ellis. We may have over-sold him just a bit...
- Matthew Slater and Julian Edelman had very good games. Slater has a deep threat role and Edelman did a great job returning kicks.
- Chad has seen game speed, so hopefully he will get a feel for how fast the Pats play in the no huddle. He had just one catch for 14 yards in the opener. Brady threw his way three times.
-The Patriots defense got after Chad Henne, but they need some more sacks when they have the quarterback in the grasp.
Overall it was a good first game. Far from perfect, but Bill Belichick will make sure to point out all that went wrong, and get it fixed.
Third Quarter
The Highs:
- Dan Connolly has moved over to play center for the injured Dan Koppen, and has filled in nicely. Tom Brady still has plenty of time to do his thing.
- The Pats get the ball back after a Miami turnover and Brady answers. This was a Brady to Branch drive, but Wes Welker got the touchdown catch. The Pats are running the no-huddle, and it is killing Miami.
- The Dolphins get the ball to the 2-yard line but the Pats defense holds. They stuff Reggie Bush on one play and stop Brandon Marshall on two others. McCourty and rookie Ras-I Dowling are having good battles with Marshall.
- The Pats end the quarter with a touchdown. Big pass play to Hernandez, followed by a touchdown in the back of the endzone. Brady is having a field day with his tight ends.
The Lows:
- Brady was intercepted on New England's first possession of the third quarter. On a quick screen, Bennie Sapp interrupted the pass and Jared Odrick snagged it out of the air. It led to a Chad Henne pass to Brian Hartline for a touchdown.
- After Welker's touchdown, the Dolphins come out and torched the Pats secondary. Chad Henne goes 22-yards to Marshall and 25 to tight end Anthony Fasano.
Pats up 28-17 after three
Second Quarter
The Highs:
-The Pats start the second quarter with the ball and they find the endzone. Brady to Gronk, touchdown. Brady started the game a perfect 8 for 8. Gronk finished the half with 5 catches for 71 yards and a touchdown.
- On the Dolphins first possession of the quarter the Patriots defense holds. Dane Fletcher had a good one-on-one tackle on Reggie Bush to force 4th down.
- The protection on Tom Brady is very good. #12 has had tons of time, with rookie Nate Solder having a good game in his NFL debut.
- Chad Ochocinco get his first catch as a member of the Patriots, a nice shoe-string grab as he heads out of bounds, with about a minute to go in the half. Good to see Ocho get one under the belt.
The Lows:
- On the Dolphins first possession of the quarter, the Pats get pressure but don't get to Henne. It turns into a 16-yard passing play on third down.
- On a quarter back sneak in the 2 minute drill, Pats center Dan Koppen suffers a leg injury and had to be carted off. Not good news for an already thin offensive line.
- Brady gets sacked as the Pats are driving to end the half, followed by Stephen Gostkowski missing a field goal. The 48-yard attempt wasn't even close.
Pats up 14-7 at the half
First Quarter
The Highs:
- Some newcomers chipping in early. Andre Carter gets a sack on first and goal, and Albert Haynesworth with an arm tackle on second and goal.
- On the Pats first possession, Tom Brady hits Matthew Slater on a 46 yard post-pattern, the first reception by Slater in his career. It leads to a great third down catch by Rob Gronkowski and then BenJarvus Green-Ellis with a strong 5-yard run for a touchdown. The offense has come out firing. Brady perfect of the drive, three-for-three.
- On the Dolphins second possession, the Pats defense holds. Miami goes three-and-out. Linebacker Rob Ninkovich with a good open field tackle on Reggie Bush on third down to force a punt.
Read: Levan Reid's Patriots Blog
- On New England's second possession they are moving the ball down the field on the Dolphins. They are using the no huddle and have Miami gassed as the quarter come to an end.
The Lows:
- Dolphins get the ball first and they march right down the field. First play was for 25 yards and the second for 16. No Albert Haynesworth seven plays in. He gets in on a 4th and 1 play for the Dolphins and Miami gets the first down; going right up the gut. The Patriots applied little pressure on Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne, who takes a QB draw for a touchdown. The Dolphins first drive drive took 7 minutes and 18 seconds.
- The Pats offense gets the ball for a second time, and a big play was nullified by a penalty on Chad Ochocinco.
Game tied 7-7 after First Quarter
