I just checked out the postgame thread, and I was a bit surprised by the mood of the whole thing. Terrible defense, lack of effort, needs to be whipped into shape etc. Had we watched the same game? To me the result was disappointing, but it’s not like the sky is falling or anything. We are still 3-2 with two soft opponents coming up and signs of progress here and there. 

The team played really well in the first half, IMO. The offense moved the ball effectively and put 17 points on the board against a really good defense. Much like in the Ravens game they couldn’t keep it up for the whole game, but Brady being able to string together a good half is still waaay better than what he did in week 1 and 2. We keep saying it to each other and visiting fans: There is still some rust to be knocked off. It is just hard to watch the rust-knocking in action.

Two things do worry me about the offense: The loss of Matt Light and the inability to throw the deep ball. Light is not one of the best LT in the league and Vollmer looks like a real talent, so we should be good in the long run. The Titans, however, are coming to town on Sunday, not in the long run, and I would just feel better, if Brady had a guy he knows well protecting his blindside as he continues to battle the remaining physical and mental issues.

What is truly lacking from Brady’s game is the deep ball. Moss was wide open and Brady totally overthrew him, and I can’t really remember Brady connecting deep this year. In a way, the offense is a lot like the Cassell-led offense of last year: Moving the ball effectively, but sometime the lack of ability to go deep will be exploited. Will Brady get this part of his game back? I’m not sure. We have seen good drives and even good halves mixed with bad ones, but deep it’s pretty much all been bad.

It is easy to blame the defense for the loss, and let’s be real: It is not a top-five unit. But who expected them to be? IMO they are still better than they have been the past few years, and since the contributors are now young players it is reasonable to expect them to get better instead of declining further. And they didn’t play bad today! They only gave up 17 points in regulation, they helped build an early lead, and they sure didn’t get any help from the offense in the second half. I honestly don’t know how they did this, because there were a lot of missed tackles, third-down conversions, playing off receivers etc. – but the bottom line is still, that they haven’t given up more than 20 points in any game this season.