In a game where there weren't really a lot of stand-out players, Patriots rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez certainly made his impact felt with a four catch, two touchdown game (and a sixteen yard run on a reverse to go along with it).  While players like Matt Light, Tom Brady, Danny Woodhead, Vince Wilfork, and Jerod Mayo were all in consideration, I ultimately felt that Hernandez deserved the game ball, I'll explain why below.

Dom Capers attempted to slow down the Patriots' pass attack by moving to a lot of tight press coverages.  For the most part, it worked.  Tom wasn't able to pick apart the zone as easily.  And there's no question, this is a copy-cat league, so I would expect a lot of teams to try and copy what the Packers did.

So what is the Patriots answer to those coverages?  In my opinion, the best option the Patriots have is Aaron Hernandez.  When other teams are in man, Hernandez is often matched against linebackers and safeties, players who he can easily beat.  Even when he gets a top cornerback on him, he can still be effective in man coverage with his combination of size, quickness, and speed.  I don't think this was more evident than his touchdown catch in the 2nd quarter, with Packers' all-world cornerback Charles Woodson in man coverage.  

Eventually, teams may have to return to the zone to deal with Hernandez... which will open everything else up for the Patriots.  If the Bills try to go to man on Sunday, look for Aaron Hernandez to get favorable match-ups, and exploit the Bills' defense.

Teams will have to pick their poison.

Another week, another close race for the Sprint Game Ball of the Week.  In my opinion, there were four contenders for the award this week: wide receivers Deion Branch and Wes Welker, cornerback Devin McCourty, and quarterback Tom Brady.  Ultimately, this week, I had to hand out two game balls, or a co-game ball, so to speak.  Tom Brady and Devin McCourty are splitting the award.

Unfortunately for Welker and Branch, the man throwing them the ball, Tom Brady, had a perfect quarterback rating.  Brady was 100% unstoppable working out of the play-action, and was on the money on nearly every throw for the third straight week.  When your quarterback throws four touchdowns, over 300 yards, has just six incompletions, and has a perfect rating, it's hard not to hand him a game ball.  On a side note: At this point, Tom Brady has got to be the consensus for the NFL MVP.

On the other hand, it's hard not to hand rookie cornerback Devin McCourty either.  As you know, McCourty came up with two interceptions, which is impressive in and of itself.  However, McCourty completely shut down his side of the field, and more importantly, came up with the play that shifted the momentum of the game.  Down 17-10, the Lions had all of the momentum and had just picked up a 17 yard gain on the ground.  Enter Devin McCourty.  Lions quarterback Shaun Hill targeted a pass for Calvin Johnson, who was mirrored the whole way by Devin McCourty.  McCourty came up with the big interception, giving the Patriots excellent field position.  The Patriots tied up the game at 17, and the rest was history.

The award for the Sprint Week 11 Game Ball had a few contenders.  Of course, there was Tom Brady who once again was accurate as can be on his way to a 19/24, two touchdown game.  There was also the combination of Danny Woodhead and BenJarvus Green-Ellis at running back, who set the tone for the Patriots offense.

Ultimately, I went with the Patriots player who made a game clinching play for the second straight week.  In week ten against the Steelers, Sanders intercepted a fourth quarter Ben Roethlisberger throw, bringing it to the house, and giving the Pats an insurmountable lead.  This week, with the Colts driving with less than a minute left, James Sanders came up with another game-sealing play.  Thanks in part to a good pass rush from Jermaine Cunningham, Sanders was able to move off of Jacob Tamme,  jump up and snag an errant Peyton Manning pass intended for Pierre Garcon.

It was a huge play.  And it comes down to this: good players make good plays.  James Sanders has been with this Patriots team since 2005.  He was the starting safety on the Patriots 16-0 2007 team.  After another solid year in 2008, Sanders somewhat surprisingly signed a three year extension worth nine million dollars, which seemed like a good deal.  Yet in 2009, he lost his starting job for a good portion of the season to Brandon McGowan, and much of the Patriot fan base gave up on him.  In fact, many believed he would be a salary-based casualty this training camp.

Without a role, Sanders just continued to work hard.  He's one of those players that's always the first one in to the building, last one out.  He is a leader, smart.  While he's never been the greatest athlete, he makes up for it with his work ethic on and off the field.  This year, while initially expected to be a reserve player, he's played the majority of the defensive snaps.  Last night, we saw all of his hard work pay off yet again.

When assigning this week's game ball, I certainly considered the likes of Rob Gronkowski, Pat Chung, and Tully Banta-Cain/Mike Wright, (with consideration going to the entire offensive line and the defensive scheme/Bill Belichick) ultimately, there's no question that this should go to Tom Brady.

Brady had one heck of a game yesterday, going 30/43 for 350 yards and three touchdowns.  While it was his statistically best game of the season, Brady's performance was more than just the stats in the box score.  Brady was emotional, and driven.  He was patient, accurate, and determined.  Before yesterday, I was skeptical of the Brady-MVP talk.  Now, he's got to be a front runner.

So what did you think of Brady's performance?

This post is sponsored by Sprint.

This week, it wasn't too hard to pick my gameball.  While the play of Danny Woodhead, Brandon Spikes, and Jerod Mayo certainly deserve credit, there was no player that stood out quite like Deion this week.

Last Tuesday, the Patriots traded a fourth round pick to reunite former Seahawks receiver Deion Branch with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.  Five days later, Deion Branch caught nine passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.

What's impressive is that heading into the fourth quarter, Branch had just two receptions for 23 yards.  Between the fourth quarter and overtime, Branch picked up another seven catches for 75 yards.  He caught the touchdown that cut the score to three in the fourth, and had the two crucial catches that set up Stephen Gostkowski's game winning field goal in overtime.  While Branch never had gaudy regular season numbers in his original stint with the team, he always put up big numbers in the playoffs and in big games.  No different here.

What's even more impressive is that while Branch was with the team for over four years last decade, much of the offense had change.  Even though many of the routes have remained the same, the terminology and the philosophy really changed in his four year absence.  Branch had a great game yesterday, think of what he will be doing by the end of the season.

Is he worth that 4th round pick now?