Some first-half thoughts:
- The Patriots offense has looked really ugly for the most part. Tom Brady has been off, the running game has been stagnant, and the offensive line has played terribly. The offense did get things going a little bit once they turned to the no-huddle in the second quarter. Running back Danny Woodhead gave the Patriots a nice boost.
- Defensively, the Patriots were given a small field to defend on after a costly special teams error in the first quarter. They did come up with some nice third down stops, a nice strip from Jerod Mayo, and a few good plays from Jonathan Wilhite. Overall however, the defense has failed to slow down Peyton Hillis on the ground, which has allowed Colt McCoy to have all day off of the play-action.
- Overall, this is one of those games where you have to be glad to be down only 10 at the half, although the Gronkowski fumble was very costly as the Patriots should be down just three. The game has been downright ugly. The Patriots have been outplayed, out-coached, and out-matched. They do, however, get the ball to start the second half, so we'll see if they can get something done.