Keys to Patriots 41-14 loss: The Good, The Bad, and They Ughly

The Good: WR Brandon LaFell, 6 catches 119 Yards and 1 Touchdown.

            While there were not many positive things about the Patriots Monday night loss, one positive was wide receiver Brandon LaFell. LaFell had no targets from Brady in the first two games of the season and then only four catches for 45 yards in the third game. LaFell seemed like another botched wide receiver signing in the same column as Danny Amendola and Chad Ochocinco. Then all of a sudden between Brady and Garopollo, LaFell gets 10 targets for six catches, along with a great 44-yard touchdown (play is shown here). Brady and LaFell seemed as if they were finally on the same page.  With the Bills, Jets, and Bears coming up after a hard Cincy matchup, look for more out of LaFell within the coming weeks.

The Bad: Tom Brady being benched for the fourth quarter and Jimmy Garopollo outplays him.

            Tom Brady was awful last night and it was not because of the offensive line. He was overthrowing targets, forcing passes and looked scared to be outside of the pocket. His own awful play led to his benching after a Kansas City interception returned for a touchdown. What makes it worse is that backup quarterback Jimmy Garopollo entered the game and outplayed Brady. Three time Super Bowl champion, two time Super Bowl MVP, along with two time league MVP was outplayed by a rookie out of Eastern Illinois. Garopollo came in and had an opening drive touchdown to Rob Gronkowski, going six for seven on the night for 70 yards and a touchdown. Although Brady will not be replaced, it is never good when your backup out performs your franchise quarterback and future hall of famer.

The Ugly: The Patriots defense giving up 207 rushing yards, 443 total yards, and 41 points.

            The Patriots have seven first round picks playing on the defensive side of the ball and they still looked atrocious. They let running back Jamaal Charles do whatever he wanted. Even backup Knile Davis got in on the fun with 107 yards on 16 carries. The Patriots defense had no way of stopping the run last night and it doesn’t look any better going into the future. They ranked dead last against the run last year and rank 23^rd this year through four games. And they still have to face the likes of Giovani Bernard, CJ Spiller, Matt Forte and Eddie Lacy. If the Patriots want to improve upon last night’s performance and their 2-2 record, it starts with defending the run game.