New England Patriots

Monday Musings: Home Rule, Gronk Gone Wild, Running Backs Galore

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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In this week’s Monday Musings, we look at the Patriots continued home dominance, Rob Gronkowski’s ascent in the record books, and the sudden abundance of talent in the New England backfield.

Those damn Patriots. We almost had them.

Such is the familiar refrain of teams who have daned to venture into the confines of Gillette Stadium with thoughts of scoring a victory over the Patriots. Many have left beaten and humbled, licking their wounds and trying to figure out where it all went wrong. Others come away with stories about how they had Brady and his cohorts on the ropes, only to suffer a heartbreaking loss in the waning moments of the affair.

No matter the twists and turns each story takes, almost all of them come to the same ending — Brady and the Patriots standing victorious.

It was no different for the Bengals, who admittedly came into Gillette and punched the New England square in the mouth with a strong first half performance. Andy Dalton started the game on fire, seemingly finding his receivers open at will. He nimbly shifted and scrambled, carving up soft spots in the Patriots zone defense — holes opened up by green linebackers filling in for the injured Jamie Collins, Shea McLellan and Jonathan Freeny.

Tom Brady found himself ducked and dodging Geno Atkins and the rest of the Bengals defensive line. The Patriots juggernaut offense seemed… human. Fallible. The Bengals put together seven and eight play scoring drives while the Patriots could barely manage to stay on the field. What many had dismissed as an easy win for New England now looked to be in question.

Enter Dont’a Hightower.

Looking healthy for what seems like the first time in recent memory, Hightower reminded everyone just why he is so highly revered by Matt Patricia and the Patriots coaching staff. He flew all over the field, seemingly in the mix on every play. Trailing 14-10 in the third quarter, it was his sack of Andy Dalton in the Bengals end zone that completely turned the tide.

Smelling blood, Brady and the Patriots offense would move with precision on the ensuing possession, marching down the field and scoring on a Rob Gronkowski touchdown reception to take a 19-14 lead.

New England would never trail again.

Tom Brady is now 49-1 at home since 2007 against AFC opponents and his team once again sits atop the AFC standings.

Meet the new Patriots; same as the old Patriots.

Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Gronk just can’t stay healthy.

It was the sickening thought reverberating among the Patriots faithful after word came down taht Gronkowski missed Friday’s practice with an undisclosed illness. Listed as questionable for Sunday’s game, his playing status remained shrouded in mystery until shortly before kickoff Sunday. Fans breathed a cautious sigh of relief when Gronkowski’s name wasn’t listed among the inactives, but his involvement in the game still remained cloudy. How many snaps would he play? How hobbled is he? Can he still be effective?

Things became clear very quickly, much to the chagrin of the Bengals defense.

Hauling in seven of nine targets for 162 yards and a touchdown, Gronkowski looked nigh unstoppable Sunday.

In stride. Behind him. At his feet. It seemingly didn’t matter where Brady put the ball, Gronk was determined to snatch it up, ripping off big chunks of yards after the catch to pour more salt in the Bengals wounds. When he’s in this form, Gronk is simply majestic to watch. He looks to be a man among children — no more so than when some poor linebacker is assigned the hopeless duty of matching up in single coverage against him.

With his third quarter touchdown grab — giving him 67 total TD for his career — Gronkowski moved to number two all-time in franchise history behind Stanley Morgan (68) who, barring injury, he’s a virtual lock to pass this year. His 38-yard reception in the third quarter also vaulted him into fourth place past Irving Fryar on the Patriots all-time receiving yards list. He now only trails Morgan, Wes Welker and Troy Brown in New England franchise history.

Not bad for a guy who is only in his seventh year.

Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Who’s it going to be in the New England backfield this week? Pick your poison.

In perhaps the scariest bit of news for opposing defensive coordinators, the Patriots backfield overfloweth with talent. Linebackers beware.

Rock steady LeGarrette Blount keeps coming up with big chunks of yards in fourth quarter play, which is exactly what you want from your bruiser when you need to keep the clock moving. His two-yard first quarter plunges into the teeth of the defensive line are often misleading. They make Blount appear slow, but as the game progresses and those tackles start sucking wind, Blount seems to find another gear. What starts as a below average day winds up being 50 yards on 13 carries (3.8 YPC) and a touchdown.

After teasing Patriots fans with flashes of brilliance over the past couple seasons, James White seems to finally be putting the pieces together. Barely seeing the field in 2014, White emerged last year as a new option for New England but was quickly overshadowed by Dion Lewis. He caught just 40 balls in 2015 but is already on pace to shatter that total with 25 receptions through just six games this year.

At the very least, Sunday’s game made it apparent that White has become an important safety valve for Tom Brady. He has the ability to quickly get to the edge when fed the ball in the flat and is displaying more confidence in his ability to make plays than he has in his previous two seasons. He hauled in 8 passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns Sunday and has rightly earned his share of snaps going forward. Coupled with Blount’s bulldozing style, White offers a strong change-of-pace and gives defenses one more weapon, among a plethora of them, that they must account for in the passing game.

… and that Dion Lewis guy is coming back soon, I hear.

What a charmed life Josh McDaniels is leading right now with all these shiny toys on offense.