Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Final Score
Broncos 17
Patriots 7

Teddy’s Take: Still think you can win against quality NFL opponents by using 3-tight ends and running backs as the basis of your passing attack?

I normally take what television announcers say with a grain of salt. They focus on a theme and then harp on it ad nauseum. However, Chris Collinsworth was right on last night when he said he didn’t like what he was seeing from Tom Brady’s body language. Those were my thoughts exactly.

There is no bigger optimist or team guy on the Pats than Brady. He will not say a bad word about a teammate if you threatened him with torture. The same goes for his coach and the organization. However, you get the feeling he’s growing increasingly frustrated with what’s going on around him and it’s affecting his play. You seriously have to wonder what’s going through his mind now that he’s sacrificed his money for the good of the team, only to have the team fail to spend that money in a way that’s good for the QB.

He already admitted to being distracted in the opener. I’ve never seen Brady consistently misfire over a 3-game period like this before. He’s not finding many open receivers and even when he does, he’s making bad throws far more often than we’re used to seeing.

Is it simply a matter of becoming more familiar with the new guys around him? I’m sure that’s part of it. But he certainly never had a hard time adjusting to new parts in years past, did he? I’m willing to bet it’s more a case of the new players simply not being good enough to make the plays required to beat a team like the Broncos as opposed to the Bills and Jets.

For more on the game, be sure to check out David Pevear’s recap in today’s Lowell Sun and LowellSun.com.

In Detention: We hand out stars to the forehead after victories, but with the first loss of the season it’s time to put some players in detention. First off, let’s keep the entire pass rush after school. No sacks and barely any pressure against Jake Plummer? Come on now, the Steelers were all over him in the AFC Championship and he looked awful against the Rams and Chiefs this year. Ironically, the one time Richard Seymour looked like he had him was when Jake the Snake uncorked the 84-yard TD to Javon Walker that, for all intents and purposes, ended the festivities.

Let’s also keep James Sanders around for some extra credit work. The backup safety was pressed into service due to injury and was picked on like a red-headed stepchild. Give Denver credit…they saw a weakness and went after it. But New England historically suffers tons of injuries in the secondary, so if the backups can’t do a better job, there’s a lot more trouble ahead.

Finally, Stephen Gostkowski gets a little slap with the yardstick for having his second consecutive field goal blocked. Usually when kicks are batted away, it’s the result of poor blocking or a low kick made necessary by the long distance between the kicker and the goal post. Neither has been the case, as Gostkowski has now twice unleashed low kicks from short distances. Don’t know if it’s a mental problem yet, but he’d better correct it before it becomes one. We don’t need to be reminded who he’s replacing.

Quality Quote: “It was tough the way the season ended last year and we wanted to put out a good performance and to beat this team. To come out and play like we did, they were able to do the things they did and that’s very disappointing.‿—Tedy Bruschi

What are your thoughts? Did this game change your mind about the 2006 Patriots? Is Tom Brady going through a slump or is it the lack of receivers causing the Pats passing game to sputter? Will they rebound vs. the Bengals or is 2-2 on the horizon?