Patriots Topple Titans

The boys are back in town

I must say, it's great to have a winning team to root for again in Boston.  Time to put this miserable summer of baseball behind us and focus on football!

Yesterday afternoon the New England Patriots kicked off their 2012 season by topping the Tennessee Titans 34-13.  The home team took an early 3-0 lead following a 28-yard field goal from Rob Bironas, but from that point forward it was all New England.

Tom Brady, as always, led the way.  The three-time Super Bowl champion eclipsed 40,000 career passing yards, becoming just the 14th quarterback in NFL history to do so.  He put together another stellar game, notching 236 yards on 23-of-31 passing to go along with a pair of TDs, one each to Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.  Combined the tight-end tandem hauled in 12 of Brady's 13 targets for 119 yards.

Running back Stevan Ridley also shone for the Patriots by piling up 125 rushing yards on 21 carries and scoring a touchdown.  He even snagged a pair of passes for good measure.  I know it's only one game, but Ridley represents a clear upgrade over BenJarvus Green-Ellis.  He's quick, explosive and fun to watch; there were times yesterday when he made Titans defenders look terrible.

On the other hand, New England's defense played a great game against the Titans, limiting them to only one touchdown.  Even more impressively, they managed to hold Chris Johnson to just four rushing yards on eleven carries.

For Tennessee, 24 year-old quarterback Jake Locker looked a little shaky in the first start of his career.  His 229 yards on 23-of-32 passing were almost identical to the numbers posted by his counterpart, but the sophomore threw just one touchdown (to Nate Washington) and turned the ball over twice, including a fumble that rookie Dont'a Hightower promptly returned for a TD.  Several of his pass attempts were wild, but overall he did make some nice plays and had a decent performance until he departed in the fourth quarter with a left shoulder injury.  Matt Hasselbeck replaced him.

New England has won nine consecutive season openers, the longest active streak in the league.  Next week they take on the Arizona Cardinals at home.