That's why you stick with the rookies through their growing pains, that's why you stay the course with your offense through the growing pains, that's why you never give up on this team.
Could it also be why Rob Gronkowski isn't back yet, or is the pro-rated success of the receiving corps just a curious side effect of having to be the primary playmakers? Whichever it is, around the second week of November this will be one scary looking offense.
Because right now Patriots' fans are witnessing something special happening to this offense, and perhaps need to be reminded to take a step back, observe and appreciate the in-your-face evolution of the offense as a whole.
It happens every season, but this year it's transparent because of the turnover in the receiving corps and the fact that the rookies that were drafted or signed as free agents were better than all of the other veteran help that Belichick brought into camp, is telling - perhaps not as dependable from the genesis of the rebuilding effort, but with far more upside...
...and that upside is about to start manifesting itself.
And now the rookies know how to be clutch. They've lived it, they've succeeded at it and it's absolutely something that they would not have been able to experience standing on the sidelines watching a more tenured veteran taking their snaps.
A big A+ to Bill Belichick for staying the course and allowing his receivers to help mold the offense - this experience is going to be priceless when Thanksgiving rolls around - and then the playoffs.
Pass offense: B
Just how long has Josh McDaniels been hiding Michael Hoomanawanui's secret? You know, that he has Gronk-like moves in the pattern and after catching the ball and turning upfield?
He's not Gronkowski, but he displayed some wares on Sunday night that most people had no idea he possessed - and it was a small sample, but I doubt I'm the only person who wondered why he hasn't been used in that capacity until now.
And he did his usual solid job blocking - but even with he and Matthew Mulligan flanking the line, the unit as a whole had a very difficult time with the Saints' pass rush, which wasn't considered elite coming into the game, by any stretch of the imagination - so fixing that has to be priority number one going forward, with one of the better defenses in the NFL on tap for this Sunday.
At issue was communication, particularly with Marcus Cannon taking over right guard from concussed incumbent Dan Connelly - Cannon zigging when he should have zagged enough to make Tom Brady wonder if he was playing on a freeway off ramp. Fortunately, Brady was feeling froggy and moved well in the pocket - that is, when he wasn't in the headlights of the truck coming down the off ramp...
...and he was better than his stat line would suggest, but what brings this grade down is the curious decision to throw a bomb to Julian Edelman on a 1st and 10 at his own 20 with 2:24 remaining in the game that was intercepted by Keenan Lewis, the ball so underthrown that the only person that had a chance at catching it was Lewis - there also was a deep overthrow to Danny Amendola, who had beaten his man up the seam.
Speaking of which, Belichick's move to bring in Austin Collie as insurance in case Amendola broke again is looking pretty shrewd in light of Amendola breaking again, and the rookie receivers are starting to look like they get it. This is a unit on the rise.
Run offense: B
What a difference Stevan Ridley makes to this offense. He's not that fast, but he absolutely explodes through the hole, and once in the clear on the second level he gallops like a show pony...
...and show ponies do their best work right up the gut, where the Patriots as a whole ripped off over seven yards per carry behind the beefy trio of Logan Mankins, Ryan Wendell and Cannon - Ridley accounting for 7.6 yards per carry, trumped only by the speed and ankle-breaking moves of Tom Brady, who averaged eight on his two scrambles.
Even Brandon Bolden and LeGarrette Blount found running room up the middle when they could find none anywhere else. Ridley also had some good work to the right side, following James Develin whose dirty work in the trenches continues to impress.
This is also a unit on the upswing, though Bolden may find himself in Belichick's dog house if he continues to mishandle the ball in the pattern - and perhaps even a scratch when Shane Vereen returns in early November.
Rush Defense: B
Joe Vellano and Chris Jones are doing what no one ever thought they could: Holding down the fort. It's not perfect, and not that pretty, truthfully, but they're coming up with the key stop when they absolutely need it.
With Vince Wilfork gone for the season and Tommy Kelly battle knee issues, the two rookies are the anchors for what was the youngest defense in the NFL at kickoff - elder statesman duties falling to Rob Ninkovich, whose name you didn't hear at all on Sunday, and that's because he had the left edge and flat shut completely down.
The Saints picked up 131 yards rushing the football, but had to turn the ball over to an undrafted rookie free agent in Khiry Robinson, who churned out 53 of those yards for a 7.5 yards per carry average and one touchdown - and one could make an argument that the Patriots simply ran out of people to match up with the Saints' weapons...
...or they just were concentrating their efforts in another direction, such as helping to shut down the Saints' lethal screen game, Vellano penetrating and skirting the line of scrimmage to disrupt the momentum of the play a couple of different times.
So something had to be sacrificed, but when you consider that the rest of the team rushed for 4.1 yards per carry, Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia have to be pretty pleased with the effort, now two weeks in a row.
Pass Defense: A
As impressive as Aqib Talib was in shutting down Jimmy Graham - and shutting him down is exactly what Talib did - there were equally impressive showings throughout the defense.
Drew Brees is no slouch, but he is short and the size of the behemoths up front - both defensive and offensive - frustrated him all day. It seems that Belichick and Matt Patricia saw a tactical advantage in boarding off the picket fence that Brees usually is afforded by his line - there wasn't a lot of pressure on Brees because the Patriots were busy either getting into his line of sight, or pushing his linemen into it.
This was particularly evident on his deep balls, going 2 for 10 down the field, spreading the ball to eight different targets in an attempt to open things up...
...which happened anyway as he was checking down and going short left with many of his throws, and had some success that way, but not nearly enough to run off with the game. The underneath coverage has to be better going forward, so with Jerod Mayo out of the picture with a torn pec, the onus lies on Dont'a Hightower and a collection of young reserve greyhounds.
Steve Gregory prevents this grade from being even higher as he is still consistently late in his over the top coverage and his pinball tackling style - delivering a big hit but not wrapping up - contributed to many yards after contact, and also to Mayo's season ending injury as the defensive captain and play caller took the brunt of one of Gregory's pinball shots.
Special Teams: A
Stephen Gostkowski continues his torrid start to the season, going 3 for 3 on field goals, including a career long of 54 yards - and it was right down the middle. At this pace - Gostkowski is 16 of 17 on the season - the University of Memphis product will exceed his own record for accuracy in a season.
Wasn't it like just a month and a half ago that everyone was worried about his accuracy?
Ryan Allen continues to impress, in this game booming kicks for an average of 52.5 yards per kick - and when you average that on punts, that is a serious field position weapon that the team can count on to dig them out of a hole if need be.
So the perceived weakness of special teams has become a strength. What else could you expect from a season that seems to be one magic act after another, Unicorns?
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