Week 7-Monday Night Massacre

After coming off a game that saw the Patriots lose to the Chargers, 30-10, the Patriots were in need of a morale boost. Not to mention a boost in the standings in the AFC East.
The Patriots hosted there only Monday night game this season, against the Denver Broncos. The past three games, the Broncos have taken it to us, and have crushed us in the playoffs in the recent past. However, evident from the previous week, records like that mean nothing. The Patriots looked as dangerous and effective as they did last year. Only, more balanced. The defense actually was a factor, the receivers stepped up and Matt Cassel looked great even after being sacked six times.
But the most potent and surprisingly effective form of attack was the ground game. It started with Sammy Morris gashing the Broncos for over 130 yards. He took an injury at the half and left the rest to Kevin Faulk and Ben Jarvis Green-Ellis.(Yes, thats his whole name) The Pats mustered over 260 rushing yards against the Broncs. They haven't attained that many rushing yards in a single game since 1985. Pretty dang impressive.
The Broncos looked anemic on offense, barely getting a touchdown late in the game, and that was from ex-Patriot, Daniel Graham. Their defense appeared bold in the first quarter, with All-pro corner, Champ Bailey, knocking a couple passes from Randy Moss and Jabar Gaffney. But he went down with a groin injury and never came back in the game. After that, the defense of the Broncos shattered and the Patriots ran freely against them. Randy Moss looked sharp with two touchdowns, one on a screen that normally would be passed to Wes Welker. He sprinted upfield and waltzed into the endzone effortlessly.
The Patriot defense looked a thousand times better than last week. Recording two interceptions by the end of the game, a forcing three fumbles. They allowed only one touchdown and kept the dangerous air attack of the Broncos to a minimum.
The Broncos, of course, left a painful scar on our team, injuring safety Rodney Harrison for the season. A team leader in many aspects of the game, it will be a painful loss for the team. With Brady already gone, others will have to step in and fill their rolls.
If the Pats can play like they did on Monday consistently, the Patriots could be headed deep into the playoffs. It was definitely an inspiring win, minus the injuries, but they need to continue performing at that level to win more games. They now stand at 4-2, and are one game behind the Buffalo Bills. We play the St. Louis Rams this weekend, and will hopefully pick up a decent win. The Rams are coming off two consecutive wins, a rare thing in recent Ram history, and will probably come out fired up. But I think the Patriots will have just the medicine to put them back in their place on Sunday.