Patriots Start 3-0

Brad Jermeland

New England Patriots• A few months ago, Patriot fans were worrying how the first four

games of the season would pan out with quarterback Tom Brady suspended and inexperienced second year quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo under center

• Things have certainly taken a turn for the better. Brady is not only playing, but playing some of the best football of his career and New England is 3-0 atop the AFC East

• Brady has thrown for 1,112 yards while completing 72.2% of his passes. He has 9 touchdown passes and 0 interceptions

• He got the NFL season underway against the Pittsburgh Steelers tossing 4 touchdowns and 288 passing yards

• While Brady has been great, let’s take a look at some other key contributors to the Patriots offense to date

Rob Gronkowski

#87 Tight End

Rob Gronkowski• Rob Gronkowski is the best tight end in the league• His combination of size and speed is rivaled by none. He

also has had great chemistry with Tom Brady• Gronkowski has 16 receptions for 308 yards and 4

touchdowns on the season• He had a monstrous game on opening night where he had

5 catches for 94 yards and 3 touchdowns• Teams will continue to scheme ways to stop him but fact

of the matter is, there is no ideal plan yet to stop Gronkowski, especially when he gets going in open space

Julian Edelman

#11 Wide Receiver

Julian Edelman• Edelman is continuing off a great 2014 finish and has

had him a great start to the 2015 season• With Brandon LaFell sidelined for 6-8 weeks, Edelman

has been Brady’s go-to wide receiver, especially on 3rd and short

• Edelman is small, quick, and shifty which allows him to get open quick about 3 yards off the line of scrimmage and pick up an additional few yards after the catch to convert 3rd downs

• In 2015, Edelman has 30 receptions for 279 yards and 2 touchdowns

Dion Lewis#33 Running Back

Dion Lewis• Dion Lewis has been quite the surprise this year• After a decorative career at the University of Pittsburgh, Lewis

bounced around with a couple of teams before catching on with the Patriots

• It looks as though he may have assumed the pass-catching role that Shane Vereen had before leaving for the Giants

• However, Lewis is far more involved in the ground game as well• For the season, Lewis has 30 carries for 146 yards and 2

touchdowns on the ground while collecting 15 receptions for 179 yards

• As a running back, Lewis is actually the third best receiver for the Patriots after Gronkowski and Edelman

• Without Brady, Lewis, Edelman, or Gronkowski, the Patriots might be in a bit of a different situation at this point in the season

• It’ll be interesting to see how the season plays out

• Rumor is out again that the NFL is determined to have Tom Brady serve a suspension at some point this season