I know it's only the pre season, and I know Tom Brady hasn't played a snap... However I am still very concerned. I have read some blogs on this site and I have talked to friends and family of mine all of which say the pre season means nothing, and the Patriots 0-3 record is not a big deal. I agree to an extent, but for the most part I do not agree.
Look at what we have learned so far. The Patriots offense is not much without Tom Brady. Matt Cassel is a joke and has been for years, Kevin O'Connel is just a rookie, and Matt Gutierrez could be a solid back up but isn't that reliable. Even with Gutierrez, I still feel that if Brady goes down at all in the regular season there is no denying the Pats are in trouble. Let's also look at what we learned so far on the defensive end. THEY HAVE NO SOLID CORNER BACKS! Ellis Hobbs is ok but he isn't a number 1 corner, and guess what we have no other corner back to step in and be the number 1 guy. Then again we haven't learned about the corner back situation in the pre season, we knew this after Assante Samuel left the team.
As for the way the Pats have looked so far, let me try to break it down. Forget the offense, once Brady and Light come back they will be the best offense in the league once again. The special teams I'm not too worried about at this point, the Philadelphia Eagles have some great returners. As for the defense, well that's where I feel a little concerned. The linebackers are much better than what they have shown, and John Lynch will help out Rodney Harrison and the corner backs to make the secondary a little bit stronger.
The bottom line, it is only the pre season and the record itself means nothing. However the 3rd pre season game is always the big one where the starters play into the 3rd quarter and basicly play as if it were a regular season game. What the Patriots showed the world in the 3rd game, is that they are not ready for the regular season. That doesn't mean they won't be ready come week one, but as of right now they have some issues to look at and deal with.
