Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald writes that even though the Pats chalked up their first win, concerns remain about several elements of their game. Namely, special teams play, the play of the linebackers, the defense's ability to stop the run, the running game and blocking up front. Given the Pats' upcoming schedule, it's going to be fairly easy to find out which of the above, if any, could derail the team's attempt at a historic third straight Super Bowl championship.
Bill Belichick celebrated his 100th win as a head coach with the victory over the Oakland Raiders. Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe writes that Belichick is 100-72 in his career (including playoffs) and 63-27 as coach of the Patriots, the best winning percentage of any coach (.700) in team history. "I just try to approach it one game at a time, and prepare myself and the team to be in the best possible position. It's a very competitive league and it's hard to win. Even when you don't do things perfect, and do them all right, you still have to come away from it and say, 'We got one,'" said Belichick.
Tom Curran of the Providence Journal takes a look at the Patriots offense. Curran writes that the diversity of the New England offense is going to make defenses decide (or guess) whether they want to get pummeled by the hammer (Dillon) or sliced to ribbons with the steak knives (all those little wide receivers). "I think we'll continue to spread the ball around," said Brady. "I think the great part about our offense is that we have a bunch of guys that are capable of making plays. The four receivers who [were] out there [Thursday night] I thought did a great job getting open against a lot of man coverage. I thought the tight ends did a nice job, the running backs. Corey caught a few passes, Kevin caught some passes and spread the ball around. It puts a lot of pressure on the defense when you can find the open guy."
Rob Borges of the Boston Globe reports that Robert Kraft has joined the negotiations for extending the labor agreement with the Players Association.
The Patriots have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL, including some real tests before their bye week occurs in Week 7 (Oct. 23). The *Boston Herald* offers a breakdown of the opponents.
Mark Farinella of the Sun Chronicle offers a story on Pats wide receiver Deion Branch.
Tom Curran of the Providence Journal offers his daily sports blog with Patriots notes and commentary.
Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe offers his daily sports blog with Patriots notes.
