Don’t write off the Patriots because of opening loss — experts have made that mistake before
Hey, Patriots, give us one more — with feeling.
It’s a new week and a new start for the defending Super Bowl champions, who were blown out by Kansas City in their opener, 42-27. That’s the most points New England has surrendered in the Bill Belichick era, and Alex Smith badly outplayed Tom Brady.
That said, writing off the Patriots is just plain foolish. After all, they were on the wrong end of a 41-14 pounding by the Chiefs in Week 4 of the 2014 season, and people were questioning whether both Belichick and Brady were kaput.
All New England did was come back and finish the season on a 10-2 run, winning every remaining game except Week 13 at Lambeau Field and a meaningless finale against Buffalo, then go on to win the Super Bowl.
So New Orleans will have its hands full in playing host to the agitated Patriots on Sunday, especially with New England getting 10 days of rest and the Saints, who opened Monday night, coming off a short week.
Then again, all that extra time isn’t always welcome.
‘It’s probably easier when you’re getting right back to work,” Brady said Monday during his weekly interview on sports radio WEEI. “It actually kind of sucked having three extra days to think about it and rewatch the game.
“The good thing about football season, when it’s Sunday to Sunday, is (on) Monday you kind of watch it and then by Tuesday you’re already moving on to the next team. I’ve kind of moved on to the next team, but we haven’t really done that formally as a team. We’re doing that today.”
It’s worth noting that the Patriots, who will be on the road for the next two weeks, are having their artificial turf replaced at Gillette Stadium while they’re gone. It was good enough to pass NFL muster for the opener, but it’s not up to the team’s standards.
M*A*S*H unit
Opening week took a toll on a lot of teams around the league.
Arizona running back David Johnson suffered a significant wrist injury. A dislocated ankle sidelined Philadelphia cornerback Ronald Darby, and teammate Caleb Sturgis — who kicked three field goals — is due to miss several weeks with a quadriceps strain in his plant leg.
Chicago receiver Kevin White, the Bears’ first-round pick in 2015, is going on injured reserve for the third consecutive season, this time with a broken collarbone.
Jacksonville receiver Allen Robinson will miss the rest of the season after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the Jaguars’ season-opening victory in Houston.
Don’t I know you?
There’s so much coach and player shuffling around the NFL that it’s pretty easy to find some type of reunion every week. Still, there are some notable ones involving coaches in Week 2.
Andy Reid faces his old team when the Chiefs host the Eagles; Bruce Arians does the same when the Cardinals visit the Colts; and Sean McVay will test his offense against the team he perfected it with when the Rams host the Redskins.
In addition, Eagles coach Doug Pederson previously served as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator, and was once one of Reid’s quarterbacks.
“It will be fun to see him over there, Big Red on the other side,” Pederson said Monday. “But at the same time, I know he wants to kick my tail and I want to kick his.”
Housewarming
Atlanta is taking the wrapper off its new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in style. The Falcons will play host to Green Bay in a Week 2 rematch of last season’s NFC championship game. Both teams are coming off wins.
In what was the final game in the Georgia Dome, the Matt Ryan-led Falcons rolled to a 44-21 victory with the quarterback running for a touchdown and throwing for four.
Atlanta didn’t look like the same juggernaut Sunday, needing a goal-line stand at the end to hang on for a 23-17 victory at Chicago. The Falcons don’t have Kyle Shanahan calling plays for them anymore, either, although the second half of the Super Bowl — a historic collapse to New England — and Shanahan’s debut in San Francisco (three points) aren’t dazzling additions to his resume.
The Packers, meanwhile, are coming off a 17-9 victory over Seattle.
Late starters
Whereas 30 teams have played a game, this is the first week for both Tampa Bay and Miami, whose opener against each other was postponed until Week 11 because of Hurricane Irma.
The Buccaneers play host to the Bears, and the Dolphins are at the Chargers.
Follow Sam Farmer on Twitter @LATimesfarmer
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