Pats 34, Bengals 13

To the surprise of no one, the Patriots emerge victorious. Thoughts:

-Bengals put up a good fight early, especially on defense. Rushing four, they were able to put pressure on Brady early and make him move around. Oh sure, he still avoided sacks and made his completions, but through the first quarter of the season, the Bengals have easily applied the most pressure of any team. If the Bengals hadn't lost 2 LBs early, they may have been able to stay fresh long enough to keep it closer.

-On offense, Carson Palmer was able to get chunks of yards against the Patriots, but the Bengals need more than just two weapons (Chad and TJ) against a defense as stout as the Patriots.

-As I was remarking to someone the other day, I've never really admired Randy Moss as a receiver, because you don't see many shifty moves, yards after the catch, sharp route-running, etc. His game has pretty much consisted of sprinting downfield and then outjumping everyone for the ball. In that respect, he's kind of a one-trick pony. But having seen it up close, I gotta admit...that's a really good trick.

-Any talk of Marvin Lewis being on the hot seat in Cincinnati should be squashed immediately. Any real Cincinnati native knows that before his arrival, the Bengals were wallowing in mediocrity...scratch that, mediocrity would have been awesome compared to whatever they were wallowing in during the 90s. The problem with the Bengals defense is simple--they haven't been able to draft the talent they need to be successful.

-I really like Carson Palmer. He's talented and he's got the right attitude. As long as he's there, the Bengals will stay competitive.

-Please please please stop talking about the Patriots going 16-0. Yes they look good. But it's not going to happen.

-This is going to sound really stupid, but I'm not really enjoying these Patriots blowouts as much as I enjoyed the scrappy wins circa 2003. Those games were heart pounding...these games not so much.