After the first two squeakers it wasn’t too surprising that Denver beat the Patriots at home. What was surprising was the lack of intensity on offense. Giving up 17 points to a good team isn’t that bad, but Brady looked completely out of sorts except on the one scoring drive. Not just his performance, his body language and everything – he looked beaten before he took the first snap. Maybe it’s just the memory of the last game. Hopefully it won’t last and this game will be the wake-up call he needs.

There were some positives, though. Doug Gabriel showed he can be a valuable addition to the team. He made some great catches, including a great grab for the only touchdown. Reche Caldwell also made some great receptions, he’s starting to show what he’s capable of. And, of course, Troy Brown was his usual dependable self. Belichick coaches his teams to peak around November and they’re on track to do that. They’re still the strongest team in the AFC East (the Dolphins were predicted to be that power, but they’re 1-and-2 … ooops) which means they’ll probably make it to the playoffs. And once they’re in, they’re dangerous and…

Lets see. Gostkowski is the new kicker, which we all probably saw coming. He made a 54-yard field goal in the Giants game which should ease a lot of concerns. More interestingly, Vinatieri remains injured over at the Colts. Hmmm …

The Patriots let Cobbs go to the Steelers for a draft pick. No doubt his fumbles had something to do with it. But it’s good to see the kid get a break in the NFL – I suspect the Patriots showcasing him as they did helped him land on his feet. Assuming Dillon can get it cranked up and Maroney isn’t too badly hurt (a mysterious knee injury has cropped up), they really didn’t need a fifth running back.

So far it looks like they’re keeping Heath Evans, which I’m happy about. They need a Mike Alstot/Moose Johnson kind of fullback for short-yardage and goal-line drives. Besides which, Evans has shown a good capability to break open some big runs of he gets past the linebackers.

A fight broke out on the field during the Giants game. Which is very non-Patriots-ish, but with so many 2nd and 3rd stringers in there I guess anything’s possible.

Troy Brown took a…