Thank Detroit for causing the Seahawks to panic and give the Patriots the first round pick they were asking for in return for WR Deion Branch’s services. There appears to be a couple of WRs in next year’s draft that warrant a close look, including Notre Dame WR Jeff Samardzija, who probably will be the most Patriots-offense-ready WR available given his 2 year stint under former New England offensive co-ordinator Charlie Weiss, and with the extra pick the Patriots have flexibility to move up and get the player that they need.  And  who knows, the pick might be good enough on it’s own to land a top-prospect WR, since past Super Bowl losers have had a hangover effect the next year.

Given that it was clear that Branch had played his last game for the Patriots, credit Scott Pioli for sticking to his guns and getting the pick he requested (though without the reported mid-round pick that he wanted in addition to the first rounder). However, there still exists this little problem of, you know, the 2006 season. The Patriots passing game looked lost for much of the game on Sunday in Week 1 and it doesn’t look like it’ll get any better anytime soon. If WR’s Doug Gabriel and rookie Chad Jackson (both inactive on Sunday) aren’t able to master the playbook (Gabriel) and get healthy (Jackson), the Patriots are going to have a hard time moving the ball through the air once teams stop playing the Tampa Cover 2 and lock down TE Ben Watson.

At least the running game looked great. Corey Dillon looks like the Dillon of 2004, while rookie Laurence Maroney looks like the second coming of Edgerrin James. In my 15+ years of following the Patriots, no back has combined the power, speed, acceleration, and shiftiness that I saw out of Maroney on Sunday. He is going to be a fantastic RB. Patriots fans everywhere should hope Dillon stays healthy so this two headed attack can continue to pile up the yards (159 yards combined) while the passing game gets it’s act together.