MONDAY NIGHT RECAP: MY FAIR BRADY

It was a peculiar offseason for the New England Patriots. How could you possibly let your Hall of Fame kicker and two starting receivers walk away when you're ten million dollars under the salary cap? It's not as though management in New England hasn't been questioned before. Star players such as Ty Law, Willie McGinnest, and Lawyer Milloy had once been members of the dynasty, but everyone is irreplaceable. Well not everyone.

There's been one mainstay throughout the last six years in New England. His name: Tom Brady. He'll never put up the numbers of a Peyton Manning. He'll never give you the dazzling highlight of Michael Vick. You'll never think of him like you do the gutty and gritty Brett Favre, but perhaps he's a collection of them all. Brady puts up superb passing numbers with the likes of Doug Gabriel and Reche Caldwell, rather than Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. He'll never make a dazzling throw on the run, but instead he makes the poised play in the pocket with pressure in his face. He goes down hard sometimes. Hits you could never picture yourself recovering from, but Brady gets up and laughs as though he was wrestling with his brother. When Tom Brady throws four touchdowns on the national stage like he did last night, you may recall his greatest quality. Brady's a winner, and he does it every way you could imagine.

Tom Brady- As mentioned above Tom Brady had an unbelievable four touchdown performance in a 31-7 rout of the Vikings on Monday. Knowing very well that Minnesota had the best rush defense in football, the Patriots looked to pass all game. The trust that Brady had with his starting wideouts from last year is now being shown in his young WRs this year, and he should be poised for great success for the rest of the season.

Laurence Maroney- The Patriots had no intentions of rushing the ball all night against the tough rush defense of the Vikings, as they only the ball twelve times all game. Of all their backs, Maroney was once again most impressive. He possesses the rare combination of speed and power that every coach dreams of. When he takes over full time next year, he will almost surely be a star.

Ben Watson- The most talented WR on the Patriots doesn't even play WR. It's their big TE Ben Watson out of Georgia that makes the plays. Brady loves throwing to his TEs, and it was shown by Watson's 7 catch 95 yard and 1 TD performance. The injury of Daniel Graham has given Watson much more looks, and he has become one of the more solid TEs in football.

Brad Johnson- The Patriots defense is famous for confusing rookies, but as shown Monday Night it can also baffle even the oldest of veterans. Johnson had a very hard time figuring out the Patriots defense and wound up throwing three interceptions before being pulled from the game. While his starting job is not in question at all, he doesn't put up the type of numbers to be a factor in fantasy.

Chester Taylor- Coming off back to back huge performances, Taylor was completely shut down by the New England defense. He finished with 10 carries for just 22 yards. Taylor left early in the game with a shoulder injury, but he was able to come back without any problems. He should have a bounce back performance next week against the 49ers.