A True Bayou test for Pats

Ten games into the season, and this is what we know about your New England Patriots : Bernard Pollard is no different from any other defensive player in the NFL. He couldn't stop Tom Brady, either. On his surgically rebuilt knee, the Pats quarterback has made all the throws and answered all the questions, and turned his team into a legitimate Super Bowl contender again. Some things don't change. The Patriots still have one of the two or three best quarterbacks in NFL history, and he still has the best pair of receivers in the game today. Together, Brady, Randy Moss and Wes Welker can score on anyone, from anywhere, and it is still harder for a defense to stop the Pats' passing attack than it is for Senator Galluccio to find his house after last call. It took a few weeks to shake off the rust, but now look. Brady has thrown for 300 yards in five straight games. He has 20 touchdown passes, six picks and a QB rating over 100. He is quickly knocking his old pal Drew Bledsoe out of the team record book and surely heading to another Pro Bowl. So we know the quarterback is back, and that is a good thing because we don't know much else about this team. The Patriots are 7-3 and on top of their division, but that's like being the smartest kid in Lane Kiffin's first recruiting class. Not a lot of competition. The Pats have not beaten a team that now has a winning record. Hell, two of the teams THEY LOST TO - Jets and Broncos - are absolutely atrocious now. And as we all know, the Pats have yet to win a road game, and don't you dare call that London scrimmage against Raheem Morris' ill-prepared rabble from Tampa Bay a road game. That all can change Monday night. You know why the NFL is better than any other game in professional sports? Because occasionally you get a playoff game right in the middle of the regular season. And here we go, the Patriots at New Orleans, Monday night. Just try to look away. For the second time in three weeks, the Patriots will go on the road and face an undefeated powerhouse in prime time. In one 60-minute gut check, the 2009 Patriots can answer all those nagging questions - road game, good team, great quarterback - with all eyes upon them. Slapping around poor Mark Sanchez and the Jets is not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but it doesn't prove anything. This does. And just look at the schedule. This might be the Pats' last chance to make a statement in this regular season. ``We need a big win on the road,'' Brady said on WEEI yesterday morning. ``We've had three opportunities and lost all three. So this will be a big one to get.'' As of yesterday, the Pats were only three-point underdogs, which is a tribute to Brady and the offense. The over-under is an astounding 55 1/2. No one expects the Patriots' defense to slow down Drew Brees and Co. If the Colts' Peyton Manning made the Pats forgo the punt on fourth and 2, Brees might make them leave punter Chris Hanson home in Foxboro this week. The Saints have the No. 1 offense in the NFL in yards and points. How prolific have Brees and the boys been? They have scored more than the Rams, Browns and Raiders COMBINED (369-334). The Saints' point differential of plus-165 is far and away the best in the NFL. The Pats are second at plus-126. They have scored 40 or more four times and in Tampa Sunday, they scored 38 straight before Brees took a seat in the fourth quarter. Brees leads the league with 22 touchdown passes, but more impressive, the Saints have rushed for 18 TDs. By comparison, the Chiefs have one rushing touchdown this season. ``This is probably going to be the best team we've faced so far,'' said Brady. ``The Colts obviously are a great team, but they're right up there with the Colts. Great defense, playing at home, great quarterback, great coach, great running game. This will be fun.'' Maybe not so much for the defense. As they showed against Manning eight days ago, the Patriots don't have any Darrelle Revises, no great cover guys to speak of. And maybe that wouldn't be an issue if they could put pressure on the quarterback, but they don't have a Jared Allen or Dwight Freeney, either. Somewhere between Oakland and Foxboro, Derrick Burgess forgot how to get to the quarterback. The NFL leader in sacks in 2005 with 16 (is there video proof of this?), Burgess has just two since coming here. As a team, the Pats are 24th in the NFL with 18 sacks. They are 15th against the run. So basically, the Patriots' defense is not above average at ANYTHING - pressuring the quarterback, covering downfield or stopping the run. No wonder Bill Belichick didn't trust his defensive guys in Indianapolis. They haven't given him much to trust. But with 10 games down, the most important question has been answered: The Franchise is fine. The arm is strong and the knee is solid, and that is good to know as the Pats defense jumps on Tom Brady's back and heads to New Orleans for a playoff game in the middle of the regular season.