#slow-starts

#slow-starts

On the surface, the New England Patriots' 42-13 pasting of the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon is quite the rosy picture. Patriots' fans have been waiting a long time - four seasons in fact - for New England's offense to put up 40 points. It gave us flashbacks to the good old days of Tom Brady marching up and down the Foxborough gridiron.

The Saints' 26-21 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday was the latest example of a team still trying to figure things out under new coach Kellen Moore. In both games the Saints got off to slow starts and were left scrambling to try to mount comebacks. They also missed field goals in consecutive weeks and gave up several big plays.