Ups and Downs: Brandon Meriweather continues to impress while the offensive line struggles

October 26, 1:02 AMNew England Patriots ExaminerSean Crowe

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New England Patriots cornerback Darius Butler (28), and safety Brandon Meriweather (31).

(AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

It’s hard to find guys who are “down” when your team is winning by 30 points every week, but we’ll do our best.

Honorable mention, by the way, goes to Junior Seau. Seau hasn’t been active during a regular season loss since November of 2006. He’s like a human regular season horseshoe. Here’s to hoping he figures out how to carry that luck with him into the postseason.

Up

Brandon Meriweather

Meriweather is teetering on the brink of elite right now. His two interception performance on Sunday was eye-opening, but he’s been playing at a high level most of this season. The jump he got on that first interception was as good as you’ll see in the NFL.

Wes Welker

Another ho-hum, 10 catch performance for Wes Welker. In the last two weeks, Welker has 20 receptions for 257 yards. In only his third season with the Patriots, he’s already ninth on the Patriots’ All-Time Receptions list with 269. He’ll be eighth in about three weeks.

Ben Watson

Everyone had Ben Watson released in the preseason, especially when he was among the unlucky few who got a start against the New York Giants in that final preseason game and didn’t show ANYTHING. But Watson has suddenly become the guy we all thought he could be. He’s a redzone threat, and when matched up against linebackers he can get downfield. He’s tied for the team lead in touchdown catches with four, and nobody saw that coming.

Sam Aiken

He may be miscast as the Patriots third receiver, but he made the most of his opportunities on Sunday. While shining on special teams, he turned an eight yard third down pass into a 54 yard touchdown pass with a burst of speed I’m not sure anyone was aware he had.

Darius Butler

Butler has completely eliminated Shawn Springs from the Patriots defense. His play has been pretty good for just about any NFL cornerback, never mind a rookie. He now has two straight games with an interception, and has been the Patriots' best cornerback. Belichick doesn't have the best track record drafting cornerbacks, but it looks like he got a winner in this kid.

Down

The offensive line

Sebastian Vollmer had a tough third quarter after appearing to injure his knee late in the first half, so I’m willing to excuse his holding penalties. But I’m not sure what’s going on with Logan Mankins. He just hasn’t been good, and there were too many penalties today. Brady was hit too many times, and there weren’t any running lanes. They need to improve over the bye week, because what we got Sunday was unacceptable.

Laurence Maroney / BenJarvus Green-Ellis

The offensive line is a problem, but the running backs didn’t do themselves any favors either. Maroney (13 carries, 43 yards, 1 touchdown) had his moments, but still missed a few cutbacks that should have resulted in big plays. Green-Ellis (7 carries, 6 yards) was mostly invisible.