The Patriots, who are accustomed to putting up big numbers, rank 18th in total offense and 24th in scoring this season as Tom Brady has tried to get in sync with a new group of receivers.
In his latest Hot Reads video, Troy Aikman looks at the Patriots-Saints matchup and sees two teams that look dramatically different from a season ago.
"Looking at the Patriots through the first five ballgames, they've been wildly inconsistent," Aikman said. "... I think a lot of it has to do with the fact there's just a lot of turnover offensively with the Patriots, and when you've got young players that are at skill positions, that's something that Tom Brady is not all that accustomed to."
While it's not unusual for Drew Brees to put up the big numbers as he has this season, what has changed is the moxie of the Saints' defense under new coordinator Rob Ryan. The Saints rank fourth in scoring defense after fielding one of the worst defenses in NFL history last season.
"Rob Ryan has got this team playing very well," Aikman says. "They're flying around to the ball, they're playing aggressively, they're creating takeaways."
Also in Hot Reads, Aikman looks at the Eagles' offense without Michael Vick, who won't play Sunday because of a hamstring injury.
On the Eagles offense: "People had asked me does the offense that Chip Kelly runs, does it require a quarterback like a Michael Vick that can really move and is athletic and mobile. ... Looking at them and studying them a few weeks ago, I didn't feel that was the case. I like the schemes that (Kelly) has within the passing game. I like what they're doing within their running game. ... There are some pieces there that Nick Foles can take advantage of, and he's played well."
