Pats/Bengals halftime thoughts

At the half in the Patriots' second preseason game, they trail the Bengals 7 - 6. Tom Brady started the game and remained in for two series. He led the Pats to a field goal on his first series and then a 3-and-out on the second series, including taking a hard hit. However, I did notice that Dan Koppen had a smile on his face after the play (he was not the one beat though). That smile was probably in reference to Brady mentioning earlier this week that he wanted to get hit to show everyone that he is fine. That sack certainly qualified. Brady didn't look as sharp as he did in the first preseason game, missing some mid-to-deep fades, I think in part due to the pressure he was facing virtually every down. After the Pats' second series, Brady was replaced not by Andrew Walter, but by Kevin O'Connell, who led the team to a field goal during their last drive before the half running the 2-minute offense. Here are some notes I jotted down during the first half:4-3 or 3-4? Much has been made about what defensive formation the Patriots would be primarily working out of. I tried counting how many times they lined up in the 3-4 and how many times they lined up in the 4-3. It was more difficult than I thought because I had to be sure they weren't in a nickel defense with a 3 or 4 man line. I may not be 100% accurate, but the breakdown is that the Pats lined up in the 3-4 9 times and the 4-3 17 times, including plays that did not count due to a penalty. One thing that is noteworthy though is that when the starters were in, the 3-4 was the primary formation while the 4-3 was almost exclusively used when the back-up players were in. This likely reflects the tremendous depth on the defensive line and the lack of depth in the linebacking corps.Fred Taylor started at RB and looked good, carrying 7 times for 26 yards, with a long run of 10 yards. He was later replaced by the indecisive-looking Laurence Maroney, who carried 3 times for 6 yards.Some noteworthy defensive starts: Darius Butler started at corner with Leigh Bodden instead of Shawn Springs (Jonathon Wilhite did not suit up) and Gary Guyton started at ILB with Jerod Mayo instead of Tedy Bruschi. Bruschi played with the back-ups, lining up as the MLB in the 4-3. Whether this reflects Bruschi's position on the team or the fact that Belichick may be working him back in slowly remains to be seen.Back-up safety Brandon McGowan forced a fumble from Bengals tight end Daniel Coats with a hard hit after Coats caught a 27-yard pass over OLB Shawn Crable.Terrence Wheatley looked "Hobbs-esque" in coverage, playing what looked like 10 yards deep off his man and getting beat several times. Bengals QB J.T. O'Sullivan looked like he was purposely picking on Wheatley, and you could see why. Wheatley did not look good in coverage at all. The icing on the cake was when he was beat on a 4th-and-long by WR Chris Henry for a 24-yard TD.WR Chad Ochocinco kicked the Bengals' extra point.DE Myron Pryor (#91) looks good again, showing the ability to stop the run, rush the passer, and knock down passes at the line.O'Connell was greatly helped on the two-minute drill by RB Kevin Faulk, who made spectacular plays catching the ball on screens (2 catches for 37 yards).Enjoy the second half! Go Pats!