Unconventional Preview: Can the Patriots rebound after a disastrous Week 1?

COMMENTARYWelcome to Season 6, Episode 2 of the Unconventional Preview, a serious-but-lighthearted, often nostalgia-tinted look at the Patriots’ weekly matchup that runs right here every weekend.

One of the many aspects I dislike about “Thursday Night Football’’ is the gap between games after the team you follow is stuck playing three days before Sunday. It’s too long to wait for another game.

The Thursday aftermath was especially annoying this week because 1) the Patriots opened with an ugly loss, and you want to put that one away as soon as possible, and 2) it was the season opener. We waited seven months for that, and we have to wait longer than necessary for another game?

“Thursday Night Football’’ stinks. Ugh, hate it. Sunday football, now that’s America.

The Patriots finally get back at it Sunday (1 p.m., CBS, Jim Nantz and rookie phenom Tony Romo on the call). Perhaps it’s the result of the relatively long layoff and how that has allowed the 42-27 loss to the Chiefs to fester, but doesn’t this one make you at least a little nervous?

It’s the Saints’ home opener, and after they were dissected by Sam Bradford and the Vikings in their opening loss, they should be ticked off and motivated in a manner similar to what we expect from the Patriots.

The Patriots dig playing Super Bowls at the Superdome, but their limited record there against the Saints is spottier. The last time they played was eight seasons ago, when Drew Brees threw five touchdown passes to five different receivers and the eventual Super Bowl champions improved to 12-0 with a 38-17 rout that wasn’t nearly as close as the score suggests. We learned later from the “A Football Life: Bill Belichick’’ filmed over the course of that season that the game seemed to be the moment when the coach realized — and acknowledged as much to Tom Brady on the sideline late in that game — that he was never going to get through to some of the knuckleheads on that roster. Said knuckleheads were not back in 2010.

Thursday’s loss to the Chiefs — with the Patriots’ defense in surprising disarray at times — had a 2009 vibe about it. I’m sure that will pass. It’s natural to overreact to losing the opener, but this is still a loaded team. I’m not sure the Saints, in their own building, are who the Patriots want to be seeing right now, though. This would be a better time to play someone hapless, like, say, the Bengals.

Kick it off, Gostkowski, and let’s get this one started . . .

THREE PLAYERS I’LL BE WATCHING NOT NAMED TOM BRADY

■ Drew Brees: Speaking of quarterbacks who have seemed to get better with age, the 38-year-old Brees is the active leader in passing yards (66,402, good for third all time and roughly 4,600 ahead of Brady). He also is third in passing touchdowns (466, 10 more than Brady.) The only players ahead of them are Peyton Manning and Brett Favre on the all-time lists, which I suppose you could have surmised. Give Brees a few more rings and you could call him the NFC’s version of Brady, or the closest replica, anyway.

I’ve always been fascinated with his vague, ancillary ties to the Patriots. They’re all in the form of what-ifs, really. A couple: in the 2001 draft, the Chargers stole Brees in the second round. Their first-round pick was TCU running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who ran all the way to Canton, giving them an all-timer of a draft. Tomlinson was rumored to be the Patriots’ preferred pick at the time, but the Chargers got him at No. 5. The Patriots ended up with Richard Seymour at No. 6, and I think most Patriots fans believe it worked out for the best even considering how great Tomlinson became. Seymour is one of the most dominating defensive players in Patriots history and was crucial in the 2001 turnaround.

A couple more: What if the Chargers had kept Brees rather than drafting Philip Rivers in 2004 and eventually letting Brees, who had a damaged shoulder, leave as a free agent? Would the Brees-led Chargers have done what Rivers never has been able to accomplish and beat the Patriots in the playoffs? Finally, what if Nick Saban had decided to sign Brees over Daunte Culpepper with the Dolphins in 2006? With Saban and Brees, Miami might have been a legitimate threat to the Patriots’ AFC East dominance. For a guy without a lot of history against the Patriots, Brees sure has a lot of imagine-if-this-had-happened connections.

■ Rob Gronkowski: Two catches on six targets for 33 yards in the opener, his first game since he was lost for the season with a back injury in Week 12 last year. Not exactly what we were expecting, though we probably should have remembered that it has taken him some time to shake off the rust after past serious injuries. This would be a good week for him to start looking like his old ferocious self, though. With Danny Amendola out, Brandin Cooks still getting on the same page with Brady, and Chris Hogan seemingly facing a tweak to his role in Julian Edelman’s absence, Gronk should be the most trustworthy constant. If it takes him longer than expected to return to form, I may have to start giving some credence to the notion that Edelman was more important to the offense than even the most dynamic all-around tight end in history.

■ Brandin Cooks: And now for the most obvious one, given that it’s the receiver’s homecoming to New Orleans, where he spent the first three seasons of his excellent career. I’m not sure why the Saints traded him — perhaps they coveted the first-round pick the Patriots offered in return and figured they wouldn’t be able to pay him when he hits free agency — but it must be heartening to hear a pair of quarterbacks who have combined for 128,251 career passing yards and 922 TDs praise him so effusively this week.

Here’s Brees: “I loved Brandin [and] loved playing with him for three years. We’re still good friends off the field. [It] just happens to be that he’s on the other side of the ball this week coming back here to New Orleans, but nothing but great respect for him.’’

And Brady: “I’ve just loved the time I’ve had with him. He’s been so much fun to play with and to work with. I just have nothing but great things to say about him.’’

Brady did appear frustrated with Cooks on one occasion in the Chiefs game, an incomplete pass along the sideline that Cris Collinsworth suggested at the time was a poor throw from the quarterback. I’m not so sure — we’ve got enough evidence after 17 years of watching Brady to know how he reacts when the receiver isn’t exactly where he is supposed to be when he was supposed to be. I suspect that one was on Cooks. Still, he had three catches for 88 yards, drew 46 yards in penalties, and should only become more dangerous. Bet he has a bigger, even better game this week, even if it’s against the team that knows him best.

GRIEVANCE OF THE WEEK

Please tell me I’m not alone in finding the worrying about the Patriots’ front seven a bit overwrought this week.

First of all, it’s generally a front six, since they usually start and play five defensive backs, and it was a front five to begin the opener, with Eric Rowe also on the field from the get-go. They have a terrific young end in Trey Flowers, two talented defensive tackles in Alan Branch and Malcom Brown, a cornerstone linebacker in Dont’a Hightower who — exhale — apparently dodged serious injury (although he won’t play Sunday), a promising run-stopper in Elandon Roberts, a promising pass rusher in Dietrich Wise, and a linebacker who is thought of highly enough in the building to have warranted a contract extension in Kyle Van Noy. There’s not a Ken Sims in the bunch.

There are depth issues, yes. Shea McClellin, who got better as last season went on, is on injured reserve, Geneo Grissom hasn’t panned out, and Vincent Valentine is hurt. But five of the front six that started the Super Bowl, only McClellin and the (temporarily?) retired Rob Ninkovich are absent. They need to replace quality depth in Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard — Harvey Langi may get a chance Sunday with Hightower ailing.

But this is not a dire situation by any stretch, at least until there is more attrition. And it certainly does not warrant the serious suggestion that they might regret parting ways with Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones. They won a Super Bowl without them and spent the money they would have had to apply to contract extensions to bring in high-end talent all over the roster. If they stay healthy up front, they’ll be fine. They already are.

PREDICTION, OR YOU ALL KNOW THAT CHUCK MUNCIE IS THE GREATEST SAINT OF ALL, RIGHT?

Brady and the Patriots are 16-4 coming off a loss over the past seven years . . . and frankly, it’s hard to remember the four losses. It always feels as if they respond to any challenge, especially those that come in the form of defeat. I labored over whether to pick them this week, wondered whether those daydreams of 16-0 would turn into an 0-2 borderline nightmare. It’s tough to win in New Orleans, against Brees and coach Sean Payton and a team they genuinely respect. But the closer the game gets (finally), the more convinced I become: the Patriots will win. The Saints defense made Sam Bradford look like Brady. Wait until they see what the real thing can do. Patriots 41, Saints 31.