Newest Patriot Terdell Sands made his debut in the Patriots locker room Wednesday morning and while he didn’t really talk to the media, he certainly made quite an impression.

File this under the “Obvious” tab in the file folders of your mind bank, but the 6-7, 335-pound Sands is huge! Biggest man I’ve ever seen – considering both height and width – in the New England locker room. Probably the biggest human I’ve seen this side of Shaq (the real one, not his look-alike Kendall Simmons) and WWE’s The Big Show. Dude is ridiculous.

The funny thing is that in a room that’s filled with huge men, Sands size actually created quite a buzz. And it wasn’t just with the media, the players seemed to notice it as well.

ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss, who God love him and for all his strengths is a bit vertically challenged, stopped Sands at the door of the locker room to ask the former Raider a question. The image of Reis standing next to the massive Sands is burned into my brain and will get me through my next bought of depression. If only I had a photo to pass along!

After Sands left, Kevin Faulk (vertically challenged a tad in his own right) asked Reiss if “Andre” hand given him anything. Reiss was a bit perplexed before Faulk responded, “Andre the Giant.” Good stuff.

Later I heard a couple offensive linemen chatting about running into Sands in the hallway and joking about giving him a high five, which would be a low five for him. And these are guys that are all in the range of 6-4 and 300 pounds themselves!

I don’t know what kind of impact Sands will have on the field – especially as a 6-7 interior tackle or nose tackle – but a short appearance in the Gillette locker room certainly was interesting. If he doesn’t make it forever in the NFL Sands has plenty of career options, including his own stint in the WWE or a job in personal security.

Junior Seau is unique. It’s why he was able to play nearly two decades in the NFL. It’s why he can literally jump from the surfboard to the football field and not look utterly out of place. Simply put, the future Hall of Famer is special.

But it’s also why he chooses to moonlight as a rodeo clown while he’s supposedly enjoying his retirement. (Sorry, graduation.) Some guys golf. Some try the media. He mocks 1,000-pound beasts.

He wasn’t run over too often in his career on the football field but he certainly got the worst of a meeting with a bull at a recent Professional Bull Rider’s event in Ontario, Canada. Seau was not inured in the video below, which is why it is so very funny to watch.

The good news is if Seau does return to the Patriots again sometime later this fall I’m pretty sure no opposing ball carrier will be quite as imposing as the four-legged phenom. Hey, mess with the bull and you really do get the horns. Even if you are a freak athlete and future Hall of Fame linebacker.

Patriots Football Weekly’s Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Fred Kirsch will again be offering his “Kirsch Words” blog which will feature in-game commentary during the Patriots home game against the Atlanta Falcons beginning at 12:00pm ET. Read his commentary and notes as he blogs before, during and after the game.

We’ve had plenty to digest over the first two weeks of the NFL season in New England. A 1-1 start that’s included lackluster efforts from the offense, despite 100 pass attempts from Tom Brady, and an OK-but-not-really-tested effort from the defense.

What’s been lacking most? The running game? Old-reliable Brady to Moss? Big plays on defense?

Really all of the above have been absent save for a flash of Brady brilliance in the five-minute comeback effort to beat the Bills.

So above all else, in my opinion that’s what the Patriots need at this point – playmakers to make plays. On offense that means Brady must be better and Randy Moss must amaze us down the field. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Right?

Defensively the search for playmakers making plays might be a bit more difficult. First, we need to isolate the expected playmakers on the team. Then, we need to figure out why they’re not making plays.

Through two games Gary Guyton leads the team with 17 tackles. Defensive linemen Vince Wilfork and Mike Wright have the only forced fumbles. Leigh Bodden the only fumble recovery. The team has yet to pick off a pass.

Tully-Banta-Cain leads the way with a pair of sacks, two of New England’s six as a team. But New England hasn’t exactly been pressuring opposing passers to depth in two weeks against Trent Edwards and Mark Sanchez.

Notice a name missing from the defensive superlatives through two weeks? Me too! Linebacker Adalius Thomas has just five tackles, to rank 11th on the team. He’s added a sack, a pass defensed and a pair of hits on the quarterback. But he hasn’t looked like a playmaker or a dominant defender on a unit looking for standout leadership in the wake of offseason changes and Jerod Mayo’s Week 1 injury.

Also notably absent from both the top of the stat sheet and from my memory bank of plays on defense is August-addition Derrick Burgess. The former Raider has three tackles and a sack for no yards lost. More often than not his pass rushing has ended with him in a mirrored dance with the opponents’ right tackle. He’s yet to show any burst off the edge.

It’s only two weeks. There is plenty of time for Thomas, Burgess and others to step up on defense. Same for Joey Galloway on offense. And I fully expect Brady, Moss & Co. to get their act together on offense. But when things aren’t rolling along smoothly, that’s when you need your best players to step up and make plays. That time is here for the Patriots and needs to begin on Sunday in a tough battle with the 2-0 Hotlanta Falcons at Gillette Stadium.

Which expected playmaker has most disappointed you through two weeks of 2009? Who needs to step up to get this team out of its early season struggles? Who should be the team’s top playmakers on both sides of the ball? Let us know with a comment below!