It Was Not As Bad as it Seemed

It was all hyped up to the nth degree and at first, the Jets were the ones stumbling. They looked poor and I kept waiting and waiting for the giant to arise and score a touchdown into their wide open mouths and down their throats. But that did not happen. Instead, it was more stumble, bumble and miss the train. They got field goals, but while they were ahead, I think all Patriot fans knew that the sevens were so much more important. They kept waiting and it did not happen.
And when the Jets struck fast in the second half, it was just the blow to knock the Pats for a loop. They had more opportunities, but with each series that failed, the Green got more powerful. The frustration kept mounting and while a miracle finish seemed possible, the hill grew steeper as time went on. I really did not think they were going to do it and yet of course, I wanted Brady to come up big. The loss I saw coming in the first half, where a touchdown would have crushed the Jets quickly. But that was not in the cards.

Momentum Movement-----The Patriots and Jets exchanged small bits of momentum until the fumble recovery and from there, the Pats had it in the first half. It was tempered though as each drive was stopped with only a field goal, so it was momentum, but not as strong. The Jets grabbed that back with their opening drive in the second half, never letting go of it.

Tipping Point-----This is one of those times that you knew it from the minute it happened. The Jet drive to start the second half was quick and the Sanchez pass to Keller for the touchdown gave the Jets the lead. After that point, it was all New York and the game had changed big time with that score.

Stat Check-----Sometimes statistics lie and in looking at them, it would seem that the Patriots had outplayed them by a bit. They led in first downs, 18 to 14, third down efficiency, 33% to 27% and total yards 299 to 254. Nothing dominant, but leading them. It does not tell the story. It's a matter of timing and of when events happen as well as the flow of the game. Penalties was a big, telling stat, 11-89 for the Patriots versus 8-55 yards. In a tight defensive game those 89 yards adds up. The 0-3 in the Red Zone also was a big stat, while the Jets were 1-3, the difference in the game.

Losing Welker was a real blow to the offense, but even without the standout receiver, they still were able to move the ball. Edelman filled in nicely, even though in the end, it was close, no cigar. The Jet defense rushed Brady which was his first real look at an all out blitz this year. In losing Welker, it left Edelman and Galloway as the ones who would get the quick passes. Both are new to this offense and do not know what is needed on bltizes. With Moss basically blanketed, it left a few things out of place and those small things added up to incomplete passes. And those small things added up to the reason why they lost the game, an ineffective offense.
But the offense just seemed out of sync in how it went downfield. It was far from crisp and the running game was there at times and then without a reason, gone. That was puzzling, especially in the third quarter, when Fred Taylor had back to back runs of 13 and 12 yards. It would have been best to continue with the running attack, but instead they changed up with Morris, had two Delay of Game penalties and when they got the ball back, it was with a bit less than ten minutes left in the game. That may have been a bad mistake to let go of the Taylor running game at that point.
The Jet defense though was tough at times, bringing pressure on Brady when needed and blanketing Moss with Revis and a safety. Both Revis and Sheppard had good game, the latter going out after making a big play swatting a long bomb away from Galloway in the end zone. The blitzing pressured Brady a lot in the first quarter and that helped stop a few drives in their tracks. The Pats adjusted better after that, except for the last part of the game when Ryan was bringing the house and Brady was a bit rattled.
The Patriots D meanwhile played a strong first half, giving up only 57 yards of offense. It would have meant more though if the offense had poured on some more points though as the half time score gave them the lead, but not by a whole lot. One big play, with defenders colliding and the Green was down the field. In a close game, one play can break a game open as it did last Sunday. They played just so so after that first series as the Jets moved the ball easier, with two drives of four and nine minutes. Each of those resulted in a field goal that made a Patriot comeback a lot harder as a lot of time was taken off the clock.
The drives of the Patriots in the first quarter ended with a lot of poorly managed plays. A pass wide to Baker on a 3rd and 7 ended their opening drive and on a 3rd and 5 from about 10 yard further back, Brady threw way wide of Galloway. It was a 3rd and 10 that Brady again threw wide of Galloway, but this time, they did manage a field goal. Opportunities to strike, were nipped quickly. After a solid drive down the field, Brady's ball went flying over Edelman's head and again the Pats added only a field goal. That one was very disappointing as they had started the series at the Jet 12 yard line. Toward the end of the half, it was another series that ended in a field goal as Lowery tipped a third down pass up in the air and Moss almost was able to grab it deep in the end zone.
In the second half, it was a bit worse as there was an overthrow of Moss and Morris on the first two drives. The Jets D came up big on the next Patriot possession, after a long Jet drive that pushed them up by another field goal. The offense went to Taylor on a 3rd and 1 and he lost a yard on the slow developing obvious run left. That stop forced the Pats strictly to the air in desperation in the last two drives. With the last plays resulting in bad passes thrown. But as much as it was sloppy plays, the Jets D did come up with the plays, especially with the blitzing Green players much of the time in Brady's face. It was a bad combination of many things.
The special teams were not horrible, but they allowed Washington to get yardage on three of his kickoffs, the last setting up the big New York go ahead drive.
In many ways, this was the perfect storm for a Jet win. The Patriots had a short week, a star quarterback trying to get back into the rhythm of things, a new offensive system coming to fruition. a top receiver out and two new receivers that needed to be counted on who were not at all in sync with the quarterback. Throw a tough blitz into the mix of things and of the fact that this team had lost eight straight at home and one has the ingredients of a possible loss.
Despite all of the offensive blunders, this team lost by only a touchdown. I think with all of the factors mentioned and the fact that Patriot nation wanted the Pats to win big, placed extremely high expectations on the team. Only a win would have satisfied the fan base and any loss would obviously seem more like mountains than molehills. And there are a lot of those molehills.

Thumbs Down-----1) The Patriot offense--This unit had a number of opportunities and could not get it done with a touchdown. They had drives that ended at the Jets 36 and 44 yard lines and another that started at the 17. Out of those first three drives, they placed only a field goal on the board. Two other drives stalled at the 7 and 11 yard line of the Jets with Gostkowski field goals on the board. Again, they just could not get the big play, getting the ball into the endzone. They got yardage, but when it came to the big play, they found ways not to make the big play. I also must add that the communication system of wrist bands and chalkboard signs might not have helped. It seemed to take a flow out of things, but 2) Tom Brady--Coming back from an injury is hard, but he was again way off the mark on a number of throws. They were not crisp and it seemed like he was rattled by the blitzes by the Jets, instead of finding open receivers and burning the Jets big time. 3) Sam Aiken--A special teams Captain has leadership responsibilities, but having two penalties called was not the best way to do that. Neither was particularly costly, but just not the way to do things. 4) The Patriot kickoff defense team--They were the stars of the show last week, but other than a late bouncing kickoff to Washington that went for only a few, did a really poorly with stopping him. He had three returns that were out past the 30, the last one taking it past the 40. In a close game of field position as this game was, it really put the defense in a big hole.

Thumbs Up-----1) The Patriot defense--This unit played hard, especially in the first half and really stymied the Jets offense. They had only 57 yards total on offense in the first half, which really gave the team a chance at a victory. 2) Julian Edelman--His first game as a pro was quite good, despite the almosts he had that would have broken the game open. He caught 8 for 98 yards and a long one of 29 yards. He was not Wes Welker, but he was not totally poor either as a year ago he was playing quarterback at Kent State. 3) Gary Guyton--He was thrust into the spotlight with Mayo's absence and was quite impressive. He led the team with 10 tackles and did an adequate job as defensive quarterback. I

Bumps and Bruises---New England--S Brandon Meriwether--He went out on a kickoff late in the first quarter, but returned in the third. New York--CB Lito Sheppard--He injured a quad making a great play to break up a deep bomb to Galloway in the first few minutes of the second quarter, but was.out after that..--CB Donald Strickland--He came out of the game in the latter part of the third quarter and did not make it back on the field.--DL Kris Jenkins--He went out briefly in the fourth, aggravating his back injury, but made a quick return.

The overreaction of fans and the media has made the loss bigger than life. It is only one, but it does bring to light a number of areas that need to improve. Brady will get better over time and the offense will find an identity with O'Brien's schemes. It may take time for all to adjust, but what is more important is that once it gets into motion, it doesn't sputter and back fire, but become a real offensive machine. The hope is that losses do not shatter dreams before that happens.
This is a long season and this could be only a bump, but with a few weeks fans will know more about this team. Expectations were far high and quick and the longer and larger picture may be more important.

Play Under the Radar--In the end, it meant nothing, but it could have been a big game turner in the game. Revis made a great play to pick off the Brady long bomb, but he reversed field and could have made a long return as there was a wide open field on his right. Moss made the big play, chasing him down and tossing him down for no gain on the return. A small play, but he stopped what could have been a big turnover.

The Chalkboard---The biggest decision was one by Rex Ryan to pressure Brady and it paid off. Only seven of Brady's twenty three completions were when he was pressured. It was the linebackers, Scott, Harris and Thomas and defensive backs, Rhodes, Leonhard and Smith who brought pressure on all out blitzes from various points. It was very effective in the first quarter when it needed to be with the Patriots in great field position, hitting him a few times and with a number of incomplete passes. It seemed like the Patriots got a bit of a handle on it in the next quarters, but in the last, they brought more players, more often. It was as much when they did it that was important. Third down plays went poorly for the Patriots for a lot of the game and Ryan's defensive scheme was something the Pats could not solve.


The Whistle---The one bad call was on Washington's fumble. From seeing it on several angles, one could deduce that it was not a fumble and that his knee was already down. The problem with it was that there was no one or two views that really could be put it together for the overturn. It states that there has to be "incontrovertible visual evidence" to overturn a play. Because of the views and what could be seen, it was not clear, even though with a few views and some common sense, it was not a fumble. Given what the hurdle is for an overturn, it really makes it hard in some situations to have the right call made. This was one of those times.
This is one of those odd cases that falls through the cracks with visual evidence, cpommon sense and what the rule states. It wasn't a fumble and yet, once the call was made, there was no way to overturn it. This is a weakness in the system, but one that I really don't think can change. I know if the Patriot team scored, the Green fans would have been all over the NFL and officials, so luckily it did not come down to that.
Oddly, there were two holding calls on that drive and I am sure some saw those as possible make up calls. But besides those two drive killers, the Pats continually made mistakes, with four Delay of Game penalties, two back to back in a crucial situation in the third quarter.

Last Thoughts--There is still a lot for the team to do to improve on. The defense despite Mayo's absence seemes to be ahead of the offense at this point. They have a large test against a tough 2-0 Atlanta team. Will it be more of the same or will they make a big improvement? There are many more questions now on offense than defense and in time fans will know and see. There is a reason for optimism, but let us all hope that they have less battle scars before those sunny days appear.