I have a lot conflicting thoughts after this game. I hope you find at least some of them interesting.
On the offensive side of the ball:
1. It is clear that no other defense he has seen in the last 2 years confuses Tom Brady more than the Jets. 4 of the 5 sacks came (imho) from coverage. It wasn't like Brady didn't have time to throw the ball He had at least 2 looks on each of those 4 sacks.
That defensive scheme and/or the players who run it, clearly cause him fits. Its by far the most indecisive we ever see Tom. (though it should be noted that he seemed to get more comfortable as the game went on.)
Now here's the conflicting part. If it wasn't for that dropped pass by Hernandez, the Pats would have put up 37 points on a defense that drives Brady nuts. Now how f**ked up is THAT!
2. Its also clear that after Volmer gets back, Thomas Welch will be back with the practice squad.
3. I think the offense missed have the dimension that Danny Woodhead gives it. With such Blanket coverage coverage of the other receivers, Brady didn't have a 3rd down back type to use for screens and drop downs. I hope he's back for Dallas Hard to believe that this offense can get better.
4 Welcome back to reality Steven Ridley. A little too much east and west, and not enough north and south Stevie. I still believe in you kid, but you had to know that the NFL wasn't that easy.
5. Think about how awesome the running game is going to be when we get Volmer back and Solder comes in as the 2nd TE
6. For all the kudo's that BJGE is going to get all this week, the fact is that he is a very average RB in the NFL. HOWEVER he has 4 qualities that BB values. a. He rarely loses yds b. he will always get at least what is given d. He can get those tough yds around the GL and Short yardage and d. He doesn't put the ball on the ground.
IIRC ASmith never averaged 4ypc Yet he was perfect for what BB wanted in a RB because he had those 4 qualities, even if he wasn't among the most talent backs in the league or even the division
Its not like BB doesn't want a dynamic RB, but until he lucks into one, BJGE can provide the kind of running attack that compliments the high powered passing attack well. He's not a guy who can run for 20+ several time a year, but he's not going to risk any opportunities to get 3-6 yds in order to try and hit that home run. BB appreciates that kind of dependability
7. I'm surprised that Welker was able to gain over 100 yds again. Even more surprised to see Branch managed 7 catches. I guess the scribes will have to postpone his football obituary for another week or two.
And speaking of the media, I thought the Jets did a pretty good job on Welker, yet he STILL had over 100 yds receiving. I wonder at what point the media is going to start to view him as one of the top receivers in the league. NO ONE in the league, has caught more pass than Wes since 2007 and NO ONE is more a more productive WR this year. Yet Wes is rarely mentioned among the top 5 guys.
Clearly those guys are 'anti-shortites'. and something should be done. Welker is being "short changed". Guys like Chris Carter are being very "smal minded". It seems certain people will go to "no length" to disparage Welker's accomplishment. Why isn't Mike Reiss "on top" of this?
8. In summary: The offense allowed 5 sacks. They only had one short field. The defense provided ZERO turnovers. Brady didn't have his best night missing a couple of open receivers deep, and looking confused and indecisive at times. The OL had its worst game of the year pass blocking......and we STILL came within a dropped pass from hanging a 37 spot on defense that held the Ravens to 10. Sorry, but I still can't get over that dichotomy. Are we just spoiled? Overly critical? Or what. Head scratching isn't it.
The defensive side:
1. If you look at the yds, 3rd down ratio, and some other stats there is certainly room to think the D showed some improvement. and they did. However they failed badly in a couple of key areas that ironically had previously been areas of accomplishment. One being Zero TO's. The other, red zone defense, where the Jets went 3 for 3.
Remember all the positive people (including me) were touting the fact that despite all the yds given up, the points allowed in non-garbage time, was starting to improve, Well here we did well in giving up only 250 total yds, but the 21 points we gave up are too many given how few yds were allowed. Last week we gave up over 500 yds, yet only allowed 19 points, and 6 of those were in garbage time.
2. Good thing we got back Dowling and Haynesworth.....I guess, Neither managed to show up on the stat sheet with a tackle, sack, or pass defended. In fact I asked myself all night if Dowling was even in the game. Now I understand I'm being overly critical. Both had missed a couple of weeks and both were "limited" at practice all week, so I guess I should be just grateful they made the effort they did. Still disappointed, since I was excited to see them back.
3. Much better efforts by McCourty and Boddin this week
4. Defense was still very vanilla this week. Rarely did they blitz, and when they did blitz, the stunt rarely freed someone up. For the most part the Pats lined up pretty much the same way every play. So while the offense has morphed into the Colts, its starting to look like the defense is starting to morph into the dreaded Jags;
Is BB waiting for later in the season to show some creativity or at least create some of the same confusion in an opposing QB that we saw in Brady. Curious. Maybe BB will implement some stuff after the bye when everyone is healthy and have had a few games under their belt.
5. When the Jets started to gain some traction in the run game, I thought the Pats would move into a 3-4 look but it never happened. We rarely put immediate pressure on Mangold coming off HIS injury. I thought this would be part of the strategy. I was wrong.
6. I think Gary Guyton is a better special teamer than a full time ILB. He is a liability vs the run. I would really would like to see Fletcher get a shot at the position. Spikes was OK, but still hit the wrong hole a few times when he filled. Now giving up just 97 yds rushing, isn't a bad job. But I expected better. The Mayo gap has appeared.
7 Ninko is VERY under rated. Very solid," do your job" kind of player
8. James Iheadibo isn't the answer at S, but he played way above my expectations this afternoon, as Chung and he pretty much shut down Keller and minimized the possibility of big plays. Kudos to the local kid.
Defensive Summary - Better....not good, but better, nonetheless. That wasn't a good offense, and Dallas, with all its flaws presents a much more difficult challenge and they are coming off a bye We can't count on Romo just coughing up a game to us. We just aren't that lucky.
Special teams - Mezko had a great day punting the ball, and KO coverage sucked. I think that about covered it.
Miscellaneous:
1. Jet fans might be building a statue to Joe McKnight as we speak, but in reality, the credit should all go to Westhoff, his schemes, and his players' execution. The timing and blocking of almost all of the KOs was just consistently excellent. So good even an opposing fan can appreciate it.
2. Its clear that Mark Sanchez's biggest problem is consistency. I find it hard to fathom how the QB who made their 3 scoring drives look so easy, could make those 7 three and outs look so hard. I'm just glad he's not our QB Right now he's not even the 2nd best QB in the division.
3. I would appreciate it if anyone could tell me how I can get the MHK logo on my name plate. I should have done it earlier
4. Stats that made be go WOW.
a. Wes Welkers fumble of that punt was the Pats FIRST fumble of the year.
b. Brady's pick in the red zone was the first one he'd ever thrown in Gillette during the regular season - over 300 throws
5. The NFL network is offering he ability to stream any game after its over for $30 for the season. I'd be interested to know if anyone has that service and how they like it. It would be interesting to take another look at games
6. Given that Revis is grabbing receivers past the 5 yd mark all the time, I found it odd the refs called that PI on him. Looked like a bad call to me.
7. The replay was the correct call on the Branch play. When a player is down, as Branch was, the play ends the moment someone touches him. All the ball movement and the fumble itself came AFTER Branch was touched.
8. That soft sharp keening you hear in the background are Jet fans WHINING as usual about how the refs are in the opposing team's pockets. I'd take it personally, except its the same whine EVERY week
9. it looks like we got out of this game pretty healthy. Hopefully none of the guys we just got back aggravated any of their injuries
OK on to the Dallas game - Beating the 2 teams I love to hate the most in consecutive weeks would make this old man a very happy one.
