How about the secondary?

[Gostkowski for 3]

It was a relief to not see guys streaking open down the field by 10 yards like we were the last 2 years....

 

[Ozymandias]

The secondary looks way better than it has in years. Guys are actually in position to make plays on the ball. And Arrington looks better than ever, and bigger and more physical too.

When Gregory was shaken up and Harmon stepped in for him I liked what I saw from the rookie. If he keeps that up he'll be a starter sooner rather than later.

 

[mgteich]

And how many balls did the jets drop?

And how many wide open receivers were missed?

The jets easily could have done much better. But then, they were missing a receiver and they have one of the very worst offenses in the NFL.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Still some softness in the middle but that isn't so much on the secondary. But overall I agree. The Patriots have a more competitive secondary than in several years. If Dennard can stay out of jail , Talib can stay healthy, along with Arrington, we finally have 3 CBs that can be competitive in coverage. They aren't lights out but solidly competitive.....I'll take it!!

 

[primetime]

Unfortunately the Patriots won't be playing Geno Smith in his second NFL game in driving rain too many more times this season. (In the battle of rookie AFC East QBs, EJ Manuel is the one I'm much more afraid of going forward)

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

And how many balls did the jets drop?

And how many wide open receivers were missed?

The jets easily could have done much better. But then, they were missing a receiver and they have one of the very worst offenses in the NFL.

If you are pointing out it wasn't perfect, point well taken. It most certainly wasn't perfect. But "wide open" receivers? I'd be curious to know how many "wide open" receivers you noted. I know last year and the year before you often would need a calculator to tabulate how many "wide open" receivers there were (and we are talking wide open), and too often wide open after only a couple of seconds. Tonight? the secondary success was simply due to luck/jets killing themselves? Let me ask these questions about the secondary's jobs:
Job: Allow no receiver to get open deep and create scores from it. Did the secondary accomplish this?
Job: Keep close to the receivers, give the QB pause to throw it there sometimes, make the QB feel he needs the throw to be perfect, or hesitate and hold the ball a bit longer. Did the secondary do this with any frequency?
Job: Allow no run play to beat you long (last line of defense). Did the secondary largely accomplish this?
Job 4: Catch the INT opportunities that are presented. Did the secondary largely accomplish this?
Job 5: On plays where the ball was caught, keep YAC as low as possible, make tackles before the first down yardage is gained (if possible). Did the secondary accomplish this with any frequency?

I'm curious if you think these jobs were not completed well and/or only were accomplished because the Jets gave it to them.

 

[patsfan-1982]

we will see what they are really made of vs the bucs Josh Freeman is no Peyton Manning but he's better then any QB they faced so far and Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams are two very good WR's and they have a good RB in Doug Martin lets just say 10 points will not get them a win next week,


don't get me wrong this was one my fav wins in a long time but I wanna see them do vs star talent cause that's all they will be facing come playoff time

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

They look good. True test is against ATL. But this secondary is better than last year IMO

 

[supafly]

They look good. True test is against ATL. But this secondary is better than last year IMO

I will definitely agree that they look better than last year, but that bar was set pretty low. Just the fact alone that all of Talib, Arrington, McCourty and Dennard are playing at their best positions from day one point towards things in better shape.

I also think there are lots of things that can be improved of course, so even this aspect of the team will go through a challenging period of growing pains.

The true tests as you said, will come against ATL, CIN, and NO, and when you think of it that way it leaves a definite concern for the next several games. We'll know a lot more after those games, but we need to make major improvements in many areas right now. Hopefully that occurs over the next couple of games.

 

[Joker]

That was a football game tonight, alright...what I take from it is, they found a way to win. The rest is purely farcical to analyze...3 1/2 days rest and major injuries..I'm surprised they pulled this one out. You take it and forget about it.

I worry about the chemistry with the rooks with Brady...Thompkins looks like a square peg. Dobson had drops, but got open and ran the right routes for the most part. I think Amendola comes back, Edelman plays, with Dobson flanked and Gronk. Thomkins looks like he's a fallen meteorite

 

[supafly]

That was a football game tonight, alright...what I take from it is, they found a way to win. The rest is purely farcical to analyze...3 1/2 days rest and major injuries..I'm surprised they pulled this one out. You take it and forget about it.

I worry about the chemistry with the rooks with Brady...Thompkins looks like a square peg. Dobson had drops, but got open and ran the right routes for the most part. I think Amendola comes back, Edelman plays, with Dobson flanked and Gronk. Thomkins looks like he's a fallen meteorite

I generally agree with your overall comment, but I actually still see Thompkins as a target for the immediate future. He was targeted 14x last week even with Amendola, and almost caught a nice TD pass tonight. At least he seems to get some separation at times. He was clearly the favorite coming out of TC, and Dobson didn't show me one thing tonight to prove otherwise. He's the one that looks terribly raw in my opinion.

The question of course is "when" Amendola comes back, as tonight's report states 2-6 weeks. That may be a long time against top level competition in the likes of ATL, CIN, and NO, all 3 of which could easily beat us in this current condition.

Unfortunately if the offense doesn't improve significantly, the secondary is going to suffer from this aspect with a "real" team just due to opportunities alone, so the 2 go hand in hand.

 

[Kdo5]

I didnt find much confidence in our pass coverage. There were several times when our secondary would have burned if not for the rookie at QB. Often times it just seems to easy to pass on us. Most of the problems are on the inside. I have seen Talib get beat quite a few times but otherwise the corners have been good.

 

[supafly]

I didnt find much confidence in our pass coverage. There were several times when our secondary would have burned if not for the rookie at QB. Often times it just seems to easy to pass on us. Most of the problems are on the inside. I have seen Talib get beat quite a few times but otherwise the corners have been good.

I would agree with this statement too. Obviously we're in much better shape than last year, but there's still a ton of concerns moving forward, especially vs good teams.

 

[Demosthenes]

I didnt find much confidence in our pass coverage. There were several times when our secondary would have burned if not for the rookie at QB. Often times it just seems to easy to pass on us. Most of the problems are on the inside. I have seen Talib get beat quite a few times but otherwise the corners have been good.

Yep. One play to look at was the pass breakup by Dennard that resulted in the 2nd INT iirc. The problem with it was that Dennard was beaten pretty badly. Only reason for the INT was that Geno underthrew the ball. If that ball was on target, it would have been a long completion instead of an INT.

 

[Kdo5]

Yep. One play to look at was the pass breakup by Dennard that resulted in the 2nd INT iirc. The problem with it was that Dennard was beaten pretty badly. Only reason for the INT was that Geno underthrew the ball. If that ball was on target, it would have been a long completion instead of an INT.

I just refuse to get excited about a Patriots secondary until I see consistency. They played decently enough against the Bills and Jets, both playing rookies (I believe EJ Manuel is). It really proves nothing, unless they played shut down and always in the right place. Well the Pats secondary hasn't been shut down, because they still get beat frequently and often times luck goes our way.

The secondary basically hasn't changed at all personnel wise, and I need to see proof that they are actually improved. Like against an offense with a legit QB? From what I saw, the secondary doesn't look much different at all. I've only noticed Arrington is bigger, and dare I say better than in the past.

 

[Demosthenes]

I just refuse to get excited about a Patriots secondary until I see consistency. They played decently enough against the Bills and Jets, both playing rookies (I believe EJ Manuel is). It really proves nothing, unless they played shut down and always in the right place. Well the Pats secondary hasn't been shut down, because they still get beat frequently and often times luck goes our way.

The secondary basically hasn't changed at all personnel wise, and I need to see proof that they are actually improved. Like against an offense with a legit QB? From what I saw, the secondary doesn't look much different at all. I've only noticed Arrington is bigger, and dare I say better than in the past.

One thing I have noticed is that the CBs seem to actually be looking back for the ball instead of just getting their hands up to try and break up catches. From what others have said, this seems to be somewhat of a change.

 

[Brewskies]

When they play ATL, CINN and NO we will be able to see if improvement is there.

 

[DarrylS]

Talent, individual maturity and time playing together all increases the efficiency of any secondary....

Of course being healthy helps also...

 

[MTM558]

2 good games against 2 bad teams. Next week will probably be a third but who knows. Weeks 4, 5 and 6 will say a lot about this secondary and defense as a whole.

I'm honestly not expecting anything.

 

[makoute]

When they play ATL, CINN and NO we will be able to see if improvement is there.

I think they have improved, they probably lose both of these games last year, if they score the same amount of points that they did.