Pats/Jets Thoughts

[Ring 6]

In any other season, including 3 Championship ones, fans wouldhave hopped on here Monday morning singing the praises of our team of destiny.
This year, most reaction was either negative or neutral. Such is the way it goes when you own the league.
I felt our defense simply dominated. The Jets wouldn't have scored an offensive TD if we played straight through until Tuesday.
It kinda sucked watching the O hamstrung by the elements, but only because we've become accustomed to putting up huge point totals, and because we are waiting for Brady and Moss' TD records.
It was very nice to see good play from some guys who have been inured or in a lesser role. Nice to see Seymour and Wilson put 6 on the board early on, and both play well all day. Nice to see Maroney have a game where we emphasized the run, and he ran very well. I saw Smith, Woods and Alexander in on defense on a few plays.
The catch by Moss is one of the 3 best I've seen all year, and I'm trying to figure out if thats the best 3 by Moss or anyone....
For all those 'experts' talking about how our wide open passing offense could be harmed by weather in the playoffs.....have they forgotten, we've gone to 3 SBs playing DEFENSE in that weather, and our defense looks like it will do the same job this time around.

The Jets have created a new BLUEPRINT. How to beat the Patriot defense:
Pull out a 1973 college football playbook, and runa play from it. You will gain 49 yards while the defense lapses into laughing at the play. Of course you can only do it once, because they hammer you every time you try it again.

I've been impressed with James Sanders all season. He has gone unnoticed but played great at safety. Curiously, I didnt miss him on Sunday.
Was it just me, or did everyone else think we coulda/shoulda/woulda intercepted Pennington about 7 times?

On to the next victim.

 

[JoePats]

I felt our defense simply dominated. The Jets wouldn't have scored an offensive TD if we played straight through until Tuesday.

Agree w/ everything except this part, since they had a TD right in the hands of McCariens who juggled it. It was a perfect pass.

 

[patsox23]

I think the jets DID come up with a blue-print. Drop a bunch of guys, clogging the slot, double Randy and - oh yeah - conjure 30 MPH winds and a wintry mix.

 

[Buchanty]

Right behind you AJ on this one. I thought the defense and special teams were fantastic. Its almost as if BB wants every phase of the game to have a good tryout before the playoffs, and these two groups did very well, great coverage, great blocking and great play making. And then on top of that the O demonstrated its prowess with a solid effort in the running game. What made that so nice was that the 140 or so yards were all hard earned, not inflated by one or two "20 yards or more" plays. Maroney looked every bit the featured RB, and for once this season outshone Addai. OK the Tom and Randy show took a brief hiatus before the January games (agree with the 3rd best catch of the season though), but they didnt need to perform since the rest of the team was in dominating form.

I guess the lack of enthusiasm comes from bandwaggoners that only want Air Patriots and the high scores. Unfortunately that includes the tiresome media, who seemingly ignored all the stellar performances on the day. To me it was one of the better games of the season and particularly satisfying because other than the fluke blocked punt play, Manginin looked lost and impotent. I did think that Pennington had a pretty good game, and I was surprised that he didnt have more floaters, which have become his trademark. I kept waiting for the interception but only thought we came close a couple of times. He certainly showed that he can play, even with a wet cloth for a throwing arm. It wasnt entirely his fault that they were unable to punch it in in the red zone - blame that one on a fragile O' line. He should have had a TD but for the juggling McCarreins, and still looks better than anything Clemens has shown to date.

I, like you, was disappointed to find few threads with positive reactions. Perhaps there needs to be a scratch post for fans to sharpen their claws on, because in one game all the best gripes disappeared:
- Maroney has shown his strides and can hit the hole.
- the defense has stopped the run (great job on Jones)
- the red zone defense is solid
- AD has made us feel more secure about the loss of Rosey
- Seymour is no longer playing as if handicapped by his surgery
- Wilson has re-emerged (almost like his rookie season)
- There is depth in the secondary (I agree with you on Sanders, who has shown he is just as capable as his namesake Bob).

I am glad no-one came on and complained about Brady and the receivers, so there is hope yet.:singing:
-

 

[bbabin]

Every one of Pennington's throws looked like a duck. Many times a DB would try to jump the route and would then miss the tackle. I don't blame them though, many times I also though, "easy pick."

 

[oldskool138]

Right behind you AJ on this one. I thought the defense and special teams were fantastic.
-

Yeah that blocked punt returned for the Jets only TD had me jumping up and down with jubilation.

 

[Ring 6]

Right behind you AJ on this one. I thought the defense and special teams were fantastic. Its almost as if BB wants every phase of the game to have a good tryout before the playoffs, and these two groups did very well, great coverage, great blocking and great play making. And then on top of that the O demonstrated its prowess with a solid effort in the running game. What made that so nice was that the 140 or so yards were all hard earned, not inflated by one or two "20 yards or more" plays. Maroney looked every bit the featured RB, and for once this season outshone Addai. OK the Tom and Randy show took a brief hiatus before the January games (agree with the 3rd best catch of the season though), but they didnt need to perform since the rest of the team was in dominating form.

I guess the lack of enthusiasm comes from bandwaggoners that only want Air Patriots and the high scores. Unfortunately that includes the tiresome media, who seemingly ignored all the stellar performances on the day. To me it was one of the better games of the season and particularly satisfying because other than the fluke blocked punt play, Manginin looked lost and impotent. I did think that Pennington had a pretty good game, and I was surprised that he didnt have more floaters, which have become his trademark. I kept waiting for the interception but only thought we came close a couple of times. He certainly showed that he can play, even with a wet cloth for a throwing arm. It wasnt entirely his fault that they were unable to punch it in in the red zone - blame that one on a fragile O' line. He should have had a TD but for the juggling McCarreins, and still looks better than anything Clemens has shown to date.

I, like you, was disappointed to find few threads with positive reactions. Perhaps there needs to be a scratch post for fans to sharpen their claws on, because in one game all the best gripes disappeared:
- Maroney has shown his strides and can hit the hole.
- the defense has stopped the run (great job on Jones)
- the red zone defense is solid
- AD has made us feel more secure about the loss of Rosey
- Seymour is no longer playing as if handicapped by his surgery
- Wilson has re-emerged (almost like his rookie season)
- There is depth in the secondary (I agree with you on Sanders, who has shown he is just as capable as his namesake Bob).

I am glad no-one came on and complained about Brady and the receivers, so there is hope yet.:singing:
-

I don't know if its a good thing or a bad thing that we beat a division opponent by 10 points in a game that was never in question, and the fan base is some how disappointed.
Is it good that we are so dominant we are spoiled and winning can be disappointing?
In the end, there are only 2 results of a game. Win or lose. Any win is good. Somehow Patsfans have come to value style points.

Oh, and I forgot in my original post: How does a punter not catch a snap?????????

 

[Buchanty]

Yeah that blocked punt returned for the Jets only TD had me jumping up and down with jubilation.

Apart from that one of course - still wish we had Miller! That being said ST has been an unsung part of the season's success. Its been amazing how quickly these guys get down field compared to other teams. And despite that one play (weather, Hanson juggle and a missed block) they got us back into the game in style.

 

[oldskool138]

In the end, there are only 2 results of a game. Win or lose. Any win is good. Somehow Patsfans have come to value style points.

Some of my friends were disappointed at the end of the Jets game but I went on a mini-diatribe about how the Pats were 14-0 and who cares how they get the W.

All of them except one came over to my side. I want the Pats to go 16-0 and the 3-0...I don't care how how they do it so long as they do it.

 

[Rawky77]

Every one of Pennington's throws looked like a duck. Many times a DB would try to jump the route and would then miss the tackle. I don't blame them though, many times I also though, "easy pick."

And that is exactly why they were catchable passes....those weather conditions favored the rag arm soft thrower over the power pitcher but it still did them no good in the end.

 

[letekro]

The jets suck all around, So you shouldn't pop the cork just yet. Plus with pennington playing you should have destroyed us, any how spending five years in the springfield mass area, In the early 90's, I met some real hardcore pat fans that are still friends. And to the diehard fans congrats, but your teams bandwagoner's fan base just kills you're guys Image

Of course there's a flip side to that coin my friend. Your team doesn't have any bandwagon fans because they've sucked for 40 years straight. What's the "image" of a jets fan btw? Cruisin around Jersey in the IROC waiting for the high schools to get out?

 

[Ring 6]

Some of my friends were disappointed at the end of the Jets game but I went on a mini-diatribe about how the Pats were 14-0 and who cares how they get the W.

All of them except one came over to my side. I want the Pats to go 16-0 and the 3-0...I don't care how how they do it so long as they do it.

I would be just as happy right now if we were 14-0 by:
A) winning every game 3-0
B) winning every game 51-50
or
C) Dominating like we have.

Hell, if we win the SB I'd be just as happy if we won by going 8-8, sneaking into the playoffs and winning it all.

 

[Ring 6]

Of course there's a flip side to that coin my friend. Your team doesn't have any bandwagon fans because they've sucked for 40 years straight. What's the "image" of a jets fan btw? Cruisin around Jersey in the IROC waiting for the high schools to get out?

Joey Buttafucco was a Jets fan.

 

[Joker]

heh....Ducks Quackington

 

[ClevTrev]

Agree that we're spoiled to some degree, AJ, but every win is great. To those who downplayed the win due to it being against a supposedly weak opponent, I say match ups never play out the way they should on paper. The Jets were up for this game. The Pats controlled the game and never let it get out of hand. It's a different kind of year with a different kind of team, so expectations are based on what we've seen for the previous 13 games.

What this reminds me of the most is the 2003 team that won some ugly, won a few big, but did what it had to do to win, period. If that's the attitude this team is fine-tuning going into the playoffs, then I'm very happy.