The 95 yd. Jacksonville Drive

[fillylabinga]

OK, somebody explain to me this: Why did the Jax O look so good on that drive and why did the Pats D look so bad? How did the Pats manage to keep it from happening again?

It was the only point in the game where I got nervous. Some stats:
* 95 yards in 11 plays
* More than 7 minutes elapsed
* 7 first downs
* 34 rushing yards (almost 1/2 the Jax total)
* NO THIRD DOWNS!

Jax was really moving the ball at will. I watched it again this morning and couldn't figure out what they were doing differently. The Pats were in their base 3-4 the whole time. Regular personnel. Maybe someone with a sharper eye than me can figure it out.

Here is the full play-by-play for the drive:
1st and 10 at JAX 5 (14:53) M.Jones-Drew right guard to JAX 8 for 3 yards (T.Bruschi).
2nd and 7 at JAX 8 (14:13) D.Garrard pass short left to M.Lewis to JAX 19 for 11 yards (R.Gay). FUMBLES (R.Gay), recovered by JAX-M.Jones-Drew at JAX 17. M.Jones-Drew to JAX 17 for no gain (R.Gay).
1st and 10 at JAX 17 (13:31) D.Garrard pass short left to I.Smolko to JAX 24 for 7 yards (R.Gay).
2nd and 3 at JAX 24 (12:57) M.Jones-Drew up the middle to JAX 34 for 10 yards (R.Harrison, J.Sanders).
1st and 10 at JAX 34 (12:20) D.Garrard pass short right to M.Jones-Drew to NE 48 for 18 yards (A.Samuel).
1st and 10 at NE 48 (11:37) F.Taylor up the middle to NE 33 for 15 yards (J.Sanders).
1st and 10 at NE 33 (10:56) F.Taylor up the middle to NE 28 for 5 yards (J.Seau, R.Gay). PENALTY on NE-J.Seau, Face Mask (15 Yards), 14 yards, enforced at NE 28.
1st and 10 at NE 14 (10:25) D.Garrard pass short left to M.Jones-Drew to NE 9 for 5 yards (R.Seymour, J.Seau). pass tipped by NE 93-Seymour 2-5-NE 9 (9:42) F.Taylor right guard to NE 2 for 7 yards (M.Vrabel, R.Harrison).
1st and 2 at NE 2 (9:01) JAX 76-Collier eligible. F.Taylor up the middle to NE 1 for 1 yard (J.Green, J.Seau).
2nd and 1 at NE 1 (8:18) JAX 76-Collier eligible. PENALTY on JAX-T.Pashos, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at NE 1 - No Play.
2nd and 6 at NE 6 (7:54) D.Garrard pass short left to E.Wilford for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

 

[aluminum seats]

I think this is a good way to approach it, going beyond the usual, the pats defense sucked last night/no it didn't useless back & forth.

Here's what I was thinking watching the game. On the one hand, the Pats were playing a team that has undeniably been hot over the past few weeks. The Pats were playing without one of their starting cornerbacks, and for whatever reason, getting a subpar game from their #1 corner. Jax did NOT come out running, as expected, but passing, which was likely a surprise, and their QB had the game of his life. Even with all of that, the Pats did hold the Jaguars to 6 points in the second half. And as has been noted elsewhere, they did so sticking to their basic (read: vanilla) defense.

Having said ALL that, the first half was extremely frustrating, and not the kind of defense we would have seen in, say, 2003 or 2004. In some ways maybe it's a matter of perception--I was expected a shut down performance last night, and it obviously didn't happen. In the second half, it was as much the offense keeping Jacksonville off the field as anything else.

So using that drive as a microcosm of what the defense wasn't doing well, what was it? I mean that is a staggering drive. I think it's a combination of a few things:

--As noted, a starting CB was out.

--The Pats miss the pass rushing of Colvin.

--Samuel had a bad game. It happens.

--Jacksonville, particularly Gerrard, executed about as well as they possibly can.

--Jacksonville passing more, and more effectively, than anticipated, threw the Pats for a loop.

--Just because it's been said a lot, doesn't mean it's not true: Bruschi is on his last legs. When you're thin as they are at LB, that can't be overstated.

--Something I throw out without really knowing: Is Sanders really playing as well as we think he is? I'm not so sure. Remember back when Wilson was playing so well years ago--THAT was a high caliber of heady, physical play that I'm not sure we're seeing now.

So putting that all together, you have a defense that was NOT top tier, at least not last night, playing against a hot team. On balance, they did OK--with 6 points in the second half, better than OK. But on that drive, any possible weakness was exploited.

Having said that, is that Tom Brady something else or what??

 

[letekro]

--The Pats miss the pass rushing of Colvin.

This is the one that worries me against the Colts.

As for giving up one long drive...The Bills did it against us, the Ravens did it. You can't look at one drive and say, oh we couldn't stop them. Sometimes a variety of factors (playcalling, bad tackling, great plays by the other offense) come together and a great drive is the result.

 

[363839]

Funny you should bring up Brushi and Seau's age.
Those guys had pretty good games.
Our outside guys were pretty quiet, though.

 

[brdmaverick]

another average QB has the game of his life against the Pats
(AJ Feely, Kyle Boller, Eli Manning, David Garrard)

This has officially become a bad trend, which means that there is some serious flaw in our defense. Fortunately for us our offense has been able to carry us to victory.

The prospect of facing Peyton Manning again is scary at this point.

 

[aluminum seats]

I think this thread deserves more attention--maybe the title could be changed. It gets to specifics of the defense--it might be one drive, but the Jaguars had a couple long ones.

 

[duvalbill]

another average QB has the game of his life against the Pats
(AJ Feely, Kyle Boller, Eli Manning, David Garrard)

This has officially become a bad trend, which means that there is some serious flaw in our defense. Fortunately for us our offense has been able to carry us to victory.

The prospect of facing Peyton Manning again is scary at this point.

Wow. You really are comparing Garrard to Feely? In case you haven't watched a single Jags game besides the one last night, Garrard has played pretty lights out all year. He averaged over a 100 QB rating for the year. To me, that doesn't sound like an average QB.

 

[phimseto]

Is this Jeopardy?

If so, "What is 'what gave me heartburn for the rest of the evening?'"

 

[chrisfx811]

I thought that forcing the Jags 3 & out there could have opened the flood gates, and was seriously worried when they gave up that drive.
Poor execution, plain & simple.
As mentioned, though, the D really adjusted well from that point on, particularly against the vaunted rushing attack of the Jags.

 

[aluminum seats]

Funny you should bring up Brushi and Seau's age.
Those guys had pretty good games.
Our outside guys were pretty quiet, though.

I didn't mention Seau, just Bruschi, who seemed like a non-factor to me. Maybe I'm wrong.