Game Thoughts: It wasn't pretty but not as ugly as it will get in NY the next 10 days edition

Here we go:

• There was no good week to lose Mayo and Ridley, but a short week against a division foe may have been one of the worst times. The Pats had only one (non-padded) practice this week. They didn't have time to install a defense that compensated for the loss of Mayo and it showed.

• I don't blame Belichick and McDaniels for not running Gray three times on the final series. He fumbled the ball a lot in the preseason and you can't fumble in that spot. He will need to build trust in the coaching staff to be given the ball in that situation. That said, the second down call was atrocious.

• Although people were complaining about the play calling, I thought it was solid tonight. The problem was all the dropped passes. I counted at least eight dropped passes tonight where Brady hit the receiver in the hands. I will chock that up to a short week, but they gotta correct that quickly.

• Kudos to Amendola. He had a good game tonight and definitely found a niche as a kick returner. He isn't a Welker replacement that we were hoping for, but he had a good night.

• Give it up to the o-line. With two of their best o-linemen (maybe their best) out and they kept Brady upright for most of the night. Brady was sacked once and hit 7 times (mostly in the second half when the Jets started to bring the house). Not bad for a game where they were short handed against a dominant defensive line. All Pro caliber Mo Wilkerson was very quite.

• Chandler Jones showed tonight that the Jets made the wrong pick when they took Quinton Coples over him. Four tackles, a sack, and two QB hits (a couple other big plays called back on penalties away from the play) for Jones compared to one tackle for Coples.

• I gotta give the Jets credit. They played a pretty good game. They don't have a lot of talent, but they played hard and took advantage of the Pats' weaknesses. Geno Smith was fairly impressive tonight. I don't think he is anything more than a mediocre QB, but he stepped up his game tonight.

• Vereen had a good game. He had 114 all purpose yards and two TDs. In two of the last three weeks, he has been the multiple threat we were hoping for. Hopefully it keeps going.

• It was an ugly game, It was a game they could have lost. They won. It was a short week with two major losses to the roster and no time to game plan around them. I will take it. I think they rebound next Sunday and play well.

I'd rather get an ugly win with NO INJURIES than a dominant win with 2 key players injured.

I almost have to wonder if BB is trolling the JEST at this point.

I forgot a couple:

• Redemption for Chris Jones last night. After getting flagged on a call that has never been called before or since on a missed field goal last year that cost the Pats the game vs. the Jets last year. He makes the key field goal block at the end of the game.
• It was strange that the Pars didn't challenge the play where Geno Smith ran on third down and clearly didn't get the first down, but was awarded it anyway. I am guessing that the Pats figured they would go for it on fourth down and made it.
• After a good game last week, I thought Ninkovich got blown up against the run a lot last night.
• I have to give it to Hightower. From all reports, he could bare move in coverage in warm ups on Sunday. He was all over the place last night and he clearly didn't look close to full speed. The kid got some heart.

Rob0729 said:

I forgot a couple:

• Redemption for Chris Jones last night. After getting flagged on a call that has never been called before or since on a missed field goal last year that cost the Pats the game vs. the Jets last year. He makes the key field goal block at the end of the game..

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To be fair though, that's because it's an incredibly rare situation, AND the rule, IIRC, was just changed last year.

Good point on the limited practice time after losing Mayo. It's hard to effectively practice the new run D, when you don't tackle anyone or block full speed. I trust the next 10 days will be put to good use.

Can someone remind me of Gray's fumbles in preseason ? How many, were they on big hits, etc. I don't remember, I'm getting old. As he got the last carry of the game on offense they must not have been too freaked out about fumbles. In his very limited time I thought Gray looked good, I hope we see more of him going forward.

BelichickFan said:

Can someone remind me of Gray's fumbles in preseason ? How many, were they on big hits, etc. I don't remember, I'm getting old. As he got the last carry of the game on offense they must not have been too freaked out about fumbles. In his very limited time I thought Gray looked good, I hope we see more of him going forward.

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He dropped two in like two consecutive carries in one game. If I remember correctly he dropped one as a RB and another as returner on back to back carries. If I remember one he wasn't even hit.

Rob0729 said:

He dropped two in like two consecutive carries in one game. If I remember correctly he dropped one as a RB and another as returner on back to back carries. If I remember one he wasn't even hit.

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Wasn't that Finch? Or did they both do that?

I just want to point out that this was a short week of prep after losing our signal caller on D. I remember when this happened to Jim Leonhard before the Jets-Pats game a few years ago. The Jets were a good team that year and had beaten us earlier that season, but without Jim it was a 45-3 butt whooping for the jets. The Pats defense did a good job under very tough circumstances. Hopefully they will continue to adjust to the loss of Mayo and play better for the next game.

Sicilian said:

Wasn't that Finch? Or did they both do that?

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Maybe I am confusing him on that one.

Rob0729 said:

Maybe I am confusing him on that one.

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I don't remember Gray returning kickoffs, you might have Finch in mind.

Rob0729 said:

He dropped two in like two consecutive carries in one game. If I remember correctly he dropped one as a RB and another as returner on back to back carries. If I remember one he wasn't even hit.

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Those were both Finch, so I think you may be confused.

This was a 4-day week and losing Mayo hurts for a game on short notice.

I was a bit concerned at LB, we could not plug the holes well. It seemed like the Jets O-Line was winning big time, every time Ivory got the ball he had 2-3 yards with no one touching him

Mack Herron said:

Those were both Finch, so I think you may be confused.

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Yeah, there are no fumbles recorded under Gray either on the NFL site.

Mack Herron said:

Those were both Finch, so I think you may be confused.

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Maybe I am. I guess I am getting old in my old age.

To my point with Chandler Jones vs. Quinton Coples, apparently Coples was demoted from a starter (replaced by Jason Babin) and only played a handful of snaps last night.

Rob0729 said:

• Give it up to the o-line. With two of their best o-linemen (maybe their best) out and they kept Brady upright for most of the night. Brady was sacked once and hit 7 times (mostly in the second half when the Jets started to bring the house). Not bad for a game where they were short handed against a dominant defensive line. All Pro caliber Mo Wilkerson was very quite.

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I said this in Ken's thread, but whatever credit you want to give to the line, please give directly to Brady. The line was as much a sieve as it was in the first few weeks, but Brady is playing so well right now he is carrying the offense. We were facing 3 or 4 man rushes a lot and still there were issues. But, Brady's getting the ball off quick, they are running quick plays, and anything slow developing they either leave in extra protection or move the pocket. The coaching staff still does not trust this line and I don't blame them - 40% of their starters were out last nite.

Bedard said as much about the Buffalo game, and I would be surprised if he didn't feel the same way against this game. Kline & Devey are not good, and we need Connolly & Stork back if we want to let Brady do his job.

BradyManny said:

I said this in Ken's thread, but whatever credit you want to give to the line, please give directly to Brady. The line was as much a sieve as it was in the first few weeks, but Brady is playing so well right now he is carrying the offense. We were facing 3 or 4 man rushes a lot and still there were issues. But, Brady's getting the ball off quick, they are running quick plays, and anything slow developing they either leave in extra protection or move the pocket. The coaching staff still does not trust this line and I don't blame them - 40% of their starters were out last nite.

Bedard said as much about the Buffalo game, and I would be surprised if he didn't feel the same way against this game. Kline & Devey are not good, and we need Connolly & Stork back if we want to let Brady do his job.

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Brady had a lot of time in the backfield in the first half. He was making quick plays in the second half, but that was because the Jets were blitzing 5 and 6 defenders.

Rob0729 said:

Brady had a lot of time in the backfield in the first half. He was making quick plays in the second half, but that was because the Jets were blitzing 5 and 6 defenders.

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Right but the Jets were rushing 3 at times in the first half, the fact that they didn't get any pressure isn't a huge appraisal. I'll be curious to see how Bedard grades the individual performances, b/c I didn't think they were that great. But without re-watching, that's just my gut reaction.