This one actually will be quick since I have a 7:30 meeting this morning.
1. This offense will be fine. Don't forget they scored 27 points against one of the best defenses around, without the aide of any turn overs, short fields, sloppy play, not being one of Brady's best days, and several drops. Think about that for a second.
2. I was very surprised the OL protected Brady as well as it did. Only one sack and that was for a one yard loss. In the second half the Jets did a lot more blitzing, and while they did put more pressure on Tom, for the most part he had time to throw.
3. We only had 63 yards rushing, but averaged 4.2 ypc. A much better result than I expected. And much better than we did last week. Perhaps we should have run more.
4. Kudos to Amendola for his KO returns and of course his amazing TD catch. BTW- he now has at least 4 catches this season called back for Penalties. BTW- this was a quick as I've seen him this season. Maybe like Gronk he his coming around.
5 I can recall 4 drops (2 Edelman, 2 Gronk) off the top of my head; Rob had it at 8. At any rate we can't survive that kind of result long term.
6. Clearly the run defense is an issue, but I'm slightly encouraged that by fact I thought it was better in the 2nd half. At least in the 2nd half there weren't gaping holes. Just way too many enormously frustrating 5-7 yd runs which should have been 2 yd gains
7. For a team that usually tackles well there were WAY too many missed tackles and yards gained after contact. IF ever Jerod Mayo was needed in a game, this one was it. Better tackling would have dropped the Jets run game by a third. That being said, Chris Ivory is a BEAST. Too bad he plays in a place where his talents will go under appreciated. That kid is a great RB.
8. Geno's escapability was the key to the Jets success on offense. He converted more first downs that could have been drive enders than I can remember.
9. The Jets ran some excellently devised routes to their passing game.
1o. Jet fans will whine about the refs, but once again the Pats got the short end of the stick. About 25% fewer penalties. The defensive holding on a what looked like a run play was a real head-scratcher. And the personal foul on Devey was another. Brady got hit VERY late, which was ignored - yet Devey moderately makes a push and justified retaliation gets flagged. Mind Boggling>
11. The Parasitic media will attempt to spin this negatively all week. That is to be expected. I suggest we ignore it and keep to ourselves. The only exceptions should be Bedard's visit to FnM and Patriots' All Access to see the post game locker room comments.
In the end, the Pats took the Jets A-game and beat them with their B-game. Bottom line, if they had won by 20 they'd STILL be 5-2. You don't get style points in the standings.
They now have 6 games where they ARE going to be tested, before they finish the season with 3 more division games. Split those 6 games and win 2 of the 3 games in the division and we'll be 10-6 with a division crown. That's the minimum acceptable result. I see it being improved upon beyond that by a game or two.
That's gonna have to do it. Its almost 1 am, and I have to be up at 5:30.
My Turn.
I think that this weeks Coaching by Belichick and company was as good a job as any I've seen all year. It merits Coach of the Week.
Belichick faced a dilemma. With three Offensive linemen temporarily unavailable, only the dregs left, and Ridley on IR, going against a good defensive line, he had to figure out a way to keep Brady healthy, and still win the game. It was obvious that the Pats were unlikely to be able to run the ball with any consistency.
Belichick and his coaches decided too use the "Rope-a-dope" game plan on Rex, just like they used it one Peyton and the Broncs last year.
He would sucker Rex into a game of running. But just not quite good enough to be able to outscore the Pats. It worked.
Maybe not as perfectly as planned, but offering Rex an inviting pass defense oriented, 4-2-5 all game long, and inviting him to ground-and-pound to his heart's content, worked acceptably. Rex and his ground offense, burned away the clock and the limited the attempts on Brady's health.
BB believed that the Pats could outscore the Jesters, and he was correct. Completely undermanned, on the Offensive line, and unable to quickly adjust to the loss of Ridley, weary and tired, from the compacted calendar of four previous games, he knew he had to do something unorthodox. It worked.
The Jets dominated time-of-possession, and kicked Field Goals; while the Pats scored TDs on relatively short drives, punctuated with somewhat unexpected, long passes, against the weak Jets secondary. Brady emerged unscathed and healthy.
The Pats won. That's the name of the game. The hell with style points.
