New England Patriots Links 11/20/09 - Jets' CB Darrelle Revis Had Help Against Moss

Dave Hutchison (Newark Star-Ledger) NY Jets D-Coordinator Mike Pettine says Darrelle Revis had help vs. Moss.

Asked Thursday how much of Revis' coverage of Moss in the first game was man-to-man, Pettine said:

"I don't have numbers. We mixed our coverages up a lot. You have to do that against New England. You can't give them one look. I can say this, we weren't in a lot of true cover zero (man-on-man) with no help. Nobody in the league is. Most teams in the league, I would be shocked if they averaged more than four or five snaps a game of straight man coverage with no help.''

Phil Simms shares his thoughts on Pats-Jets, including this opinion of last week's 4th & 2:

"It’s been documented that this was a premeditated thought. The whole week leading up to the game, he decided he was going to do this. I always tell people this about coaches: if it’s fourth-and-one from the one, the last play of the game, coaches already know what play they’re going to call. They determine those kinds of things during the week.

So do I agree? It’s not about agreeing. Would I have done it? No, I would not have done it. What gets overlooked is not having timeouts. If he would have had one, I believe he would have won the challenge because in my mind Kevin Faulk was past the 30 yard line and clearly had possession of the football. It’s a general rule in the NFL to use your timeouts, no matter what, in the first half. In the second half, save them regardless of almost any situation, unless it’s a scoring opportunity. Save those timeouts for the end of the game."

Christopher Price lists his Five Things to watch for Sunday afternoon, including success in the red zone.

"We’re not doing as well in that area of the field as we’d like to do, as we feel like we can do, and we need to do a better job of it," Belichick said. "There’s no other way to put it, and those are important points — the difference between 3 and 7 — those are important points both ways and we have to coach it better, we have to play it better. We’ve got to play our best football in that area of the field because there’s a lot at stake, and there are a lot of things we need to do better.’’

TEAM TALK

• Erik Scalavino reports Julian Edelman is still learning, contributing; Jerod Mayo is looking to sharpen his focus; Plus Thursday news and notes from Gillette.
• Andy Hart presents Jerod Mayo's response to Tedy Bruschi and the media.
• Patriots Today: Jets are heading in; Hannah and more.  (9:12 min. video)
  

LOCAL LINKS

• Adam Kilgore hears Jerod Mayo and the Patriots come to the defense of Bill Belichick, respectfully dismissing Bruschi's post-game comments.
• Ian Rapoport reports Wes Welker's presence will make all the difference against the Jets Sunday.
• Chris Gasper notes the Patriots might be catching kleenex Rex and his Jets at just the right time on Sunday, with their season in a downward spiral.
• Christopher Price says the Patriots haven't relied on so many first year players as they have this season since 2003 — when Ty Warren, Asante Samuel, Eugene Wilson, Dan Koppen and Dan Klecko were all rookies on a team that ended up winning Super Bowl XXXVIII.
• Mike Reiss looks at the penalty count for the Patriots this season, saying they were flagged for just four accepted penalties last Sunday.
• Adam Kilgore reports the Patriots have settled into something of a return-by-committee operation.
• Jeff Howe focuses on center Dan Koppen and why he's so trusted by Tom Brady.
• Albert Breer notes Leon Washington is one Jet the Patriots don't have to worry about this time, out for the season with a broken leg.
• Mike Reiss reports the Patriots signed new roster members Isaiah Stanback and Kyle Arrington to 2 year contracts.
• Mike Reiss and Tedy Bruschi offer the transcript of their Thursday on-line chat. Good insight here as usual.
• Tom Curran offers a few interesting articles on his Comcast Sportsnet blog that I can't link to individually but are easy enough to scroll to:  PFT breaks down Moss coverage; The slow slide of Mark Sanchez; and Last words on 4th & 2 from NFLN.
• Mike Reiss highlights the importance of sub-packages, and charts how the numbers break down this season based on press-box charting.
• Boston Globe Patriots Notebook: Teams will have different looks this matchup; Kevin Faulk is first pick in picking up the blitz; Dan Koppen said his knee felt good against the Colts; Isaiah Stanback continues to practice at both WR and QB.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Pat Fitzmaurice (ProFootballWeekly) Ten most intriguing players of Week 11.  Randy Moss at number 1.
• Tiki Barber and Jason Cole (Yahoo! Sports) Jets-Patriots Preview.  (4:46 min. video)
• Dan Graziano (NFL Fanhouse) It's Rex Ryan's party, he can cry if he wants to.
• Tim Graham (ESPN) Dolphins still swimming in playoff pool.
• Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) Players' picks Week 11.  Pats over Jets 23-16.
• Dan Pompei (NBC Sports) Nothing's normal for NFL coaches - it's all ball.
• Kerry Byrne (ColdHardFootballFacts) Colts, Patriots top teams at sustaining drives.

VIEW FROM NEW YORK

• Manish Mehta (Newark Star-Ledger) NY Jets know Tom Brady is back in a big way.
• Rich Cimini (NY Daily News) NY Jets CB Darrelle Revis wants to cover Randy Moss man-to-man.
• Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post) Revis ready for rematch against Moss.
• Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post) Jets look for big returns from new special teamers.
• Tim Smith (NY Daily News) NY Jets must punch New England Patriots in the mouth.
• Greg Bishop (NY Times) Facing Patriots, Jets know it's now or never mind.