A look at the enemy: New England Patriots @ New York Jets
by MaPatsFan on Sep 16, 2009 5:55 PM EDT
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It has to be said: I hate New York. Not any of the teams, per se, but New York or, better stated, the "idea" of New York. It's an irrational hatred, I know, and one I fully expect to be reciprocal. It's different than the dislike I have for Indy and its fans; they simply won't accept the fact that statistics aren't the only measure of a great quarterback. Oh well, back to NY. I firmly believe it has a lot to do with two geographically close, major market, east coast cities vying for superiority. As far as football, there have been many back and forths to get the blood going. The most prominent, in my opinion, was Bill Parcells' crowning of Belichick as head coach of the Jets and Belichick's subsequent resignation to take the HC job in New England. Oh, and let's not forget Eric Mangini's less than popular departure to the Jets; compare and contrast Mangini's departure with McD's and I think you'll get the picture.
It's an irrational hatred, one borne of geographic closeness, the same division, and the fact that they don't know how to make a decent cup of chowdah (it's criminal to put tomatoes in chowdah). Anyway, in order to prepare for our upcoming matchup with the Jets, I thought I'd give you some thoughts on their recent matchup against the Texans.
I was down on Mark Sanchez after he was drafted. I thought New York would barely sniff a .500 season with a rookie at the helm. But if one game is any indication of how their season will play out, AFC East rivals have a long year ahead of them; this division has just gotten stronger. After Sanchez settled down this past Sunday, he looked dang good. Throwing 18/31 and 272 yards, Sanchez had 1 TD and 1 interception. Offensively, the rushing attack was the key to this win with RBs Thomas Jones and Leon Washington accounting for two touchdowns and 107 and 60 yards respectively.
As good as the offense was, that's not the real story. Just take a look at NFL.com's statistical leaders by team. When was the last time you saw the Jets in ANY of those categories, let alone all three defensive sections? Oh, and second in total defense. The key? As much of a loudmouth as Rex Ryan is, he's no defensive slouch. Rex knows D and he knows how to bring the house. And that's exactly what he did against Houston's Matt Schaub. Schaub simply couldn't get his receivers to the tune of no TD's. Heck, Houston never made it to the red zone!!
Belichick has already said New York will bring the house. The difference is Matt Schaub vs. Tom Brady. With the emergence of Benjamin Watson as a viable threat, Brady has a lot of weapons at his disposal. I wouldn't be surprised to see Brady eat fertilizer at least twice, but Rex and Co. better not forget about checkdown threats Kevin Faulk and Wes Welker. Ryan's blitzes may take away the long ball, but you can never forget about those two.
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If I had to choose
I’d live in New York over Indianapolis and I wouldn’t even have to think about it.
That said, I hate the Jets. And I disdain their fanbase.
As Mr. Sloan always says, there is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in pie. And there's an "I" in meat pie. Anagram of meat is team... I don't know what he's talking about. --Shaun of the Dead
by JohnHannahRules on Sep 16, 2009 8:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Midwest
A midwestern friend of mine once described Indiana/Illinois as the “Pave America Program”. I’ve never, in my life, seen so many strip malls. And the darn place is too flat. It’s just not right.
Blogger at SBNation's Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit
by MaPatsFan on Sep 16, 2009 8:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
"Talk is Cheap..." - TB and myself regarding Rex Ryan's comments
We too are treating this like the Superbowl huh guys?
Jack of all trades-Master of None.....
by Peter Chung on Sep 16, 2009 8:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
well...
i think someone should not brag or say much.. Because he is the new coach on the block.. He needs to keep it shut till he wins. With that said i have total respect for him as a coach and a good defensive genius.. But needs to be more humble in the mouth department.
by whizzkydd on Sep 16, 2009 10:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
With the emergence of Benjamin Watson as a viable threat
…I can’t agree with this statement. Watson has always been a viable threat for the patriots, it’s the fact that he hasn’t been able to produce( whether because they use more of a tight end as blockers scheme, or because there has always been competitin at that position). 2 touchdowns in one game does not make him a threat. It means that they might be using him more, but it also means that he could fall off the face of the earth again, like in years past. I’ve been a huge fan of Watson since day one and I hope he can continue to put up some numbers this year. I still marvel at the Denver game when he chased down Champ Bailey the length of the field after an interception. He is a beast and I hope he can stay healthy and make an impact.
by OneMore on Sep 17, 2009 8:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Funny thing about Watson
Days before the Bills game, my son explained that his frustration with Watson was his inconsistency – he would catch a tough pass but then let a perfectly thrown ball bounce right off his chest or roll out of his hands or off his fingertips.
This was exemplified Monday night with Watson’s drop of the short pass right before catching the two pressure-on direct bomb touchdown passes – the last one requiring a jump and backwards mid-air twist while keeping control of the ball as he fell to the endzone.
Keep the faith!
by Marima on Sep 17, 2009 9:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
That's because on the easy ones he's trying to run before the catch (or worried about a hit).
On the hard ones he just focuses on catching it.
He needs to have a chat with Welker. Some reporter asked Welker whether he was worried about being hit when he caught the ball.
Welker said, “You’re going to get hit anyway. (Ryan Clark anyone?) You might as well catch the ball.”
Cut this out, Ben, and memorize. You’ll be great.
1. Catch the ball
2. Dodge the hit
3. Run the ball
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Sep 17, 2009 10:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
BTW, Wes must have had a little chat with himself Monday night.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Sep 17, 2009 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
A little rust, that's all
Extremely unusual to see him make those drops. It was obvious that he was bothered by them too. I’m betting it’s more rust or opening-game jitters than whatever his knee injury is.
Keep the faith!
by Marima on Sep 17, 2009 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
That's the impression I got during the game
He’s great when he doesn’t have time to overanalys -, when he’s running vertically up the field and just has to be in x place at y time, and to make the catch.
When he’s running those flats, he’s too conflicted because he’s also looking out for an impending hit, and doesn’t look for the ball. I noticed it a couple of times during the game – he looks half-hearted in the flat routes, and always has an eye upfield to look for the blindside hit that may or may not be coming. I wonder if he’s a little gunshy because of his injury history.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 17, 2009 9:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
good point
i don’t know how a guy could get himself out of that mindset either – the self-protection instinct must take over automatically. I mean, that would serve anyone well in life, except maybe for an offensive skill position player in the NFL.
Keep the faith!
by Marima on Sep 18, 2009 7:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I can’t stand any NY team. i don’t care what sport it is i have disdain for all of them. that being said, Most all NY teams are competative each year.
The biggest thing that worries me is the O-line. NOt the drops. Those will get ironed out, as they did in the last 5 mins of the fourth quarter. The O-line struggled. This game would not have been about the bills if the o-line had made a block or two, specifically Matt light. how many times was shobel in the back field? This is just extremely unacceptable.
The D also look very unbellichek like. there was almost no penetration to the qb. We fans are not used to seeing that. we didn’t record a single sack by a lineman the whole game. Now it doesn’t help that we got some really crappy calls, but still how many times on 3rd down did we not make a play?
: "Rip? Oh, he was funny, man. He said, ‘Boston? Dang man, Boston?’ I said, ‘Hey, you got to go with the flow.’"—F Rasheed Wallace, on the reaction of former Detroit teammate Rip Hamilton to his signing with the Celtics
by NEFOOL on Sep 17, 2009 1:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
3rd Down
This concerned me too. It killed them last year, and while the secondary looked a lot better, the Pats are suddenly a lot weaker at LB. 3rd and long situations have to result in stops.
I’m hoping the Patriots find the blitz in this game in those situations, or at least find different ways to bring pressure. Backfield penetration was actually ok against the Bills. One sack was taken away by a questionable call, and Edwards was getting hit quite a bit.
Schobel is always a handful for the Patriots, so his impact in the game wasn’t surprising, but Matt “Todd” Light’s turnstyle antics were a little alarming. Establishing those quick reads early with Welker and Faulk are going to be crucial in blunting that blitz. I think Galloway is going to be important in this game as well…just a hunch.
by Nikolai19 on Sep 17, 2009 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think the new TE will help some
He’s a big unit and seems to have a good reputation as a blocker. He wasn’t familiar enough with the system to be used for the last game – according to Belichick, and he’d know – but he’s that big body on the line that they need to help contain a DE or OLB. And once he gets into it, it means Baker and Watson will be free to catch some passes (tell me you’re not excited about suddenly having two viable catching TEs all of a sudden).
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 17, 2009 9:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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