Checking the Numbers: Jets-Patriots Game

i was hoping they would have won but they didn’t play as advertised. the jets defense was great, but the inconsistency and inaccuracy of tom brady helped their defense look a lot better than what it actually was. revis is an excellent CB, and i hope he has success in the nfl(except against us. ;)). also our WR’s weren’t helping brady either, but kudos to the jets anyways.

which is that the NE defense did fine for the second game in a row and the offense sputtered for the second game in a row.

I would go further to say that the offensive problems were less a case of the Jets defense shutting the NE Offense down but more a case of the NE Offense failing to make adjustments.

The Jets did two basic things very well – Revis plus help smothered Moss, taking him away. Then, they put full pressure on the left side of Brady’s line. Because Moss is #1 in the checkdown progression on most plays, that meant Brady was probably wasting 2-3 seconds looking for him only to have to switch off anyway. This gave the Jets even more time to put pressure on him, resulting in hurried throws when he did finally go to Edelman, Galloway, etc. The Jets did not fear Edelman and so he was open and did ‘ok’. Eight catches for 98yds are fine numbers for a rookie reciever’s debut. But he wasn’t Welker. Brady would have been looking earlier to Welker and Edelman not only had at least one drop but also clearly ran at least on route wrong. And some of Brady’s last-second throws were awkward making it impossible for Edelman to run much after the catch. So this was smart defense that paid off for the Jets.

The Patriots should have run the ball more, particularly to the right side and completely shifted their progression away from Moss until they forced the Jets to relax on him.

I basically put the loss on the offensive play calling and somewhat on Brady himself.

The run / pass disparity is telling. In the first two games NE has used 100 pass plays to only 43 rushing plays. Last year the Pats ran the ball 32 times per game for an average of over 140 yds. This year’s running backs are healthier than last years and much more talented (unless you believe Lamont Jordan is better than Fred Taylor) and the offensive line should be at least as good. The addition of Volmer gives them a big strong addition who already knows how to run block – which is far less complex than pass blocking. His Houston team rushed for over 2000 yds last year. The rest of the line is intact from last year when this team also rushed for over 2000 yds.

They need to run the ball.

Atlanta’s defense is very suspect against the rush. Outside of Abrahams, they can be pushed around. New England should pound it and pound it all day and force the secondary to cheat to the help the front 7. This will open up Moss & Co. Plus it will keep Ryan, White, Turner and Gonzalez off the field.

If the NE offense doesn’t stay on the field and put up points this week, then ATL’s offense is going to wear the NE defense down. They are a much bigger test than the Jets or Bills.