Don't Get Cocky, Patriots Nation!
by MikeDussault on Sep 14, 2010 2:53 PM EDT
in Patriots Game Previews
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Patriots Nation is probably feeling pretty good about itself today, perhaps even bordering on overconfident. The Jets looked horrid and lost Kris Jenkins for the season (not saying I am glad he's injured, but it is a major blow to their defense), while the Patriots are being collectively praised again as a Super Bowl contender, even by the likes of Rex Ryan! It also helps that the Colts and Chargers, perennial AFC power houses, both lost as well.
But the Jets are not a team, or even an offense, to be taken lightly.
Why the Pats and their fans still need to take this weekend's game very seriously after the jump...
If you're holding out hope that the Jets offense is going to be as horrible this Sunday as they were last night you're bound to be sorely mistaken. There's no question Mark Sanchez was awful against the Ravens, but this was due in large part to the Raven vaunted front seven shutting down the Jets running game.
Yes, stopping the run seems like a pretty good starting point in the blueprint to stopping the Jets offense, but that's a lot easier said than done.
As much as I think the Patriots have a solid young defense, they do not have the run stoppers the Ravens have. At least they have not proven that they do... yet.
The Patriots will be facing a desperate team that was just embarrassed on national television. Shutting down Cedric Benson is one thing, shutting down a Jets team with their back against the wall and something to prove is another.
We all know that beating the Patriots would put the Ravens loss squarely behind the Jets and reposition them as a legitimate team. Expect them to come out and play solid football.
If the Jets are able to gain some yards on the ground early against the Patriots it will open up the rest of their offense. Let's not forget either that Sanchez's specialty is the short passing game that tore up the Patriots D in the preseason, especially against the Falcons and Rams.
You could make a pretty lethal drinking game out of every Sanchez bootleg pass or incompletion.
We can't count on the Jets to make the same number of turnovers and penalties that they made last night either. Especially since their game with the Ravens was reffed by the most Pass Interference-happy officiating crew in the NFL. Though they surely look like an undisciplined team who will make costly errors at inopportune times, the Patriots must take advantage in those instances.
The Ravens offense was out of sync for much of the game and Joe Flacco looked flabbergasted by the Jets D in a way that you know Tom Brady will never be. If Brady has time they should chew up the Jets with their own short passing game. But everyone can agree that this Jets defense, even without Jenkins, is one that must be respected. Ball security will be a paramount point of emphasis this week at practice.
So yes, we're all feeling pretty confident right now, but don't expect the same sputtering Jets offense this Sunday. They will be better and the Patriots defense will need to play just as well, if not better than they did against the Bengals.
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I like that there's no option clearly picking the Jets to win.
On the one hand, we’re not supposed to be cocky, and on the other, the worst option we’re presented with is that the Jets “might actually win?” Haha.
I agree 100%, though. That Jets team isn’t going to be as bad as it was last night against the Pats. They will be pumped to play us. The Game 1 jitters will be gone. They are going to get their butts beat in practice this weak. The Pats defense isn’t nearly as good as the Ravens’. The Pats aren’t going to play the same game they played against Cincy, and the Jets aren’t going to play the same game they played against Baltimore. I think the Pats have every reason to win, not the least of which is the loss of Jenkins, which SERIOUSLY softens up the middle of that defense. Overall, though, they present some serious matchup problems on both sides of the ball, and it will be a great test for the Pats younger contributors.
SuckChez
Yeah, the Jets aren’t going to be as bad as last night against the Ravens….They Are Going To Be Worse! You can’t win games when you have the league’s worst QB! Brady is worth every penny, Sanchez isn’t worth a bean burritto.
The ravens didn't stop the run quite well at all, and they still won.
Jets avg. 5.1 yards a carry on them…
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
Take away their two long 20+ yard runs and they avg. 3.8. They had no consistency at all.
by MikeDussault on Sep 14, 2010 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions
I feel confident, but for the right reasons.
For one thing, I think our OL can handle their DL much better than the ravens can.
We have several weapons on our passing offense, and the jets really only have revis as their corner. Cro looked awful yesterday, and you also can’t help but think Brady will abuse Kyle Wilson. We have too many weapons for their secondary to account for.
We have, what appears to be, a VERY physical and FAST secondary. I have no problem believing that McCourty will do great against cotchery, and butler will be step by step with Edwards. Keller may be the only problem I have, but I think Chung is more than able to handle the job of covering him.
Will they run on us? I think they would, although I think we can contain them enough. Wilfork, spikes, and mayo are solid in the middle of our defense. It’s our outside defense that I may be worried about, particularly the right side(for obvious reasons). I forsee Wilfork and Warren on the edges, with Pryor in the middle much this game. Also, I think we’ll see MANY nickel packages that will have our secondary help out on the outside as well.
So yeah, I am very confident about this matchup.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
Also, I think we’ll see MANY nickel packages that will have our secondary help out on the outside as well.
I suspect they’ll use the big-D-line Nickel, too – some combination of Warren, Wilfork, Pryor, Wright, instead of their usual DE/OLBs on the outside. It’ll solidify the Run-D, and Sanchez was struggling even without a hardcore pass-rush. Put in Nickel-backs and decent coverage, and a run-stopping D-line, all at the same time.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 14, 2010 7:03 PM EDT up reply actions
How does
Warren, Wilfork, Pryor, Brace sound?
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
Maybe
I think Brace would be better spelling Wilfork in this formation – neither are born penetrators, and both can anchor the NT spot in a 40-front.
Wright’s the best pass-rusher of the D-linemen, so I’d want him on the field – without the DE/OLBs like Banta-Cain on the field, you’d want your best non-OLB pass-rusher on, and that’s Wright. Pryor’s probably next best at getting penetration, and after that, perhaps G. Warren, because he’s played a lot in 4-3 formations and knows how to get through blocks in them.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 15, 2010 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions
I think your right. But maybe it'd be better to switch t around a bit...
Warren Pryor, Wilfork, Wright.
:)
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
Or Pryor on the outside
Although mixing and matching means they can do interesting things – Warren likely knows how to stunt Warren Sapp-style, so they could run some looks.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 15, 2010 10:11 PM EDT up reply actions
kris jenkins is center of the Jets defense
same as wilfork is to patriots
revis is other big piece.
this really is a big blow to jets unless someone can fill it .
i doubt it will be truly filled.
i was always impressed by his presence on the field.
he truly stood out on the line.
this is big blow to Jets chances of going to superbowl.
Without Jenkins, that defense is MUCH softer.
The Jets will struggle to stop the run, and they will have to manufacture a pass rush, which means receivers will be flying free. Brady is one of the best at reacting and finding the open man. It could be ugly fast.
But I never underestimate a Rex Ryan defense. There is still a lot of talent on that side of the ball.
Their backup NT is a pretty good player, though
He’s a big unit and looks pretty good at times – a better backup than Ron Brace at this moment.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 14, 2010 7:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Wilfork.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 14, 2010 8:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh hell yeah.
I’m willing to see that.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 14, 2010 8:19 PM EDT up reply actions
They used Seymour as a short-yardage FB sometimes.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 14, 2010 8:19 PM EDT up reply actions
btw
seymour had 4 tackles + assist in oakland game this week
I saw Oakland got gashed in the run game, though
So if they’re running it up the gut every other play, the D-line will inevitably get tackles.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 14, 2010 8:40 PM EDT up reply actions
We didn't get gushed at all.
CJ rushed for 3.6 yards a carry without that 76 yard run.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
dont say we
:)
Non Sibi Sed Patriae.
I love my ZX-6r Kawasaki.
I bleed Scarlet and Grey...A Buckeye for Life
Hang on sloopy, sloopy hang on.. O H I O
(without that big run)
The Titans gameplan is that CJ runs to set up the run, though. Those 76 yard runs are actually part of the gameplan, and they happen regularly. He’ll churn out 3.5 ypc and know he’ll break a 80 yarder at some point during a game.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 14, 2010 9:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Doesn't matter.
We(the raiders) were ding very good against CJ that game. He only had that one good run, and that was it.
And of course if you give CJ 20+ carries, he’ll eventually break one free, especially due to his speed. But other than that run, we stopped him, gameplan or not.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
if other teams continue to stop him like that
he will amass 2238 (16 X 143) yards rushing
that ain't 2500.
;)
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I'm also a Raider Fan dammit!!! RAIDER NATION!!!!
by patriotguy2 on Sep 14, 2010 10:38 PM EDT up reply actions
He'll get another 600 on 50 receptions
So he might break 2800 total.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 14, 2010 11:35 PM EDT up reply actions
dont say we
:))))
Non Sibi Sed Patriae.
I love my ZX-6r Kawasaki.
I bleed Scarlet and Grey...A Buckeye for Life
Hang on sloopy, sloopy hang on.. O H I O
And of course if you give CJ 20+ carries, he’ll eventually break one free, especially due to his speed. But other than that run, we stopped him, gameplan or not.
I get what you’re saying, but that’s all the Titans want from the guy. 19 runs of 3 yards, 1 run of 80 and a TD. On anyone else, that would be a fluke. With him, that’s just how he plays – week in, week out.
I guess I’ll wait to see the Raiders run D against a ‘normal’ running back.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 14, 2010 11:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Last night it seemed like after they lost Jenkins the Ravens went from .5 yards per carry to 2 yards per carry. Still really tough to run on. If we can move the ball on the ground against them I’ll feel really good about our offense.
i noticed the jets lost something after jenkins left also
i remember seeing him get injured last year and jets still were still number one NFL defensive team
i would have liked to see how the patriots offense would do with him since it would have been a better assessment of how strong patriot offense is.
the major advantage patriots would have over Jets would be the ability to generate more points
before last nights game, i wondered if the jets will have any offense …
it will probably take them time to get the kinks worked out before they can generate offense
starting game 5, santonio holmes will come on line
there was fumble-itis with jets RB’s
2 Things I find most important for Sunday's game
1. Tom Brady wants this game. He remembers last seasons week 2 game, hated how it played out and will be working very hard to make sure he makes amends this year.
2. Similarly the Jets have a potential major issue with their QB. From preseason forward the offense has been struggling and Sanchez has not been in a good rhythm really at all. They need to nip that in the bud rather quickly and there doesn’t seem to be an easy solution.
To me this is compounded by the departure of Thomas Jones. There is no continuity on the offense this year from last year, so as Sanchez struggles like last night, you can see they don’t really have an established go to play or player yet.
This is definitely a game where I want the Pats D on the field first.
To me this is compounded by the departure of Thomas Jones. There is no continuity on the offense this year from last year, so as Sanchez struggles like last night, you can see they don’t really have an established go to play or player yet.
No leadership! Seriously, nobody thought to tell the dizzy Dustin Keller that he needed to get upfield, no matter what? You’d think that’d be the first gee-up out of the QB’s mouth – “we NEED ten yards here, it’s a 4th-and-10”. Obviously not…
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 14, 2010 7:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Re PI Happy Crew
Yes they were PI/Defensive Holding Happy, but you have to admit almost all of those calls were legit. Are there crews that let DB’s get away with it sure, but when you are grabbing on almost every play, sooner or later you are going to get flagged. Not to mention the Ravens just picked on Wilson and Shawn Kemp (Had to) all night long. They got frustrated and just kept grabbing the receivers.
You’re right, hopefully it scares them into not getting good jams against us. Clearly the Ravens’ opinion of Cro was a little lower than Rex Ryan’s. I just don’t see how the Jets cover Welker/Edelman/Gronk/Hernandez.
Let’s look at Gronk alone. Who covers him? Jason Taylor? Their little white safeties? Little Kyle Wilson? Good luck…
by MikeDussault on Sep 14, 2010 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions
And if they do cover him; run screens behind him, and make it a disadvantage
They can allow Gronk or Hernandez a free release, because their Safeties are a bit thin and their CBs struggle to tackle anyone, let alone a 6’6" tank at top speed. So if they get all aggressive on the line and press Gronk, slap a bubble-screen behind him and turn a short pass into long yardage. The other great thing about that is it takes the Jets pass-rush out of the question – no pass-rush is as fast as the snap-to-Brady-screen-to-Welker play.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 14, 2010 7:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Man...
Why can’t we be like Jets fans and be ignorant homers just this once? Can’t we have just one posting be like “OMG Pats are so whinning teh super bowl Jets sux hahaha”
Instead you have to go and be analytical, rational, knowledgeable and use proper punctuation.
Sorry, if we win I’ll make sure to make a Jetarded post.
by MikeDussault on Sep 14, 2010 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Definitely not cocky
But feeling a lot better about our team than before the season started.
Still, i feel that the Jets will play better this Sunday and it will be a very challenging game.
I will be surprised if Shonn Greene struggles again. I would think they open up the passing offense also(though I don’t know why they didn’t with the Ravens depleted secondary), and I would imagine there won’t be as many flags.
Looking forward to a great game.
It will be interesting to see how Shonn Greene plays
with Rex’s foot up his backside.
My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Sep 14, 2010 6:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Depends on whether the foot is still attached to Rex.
That’ll slow your 40 time.
My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
by SlotMachinePlayer on Sep 14, 2010 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Last night, Revis seemed to cover a side of the field more than any one player
I don’t know if that was just a one-time thing to shake off rust, or if Ryan is changing the way Revis is deployed entirely. But if he plays week 2 like he played week 1, Brady should have no trouble finding Moss and Welker (whichever of the two is Revis-less).
Flacco underperformed and still put up 250 yards. Boldin amassed over 100 himself. I think it’s fair to say that Brady and Moss can hit that at minimum if things play out as I think they will.
As impressed as I was with the Pats D on Sunday, they are definitely not the vaunted Front 7 of the Ravens and I anticipate some struggles containing the run game. The Pats secondary should be able to contain Sanchez though, so it may all be moot in the end.
14-10 Pats sounds reasonable.
Shawn Camp earned my dog several beatings back in 2007
by wtbudlight on Aug 30, 2010 5:54 PM PDT
Hoodie will see that, too
As impressed as I was with the Pats D on Sunday, they are definitely not the vaunted Front 7 of the Ravens and I anticipate some struggles containing the run game. The Pats secondary should be able to contain Sanchez though, so it may all be moot in the end.
Belichick’s all about stopping what they’re good at and making them do what they want to do. In this case, that’s “stop the run, force Sanchez to pass”. I’m sensing a lot of Nickel, but with the big-40 front. That’ll stop the run to some extent, and if/when Sanchez passes, he’s throwing it into the best coverage guys the Pats have got. Tag the Big Nickel on and slap Keller around with one of the Safeties and/or Guyton, and make him throw into McCourty, Chung, Butler and Meriweather.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Sep 14, 2010 7:31 PM EDT up reply actions
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