Bill Belichick talks about some of the players who stepped up from the practice squad and made positive contributions to the game.
[Tracy White] and Jeff [Tarpinian] both stepped in there and kind of split that role at that position for pretty much the whole game. Jerod [Mayo] moved inside where Brandon [Spikes] was and Jeff and Tracy kind of played that other outside spot opposite of Rob [Ninkovich]. I think they all did a good job - not that we didn't have some breakdowns. It wasn't perfect, I'm not saying that, but overall Tracy and Jeff both did a good job with taking advantage of their playing time opportunities and making some plays and doing the right thing.
What happens when the lights go on, you never really know for sure. You have to wait and see that. Jeff has been playing all year in the kicking game, so we've seen that. Sterling really hasn't really had a lot of opportunity to play. Those guys have practiced a lot and they've certainly gotten a lot of reps in practice, so you can start to evaluate how they perform in practice, but that's not the same as games. When you put a player in the game who hasn't played in a game before, you're a little bit looking to see how he's going to react in game conditions. Some guys do better; some guys not as good. [For] some guys, it takes them a little while to get going. That's certainly a little bit of an ongoing evaluation, but from a practice standpoint, those guys - especially Jeff - have had reps all year defensively. When he's been out there - he missed some time at training camp - but when he's been out there, he's had plenty of reps on defense. And Sterling, as the weeks have gone along, he's gotten progressively more. And more this week, obviously, with [Patrick] Chung being very limited in practice all week; Sterling got more reps on defense.
Cris Collinsworth summed up what the Patriots' win meant to Rex Ryan and his team:
"[This was] crushing for the Jets - this was their moment. They thought this was the changing of the guard night."
TEAM TALK
- Monday Press Conference: Bill Belichick (28.13 min. video)
- Patriots Today - Pats head in positive direction. (3.11 min. video)
- Patriots Today - Gronkowski unstoppable vs. Jets. (2.20 min. video)
- Patriots Today - Well-rounded victory. (3.17 min. video)
- Patriots Today - Victorious Patriots' locker room. (1.07 min. video)
- Locker Room Uncut - Pats react to resounding win. (3.43 min. video)
- WEEI Patriots Monday: Tom Brady (18.34 min.), Deion Branch (9.07 min.), Andre Carter (12.59 min.), Vince Wilfork (14.15 min.) and Bill Belichick (29.10 min.)
LOCAL LINKS
- Ian Rapoport says the effective, if not sudden, performance of the Patriots pass rush made up for the stunning inexperience in the secondary.
- Ian Rapoport breaks down each of Andre Carter's 4.5 sacks from Sunday's game and how they happened.
- Tim Britton points out that for all their free-agent misses, Andre Carter has been a big hit.
- Tom E. Curran explains why the O-Line has been incurring so many penalties, and what Matt Light called to the coaching staffs attention to correct it.
-
Mark Farinella reports Tom Brady continues his assault on the record books, and Wes Welker hit the 1,000-yard mark for the season with a 4th-quarter catch. Fourth year he's done it.
- Tedy Bruschi believes the Pats passed the mental-toughness test Sunday and says they must approach the rest of their games with the same urgency.
- Chris Gasper writes the Patriots win over the Jets boiled down to the comparison between the two quarterbacks - and the fact there is no comparison.
- Christopher Price sees the Patriots in control of the AFC East as the post-season push begins.
- Tom E. Curran says this team, with all its defensive fill-ins, showed they have character and resilience and are very hard not to like.
- Shalise Manza Young reports Bill Belichick and the team enjoyed the win Sunday, even more in the wake of the intense criticism they've received.
- Christopher Price offers some final thoughts on the Patriots win over the Jets, noting it was nice to see the Pats win the special teams battle.
- Tony Massarotti declares the victory over the Jets means the Patriots can't be dismissed ... Well, not yet anyway.
- Chris Forsberg details the two interceptions by Rob Ninkovich, and who helped him out.
- Chris Forsberg offers some quick-hits from Bill Belichick's Monday presser.
- Mike Reiss looks at the snaps played by offensive skill-position players in the Patriots' 37-16 win over the Jets and offers his analysis.
- Mike Reiss charts the snaps played by Patriots defenders Sunday night, while analyzing what it might mean.
- Mike Reiss looks at the players who appeared on multiple special teams units Sunday, including quick-study Niko Koutouvides who recovered the third-quarter fumbled punt.
- Christopher Price breaks down the Patriots penalties through nine games.
- ESPN Boston reports Tom Brady knows when Belichick gives the team an extra day off, it's not really a day away from Gillette.
- Mike Reiss reports the Patriots host the Chiefs on Monday Night Football and that means Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden are on the call.
- Obnoxios Boston Fan says the Patriots found their lost mojo Sunday night, at the expense of the Jets.
-
WEEI Patriots Monday highlights: Tom Brady - Deion Branch - Andre Carter.
- WEEI highlights Boomer Esiason's guest appearance on the Dennis & Callahan show. Sanchez not ready for prime-time television.
- Ian Rapoport Patriots Notebook: Jeff Tarpinian learned early in the week he would be playing significant snaps on defense, but kept it quiet; Devin McCourty suffered a separated shoulder and is in significant pain, although there is no structural or bone damage; Belichick gave the players two days off after the win; Belichick addresses why there was no more production after Ochocinco's 53-yard catch; Pats received two 15-yard penalties for unsportsmanlike behavior.
- Shalise Manza Young Patriots Notebook: Patriots will face a Chiefs team with backup QB Tyler Palko starting in place of the injured Matt Casse; No injury update yet on Devin McCourty; Tom Brady said he's "feeling good" when asked if his arm was hurting; Julan Edelman took some snaps at CB Sunday; Gary Guyton was suited up but never saw the field.
- Mike Cole posts a photo of Tom Brady and a smiling, laughing Antonio Cromartie hugging after the game Sunday. Thought those two hated each other.
- Ron Borges issues his Week 10 Report Card. Let's just say their grades improved from last week.
- Kirk Minihane gives the Patriots top grades in his Week 10 Report Card, but still doesn't see this defense as playoff-caliber.
- Jeff Howe grades the Patriots in his Week 10 Report Card.
NATIONAL NEWS
- James Walker (ESPN) Seven-step drop: Andre Carter on a tear.
- Michelle Tafoya (NBC Sports) Sideline notebook: Patriots @ Jets - Stories that didn't get told.
- Len Pasquarelli (CBS Sports) With domination of Jets, Belichick skeptics forced to retreat.
- Kevin Fishbain (Pro Football Weekly) Pats make statement with easy road ahead.
- Jim Reineking (NFL.com) Week 10 Hardest-Working Man honors. Vote here for nominee Andre Carter.
- Kevin Fishbain (Pro Football Weekly) Patriots stock report: Week 10.
- Ben Shpigel (NY Times) Jets reminded who's in charge.
- Steve Serby (NY Post) Jets coach is one who should shut up.
- Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Rex Ryan apologizes for cursing at a fan.
- Harvey Araton (NY Times) Jets down, and at their most dangerous.
- Steve Serby (NY Post) Jets expect to beat Patriots in playoffs.
- Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Haynesworth "a little bit tired after most plays I've played all year".
VIEW FROM KANSAS CITY
- Adam Teicher (Kansas City Star) Cassel may be done for year, Palko will start Monday.
- Kent Babb (Kansas City Star) Tyler Palko has been waiting for this moment since joining the NFL in 2007.
- Staff Report (Kansas City Star) Meet Tyler Palko.
- Sam Mellinger (Kansas City Star) A lack of QB depth is Pioli's fault.