I was trying to think of the words to describe how the Patriots played in the second half of their loss to the Jets yesterday. Out scored. Out coached. Out hustled. Out played. That doesn't capture how bad it was. I flipped on the NFL Network and caught some of Tom Brady's post-game press conference. "We just sucked," he said. Thanks, Tom. Those were the words I was looking for.
 |
WEEK 2: Sour Apple. |
That was the theme of 2009. The Pats would face a big challenge against a good team on the road. They would start off very well, taking a lead into the second half, only to come apart at the seams. It was something the team had rarely done since their Super Bowl run started. Whatever problems the Pats face with the loss of the core of their championship D, the common assumption has been that as long as Brady and Belichick are on the top of their games then the team will be tough to beat. Clearly they are not on the top of their game and haven't been consistently since David Tyree caught that ball in the Super Bowl with his head. I keep thinking this is the week that will change. Not yet.
When Brady hit Moss for his ridiculous one-handed TD catch late in the second quarter I texted Mark "How much are you loving this team?" He responded "A ton." So was I. It was the same way I felt when the Patriots took control of all those games last year. The team looked a step ahead of the Jets -- and then suddenly they were a step behind.
Also like many of last year's biggest losses the Pats left a lot of points on the field in the first half. Brady took the opening drive for 15 plays and nearly 9 minutes. Runs by Taylor and Faulk. Passes to Welker, Hernandez, and Gronkowski. It was a sharp, well-balanced attack. It stalled on 3rd-and-9 at the NY 14 when Welker came up a yard short. Gostkowski hit the field goal but an inexcusable delay of game penalty brought it back five yards and then Gostkowski missed his second try. Three points lost.
After the D held the Jets to three and out Brady and the offense put together another 15-yard drive and capped it with a TD pass to Welker. Pats were up 7-0. The Jets D had been on the field for all but about a minute of the first quarter. The Jets were already on the ropes. A quick stop by the D and the Jets defense would have been gassed before the first half was over. The Jets season -- as early as it was -- was hanging in the balance. And they responded.
Sanchez faced a 3rd-and-6 at his own 27. Punt here and the Pats would have a chance to take command of the game for good. That's when Sanchez put it together. He hit Braylon Edwards for 13 yards and a first down. Then Banta-Cain got through for a sack putting the Jets in 2nd-and-20. Another chance to get Brady the ball back. Sanchez connected for 24 yards on the next two plays and drove his team all the way down for a huge touchdown to tie the score.
Brady then hit Moss for the one-handed catch and it looked like they would come out of a first half they dominated with a touchdown lead. But the Jets got the ball on their own 20 with just 53 seconds in the half and drove 7 plays to set up a field goal as time expired. 14-10 Pats.
I said to Bergs that the Pats just had to win the turnover battle in the second half and they would win. Second-half turnovers: Pats 3, Jets 0. Second-half points: Jets 18, Pats 0. As always, turnovers are the key.
But so is coaching, and playmaking, and tackling. The Pats did very little of those things in the second half. There were re a lot of key moments in the second half and the Jets made a play on almost every one they faced. And that was without Pro Bowlers Revis and Mangold. Everything broke the Pats way to get a huge road win. They still couldn't take advantage of it.
Give the Jets a Rex Ryan-size amount of credit. They had to win that game and they did. Convincingly. They kept making the plays to keep drives alive and came up with the turnovers. I didn't think the Jet offense could put up 20 points. They did that pretty easily. That's a great sign for them. Not so great for the Pats D.
The Pats second-half failures is now the key issue facing this team. ESPNBoston's Mike Reiss has a good story about it. He includes a stat I hadn't heard. In their last eight home games (not including the trip to London last year), the Pats have been outscored 116-41 in the second half. That says it all. If the Patriots can fix that problem they will be a serious contender. If not, they'll be lucky to make the playoffs.
They'll get another chance in Miami on a Monday night in two weeks.
Also like many of last year's biggest losses the Pats left a lot of points on the field in the first half. Brady took the opening drive for 15 plays and nearly 9 minutes. Runs by Taylor and Faulk. Passes to Welker, Hernandez, and Gronkowski. It was a sharp, well-balanced attack. It stalled on 3rd-and-9 at the NY 14 when Welker came up a yard short. Gostkowski hit the field goal but an inexcusable delay of game penalty brought it back five yards and then Gostkowski missed his second try. Three points lost.
After the D held the Jets to three and out Brady and the offense put together another 15-yard drive and capped it with a TD pass to Welker. Pats were up 7-0. The Jets D had been on the field for all but about a minute of the first quarter. The Jets were already on the ropes. A quick stop by the D and the Jets defense would have been gassed before the first half was over. The Jets season -- as early as it was -- was hanging in the balance. And they responded.
Sanchez faced a 3rd-and-6 at his own 27. Punt here and the Pats would have a chance to take command of the game for good. That's when Sanchez put it together. He hit Braylon Edwards for 13 yards and a first down. Then Banta-Cain got through for a sack putting the Jets in 2nd-and-20. Another chance to get Brady the ball back. Sanchez connected for 24 yards on the next two plays and drove his team all the way down for a huge touchdown to tie the score.
Brady then hit Moss for the one-handed catch and it looked like they would come out of a first half they dominated with a touchdown lead. But the Jets got the ball on their own 20 with just 53 seconds in the half and drove 7 plays to set up a field goal as time expired. 14-10 Pats.
I said to Bergs that the Pats just had to win the turnover battle in the second half and they would win. Second-half turnovers: Pats 3, Jets 0. Second-half points: Jets 18, Pats 0. As always, turnovers are the key.
But so is coaching, and playmaking, and tackling. The Pats did very little of those things in the second half. There were re a lot of key moments in the second half and the Jets made a play on almost every one they faced. And that was without Pro Bowlers Revis and Mangold. Everything broke the Pats way to get a huge road win. They still couldn't take advantage of it.
Give the Jets a Rex Ryan-size amount of credit. They had to win that game and they did. Convincingly. They kept making the plays to keep drives alive and came up with the turnovers. I didn't think the Jet offense could put up 20 points. They did that pretty easily. That's a great sign for them. Not so great for the Pats D.
The Pats second-half failures is now the key issue facing this team. ESPNBoston's Mike Reiss has a good story about it. He includes a stat I hadn't heard. In their last eight home games (not including the trip to London last year), the Pats have been outscored 116-41 in the second half. That says it all. If the Patriots can fix that problem they will be a serious contender. If not, they'll be lucky to make the playoffs.
They'll get another chance in Miami on a Monday night in two weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment