The thing I enjoy most about Monday’s (or the day after the game) is that I have had a chance to digest what I saw and read. While watching a game you’re too invested in it, you get so busy looking at some things you miss others.
That’s why Monday is a day of reflection. And after some reflection on the well balanced effort of the Patriots on Sunday against the Jets it looks even better than I thought it did, especially defensively.
You’ll see a note in here about the New York possessions. The Jets had the ball 11 times. They went three and out 7 times. That’s pretty good for a ragged, much maligned defensive unit.
They once again didn’t allow a 100-yard rusher. In fact they didn’t even allow the opponent 100 rushing yards total.
Passing wise they were better than they have been. On the Santonio Holmes TD catch he ran a great route and confused the coverage. S James Ihedigbo and CB Kyle Arrington ended up looking at each other after the catch trying to figure who should have had him. Most NFL corners and safeties are going to give that TD up, I can live with that.
Also on the TD pass Mark Sanchez threw to the rookie WR Jeremy Kerley, the pass was thrown down and away from the coverage and there was nothing S Patrick Chung could do except hope that Kerley didn’t get his hands on it.
Funny thing is those were probably the two best thrown balls all day by Sanchez, who to me, hasn’t been worthy of being a first round pick that New York invested in him three years ago.
Offensively, on first inspection I thought they were ok but on reflection you realize they had an entirely different plan than usual. Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien decided they were going to ground the Jets to a pulp with the running game and with the help of BenJarvus Green-Ellis they did exactly that.
Sometimes with the effectiveness of Tom Brady and his receivers you forget that they still have a running game.
The Patriots still did there fair share of throwing on Sunday and the biggest one was the 74-yard hook up to Wes Welker early in the second half. The only thing that prevented an 80-yard TD pass was some extreme hustle from Darrelle Revis.
Next week they face the Fighting Jerry Jones’s, the Dallas Cowboys, at The Razor. Dallas is coming into town off their bye week they are 2-2 and have really struggled at times as a team and as individuals. The Patriots usually use these teams as a whipping boy and it’d surely be nice for them to head into their bye week with a crushing victory.
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New England head coach Bill Belichick had his weekly day after media meeting about Sunday’s game.
The Patriots have not lost a regular season game at Gillette Stadium since the 2008 season having won 19 consecutive regular season home games. It is the longest current streak in the NFL and 5th longest in NFL history.
Since 2002 when Gillette Stadium opened the Patriots are 69-14 at home.
New England is 50-15 vs. the AFC East since 2001.
On Monday morning the team released OL Thomas Welch. Expect him to end up with the open practice squad spot that occurred when RB Eric Kettani was ordered back to duty by the Navy late last week. The Patriots re-signed tight end Dan Gronkowski to the roster spot vacated with the release of Welch.
The release of Welch bodes well in one area in that it’s more likely that T Sebastian “Sea Bass” Vollmer is ready to return to action after missing four of the first five games with a back injury.
WR Wes Welker has 740 receiving yards this season it is the most ever by a Patriot through the first five games of a season.
QB Tom Brady made his weekly appearance as part of “Patriots Monday” on Boston’s WEEI AM/FM.
Brady’s streak of throwing at least a pair of TD passes ended on Sunday. He and Peyton Manning hold the NFL record for throwing at least 2 TD passes in 13 consecutive games.
Brady also tied former teammate Vinny Testaverde for 8th all time on the TD pass list with 275.
Hall of Fame QB Dan Marino thinks his single season total passing yards mark will fall sooner or later. Five current QB’s, including Brady, are currently on pace to do it this season.
Connecticut native, TE Aaron Hernandez returned to action on Sunday against the Jets and he had 5 catches after missing the last two games with a sprained MCL. He also contributed by drawing two big defensive penalties against New York so I’ll forgive him for boxing that sure TD pass at the end of the 1st half that lead to the Antonio Cromartie INT.
LB Jerod Mayo missed the game with a sprained MCL and could miss up to 6 weeks, in addition to Mayo players who missed the game Sunday with injuries were Mike Wright, Julian Edelman, Danny Woodhead, Josh Barrett and Sebastian Vollmer. Ryan Mallett was a healthy scratch for the 4th time in 5 weeks.
We’ll have to see what the week brings and if the players are able to get back on the field for the Dallas game.
Patriot injuries of note from Sunday vs. New York are: WR Matthew Slater (ribs); DT Albert Haynesworth (cramping); TE Rob Gronkowski (illness).
Mass Live’s Nick Underhill writes BenJarvus Green-Ellis is flying high following the win over the New York Jets.
The offensive line had mixed results on Sunday. While they were good in the ground game they struggled with pass defense.
The offensive line allowed the Jets to get a season high four sacks of Brady while adding an additional 5 hits, which tied the amount that San Diego had in Week 2.
UMass alum and Western Mass native S James Ihedigbo got some redemption against his old team.
ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss has his 3 Up, 3 Down for the Patriots.
It was a frustrating day for the Jets defense.
New York was balanced on offense but it wasn’t enough to beat New England.
The Jets had 11 possessions, 7 times they went 3 and out and of those 7 three and outs, three were on 3rd and 3 or less and each time the Jets tried to pass.
Haynesworth says the defense “knows we have the talent”.
And before I close I just want to offer my condolences to the Oakland Raiders staff, players and fans for the loss of owner Al Davis. Like him, love him or hate him he was a maverick and he made a difference.
Davis did some great things in his life. He helped the leagues merge, he hired the first Black NFL head coach, the first Hispanic NFL head coach and the first woman NFL CEO. He was ground breaking.
His players past and present loved him. He touched the lives of so many inside and outside of football and he had a generosity that was hidden from most.
The NFL is richer because of him at the same time it’s poorer because of his death.
New England plays the Dallas Cowboys Sunday at 4:15 p.m. at the Razor. Look for the Sox & Dawgs “In The Red Zone Game Preview” available on Friday morning.
Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem
