Friday Re-Watch - Jets

Brady, Gregory, and Wilfork were treated to Turkey
for their epic performances on Thursday

After each game, win lose or draw, I go back and take a second look. I did my best to separate the passion and emotion of Thanksgiving Thursday from the retrospect of Friday. Overall, this was an impressive win. The nay-sayers (erhm... Stephen A. Smith) have nothing to say today. The Defense didn't allow a single point until the team was up by 35 points. At one point, New York scored 12 straight points, but Sanchez and company never came within 30 points. Still, no one is saying that this is about the awful NY Jets. This one was about the dominant NE Pats.

People are finally giving credit to The Patriots for forcing these turnovers, and its about time. This game marked the 22nd straight regular season game that the defense has forced a turnover. This the longest such streak in the NFL. The consistency with which this team forces turnovers can no longer be regarded as fluky. Belichick has built his defense to operate this way: hard hits, trap coverages, and timely pressure is the formula.

For all the talk about the DBs, its easy to forget
just how dominant Big Vince was last night

Once again, Belichick's defense allowed 300+ yards passing, but stats are for losers. Its time to give credit where credit is due: this is a dangerous defense despite the stats. Alfonzo Dennard has really outperformed my expectations, and his play has made Patrick Chung obsolete in the defensive backfield. I originally thought McCourty should move back to CB, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The Talib-Dennard and McCourty-Gregory pairings have had two strong performances in a row.

While Patrick Chung and Kyle Arrington have been relegated to reduced roles, I think they will be more effective in less snaps. Arrington actually had his best game of the season yesterday, and I think he's the best option to play against slot CBs. Chung still needs to find his new reduced role, but I think Gregory and McCourty have earned the right to start. Too much depth is never a bad thing.

About the game though, I am not really sure what to say. This one was pretty much over in the second quarter. Still, after one quarter this looked like it would be a tough game for The Patriots. First of all, New England went 3-and-out on its first possession. Then, Gostkowski missed a 39 yard FG on the second possession. Steve Gregory's INT came on a trap coverage that fooled Mark Sanchez, but without that play The Jets were poised to strike first. 

Second straight game with 2 TDs for Julian Edelman

However, after Sanchez made that first mistake the game just unravelled for The Jets. Brady took over at his own 16, and led the offense on a 15 play, 6 minute drive to take a 7-0 lead. The Patriots converted four 3rd downs on their way, and they never looked back. On The Jets next possession, The Patriots forced a 4th and 1. Not only did Brandon Spikes stop Shonn Greene for no gain, he stripped the ball. The next play was an 83 yard TD to Shane Vereen. Two plays later, Vince Wilfork tossed a lineman into Sanchez, and Gregory returned the QB's fumble for a TD. Finally, the ensuing kickoff was fumbled into the arms of Julian Edelman who took it the other way for a 3rd TD in less than a minute, making the score 28-0 Patriots.

The Patriots would add another TD before half, but the back to back to back TDs pretty much clinched it before the game was even half over. The Patriots Defense went to a much more conservative scheme with such a big lead, but they certainly made The Jets earn it. The Patriots surrendered a lot of yards, but they forced The Jets to string together long drives with 3rd down conversions. Likewise, The Patriots were able to execute a true goal line stand for 4 downs. Unfortunately, the offense gave up 2 points on a safety, but the defensive stop took a lot of precious time off the clock.

Overall, this was an impressive performance by all 3 phases of the game. Each unit had a few rough plays, but the good far outweighed the bad. Although Gostkowski missed a FG, the kickoff unit actually scored a TD. The Offense scored 5 TDs, but they committed a turnover and a safety. The Defense surrendered 405 total yards, but they scored a TD and forced 4 of the 5 turnovers. This was a dominating performance, but its certainly one that can be improved upon.

How did we do on The Keys to Victory:

1. Tom Brady - What more could you possibly ask for? 4 total TDs, 323 passing yards, on 18-28 passing.  This is a vintage performance that will go down in the annals of Tom Brady lore. Seriously, a 139.4 rating while leading the team to 11 of 15 on 3rd down. With the exception of a few bad overthrows, Brady was perfect. 

2. Force Sanchez Turnovers - Not only did we force Sanchez into an INT and a fumble, we made Sanchez look like an absolute fool in his home stadium. The fans were chanting for Tebow all game (who apparently couldn't even throw due to broken ribs). I mean, anytime you run into your own guy and fumble...really that says it all. Seriously, I could watch this .gif all day. My favorite part is where Sanchez just puts his face into the turf to hide from the shame. 

3. Pick Up The Slack (and sacks) - Obviously Vince Wilfork had a huge game, probably his best of the season. However, the DEs that replaced Chandler Jones didn't do much to catch my eye. Still, The Patriots registered 2 sacks, and did enough to make Sanchez jumpy in the pocket. On the offensive side, I was impressed with the blocking by Daniel Fells. I expected a bit more from Hernandez, but his nice catch in the first quarter gives him a pass.

4. Danny Woodhead - I missed on this one. I really thought Woodhead would get a wealth of opportunities against his former team. However, the benefactor of this week's game plan was most certainly Shane Vereen. Ridley had a nice day on the ground too (97 yards and a TD). Perhaps I should have just made this one more general "Big Day From Backs." I paid the price in fantasy too because I played Woodhead over Vereen. D'oh!

5. Build On Last Week - The secondary definitely took a step forward. Its obvious that everyone is getting into a rhythm just because there is finally some continuity on the back end. McCourty has been super solid at Safety, and Dennard has cemented himself as a starter. Talib wasn't targeted much by Sanchez, and he had a nice break-up on a would-be TD. Obviously Gregory had a nice game, but I was really happy to see Arrington making positive plays again. I think this unit is ready for the homestretch, and they are just going to keep getting better.