New York Jets vs. New England Patriots: 10 Things We Learned on Monday Night
After a week of so of jawing, mostly on the part of the New York Jets, the game is in the books and the dust is settling on the New England Patriot's Monday Night blowout of the New York Jets.
This was a big game, and not just for what it does for the Patriots and the Jets. Sure, places change in the AFC East, but this game will have repercussions that affect a good amount of players and teams in the NFL.
Let's take a look at 10 things we learned from the Monday night smack down.
1. The New England Patriots Are the Best in the AFC
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After this win, is there any doubt in anyone's mind about who the best team in the AFC is (and possibly the league at large)?
The New England Patriots not only showed that they could dominate on offense, as they usually can, but that their defense is really capable of showing up for the occasion.
They may have been fired up by the comments made leading up to the game, but that should only make it a bigger statement. The Patriots proved that, when up against the best, the come out hungry. Very hungry.
2. Danny Woodhead Is the Best Free Agent Acquisition This Year
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At the very least, Danny Woodhead fits into the Patriots' system better than any other option that they had.
If you think about it, though, you would be hard-pressed to think of a free-agent acquisition over this past year that has made a bigger impact on their team than Danny Woodhead has.
Woodhead is a fierce weapon in space, working well in swing passes and screen plays (and the occasional shovel pass, apparently). He has soft hands, and he works deceptively well without much space.
He is also apparently a good special teams player, too.
3. The Jets Aren't Who People Thought They Were
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Call it karmic payback, call it getting what they had coming to them, call it whatever you want —the Jets received a good, old-fashioned whooping on Monday night, and it seems like they really showed their true colors.
After going down by a lot early in the game, the Jets simply seemed to go flat. Mark Sanchez had a hard time putting balls on target, they could hardly move the ball on the ground and their kicking game was simply nonexistent.
Maybe this is a glitch. Perhaps this isn't the Jets team that we will see for the rest of the year. The fact of the matter is, though, that the Jets showed that their program has a dark side. A very dark side.
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4. Mark Sanchez Still Has a Lot of Work To Do
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A lot of you probably recall my quarterback rankings from a few weeks ago, where I rated Mark Sanchez below a good number of quarterbacks in the AFC. I drew a lot of heat for that.
Well, need I say anything at this point?
The Patriots got some good pressure on him, but for most of the night, Mark Sanchez had the time he needed to give the ball to open receivers, but just couldn't. He was either off target or throwing into coverage that he clearly shouldn't be throwing into.
His numbers say enough: 17 of 33 for 164 yards and three interceptions, which adds up to an abysmal 27.8 passer rating.
He's still got some work to do.
5. Darrelle Revis Really Misses Randy Moss
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The Patriots are notorious for having more options on passing plays than defenses are capable of covering, but this is a whole different matter entirely.
Without a guy in the lineup who is "The Guy," Darrelle Revis was shuffled around to cover a few different receivers on Monday night. I'm not sure about you all, but I rarely knew where Darrelle Revis was or who he was covering.
I think he misses having Randy Moss to play against. With an all-star guy to line up against, Revis has a mission all game long: to shut down that player. Without Moss, Revis is left to figure out which of the six or seven other targets out on the field are most important.
6. The New England Patriots Have More Than One Rookie of the Year Prospect
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The 2010 Draft Class of the New England Patriots has had a tremendous impact on their team, and they are really making names for themselves in the league.
Take Rob Gronkowski as an example. While his numbers may not immediately jump out at you (25 receptions for 310 and six touchdowns), Gronkowski makes his presence felt all over the field. At 6'6" and 265 lbs, Gronkowski is a behemoth of a man, but has surprisingly soft hands, which has led him to become a red-zone weapon for the Pats, as well as one piece of the best quarterback-receiver tandem in the league (Tom Brady's passer rating to Gronkowski is No. 1 in the league).
As if that wasn't enough, take a look at the Patriots' other rookie tight end, Aaron Hernandez. The first thing I have to say is: is this guy really a tight end? How can a guy that big move that well? His 462 yards hardly tell the story. Hernandez averages roughly seven yards after the catch and reverses the field better than anyone with his size.
Last, but not least, is Devin McCourtey, the first-round pick of the New England Patriots. I remember watching that pick with a few friends, who happen to be rabid Pats fans, and hearing them blow up, wondering why the Patriots were picking a seemingly random cornerback instead of a guy like Sergio Kindle. Well, McCourtey's 63 tackles and six interceptions on the year more or less prove his worth.
All three of these guys should be in the running for Rookie of the Year, no doubt about it.
7. The Mystique Is Gone from the Jets Defense
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As any bitter fan would do, I vented a lot to my brother last year after the New York Jets left San Diego with the win after last year's AFC Wild Card game.
Among the things I said was this comment: "Something tells me that the style of defense that the New York Jets play will account to something like the wildcat offense: It surprises teams for a year, but, given the offseason to figure it out, it will start fooling less and less teams until it stops working."
Well, it looks like that time has come.
The delayed stunts on the line and some of the blitzing schemes are still working, but the mystique really seems to be gone from the Jets' defense, and it's really going to start to hurt them down the stretch.
8. Numbers Don't Tell the Whole Story on New England's Defense
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A lot of people wonder how the Patriots are where they are, considering the fact that their defense ranks dead last in the NFL.
In all honesty, the numbers tell a good amount of the story. The Patriots give up a lot of yards every week. Sometimes, they look like they would be better off sitting on the bench for a series and taking a breather while the opposing offense simply does whatever they want to get down to the end zone.
The part of the story that the numbers don't tell, though, an X factor of sorts, is that the Patriots make big plays when they really need them.
Take their Monday night game as an example. When the Jets were threatening to score their first touchdown of the game, which could've been a big momentum shift for them, Brandon Spikes came up with a big interception on the goal line.
They force turnovers in key situations, they come up with sacks when it's really important and they shut down offenses that don't give them the credit that they deserve.
9. How the Jets Respond to This Loss Will Determine Their Season
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Yes, I know this one is obvious.
With only four games left in the regular season, every one is going to be important for the New York Jets.
However, it bears repeating that their game next week against Miami could be their most crucial game of the season.
Now that they are officially trailing the New England Patriots, the Jets are going to have to win out to have hopes at walking away with the division title.
Even if they lose their next game, they will probably still grab one of the AFC Wild Card slots. However, another loss next week proves that the New England Patriots have exposed something. Some weakness, some insecurity, something that will keep the big talk to a minimum along, with the Super Bowl hopes of the New York Jets.
10. Tom Brady Is the Clear Front-Runner for MVP
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With a final passer rating of 148.9, Tom Brady was so close to statistical perfection that it was almost painful to watch.
Tom Brady has led this team to the best record in the NFL, and he is playing better football than any other quarterback in the league (especially considering the recent belly-flop that Peyton Manning has been doing and the funk that Philip Rivers has settled into).
With his performance tonight, he moves to a season average of a 109.4 passer rating and has posted 27 touchdowns to only four interceptions.
Even with the rest of the team stepping up, it is clear that Tom Brady is the true reason behind the success of the Patriots, and he deserves the hardware at the end of the season for his work.
Questions? Comments? Concerns?
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