Jets 16 Patriots 9
by Brian Clark (lawngnome o-line)
Quarterback: A-
Mark Sanchez: 14/22 163 yds 1TD, 101.1 QB rating
Great control of the offense and his numbers are deceiving to job that he did. He missed a couple throws, but overall did well hitting the targets in coverage and played smart. Sanchez deciding not to throw the ball away and take the sack at the end of the game was a move that a wily veteran would make, not an inexperienced rookie. Knowing that a sack will only cause an 8 yard loss and will run the clock down another 32 seconds to the 2 minute warning instead of possibly causing an INT was smart and a key play that went unnoticed. Great pass to Keller on the TD and him and Cotchery definitely have a good rapport.
Running Back/Full Back: B
Thomas Jones: 14 rushes 54 yds
Leon Washington: 14 rushes 58 yards, 2 rec 18 yards
It was a bit slow trucking in the beginning as the Pats did a good job clogging the middle for the Jets run; once again, as the game progressed the line did a good job finding holes for these two. Leon’s shiftyness on both kick returns and 4th quarter handoffs added extra yards and made Pats players look silly.
Wide Receiver/Tight End: B-
Dustin Keller: 3 rec 22 yards 1 TD
Jerricho Cotchery: 4 rec 87 yards
Chansi Stuckey: 4 rec 37 yds,
With the exception of Cotchery’s 45 yard catch and run, this group failed to really extend the field and create big explosive plays. Although we knew that this is what to expect out of this group, there was a relative lack of explosiveness.
Their ability to manipulate matchups was key with this group. Any time that they had Stuckey and Keller spread wide with only one CB on the line, they used to bubble screen to gain a first down twice. Keller’s toe touch in the end zone was a sweet play. He faked out and cut back to the inside on a timing route where the safety was left frozen.
Although Cotchery and Stuckey do not have the breakaway or deep threat speed, they are both extremely slippery and break tackles. Cotchery was his normal self, catching a 10 yarder and turning it into 20. Stuckey benefitted from a broken coverage and caught Sanchez’s first touchdown.
Offensive Line: A-
Did a decent job keeping pressure off of Sanchez allowing only 2 sacks. The strength of their play seems to be as the game progressed, as for two games in a row, the running game gets continually better and more dominant.
Defensive Line: A-
Although this group didn’t get pressure on the quarterback, they were key to keeping the Patriots running attack to a minimum. Jenkins had another strong game and I like how he shifts from the A to B gap on many plays just before the snap to cause issues with O-line matchups. They did a good job filling gaps and allowing the linebackers and safeties do their damage on the blitzes
Linebackers: A
The Patriots play of their running backs and tight ends; their bread and butter, was all but nullified. Bart Scott did a great job as a coverage LB with the running back lined up wide. Harris did well generally covering the tight end underneath, with safety help.
Secondary: A+
I said it last week, and I’ll say it again, Darrelle Revis is the best cornerback in the league. This isn’t homerism on my part, it’s the truth. 4 catches for 35 yards for Andre Johnson, and 4 catches for 28 yards for Randy Moss, 2 of the 3 best WR’s in the league (with Larry Fitzgerald being the 3rd). The reason why the Jets could blitz as much as they could is because they could leave him on an island. Last year when Ty Law covered Moss, he received a lot of safety assistance. In this game, he didn’t get much, and it didn’t matter.
This group did 26 secondary blitzes on the quarterback, and led the team in tackles. Rhodes had 8 tackles, Eric Smith (ewww) had 6, Strickland had a strong game and did a great job breaking up a few plays. Lowery seemed a bit slow, but made the key breakup to secure the victory.
This group was the strength of the team on this day.
Special Teams: A+
Quietly this group is having a steady year. Feely knocked through all three field goals, and his kicks went deep. In addition, their coverage teams were great and really limited big plays in this portion of the game. In addition, Leon averaged 31.8 per return, while Leonhard averaged 12.5 per punt return. Even Weatherford had a decent average of 41.8. The field position game was big, and this group was a key part to winning that
Coaching: A+
Tom Brady said talk is cheap. Well Rex’s defense backed the words up. Not to mention that, Schotty’s defense is controlled and creative and works well with the personnel that we have. I actually have a little bit of faith in him, which I wouldn’t have said last year.
Player of the Game: Darrelle Revis
You can tell us your grades here.
