10 Things We Learned Last Night
NFL. Here, in no particular order, are 10 things we learned about the Patriots in yesterday’s 38-14 win over the Jets:
1. He doesn’t shine shoes. He doesn’t cut checks. He doesn’t tape ankles. All Randy Moss does is play football. In what could be one of the finest days ever for a Patriots’ wide receiver, Moss provided a startling new feature to the New England offense, one the Patriots have been searching for since Stanley Morgan — a dependable deep threat. Moss caught nine passes for 183 yards yesterday (the third-best day for a receiver, yardagewise, in franchise history), with all of them going for double-digit yardage and the highlight coming on his 51-yard touchdown reception. But he was even more lethal when he wasn’t catching the football. He consistently drew double coverage, freeing up other receivers. His mere presence spread the field in a way that no other offensive option has done under Bill Belichick, allowing other offensive skill position players to thrive in single coverage. Wes Welker (61 receiving yards, one touchdown), Laurence Maroney (72 rushing yards) and Sammy Morris (54 rushing yards) should send a portion of their game checks to Moss, who made it easier for them to operate because of his mere presence. Simply put, the impact of a healthy Moss on the New England offense cannot be overstated. “He was a great player before he got to the Patriots,” said quarterback Tom Brady, who ended up 22-for-28 for 297 yards and three touchdowns. “Obviously, he’s still a great player.”
2. While Asante Samuel remains a step behind, his return to the active roster did pay dividends in the return game. Samuel struggled — he was beaten by Jets wide receiver Laveranues Coles on a one-yard TD catch — but good things did happen as a result of his return. If Samuel had not returned, it was unlikely the Patriots would have risked using Ellis Hobbs — their best return man — on kicks. But Samuel was back, and so was Hobbs, eight yards deep in the end zone at the start of the second half. Hobbs, as well as the rest of his team, knew taking the Mike Nugent kick out of the end zone was a risk. “It was one of those deals that when he started to run, you yell: ‘No! No! No! ... Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!’” Welker said. But the possible payoff was too great — what he did effectively ended the game, making it a two-score game early in the second half. “I understood the danger of taking it out that deep,” Hobbs told reporters afterward. “One false step and I could have been zero. But I ended up being the hero.”
3. The loss of safety Rodney Harrison and defensive lineman Richard Seymour was a non-issue, at least for one game. There was some concern that, without their two best defensive players, the New England defense would struggle, but that was not the case. As expected, James Sanders started in place of Harrison and Jarvis Green started in place of Seymour. Sanders did not allow any big plays, and appeared comfortable in the Patriots’ defense while finishing with four tackles. Green was tremendous, keeping constant pressure on Chad Pennington all day and (inadvertently) driving Pennington from the game because of an ankle injury. The Patriots were able to take a two-score lead on the Jets early in the second half, forcing New York to try and play catch-up through the air. That allowed Green to, in his terms, pin his ears back and start really going after the quarterback. It resulted in two sacks for the Louisiana native.
4. There were places here and there where the Patriots stumbled, but they were few and far between. For New England, Matt Cassel may have had the worst day, botching a hold on a 43-yard field goal in the field half. Cassel held on one more extra point, but was replaced by punter Chris Hanson at the start of the second half. Hanson was the holder on all conversion attempts in the second half. (The backup quarterback is clearly in the doghouse — when it came time for the kneeldown at the end of the game, Matt Gutierrez got the call, not Cassel.) And veteran linebacker Junior Seau also didn’t cover himself in glory when he tried to call a time out in the first half when the Patriots didn’t have one to use. None of the four penalties called on New England could be described as costly.
5. With the exception of Cassel’s bad hold, the Patriots’ special teams had an excellent afternoon. Hobbs’ kick return — which was led by a train of blockers that included offensive lineman Stephen Neal — was the high point of the day on special teams, while Cassel’s bad hold was the unquestioned low point. In between, there really wasn’t much worth mentioning. Hanson only had one punt on the day, a nice 53-yarder, while Welker had two punt returns on the day for a combined three yards.
6. The Patriots’ offensive line did a much better job in pass protection than the last three times New England played the Jets. Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal, Nick Kaczur and Ryan O’Callaghan were thoroughly manhandled by the Jets’ defense last year — Brady was subject to some savage hits, especially in last year’s Week 10 loss in the mud at Gillette Stadium. And while the Jets were not as aggressive yesterday when it came to blitzing, the New England offensive line deserves credit for holding New York sackless and giving Brady the time he needed to completely dissect the Jets’ pass defense. “The offensive line was spectacular,” Brady said after the game. The run blocking wasn’t as effective, but still got the job done, allowing New England to grind out second-half possessions and skillfully bleed the clock. Whether it was a matter of liking their matchup or simply their overall faith in Nick Kaczur, they ran 10 of their 36 running plays (one was a kneel down) over right tackle, the highest percentage on the team.
7. Expect Sammy Morris to be more than just a regular backup running back. As he did in Maroney’s absence throughout most of the preseason, Morris looked extremely strong. Yesterday against the Jets, the former Buffalo and Miami running back picked up quality yards much of the afternoon, and did an excellent job of spelling Maroney. He had more yards per carry than the starter (4.9 to 3.6), and the New England offense did not appear to lose much steam when Morris was in the game. It’s clear than despite his exceptional ability, Maroney is still growing into the role of full-time, feature back — yesterday was the first time as a pro where he had 20 or more carries — and Morris appears to be an excellent option when it comes to providing depth at the position.
8. Jerricho Cotchery isn’t kryptonite to the Patriots secondary, although he still isn’t bad. The Jets wide receiver had three stellar games against New England last year, finishing three games with 16 catches, 291 yards and three TDs. The Patriots defense did a good job containing him yesterday, and he didn’t have the same effect on the game. However, he was still one of the two most effective ways the Jets had when it came to moving the ball— he had six catches, and three of them resulted in first downs.
9. There’s nothing better than a strong start. Last year, on New England’s first play from scrimmage, Brady was sacked and fumbled the football, leading to a Buffalo touchdown. Yesterday’s first play from scrimmage certainly wasn’t as memorable — an 11-yard run off right tackle for Maroney — but their first drive (a 12-play, 91-yarder) culminated with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Welker. It marked the first time the Patriots scored on their first offensive possession of the season since 1997. The last time New England reached the end zone on its season-opening possession was on Aug. 31, 1997. The last time the Patriots opened the season with a touchdown drive in a game played on the road was in 1989, when New England opened the season with a 93-yard touchdown drive on 16 plays against the Jets at Giants Stadium.
10. There will be a bellyful of hype for this week’s Patriots-Chargers game. Philip Rivers against Ellis “The sorriest corner in the league” Hobbs! Bill “No class” Belichick against LaDainian “Crybaby” Tomlinson! Rosevelt “The lights are out!” Colvin against Shawne Merriman! All of the same storylines will be in place this week that were left off at after last year’s bitterly contested divisional playoff game. And even though many of them were resolved at the end of last year — particularly the Belichick-Tomlinson brouhaha, supposedly settled at the Pro Bowl — the residue from the game still lingers with the rest of the roster. “They’re one of the best teams in the league,” Belichick said of the Chargers after the game. “We’ll have our hands full with them — we’re well aware of that.”
