I had no intention of writing this today, because I am simply disheartened by last night. This morning was supposed to be filled with joy thanks to our "first place Jets." Unfortunately that line can't be used and won't be used until next season. The rapid reaction to this loss is that the Patriots now have full control of the AFC East. With a one game lead plus the tiebreaker over the Jets along with the Bills losing 3 of 5 they control their own destiny. They own the easiest end of the season schedule of any team in the league and would need to lose at least 2 games to have a chance of not clinching the division. The reality of that is just not likely and that is why on this morning I am hurt. The idea of winning the division and having a home playoff game with potentially a first round bye ran through my head all week leading up to this game. My team had a chance to finally knock the Patriots off their 10 year podium of dominance. The analysts were all on the Jets side as it seemed everyone had us winning the game. The talk of how the Patriots simply aren't as good anymore ran through the media every hour on the hour. The Jets on the other hand didn't get the memo because we made them look like the most dominant team in the league. The amount of mistakes I saw my beloved team make in person was flat out sickening. On the very first drive we moved the ball fast and efficient all the way into the Patriots 30 yard line. This set up a beautiful pass to Santonio Holmes slanting up the middle of the field and making the grab. As he broke away with a move, it looked like a touchdown but he simply tripped over his own feet falling to the ground. That was the closest we would get to a touchdown for a very long time as we were forced to attempt a chip shot field goal. Nick Folk did something he had only done once the entire season- he missed the kick. If that wasn't a foreshadow of how the night would go, then I don't know what foreshadowing means. The Patriots first drive, they moved the ball well but on a third down Brady threw an errant pass and Kyle Wilson dropped what easily would've been a pick 6 interception. This resulted in a field goal. On their very next drive Brady moved the ball into our 20 once again after one pass got tipped by two Jets defenders we failed to get another interception resulting in another field goal. Tom Brady not too much later then threw a pass into the end zone to Deion Branch in triple coverage that led to an Antonio Cromartie dropped interception. When you have a chance to pick off Brady in one half and fail to do so each time then your defense needs a wake up call. It also doesn't help when as the game goes on your offense turns the ball over twice along with one special teams mistake that should NEVER happen. Joe Mcknight muffed a punt and not one, not two, but 3 Jets failed to recover it. Watching all 3 Jets get their hands on the ball at some point but to not come up with it was pathetic. Especially Donald Strickland, a veteran who litteraly fell on the ball and still managed to not gain possession. Those are just some big things that I vividly remember from the game but now I will just into each side of the ball.
Defense:
Pretty solid first half up until the last 1 minute 20 when we let the patriots go 80 yards in a blink of an eye taking away all momentum we had after giving Tom Brady a safety followed by a touchdown on the very next drive. Mark, right before that why did you call a timeout with 17 seconds left on the play clock? I hated that timeout as I kept wondering "why didn't he run it down before taking it?" That 1 minute and 20 could've been 17 seconds less and who knows if the Patriots still score with that time. Held the Patriots to under 100 rushing yards which was the only bright spot.
As I mentioned before- the dropped interceptions were absolute killers as even just one could've changed the whole game.
The Fourth Quarter- Where was the defense? We went into it down only 23-16 after Sanchez hit Plaxico Burress on a beautiful fade in the corner of the end zone. But that all went to waste when Tom Brady held the ball for the next 7 minutes getting first down after first down and ending it with a touchdown that just sucked any chance of winning away. The defense needs to make those kind of stops. There is no excuse for letting the Patriots control that drive to start the fourth quarter like they did.
Not one sack- when you don't sack Brady, you're not rushing his throws, which means you're not beating him.
Rob Gronkowski- Boy did this monster go absolutely off, and make Eric Smith look like the worst safety in the NFL. A re-occurring theme with this defense is that their biggest weakness is covering the tight end. When the Patriots have 2 really good ones, then well we're toast every time.
The Offense:
Boy that first drive looked perfect. Even though it ended on a missed field goal, it looked like we would have great drives all game. Turns out we had about only 2 more in the last 55 minutes.
The line- Embarrassing performance. When you let Andre Carter get 4.5 sacks, and give up 5 to the team as a whole then you can't expect to win. Sanchez was constantly under pressure which just rattles his young football mind and affects his vision even more.
Sanchez- He was rushing passes all night, and that wasn't working out. The times he did have time to throw he made some good ones like the 30 yard play action streak to Keller which set up the touchdown 5 seconds into the fourth quarter. The inconsistency was the biggest problem though because even though he had a handful of nice passes, he had way to many bad decisions and missed opportunities.
Shonn Greene(the receiver part of him)- We're driving down the field to tie it up and Sanchez checks down to Greene because nothing down field was open. The ball litterly goes off his hands and it's intercepted by Rob Ninkovich. This turnover led to a Patriots touchdown which really put us in a hole. Greene, you need to catch that ball at all costs.
The Running Game- We ran for over 100 yards yet again but we had to get away from it in the second half because we were down.
Special Teams:
Joe Mcknight had a couple of nice kick returns like he always does but that muffed punt was just terrible. Sorry, but muffing a punt and then having three guys fail to recover it before a Patriot does is just absurd. I hope Westhoff goes off on this unit for those series of events and never let's that happen again.
Keep Mcknight off punt returns, I understand we were forced to because Jeremy Kerley was playing hurt most of the game but I'd rather have Jim Leohnard back there. Yes he is a very valuable safety so that's why when Kerley is hurt you tell Jimmy to fair catch them all and know he won't drop it because he has some of the best hands on the team. Nick Folk, never miss a kick inside 30 yards ever again.
The Coaching:
Outcoached by a mile. How many times did you see our defense confused before a play? I feel like every drive our secondary was lost in coverage because of the hurry up offense led by Brady. 3 or 4 times he rushed to the line, called hike, and passed it to a wide open receiver because the defense couldn't line up correctly. We never adjusted to keeping Gronkowski out of the game, and the amount of blitzes that we got burned on never got corrected. Rex simply was out matched in this one. Brian Schottenheimer, this wasn't your best offensive coaching game of the year. Too many, short passes not enough long ones. Good run plays, not followed up on when we needed to keep the defense from focusing on the pass. Bill Callahan, your offensive line was invisible giving up 5 sacks, and letting Sanchez take hits.
The fans:
Boy, were we ready to go. MetLife Stadium was loud all game and the fans truly performed well but unfortunately the team couldn't back us up. Big play after big play the defense couldn't get stops and we kept being loud and proud but that Sanchez pick 6 to end the game with about 7 minutes left is what forced Jets nation to give up. We came into this game expecting to leave a first place team. We came in wanting a home playoff game. We came in wanting to affect Brady. We came in wanting to rally our defense all game. In the end, we performed better then the team did and probably affected Brady more then Rex's coaching did. I'm glad Rex apologized to the fans afterwards, because we deserved that.
The Refs- Some calls I didn't like...
On 3rd and 14, Sanchez delievered a great pass to Burress and he made a move to get open to convert the first down. It was nullified though because of offensive interference on Plax. Seeing the replay 3 times, it was not offensive pass interference.
On a fade to Holmes in the endzone, the defender was all over him and I am still shocked they didn't call defensive pass interference. Holmes was furious and rightfully so. Luckily, we did score on the very next play.
Overall though, a decent game by the refs. Pretty fair game called, there were other debatable calls but I obviously am not going to critique them all. No call in this game affected the outcome or momentum, which is always good.
My reaction:
By the end of it all, the life was taken out of me. A very quiet walk out of the stadium, followed by a quiet ride home wasn't what I wanted. Knowing I most likely won't be getting home playoff game really hurt because this was our chance. This was the time to take over that division. Knowing we are just another wild card contender is tough, but I will take a playoff entrance in any way possible. If that means getting the 6 seed and needing to go on the road 3 straight times then so be it. This team plays very well as underdogs on the road in the playoffs so I do have confidence this team can still reach their ultimate goal.
I will have a post in the next day or 2 about the playoff picture but a quick preview is that we are very much right there in winning a wild card and that even though this loss stings, Jets nation needs to realize we can still be playing games in January. This loss isn't the end of the world!
Next game:
at Denver on Thursday night. At least we can turn the page quickly and go out to play another game. This team needs to forget this loss and have a solid performance vs the Tim Tebow led Broncos. We need to get rested fast because 2 losses in one week will not sit well with me or any other Jets fan. I will have a preview for this game in the next day or 2 as well.
-RP
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