(Michael MacDonald September 21, 2009)
Though he was never sacked in Sunday's game, Patriots QB Tom Brady (here being helped up by RB Fred Taylor) was constantly under pressure and was knocked down numerous times. (Photo by Matthew West, Boston Herald.)
The Patriots could easily be 2-0 today. They could even more easily be 0-2 and if it weren’t for an inexplicably dumb play by the Bills’ Leodis McKelvin, that is exactly where the Pats would be today. It’s comforting to think that the Patriots split the first two games of the season against two very good teams but that simply isn’t the case. The Jets appear to be a decent team but are operating with a brand new defensive scheme and are being piloted by a quarterback that has less NFL experience than my mother. The Bills are probably no better than a .500 team.
In yesterday’s 16-9 loss to the Jets, the Patriots moved the ball into the red zone 3 times in the first half and had to settle for field goals each time. In the second half, the Pats offense was totally stymied.
Next Sunday, the Pats get a very good Atlanta Falcons team coming to town led by BC alum Matt Ryan. Two weeks from now, the Patriots face another test with the Baltimore Ravens.
If there is a bright spot to take from the first two games, it is that the defense wasn’t actually terrible. The bad news is that in both games the defense was worse in the second half than in the first. That is not typical of Bill Belichick teams.
Patriots QB Tom Brady drops a snap in the second half of yesterday's 16-9 loss to the New York Jets. (Photo by Barton Silverman of The New York Times)
If that is not disturbing enough, the really bad news is that the overwhelming offense has been a bust. Yesterday’s game was a frustrating collage of timing problems between quarterback and receiver interspersed with a running game that was overall pretty ineffectual.
While quarterback Tom Brady was clearly missing targets, his receivers were sometimes not where they were supposed to be. And even when the receivers were running their routes, the offensive line was unable to handle the Jets’ constant blitzes. You think maybe the Falcons will take notice when watching the game film?
One has to think that some of the offensive issues will be resolved but the Patriots are clearly missing a crucial piece in the pass protection. The defense has so many holes that it’s hard to know where to begin but developing a pass rush wouldn’t be a bad place to start.
For now, the motto has to be “In Coach Belichick We Believe” but it is still hard to see how the coaching staff can correct so many issues in just a week. The Patriots need to find a way to win Sunday or this might turn out to be a long season.
Is this really the team I confidently picked as a Super Bowl contender just a few weeks ago?
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:39 am
Jets are the new Patriots. The hoody/brady super bowl combo is DONE
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:40 am
and by Patriots I mean involved in wayyy too many headlines/garbage stories.