Who ever said, “Defense wins championships” obviously never heard of Tom Brady and the (6-0) New England Patriots, who remained flawless on the year with a 30-23 win over the (4-2) New York Jets. There were gasps. There were nearly tears, and one, Mr. Tom Brady, threw his helmet a couple of times on the sidelines as his undefeated team went up against their oldest rival in the NFL.
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Brady, as he has done so often in the past, made critical fourth quarter plays when they were needed most.
BIG WIN: It was the fifth consecutive time that the teams have played a one-score game. Gillette is an experience unlike any other. I mean, he does a lot of things for us. ‘Why would it be different now?’ I explained to him this is why. Punter Steve Weatherford booted it four times during the game, averaging 40.3 yards per punt and a long of 50 yards. Running backs LeGarrette Blount and James White combined for five carries for 1 yard, including three for minus-3 by Blount.
Fitzpatrick completed 22 of 39 passes for 295 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Most analysts agree that he was terrific. How is Kaep doing this season? Probably a little bit of both.
LAFELL DOWN: Brady’s numbers would have been even better if not for 11 drops by his receivers – six by newly activated Brandon LaFell. New England left a lot of points on the board yesterday when touchdowns were reduced to field goals because of idle hands. On paper it looked like a usual day from the Brady-led attack. “Oakland played a heck of a ball game (Sunday)”.
The Jets had all three of their timeouts. We were able to play the game with all the guys that we had going in. When those two guys are in, it just adds an entirely new dynamic to the defense. We still control our season, we still control our fate. “It will have been 364 days since Marshall first saw Butler, and what a difference a year makes – Marshall joined the Jets via a trade earlier this year, and the Super Bowl hero Butler is now the Pats” No. 1 corner following the offseason departures of Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner. There’s nothing I love to do [more] than running out and playing football.
Malcolm Butler breaks up a pass intended for the Jets’ Eric Decker. Brady and the Patriots recorded 8.72 NEP from empty sets during the last three drives of the game, with 15 of the 25 such plays coming on those drives.
Short turnaround, we’ll have to get ready in a hurry now for Miami, but it’s good to get a win. He isn’t going to light it up every week, he may disappear at times, and he might not be what we all initially thought he was going to be, but when the chips are down and something positive needs to happen, he’s right there. In fact, the Jets’ overall roster from top to bottom is just as good as New England’s – except, of course, at quarterback. He was instrumental in holding Chris Ivory to 41 yards on 17 attempts.
You know what was, cool, though? Later in the fourth quarter, Amendola had an 11-yard catch on a 3rd-and-10, and Rob Gronkowski scored a touchdown on the next play.
“We were installing plays this morning at the 11 o’clock meeting (Sunday morning)”.
“I don’t think it’s as tough as a few people make it out to be, personally”. You can’t call a timeout on a first down, and if we got them at about [second and] four or three or [more], we would have called the timeout. Best not to think about it.
Undrafted out of Texas Tech, and a practice squad afterthought as a rookie with the Cowboys, Amendola – like many in the Patriots locker room – plays with a perpetual chip on his shoulder.
There were several instances when the Jets did not execute, and it cost them.
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Bill Belichick is one of the best game planners in the NFL.
