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Archives for September 20, 2021

Patriots Ups & Downs: Week 2

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Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The Patriots are back in the win column with a 25-6 victory over the New York Jets. Let’s take a look at yesterday’s Ups & Downs from Week 2!

Ups ⬆️

Damien Harris

After a disappointing end against Miami, Damien Harris came back with an encouraging performance against the Jets yesterday, which was capped off with an unbelievable touchdown run.

Harris led the carries out of the backfield, which saw Rhamondre Stevenson sit out and J.J. Taylor get minimal touches. He finished with 16 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown. His stats alone don’t get him on this list, but that touchdown run sure does.

The Secondary

Instead of listing them individually, I thought I would honor them as a collective unit, after all, their work as a unit was one of the deciding factors in the win overall. Their coverage was good enough to cause rookie Zach Wilson into early mistakes, which he never recovered from.

Wilson threw four picks, two for J.C. Jackson, who has the most in the league since he entered the league in 2018, one for Devin McCourty, and one for Adrian Phillips who had the pick of all four with an exceptional diving catch.

Jackson’s performance had me thinking about his future with the team after this season, for me, regardless of if he fits in a particular style or scheme, he’s shown the ability to find and intercept the ball on a regular basis, I think they should pay him.

Nick Folk

Big kick Nick, that’s how it goes right? Folk broke the franchise record for consecutive field goals made yesterday at 33. He has settled back into the starting kicker for the team, and even with a missed extra point in yesterday’s victory, he makes the up list.

Josh Uche

Uche still hasn’t quite been given the free reign I’ve been hoping to see, but he got after it against the Jets and managed to get to Zach Wilson for a couple of sacks. He was my noticeable stand-out on a quieter day for the pass-rush.

James White

Where to start, the double-pass? The touchdown run? James White proves time and again why he is one of the greatest Patriots ever. Mr Reliable has carried on his work to be a safety valve for Mac Jones, and he was active once again for the team, both on the ground, and in the air.

Downs ⬇️

Offensive Line

Again, I’ll cover these as a collective. Overall, the performance wasn’t great and the right tackle position is certainly a problem for the coaches to deal with. With Trent Brown missing due to injury, Yasir Durant got the start until he was benched and replaced by Justin Herron, the same thing happened last week, just the other way around.

Mac took more hits yesterday, against a Jets team that really didn’t have any business getting to the Patriots QB with the lack of blitzes they called. This needs fixing, and quickly. Don’t be surprised to see a move in the trade market for additional depth if they can’t sort this out with the players they already have.

Run-Defense

My concerns are also growing with the front seven and their inability to stop the run. How on earth the Jets found it that easy to move the chains yesterday on the ground I’ll never know, another thing to monitor going forward, especially with Alvin Kamara in town next week.

The Patriots intercept a win in New Jersey!

by

Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

It’s still early in the season but most will take the win as a win. And it was a win, Patriots 25 Jets 6.

However…

(So, if you saw Sunday’s game you knew THAT was coming.)

My biggest question to stem from the match up was this; is the offensive line really struggling or is the Jets defense actually that good? And I think, it is probably a little of both.

But I gotta say, did anyone think to tell Zach Wilson that it wasn’t the Patriots who had drafted him, and that he shouldn’t be throwing to J.C. Jackson and Devin McCourty? I jest.

There’s plenty of negativity to take away from this road game, and that’s the truth. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, there were many times that this game could have gone a bit of a different way and the Patriots still have plenty of work to do. Next week there is a good running game heading into New England and the defense has to tighten up, the offense does too!

Mac Jones did not have the best game, he still acts like a rookie a little. Well, he is a rookie, on his second ever NFL game, so I don’t know about you, but when it comes to that, i’m definitely looking at the whole journey rather than just the stop over in New Jersey.

The defense had plenty of interceptions, 4 to be exact, but should those be credited more to Zach Wilson than to J.C. Jackson, Devin McCourty and Adrian Phillips? Not to say those guys didn’t play well, as those three did, but maybe they cant take the full credit.

So, the offensive line perhaps could do with a little bit of a shuffle. Maybe Ted Karras at guard and Mike Onwenu moving over to right tackle for a while. With all due respect to Yasir Durant, he may have saved the ball following a sack on Mac but he didn’t hold his guy so good, which possibly caused the sack on Mac. 

Unfortunately, after the penalty-heavy game against the Dolphins, this trip to MetLife Stadium still had plenty of penalty calls, and disappointingly, Isaiah Wynn’s name was associated with many. One even erased a nice 8 yard pick-up run by J.J. Taylor. And I don’t mean to bore you with tight end talk, but did anyone else wonder where Jonnu Smith was? He displayed some concerning “not great” hands. But you know what, these are all things that they can work on.

What doesn’t need any work is Nick Folk’s field goal finesse. 32 straight successful field goals for Big Kick Nick! Yes, he missed an extra point, but sometimes you gotta let the small stuff go.

The offense still doesn’t light up the night sky, and plenty of fans want that WR1, but Jakobi Meyers has been playing great. His “snatch out of the air” catch towards the latter half of the first quarter was *consults notes to find exactly what she wrote* utterly delicious.

Damien Harris had himself a nice little game, 62 yards and 1 touchdown. James White was utilised and back on form with 20 yards and a touchdown.

Not only did he have fingers on the ball in a possible almost-interception near the 2 minute warning towards the end of the first quarter, but Ja’Whaun Bentley had a powerful take down at the commencement of the third quarter, holding down the Jets run.

I was excited towards the end of the second quarter when Hunter Henry had a great catch with a 10 yard gain, and then in the third quarter he was targeted again and made 32 yards. Not sparkling, I know, and I was hoping for way more, but I feel like it’s a progression.

And to be honest folks, that is what I think this whole season is about. I know as fans we want to win, we want to witness fabulous plays, aggressive defense, tonnes of touchdowns. But we are also realistic, and deep down we know this year is for Mac Jones – the first round draft pick quarterback to learn, to grow and to develop a team around him that will win championships.

Go Pats!