Mike Dussault

And reason number 3,452 why we need Patchung! back:

Little is expected when a special teamer, listed as a wide receiver, lines up at free safety and little was returned in this game. FS Matt Slater (-1.4) lasted all of ten snaps before being pulled for backup FS Sergio Brown (-1.5). Slater was a part of the early gashing on the ground and certainly drew the ire of Head Coach Bill Belichick with his missed tackle on running back Jeremiah Johnson’s 25 yard gain with 11:20 to go in the first quarter. The final straw was RB Willis McGahee juking past him on a 29-yard run at the 7:18 mark and Slater was relegated to his usual special team role the rest of the game. Brown had little impact as Slater’s replacement. CB Kyle Arrington was targeted frequently by the Broncos, giving up six completions on the nine balls his way for 97 yards. Arrington has been the best coverage player in New England since Leigh Bodden went down, but it was not a good day over at RCB. The public perception that the Patriots’ weakest link is the back end of the defense, held true in this game.

This is the kind of Jets article I enjoy…

Still, with two games left and that final spot in the playoffs still theirs to steal, we’re about to find out  what kind of leaders the Jets have in their locker room. And this was the example set by Capt. Holmes:

First he fumbled on the first Jets’ possession, a ball that was picked up by Eagles defensive end Juqua Parker and returned for a touchdown. Then he let a pass deflect off his hands three minutes later, leading to an interception that four minutes later cost the Jets another seven points.

Holmes, in just one quarter, almost single-handedly dug the Jets a 14-0 hole. So how did he react in the second quarter when he caught a touchdown pass to cut the Eagles’ lead to a mere 18 points?

He stood in the back of the end zone, put his cleat on the football, and waved his arms like an eagle. The yellow flag was out of the referee’s pocket before he was even done flapping.

It’s against the rules to use the football as a prop in celebrations. When asked after the game if he knew this, Holmes made a show of leaning forward to speak directly into the microphone.

“I’m a veteran,” said Holmes, who was wearing a black T-shirt with a sequined Superman logo. “I’ve been in the league for six years. Yes, I did know.”

Well, that’s reassuring.

Just a month ago, remember, Bills receiver Stevie Johnson was hit with a game-changing penalty when he mocked Holmes’ teammate Plaxico Burress by shooting himself in the leg after a touchdown. That burst of stupidity helped spark the Jets on their three-game winning streak.

Did Holmes, who criticized Johnson for that bonehead move, consider just handing the ball to the referee to avoid the inevitable 15-yard penalty on the ensuing kickoff?

“Nope,” he said. “Not at all.”

That’s the team captain, appointed by Ryan himself — a decision that quickly became an issue when the receiver ripped the offensive line after an early loss to the Ravens. Holmes might be the most dynamic player on this offense, but he’s as much a leader as Burress is a marksman.

The Patriots certainly got a lot of help this week in these efficiency rankings considering wins by teams they’ve beaten: Eagles, Chiefs, Dolphins, Colts, Redskins and Chargers. And losses by all the teams they’ve lost to: Bills, Steelers, and Giants.

Defensively they’re still 30th, but their Special Teams have risen all the way to 5th.

As for how the defense fares against types of receivers:

• #1 WR: 32nd
• #2 WR: 21st
• Other WR: 25th
• TE: 29th
• RB: 8th

So there it is, they can stop your running back from catching passes but outside of that… not so much…

Good stuff here from the Rapsheet, but if you want some real in depth analysis check out this post from Jay Shields over at PatsFans.com. We’ve had Jay on the podcast before and he really knows his stuff. Here’s tidbit:

On the fourth drive, this adjustment was clear. They went to a balanced 34, ignored the pre-snap motion, and shut down the Denver gameplan through basic, fundamental NE 34 principals with a safety in the box. The linebackers engaged squarely, the d-linemen squeezed the gaps, the outside backers kept their outside shoulders free, and the run game was shut down. What did this boil down to? Gap integrity. Denver’s fundamental concept was to win with simple math and create large holes. By ignoring the shifting, the Patriots negated this concept, and by keeping good gap integrity, the Denver misdirection couldn’t hurt them. The Kyle Love play is an excellent example of this. They kept gap integrity throughout the line. When the playside was shut down through excellent 2-gapping, Ball tried to cut it back and was met with an emphatic thud as the backside folded under well executed 2-gap principals.