An Independent Patriots Blog
I posted this back on ye’ old blog and I think I put it up here on the new one as well at some point, but knowing how many Julian Edelman fans are out there (mostly the ladies) I had to make sure everyone caught this video.
I could try to set it up for you but it’s probably better to just watch it. Let’s just say the music is from Glory and it takes epic to a whole new level. And the highlights aren’t bad either.
Here’s how PFF graded out the Patriots for their win over the Jets. Kinda surprising that some of these rankings are so low, but clearly the “horizontal passing attack” is working as well or better than the 2007 vertical attack.
Patriots: Three performances of note
In a 42-point game, it’s ridiculous to suggest that one man was the difference between the two teams. However, Tom Brady (+4.1) was pretty close to being just that. Here’s your stat of the night: On passes within ten yards of the line of scrimmage, Brady was 17 of 17 for 244 yards and four touchdowns. Even when under pressure Brady was able to complete 8 of 9 for 109 yards. He’s the best short passer in the game right now.
When the Patriots first signed Danny Woodhead (+2.9), many suggested it was just to pick his brains for the Week 2 showdown (for which he was inactive). Since then, Woodhead’s role has expanded and, although he only rushed for 11 yards on Monday, 50 of his game-high 104 receiving yards came on a shovel pass that was, for all intents and purposes, a running play. That isn’t all he brought to the table, though, as he blocked well and added a special teams tackle for good measure.
A game where you win by 42 points would seem to be a strange time to have (by some margin), your worst game of the season. However, that’s exactly what happened to Dan Connolly (-4.6)and Matt Light (-4.1). Connolly gave up a sack, a hit and two pressures, although this – as noted above – had little effect on Brady’s performance. The Patriots also gained just 21 yards – 16 of which were after contact – on eight runs between center and right guard. Light allowed two sacks.
Rookie report
Although they held the Jets to just three points, Brandon Spikes (+2.1) was actually the only defensive player with a rating above 0.6 as many of the Jets’ offensive wounds were self-inflicted. Spikes had seven tackles and an interception. … Jermaine Cunningham (-1.9) graded poorly despite recording five stops, a hit and a pressure. … Devin McCourty (0.1) had another interception, but also had a missed tackle. … Rob Gronkowski (+2.1) and Aaron Hernandez (+1.6) were great again.
Bruschi On Tap: A night to remember
Must read alert! Must read alert! What a special night for Tedy Bruschi, the Patriots and Patriots fans!
Maybe this video will provide just a little bit of levity today as we’re all basking in the afterglow of last night’s win. I really hate hearing that the Patriots are Super Bowl favorites now. Not to say that they aren’t but really there is still a lot of games left to be won and still much improvement to be made.
I love what we saw out of our defense against the Jets. But now they must prove that they can play that way consistently. The Bears will be a stiff test, especially for our young pass defense. The problem with young guys is that they can get overconfident after a big win.
I’m not worried about this with Brady and the vets, and I’d bet they are remind the young guys that they still haven’t won anything yet. But a letdown this week will make things even more interesting than they already are.
Until then, let’s not forget what the Bears did to us way back when…
Updated Patriots DVOA Chart. (note – defense is inverted to better show trend)
The offense continues to, in the words of John Harbaugh, “bury teams”. The defense finally starting to show some improvement, while the Special Teams remain solid but unspectacular.
One thing that Football Outsiders points out, and it’s something we’ve harped on recently, is that it is kind of cliche to say the young defense keeps on improving every week. It’s just an assumption that isn’t really true. Of course if you’ve been following the DVOA charts I post every week then you already knew that. Here’s what FO said:
One of the popular beliefs on Boston talk radio is that the Patriots’ young defense is improving with experience. They are, but not by a substantial amount. In Weeks 1-9, the Patriots were 27th in the NFL with 16.2% defensive DVOA. In Weeks 10-13, they are 16th in the NFL with 11.0% defensive DVOA. We’ve had four very offense-filled weeks of football, so the Patriots’ rank in the league is much better over the past month, but the defense itself is only slightly improved.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/updated-patriots-dvoa-chart-note-defense-is/
In keeping with the personality of the team I love I’m trying to turn the page to the Bears now. I can’t promise there won’t be some more Jets celebration posts, but for now let’s just start off with a fan video of Brady juking Brian Urlacher back in 2006.
Here’s the pic of Brady celebrating afterwards, one of the most memorable celebrations of Brady’s career…
