As this loss slowly sinks in it’s pretty clear what happened. Sanchez played mistake-free, accurate football, the Jets veteran D was all over Brady, and the Pats came out and stayed flat. We all knew exactly what the Jets needed to do to win, and they did it. You have to respect that.
It was pretty obvious that despite only losing two games in 2010 the Patriots were vulnerable if you didn’t beat yourself and executed. How many of the fourteen wins were just the other teams beating themselves? San Diego, Indianapolis, Miami both times are just a few that come immediately to mind.
That’s the hallmark of a well-coached team. They don’t beat themselves. They play hard for sixty minutes, and usually the other team won’t even do that.
But today the Jets played harder and were better than the Patriots, and take a 52-51-1 all-time series lead.
It’s surprising that a team that rose to the occasion in so many big regular season games failed to show up when it was all on the line. They played tight, the Jets vets did not.
If you asked me before the season in my heart of hearts what would I have predicted? That the young defense would struggle early but peak as the playoffs got here. No chance in hell they’d go 14-2 with that schedule, but alas they exceeded all our expectations and grabbed the first overall seed.
What I questioned then, a question that was answered today, was if this defense was really primed and battle tested to get the critical stops and plays that are required to win in the playoffs. Interceptions and sacks are great in the regular season, but they’re critical in the post season. Today the young Pats proved they aren’t quite there yet.
While the offense was one of the top five of the last decade it sputtered when it counted most. So while it was disappointing to see the Jets shut it down, also realize that it was more about not executing than it is needing entirely new personnel. Perhaps a new weapon at RB to replace Sammie Morris/Fred Taylor, or even some shuffling in the offense are probably the only significant spots to be addressed.
We also can’t forget about getting the desperately needed Leigh Bodden and Ty Warren back. This sucks right now, but really the fact is that we’ll be right back in the thick of it next season.
So I don’t really feel suicidal right now. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a deeply disappointing loss. But the Jets are built Super Bowl or bust, and this year they got us with it. They will be a far different team than the Patriots when the two meet again in September (assuming there’s football).
I probably won’t turn on ESPN until sometime in mid-March, but we’ll slowly shift our focus to the draft and what the Pats might look to do with all their picks.
My over reactionary draft needs would probably be:
- DE
- OLB
- RB
- OT/OG
- S
Should be an interesting off season. So long to the 2010 Pats, you gave us four great months, followed by what’s looking like six months of agony.