Knee Jerk Reactions to Week 8: Patriots vs. Jets

Things to consider while acknowledging Dave doing a pizza review at our favorite townie bar right down the street from where we grew up on the very day we waked my brother is no coincidence; it's a Synchronicity:

--I suppose the professional thing to do would be to stick to talking about the game and keep my family life out of this. But a line between the two has never really existed. Not when it comes to this team and this family. It's been the hardest, most surreal week we've ever had. But I'll save the personal details for the end. Suffice to say a week like this could only have ended with an improbable last second comeback win over the Jets as 7.0 point underdogs at home. 

--That, and I want my two other brothers' doctors to call them "soft." That seems to work on sick patients. But more on them later.

--I suppose the big moral lesson we can all take away from this one is that, no matter how bleak things may be for us, we can never underestimate the New York Jets ability to out-New York Jets us. To say, "Fools! Your post-Dynasty karate is no match for our Jets Fu!" They've forgotten more about how to lose extremely winnable games than football's other 31 Flavors will ever be able to invent. 

--This Meme of the Week says it all:

--Feast your eyebuds on this tasty little statistical morsel:

--The Jets blew it by committing enough offenses against football and common sense to fill a True Crime podcast. Burning all their time outs in the 1st quarter. A delay of game on a 4th & 3 that might have actually been mistaken for intentional if Aaron Rodgers didn't send a weapons grade stinkeye toward the sideline. A fumbled snap out of one of those time outs. A missed extra point. A missed field goal. Which came after reaching the Patriots red zone, when yet another time out was followed by a Christian Ellis sack because after Breece Hall chipped him, no Jets lineman picked him up. Even though the Pats only rushed four:

--And my personal favorite was taking a delay of game on a 2-point conversion try. The entire stadium and most of the Western world knew they'd have to go for two, and yet somehow they still weren't ready. Most teams have about a half dozen such plays chambered at all times and ready for fire as the need arises. And yet they couldn't get theirs in on time and had to settle for a checkdown from the 7-yard line that had no chance. These are just many of the ways you become the entire NFL's Get Right team of choice. Even for a 1-6 team that appeared to be on the verge of imploding into itself like a collapsing star. 

--The Patriots managed to pull this win out of their prison wallet despite being their own worst enemies, and having to battle some of the worst officiating in a year where these crews seem to be taping Season One of America's Got Terrible Referees. Let's take these factors one at a time. 

--It's like we're doomed to walk the Earth watching opposing wideouts make contested catches, diving catches, toe-tap catches along the sidelines, while passes keep bouncing off our receiver's body parts like they're the bumpers in a pinball machine. Here's a supercut of yesterday's drops to demonstrate: 

And the most egregious one. Because not only did Tyquan "No Relation" Thornton dress after a period of healthy scratchism because he hasn't produced in his entire career, but his E-11 on this one squandered one of the truly great throws of the last decade in New England. Drake Maye proving once again he can do more off-platform than SpaceX. A precision 40-yard strike that looked good in any language:

… until it didn't. It still ended up on the turf like just another Bailey Zappe misfire. It's as though Jonathan Kraft turned away some beggar woman who turned out to be an Enchantress who put a spell on his wide receivers' hands for all eternity.

--As far as the officials, that first Jets touchdown drive was one of the worst series of calls we've in a season where they're becoming the rule around the league, not the exception. The Jets were carried to the end zone on a magic carpet made of yellow flags. A pass interference on Christian Gonzalez no one could identify. A phantom hands to the face on Marcus Jones that came from the back judge 30 yards away. A blatant offensive hold that was missed or ignored. A DPI on Elliss where the ball and the target were so clearly out of bounds that he became an ineligible receiver. I think it's more incompetence than them trying specifically to screw the Patriots over. But they did call them like Woody Johnson was up in the box dangling a thumb drive containing video of this crew partying at Diddy's house.

--Here of course was the most egregious (non)call from the worst angle:

How can the officials on the field not flag Jamien Sherwood for going helmet-to-helmet, only to have the official on the sidelines rule Maye has to come out because he got hit in the helmet? If he's going to be forcibly sent to the locker room, at least give us 15 yards for our troubles. I'm glad the Patriots locker room was reportedly livid about it. And to see Maye seemed to be fine afterwards:

But what I really resented was when the Bills got 15 yard on that play because Sherwood came within 3,000 miles of hitting Josh Allen. 

--And here's a note for CBS. When the human vessel into which we've poured all our hopes and dreams for the future gets sent to the blue canvas Bridge on the River Kwai hot box, you might want to make note of that. Especially when the Chosen One is 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. Every one in the stadium noticed it. Twitter exploded with it. But the broadcast crew was too busy yammering on with promos for Elsbeth and just sprung it on their audience when the offense retook the field suffering from a deplorable lack of Drake Maye. Pay attention.

--That's enough of my bellyaching. Let's talk about the positives. In fact, put on some coffee; we're gonna be here all day talking about the good things. Beginning with this frigging guy:

Great play design by Alex Van Pelt. A two-tight end set out of gun. Kayshon Boutte ran a post from the play side to clear out the corner and occupy the post safety. Austin Hooper ran a sail route on the back so the high safety had to drift over the top of him.  Hunter Henry ran a shallow cross that took corner Isaiah Oliver with him. That left Maye with just Chazz Surratt, who was spying him from the Mike linebacker spot, to beat. According to Next Gen Stats, Maye put it into overdrive at 20.3 MPH, turning it into one of those nature films where a mighty elk evades a wolf or whatever. Maye's speed is crazy deceptive. And just the fact that we've now got a quarterback who merits having a linebacker or safety spy him, effectively taking a man out of pass rush or coverage is an advantage the Pats have never enjoyed. (As a reminder: I've memory-holed the Cam Newton year.) 

--Let's then move to Jacoby Brissett. I can say without fear of contradiction this was his best game in a Patriots uniform. Even better than his 27-0 win over Houston as a rookie, when he was only asked to throw for 103 yards, while also adding a 27-yard touchdown run. In this one, he did everything they hoped he'd do when they signed him. Which is provide a veteran presence, be a good sport about his role regarding Maye, and take care of the ball. And possibly lead a 4th quarter comeback whenever possible. Check, check, check and checkmate. And this throw to Boutte was his finest hour. The Jets were in a quarters coverage look on 3rd & 10, with Sherwood over center showing blitz. But at the snap dropped him out and swapped him for a safety blitzer, who came in unblocked:

--As far as Boutte, give me that guy who messes up early in the game. Who draws boos because he spent the week openly lobbying to get the ball and still dropped a perfect throw. But who doesn't turtle. Keeps his head in the game and makes a money play when the game is on the line. And while we're on the subject of Boutte (yes, I hear it too. I just try to be above such low-hanging fruit), don't sleep on the play he made on Rhamondre Stevenson's 2-point conversion. The Jets didn't simply forget about Stevenson on the goal line. Not after he'd just tunneled through a thick wall of bodies like Andy Dufresne to get the ball across the plane. He was open because Boutte executed the perfect pick play. Taking out Sauce Gardner and Jarius Monroe with the same block and leaving him wide open on a flat route:

--Most impressive about this is the fact it felt in the 2nd quarter like the Pats were about to disintegrate. Maye was out. The staff started coaching like they had zero faith in Brissett, going run, run, short pass, punt on his first drive like he was the rookie, not the veteran. And all those 3rd down defensive penalties to keep drives alive seemed to have demoralized them. But they hung around and kept the coals of the fire going until Marcus Jones threw dry kindling on it with his punt return. That made it a game again:

As far as I could tell from the angles they've shown, that's JaMycal Hasty at the 25 putting three Jets on the ground to spring Jones. Then Ochuan Mathis earholing the punter at midfield, making himself the leader in the clubhouse for the 2024 Antwan Harris "Who The Hell is That Guy?" Award. Keep making blocks like that and you can keep that No. 32, Ochuan.

--Defensively, this represents a huge bounceback game for Christian Gonzalez. Not that he was terrible against Jacksonville in London. Just that Brian Thomas beat him deep on an insanely tight, contested catch and got free in the end zone for a score. This week Gonzo mostly drew the short straw that is Davante Adams. And depending on whom to you talk to, he either pitched a shutout while in coverage or gave up one catch to Adams for 16 yards. Regardless, he kept a short leash on one of the best wideouts in the league, which has quickly become his defining characteristic:

--Sorry the same can't be said about Marcus Jones. He drew Garrett Wilson, and once again was faced with trying to overcome a mismatch. He got served the Never Ending Soup, Salad and Breadsticks of Wilson, who finished with 113 total yards and a 22.6 YPR average. It's not for lack of effort. Jones can stick and is seldom left in the dust. It's just that at 5-8, 188lbs, he lacks the tools to win the battle when the ball gets there. I mean, just before the half Wilson picked a ball off the top of his head for 26 yards. Jonathan Jones is only marginally bigger, but plays like he's got more size than he does. And I'd love to see them either put him on teams' No. 2 or give Marcus more help with bracketed coverages than he's getting. He gets targeted. A lot.

--Credit to DeMarcus Covington. He did what he had to do after his defense made 41 year old Rodgers look like actual Aaron Rodgers for the only time all season in Week 3. It looked like he switched it up from a lot of split safeties looks to more of a Cover-1 and occasional zero safeties set up. Early on I noticed his dropping Jahlani Tavai into underneath zones with corners behind him in man, as opposed to putting him in too much space as we'd seen in recent weeks. This had the desired effect of taking away quick slants with the potential for YAC in the middle of the secondary. Dropping a safety (with Kyler Dugger out, it was mostly Jaylinn Hawkins and Dell Pettus, with Marte Mapu staying deep) and loading up the box also improved the run game. Which still has a ways to go after giving up 112 yards on 28 attempts for 4.0 per. But it's a damned sight better than the way they've been getting snowplowed over the last five weeks.

--That adjustment, the commitment to take away Rodgers' West Coast-adjacent slants game, limit the damage done by Breece Hall and basically quit playing Memory Foam defense, is going to come at a price. Payable in chunk plays. And Covington and Jerod Mayo gladly picked up that tab. I lost count at four Jets plays of 20+ yards. But after Jacksonville pushed them around the playground with like 18+ rushing plays they couldn't stop, I think risking the big plays is preferable to Death by 1,000 Cuts.

--Overall, the defense was just more disciplined. The front-7 sticking more with their assignments. Controlling their gaps in the middle. And on the outside, not letting themselves get high-handed or run deep so Rodgers could escape the pocket and make throws on the run. Not surprisingly, Keion White responded positively to his coach calling him and his teammates a bunch of squishes:

Even less surprisingly, he played another good one, rotating all around the line from edge to a two-point stance over the center on obvious passing downs. And generally disrupted wherever he was, with 4 tackles, 1 TFL and 1 QB Hit. 

--You know things are looking brighter when we get to Jets Fans' Jersey Grilling Season:

One of these days NFL Network and Food Network need to team up and make this a competition. It'll be the Crossover Event of the Year without a doubt.

--This Week's Applicable Movie Quote, Halloween Edition: "Look! It's moving. It's alive. It's alive… It's Alive, it's moving, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, IT'S ALIVE!!!" - Frankenstein

--So now the personal stuff. Without violating anyone's rights under HIPAA, my brother Bill in Alaska couldn't make it to Jimbo's wake due to a scary medical emergency the day before his flight. Then the morning of, the Irish Rose and I had picked our sons up at the airport and were heading to my sister's (the place up the street from Johnny Kono's, when she called to say our other brother had just been rushed to a hospital. And as we grabbed her and raced to the emergency room, for a good hour or so we thought he was gone. Maybe a victim of the Takotsubo "Broken Heart" Syndrome, which is very real. His lovely wife says they were heading to Weymouth and listening to sports radio where they were talking about how the Patriots were expected to get swept by the Jets for the first time since 2000, and that's what nearly did him in. That totally tracks. Right now both brothers are doing as well as can be hoped. Two different crews of EMTs have been  personally thanked, and one got homemade cookies for their efforts. Jim's wake had roughly the turnout of the Queen's funeral. I was about to give the eulogy when I was told the pub where he was so beloved just got a  Pizza Review where Dave and the owner talked about him. Which made things all the more absurd. (Though he would've wanted it that way.) My sister-in-law called after the game to say, "Maybe we ought to have Jack sedated for every Pats game. It's good luck." Which is a fair point. I told her I'll be there when he comes to so I can break the news about Maye's concussion to him gently.  These are the men who raised their youngest brother like a veal calf to be a Patriots fan. Who took me to games during some of the best and worst times in franchise history. Inspired a book about those days, because whether they were a playoff team or 2-14, those were my happiest times as a kid. So it makes sense that this bizarre game would be baked into such a gut-wrenching, emotional week. We fully believe the other two are on their way to full recoveries. Until they do, I'll be kept in an undisclosed location as the Designated Thornton Survivor. I might be (Dave's words) 100 years old, but these Old Balls need to be kept safe. In the meantime, keep sending those signs, Jimbo. When even Tyquan Thornton is making a big play at the end to win a Jets game, I know you're punking us. 

--Thanks for everyone who came out to the services and all of you online who've reached out to express sympathy and support. And thanks for reading this to the end. Now click out of this and go call your brother.