PATRIOTS REPORT CARD: vs. New York Jets, Week 5

PATRIOTS REPORT CARD WEEK 5

QB: B+. For the first time in the season, the Patriots ran the ball more than they threw it. This allowed Brady to take a backseat in the game, but he was still effective and reliable, throwing for 321 yards and a touchdown and making few mistakes.

RB: A. BenJarvus Green-Ellis had a career day, rushing for 136 yards and a touchdown. There was one point in the game where Benny was seen kneeling on the field, catching his breath as the game went to a commercial break. Never in his Patriots career had the Law Firm been so heavily used; never in his career has Green-Ellis fumbled in the Patriots uniform.

RECEIVERS: B-. Welker had a quiet day under the coverage of Darrel Revis, excluding a 73-yard dash that nearly ended in the end zone when Revis left him to the safety. Deion Branch had a solid day, including a special touchdown where he roasted Antonio Cromartie. Ochocinco chipped in with two catches.

OL: A-. These guys are the most consistent performers on the team. Left Brady with plenty of time when he dropped back to past, and opened big gaps for Green-Ellis all afternoon. Brady was sacked four times, which is a big number, but the Jets defense is dangerous, and Brady takes his sweet time.

DL: B-. Still underperforming in the pass rush, but held the run game to a quiet day. Wilfork and Carter were both solid, and Mark Anderson had a sack and half. Haynesworth was back from injury, but had no tackles and looked slow.

LB: C. Jerod Mayo, an emotional leader on the field, was injured and was missed. Gary Guyton did reasonably well in his absence, but the other LBs looked out of sorts on a number of plays.

DB: B. The secondary had their best day of the season thus far, only allowing 166 yards and two touchdowns to the Jets passing offense. With that said, the Jets inexplicably chose to continually try and run on the Patriots defense, despite the fact that the Patriots pass defense was the worst in the league entering the game

STs: C-. Kick defense was atrocious in this game. The Jets’ Joe McKnight missed a kick return TD only because of McCourty’s hustle, but McKnight still went for 88 yards. He had another return for 43 yards. Without these big chunks of field position, maybe the defense could have had an even more impressive game.

COACHING: A-. Coach Belichick was stellar in the latest installment of this heated rivalry, overturning two pivotal plays with challenges and perpetuating the offensive balance that the Patriots are trying to achieve.

Remembering the Joy

After reading Brian Phillips’ brilliant piece on hyperfandom in soccer, I was reluctantly reading the columns and came upon this one: “…Anyway, the only thing worse than hyperpartisanship is overintellectualising a simple game for simple folk [sic].”

It’s true: before the age of the internet, before the age of the Barclays Premier League, soccer was a blue-collar game played without pretense or pomp. Fans went to the same pub at lunchtime on every Saturday to support their local club. Then, win or lose, they went home to their lives. There weren’t ubiquitous replica jerseys, there wasn’t sports talk radio—football was simple. It occurred to me that this argument could probably be transplanted to any sport: are over-analysis, constant blogging and re-tweeting, and four hour NFL pregame shows taking us away from the elemental joy of being a sports fan?

For me, my life as a sports fan began as a child on the couch with my dad: falling asleep in the late innings of Tuesday night Red Sox games was as much a part of my childhood as school or birthdays. This suggests inheritance and reinforcement, nature and nurture—the slow drying of the wet cement of personality.

In this way, sports are as simple and deeply-ingrained as a love for diner food or a mistrust of cats. Watching sports is just something I like to do.

The problem is this: just to get back to that point, that basic truth, a sports fan must strip away countless hours of media saturation, all the prejudicial notions about fans of certain teams from certain cities, every piece of Danny Woodhead trivia locked away for a bar bet. A sports fan must look past everything that, as a sports fan, they are subjected to on a daily basis.

To use myself as an example again: on Transfer Deadline Day for the English Premier League, I literally comb through every internet message board I can find, every CoverIt Live Clockwatch, just to see who Chelsea might be in the market for. I draw up formations, consider personnel changes, how new acquisitions would match up against rivals. But when I look back on the August 31 of every year, which should—in theory—be automatically one of the most exciting days of the football calendar, did I ever enjoy it? No, not really.

My fondest memories as a Chelsea fan are days when I drag myself out of bed for the early game, 8:15 a.m. kickoffs on Sunday mornings, and quietly watch a relatively unimportant match against Wigan or Blackburn with a cup of coffee. Moments I remember where I wasn’t analyzing anything—I was just watching the team that I support play the game that I love.

Ultimately, I don’t know if it’s possible to reduce our sports consumption back to its most basic form. Our reality is that these shows, these websites, these bloggers exist because we keep going back. And why wouldn’t we? If the joy we experience watching the Patriots play for three hours once a week can be replicated and reproduced daily, hourly, then of course we will be there. Hell yes.

But maybe, if we could practice some degree of moderation, the simple pleasure would be that much more tangible. Maybe we could treat our favorite teams, our favorite sports, like our favorite dish at a restaurant. Don’t order it every night, because sooner or later it starts to lose flavor.

THREE AND OUT: What We've Learned

Four weeks into the 2011 season, and the Patriots stand at three-and-one. What have we learned about this year's edition?

THE GOOD

Brady's Back

Coming off an MVP-winning season, Brady has been as sharp as ever, smashing passing records along the way. Through the first four games, he broke the NFL record for yardage in a three-game stretch, passed Joe Montana in career touchdowns, and is on pace to through for 7,000 yards and nearly 60 touchdowns. Yeah, we'll forget about the flukey game in Buffalo.

Might at Tight End

After Aaron Hernandez went down with an MCL sprain in week two, Rob Gronkowski has had to carry even more of the offensive burden. He's done so beautifully, putting up remarkable receiving numbers when called up, while also blocking well when the run game is used.

Balance an Option

After Brady's four interception debacle against the Bills, Coach Belichick shifted some of the onus to the run game in Oakland. The Patriots hadn't looked for this type of balance in the previous games, but their offense benefitted, running the ball 30 times and throwing it the same number.

THE BAD

Shoddy Defense

Entering week four, the Patriots held the unenviable distinction of the league's worst defense. They looked better in Oakland, largely shutting down a dangerous run game, but it was the first time the Pats had held an opposing team to less than 20 points.

Questionable Acquisitions

The big name off-season pickups of Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco haven't taken off. In fact, they've barely left the ground. Haynesworth has missed the past two games after playing only a few snaps in the first two, and Ochocinco has been noticeably quiet on offense. His biggest moment was when he dropped a sure touchdown pass against the Bills.

No Deep Threat

It's hard to pick on an offense that's breaking records, but the Patriots could certainly benefit from a classic deep threat. Matthew Slater hasn't panned out, nor Ochocinco, and as a result, Wes Welker has been forced to run some seam routes. To his credit, he has excelled, but a more naturally vertical receiver would certainly help.

Defense Holds Firm in Oakland

It’s been a rollercoaster four weeks for Vince Wilfork. Personnel changes, scheme shifts, injuries and inexperience have left the Patriots’ usually solid defense ranked thirty-second out of thirty-two in the league. The secondary has been regularly shredded, the pass rush appears nonexistent, but fear not—it looks like Wilfork is willing to make the big plays on his own.

For the second week in a row, Wilfork, a defensive tackle not known for his hands, came up with an interception at a pivotal moment in the game. Last week, four New England turnovers meant that Wilfork’s pick wasn’t enough. This week, his fourth-quarter grab on the Patriots own 30-yard line killed off a threatening Oakland drive that could have pulled them back into the game.

“I was just happy to be in the right place at the right time,” Wilfork said of the pick after the game. “The most important thing is we got the W—it wouldn’t have meant nothing if we didn’t get the W.”

The Patriots defense rebounded from an abysmal performance last week, shutting down a potent Raiders attack in Oakland. The Raiders entered the game leading the league in rushing, an aspect of the game that the Patriots have struggled with. But the Pats held Oakland to a mere 160 yards on the ground, restricting NFL-leading running back Darren McFadden to 75 yards on 14 attempts.

The secondary continued to struggle, even against a sub-par passing attack led by Jason Campbell. Campbell threw for 344 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots, while also throwing two picks. The lack of a rush was noticeable, affording Campbell tons of time to stand in the pocket and make decisions. This led to big plays, with five Raiders receivers catching passes for more than 10 yards and Darren McFadden busting open a 41-yard rush.

Linebacker Jerod Mayo went down injured halfway through the second quarter, leaving the game and not returning. He was replaced by Gary Guyton, a capable backup, but the loss of Mayo could have been devastating—particularly as the Raiders trailed only by four points at that time.

But the Raiders couldn’t capitalize, as free safety Patrick Chung came up with another vital turnover, intercepting Campbell’s attempted pass in the end zone. Chung was returning from injury, and his pick allowed the Patriots to march down the field and get a Gostkowski field goal before the half, entering the interval up 17-10.

Tom Brady responded from last week’s shocking four-interception performance with a much cleaner game against Oakland. Brady threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns. The two touchdowns moved Brady past Joe Montana with 274 career touchdown passes.

“I didn’t know that happened,” Brady said humbly after the win. “I’ll never be in Joe’s category. We throw the ball a lot more than they did back then. It’s much more of a passing league than it’s ever been.”

New England’s passing attack looked sharp, with Wes Welker leading the team again. Welker finished the game with nine catches for 158 yards and a touchdown. Six other receivers got in on the act, including Chad Ochocinco, who caught two passes for 26 yards.

But the Patriots’ rushing game was where the battle was won this week, outrushing the number one rushing attack in the league 198 yards to 160. Rookie Stevan Ridley continued his push into the starting lineup with an impressive 97 yards and a touchdown. Ridley did it all on 10 carries, which meant he averaged a stellar 9.7 yards per carry, that statistic boosted by a clinical 33-yard touchdown run.

“I was proud of the way we ran the play and played well in the red zone,” New England coach Bill Belichick said. “It was a tough win, but a good win.”

The Patriots were clinical in the red zone, finishing with 75% efficiency. This was a considerable margin over the Raiders’ 40%. The Raiders still controlled the clock better, eating up 33 minutes to the Patriots’ 26.

Former Patriots defensive tackle Richard Seymour was spotlighted by many in the matchup against his old team, but Seymour was largely quiet. His most notable moment came after the whistle, when he was called for unnecessary roughness after throwing Brady to the ground seconds after the officials had blown the play dead for a delay of game.

When Seymour wore the uniform, defensive solidity was at the core of the New England Patriots’ identity. In Oakland, the Patriots may have taken the first step back in that direction.

PATRIOTS-RAIDERS: WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The Patriots meet the Raiders this Sunday in Oakland, both teams entering the matchup at two-and-one. The game looks poised to be a shootout: the Patriots’ flying pass attack will look to outshine Oakland’s own NFL-leading running game. Here are five things to watch in this Week Four showdown:

32^nd TO NONE
After three games, the Patriots defense is ranked dead last—32^nd out of 32. They’ve allowed close to 470 yards per game, and now face what is probably the most potent running attack in the NFL. Raiders’ running back Darren McFadden leads all NFL rushers with 393 yards. The Raiders passing game is more suspect, led by quarterback Jason Campbell, but more attention to run stopping and the return of Oakland downfield threat Jacoby Ford could spell another long night for the Patriots secondary.

BRADY BOUNCE BACK
Tom Brady returns to the field tonight after throwing four interceptions last Sunday—a career high for the Patriots quarterback. The good news: the Raiders allowed Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez to throw for 369 yards in Oakland last week, which is the most that Sanchez has thrown in his young career. Despite the picks, Brady set NFL records last week for most yardage in a three-game stretch, and he’s on pace to shatter both the touchdown and yardage records for a season.

SEYMOUR REUNION
Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour will be a familiar face to fans back in Foxborough. He won three Super Bowl rings with the team, and was a huge part of the now defunct Patriots front line that opposition offenses feared. After a shocking and still somewhat murky trade to Oakland in 2009, Seymour will be looking to make a big impact against his old squad.

OCHOCINCO
The verdict on off-season acquisition Chad Ochocinco is still out. He’s been largely ineffective in the first three weeks of the season, with only five receptions for 87 yards. To that point, what New England fans will remember most from his inaugural three matches is his inexplicable drop of a pin-point Brady bomb last week against Buffalo. The criticisms (that he isn’t focused, isn’t working hard enough, doesn’t know the playbook) are still written in wet cement, but this game is the quarter-mark of the regular season. Ochocinco must step up or move aside.

EMERGENCE OF STEVAN RIDLEY
The Patriots are a pass-first offense, but as anyone who has seen a Chicago Bears game this season can attest, a varied attack is essential in the NFL. Last week’s leading rusher for New England was rookie Stevan Ridley, who ran for 44 yards on seven carries. The yardage total may not be breathtaking, but a yards-per-carry average just shy of six-point-three is worth noting. Offensive Coordinator Bill O’Brien says that they’re looking to slowly get him more involved, and if the Pats go up big, look for Ridley’s quickness through the holes.

Chelsea Player Grades: v. Valencia

Chelsea traveled to Spain to take on Juan Mata's former club, Valencia, in the second match of their 2011 Champions League campaign. The Blues played well enough to take three points, but they were robbed by an 88' penalty, after substitute Solomon Kalou handled in the box. Lampard silenced his recent critics by finishing beautifully in the 56th minute.

CECH: A-

Well positioned, good shot-stopping, and great reactions in the few times that he was needed. An effective performance from the goalkeeper. Can't be faulted for the penalty.

BOSINGWA: B-

Beautiful cross for a Torres header early in the second half. He wasn't as convincing as he usually is going forward, but pretty solid defensive play and a few good crosses.

LUIZ: D

Zero offensive impact, poor positioning and rash tackles in defense. Repeatedly dove in on attackers in the box. This type of risky defending is what keeps Luiz out of the team most games.

TERRY: C+

An unremarkable game from the Chelsea captain, who occasionally looked too slow against the fleet-footed Valencia attackers.

COLE: B-

Defended reasonably well. No major contributions in attack, but regularly took up dangerous positions on the flank which allowed other Chelsea attackers some space.

RAMIRES: D

Wasted passes and lost the ball a number of times. He was played in clean on goal, and shot straight into the arms of the goalkeeper.

MIKEL: B

Distributed efficiently and economically. Never gave the ball away cheaply and filled in well on the occasions that the center backs were out of position.

LAMPARD: B-

Looked slow and static for most of the match, but finished with poise and precision when Malouda picked him out for the goal. Against a team like this, his playing style is not advantageous.

MATA: B+

As you would expect, Mata was fired up for this match, and put himself about the pitch with tenacity. He was always available for his teammates and moved the ball with urgency.

TORRES: B-

The center forward moved well, looking sharp and strong. He just lacked a finish, but the shots he took when played in were high quality.

MALOUDA: C

It's hard to fault him after such a beautiful ball for Lampard's goal, but for the rest of the match, he was slow and disinterested.

SUBS
MEIRELES: B+

The fluency of play jumped up immediately once he was brought on for the inferior Ramires.

ANELKA: D

No impact whatsoever.

KALOU: F

His only action was the handball with three minutes to play that cost Chelsea the win. It's a mystery why he gets minutes at all anymore.

For Brady and the Patriots, Bills Are A Broken Record

With six minutes remaining in the second quarter, the New England Patriots were cruising toward another victory, set to start the season with three consecutive victories. It appeared to be the same old story for the Buffalo Bills, a team that hadn’t beaten New England in eight years and fifteen head-to-head matchups. Then it all went wrong.

Rian Lindell hit a 28-yard field goal as time ran out to give the Buffalo Bills a 34-31 victory over the New England Patriots. The Bills outscored the Pats two-to-one in the last three quarters of the game, including a 17-point unanswered run.

Brady threw for four interceptions in Buffalo, a career-worst, and the most in a single game for Brady since a 2006 game against the Indianapolis Colts. Brady threw four picks against the Bills once before—in 2003, the last time the Bills beat New England.

Brady finished 30 for 45 for 386 yards and four touchdowns, along with the aforementioned picks. Before Buffalo’s 17-point streak, the main talking point of the game was Brady’s pursuit of a third straight 400-yard passing game, something that has never been done before in the NFL. Instead, this game will be remembered for a different statistic: that Brady threw as many picks in the game as he did in the entirety of last season.

The Bills executed a similar rally in the week before, coming back from 21-3 down against Oakland to win, and Patriots coach Bill Belichick said afterwards that they had anticipated a battle.

“We obviously didn’t play well enough to win, so we’re disappointed in that,” Belichick said. “[But] I don’t think anybody thought it was going to be easy.”

Brady made no excuse for his own wasteful play, ruing missed chances in the post-game press conference.

“We had our opportunities,” Brady said. “We didn’t really take advantage like I wish we would have. Too many turnovers, too many penalties,

The penalties mostly came from the other side of the ball, including a costly pass interference call on Sergio Brown in the end zone during the fourth quarter. Ryan Fitzpatrick was forced out of the pocket and threw a hopefully pass up to a well-covered David Nelson, which was picked off by Josh Barrett in the end zone. But the flags came flying, and the play was overturned because Brown clearly grabbed Nelson in the end zone as the pass came in.

The result was a first and goal on the one-yard line, which the Bills converted for a touchdown on the very next play—a one-yard run up the gut from Fred Jackson. Jackson had a solid day, rushing for 74 yards and a touchdown and adding another 87 yards receiving. His quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, threw for 369 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Both interceptions came from Kyle Arrington in the first quarter. The Pats defense looked uncharacteristically sound in the early stages, with Arrington’s interceptions ending the Bills’ first two drives, and punts on the next two.

After Fitzpatrick settled down, though, it was a different story. The secondary was shredded throughout the last three quarters of the game—four different Bills receivers racked up more than 80 yards.

Devin McCourty continued to struggle, covering Bills receiver Stevie Johnson for most of the game. Johnson finished with 94 yards and a touchdown. The pass rush was utterly nonexistent, with very little pressure on Fitzpatrick throughout and no sacks recorded. Interestingly, the Bills also registered zero sacks, which is a reflection on the positive start the Patriots offensive line has had. Dan Connolly filled in well for the injured Dan Koppen, while on the other side of the ball, new Patriots defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth sat out with a back injury.

Despite the interceptions, Tom Brady and the New England offense continued to break NFL and franchise records. Brady has now thrown for the most passing yards in the first three games of a season in NFL history, and the record for most passing yards in any three-game stretch with 1327 yards, surpassing Drew Brees’ 1257 three-game performance in 2006.

Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski also broke records. Welker broke his personal record for receptions in a game (16) while also breaking the franchise record for receiving yards (217), previously held by Terry Glenn. Tight end Gronkowski excelled while Aaron Hernandez was out injured, finishing with his career-high yards receiving (109) and two touchdowns.

All the offensive records will mean nothing to Belichick, though, who only cares about one record—the Patriots now stand at two-and-one.