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| Other Week 2 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI at JAX | BAL at SD | CAR at ATL | CIN at GB | CLE at DEN | HOU at TEN | IND at MIA | MIN at DET |
| NE at NYJ | NO at PHI | NYG at DAL | OAK at KC | PIT at CHI | SEA at SF | STL at WAS | TB at BUF |
Week 2 Game Recap: New England Patriots 9, New York Jets 16
New England Patriots
| QB Tom Brady, Pass: 23 - 47 - 216 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 |
Rex Ryan brought relentless pressure on Brady, especially early and late in the game, and that plus Wes Welker being inactive kept the Pats passing offense from really getting on track all day. Brady's knee looked ok as he evaded pressure a few times, but he also too a lot of hits, often just to throw the ball away to avoid a sack. When he wasn't throwing the ball away, he was often rushing into throwing inaccurately, and he even had a few unforced errors, putting too much mustard on some throws, including one at the goal line to a wide open Julian Edelman. It was one of Brady's worst performances in a long time, but it seems like Rex Ryan and the Jets had his number during the record-breaking season of 2007, too. He only took one deep shot to Randy Moss, and it was intercepted by Darrelle Revis, who blanketed Moss all day. On the few plays that Brady did have time to survey the field, he found nothing open downfield and had to settle for shorter throws. He even had a few uncharacteristic delay of game penalties. With the exception of the very end of the week 1 game vs. Buffalo, we still haven't seen Brady dissect opposing defense like he with ease in 2007.
| RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 8 - 46 - 0 |
Taylor continues to defy the calendar. He was a wrecking ball on his carries, getting a lot of his yards after contact, winning collisions, and establishing a strong inside running game on his drives. He also displayed the patience of an experienced veteran back, setting up his blocks and anticipating holes. He didn't convert on one key short yardage carry, but that was because of a complete breakdown by the offensive line.
| RB Laurence Maroney, Rush: 6 - 23 - 0 (1 targets) |
Maroney ran tougher than his reputation, and he made sharp and decisive cuts on his carries. When he was targeted in the passing game, his poor hands showed why that is a rare occurrence in the Pats offense.
| RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 3 - 8 - 0, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets) |
Faulk was on the field as much as any Patriot RB, but he didn't do much to help fill the void left by Wes Welker in the offense. He wasn't the change-up he usually presents to opposing defenses, and the offense seemed to be more productive with the other running backs in.
| RB Sammy Morris, Rush: 2 - 4 - 0, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (3 targets) |
Morris was once again relegated to fourth fiddle in the Pats RB rotation, and he didn't run as strong as Maroney or Taylor on his carries. Curiously, he did get two deep downfield targets, but neither of them were good enough throws to be converted in catches.
| WR Julian Edelman, Rec: 8 - 98 - 0 (16 targets) |
Edelman was forced into a big role because Wes Welker's knee kept him from going, and for a guy who was playing QB a year ago at Kent State, he did a good job. Edelman ran a lot of Welker's routes, and like Welker, he piled up yards after the catch with quickness and surprising tackle-breaking ability. He was open at the end of the first half for a sure TD, but Tom Brady threw it hard and outside, or Edelman would have been the surprise stud WR of the week. He did juggle another red zone target that he couldn't haul in.
| WR Joey Galloway, Rec: 5 - 53 - 0 (12 targets) |
Galloway got a ton of targets early, but slowed down as the game went on. He did one chance to catch a deep pass from Brady in single covered, but it was barely tipped away by the defender in the end zone. There were plenty of moments that Galloway and Brady seemed out of sync, especially on blitzes when adjustments were supposed to be made. Galloway also got some of Welker's short route targets, but he wasn't nearly as effective as Edelman after the catch.
| WR Randy Moss, Rec: 4 - 24 - 0 (8 targets) |
This will be a game Randy Moss will want to forget. Darrelle Revis was in his hip pocket all day, and he was only able to catch the ball on very short routes. On his one deep target, he seemed to slow up in the route, and he didn't try very hard to prevent Revis from making the interception. Revis took Moss out of the game, but there were also shades of the Moss who gave inconsistent effort in Oakland. Luckily for him, the Pats only face the Jets twice a year.
| WR Wes Welker |
Welker was a late scratch with a knee injury. Because it's the Patriots, we have no idea the severity or nature of the condition of Welker's knee.
| TE Ben Watson, Rec: 3 - 23 - 0 (4 targets) |
Watson had a key holding penalty instead of his late game heroics from week 1 in this game. He did get a handful of downfield targets, and he didn't have any terrible drops or miscues, but this game should still put to rest any ideas of Watson being the breakout TE of 2009 after his dramatic two-TD game to open the season.
| TE Chris Baker, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (2 targets) |
Baker had only one target even though he was on the field almost as much as Ben Watson.
New York Jets
| QB Mark Sanchez, Pass: 14 - 22 - 163 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - -2 - 0 |
Sanchez looked like a rookie for the entire first half. He fumbled his first dropback from center, only to be bailed out by Alan Faneca inside his own five-yard line. He struggled to establish a rhythm early, and Sanchez failed to convert a first down until 20 minutes into the game. Clearly, the rookie responds to halftime adjustments and coaching, because he looked like an entirely different player in the second half, getting in sync with his receivers, and moving the offense down the field on multiple scoring drives. Still, he did have to be bailed out on a few errant passes - his accuracy left something to be desired on some throws, including an overthrow to a wide open Chansi Stuckey. Sanchez seemed especially in tune with Jerricho Cotchery, and he also moved the ball well with quick passes to Stuckey. On his TD pass to Dustin Keller, Sanchez had the patience and touch of a veteran QB when he found Keller in the back of the end zone. The Jets called Sanchez's number to ice the game late in the 4th, but he was under pressure and couldn't convert.
| RB Leon Washington, Rush: 14 - 58 - 0, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (3 targets) |
Washington fumbled on his carry of the day, but he righted the ship and did decent work running between the tackles, falling forward and keeping the Pats on their toes. Washington didn't break any signature long plays, but he was barely tackled on a screen pass and barely missed by Sanchez on another target when he had a lot of green in front of him. Washington is short, but he showed good hands and ups to snag a high target from Sanchez on one of his two receptions. He also got a wildcat snap, but didn't do that much with it. Washington had a nice run late in the game to help get a first down and milk some clock, so he'll continue to have a role no matter the game situation this year.
| RB Thomas Jones, Rush: 14 - 54 - 0, Rec: 1 - -1 - 0 (1 targets) |
Even though Jones stats weren't flashy, he ran hard between the tackles and still flashed the burst of a younger back. He did get the first and goal carry, but like many of his carries, there was just no room to run. Jones also got a target on a screen pass, but nothing developed for him. He's still in a 50/50 committee with Leon Washington, so this kind of day will be common for him.
| WR Jerricho Cotchery, Rec: 4 - 87 - 0 (6 targets) |
The Jets clearly made it a priority to get the ball to Cotchery in the second half, and he came through. Cotchery took a slant inside the Pats 20 to cover a lot of the yards of the only TD drive of the day, and he got low to catch two passes when he was open that could have been bigger gains if Sanchez had put more air under the ball, including one he caught inside the 10. Cotchery also contributed as a blocker, and he did get one deep target that ended up incomplete.
| WR Chansi Stuckey, Rec: 4 - 37 - 0 (7 targets) |
Stuckey got a few end zone targets - one that was initially called a TD, but was overturned on review, and another where he was open, but Sanchez overthrew him. Stuckey ran very tough on a few short targets where he was asked to make something after the catch, and he should continue to be used this way in the passing game.
| WR Brad Smith, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0 |
Smith got another call on an end around, and converted another first down, but he's just a novelty player right now.
| TE Dustin Keller, Rec: 3 - 22 - 1 (5 targets) |
Even though Keller only caught three passes, he gave his owners reason for optimism going forward. Keller made a tackler miss in the open field, got both feet down in the back of the end zone on his TD like a graceful wide receiver, and presented a big target in the middle of the field on a first down conversion on his three catches. He clearly has the talent to be one of the best receiving threats at TE in the league once Mark Sanchez's game rounds into form.