Hello, and welcome to week one of the NFL season.
No, I haven’t been in a cave for the week. But like the Patriots, I’m forgetting about the season opener.
Was the home team that bad? No, not really. There were a couple of highlights (QB Tom Brady and the secondary), but everywhere else there was plenty of room for improvement: inability to gain first downs on short yardage runs, dropped passes, lack of a pass rush, etc.
Funny to think the season opener was supposed to be the easy game out of the first four. Now the Pats look forward to the New York Jets, Atlanta, and Baltimore. That’s like after a heart attack, getting a staph infection (from Gang Green), bird flu from the Falcons, and a severe concussion courtesy of the hard-hitting Ravens.
Is there a bright side to the come-from-behind win? Maybe it was a shock to the system to wake the Patriots up. Clear!
It wasn’t the first time Buffalo spooked the Patriots in the season opener. Back in 2006, the Bills started the game with a recovery of a Brady fumble for a touchdown and built a 17-7 second quarter lead before the Pats battled back to tie the game, and ultimately won with a Ty Warren safety of Bills QB J.P. Losman.
If history repeats itself, then New England is on its way to a 12-4 record and a playoff run to the AFC Championship. Part of that win total was a 24-17 week two win over the Jets.
But for history to repeat, the Patriots have to play a lot better than their season opening performance. A solid all-around game will erase last week’s stinker better than a week’s worth of practice.
A few things I’m looking for:
See No Seymour – A friend asked me if the Bills spent a lot of time running towards Richard Seymour’s side. He might have a point. Maybe the Jets confirm that theory.
Short and Sweet – The Jets defense will aggressively come after Tom Brady. A counter would be a lot of short passes to negate the blitzes.
Hold the Line – New York will run a lot to keep the pressure off of rookie QB Mark Sanchez. If the defense can make the Jets one dimensional, it could become a long day for the former Trojan.
This has a feeling of a very close game. Going against the worry feeling in my gut, I’ll take the Patriots to squeak by for their ninth straight win over the Jets in the Meadowlands.
Questions? Comments? Send to talktome@randolphc.com.
Correction: In an earlier post, I said Bill Belichick is 5-0 coaching against rookie quarterbacks. It is actually 5-1.
