Pick Six: Week 11

In the end, the Patriots turned a late turnover into seven points to secure the win. It’s easy to say a win is a win, but the manner in how New England held off the Jets is concerning.

New England was up 24-0 in the first half. But before the half came to a close, the Jets block a punt and returned it for a touchdown. With momentum on the Jets’ side, QB Mark Sanchez threw a 29-yard touchdown to WR Jerricho Cotchery to close within 10 in the third quarter.

CBS put up an interesting statistic during the game. From 2002-08, the Patriots were 66-1 when leading at halftime. This year the Pats are 6-3. Obviously they have problems closing out games.

That’s a far cry from the standard set before this season. They used to impose their will with time consuming drives. The defense was stout, disruptive, got key stops, and forced turnovers. Now they struggle on both sides of the ball.

The problems are not due to a lack of experience or leadership. While four key veterans are no longer with the defense, there are still players on the roster with championship pedigree. The offense is the same as last year, minus receiver Jabar Gaffney. There isn’t an alibi for the team.

The process of putting games away used to start in the third quarter with a drive that came to an end in the endzone. The past two weeks, New England failed to score in the third. They’ve scored 94 points in the second half, 31 points less than the 125 points scored in the second quarter.

This problem is an extension of the red zone issues. The Patriots were 5-10 scoring touchdowns from inside the 20 the past two weeks. Replacing field goals with touchdowns is the difference between wins and losses.

Execution has to improve in the second half to put games away. That last thing the Patriots want is an opponent confident they can come back.

1. Jets head coach Rex Ryan said the Patriots were the same team from week two. Clearly he’s not familiar with WR Wes Welker: 15 receptions and 192 yards, both career highs. He set the record for most receptions with a new team in the first 40 games. Who came up with that stat?

2. On the other side is WR Randy Moss. He had a touchdown, but CB Darrelle Revis kept him in check all game long and even forced Moss into an offensive pass interference. Give Revis his due, Moss.

3. The defense was dominant in the first half: two interceptions, two pass completions, 34 total yards. In the last 22:50 of the first half, the defense gave up 10 yards of offense. New York’s first third down conversion was 10:30 left in the third quarter.

4. Enjoy him while he’s still here. CB Leigh Bodden signed a one year deal in hopes of cashing in as a free agent next year. With three interceptions to bring his season total to five, his gamble will pay off.

5. QB Tom Brady continues to set new team records. He passed Drew Bledsoe in career completions and tied the franchise record with his seventh 3,000-yard season.

6. It wasn’t all good. The blocked punt was the first blocked punt by the Jets since 1986, a span of 371 games.

Extra point: Yale head coach Tom Williams put Bill Belichick to shame. He went for it on 4^th-and-22 and came up short. When he’s ready, Belichick has an opening on the coaching staff for Williams.

Go for Two: A daily double: OLB Tully Banta-Cain had two sacks and RB Laurence Maroney had his first two touchdown game of the season. Maroney scored a TD for his fifth straight game.