Ups & downs

The third quarter really killed this team after basically being given the opportunity to get the touchdown at the end of the half because the jets played so conservatively when they could have basically ended the game basically three scoring drives were eliminated thanks to watson and gaffney.....way too many mistakes and they still had a chance in the end. Turned out the be a good game and mayo was amazing but next week is a must win if they want to make the playoffs...

Bellichek out coached?
The Jets went up and down the field in the 1st half. The Patriots came out in the 3rd quarter, blitzed, got Farve nervous, stopped the Jets and came back. Why then, did they revert to their 1st half defensive scheme in the 4th quarter and in overtime and watch the Jets go right down the field and score just like they did in the 1st half. This aint rocket science, you know. Its football. But even in rocket science, if it doesn’t work, don't keep doing it and if it works, don't fix it.

Yeah, the stats on Ben Watson are misleading. The ball needs to be thrown 100% perfectly for him to even have a chance on it; and then a catch is still no guarantee. (And even if he catches it, he doesn't even need to be hit to drop the dang ball . . .)

Mike:

What is the story with Cassell's contract? As far as I understand it, he inked a four yeal deal in 2005 that expires at the end of the year. Barring injury or a major change in the direction of his game, he now stands to make a lot of money at the end of the year. No doubt, he'll likely be playing for someone else.

What are the chances we can get something for him rather than just losing him to free agency?

100% zero chance we get anything for Cassel. He will not sign a contract here, he will be starting elsewhere next year, like say for Detroit if they want to give Cassel about 10 mil instead of Matthew Stafford 35 mil. Brady will be back next year and the grooming of Kevin O'Connell will be fully underway as the true QB of Patriots future.

Maybe Ellis should've been watching film on Brett Favre instead of partying over the election of Obama. What happened to BJGE? Two carries??? Let's give more carries to a guy just coming off the injured list. Moronic.

It is time someone said it.......Ben Watson is a complete BUST.......his inconsistency is absolutely maddening!!!! Hold on to the freaking football!!

I just don't understand why they did not start out in the spread. Matt soes a nice job out of it and he is very capable of running from that formation. I am no Monday Morning QB here as I stated they should have used this to open the game in comments last week. If they ran the spread the whole game they would have won.

Did we get a new training staff? Seems like everyone is injured or hurting. I guess it could be due to the short off season. The rookies have done a great job filling in.

who calls tails anyways honestly...

Mike - The last time the Patriots played the Jets @ the Meadowlands, on kickoffs, Gostowski kept on kicking the ball deep in the endzone, preventing Leon Washington from returning anything. They were always starting from the 20 yard line. Why didn't the Patriots use this strategy last night? I'm sure the weather/wind probably was a factor , but it seemed all night long the Jets were in pretty good field position to start all of their their drives...not to mention the return for a TD. Any thoughts?

Defense is scary. You can go back to the AFC championship against the Colts a couple of years ago and the super bowl last year. When they flat out have to have a play and a stop and get off the field and get the ball back... they just can't get it done. That 3rd and 15 and then giving up the 1st down to a rookie uncovered tight end in OT was absolutely ridiculous. That just can't happen. Agree with the comments about Watson, he is always hurt and when he plays the drops and fumbles are a killer. Speciall teams did not play well last night either. You gotta give them credit for coming back and making it a game though.

just a disheartening loss......all I can say is how can you give up a 3rd and 15!!!!! and that phantom defensive holding call on MV......Time to move on to the phish...this game is in the books... F.Y.I. remember '01 boys and girls, the Pats were 6-5 and we all know how that turned out......GO PATS!!!!!

Mike....

Ellis Hobbs down? He played a pretty good game overall. I think he actually played very good coverage on that play and:

a) the flag was questionable
b) the catch was crazy

Would you give Rodney Harrison a down for the Tyree play?

That call on Vrabel was absurd. I'm ready to call it quits on this secondary to be honest, 3rd and 15 and the jets get a first. Cassel plays his ass off and the defense coughs it up. Time to sack up boys and show us why you belong in new england.

Why not a "down" for the whole defense? Yes, they played well in the third quarter, but they gave up 17 points (the other TD on a return) in the first half and then might not as well have been on the field in OT. You're playing for first place, at home, you've just staged a remarkable comeback - and then the defense just lays an egg?!? You simply cannot get outplayed in that situation and they did - badly. Who would've thought at this point that our defense would be the weak link? The offense played a great game and it is disappointing to see the defense let the team down

Fair point The Dude. I just watched the game over again. He was competitive. Probably too tough to call him down.
--Mike

Too many missed opportunities and accepting of field goals. Matt needs to get those 3rd downs more consistently. And what happened with that freakin snap?

Despite all the hupla about Matt Cassel, the bottom line is the Pats are not taking advantage of Randy Moss's skills. They must find ways to get him involved, slip screens-slants etc. heaving a poorly thrown long pass a couple of times a game is not the answer!

I'm not sure if its a "down", but this year, the team isn't "finishing". Between the Colts and Jets games, they were there for the taking, and we just didn't "finish".

Davo

mike , how about adding Gaffney to the "Up" catagory, I thought he had one of his better games, first down catches, TD before the half, 2 pointer. Not good enough?
If it was heads, Pats win?

I have higher expectations of Cassel. He can't have better better coaching, receivers and playmakers and he needs to involve Randy Moss more. And I don't know what Cassel's red zone completion rate is but it is frustrating to watch most of the time. Time to step up. On a positive note, the adjustments made in the second half for a depleted defense were classic. Mayo is totally an "up" and was a stud from beginning to end.

Mike,

I definitely saw guyton knockdown a pass to leon washington in ncoverage , a farve tip when he nearly sacked him and rush the passer a few time.He was in coverage in the strip of ball too. How come he is not in the Up or Down category ?

Hi TG in NJ. I thought about Gaffney, but he did not get to the sticks on the sideline in the third quarter on the play before he had a drop. That was on my mind when I didn't put him in there. Satz, Guyton did have that nice breakup. But after watching the game again this morning, it looked to me like he had some troubles in zone coverage against Keller.
--Mike

Merriweather needs to learn how to wrap up instead of trying to knock down the ball carrier with a hit. Had he wrapped up on 3rd and 15, the Pats would have had the ball back with a short field. The bottom line is good teams would have won the past two weeks. Cassel is not the problem. It's the defense which at times looks old and slow. Disappointing.

I would add Dan Koppen to the 'down' list. Not only did he snap the ball when Cassel wasn't ready, which killed a drive that would otherwise led to a score, he was clearly dominated by Kris Jenkins.

It would be interesting to hear what exactly happened on the 3rd and 15 conversion in OT. Clearly there was a blown assignment, and that play killed the Pats in OT. Stopping 3rd and 15 should not be that hard, and the Pats would have had the ball in great position.
Great games by Cassel and Mayo.

YES!!

Can someone explain to me how Randy Moss was basically a non factor in this game until the last second, please?

Collinsworth was right, they need to get him moving like they did with the Vikings. If he gets hit at the line of scrimmage he doesn't do well at all.

The refs should get a down for this game as well. I thought there were a number of blown calls, non more glaring than Vrabels phantom holding call.

If The Pats expected Ben Watson to catch the ball consistently, read defenses to to get open, stay healthy, and be a football player, then Ben Watson IS a bust as a first round draft pick. ARGH!

why cant we franchise Cassel then trade for at least a #1?

1. Bad call against hobbs, it was clearly offensive pass interference. The Jets receiver clearly used his hands to pull Hobbs into him in order to create the contact. Hobbs was playing the ball. The Vrabel call was awful. I won't deny there was some contact, but this is the NFL, not tennis. I am not blaming the refs for the loss. It's not an easy job. I just wish they would not insert themselves by making debatable calls late in the game. Honestly, if you make a call on Vrabel, you also have to make the call against Ty Law vs. Randy Moss in the 4th quarter... Law is clearly putting his hands on Moss. But I don't think either call shold be made. Unless it is obvious -- let the players decide the game on the field.

2. Pierre Woods really should get an up. He had some good plays, some bad. But he was coming in for AD. Those are big shoes to fill.

Losing the toss in overtime did not lose the game for us. Had the defense stepped up and actually played that 3rd and 15, we would have held them, had the momemtum and we would have be kicking a fg for the win.

of the essential cornerstones for success. The loss is disappointing, but how many teams in the NFL can compete at the level the Patriots have losing three of its captains and a running back whose level-of-performance in the playoffs last year was second only to Brady's.

Cassel, if he continues his remarkable improvement, will likely command a contract far in excess to what the Patriots would or could match, however, if the Patriots offer him a certain percentage over his current contract, they are entitled to the team, that signs him, first round draft pick. I believe the figure that the Patriots must offer Cassel is between 1.5-2.5 million, a bargain given his emergence. I was as quick as anyone here to anoint O'Sullivan as the quarterback-of-the-future, but I was wrong, Cassel has played extremely well, please correct me if I am wrong Mike about the contract status...You can't eliminate four quality players, replace them with young substitutes and expect consistency, which is one of the essential cornerstones for success. The loss is disappointing, but how many teams in the NFL can compete at the level the Patriots have losing three of its captains and a running back whose level-of-performance in the playoffs last year was second only to Brady's.

Stan Pavuk,
I think if you franchise a player you have to pay the average of the top 5 players at there position. As a QB he would command way to much money.
Mike - please correct me if I am wrong.

Another crucial game we could have won and theres plenty of blame to go around. While our young linebackers and replacement qb look great, our corners, safeties, special teams, d- line, o- line ,and d-coordinator have PLENTY of work to do. If Romeo is fired, I hope we pick him up. We need a real shut down corner, our d line to play a bit harder ( we were always close to favre), and better defensive play calling. Where are the exotic blitzes and confusing patterns of the Homeland Defense!?!??!/ DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!

it doesnt matter what they have to pay, the team they trade him to will have to pick up the contract

Regarding franchising Cassel. I believe the Pats will franchise him and then trade him for probably a second round pick. They can withdraw the franchise tag at any time. Think back a few years ago when they franchised Tebucky Jones and then traded him to NO for a 2 & 5th.

draft pick of that team. If a team did not want to surrender their first round pick the Patriots keep Cassel for the percentage offered over his current contract which, as I recall would be between 1.5-2.5 million. I know this sounds too good to be true. I would be interested in learning if this translation is accurate. If so, the Patriots appear to have some benefit from the devastating injury to Brady this year. Now a truly ridiculous consideration... Cassel continues to improve to the point where he appears to be a top quarterback in the NFL, no forget it, the question is way-too stupid to raise...

Mike, I didn't read all of the comments yet .. BUT, Cotchery could have been called for Offensive PI on that play. He pulled Hobbs down while Hobbs was looking for the ball. Also, seemed like the Jets got away with a lot of holding in the 1st half. Was it just me seeing that? Do I have Pats colored glasses on?

Oh, and the big one. How is Meriweather not a down. He couldn't make ANY tackles when we needed it. 3rd and 15, he got bowled over. On top of countless others!

I think this is the appropriate place and time for me (and the rest of the world) to recognize that I was wrong about Cassell. The man can win games. He still is not Brady, but he delivered a win for the Patriots. The rest of the team did not hold up its end of the bargain.

Cassell's future will be complicated. No way the patriots can use the franchise tag. Because if they do, I believe he simply accepts the standard franchise terms and gets paid the salaries of the top five QBs in the league... which is a staggering amount of money.

So I see it likely that he goes to another team UNLESS Brady's recovery does not go well. Then he'll likely stay with the team that stuck with him and gave him a chance at greatness.

This will be one of the most interesting seasons to watch at least since Bledsoe's injury in the 2001 season.

Mike:

This may sound crazy and I am not sure whether it is the usual Patriot's way of doing business, but can the Pats trade Cassel now with some team and get some good player or draft pick back as compensation? The team is unlikely to go very far in post season with all the injuries. They will lose Cassel to free agency next year anyway. They can then give O'Connel or Gutierrez some real game experience to see who can be a reliable backup for Brady next year The trade partner can get its hand on Cassel instead of having to compete in in a bidding war in the open market and Pats can keep Cassel away from the Jets.

Biggest "down" for the game.....Dean Pees, defensive coordinator. His "soft" defense and lrefusal to put pressure on Favre cost this team the game. His entire defensive game plan, from the get go, was pitiful save for a few moments when he finally went after Favre in the 3rd quarter and it shut them down. Then he reverted back to his soft play calling, allowed Favre to pick his receivers late in the 4th and then in OT. There is no excuse for playing a soft defense, knowing the weakness of our secondary, on the third and 15 play. That, IMO, was pure ignorance by Pees and he should be taken to task for it. Also, MacDaniels still has no clue on how to utilize play calling in the red zone. Someone needs to tell him that "Play action" on first down plays is NOT against the NFL rules. He puts Cassel in trouble every time with his asinine first and second down play calls in the red zone areas. McDaniels has cost this team a bushel of points by settlilng for field goals when they should have TD.s In the Jets game, McDaniels inept play calling in clutch situations resulted in a 4 for 14 third down failure.

Mike, I'm shocked to see no one mention the play of Brandon Meriweather. If you go and watch this game agin, please notice how many missed tackles this guy has during the game. He's rarely ever in position to make a play. Watch this game and count how many times Meriweather is the 3rd or 4th guy coming in. Usually just in time to pat someone else on the butt ot helmet after they've made the play. On pass plays he seems to settle on letting the reciever make the catch in front of him and then he'll come in and usually wiff on the tackle. On that 3rd and 15 on the opening Jet drive in overtime, it was the same thing. While having all the momemtum coming at the reciever he still wasn't able to drop the TE without him fighting for just enough yardage to make the first down... And trust me Mike, I'm not jumping on this guy because of this one play. I'd be interested in your observation of Meriweather after viewing the film again. This guy should be an impact player having been picked around 20th in the first round... Beau