It was natural Sunday to have flashbacks to the beginning of the season as the New England Patriots squeaked by the New York Jets.
The Patriots’ offensive line woes were back in full force, and the second-half decision to try to fix their leaky offensive front reeked of desperation when head coach Bill Belichick placed rookie Cameron Fleming at right guard. It’s not Fleming’s fault that his two stints at guard have been disastrous. The Stanford product had never played the position before Week 4’s embarrassing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and he hadn’t been back until Sunday.
Fleming quickly was steamrolled by Jets star defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson, and blocking continued to be a problem.
Find out how the Patriots won and what still needs to be fixed in this week’s film review:
QUARTERBACK
-Tom Brady obviously was bothered by the Jets’ front seven. His offensive line allowed pressure on 16 separate plays.
-Brady threw 12 incompletions on the afternoon. I counted five as being Brady’s fault, I blamed three on his offensive line, two passes were dropped (tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Danny Amendola each had drops) and two passes were broken up by the Jets’ defense. Brady was pressured on 10 of his incompletions.
-It sounds ridiculous to praise Brady’s legs after how many jokes have been made about his speed, but the Patriots QB has really improved his scrambling ability this season.
Brady actually had Amendola open in the middle of the field, but he gained more yards with his legs than he would have with his arm. The key here is Brady’s pump fake, which freezes linebacker Demario Davis and fools David Harris. Brady picked up 11 yards.
RUNNING BACKS
-Shane Vereen had one of his best games of the season on the ground, picking up 38 yards on just six carries. It was surprising that the Patriots didn’t get him more involved in the passing game with receiver Julian Edelman out. Perhaps the Patriots are saving that wrinkle for the postseason.
The blocking was a mess on this third-quarter run, but Vereen still ran 6 yards with some impressive agility and quickness, avoiding tacklers.
-Brandon Bolden also ran the ball well with LeGarrette Blount out. Bolden is one of the more underrated and versatile players on the Patriots, if only because he generates so much hate from New Englanders for reasons unknown.
WIDE RECEIVERS
-Amendola filled in well for Edelman, though he wasn’t able to completely replace his fellow undersized receiver. Brady showed a lot of trust in Amendola in the fourth quarter when the Patriots were trying to run down the clock. Brady’s trust served him well, as Amendola came through with a key, if controversial, first down.
-Amendola also helped move the chains later in the fourth quarter with 3:20 left on second and 8.
Amendola, in the slot at the top of the screen, runs a tremendous route that nearly makes Jets safety Antonio Allen lose his footing.
TIGHT ENDS
-The Jets really keyed in on Gronkowski, who caught just six passes for 31 yards on 10 targets. The Jets double-covered Gronk for much of the game, bumping him at the line of scrimmage with a linebacker or safety back deep to pick up the big tight end.
-Tim Wright also was expected to take on a bigger role with Edelman out, but he received just one target — a 12-yard reception.
OFFENSIVE LINE
-The offensive line had a tough time with blitz pickup, and really just blocking in general.
-Josh Kline started at left guard with Ryan Wendell at right guard. In the second half, Wendell moved to the left side and rookie tackle Cameron Fleming played right guard.
-Fleming struggled mightily in his two role, allowing a quarterback hit and three hurries. The Patriots can’t expect Fleming to play that role this season.
Fleming, No. 71, was bowled over by Jets defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson. H probably should have been called for a hold for dragging Richardson down with him.
-Here’s how the Patriots fared against the Jets’ pass rush:
Fleming:Â one quarterback hit, three hurries
Sebastian Vollmer:Â one sack, two hurries
Kline: one sack, one hurry
Marcus Cannon: one sack, one hurry
Nate Solder: one quarterback hit, one hurry
Wendell:Â two hurries
Gronkowski: one sack
Bryan Stork: one sack
Vereen: one sack
Jonas Gray: one quarterback hit
There was some major communication issues on this sack. Kline and Stork were left blocking no one, while Solder was expected to take on three defenders at once. I blamed Solder and Kline for this broken play.
DEFENSIVE LINE
-The Patriots allowed 116 rushing yards to the Jets but only 3.6 yards per carry.
-They primarily used a 3-4 in the base defense with 325-pound behemoths Vince Wilfork, Alan Branch and Sealver Siliga as the defensive line. Those three mostly were stout against the Jets’ rushing attack.
Chris Johnson had nowhere to run on this direct snap with Wilfork, Siliga and Branch all two-gapping. Cornerback Brandon Browner was able to weave around for the tackle. Siliga, playing nose, holds up to a double team with ease.
-Chandler Jones did a nice job setting the edge at outside linebacker. He also led the team with five pass-rush pressures. Siliga recorded a sack and two QB hits, as he continues to impress as a pass rusher.
LINEBACKERS
-Dont’a Hightower continues to impress as an all-around linebacker. He’s playing at an All-Pro level, though it’s unlikely that he’ll draw consideration. He recorded a key sack in the fourth quarter, forcing a blocked 52-yard field goal attempt.
Hightower and Collins started out showing an A-gap blitz, but then bounced over the tackles, shifting Wilfork and Chris Jones inside. The Patriots faked a six-man blitz, but Collins dropped back in coverage. Hightower hesitated slightly, which made running back Bilal Powell and right tackle Breno Giacomini shift over to Ninkovich. That allowed Hightower a free shot at Smith for the 9-yard sack.
-Jamie Collins had a big game, as well. He’s really improving as a run defender, showing better instincts and playing with more abandon in filling rushing lanes. He also showed off his hops, picking off Geno Smith.
With left guard Oday Aboushi pulling, No. 60 D’Brickashaw Ferguson didn’t stand a chance against Collins, who’s a freak athlete. Collins dragged down running back Chris Ivory for a 2-yard loss.
CORNERBACKS
-Darrelle Revis allowed just two receptions on two targets to Smith. The Patriots mostly stayed in Cover-1 man, but they also mixed in five snaps in a Cover 3, two in Cover 2 and one in quarters.
Here’s the 25-yard completion Revis allowed to receiver Percy Harvin. Revis doesn’t want to give up the deep ball, so he allows some leverage inside. He couldn’t compensate in time to defend the pass.
-Revis, who had some issues as a run defender, mostly stayed on the left side with Brandon Browner on the right, letting the Jets dictate coverages. That meant that Browner sometimes was covering smaller, shiftier receivers like Harvin and Jeremy Kerley.
-Browner did a nice job on all of his matchups, allowing three catches on six targets for 32 yards.
-Smith picked on Logan Ryan with No. 3 cornerback Kyle Arrington out. Ryan allowed two catches on five targets for 29 yards. He also was hit with a costly illegal contact penalty. For the most part, Ryan was solid, despite some criticism he received.
SAFETIES
-McCourty was solid as always protecting the deep half of the field. He allowed an 8-yard catch.
-Chung allowed a 20-yard touchdown to tight end Jeff Cumberland when he bit on play action in the second quarter. Chung was fantastic against the run, making four key stops.
Chandler Jones helped blow up this play, but he whiffed on the tackle. Chung, playing a hybrid linebacker role, was there to clean up for the tackle.
Photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images