Patriots 2014 Opponents, 5 First Impressions of the Jets Pt. 2
The New England Patriots travel to the New Jersey Meadowlands for their second game against the New York Jets in 2014. New England prevailed in a close game 27-25 earlier this season in Foxboro.This will also mark the Patriots final away game of the 2014 regular season. The game will be broadcast by CBS. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
The Patriots (11-3) clinched the AFC East for the sixth straight year and their 12th in the past 14 years with a 41-13 win over the Miami Dolphins. Tom Brady and the offense shook off a lackluster first half to explode for 24 points in the third quarter. The defense held Miami scoreless in the second half, sacking QB Ryan Tannehill four times and intercepting him twice in the game.
The Jets (3-11) came back to beat the Tennessee Titans 16-11 on Sunday. The game was marked by an ugly brawl during an official timeout when the Titans Jurrell Casey punched Jets QB Geno Smith after each engaged in some trash talking. The brawl ignited the Jets who scored twice to win the game.
Series History: The two teams will meet for 112th time on Sunday. The teams split their meetings in 2013 with each holding serve at home. The Patriots won a narrow victory at home in October although the Jets dominated in time of possession and overall yardage.
The series has been remarkably close since 1960 with the Patriots holding a slim 57-53-1 advantage all time. The Jets hold a 28-27 edge at home over the Patriots and since Bill Belichick took over in 2000, the Patriots hold a 21-10 edge overall.
Here are Five First Impressions of the Jets:
Rex Ryan Watch Has Started: What started off as a firestorm around New York will likely come to an end in Miami in just two weeks as Rex Ryan will most probably be let go as the coach of the Jets. He said all the right things to inflame the rivalry with New England when he took over, stating he wasn’t “here to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings” and his shtick played well with the NY media. And the Jets played some outstanding football along the way going to two straight AFC Championship games.
But he was undermined by a GM who never wanted him as a head coach, saddled with two high draft pick QBs that didn’t pan out with the latest who probably won’t ever be even a middle of the road talent. But as entertaining as he was with the media, the shine comes off when the wins stop and Ryan’s Jets will be known to have missed the playoffs more than they made them.
Sunday will probably be his last home game as the Jets coach, rumors have it they will chase Jim Harbaugh closely when and if he’s released by the 49ers. Forget about the “Suck for the Duck” talk, Ryan will want to go out a winner and beating Belichick and the Pats will be a big point of pride for him. One thing even his biggest detractors will agree upon is that Ryan has always been a stand-up guy. He won’t roll over in his final home game and his players have always loved playing for him. The Jets Super Bowl is Sunday.
Stopping the Running Game is Key: The Jets offense has been stuck in neutral all season but a bright spot has been the running game. New York currently has the #2 rushing attack in the NFL. The Jets average 147.1 yards per game and a very impressive 4.7 yards per rushing attempt.
In the first meeting between the Patriots and Jets in October, the Jets rushed for 218 yards on 43 attempts and controlled the ball for an incredible 40:19 in the game. They feature Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson who have combined for over 1350 yards and seven touchdowns between them.
New England will also have to be aware of Smith scrambling (37 yards in the previous matchup), as well as WR Percy Harvin who is a threat to run as well as receive. Harvin wasn’t with the Jets in the first meeting.
Decker, Harvin, Amaro Nice Building Blocks For Future: The Jets passing game is mired in 32nd, dead last in the NFL in terms of yardage. They’ve only passed for 2365 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2014. But much of that has to do with the QB position (Geno Smith, Mike Vick) and as their confidence has wavered, so has the coaches’. The Jets seemed to be afraid to throw the ball against Miami and the trickle-down effect has to be tough for the skill positional players.
Their skill position players have been upgraded with the additions of Eric Decker during free agency, TE Jace Amaro during the draft and Percy Harvin mid-season. This has given the team a good nucleus moving forward to whoever is the QB in 2015.
Decker leads the Jets with 62 receptions for 720 yards and four touchdowns while the ever dangerous Harvin has 25 catches for 306 yards and one touchdown. Amaro, considered one of the premiere “move” TEs in the 2014 NFL Draft was a frequent guess as a possible Patriots target has chipped in with 35 catches, 311 yards and two TDs.
While they don’t compare with some of the offenses that New England has faced in recent weeks, they can be effective when the running game is going (see Wk 7) and when the quarterback play is on. Which leads us to…
Smith Playing For 2015 or Just Out the String?: Over the past two years, Geno Smith is just 9-17 as a starter and has been the NFL’s lowest rated QB. He was benched for three games in 2014 and rightfully so is being questioned as to whether he has the tools to succeed in the NFL.
Smith, like his predecessor Mark Sanchez has found out that the bright lights of New York can be a very unforgiving place when things aren’t going well. But one thing Smith doesn’t lack is confidence, stating last week that he’s “Flashed signs of being a Pro-Bowl QB” which prompted Ryan to deadpan in response, “and then sometimes he hasn’t…”
Smith’s numbers are hardly Pro-Bowl-esque 182-315 57.8 percent, 1957 yards only nine touchdowns and 12 interceptions with a QB rating very low at 69.8. Most pundits look for the Jets to find a replacement sooner rather than later in the 2015 draft.
But the win at Tennessee may push the Jets out of the prime position to draft one of the better QBs in the 2015 draft (read Mariota) and Smith may find himself again battling for a job in 2015. One thing is for sure; these next two games will factor deeply in determining his future, if any with the Jets moving forward.
Jets Pass Rush Key on Sunday: The key for the Jets to have a chance at upsetting the Patriots on Sunday will rest with the very stout front four and the pressure they’ll bring on Tom Brady. The Jets front four led by Sheldon Richardson,Muhammad Wilkerson, Quentin Coples and Calvin Pace is outstanding against the run and can get after the QB.
In the first meeting, they limited the Patriots to only 63 yards rushing but Brady was still able to find holes to throw into against the secondary. In the past Ryan was able to rush only three or four and flood the secondary with blanket coverage…No more. The Jets are dead last at covering TEs and Rob Gronkowski, now operating at peak proficiency will be a tough matchup.
It will be up to the pass rush to disrupt QB Tom Brady or he’ll have a big game against an overmatched secondary. The Jets won the first matchup. They’ll need an even bigger effort from the front four on Sunday.
Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]
Listen to our Patriots 4th and 2 podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from PatsFans.com discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.
