The Patriots defense made three big plays against the Jets and it was enough to set the stage for another Tom Brady comeback and then close it out. Overall the Patriots leaned heavily on their zone coverage in this one, especially in the second half, with a focus on putting six defenders in the Jets primary target areas.
It worked because of the brilliant play against the run that made the Jets one-dimensional and heavily reliant on check downs. They had their breakdowns but it worked well enough to win and sparked the team out of their takeaway funk.
Here’s what stood out on the film review of the defense…
— Right off the bat it was apparent that Brown and Branch came to play. Both had maybe their best games in this one, especially against the run, where they were unmovable. Brown has really good low center of gravity and he’s a problem for any two blockers to move off the spot. Meanwhile, when left one-on-one Branch manhandles fools.
— Closely monitoring zone vs. man for this review, and on the first drive they played zone just once, one the first third down which was converted. On the second third down they went to man and good coverage, including a pretty good interior rush by Flowers that drew a hold, didn’t leave Fitz much to work with.
— Elandon Roberts has had his playing time reduced recently, but showed more great anticipation on the first play of the second drive, making the tackle for loss. He’d been quiet the last couple games but it was good to see that kind of play out of him.
— For the second possession the Pats went man-zone-man on the three and out. The Jets were in a spread offense on second and third down. McCourty had great recognition on third down, moving toward the motioning tight end before the snap. That enabled him to make the tackle just short of the first down.
— Plenty of love out there for Kyle Van Noy for his pass rush, but he was really doing more coverage, often taking running backs in man coverage. He showed pretty good movement in space and awareness, but still seems most effective rushing the passer. He struggles to disengage when blocked in space.
— On the third drive I had them six times in man, three in zone. Butler got isolated against Marshall for the touchdown. Butler is always right there, and if he ever starts getting that extra bit of anticipation he’ll be the best corner in the league. Hard to get too upset with him for the big catch by Enunwa for the same reason — other team just makes a great play. The long catch he gave up to Anderson was a scramble drill, so again, he wasn’t straight up toasted. And then he forced a fumble.
— The D went a little more zone heavy on the last Jets drive of the first half, with an interesting coverage on the third down stop that led to the field goal block. It looked like Cover 3 zone, however Rowe did a nice job pattern reading, driving on the intended receiver and arriving (pretty much) the same time as the ball. Elsewhere they doubled Marshall but left two receivers open. Maybe that was a mistake. On the bottom, Van Noy leaves his man at the snap to double Marshall. Would’ve been an easy first down had Fitz seen it. At the top is where Rowe left his guy, but it worked out well as he was able to make the play.
Second Half
— One of the more interesting things about the amount of Cover 2 zone the Pats played was how much they kept Patrick Chung on the field as a deep safety. That role was what got him shipped out of town the first time, but he seemed more comfortable in it now.
— Rushing three on third down was the order of the day. That’s probably a gameplan specific thing, but at the same time how can everyone crying about the lack of pass rush expect it to be dominant when that’s the strategy? Consistently sending the house is just not what the Patriots are going to do. Here’s the rush numbers from Reiss:
- 2 rushers: 1 time
- 3 rushers: 14 times
- 4 rushers: 17 times
- 5 rushers: 2 times
— Still waiting for Shea McClellin to make a “hey nice job” play this season.
— Hightower made a “hey nice job” play in the third quarter for a third down stop where he patiently just waited in the flat, defeated the blocker and tackled the ball carrier with one arm.
— Now the gross fourth quarter touchdown drive. This is the one you don’t want to see at this stage of the game. It was quick and easy, except for the touchdown catch, and featured catches of 9, 9, 15, 13 and 22 yards. Lotta check downs and the Pats were playing mostly zone on this one. This is how you beat the Patriots defense. Take the short passes and gain yards after the catch. Take your shots and hope Butler is an inch off like he was here.
— Malcolm Brown‘s pressure forced the intentional grounding on the Jets second-to-last drive which was huge. Nice to see the second-year DT making some standout plays. He’s been really solid so far, now it’s just a matter of making more impact plays like that one.
— On Long’s strip sack it was a great physical play by Butler on Marshall that forced Fitz to hold the ball that extra second needed for Long to get there. Great complimentary play and not one that will show up for Butler on the stat sheet.
The Pats seemed to go more zone heavy in the second half and it was effective enough. The Jets seemed to have no problem playing the checkdown game and it almost worked.