Jerod Mayo went down with a knee injury in the 1st quarter last night; he is the one player we really can't lose on D. He is playing one of the most important positions in the scheme, wears the headset, and we have no backup to him. His loss caused a shift in personnel last night that did not result in an efficient defense. After he went down, the team moved Adalius Thomas to MLB and played Gary Guyton outside in exclusive 4-3 sets. Thomas is better served on the outside, and Guyton was continuously beat when trying to pick up RBs and TEs in coverage. Belichick said his his presser today that Mayo's injury is not season ending, and we need him back ASAP.
MORE DEFENSIVE THOUGHTS:
-The defense did a poor job of putting pressure on Trent Edwards. They did not blitz much because they were continuously double teaming WRs Terrell Owens and Lee Evans, but they lack explosiveness on the line. By the way, Seymour had two sacks last night for Oakland.
-The one time they got to Edwards, Thomas was called for the most bogus roughing the passer I have ever seen. How could he stop trying to sack him in the heat of that moment? You rap the QB and bring him down.
-Tully Banta-Cain played a lot with his hand down at the defensive end position. Derrick Burgess subbed in a lot more after Mayo went out also.
-The CBs appeared to be rotating all night. Bodden was on the field almost always, but Butler, Springs, and Wilhite were rotating in 4-3 and nickle back sets.
-Back-up safety Brandon McGowan was on the field a lot in the second half. Merriweather was out there the entire night, so he must have been in for Sanders. I don't think Sanders was hurt because I saw him out there at the end of the game. Perhaps they were rotating.
The D will not need to double team the Jets WRs next week. Instead look for a more aggressive approach against rookie QB Mark Sanchez.
Recap of the special teams performance and the great forced fumble in the next Patriots post.
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