Bodden was a one man wrecking crew.Unfortunately there will not be much time for celebration as the Patriots are already preparing for their showdown this Sunday with the New Orleans Saints.
Before we get ahead of ourselves lets take a look at our Jets preview and see how our keys to the game led the Pats to a W.
1. Dominate the line of scrimmage. In the preview we eluded to the fact that the Patriots would need to shut down the Jets running game and force rookie Mark Sanchez to beat them. While they did allow Thomas Jones to eclipse the 100-yard plateau, they were playing from behind and the Jets had to put the ball in Sanchez's hands. The rook threw four interceptions (3 for Leigh Bodden, one of which was a 53-yard pick six, and one for Brandon Meriweather) and each of which were pretty poor decisions.
On the Patriots side of the ball, they ran the ball 35 times Sunday (the second most attempts this season). After jumping out to a large lead, the Pats decided to keep the ball on the ground a bit more often than usual. Maroney accumulated 77 yards and 2 scores on 22 carries but also fumbled once.
2. Efficiency in the red zone. After going 0-3 in the red zone in week 2 against the Jets, the Patriots went 3 for 4 Sunday; a Tom Brady to Randy Moss connection on a four yard slant and two TD runs by Maroney. When they didn't score a TD in the red zone, it was a 26-yard FG by Gostkowski that put points on the board. Conversely, the Patriots held the Jets to bad field position for most of the afternoon and did not reach the red zone.
3. Find the open guy. Old reliable Wes Welker was the go to guy today. Welker was open all over the field and put up career high numbers as he hauled in 15 balls for 192 yards. Whether it was post patterns over the middle of the field, or out routes to the sidelines, Welker hauled in everything that came his way. It was his fourth 10-reception game this season, and his chemistry with Brady is remarkable.
The Randy Moss/Darrell Revis chirping this weak was as advertised. While Revis did limit Moss' productivity (5/34/1), it was tough to tell who came out on top. Brady looked Randy's way often when he was in single coverage, but it was difficult to see on television if there was safety help on the balls he wasn't targeted. However, when the Patriots felt they had Moss one on one, Revis won many of the battles including an offensive pass interference call on Moss.
4. Put last week behind them. The Pats jumped out to a 24-0 lead in the second quarter showing no hangover from last game to start out. They couldn't finish off the Jets until the fourth quarter though, as they allowed the Jets to find the end zone twice (a 29-yard thread-the-needle pass to Jericho Cotchery and a blocked punt on Chris Hanson that was picked up for a TD). The transition from last week's heart-breaker was good and the Patriots were very prepared for the game.
Good win Sunday that brought the Patriots to 7-3 (4th in the conference) and sit very comfortably atop the division. If the season ended today, the Patriots would host a home wild card playoff game, but their three conference losses (the tie breaker for same record) to the Jets, Broncos, and Colts loom large because they share the same record as the Chargers and Bengals.
A huge game approaches Monday night at the 10-0 New Orleans Saints. The stage is set: the Patriots head to another undefeated opponent in three weeks, on the road in prime-time, in a dome. Another test for this 2009 New England squad.
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On the Patriots side of the ball, they ran the ball 35 times Sunday (the second most attempts this season). After jumping out to a large lead, the Pats decided to keep the ball on the ground a bit more often than usual. Maroney accumulated 77 yards and 2 scores on 22 carries but also fumbled once.
2. Efficiency in the red zone. After going 0-3 in the red zone in week 2 against the Jets, the Patriots went 3 for 4 Sunday; a Tom Brady to Randy Moss connection on a four yard slant and two TD runs by Maroney. When they didn't score a TD in the red zone, it was a 26-yard FG by Gostkowski that put points on the board. Conversely, the Patriots held the Jets to bad field position for most of the afternoon and did not reach the red zone.
3. Find the open guy. Old reliable Wes Welker was the go to guy today. Welker was open all over the field and put up career high numbers as he hauled in 15 balls for 192 yards. Whether it was post patterns over the middle of the field, or out routes to the sidelines, Welker hauled in everything that came his way. It was his fourth 10-reception game this season, and his chemistry with Brady is remarkable.
The Randy Moss/Darrell Revis chirping this weak was as advertised. While Revis did limit Moss' productivity (5/34/1), it was tough to tell who came out on top. Brady looked Randy's way often when he was in single coverage, but it was difficult to see on television if there was safety help on the balls he wasn't targeted. However, when the Patriots felt they had Moss one on one, Revis won many of the battles including an offensive pass interference call on Moss.
4. Put last week behind them. The Pats jumped out to a 24-0 lead in the second quarter showing no hangover from last game to start out. They couldn't finish off the Jets until the fourth quarter though, as they allowed the Jets to find the end zone twice (a 29-yard thread-the-needle pass to Jericho Cotchery and a blocked punt on Chris Hanson that was picked up for a TD). The transition from last week's heart-breaker was good and the Patriots were very prepared for the game.
Good win Sunday that brought the Patriots to 7-3 (4th in the conference) and sit very comfortably atop the division. If the season ended today, the Patriots would host a home wild card playoff game, but their three conference losses (the tie breaker for same record) to the Jets, Broncos, and Colts loom large because they share the same record as the Chargers and Bengals.
A huge game approaches Monday night at the 10-0 New Orleans Saints. The stage is set: the Patriots head to another undefeated opponent in three weeks, on the road in prime-time, in a dome. Another test for this 2009 New England squad.
MORE:
- Sunday's inactives were WR Sam Aiken (hip), DE Jarvis Green (knee), RB Sammy Morris (knee), LT Matt Light (knee), RG Stephan Neal (head), LB Rob Ninkovich, CB Shawn Springs (healthy) and RB Fred Taylor (knee). Everyone besides Taylor were listed as questionable, so these were some telling inactives today. Morris, Light, and Green each returned to practice but none were ready to give it a go again quite yet. Aiken, Neal, and Ninkovich were all shaken up last week and missed the game. Springs has fallen deep on the CB depth chart.
- Sebastain Vollmer left the game for over a quarter with a head injury. Mark LeVoir filled in at the left tackle spot pretty well. LeVoir, who signed an extension before the season, has stepped up as the backup tackle with Light out after beginning the season on the PUP list.
- Stephan Neal's backup Dan Connolly shifted to fullback for a couple of plays which allowed rookie Rich Ohrnberger to see his first NFL action.
- Patrick Chung left late in the game with a head injury. Chung had been seeing a lot of action in dime packages for the Pats as the team's third safety. James Sanders, who has lost the role since coming back from injury, filled in.
- The Patriots dominated the time of possession battle 39:54 to 20:06. They are tops in the league in T.O.P.
- The blocked punt that resulted in a touchdown personified the absence of special teams captain Sam Aiken today. Julian Edelman filled in as the last line of blocking which is Aiken's spot and missed a block when Hanson's punt was denied.
- Bodden's three INTs was the first three interception game since Asante "Get Money" Samuel did so in November of 2006. Props to Bodden who has stepped up as a #1 corner this season.
- Brady threw for 300 yards for the fifth straight game. He handled the blitz and pressure fairly well.
- The Patriots forced five turnovers in total today while only giving it away once. It's tough to lose a game when you go +4 in that category. The Patriots are the second in the NFL in turnover margin with a +12 (22 takeaways, 10 giveaways).
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