Dan
Connolly MVP?
Dan
Connolly MVP.
A
few weeks ago, I saw this post on Pats Pulpit
confirming Dan Connolly is still one of the worst guards – okay, the absolute worst guard – in the NFL (and not inconsequentially, that Logan Mankins is still one of
the best). I’ve no reason to doubt the sabermetricians at Pro Football Focus
but however badly Connolly is playing the position, the Patriots clearly missed
him against the Jets defensive line.
Maybe
Connolly wouldn’t have made a difference but I’m going to hold on hope he
would’ve and will make a difference going forward.
The
bye week the Patriots clinched with their defibrillating 17-16 win over the NYJ
means a week of rest for ankles, hips and hamstrings. It also means (even if
the Bengals can win at home against the Broncos tonight) we won’t be seeing
Jimmy Garoppolo’s first start next Sunday. Tom Brady wants nothing more than to
get back on the field and put the Jets game in the rear view and Belichick will
hardly be looking to reward this past Sunday’s effort with an extra week off.
Look,
I won’t lie (this time). I’d rather the Pats had curb-stomped the Jets along
the lines of a 41-7 score but shouldn’t we all have seen something like this
coming? This was the Super Bowl for Rex’s Jets. Gang Green left everything they
had on the field Week 16. I don’t know how many points they’ll be getting in
Miami next Sunday but I wouldn’t take New York if they were +28.
Anyway,
there are a few good things we can take away from the messy win in the
Meadowlands…
A win is a win…
17-16
rounds up to 1 (win) just like 51-23. New England played badly enough to lose
but made just enough good plays to win. We’re on to Buffalo.
Danny Amendola can ball…
With
Julian Edelman down, Amendola stepped up. He caught 8 of 11 passes thrown his
way for 63 yards, returned 3 punts for 63 more and 4 kickoffs for 91, totaling
217 all-purpose yards. If you bought an Amendola jersey right after he signed,
it looks like it’s finally safe to bust that thing out and wear it.
Jamie Collins just keeps getting better…
The
Pats leading tackler added 11 stops, a tackle for loss, a pass defended and an
interception. Filling up the stat sheet is all good but Collins passes the
eyeball test as well. There doesn’t seem to be a single play where he isn’t in
the frame. And he’s getting better. How cool would it be to have the best
linebacker in the NFL playing for your team? We may just get the chance to
answer that question 2015-17.
The Patriots should draft an offensive lineman with their
1st round pick in 2015…
They
should probably consider drafting nothing but offensive linemen in the 2015
draft. Forget all that noise about getting Brady weapons; get him a career-low
in sacks next year.
Vince Wilfork is a finely tuned athlete…
Is
this guy really coming off an
Achilles tear? Also, check out the guns.
They’ve got legs…
I
think we all know how good placekicker Stephen Gostkowski is. He leads the
league in scoring
and he’s solid on kickoffs. Meanwhile, punter Ryan Allen is quietly having a
pretty good sophomore season. He’s been especially good down the stretch. Against
the Jets, Allen punted 5 times, averaging 52.6
per kick with two downed inside the 20 and no touchbacks. Against the Dolphins,
3 punts, a 47.3 average with two I20 and no touchbacks. Against San Diego, 5
punts, 49.4 average, four I20 and
just one touchback.
Nothing is easy…
As
Patriots fans, we can lose sight of just how hard it is to win in the NFL. That
can happen when your team wins at an historically unprecedented rate. With the
win over the Jets, the Patriots secured a first round bye for the fifth year in
a row. Yes, they are the first team that has ever accomplished this. They’ve
won 11+ games in every season since 2003. They are 150-41-0 over that time span
(including their 12-3-0 so far in 2014), a 78.53% win rate. Given New England’s
sustained excellence for a little more than a decade, it’s easy to forget just
how difficult it is to win in the NFL.
None
of those games will matter this coming Sunday, though. It won’t be easy this
Sunday or for any other Sunday to come.
But
I like their chances.
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