I know I
haven’t written anything in a while here, I’ve had a big case of writers
block/being too lazy to actually sit down and put some words to paper. But in
the last 2 weeks a lot has happened with the Patriots. The 59-24 win over the
Colts was the first game we actually saw the defense take over and turn the
game around for us. With the score tied early on, new addition Aqib Talib
intercepted an Andrew Luck pass and returned it for a TD. This play completely
changed the whole complexion of the game and from then on Luck looked like a
confused rookie QB and the Patriots continued to pull away on the scoreboard.
For the first time this year the secondary actually looked like they knew what
the fuck was going on and I give Talib a lot of the credit for that.
The Pats
obtained Talib earlier this month from the Buccaneers for a mid-round draft
pick. Throughout his career Talib has been thought of as an immensely talented
and physical corner with good size and speed. He was the 20th
overall pick in the 2008 Draft and was looked at as one of the top corners in
the country coming out of Kansas. Since he’s been in the NFL Talib has 19
interceptions and was named NFL Defensive Back of the Year in 2010 by the NFL
Alumni Association. But off the field Talib has had his share of problems. In
July 2008 while at the NFL Rookie Symposium, Talib got into a fight with Bucs
teammate Cory Boyd. Not really the best way to give a good “first impression”
to the rest of the NFL. Then in August 2009 Talib supposedly punched a taxi
driver in the back of the head while he was on the highway, another very bright
move. Talib was charged with resisting arrest and simple battery. In March
2011, Talib was issued a felony warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly
weapon after he fired his gun at his sister’s boyfriend, who by the way was a
registered sex offender. The charges were eventually dropped but as you can
see, this guy is very familiar with the back seat of a cop car. And on top of
all of that, Talib has gotten into multiple fights with his own teammates and
has but several of them into the hospital. Seems like a real good guy huh?
But the one
thing we all know about the Patriots is that these are the type of guys they
love to take a chance on; guys who have had off the field issues but have tons
of talent. The Patriots locker room is loaded with leaders like Brady, Wilfork,
Mayo and Branch so they know one bad apple won’t ruin the whole bunch. They
have had success with guys like Randy Moss and Corey Dillon in this situation
but have also had guys who have failed like Albert Haynesworth and Chad “Ochocinco”
Johnson. My guess after watching Talib for 2 weeks is that we won’t see any
issues with his this season since this is his last year before he becomes a
free agent so if he wants to get paid big money, he needs to succeed with the
Pats.
Then on
Thanksgiving Night against the Jets, the Patriots absolutely embarrassed
Sanchez and Co. and I loved every single second of it. It’s hard to believe but
the 1st quarter ended with the score 0-0 and that’s when the
Patriots took over. They outscored the Jets 35-3 in the 2nd quarter
including 3 touchdowns in 52 seconds. In fact they scored 35 points in the quarter
and only held possession of the ball for 2:14. Talk about a dangerous team. I
will admit a few of the touchdowns were basically gift-wrapped for the Pats
because of Jets turnovers but regardless you have to give the Pats credit for
forcing as many turnovers as they did. When the game ended, the score was
49-19, but even the 30 point victory didn’t do justice to just how dominating
this game was.
The Patriots offense was unstoppable with Brady throwing for 323
yards and 3 TD with no interceptions and no sacks. Stevan Ridley ran for 97
yards and a TD against a pretty good run defense. Shane Vereen had a breakout game with 2
receptions for 91 yards including an unreal 83 yard TD. He also had 10 rushes
for 42 yards. Julian Edelman had an unbelievable game as he returned a Jets
fumble for a TD on a kickoff, something rarely done in the NFL and also scored
on a 56 yard TD pass from Brady. All in all the offense looked great,
especially with the absence of Rob Gronkowski who broke his arm against the
Colts.
On the
defensive side of the ball, the Pats looked like a team who actually knew how
to defend an NFL offense, something they rarely have done this year. They
forced 4 fumbles and picked off Mark Sanchez once. Although they gave up 400+
yards of offense the majority of those yards came in garbage time when the Pats
had all but given up so the embarrassment wouldn’t get any worse. The secondary
continued to look better and now with 2 strong games under their belt and
another rookie QB this week in Ryan Tannehill, they should be gaining some much
needed confidence heading into the stretch run.
With 2
dominating performances in 4 days and with 5 consecutive victories the Patriots
once again look like the favorite in the AFC. Yea I know Houston is 10-1 and
Baltimore is 9-2, but the Patriots are now trending upwards while those 2 teams
have struggled in recent weeks against weaker opponents. After this weekend’s
game with Miami, which the Patriots should win without an issue, the Patriots
face both Houston and San Francisco at home. We will know after those 2 games
what this team is made of and if this defense is legit as those are 2 of the
top teams in the NFL. My guess is that we will be pleasantly surprised with
what we see.
I know this picture is probably inappropriate but I think it's hilarious. Fuck the Jets.
No comments:
Post a Comment