"Boogeyman" Defense, Special Teams Dominant in Patriots' Win Over Giants

The New England Patriots are winning with defense. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

There is something refreshing about seeing the Patriots leaning on their defense, with a huge assist from their punt teams. Combined, they flip field position, ensuring that their offense enjoys decent field position. They have had this capability for a long time, well, at least as long as they've had Kyle Van Noy...

...adding Jamie Collins in the offseason and drafting wildman Chase Winovich, playing the edges in compliment to the heavies on the inside of what may well be the best linebacking corps in the National Football League.

Van Noy scores on a fumble return

On Thursday night against the New York Giants, the defense that collectively calls itself "The Boogeyman" put on a performance that should scare the rest of the offenses on their schedule as much as the legendary living nightmare little frightens children.

Van Noy raced for a touchdown with a fumble forced by Collins and Winovich returned a blocked punt for another score as New England's defense and special teams outscored the Giants' offense, combining with an erratic-but-determined Patriots' offense to run their undefeated record to 6-0 with a 35-14 victory over New York at Gillette Stadium.

As if that wasn't enough, the Patriots' defense also collected three interceptions of Giants' rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, who did manage to throw one deep touchdown pass to receiver Golden Tate for the Giants' offense's only score, a juggling catch over New England slot corner Jonathan Jones, who got a hand on the ball but not enough to knock it away.

The other New York score came on defense, a strip sack of Brady scooped up by linebacker Markus Golden and returned 42 yards to even the score late in the second quarter.

The Patriots' defense and punt return unit are actually outscoring their collective foes on the season 42-27, leading the league in forced turnovers and blocked punts while holding those offenses to an average of 4.5 points per game. Overall, opposing teams have scored 44 points in six games - an average of 7.3 points per game, but have found the end zone on offense just three times in that span...

...the first a one-yard Josh Allen run for Buffalo in week three, the second last Sunday on a 65-yard Steven Sims sprint at Washington and then a 64-yard pass from Jones to Tate on Thursday night, which happened to be the first passing touchdown given up by the Boogeyman all season.

The Giants found no real success on the ground, averaging only 3.2 yards per carry and had an equally tough time through the air, a combination of Jones's overconfidence in his arm and lack of receiving options. In fact, if one to omit his touchdown pass to Tate, the Giants' passing game totaled just 97 yards.

The Patriots' offense, despite having limited options of their own in the passing game, managed 331 yards through the air and 427 yards overall and held the football for a full two-thirds of the game, putting together six drives of over three minutes, four of those covering at least fifty yards.

Even so, New England's offense had a rough go of it early, moving the ball but unable to finish drives with points until running back Brandon Bolden found paydirt from one yard out halfway through the second quarter, set up by rookie receiver Jakobi Meyers' tough 23 yard catch - a gem considering that New England's offense had stalled in ugly fashion on their previous five possessions...

...but found their wheels after that, scoring twice in the second half on identical Brady sneaks, putting together long drives to dominate time of possession. The Giants ran just 18 plays in the second half while New England doubled that total and held the ball twice as long as New York.

To put the numbers into perspective, the Giants managed no sustained drives of three minutes or longer, just one of fifty yards or more (the quick-strike touchdown to Tate) and had no possessions lasting more than six plays. That kind of inefficiency kept the Giants' defense on the field for an astonishing 81 plays that eventually wore down New York's stoppers.

The Patriots will now enjoy ten days off before travelling to New York to take on the Jets a week from Monday - a much needed break to hopefully heal from their many injuries and to try and get the offense on the same level as the defense.

But that may never materialize, as the Patriots' offense has suffered attrition at every level of the unit and are now working on their backup facilities. Good thing New England has a dominant defense to lean on.

Good Stuff:

1. The more Brandon Bolden is incorporated into the offensive scheme, the more value to the team he displays. On special teams, Bolden's haunt for the majority of his career, he forced punt protector Nathan Stupar so deep off the line of scrimmage with an impressive bull rush up the middle that punter Riley Dixon's kick hit Stupar in the back, bounding sideways and right to Winovich, who gathered it in and scored easily from six yards out - while on offense, Bolden scored a touchdown for the third straight game.

2. Tight end Ryan Izzo is proving to be a decent checkdown weapon, showing solid hands and sharp route running - both of his catches resulting in crucial first downs. His pass protection and blocking in general are works in progress, but overall he is proving to be an asset.

3. Rookies Gunner Olszewski and Jakobi Meyers accounted well for themselves in the passing game after being elevated on the depth chart following a game-ending injury to Josh Gordon. Already without Phillip Dorsett, Gordon's knee injury promoted Meyers and Olszewski to numbers two and three, respectively. With injuries piling up like cord wood in the Patriots' pass catching corps - they also lost tight end Matt LaCosse early in the contest - the rooks figure to see more opportunities. Brady had no choice but to target them, and their performances have to give the goat a little more confidence in them.

Curious:

1. Why Daniel Jones seemed obsessed with picking on Stephon Gilmore is somewhat of a mystery. There could be no other reason other than Jones wanting to prove his mettle against the best corner in the league, but the results were predictable as Gilmore defended five throws, two resulting in Patriots' interceptions - one by Gilmore himself and one that he deflected into the waiting arms of linebacker John Simon. Chalk it up as a painful learning experience for Jones, who otherwise has the talent to label himself a franchise quarterback.

Not so good:

1. The New England kicking game continues to be a concern. Replacement kicker Mike Nugent provided some harrowing moments in grooving his extra point attempts barely inside the left standard, then nailing the same post with his lone field goal attempt of the night. To be fair to the embattled kicker was fighting a strong crosswind on all his kicks, with the added disadvantage of holder Jake Bailey facing the laces directly at Nugent on the field goal attempt. Belichick had so little confidence in the kicking game that he opted for three 4th and short running plays instead of sending Nugent on the field for intermediate-range attempts - resulting in disaster on two of them.

2. Gordon and fullback Jakob Johnson left the game with injuries. At present there is no word on Gordon's status other than the team "dodged a bullet" in that his knee injury doesn't appear that severe, but it has been reported that Johnson is headed for the IR, ending his season. That leaves the Patriots without a fullback, which is an essential element in their running game.

Watson Released; Pats' Fans Needlessly Up in Arms

The tight end position has been the focus of the New England Patriots' offense for so long that fans expect a certain level of performance out of that position - so it's no wonder that these same fans are mourning the loss of Rob Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen and loathe the fact that the position has lost it's luster in the offensive game plan.

They pine for what those two brought to the offense over the past several years and are quick to criticize Bill Belichick for not properly addressing the position in the wake of their losses - so it's no secret why these fans are up in arms over the release of veteran tight end Benjamin Watson on Monday afternoon.

Watson came off of a four-game suspension last week and the team had until Monday at 4:00pm to activate him to the 53-man roster, but as the deadline approached, Watson had already cleared out his locker and expressed his disappointment via Twitter. Watson's popularity with fans is due partially to name recognition, but mostly due to desperation among the fans who think the position is in need of an overhaul.

When asked about the release of Watson, Belichick simply stated that he didn't have a roster spot available for him - which is true, as they would have to release another player to make room for him. Regardless, it's not sitting well with fans and the media, but they should have seen this coming.

In Sunday's throttling of the Washington Redskins, Belichick purposely displayed the potential of his young tight ends and determined that Watson wasn't a big enough upgrade over what he already has on the roster. Some of that probably has to do with the fact that Watson is nearing forty years of age, but it's mostly because Belichick has already accepted the fact that the position could no longer be the focus of his offense and has morphed it into a different entity - and has methodically been preparing for that eventuality over the past few seasons.

Talking heads have been bemoaning Belichick's supposed lack of foresight in the matter, but the truth is that Belichick saw that Gronkowski's career was on the downswing due to injury and that someone was eventually going to overpay for Allen's services in free agency - and since there is no replacing Gronkowski's beastly presence anyway, he simply shifted his focus away from the position.

Youngsters Ryan Izzo and Matt LaCosse are raw, but have expanded their skill set under Belichick's tutelage. Izzo, in particular, has flashed playmaking ability and a desire for run blocking - he's not there yet, but Belichick sees the potential in him and determined that he wanted Izzo's potential over Watson's. Same with LaCosse, who put up some numbers in Denver last season.

So in addition to Izzo and LaCosse, the Patriots have Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, Phillip Dorsett and Jacoby Meyers at receiver, and Sony Michel, Rex Burkhead, James White, Brandon Bolden, Damien Harris and Jakob Johnson at running back. The four receivers are standard brand for the roster count, but the Patriots employ more running backs than any other team in the league - and that's for a reason.

Belichick has always said that the passing game is an extension of his running game, and given that the backfield population handles the ball on seven of every ten snaps - not to mention their excellence in the pattern - the running backs bring everything the team needs to be successful on offense.

Especially since offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has finally started calling Michel's number in the passing game, even splitting him out wide against the Redskins.

That is a staple of the Patriots' offense. White is one of the best receivers in the NFL regardless of position and he is regularly split wide or in the slot. Burkhead sees the slot at times and we saw last week that Bolden can play on the perimeter, catching a 30-yard scoring strike from Brady.

Hell, if McDaniels really wanted to, he could populate the offense in a five-wide formation with young veteran running backs and still keep a back in to block or take a handoff on the draw. That is unrealistic, given the talent at receiver, but whenever you see that five-wide stretch, there is invariably a back or two among the five.

Many are speculating that Watson was released to free up his cap dollars, which total around $2 million, in order to trade for a receiver. That may be, but then again, it may not. It is entirely possible that Belichick is saving up his cap dollars in order to have some flexibility when rookie pass catcher N'Keal Harry and left tackle are ready to come off  IR in a few weeks, which will give them yet another receiver and protection for quarterback Tom Brady's blind side.

Bottom line, the media and the fans are desperate, not Belichick. Media and the fans are reading between the lines when Brady speaks, and take his words as meaning that he's frustrated with a lack of options in the passing games. Maybe they will trade for a receiver before the trade deadline, but even if they do, it would just be gravy for their mashed potatoes.

That said, the Patriots are fine.

Michel Finds Hands, Legs in Patriots' Rout of Redskins

"The media is blaming the offensive line, but it's your play calling and the improper utilization of your backs that should be blamed. If you are not going to use Michel in the passing game, why continue to let him run into a brick wall seventeen times a game?Either include him in the passing game, or bench him. Those are your options."

Chatty letter to Josh McDaniels - Foxborough Free Press, 2 October, 2019

The New England Patriots experienced two things on Sunday that had not occurred yet this season.

The first thing was falling behind on the scoreboard, something that not only had not occurred this season, but also had not reared it's ugly head since the fourth quarter of last season's AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs...

The second and most important occurrence was that running back Sony Michel actually contributed in the passing game.

The Patriots fell behind the host Washington Redskins on Sunday afternoon at FedEx Field with just over nine minutes remaining in the first quarter on a beautifully designed end-around play that featured no less than three broken tackles along the way and instantly became to longest play from scrimmage surrendered by New England in the 2019 season by a huge stretch...

Michel runs to paydirt against Washington

...producing a lead that the Patriots' offense wasn't able to overcome until early in the second stanza. Actually, the Patriots took the ensuing kickoff and marched right down the field to score a touchdown of their own, but missed the opportunity to completely erase the deficit when newly-signed kicker Mike Nugent shanked the extra point, causing rude grumblings among Patriots' fans.

Nugent made up for his gaffe by hitting the rest of the extra points he attempted and both of his field goal attempts to likely maintain his tenuous status on the roster as the injured Stephen Gostkowski's replacement - but while Patriots' fans are breathing a sigh of relief on Nugent's performance, it pales in comparison to Michel's accomplishments in the Patriots' passing game.

Michel caught only three passes in as many targets for 33 yards against the Redskins, but his inclusion in the passing game had a major residual effect on the performance of New England's offensive attack.

In the 2018 season, a trend emerged that focused on the fact that in eight out of every ten snaps that Michel was on the field, the Patriots ran the ball, and ran it successfully, but this offseason New England suffered a debilitating amount of attrition that affected the quality of their run blocking...

...losing left tackle Trent Brown and tight end Dwayne Allen to free agency and All-World tight end Rob Gronkowski to retirement, then losing center David Andrews in the preseason and fullback James Develin in their second contest of the regular season - a series of misfortune that seriously impacted the running game, especially with Michel in the lineup as opposing defenses stacked the box against him.

Mostly because Michel wasn't considered a threat in the passing game, so he faced clogged running lanes that ordinarily wouldn't have been an issue, were it not for all of the Patriots' losses along the line. By comparison, running backs James White and Rex Burkhead often found running room when they populated the backfield, both averaging almost double the yards per carry that Michel had.

This isn't coincidence, as both White and Burkhead are major threats in the passing game, so opposing defenses didn't dare stack the box against them in fear of leaving them uncovered in the flat.

So offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels decided to include Michel in the passing game early in the contest with the Redskins, catching two passes for 26 yards in the first half as part of a game plan that saw quarterback Tom Brady drop back to pass 12 times in the first 14 scripted plays to start the game...

...also targeting seldom-used tight ends Ryan Izzo and Matt Lacosse, adding diversity to what had been a predictable attack, and the results were everything we thought the Patriots should be, as New England scored 33 unanswered points after spotting the Redskins the fluke touchdown run, running their undefeated record to 5-0 with an awesome second half assault that blew Washington out of their own building and cost their head coach his job.

The impact of targeting Michel in the passing game cannot be overstated. as the ploy opened up his running lanes to the tune of 91 yards on just 16 carries, including a 15 yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Leading just 12-9 at halftime but appearing to be on the verge of breaking out into to something very proper, Michel and the Patriots opened up the second half by scoring on long drives of 75, 88 and 58 yards to break the game open, all the while the Patriots' defense completely shutting down the Redskins' anemic offense.

After allowing the long touchdown run and moderate success to Washington on a few other first half drives, New England's defense allowed just 92 yards in the final two quarters, forcing five straight punts and allowing the Redskins to cross midfield only twice, never to penetrate further than the New England 47 yard line.

In fact, if one were to eliminate the 65 yard touchdown run and the yardage gained in garbage time at the end of the game, New England's defense allowed just 132 yards on the day. As it was, Washington's quarterback Colt McCoy passed for only 70 net yards, while the Redskins' running game put together decent stats in going for 145 yards on 20 carries...

...but when eliminating the aforementioned touchdown run and garbage time when New England was in pure prevent mode, their total was a more reasonable 57 yards on 15 carries.

In all, the Patriots' defense held Washington to 1 of 11 on third down, forcing ten punts and causing turnovers on two more possessions and collected six sacks, helping them hold onto the league lead in points per game, yards per game, third down efficiency, sacks, and a myriad of other statistics that make them the best defense in the NFL by a wide margin.

The offense is still a work in progress, with "progress" being the key word.

Brady had a decent day throwing the ball, completing 28 of 42 passes for 348 yards and three scores, but another red zone interception while trying to force a ball to White at the goal line left a puzzling black smudge in his performance and marking the second consecutive game when an interception deep in enemy territory ended potential scoring drives.

Wide receiver Julian Edelman enjoyed his best day of the season with eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown, White coming in next with six catches for 46 yards to go with 26 yards on six carries on the ground and Josh Gordon chipping in with 59 tough yards on five catches.

The lone down note, with the exception of Brady's red zone gaffe, was that he was sacked four times and suffered an immense amount of pressure on a dozen other drop backs, three of those sacks and most of the pressures coming in the first half, while the Patriots attempted to incorporate Michel and the tight ends in the passing game.

But the second half was all Patriots, much of their success thanks to McDaniels for finally flashing Michel in the passing game which opened running lanes and decreased the pressure Brady felt in the process.

Noe the Patriots have a short week in which to build upon their new-found philosophy, as they host the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium before a national television audience on Thursday night.

Patriots Place Gostkowski On Injured/Reserved List

Being a place kicker in football is akin to being a professional golfer, so far as mechanics are involved. The swing of a leg, the swing of a club, there is really no difference. Hook, fade, both practice their trade for years before emerging from the pack to become professionals.

Both must be physically sound to invoke their craft, as one defect in their physiology can throw off those mechanics, causing inaccuracy. Just ask Tiger Woods, who was the best golfer that many of us have ever seen, but knee and back issues robbed him of his edge, and he slid back into the pack.

New England Patriots' place kicker Stephen Gostkowski, the best, most accurate kicker in team history began this 2019 NFL season by missing four extra point attempts in as many games, pushing each of those misses to his right, much like a golfer would when attempting to fade a shot from the rough at a right angle.

And those all came from the left hash. So to push a ball that far to the right on a regular basis meant either rookie punter Jake Bailey was defective on his holds or Gostkowski's mechanics were being thrown off by some malady.

Never before had Gostkowski missed that many extra point attempts in a season, let alone in a quarter of a season, and he took many brutal shots to his position, with the media writing the eulogy to his career, never bothering to find out if he was injured in some manner - because it doesn't matter.

In the football arena, nothing matters but doing one's job and doing it right. It's a harsh, very impersonal reality, but if the entire purpose of playing football is to win, there are no excuses for not winning. If a player cannot perform his job well enough to win, then he shouldn't be playing.

Gostkowski was apparently working through a hip injury to his plant leg when, during the game at Buffalo, he zigged when a kick returner zagged on a kickoff return, leaving him prone on the carpet, his injury now exasperated enough for head ball coach Bill Belichick to call in five free agent kickers for harried auditions and to place the Patriots' all-time leading scorer on the shelf...

...settling on former Oakland Raider kicker Mike Nugent to stem the tide for the rest of the season while Gostkowski undergoes the knife.

It remains to be seen if the kicker that his Patriots' teammates affectionately call "Meat" will be able to make a comeback next season at age 37, his left hip now invaded by surgical tools. If not, count on New England to entertain kickers through the draft process and free agency.

Chatty Letter To Josh McDaniels

Dear Josh,

Hey, me again! I'm starting to get the idea that you're never going to reply to my repeated correspondence, and since the authorities haven't shown up at my door to arrest me on charges of harassment, I have to assume that either you lost your Gal Friday or you shitcan my letters as soon as you see the postmark...

I don't need your acknowledgement, but would it kill you to pick up a pen and demand that I stop writing to you? At least call me a son of a bitch and threaten me with legal action, up to and including a cease and desist order. At least then I'll know that I'm not wasting my time.

Which is ok in anyway, because these evil things are very therapeutic for me to write - you know, to kind of get things off my chest. I do so for many things in my life, and the subject I've chosen for today is football, mostly because that game against Buffalo on Sunday brought back so not-so-fond memories of the 2015 AFC Championship game...

...a frustrating end to that season in which the Denver Broncos advanced to the Super Bowl after beating your Patriots, only to be annihilated by the Seattle Seahawks for the World Title.

I'm sure you remember. You had to game plan for the Broncos without any healthy receivers and without a lead running back to take some of the pressure off of Tom Brady - and despite Brady having only a bunch of retreads and walk-ons to throw at and despite having no running game, you almost pulled that game out of your magic hat.

It was ugly, but the Patriots' defense rose to the occasion to keep the score close, and had your boss chosen to kick field goals in three consecutive drives into the Bronco's red zone in the fourth quarter instead of going for it on fourth and short on each drive, it would have been your Patriots playing the Seahawks two weeks later.

That's a story for another time - but what brought back these memories was the way your offense looked bogged down and incapable against the Bills last Sunday, much as they did in that AFC title tilt five years ago. There certainly wasn't as much on the line against the Bills as there was back then, and you managed to pull that rabbit out of your hat with much assistance from the defense and special teams.

Brady had a better chance of completing a pass at a cheerleader than to one of his receivers, throwing balls high and low and trying to force balls into double coverages down the field, and the few that actually found their intended targets were subject to finding the turf anyway, as his normally reliable pass catchers collectively developed a case of the dropsies.

The Boston media is pointing to this performance as an "I told you so" moment, in that they've been bemoaning Brady's pass-catching corps as being inadequate since the start of training camp - which is bullshit, of course, because Brady has plenty of trustworthy help in the pattern, with names like Edelman, Gordon and Dorsett as well as an elite checkdown option in running back James White.

White led the Patriots in both targets and yardage through the air, which we've both seen before in games that really mattered, and which leads me to believe that you thought that the matchup between White and the Bills' linebackers could be exploited as a way to open up the patterns for the wide receivers.

It didn't, but the thought was well received. White is a matchup nightmare against most linebackers, but with your running game being an afterthought and combined with the aggressive approach of the Bills' defense against your receivers, Buffalo was able to shut down your offense.

White caught eight balls and accounted for a full one-third of your passing production, which isn't necessarily a new thing as your backs handle the ball on about 70% of the offensive snaps anyway - and that brings me to the point of this latest correspondence.

Your running backs are capable of so much more than what we've seen thus far in 2019, and the way they are being used is really limiting your offense. And it's your fault.

Where was Rex Burkhead? Why hasn't Sony Michel been targeted in the passing game despite your incessant assertion that he would become more involved? Why does rookie runner Damien Harris continue to be inactive?

In case you haven't noticed, every defense you've faced thus far has bought into the fact that Michel is so one-dimensional that they can stack the box when he is in the backfield to stop the run, then concentrate on blanketing your receivers when he's not - and then when Burkhead sees only a handful of offensive snaps when he could be countering that trend, it makes me wonder if you are trying to just take what the defense gives you instead of you dictating to them.

Very passive game plan, vanilla you might say, as if you were trying to use the Buffalo game to get Michel going in the right direction, but all it did for me was to further strengthen my opinion that continuing to feed Michel when the defense knows he's getting the ball can't be an oversight, rather, it is undue arrogance on your part.

Look, Michel is a fine runner and he brought a spark to the running game last season that had been missing for at least a decade, and he was able to pop off about four-and-a-half yards per carry, and performed even better in the playoffs - but that was with a healthy offensive line, a violently-intentioned fullback- and with two tight ends who brought the wood in run blocking.

I hate to tell you this, but you don't have those things right now. The media is blaming the offensive line, but it your play calling and the improper utilization of your backs that should be blamed. If you are not going to use Michel in the passing game, why continue to let him run into a brick wall seventeen times a game?

Either include him in the passing game, or bench him. Those are your options.

You are using backups at left tackle and at the pivot, and while their pass protection is evolving as a whole, their run blocking with Michel in the backfield looks more like pass blocking, as the opposition are penetrating and pushing them backwards, forming a pocket and re-establishing the line of scrimmage three yards deep in the backfield.

You know better than I why this is happening. You know that Michel's single contribution to the offense is in running the ball, and without at least flashing him in the pattern, you have no way of keeping the defenses you face from stacking the box against him, hence the 2.4 yards per carry.

Burkhead is averaging 4.7 yards per carry, and White an even five, but this is because both of those guys are a threat to catch passes out of the backfield, so defenses are forced to go lighter in the box in respect for their route running and pass catching abilities.

This is not a coincidence. As much as watching your unit running the ball successfully, even when the defense knows it's coming, warms my heart. The sad fact is that the personnel you have at this point just can't pull that off - but you have the capability and personnel to go about this another way, you can be aggressive and dictate to the opposing defense with what you do have...

...and it all starts with how you deploy your running backs.

First, it's time to give Harris some snaps, and you can't do that while he's sitting in the booth wearing street clothes. Harris is a hybrid of White, Michel and Burkhead and could become your most enticing weapon. I'm just spitballing here, but I'm going to assume you kept him on the roster for a reason, and that reason is that the kid is a beast between the tackles and fluid in the pattern.

We all saw it in preseason. Granted, that was against defenses that were playing their second and third lines, but Harris dominated them. He came from a school that produces NFL-ready prospects, a school that boasts more alumni in starting positions than any other school in the country.

Harris split time at Alabama with now-Oakland Raider lead back Josh Jacobs, and ran just as effectively - and is one of only eight running backs in the history of that powerhouse to accumulate over 3,000 rushing yards in his collegiate career, practically mirroring what James White did while in a committee backfield with Melvin Gordon at Wisconsin.

Same with Burkhead at Nebraska. I'm assuming that you collected these backs because in your offense, the short passing game is used as an extension of the running game. Hell, even Brandon Bolden possesses those traits.

You don't see defenses stacking the box against any of them, with the exception of in short-yardage situations, and even then the defense is on alert in case White or Burkhead peel off and wheel out into the flat, because they are both just as dangerous in the pattern as they are between the tackles - perhaps more so.

Am I making any sense here, Josh?

Tom Brady may be frustrated with his lack of receiving options, but if he's looking for better production from the passing game, all he needs to do is look to his running backs to fill the void. White and Burkhead can both split wide, both can operate from the slot and both are adept at wiggling through the maw on screens.

Why are they not being incorporated into the game plan like this? You know better than I that if you split those two out wide, they take linebackers with them which - surprise! - lightens the box and takes away designed blitzes that get into Brady's grill, not to mention that bringing them back in motion puts those same linebackers back on their heels, not being able to anchor against the run.

Now, it could be that you are trying to coast through the cupcake portion of your schedule, serving opposing defenses vanilla creamer in their coffee and waiting until you hit the meat of your schedule to break out the hard stuff - and if that's the case, I apologize for my rant.

That would make a lot of sense, actually. I guess I'm just trying to remind you that people are watching and people genuinely care.

Best wishes,

Mike

Van Noy Named AFC Defensive Player Of The Week

"...linebacker Jamie Collins ended any chance Buffalo had of overtaking New England with his third pick of the season, a fluttering butterfly caused by linebacker Kyle Van Noy's pressure of Bills' quarterback Matt Barkley that landed right in Collins' waiting hands.

Van Noy was the most productive and visible of the Patriots' stoppers on the day, logging two sacks among his eight tackles and three quarterback hits, While Collins, John Simon and rookie Chase Winovich collected the other three sacks."

Foxborough Free Press - 1 October, 2019

New England Patriots' linebacker Kyle Van Noy has been named the AFC's Defensive Player of the Week for his game-saving performance in the Patriots' 16-10 victory over the upstart Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

In truth, Van Noy was not the only Patriots' candidate for the award, as cornerback J. C. Jackson picked off two Buffalo passes and also blocked a punt that special teams gunner Matthew Slater returned for a touchdown, and linebacker Jamie Collins collected a sack to go along with five tackles, three quarterback hits and an interception which secured New England's fourth victory in as many tries.

But Van Noy outdistanced his teammates by forcing the errant throw that Collins hauled in on his third, and last, quarterback hit, and his two sacks were apparently enough to trump Jackson's athletic thefts.

In his sixth season out of Brigham Young University and in his third season with the Patriots, Van Noy has produced a literal highlight reel of defensive stops, particularly late last season when he dominated folks in the playoffs - including Super Bowl 53 in which he almost single-handedly wrecked the Los Angeles Rams' high octane offensive attack.

The award is the first of Van Noy's career and comes on the heels of rookie punter Jake Baliey's AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his impressive launches against the New York Jets last Sunday.

Defense, Special Teams Carry Patriots To Win In Buffalo

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots' offense had a miserable time of it on Sunday afternoon in Orchard Park, New York - but that's ok.

In seasons past, a bad game out of Brady may have been the death knell for the Patriots, who have leaned on the future Hall of Fame quarterback for the past two decades to bail them out of tough spots - but this year the roles appear to be reversed as New England's defense has caused opposing signal callers to have performances just as bad...

...and on Sunday afternoon the trend continued, the defense forcing four turnovers and sacking Buffalo Bills' quarterbacks five times as the Patriots, ran their undefeated record to 4-0 in a 16-10 victory over Buffalo at New Era Stadium.

Patriots' Jackson (27) blocks a punt in the first quarter

But so poor was the offensive attack for the Patriots that their top-ranked defense also needed a big-time assist from their special teams to pull out a win.

Cornerback J.C. Jackson blocked a punt deep in Buffalo territory, which star special-teamer Matthew Slater picked up and returned for a score to provide what proved to be the winning points, and punter Jake Bailey consistently flipped field position to bail out the bogged-down offense with long, booming kicks that forced the Bills to drive the length of the field to acquire points.

Bailey's rocket launcher of a right leg is not only quickly becoming the stuff of Patriots' lore, but has proven to be a legitimate weapon in the field position battle, seemingly defying the laws of gravity and sending footballs into orbit, coming back to earth only after his kick coverage crew has had time to converge on the ball's landing zone...

With their elite defense and special teams leading the way, no longer are the Patriots as reliant on Brady's performances as in times past - and good thing, because he and the offense appear to be mired in a funk that has rendered their running game moot, their passing game erratic and the scorekeeper in a Rasputin-like trance.

And while the Buffalo defense had something to do with holding down New England's offense to just ten points on the day, the bulk of the Patriots' problems were self-imposed.

Brady completed just 18 of 39 throws for a pedestrian 150 yards, missing high and low, intentionally grounding balls and throwing a momentum-killing interception from the Buffalo two-yard line that was so easy for Bills' safety Micah Hyde to catch that it wouldn't have been any easier to simply hand the ball to him.

Had the ball found a Patriots' receiver instead of the Bills' defender, it would have given New England a three-score lead and essentially ended the game for all intents and purposes, but instead the interception had an adverse effect on the offense and inspired the Buffalo defenders.

Hyde's second quarter end zone pick put a cap on the Patriots' best drive of the afternoon, a classic Brady-led possession that covered 75 yards in 16 plays and kept the Bills' defense on the field for over eight minutes of clock time, but ultimately served to shift the momentum away from New England's offense, which managed only 76 yards the rest of the way, Bailey punting the Patriots out of trouble six times in that span with his moon shots.

In fact, were it not for the elite special teams' play, the Patriots would have ended up with their first loss of the season.

New England drew first blood on a seven-play, fifty-yard drive, running back Brandon Bolden scoring on a four-yard scamper to the perimeter, but only able to put up six points as kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed his fourth extra point in as many games. The Patriots' defense rose up and stopped the Bills on their ensuing drive, Jackson sprinting in from the left side to block Corey Bojorquez' punt from the Buffalo 14...

...Slater scooping it up and running it into the end zone. Gostkowski hit the extra point to give New England a 13-0 lead and all of the momentum.

Three possessions later, that momentum evaporated with Hyde's end zone pick of Brady, and by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Patriots were in a dog fight with just a three-point cushion - but the stratospheric bombs from Bailey combined with a larcenous defense were enough to hold off the Bills' offense the rest of the way.

The defensive thievery started with a Devin McCourty interception in the first quarter, and continued on a leaping Jackson theft in the second and then a toe-dragging job in the third - then linebacker Jamie Collins ended any chance Buffalo had of overtaking New England with his third pick of the season, a fluttering butterfly caused by linebacker Kyle Van Noy's pressure of Bills' quarterback Matt Barkley that landed right in Collins' waiting hands.

Van Noy was the most productive and visible of the Patriots' stoppers on the day, logging two sacks among his eight tackles and three quarterback hits, While Collins, John Simon and rookie Chase Winovich collected the other three sacks.

In the end, and despite surrendering their first touchdown of the season, the New England stoppers still rank tops in the league in total defense and in scoring defense, opponents scoring just over a field goal per game, but the offense took a step in the wrong direction with Brady's misfires, his receivers dropping many of the balls that did make it to their hands, and with their running game stuck in neutral.

Fortunately, the Patriots have time to correct their offensive woes with games against the lowly Washington Redskins on tap next Sunday, followed by the New York Giants in a Thursday night tilt and the erratic New York Jets the following Monday night - and they'd better figure it out by then, with a visit from the Cleveland Browns and a trip to Baltimore looming before the Patriots' bye week in early November...

...a point in the season in which head ball coach Bill Belichick traditionally has his charges playing at their best - and they need to be with games at Philadelphia and Houston coupled with home games against Dallas and the mighty Kansas City Chiefs completing a brutal stretch against top shelf defensive units.

If they can't figure it out, the Patriots always have their defense to ride and an inspired special teams to help them out.

Brady is still a great player at age 42, and with the old mantra that goes "great players aren't great all the time; but are great when they need to be" on the table, Patriots' fans can rest assured that he will come through in the clutch like he always does.

Well, almost always.