Same Old, Same Old

 In a close game one or two plays can change everything. That is exactly what happened to the
New York Jets in their 22-17 loss to their AFC East rival New England Patriots. It wasn’t the Pats blocking the Jets field goal attempt. It wasn’t Mo Wilkerson going off sides on a Patriots 4^th and 1. It wasn’t even Tom Brady fumbling the football, gaining control and then throwing a touchdown pass. With 9:59 to go in the second quarter and the Jets leading 10-3, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a pass to Robby Anderson at midfield for a  big gain. Unfortunately Anderson got the ball punched out of his hands for a fumble and the Pats not only recover but they score a touchdown 7 plays later on a pass to Malcolm Mitchell in front of future Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis. Every game it seems there are plays like this one that the Jets bury themselves. If Anderson had held onto the ball and the Jets ended up scoring a touchdown, it is still no guarantee they win today but the chances would have been much better than they were. Tom Brady was not real sharp until the 4^th quarter. Ryan Fitzpatrick had a good game.
  The Jets opened the scoring on a 51-yard field goal by Nick Folk. Brandon Marshall made 2 nice catches on the drive. At the end of the first quarter the Jets had a nice drive going that ended with a beautiful 1-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall on the first play of the second quarter.  The highlight of the drive was a great pass and catch to Quincy Enunwa, the Jets best player this year for 40-yards. Bilal Powell had a few nice runs including a direct snap for 6-yards.The Patriots scored their first points on a 28-yards field goal by Gostkowski. On the drive the Pats tried a kind of flea flicker with a pass by Brady behind him to Hogan who threw it deep to Mitchell. The pass was incomplete but  pass interference on the Jet's Darryl Roberts continued the drive. The Patriots scored their touchdown after the Robby Anderson fumble on the pass to Mitchell. At half time it was 10-10. In the first half the Jets were doing a good job pressuring Brady especially in the first quarter. Leonard Williams had a good game. I’m not sure where the Jets pass rush went in the second half. Talk about an underachieving unit. One bothersome special teams play was on a punt that hit Buster Skrine down field that the Jets recovered. The New York Jets special teams unit is an adventure every game. Can’t we get Mike Westoff back?

  In the third quarter the Patriots had the only score with a 29-yard field goal. The Pats had gone 12 plays eating up 5:21 off the clock. During the drive Mo Wilkerson had one of his typical neutral zone infractions. The Jets had a good drive going but were stopped and Edwards punted. On the drive Fitz had one of his gutsy runs for a first down going head first. Ryan Fitzpatrick is having an awful year but give him credit, he never stops competing and is one of the toughest quarterbacks you will ever see with very limited talent.

  The Jets went back ahead on an incredible catch by Enunwa in the right corner of the end zone that wasn’t called a touchdown until the Jets challenged. If the Jets had 22 players like Quincy Enunwa, they would be in every game. He is not afraid of anything and looks like he will extend his body even if he is headed into the crater of a volcano. He had 5 catches for 109 yards with a touchdown. He is the Jets MVP this year.

  Typically Tom Brady led his team down the field for the winning touchdown on an 8-yards pass to Mitchell (again) in front of Revis. It was over when Fitzpatrick was strip sacked  with 1:51 to go. On the Patriots final drive, the Jets needed someone to come up big like the Pats did on the sack. Say what you will about the Jets defensive line, Revis or Harris but they, nor anyone else can come up with a big play. The Jets do not have play makers on both sides of the ball. Enunwa may be the closest the Jets have but they have to do better. Great quarterbacks will make their teammates look and play better but the Jets are missing that someone.

  Give Todd Bowles credit, he had 2 good challenges. One in the first quarter on a spot and the Enunwa touchdown. But the Jets still make too many mistakes that reflect the coach. The Patriots had 2 penalties for 15-yards. The Jets, 6 for 66-yards. Way too undisciplined.

Green Tidbits:

….Revis is becoming embarrassing….Bilal Powell missed a sure short pass but I still think he is better than Forte….Until the strip sack, the Jets offensive line did a good job with protecting Fitz….Brandon Marshall started out on fire but slowed down as game went on. His TD catch was beautiful….Darron Lee made some nice plays but got caught up on a 3^rd down crossing pattern….Now that we are out of it, can we invade some other teams practice squads? How about some offensive linemen….Good to see Jalin Marshall not returning punts….Even with that game changing fumble, I sill like Robby Anderson’s talent….Never have I received so many e-mails and texts from old time Jet fans today, not just giving up on the season but on the team….

@GreenRewind



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