Jerry’s back to discuss the Patriots and the collapse of the Yankees.

THE 6-0 PATRIOTS…….is what we should be talking about, and although we would probably be saying it was a deceiving 6-0, it would certainly be a better conversation then the one we’re having now. Losing three games by four points is tough enough to swallow, but when it comes in part because your revamped secondary can’t stop the basic, “just go long”, and your HOF quarterback still needs to have someone explain intentional grounding to him, it’s really tough to take.

I suppose that that the argument can be made that the first two losses were at least in part due to the pretend refs, (no real official would have called Gronkowski for holding on that last TD run in the closing moments of the Cardinals game), but you still come back to the fact that, in each contest, they had significant leads that the ‘D’, could not hold; and that’s just feels like 2011 all over again.

Bill Billichick was to have put together a reliable secondary, led by the rejuvinated Devin McCourty, that was going to lift the Pats defensive up from the bottom of the statistical heap they found themselves in last season. Apparently, he has not. This year’s defense is supposed to not just get them to the Super Bowl, but also make the big plays that will win it. But that has yet to be the case on a consistent basis.

Much of the chatter on the radio waves, post-Seattle, has been very angry in tone, essentially proclaiming the end of the Tom Brady era has we know it. This is in spite of the fact that he threw the ball 58 times for almost 400 yards. But there in seems to lie much of the problem in that the Pats have been much more succussful when Brady throws less and they run more. The Seahawks were able to stop the run and then anticipate and disrupt those short passes to Gronkowski that they’ve become so dependent upon.

Which leads me to my final two questions; why can’t the Patriots manage the clock and the situation at the end of the first half?  What was the big deal about Josh McDaniels? For the seond game in a row they messed up as the clock was winding down and only got a single field goal to show for it. It almost cost them the Denver game, and it helped to cost them the Seattle game. Much was made of McDaniels previous association with the Pats back in ’07 and their impressive offensive output of that season. Maybe I’m missing something, but I’ve yet to see where he’s added that much to the offense and, in fact, had made them predicable at key times.

By the time I finish this and it is posted, I expect that the Jets vs Pats game will be over. I’ve heard many an expert voice predict a 30 point win for New England. I honestly don’t know what to expect. I won’t be shocked if Brady and the offense racks up 30 points, nor will I be surprise if the McCourty and the defense gives up 31. I’m hoping for the best, but I’m not taking any chances. I’m DVR-ing it. (**NOTE: The Patriots did, in fact, beat the Jets. They won a back-and-forth game, 29-26 in Overtime)

SO HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM, APPLES?

I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t enjoy watching the Yankees get swept out of the playoffs in such a messy fashion. It was diminished somewhat by the sight of Jeter being helped off the field, as he is one Yankee they Red Sox Nation has always respected, but it was still satisfying never the less. Much was made in the New York and national press this past Summer about how Sox collapsed financially under the pressure of competing with the Yankees; well apparently the Yankees have collapsed as well. I predicted that New York would not win a champioship this year, but I thought it would be because of their pitching and was suprised by how badly their bats failed.

I also predicted that Yankee Stadium would be shaken to its foundation when that happened, and apparently that has started. Talk about what do to with ARod, Suzuki, Granderson, and Martin is already starting to dominate the press before the WS is even commenced.  In addition, the Mark Teixeria contract is also being questioned as his productivity has fallen.Yes indeed,  It will be an interesting Winter in the ‘Big Apple’. I’m just gald we got to the Dodgers first.

Featured image courtesy of: Seahawks.com