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One thing is pretty clear, and it doesn’t take a football savant to figure this out; the Jets don’t have an answer for Rob Gronkowski, and they better find one because his career is just getting started.
He finished the game with eight catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns, and a third TD was overturned because he stepped out of the back fo the end zone.
The trouble started on the third play of the Pats first possession when Gronkowski beat Eric Smith on an out route to the right side. The pass was about a 15-yard strike, and then Gronkowski dragged Smith another six yards. Smith is a very good tackler, but the tight end outweighs him by 58 pounds – you do the math.
Also on the Pats first possession, Chad Ocho Cinco caught a 12-yard pass on the right side. He was uncovered, and would have gone for a lot more yards, but his lost his balance a little and stepped out of bounds.
On the Pats second series, Ocho Cinco once again wasn’t covered, and this time he gained 53 yards. Darrelle Revis came over to help out, but it was too late, and Ocho Cinco was off to the races.
This Pats drive stalled and they had to settle for a field goal, thanks to Donald Strickland. On second-and-ten, Brady threw a pass to Gronkowksi on the short left side, and Strickland broke it up. On the next play, Brady attempted a pass down the deep left side to Danny Woodhead, and Strickland had perfect coverage, and the pass fell incomplete.
Three plays later, Brady threw into the end zone to Branch, and it should have been picked of by Antonio Cromartie, but Wilson crashed into him, and the pass hit the ground. It’s hard to rip Wilson for this – he was just being aggressive, plus, the Pats punted anyway.
On the Pats next drive, a Strickland blitz forced Brady to throw the ball before he wanted to, so he threw a pass way short of the first down and the Pats punted. On the punt, Wilson was called for an illegal block above the waist. This wasn’t one of Kyle’s better games.
The Pats finally went on a TD drive late in the first half – starting with a 12-yard pass to Gronkowski, and then ending with an 18-yard strike to Gronkowski. The TE beat Smith on the TD strike. Also aiding this possession was a 15-yard facemask penalty by Smith on Woodhead. What happened on this penalty was Smith thought Woodhead was staying in to block, and the safety was getting ready to shed him to get to Brady, but then the running back started to go out into a route, Smith was out of position, and ended up grabbing the facemask.
A few plays after the first Rob Ninkovich interception, there was another play where a player was uncovered. Wilson didn’t get out to Branch in time on the right side, and Brady hit the wide open wideout for a gain of 14. A few plays later, Brady hit Gronkowski for a five-yard TD over the short middle. Strickland was on him. Gronkowski has eight inches on Strickland, so it’s so hard to be too critical of Donald on this play.
Kyle Wilson’s tough game continued into the fourth quarter. On the TD drive that made it 30-16, Wilson had two rough plays. Branch beat Wilson on the right side for a gain of 13. This drive ended with Brady hitting Branch for a short gain on the left side. Branch cut inside, Wilson slipped, and Branch got into the end zone.
Alright, that is enough. I don’t want to torture Jets fans anymore, but you get the point – this game was a disaster for the Jets defensive backfield, and Mike Tannenbaum better draft a linebacker with some height and good coverage skills to deal with Gronkowski. The current plan isn’t working.
