Patriots offense wasn't that bad against the Jets
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| Mark L. Baer, USA TODAY Sports |
There's no doubt the offense could have played better against the Jets. There were a handful of punts, drops, questionable play calls, and other mistakes that inhibited them. That being said, it wasn't that bad. 27 points is 27 points. Rather, I think the opponent and the expectations made the performance appear to be worse than it really was.
The Patriots put up 43 and 37, respectively, in weeks 5 and 6. Those points came against solid defenses in Cincinnati and Buffalo. Heading into week 7 against the Jets, deep down I think we were all anticipating a blow out win, even though all the talk was "Jets games are always tough" and other comments along those lines.
Why is there that part of you that expects a blowout? Well first of all it, the Jets are the Jets, and the offense was finally coming into form, so this week set up perfectly for absolute domination of an inferior opponent.
The Jets are bad, but not as bad as we think. Besides the 31-0 loss at the hands of the Chargers, they've had a chance to win every game they've played. As a matter of fact (this will make fans feel better), the Patriots scored more points on offense against the Jets than the "all-world" Broncos offense did (Broncos scored a defensive touchdown at the end of the game to make it 31 points).
I know one thing is for sure, the Patriots offense has turned the corner. In the beginning of the year, we would have been happy if they scored more than 20. It was only a matter of time before the media went back to normal, expecting the Patriots to put up at least 30 a game. If they didn't, then they probably struggled. There was no way we could ever remain content with the Patriots putting up less than 30 points on a consistent basis. 30+ points or bust.
Sarcasm aside, at the end of the day, the Patriots had a solid performance. It wasn't perfect, but you can't expect them to score on every drive. The scary thought is that unlike earlier this year, we scored 27 points and we felt like we could have scored way more. That's a nice luxury to have. Nonetheless, let's make sure we keep it in perspective. Sometimes they'll be flawless and score 45 points, and sometimes they'll have to grind out 20.
-Brian Thibodeau
Follow me on Twitter - @b_thibs34
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