The 2009 Patriots look nothing like the Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli creations that dominated the league for most of this decade. Tom Brady's reconstructed knee has something to do with that, but the complete lack of a defense hasn't helped much, either. Especially in the second half. "This was a problem against the Bills and an insurmountable one against the Jets, who rang up 197 yards and 13 points in the second half to 57 yards and a field goal in the first. Worse, the first two quarterbacks they've faced, Trent Edwards and rookie Mark Sanchez, finished with passer ratings of 114.1 and 101.1. It is unlikely the last game either plays this season will be the Pro Bowl."
That was Ron Borges, who has made a living panning Belichick and the organization, even as they reeled off three Super Bowls in four years. But he actually makes a good point here (hey, it happens). Of course, no Borges column would be complete without getting in a few shots, and this time he targets Randy Moss.
... Randy Moss ... disappeared in a cocoon of coverage spun by Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis.Interesting. The always reserved New York linebacker Bart Scott expressed similar sentiments about Moss' effort against the Jets, and against Revis in particular.
After the game, Moss claimed he was double-covered all day. Revis said he was in man coverage all day. No wonder Moss couldn't get open. He was seeing double.
"[Revis] shut him down. He intimidated him. Randy was coming across that middle real slow. Tell him to man up next time and come across the middle like a man if he wants to be a complete receiver."Always understated, but I think you get the point. Normally, this would be the part where I'd predict the Pats would hang 50 on the Jets the next time they meet (in Foxboro on Nov. 22), but if Brady continues to look hesitant in the pocket, and the defense disappears for long stretches, it could be more of the same.
Which brings me back to this: now that the Patriots have dumped Richard Seymour on the Raiders, can we finally admit that Borges was right about the club's decision to draft Seymour over David Terrell?*
* Joke. But it gives me the opportunity to bring up one of my all-time favorite rants (scroll down a bit), courtesy of Borges days after the 2001 draft:
"On a day when they could have had impact players David Terrell or Koren Robinson or the second-best tackle in the draft in Kenyatta Walker, they took Georgia defensive tackle Richard Seymour, who had 1 sack last season in the pass-happy SEC and is too tall to play tackle at 6-6 and too slow to play defensive end. This genius move was followed by trading out of a spot where they could have gotten the last decent receiver in Robert Ferguson and settled for tackle Matt Light, who will not help any time soon."Lord have mercy.
