Unconventional Preview: Patriots still have something to play for against Jets
Mission is simple on Saturday for AFC East champs: Win, and stay healthy.
COMMENTARY
Welcome to Season 5, Episode 15 of the Unconventional Preview, a serious-but-lighthearted, occasionally nostalgia-tinted look at the Patriots’ weekly matchup that runs right here every weekend.
Have to admit, I’m really curious to see the ratings for this one — a Saturday afternoon Patriots-Jets matchup on Christmas Eve. It’s two big NFL television markets, but hardly a big game, with the Jets in the middle of their annual rite of playing out the December string and the Patriots having already clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs with two games remaining. If there’s one game Patriots fans might miss — or put on as background noise, at the least — it’s probably this one, though next week’s Dolphins game could be an even more suspense-free scenario.
A lot has happened since the Jets gave the Patriots a decent bout a month ago, with New England escaping with a 22-17 victory. The Patriots have found their aggressiveness and enthusiasm on defense and have won all three games since, even without injured superstar Rob Gronkowski. The Jets? They have flown south for the rest of winter, having lost 2 of 3 since to drop to 4-10. A season that was supposed to have some promise ends with the quest to figure out if Bryce Petty can be a decent quarterback and whether Todd Bowles deserves to return as coach. The answer, as they probably already suspect, is likely no for both.
That’s not to say this one doesn’t matter in some regard, though. The Patriots can clinch the top seed in the AFC and home-field advantage with a win and a tie or loss by the Raiders. So there’s that. And given that the last seven Patriots-Jets games have been decided by 7 points or fewer, there is some suspense as to whether New England will cover that two-touchdown spread.
Kick it off, Gostkowski, and let’s get this one started (and finished) . . .
THREE PLAYERS I’LL BE WATCHING NOT NAMED TOM BRADY
Trey Flowers: When I tweeted the other day the basic factual observation that over the last eight weeks, the second-year defensive end has more sacks than expatriate Chandler Jones (7 to 3), I got buried in jargon-heavy gobbledygook correspondence from the Pro Football Focus disciples saying it’s not a fair comparison, because they play different positions and have different roles and so on. Which is swell. Also: Flowers has more sacks than Jones over the last eight weeks, by a 7-3 margin! Given that the Patriots’ pass rush was a concern until recently, and there was much hand-wringing over the Jones trade, I don’t really care whether Flowers’s sacks are coming up the middle, off the edge, or if he’s using a flippin’ drone to get to the quarterback. He’s doing it. They’re doing it. And that’s what matters. And with contributions from the rejuvenated Jabaal Sheard, Chris Long, and Rob Ninkovich lately, I don’t think the Patriots miss Jones at all. Further: the trade with the Cardinals, in which they turned a free-agent-to-be pass rusher into a super-promising rookie receiver (Malcolm Mitchell) and a guard who has missed one snap all season on a revamped and improved line (Joe Thuney), is going to be regarded as a steal in the long run. Some of us might even consider it as such already.
Brandon Marshall: When asked this week about the possibility of playing for the Patriots someday — a possibility that seems wholly based in a reporter’s need for a story on a slow day — Marshall, recently named the Jets’ media good guy of the year presumably in part for his willingness to participate in such hypothetical whimsy, acknowledged that it was “intriguing” but that he doesn’t want to be a rental player. Considering that he’s played 11 years in the NFL and his career number of playoff games played remains at zero, it might be time to try a different approach. Marshall has had his moments against the Patriots through the years — he has 854 career receiving yards in 11 games against them, his most against any opponent. But his production is way down this season (he needs 742 yards and 11 touchdowns over the final two weeks to match his totals from a year ago), and I’m not sure given his history that even at his peak he would have been a player Bill Belichick would consider bringing in.
Kyle Van Noy: In five games since the former second-round pick came over to the Patriots from the Lions in October, the rangy linebacker has 20 tackles, a sack, an interception, a forced fumble, and two passes defensed. Not spectacular numbers, but useful ones, and like linebacker/extra-point swatter/guard-for-a-play Shea McClellin, he seems to be contributing more noticeably — and impressively — as the season goes on. I think the Patriots have something here, and I imagine Saturday will be a good opportunity to get a look at Van Noy and some other rising role players.
GRIEVANCE OF THE WEEK
I’m typically not big on airing grievances during the holidays. As Seinfeld taught us, that’s the traditional time for others to do it. I like to zig when others zag, you know.
But there is a pretty obvious one this week that I feel obligated to touch on. I won’t get too deep into the Michael Floyd DUI situation, because Ben Volin said pretty much everything I’d say here.
So, just a few points beyond that. I don’t have an issue with the Patriots bringing him in (it’s a peek into how much value they put on a comp pick more than anything else). He’s a talented player. Maybe he’ll help. And he probably won’t be here long either way.
But it’s pretty clear Floyd needs help. He blew a .217 on the breathalyzer during his drunken driving incident (or drunken sleeping-at-a-stoplight incident, as it turned out), which is low for a batting average but off-the-charts in terms of drunkenness.
He has a history with alcohol-related incidents going back to college, and it’s naïve to believe this is the first time he drove a car at blackout-hammered levels. The first time you’re caught is rarely the first time you did it.
I’d like to be encouraged about the kid, but I haven’t seen or heard much reason for it. Floyd doesn’t exactly sound accountable or contrite, either. I hope while he’s here he gets the help he needs, but first he needs to admit that he needs help. In the meantime, here’s hoping the Patriots have assigned him a driver for all occasions.
PREDICTION, OR IS THIS THE LAST CHANCE TO SEE DARRELLE REVIS BEFORE HE BECOMES A BACKUP SAFETY FOR THE RAVENS NEXT YEAR?
A satisfying Saturday for the Patriots? Simple. Earn a victory, lock up that top seed, see continued progress by the defense, remain healthy in all key areas, and be home well before Santa’s arrival. Doesn’t seem like too much to ask. Merry Christmas and happy holidays, sports fans. Here’s to 13-2 and beyond. Ho ho ho.
Patriots 37, Jets 7.
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