Here are 10 things we learned this weekend, particularly on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium:
1. Laurence Maroney is back.
In fact, I may be downplaying this. He might be better than ever, or least looking a lot like he did his first month of his rookie season when he averaged 4.9 yards per carry, and that’s including a game with 18 yards on 12 carries. He looks powerful, as was evidenced by his 1-yard touchdown run in which he plowed over a Jaguars linebacker. He did the same thing two weeks earlier against the Giants … twice. This changes everything on offense, allowing the receivers a little bigger cushion on the short to mid-range passes. I realize they are not piling up points, but he virtually makes the Pats offense unstoppable.
2. Tom Brady is the best player in the league.
Alright, I realize we already knew it, but he put another of a long list of exclamation marks on that fact again on Saturday night. With a little luck he would have been 28-for-28. Anyway, it may have been the best playoff performance ever. He didn’t throw the ball long to Randy Moss, but
3. Randy Moss can accept being a high-priced decoy.
If you’re still waiting for this guy to blow a gasket, quit holding your breath. It ain’t happening. Moss had only one catch, but it was a big one, on 4th-and-5, a 14-yard pass to the Jaguars 26, setting up the tying score. He was as instrumental as Laurence Maroney was as he drew double coverage on nearly every play, and apparently saw triple coverage on at least three runs deep (Brady threw the ball short over the middle). Him as a decoy allows single coverage on every other receiver, which is deadly before long as Brady gets time to throw. The point is he has been a perfect teammate.
4. Pats defense better than they appeared.
Look, I am not making excuses here. The Patriots defense is along for the ride. Their chore is simple: Stop the other team three or four series of downs and let Tom Brady do the rest. The Jaguars scored six points in the second half. Don’t forget that stat. That means they played their best when it counted most. That’s the makeup of this unit. They are not attacking until they have to be. It could rush the quarterback better, but it is good enough to win a championship, as we are seeing.
5. Jaguars, Garrard will be formidable next season.
Credit the Jaguars gameplan of more-than-expected passing on Saturday. The 4th-and-1 call on their first drive, a beautiful 34-yard pass from David Garrard to Marcedes Lewis to the Patriots’ 9 was the play of the first half. But also credit their talent, specifically Garrard, for making the Patriots play a near-flawless game. Jacksonville’s defense was not very good, but it is a young defense. That team has a lot of pride, which is as important as talent in the NFL. I expect to see them in mid to late January next season. The Colts may get a challenge to AFC South division mastery.
6. Patriots fans at Gillette not loud enough
As I wrote on Sunday — Patriots fans better get used to uglier wins — I believe that should be said for Patriots fans who attend the games. They appear to be bored. They really do.
Expectations are unreal. People attend games and they believe they should see something special. A win isn’t enough. There were moments on Saturday night when the fans played no role in the game. Look, we’ve been spoiled as entire community. Winning is almost as expected as breathing. But it seems like the one place not to take what’s happening for granted is Gillette Stadium. Just my opinion.
7. Blitzing saved for second half.
This has been trend lately. The Patriots do very little blitzing, playing more of a straight-up defense, in the first half of their games. You have to wonder if Bill Belichick is treating the first half like a dress rehearsal and saving the best for last. I’m guessing it’s not entirely true, but the Patriots defense has played closer to the vest in most of their games the since Thanksgiving.
8. Return game is guessing game.
Take your guess who will be returning kickoffs and punts on Sunday. Because I have no idea. On Saturday night, the kickoff returning was Chad Jackson, who had been inactive for three weeks. And Wes Welker returned punts. Jackson did nothing special and Welker really didn’t get the opportunity for potentially a big return. Troy Brown was activated but didn’t play. Other than a few early returns by Ellis Hobbs as a kick returner and Welker on a few punts, it has not been a strength, which is probably why there is no predicting who will be in next week. My guess is Jackson will be back as inactive and Hobbs or Kevin Faulk will return kickoffs.
9. Asante Samuel played first bad game.
He is an All-Pro, which means he is rated as one of the two best cornerbacks in the NFL, but Samuel had probably his worst game in two years, at least when it came to big plays. He bit on the first big play of the game, a 4th-and-1 in which Jaguars QB David Garrard faked the handoff to Jones-Drew and rolled to his right. Samuel came up as if to play the run and Garrard threw a beautiful 34-yarder on a line to Marcedes Lewis, setting up the first score. Samuel was also the Patriots d-back of record who was torched on the Jaguars second touchdown, a 6-yard pass to wide out Ernest Wilford at 7:46 of the second quarter. Anyway, after a near-flawless season, a team didn’t avoid Samuel and they made plays. If anybody other than Brady deserves a mulligan, it is he.
10. Homefield advantage is important.
When you are a great team, as the Patriots are, homefield is very, very important. The Patriots have a nice quiet week of preparation while the San Diego Chargers, who stunned the world on Sunday, had to fly across the country and start preparing immediately for the Patriots. Remember, the Patriots were in the same boat last year, after beating the Chargers, they had to fly across the country and literally had a short week to prepare for the Colts. The point is homefield advantage is an advantage, despite the losses this weekend by the Colts and Cowboys.
