Belichick impressed with Jets
PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK
Sure, the surging New York Jets may be 3-2 and tied for the AFC
East lead with the Patriots and Buffalo Bills, but there’s that lingering thought around the league that says, “Yeah, but they’re still the Jets.”
However, as the teams prepare to meet Sunday at MetLife Stadium, the Patriots coaches aren’t in the business of looking past a team.
“You’ve got to be impressed with what the Jets have done,” Bill Belichick said of a team that won its third straight on Sunday, beating Cleveland. “They’ve had three weeks in a row that they’ve played well. They’ve done a good job offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. They’ve made some big plays in all three areas, don’t turn the ball over, play good defense, play well on special teams.”
Visiting the Jets, even when they’re bad, hasn’t been easy for the Patriots in recent seasons. New England has split its last four road games at the Jets, with the two losses coming in overtime and the average margin of victory less than four points.
“It’s always tough with the Jets,” Belichick said. “It’ll be tough this week. Again, I have a lot of respect for coach (Todd) Bowles and the job that he does down there and the way that they’ve been playing.”
Indeed, when the Jets started 0-2, they looked like a team living down to the expectations many had that they’d challenge for the worst record in the NFL this year. But with wins over Miami, Jacksonville and now Cleveland, the Jets are just two victories shy of matching their win total from all of last season.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels stressed how the Pats need to acclimate themselves with the new personnel on the Jets’ defense.
“Look, I’d say I’d start with the fact that the last four times we’ve been there, the game has either went to overtime or come down to the last possession,” McDaniels said. “It’s a tough place to play.
“They’re a tough, really hard-nosed, physical team. … They’ve got some new guys in the secondary that this will be our first opportunity to play against them and get to know them this week.”
Starts at the top
With the difficulties the secondary has had when it comes to mental breakdowns, the defensive backs have spoken about simplifying the schemes, which helped lead to an improved performance in the 19-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Thursday night.
Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said in a conference call that it’s up to him to re-acclimate the players to more complex coverages.
“I think it’s got to start with me and I’ve got to teach and coach better week in week out,” he said. “I’ve got to try to make sure that it’s in a format where they can understand it, they can digest it, they can process it and they can make sure that they can execute it at a high level. All of that is going to start with me.”
Let ’em play
On his weekly radio appearance on WEEI’s Kirk & Callahan, quarterback Tom Brady said he feels part of the reason the have Pats committed so many penalties — opponents have accepted 19 against them in the last two games — is that the officials are calling tighter games.
“I feel like it is more of a part of games than ever,” Brady said. “We just have to adjust to that play style. If we get the calls, great. If we don’t, we still have to win. From the players’ standpoint, a little contact, I don’t think guys ever complain about not getting the call. It’s just we have to play through them.
“Look, the refs are trying to do the best they can do. I don’t know what they are being instructed, but sometimes they call it tight, sometimes they don’t.”
The Pats made some practice squad moves, signing defensive back Alex Carter and offensive lineman Cole Toner and releasing quarterback Taylor Heinecke and offensive lineman Jason King.