Blitzed!

There were two main reasons why the Patriots were trapped by the Jets yesterday: first, the vaunted offensive line could not adapt to Eric Mangini's blitz schemes; and second, the vaunted defense could not keep the Jets off the field during two endless drives that ate up a Quarter's worth of time--resulting in 10 points.

When Tom Brady did get a chance to control the game, he was constantly harassed by the Jets and forced to make more bad passes at a receiving corps that he is clearly still not fully comfortable with. Perhaps the biggest turnaround play was Doug Gabriel's reception/fumble leading to another NYJ score in their 17-14 win.

Rodney Harrison is out along with a couple of other key defensive players, but this was more a case of the mentee out-coaching the mentor.

All in all, this was a miserable loss--to a Division rival who they were favored over by a full 10 points. Now, the Yellow Brick Road to the playoffs has a few more potholes.