A little luck never hurts
Mike Parente, GoLocalProv Sports Editor
A little luck never hurts
The Patriots held on to win in a game that turned out to be a lot closer than most of us thought it would be because their opponent apparently skipped the chapter on how to run the two-minute drill during its preparation this week. The Packers had the ball at New England’s 24-yard line with 1 minute, 5 seconds remaining, yet managed only three more plays the rest of the way with the final kick in the stones coming on a strip sack by Tully Banta-Cain to preserve the Patriots’ 31-27 win.
Jets’ fans rooting for Green Bay last night probably had indigestion watching that final minute because it reminded them of the way Herman Edwards used to mismanage the clock back when he coached in New York.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTGive the Patriots credit for coming up with a sack on first down, pushing the Packers eight yards back to the 32, but that doesn’t excuse the lack of urgency shown by Green Bay’s offense in getting back to the line of scrimmage, or head coach Mike McCarthy’s inability to call a play in timely fashion on 4th-and-1 with the game on the line (they should have been able to run at least two plays, not just one, with 29 seconds left on the clock).
On paper, the Packers weren’t expected to compete with Matt Flynn starting in place of injured quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but your expectations change when you actually start to compete. The Packers proved they were more than capable of moving the ball against what we thought was a resurgent New England defense, while the Patriots showed us there’s still plenty of work to be done before city officials start planning parade routes in Copley Square.
The first three and a half quarters of Sunday’s primetime showdown were eerily reminiscent of some of New England’s ghastly defensive performances at the beginning of the season – back when bombastic columnists such as yours truly proclaimed this defense “stinks.”
Green Bay dominated the time of possession by more than 21 minutes thanks in large part to four scoring drives in which they ran 10 or more plays. The Patriots also committed seven penalties for 52 yards, including an illegal use of hands penalty by Banta-Cain on Green Bay’s final drive that negated what might’ve been Brandon Meriweather’s game-ending interception.
The long scoring drives by the Packers are more of a concern than the penalties, merely because the former is a resuscitation of what plagued the Patriots earlier in the season when this young defense was still getting its feet wet. We all assumed those problems were part of the past – and why wouldn’t we after watching this team force 13 turnovers in its last five games? – but it’s obvious the Patriots are still a candidate to be picked apart defensively if they’re not generating enough of a pass rush.
Even in the perfect “bend, but don’t break” scenario, lopsided time of possession totals like the ones accumulated last night are unacceptable, not only because they increase the likelihood of the opponent scoring, but because they keep Tom Brady off the field. This is how the Patriots used to defend teams such as Indianapolis in the earlier part of this decade – control the clock, keep the chains moving, and force Peyton Manning to watch from the sidelines.
Thankfully for the Patriots, Brady is relatively immune to the elements, whether it’s lousy weather or being forced to outscore the Packers while only having 19 minutes to do so. Not even the pressure of having to score in a hurry coaxed Brady into any uncharacteristic mistakes, even if he was somewhat lucky along the way (the Packers dropped at least would-be interceptions in Sunday’s loss). When it mattered most, Brady only needed 2:24 to score the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter, capping a 63-yard drive with a 10-yard strike to rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez.
With a little luck – and very little time to score – the Patriots escaped with their sixth consecutive win. At 12-2, they’re on the verge of wrapping up their second AFC East title in a row, along with the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs. They can thank Green Bay for not only failing to make them pay for their mistakes, but for perhaps giving them enough of a scare Sunday to force them into getting their act together in time for January. The teams they’ll face in the playoffs next month won’t be nearly as generous.