3 Players To Watch in Patriots’ Week 9 Matchup vs. Jets
It was another tough loss last week for the New England Patriots. After fumbling away the last offensive possession of the game against the Buffalo Bills, it is now onto the New York Jets for this 2-5 squad. Luckily, the Jets still remain winless on the year through 8 games.
While the Jets do remain winless, that still doesn't mean that they do not pose a threat to take down the Patriots on Monday night. New England will need to play well in this competitive matchup in New York.
Here are three of their players to keep in eye on in the Monday night showdown:
Ja'Whaun Bentley
It's been a tough go so far for the third-year linebacker, to say the least. A few of my pieces over the course of the season have discussed how Bentley's poor play has been something that opposing offensive coordinators have been recognizing and therefore attacking. Expect the Jets to do the same this week, specifically in the run game.
While Frank Gore may seemingly pose no threat to some fans, he continues to pound the pigskin down the field, running behind his 6-foot-7, 364-pound rookie refrigerator, tackle Mekhi Becton. The goal for Adam Gase and his offense this week is going to be attacking the Patriots' weak run defense that seemingly cannot seal the edge. These Jets run a ton to the outside, with Becton bowling down the field to take on blockers. That’s something that certainly doesn't bode well for Bentley.
Bentley, a mostly downhill-style linebacker (somewhat similar to Elandon Roberts in some respects), has been missing tackles and struggling to get over and make tackles on the outside. As the New York run game really fits his style poorly, this could be a long night for Bentley. Unless Bentley can find a way to turn things around, he may find himself surrendering snaps to rookie Josh Uche.
The Bentley situation will certainly be one to monitor throughout the night. Let’s hope he can have a bounce-back game in some way.
Damiere Byrd
Last week in Buffalo, Josh McDaniels started to sprinkle in more RPOs and other nuances to New England’s offense to fit more with Newton's style and ease his obvious tensions. Byrd was the recipient of or was involved in some of these play designs. That of course makes sense, as Byrd appears to be the receiver Newton is most comfortable with (especially after playing together during their time with the Carolina Panthers).
The Jets are a team that have really struggled so far this year against RPOs. A hyper-aggressive front seven and a zone-focused secondary generally doesn't bode well for stopping these play designs. RPOs may be featured even more in this game and may even become a cornerstone of the offense to move the ball downfield against this defense.
With these RPOs being sprinkled in even more, I would expect Byrd to be the main benefactor at receiver from these plays. Newton running RPOs with Byrd running slants over the middle will be one of New England's best bets in moving the ball consistently. While Byrd's best performance was a five-catch game against the Kansas City Chiefs, expect him to potentially eclipse that Monday night. Especially with Jakobi Meyers likely being followed by New York’s slot corner, Brian Poole for most the contest.
David Andrews
This last player is cheating a little bit for me, as Andrews really represents the entire offensive line as a whole. The fact of the matter is, this week will bring on a matchup against a talented run-stuffing unit, being led by second-year defensive lineman, Quinnen Williams. Add on to that, a heavy-blitzing unit as well.
Williams is a player who, for the run game to have any success, will need to be mitigated. The disruptive defensive lineman can help make offenses one-dimensional very quickly. A player who lines up all over the defensive line at times, resides generally at the defensive tackle spot as the nose tackle or a 3-technique (which is where Andrews comes into play).
The interior of the Patriots' offensive line will need to formulate a plan to get Williams out of the way in the run game. With both Joe Thuney (ankle) and Shaq Mason (calf) being limited in Friday's practice, even if both are in the game, it would be tough to make them the focal point of this gameplan. Expect Andrews to instead be tasked with keeping his eye on Williams. After all, Andrews has faired well in the past with big-name defensive tackles like Aaron Donald in the Super Bowl against the Los Angeles Rams. Andrews might be a crucial component to the offense's success this week, their ability to get the run game going, along with their ability to pick up blitzes for Newton.
