There are several reason's we lost: 1) Blown Opportunities -- First thing we didn't do was convert Dillon's fumble into a TD. Several times with Goal to Go situation we brought Nugent out. You have score touchdowns in the postseason and you have to capitalize on all opportunities, especially against championship caliber teams like the Patriots. 2)Vilma's Missed Sack -- As much as I hate blaming a loss on a single player, this could've been a momentum changing play. We had just scored and could've forced them to punt, and who knows what happens after that. We lost all momentum there. 3) The lateral/fumble -- We were driving on their D at will at this point, and I honestly was thinking we were about to tie this game up at 20. The Jets historically this season have been unable to come back from double-digit leads because our offense just isn't explosive enough to put up points fast enough. We have strived with methodical, 10 play drives that have been succesful in giving us the lead. This fumble put us into panic mode essentially. 4)Defense Overall -- A lot of people have been blaming the line, and the run D, but in general the D blew a lot of oppurtiunities. We missed tackles and sacks all day long. There were several dropped interceptions too. Barret in the endzone, Rhodes' amazing diving pass break up, and Miller had one down the sideline -- any one of these could've been game breakers. It's disheartnening to see that in the playoffs. The secondary left people open all day along with their huge cushions on the outside. We saw today how important a healthy Dyson is to our secondary. 5) Coaching -- Mangini's gameplan was good but against Bellichick you need a great one, in the future Mangini will be able to come with an even better one. Although execution can be blamed on the players, there are some situations where coaching could've changed the game. Why didn't Cedric get more carries? I know Leon finished with nice numbers, but the run game was horrible all game. Also, Mangini has been ultra conservative since the media ripped him for his onside kick against the Bears. We should've gone for it inside the 2 to start the 3rd quarter and in the first half when we brought B. Smith out we should've gone for it. Just my thoughts after reading everyone's opinions, and thinking about the game. I'm pretty satisified with the season overall. This loss hurts especailly because I felt that we could've won it. Although the score shows NE blowing us out, I think that we could've won this game by more than a TD if we just executed a little better. Go Jets!
I think had it not been for the lateral/fumble, they would have driven down the field and got 6. They were clicking on offense until that play... Oh well...
I've been one of Vilma's biggest critics, and I shuttered at first glance of that 'missed sack,' but on second thought I really think that he either had to go for the ball, or Brady would've released it, as soon as he hit him. Vilma was forced around and by that time, Brady's pocket presence had to hit him. If you noticed, he cocked his arm back, as Vilma came around the edge. So while it was a bad play to whiff on, had Vilma went for the sack, I really feel that the ball would've been out of Brady's hands quicker.
