Brandon Marshall sure keeps it interesting, doesn’t he? After a relatively quiet day for the mercurial star -- including just 13 receiving yards in the first half -- Marshall gave the Jets a glimmer of hope in the closing seconds Sunday, recovering an onside kick following what may well have been the best kick of Nick Folk’s career to give the Jets the ball down by a touchdown with 18 ticks left on the clock.
Then, Marshall stomped that glimmer into oblivion, with a penalty on what would’ve been the final play to seal the Pats’ 30-23 win. Oh yeah, he also dropped a pass in the end zone that would’ve put the Jets up by eight (with the PAT) early in the fourth quarter.
The Jets showed that they’re a really good team Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. They stayed right with their undefeated archrivals for nearly the whole contest, even though their two biggest offensive weapons -- Marshall and a banged-up Chris Ivory -- were mostly ineffective. Ivory got just 12 yards on nine carries in the first half, and he wasn’t much better in the second, although a smart play call by offensive coordinator Chan Gailey sprang the running back for a TD on a short pass play that put Gang Green ahead late in the third quarter.
The visitors also showed, though, that they’re simply not as good as the Patriots -- at least not yet.
There are a lot of reasons for that. As promising as Todd Bowles has been, the first-year coach can’t match wits with Bill Belichick at this point. Exhibit A: Bowles’s decision not to use any timeouts when New England was driving in the last few minutes. The Pats’ play-calling on D stymied the Jets’ running game, and Rob Ninkovich seemed to bat down so many balls that the 6-foot 3-inch lineman looked more like an NBA center (of course, in the plus column for the Jets, Pats WR Brandon LaFell did the same). New York’s ineffective punting game frequently gifted Tom Brady with a short field, as if he needs any more advantages than he already has.
And no one can cover Gronk.
Marcus Gilchrist tried gamely, but the 5-foot 10-inch 195-pound defensive back spent the day looking like a lilliputian trying to fend off the 6-foot 6-inch 265-pound Gronkiver.
You often hear that Gronkowski is the best tight end in football. I think that sells him short. To me, he’s the NFL’s best and most important offensive player that doesn’t play quarterback.
Then there’s Brady, who was Bradyesque when it counted, and that, more than anything, was the difference between the two teams. Ryan Fitzpatrick was solid for most of the day. Brady, meanwhile, was magnificent in the final quarter, even though his opponent knew he was throwing on nearly every down (the Pats RBs had just five carries in the game, and Brady was the team’s leading rusher).
The Jets are clearly on the rise. But Brady, and the Patriots, are on a whole ‘nother level.
