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Old 12-29-2020, 05:51 PM   #1
Teach
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Patriots vs. Jets: Sunday, 1 p.m.

Mercifully, if you’re a New England Patriots football fan, the regular season will soon be coming to an end.

The Patriots, currently 6-9, haven’t had a losing season since Bill Belichick’s first year at the helm, 2000 (The following year, the Patriots won the Super Bowl).

This Sunday, the Patriots have their season-finale at “The Razor,” i.e., Gillette. Frankly, I don’t see them winning that final game (more on that later).

As I look back on last night’s MNF game against the Bills, the Patriots were once again hapless in losing, 38-9. In the last three games, the Patriots have scored just one touchdown (And they can’t even kick the extra point. By the way, depending on where you “entered” the over-under, that missed extra point could have made all the difference in the world).

I thought the game turned in the first quarter when an apparent flea-flicker touchdown pass hit Damiere Byrd in the face-mask. After that it was pretty much all downhill.

In the rushing department, New England’s Sony Michel ran the ball effectively, but most of his runs came early in the game. Michel, overall, rushed for 69 yards on 10 carries. The Patriots as a team rushed for 145 yards.

Yet the Pats’ passing game was paltry. Cam Newton completed just 5 passes in 10 attempts for 34 yards. His replacement, Jarrett Stidham, didn’t fare much better, 4 completions in 11 tries for 44 yards. Even Woody Hayes’ Ohio State teams (“Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust”) would pass for more yards. Remember Galen Cisco? In my opinion, the Patriots star during this sooner-forgotten 2020 season has been their punter, Jake Bailey.

As cited, the visiting Jets make the trip up from Gotham to Gillette for Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff. The Jets come into Foxboro with a 2-13 record. Yet they’ve been competitive in recent weeks. Last week, they surprised the Cleveland Browns, 23-16. The week before that, the Jets defeated the Rams, 23-20. In week 12, the Jets barely lost to the Las Vegas Raiders, 31-28.

In addition, this Sunday’s game is not the Jets’ “Trevor Lawrence Bowl.” The Jacksonville Jaguars with a 1-14 record have Lawrence “locked up” as the first pick in April’s NFL draft.

So it all boils down to pride. I’m sure both teams have that quality. Yet the way things are going, given their recent records, the Jets, winners of two out of their last three and the Patriots, losers of their last three, I would have to give the edge to the Jets.

In last week’s game against the Browns, the Jets’ QB, Sam Darnold, threw for 2 TD’s. In that Cleveland game, the Jets got good rushing performances from the duo of Frank Gore and La’mical Perine. The previous week against the Rams, Darnold passed for 207 yards, 22/31, and one TD. In that same game, Gore rushed for 59 yards on 23 carries.

Further, there is what I call “comeuppance” factor. The Patriots have had their way with the Jets in recent years. Earlier in the year, the Patriots defeated the Jets, 30-27. In fact the Patriots have won 9-straight games versus the Jets dating back to 2016. You’d have to think that the Jets are looking for, as the French say: “revanche.”

Finally, when I last looked at the line,, the Jets were +3. I’ll “lay” the three and take the Jets. There’s nothing I’ve seen in recent weeks that can convince me that the Patriots can turn things around, even in their final home game.

As I’ve mentioned, I see Cam Newton as a warm-weather quarterback. The extended Sunday weather-forecast calls for snow and rain showers with high temps near 40.

As for the over-under, given the predicted inclement weather, I’m leaning toward “the under.”
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Walt (Teach)

"Walt, make a 'mental bet' and lose your mind." R.N.S.

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