by Hal Bent | Posted on Sunday, October 20th, 2013
The New England Patriots moved to five wins against only one loss as they defeated the New Orleans Saints in dramatic fashion last Sunday with only 00:05 on the clock in the fourth quarter. Although it was another inconsistent performance by the offense, the team fought through injuries to get three opportunities to win the game against the Saints. Although due in part to poor play calling and execution by the Saints, credit must go to the short-handed New England defense which gave quarterback Tom Brady multiple chances to drive down the field and win.
On their first drive, the Patriots offense was stalled due to a huge drop on second-and-six by running back Brandon Bolden who was filling in as the third down/passing back with injuries to Shane Vereen and back-up Leon Washington. On fourth-and-six on the drive at their own twenty-four yard line, the ball was turned over on downs by a drop by wide receiver Aaron Dobson. After holding the Saints to a field goal and no first downs, New England quarterback Tom Brady made a bad decision and threw an interception downfield on their second chance to win. As the fair weather fans in Foxboro, MA left in droves, the defense stopped the Saints again and got the ball back with 01:13 to play in the fourth quarter.
Finally, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady put together a signature drive and in eight plays and no timeouts drove seventy yards for the victory. After hitting slot receiver Julian Edelman on first down for twenty-three yards, Brady picked up fifteen more finding recently signed-off the scrap heap wide receiver Austin Collie for fifteen yards. Rather than spiking the ball, Brady made a quick pass to rookie wide receiver Aaron Dobson for six yards and he got out of bounds to stop the clock. After twice missing on deep middle passes to Edelman, on fourth-and-four with 00:24 on the clock he again hit Collie for a huge first down.
After spiking the ball to stop the clock, Tom Brady went to the end zone where undrafted rookie wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins was matched-up in single coverage. A perfectly thrown pass by Brady–which was not a given considering how he had struggled so much this season passing deep down field–nestled into Thompkins arms and he kept his feet down and the Patriots pulled out the improbable victory.
This Sunday the New England Patriots face the 3-3 New York Jets in a rematch of week two of the season. In Foxboro, MA in September, New England won 13-10 on a Thursday night. Neither team was sharp in the first matchup, and the Jets were doomed by three interceptions thrown by rookie quarterback Geno Smith. The Patriots offense was out-of-kilter all game due to strong defensive pressure from the Jets, and New England was stopped and had to punt eleven times in that game.
This season, New England quarterback Tom Brady has been visibly uncomfortable in the pocket, double-and -triple-clutching as he waits to see what routes his young wide receivers will run,rather than throw the ball to where receiver should run to in the offensive system...CLICK HERE FOR MORE: http://www.h4-entertainment.com/2013/10/injury-riddled-new-england-patriots-prep-for-rex-ryan-and-the-new-york-jets/
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