A great Sunday of football in New York as recapped by Banks on WFAN.
Banks starts off by giving a big kudos to Jacobs as “his leadership was incredible.” It wasn’t by words but purely “leading by example” with his tone setting reception early in the game by walking away from 3 Patriots sprawling on the field. Overall, in “he may have had 1 run for a loss” as he “always got the pile moving forward.” And we also have to factor that” Brandon contributed 100 yards to this offense” through rushing and receptions combined.
Andy gave credit to Fewell in his recap but Banks gives credit to “both coordinators (who) had a great plan. I take my hat off to Perry Fewell understanding the personnel grouping and how he could match up with them because we often see Deon Grant in all of these mismatch situations. This team’s personnel, the Patriots, were ideal they didn’t have 5 or 4 wide receivers. Their TEs were wide receivers. Now you can get Deon in position where he can make some plays and he did. Overall, it’s amazing when you get guys in position to where there most comfortable you can see exactly what they can do.”
Banks made a great observation on the affect of the pass rush on Brady. Banks recalled that “there was one play where Brady stepped up in the pocket and he was just flinching waiting to get hit. The pressure was enough to get Brady’s feet nervous. You can’t discount the presence of the Giants pass rushing and it’s effect on the timing of a passing game.”
Ocho Cinco does not have any respect from Banks. He stated that “if Bill Belichick was listening I would tell him to offer him a pay cut. I’m cutting you and bringing you back for the veteran minimum. Work a little harder.” Banks watched their receivers warm up in the pre-game and witnessed how focused and hard working Welker and company were compared to Ocho Cinco.
On the upcoming game versus the 49ers Banks feels it is “probably an easier game to prepare for if you look at their offense but it is a challenge because they are so committed to running the football. “ The 49ers are averaging over 140 yards per game rushing. In addition Banks added “they also pressure you with their return game, execute well, don’t make mistakes and keep things in manageable situations (such as) 3rd and short.
Other comments of note made by Banks:
On the Belichick’s personnel decisions over the last 5 years: “They are averse to spending a large amount of money on unproven payers. But that could change with the new cap on rookie salaries.”
Both coverage teams were really good both kickoff coverage as well as punt coverage.
Tackling still has to get better. They had some (missed) open field tackles in the defensive backfield. Kenny Phillips missed a few. But you could tell that everyone was on the same page for the most part.
My unsung hero is Ramses Barden. He only had two catches but those two catches if you look at the time of the game they were and the situation he caught those in. They weren’t in sync completely.
Paul here. You can’t underestimate the impact that Jacobs had on the Patriots defense but most importantly his teammates. A major theme in Coughlin’s locker room speech after the game was “WE HAVE THE PHYSICAL NATURE TO THE GAME (pounding his hands together for emphasis) and we get after it.” No one is expecting Jacobs to rush for 100+ yards each game but we can only hope he can bring his physical aggression to each game moving forward.
We certainly hope that Fewell understands that the personnel matchups favored using Deon Grant in nickel packages. Banks nailed it when he stated that they don’t have “4 or 5 receivers but 2 TEs who are receivers.” That is not the case with Philthy, GB, NO and even and upcoming 49ers team. Here is hoping that Prince can start contributing this week and moving forward when they face a grueling schedule against some speed skilled teams.
Finally, I personally am excited to see the presence and growth of Ramses Barden in addition to Cruz and Ballard. Barden basically saved Eli’s arse on by snatching a poorly thrown pass away from Patriot defender, Adams, for a 12 yard gain. He showed glimpses in the Dallas game last year prior to getting hurt. He also could not hurt with the fade in the red zone given his physical stature.
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