Separation Anxiety

My first reaction to the trade of Kendrick Perkins was outrage and confusion, as it seemed the Celtics gave away their best defensive player for no reason. Some would say Kevin Garnett is the Celtic’s best defense player, but Perkins has youth and has not yet reached his full potential . Garnett is the defensive leader unquestionably and is the more versatile defender, however Perkins is that enforcer down low. Perk is someone who can defend any center or power forward in the league with his brute physicality. Yet  what seemed worse than losing their best interior defender in KP-43, was disrupting team chemistry.

This trade makrs the end of the starting five that had never lost a playoff series, and a tight knit group that played for one another. This trade disrupts such a close relationship between a group of men that won a championship together. Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, and many others in the organization saw Perkins come into the league out of high school at age 18. Perkins would grow into one of the best centers in the NBA and help raise the Celtics' 17^th Championship Banner. Kevin Garnett's comment: "it feels like we lost a family member" tells you just how close these players are. Now it is time to say goodbye to a part of this team, a key cog in the Celtic machine that churned out a championship and  nearly another, falling short in game 7 of the NBA Finals.

You have to feel for Perk who suffered a horrible season ending injury in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, and you've got  respect how hard he battled to rehab and get back out on the court this season. It is time to say goodbye to what so many of us thought was the strength of the 2010-2011 Boston Celtics, the Bigs. The front line of big men Shaquille O’neal, Kendrick Perkins, and Kevin Garnett that was going to nullify the size of the Lakers, Orlando’s Dwight Howard, and any other front line in the NBA. However, after simmering for a few days on this trade, I've come to understand that we are all just suffering from a little bit of Perkins separation anxiety.

The fans of Boston and his teamates loved Kendrick Perkins and it is sad to see him go, but its time to remember to trust Danny Ainge. A risk taker indeed at the General Manager position, but don't forget he is the magaican who transformed a 24 win team into NBA Champions (seemingly overnight). Yes, the vaunted front line is no more, and yes the team chemistry has taken a major blow, and yes the Big 5 will never have a chance to defend their title, but they are better now. Many (including myself) believe that if Perkins does not tear his ACL in Game 6, that the Boston Celtics would have prevailed over the Lakers. In that series the victor of each game won the battle of the boards, and the Celtics were outrebounded  easily without Perkins in Game 7. This was the mission in the off-season: To overload the team with size and rebounders, and never be out muscled by a bigger team again.

Danny Ainge added free agent centers Shaq and Jermaine O'neal, and drafted 7'0 Semih Erden from Turkey. This was done so that never again would his team lose the rebounding battle in a playoff series. This was also in conjunction with the return of a healthy Perkins, but now he and Erden have both been traded away. The reason why this trade seemed so outlandish at first is because it seemed that Ainge had abaonded his plan of amassing rebounders.

Ainge cleared out roster spots for a reason and now the Celtics have added Troy Murphy, who is a proven rebounder and a skilled offense player to boot. The Celtics also replaced Semih Erden with another seven footer in Nenad Kristic, and had inside knowledge on the health of the O'neals. Shaq will be returning soon and Jermaine is on his way to being back on the court by the end of March. In the end these trades made the Celtics a much better offensive team, restored team depth, and finally ended  the two year search for a replacement of James Posey.

In the 2007/2008 Championship winning season the Celtics had a wing player in Posey that could defend the Lebron James' and Kobe Bryants' of the NBA. In addtion they had someone reliable to knock down clutch outside shots. Most importantly they had a player who could spell Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, keeping the veterans fresh for closing out games. Yes, it does remain to be seen if Jeff Green can execute this very role, but he possesses superior atlethic talent (that Posey never had). Also, Green is taller, longer, bigger, and is starter material, as Posey was always a bench player. Taking nothing away from Posey who Iis an elilte sixth man, Green is simply a suped up verison of J.P. who averages more points, rebounds, and has serious untapped potential (in only his fourth year). Green averages 14.2 points per game along with 5.7 rebounds and was the third scoring option behind two superstar players on the Thunder.

The Celtics have improved greatly with these new acqusitions, and as sad as it feels to say goodbye to Kendrick Perkins, this team is better. The Celtics unquestionably got weaker on defense, but at the same time became exponetially better offensively. With big men Kristic and Murphy (who are  forever more skilled than Perk offensively)  the number one defense in the league (91.3 ppg) may have lost some muscle, but the team has gained rebounding, outside shooting, inside scoring, and most importantly healthy bodies.

 It is importnat to remember that Kendrick did decline a contract offer from Boston eariler in the season and he got a far more lucrative from Oklahoma City (36 million over four years). He is also going to a great Western Conference team that was in desperate need of a defensive center like Perkins. Once the Separation anxiety subsides and the wins start rolling in, fans and teammates alike will move on.

Sources:

http://www.espn.com/

http://www.weei.com/

Photos:

http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi

New England Nightmare

A 19 yard reception by Danny Woodhead, an 11 yard rush by Brandon Tate, a pair of solid gains to Rob Gronkowski, a seven yard rush by Woodhead, followed by BenJarvus Green-Ellis's short rush to the Jets 28 yard line. Pause right there. Does this not sound like any Patriot touchdown drive this season? Efficiently moving the ball down the field using a balanced attack of short passing and running with a variety of different weapons? This seemed like any other opening drive where the New England Patriots score first and set the tone for the rest of the game.

To me this was an absolute red flag for concern when the Patriots nonchalantly charged up the field only to turn the ball over. Was Tom Brady over confident in this drive or did he really through that errant of a pass? The pass was in no way close to being completed and once intercepted, changed the entire course of the game.
          

Some Patriot fans have already called for the dismissal of Brady and Bill Belichick (which is truly preposterous) and others have said it was the worst they've ever seen Brady play. All great coaches and players lose, and they don’t win every season. The standard for Belichick and Brady has ascended to such an expectation that when they lose it seems catastrophic. I hope that this calling for  the head of Brady and Belichick is nothing more than shock induced jabber. I am as shocked as anyone that the 14-2 Super Bowl bound Patriots lost at home, especially after all the talk from New York. However, there should be no misconceptions about Brady and Belichick, and also let there be none about why this game was lost. The following three key plays and other aspects are why this nightmare of a loss became a reality. 
          

         1) The Brady Interception: Tom Brady had not thrown an interception in 339 pass attempts, and had not thrown one since October. This was so bizarrely uncharacteristic of Brady because it was such a horrible throw. It seemed almost expected that they would score on the opening drive as a statement; get ahead early and have Mark Sanchez to try and beat you (throwing 30-40 times). Without a running game, a truly stout defense, the best receiving corps in the AFC, and the Patriots beating themselves, the Jets lose this game

2) The Patrick Chung Failure: The Jets led the Patriots 7-3 in the closing minutes of the first half. The Patriots have just suffered another failed third down conversion, and are “forced to punt”. Patrick Chung calls his own audible to run a fake punt on fourth down, and upon doing so fumbles the football. Chung recovered the ball and attempted to run, but was tackled well before the first down.

The failed fake fun play represents a prime example of the uncharacteristic errors that the Patriots committed. In this last loss the Patriots committed 6 penalties for 44 yards, and they turned the ball over on downs twice. This proved to be significant because it was a shift in momentum for the New York Jets.

      Occurring in the closing minutes of the first half, and only using four plays and thirty-three seconds the Jets went up 14-3. A botched play on fourth down was followed by a pair of strong rushes of 6 and 16 yards, finally being capped off with a fifteen yard touchdown reception (accompanied by two missed tackles) that marked a demoralizing end to the first half.

3) The 59 yard Jerricho Cotchery Catch: The second half begins with the Patriots and Jets trading a pair of punts each before the New England offense finally showed signs of life cutting the score to 14-11. An 80 yard scoring drive was ignited by a thirty seven yard strike to Gronkowski and a pair of clutch Deion Branch receptions (especially on 3^rd & 9). To this point in the game the New England defense had only allowed fourteen points and 217 yards. Their counterpart (the offense) could only muster 3 points on 146 yards, placing the defense under a lot of pressure. Also keep in mind that one of the Jet drives began in New England territory (after the failed fake punt). The Patriots defense had given them a great chance to win, but then committed a grave error (shattering the “bend don’t break defense”). The defense bent, and broke on Jerricho Cotchery’s 59-yard reception, that would be followed by a crushing, but an admittedly spectacular touchdown grab by Santonio Holmes. This touchdown placed New England behind the eight ball being down ten with thirteen minutes left in the game. Placing them in a hole they would ultimately never escape.

        
The Brady interception marked the stalling of the Patriot’s offense early in the game. The failed fake punt run gave the Jets momentum going into half time, and the 59-yard pass play allowed the Jets to put the game away. These three key plays were crucial in shifting momentum to the New York Jets, but there are still more telling reasons as to why the Jets won.

1) Lack of Team Cohesion: There was a major lack of overall team cohesion in this loss. By this I mean that the offense and defense never played well at the same times throughout the game. Before the Jet’s drive that began at the very end of the third quarter (that resulted in a touchdown) the Patriot defense had played quite well. Allowing 14 points and 217 yards does not sound like the best performance, but remember that one of the New York possessions began on the New England 37-yard line. Also know that their counterpart offense gave them little to no support scraping together a measly 146 yards and 3 points (before their scoring drive with less than four minutes left in the 3^rd).


This was exactly the problem, once Brady and the offense woke up the defense allowed a 75-yard touchdown march on only five plays. After this crushing momentum shift, the offense stalls again turning the ball over on downs. Of course at that point the defense holds serve, but the offense can only contribute a field goal. The Patriots scored on three out of their last four drives, but managed only a pathetic field goal on their first EIGHT POSSESSIONS. You need to have balance to win in the postseason, and the strongest part of the team all season, the offense was unable to support their defense in time. The blame for this debocle of a defeat rests mostly upon the offensive unit.

2) Squandered Opportunties: This may seem an overly obvious redundant observation, but the Patriots literally beat themselves in this game. They held the ball for 34:56 as the Jets only had 25:04 time of possession. The Pats were 5-14 on third down converstions and 0-2 on fourth down attempts. New England’s last true chance to win this game was with 13:00 left in the fourth quarter. The Patriots find themselves down 20-11 with the ball early in the 4^th. They are aware of the fact that they absolutely have to score on this drive so making haste is not a concern, just the end result. Many anaylsts and fans complained of a lack luster pace by the Patriots in this game, but this was indeed why. 


The way the game had been going, they knew that a touchdown was needed. Not how fast it could be scored, but that it was needed. However, that score would never come and the game would be marred in defeat.The Patriots used over 7 minutes of clock time on 14 plays only to turn the ball over on downs and essentially seal their own fate. This was the key squandered opportunity that doomed New England. On 2^nd down and eight yards to go Wes Welker receives a nine-yard pass and a first down. Brady and his offense are now at the Jet 31-yard line down by nine points with plenty of time left. At this point you had to think they would come away with at least a field goal if not a touchdown. Yet four plays later the window of opportunity would close, as the Pats would not gain even another yard. A no gain run by Woodhead, a three  yard loss on a sack, and two incomplete passes culminated the wasted 48 yard, clock devouring drive.

3) Jets more Experienced and Talented: Heading into this divisional playoff contest between the Jets and Patriots I fully expected a New England win. I thought the Jets were more talented, but that the Patriots had more team depth. With The Patriots having a better quarterback, but New York having more talented players at the skill positions and on defense. However, this superior team depth did not matter, as the Jets proved to be more talented and more experienced (as a team). Outside of a select few Patriot players


Look at their recieving corps that has size and incredible talent, allowing them to defeat the Patriots. Braylon Edwards at 6'3 abused the Pats secondary as best seen on the touchdown catch where he dragged two defenders with him into the end zone. Seven year veteran Jerricho Cotchery (6'0) burned the Patriot defensive backs with his 59-yard game changing reception. Dustin Keller is an elite pass catching tight end and you can't forget the most talented reciever on the Jets, (former Super Bowl MVP) Santonio Holmes. Who made an incredible corner of the end zone catch that burried the Patriots 21-11. Not only did the New York receiving corps prey upon the Pattrios defensive backs, but the Jet defense flexed its' superior talent and experience in victory.


The talent on the defensive side of the ball for the Jets is overwhelming and it showed against the Patriots in the divisional round. Antonio Cromartie has great size and speed that allows him to cover any deep passes and keep pace with anyone. Darrelle Revis is the top cover corner in the league with uncanny instincts and strength (at the corner position). David Harris (who intercepted Brady), Bart Scott, Jason Taylor and Calvin Pace make up perhaps the best linebacking group in the entire NFL. It is truly astounding that the Patriots were able to decimate this defense with 45 points way back in week 13. As much as I dislike the bombastic Rex Ryan, it had an amazing game plan to use man coverage against the Patriots' smaller receivers running short routes. Not to mention the blitz schemes that rattled Tom Brady and disrupted the league's best offense


 All of this being said it is still hard to believe that the Patriots lost this game after such an amazing season, but the Jets were simply more talented and more experienced (outside of the quarterback comparison). Good news for Patriot fans is that the New England Football team has a brighter future than the Jets. When football resumes the Patriots will have two of their best players on defense returning from injury and the entire team will have another year of experience. The huge portion of young players on the team will continue to grow, especially Rob Gronkowski who will emerge as the best tight end in the AFC. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will right the ship and find a way to win again at the postseason level. Even Rex Ryan knows that the Patriots are still the pride of the AFC East by saying: "I would say without question that we're behind them still” –Ryan. Despite a bright outlook for next season, there is still nothing we can do to wake up from what was a New England Nightmare.

Sources:

www.espn.com

http://www.weei.com/

Photos:
www.si.com