FOXBOROUGH - "You're gonna eat lightning and you're gonna crap thunder! You're gonna become a very dangerous person." - Mickey in 'Rocky 2'
I don't know if Mike Vrabel channeled his inner Mickey Goldmill, trainer of the great Rocky Balboa, but it sure feels that way. The Patriots beat the Giants every which way they could on Monday Night at Gillette Stadium, running their win streak to 10 games. And here I was, worrying about the cumulative effects of a Pats season that hasn't had any breaks since they got started in earnest back in late July.
After all, injuries were mounting - the entire left side of the offensive line is out - and with the bye week looming, maybe this would be the time to slip up. Boy, was that a stupid thought. This team may be tired and a little beat up, but with the promise of a nice break, it left little doubt about the outcome of this one. In fact, if there were ever a night for the opposing team to throw in the towel, this was it.
There was an element of physical toughness from the Pats that harkened back to their dominant defensive days when Vrabel wore the #50, and not a headset and a red vest. It started early, on special teams even. Marcus Jones took a punt back 94 yards to the house, exploiting some rather large gaps - canyon-esque - presented by the GMen’s wayward coverage team. But a closer look revealed several blocks delivered with purpose. Caleb Murphy, Marte Mapu and Jack Gibbens all took defenders to the ground.
"I commend them," Jones said. "Without them, I wouldn't be able to get any yards, I can honestly say. ... I try to just make them right. They do the hard part and everything, and all I do is just follow blocks and kind of go from there."
Jones was being modest. He's just the fourth player in franchise history to have two punt returns for touchdowns in a single season, joining Troy Brown, Irving Fryar, and Mike Haynes. He's also now the NFL's all-time punt return average leader, officially qualifying tonight.
"First off, man, I think of those situations, whenever my dad had me, like, in the parking lot, and I was four years old, and he used to throw the ball in the air and be like, track it," Jones added. "That was the first thing I thought about."
On the Giants' ensuing series, with the crowd already deep in their feelings - singing and cheering and unabashedly seranading Drake Maye with MVP chants - Christian Elliss
