Socci: For Brady And Receivers, Trust Is A Cornerstone
BUFFALO, N.Y. (CBS) -- On his final home Sunday as head coach of the New York Jets, Rex Ryan faced the franchise that had become a six-year obsession of his in the AFC East.
The outcome was altogether unsurprising. For the ninth time in a dozen regular-season meetings since announcing to the Big Apple that he wasn't about to "kiss Bill Belichick's rings," Ryan was left to shake his counterpart's hand in defeat. The final was 17-16, New England.
But as utterly frustrated as Ryan felt about a one-point loss, the greater point regarding him and that game is how, with with only a week left in his 4-12 farewell to Gang Green, Rex's defense acquitted itself.
The Jets held one of the league's most prolific offenses to just two touchdowns despite fielding a group of cornerbacks kindly described as a first-round disappointment and collection of cast-offs.
The former was Kyle Wilson, the 29th overall draft pick in 2010 who hadn't intercepted a pass since the 2012 opener. Others included a rookie free agent previously cut by Houston, Marcus Williams; a practice-squad pickup first signed by Atlanta, Darrin Walls; and a former Patriot playing for his fifth team overall, Phillip Adams. They were a far cry from the corners Rex once deployed in Darrelle Revis, who lined up that afternoon for the Patriots, and Antonio Cromartie.
But to their credit, those Jets, especially Williams, scrapped until the bitter end.
Of course, Revis and Cromartie are now reunited in New York under Ryan's successor, Todd Bowles. And Rex is on the opposite side of the Empire State, as the new head coach of the Buffalo Bills.
His next crack at the Pats comes today at 1 p.m., when Rex will fist pump along the sideline wearing a royal blue and red sweater vest -- rather than the same garment in green and black.
As for the defense he directs, no longer does Rex spin the dial with the lackluster corners of a year ago. This team, his Bills, man up with up-and-comers.
Yes, Buffalo's strength is clearly up front. And no, Stephon Gilmore and Ronald Darby aren't elite -- yet. But the talented Gilmore and speedy rookie Darby are definitely well-equipped to play Ryan's preferred aggressive style.
In Rex's victorious Buffalo debut last week vs. Indianapolis, they combined to break up six passes by Andrew Luck. Overall, Luck had 12 passes defended -- most in the NFL during Week 1 -- and was intercepted twice in the Bills' 27-14 win. Darby was responsible for the first pick, on a slight under-throw, leading to Buffalo's initial score.
With derring-do, the hard-hitting Bills made plays on the back end ... and made Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels take note.
"They challenge everything in the passing game," McDaniels said Tuesday on a conference call. "They play a lot of tight man coverage. They're physical at the line of scrimmage. They do a good job at the top of the route. They get their hands on an awful lot of balls, and it's going to be a big test for us to be able to create some separation in the passing game and try to get open and make some plays."
The tough and quick Julian Edelman and his fellow New England receivers, including one-of-a-kind target Rob Gronkowski at tight end, must outmuscle and outmaneuver Buffalo's defensive backs.
"The receiver position is not an easy one to play," McDaniels says. "You've got to do a lot of things right in order to give yourself an opportunity to get the ball, and our guys are going to have to do a lot right this week against a very talented, physical, aggressive secondary."
Counting on them to do those things, exactly, is their quarterback Tom Brady.
"I try to let them know that, if I'm going to throw it to them, I better trust them," Brady said on Wednesday, explaining that his expectation has to sync with the receivers' execution.
He releases his throws anticipating where and when they'll come out of their breaks. Protecting both the ball and themselves requires their timing to be precise.
"There are a lot of things that we talk about every day about how to gain each other's trust," Brady said, accentuating an example with hand gestures. "[As a receiver] you're looking at [a certain] depth [on a route], and I'm going to throw it [there], and you turn out, [that] is where you've got to expect it.
"That's part of what we practice every day. That's all the walk-throughs, all the practice, so that when you get out on the field you can play with all that anticipation. And then it really looks like we know what we're doing."
Only a week into the new season, Brady is far from satisfied with where they are, relative to where they want to be.
"Hopefully, as the season goes on and on, you get more confident in what you're doing, because every year you start at the same place everybody else does – right at the bottom – and you try to build your team and build a foundation, the fundamentals," he said. "And you try, through the hundred practices that we have, to get to a point where, by the end of the year, you're really at a point where you're maximizing your potential. I wouldn't say we're there quite yet."
Probably not.
Nevertheless, today's outcome is likely to come down to who gets there first: Ryan's corners or Brady's receivers.
TWO-POINT TRY
EARNING HIS STRIPES: For obvious reasons -- be it the bluster of Ryan and several Bills players or the stated objective of Buffalo fans to turn Ralph Wilson Stadium into the loudest outdoor venue in sports -- much is being made about all the noise this week in Western New York.
Although the bulletin-board vitriol and bravado stop being relevant at kickoff, the amplification of 71,000 screaming in full throat will impact today's encounter. Surely, they'll be emboldened by last Sunday's convincing home win for the Bills over the Colts. And harboring the frustration of 15 playoff-less seasons as well as an anti-Patriots fervor, they won't make it easy for the visitors from New England to communicate.
Meanwhile, for the other on-field guests at the Ralph, it won't be business as usual -- especially compared to Week 1 of 2015. Seven days ago referee Ron Torbert and his crew worked Carolina at Jacksonville, where ostensibly no sound records were threatened.
Torbert ended up announcing just six accepted penalties (three apiece) in the Panthers' 20-9 win. His next assignment figures to be very different. Torbert is a second-year NFL referee, following four seasons as a league side judge. This weekend marks his first opportunity to wear the ref's white cap for a Patriots game.
SEEING THE FIELD LIKE A QUARTERBACK: My broadcast partner, Scott Zolak, has naturally (indeed, what you see and hear is who Zo truly is) gained a following with his irrepressible personality and unbridled energy on air. I'm biased, but he also happens to be an outstanding analyst.
Simply put, he sees what appears to be a very complex game like the long-time quarterback he was. Including and especially what the quarterbacks he's watching are looking at. Live or on tape.
For example, first-year starter Tyrod Taylor, the ex-Baltimore backup, played a relatively mistake-free game in leading the Bills to a 24-0 lead over Indianapolis last week. Taylor's longest throw, supplying the game's first score, was a 51-yard pass to Percy Harvin. At first glance, Taylor seemed to do everything right on his long ball over corner Darius Butler.
Yet when Scott took another look at the big play, he picked up something Patriots coaches and defenders probably did too. 1) Taylor stared down Harvin the entire way, before 2) delivering his throw to the inside.
Against Indy, the safety wasn't in position to read Taylor's eyes and break on the ball. Opposite New England, as explained here in the "Zo Show" via patriots.com, that likely won't be the case.
Bob Socci is the radio play-by-play voice of the New England Patriots. You can follow him on Twitter @BobSocci.