Congratulations Jets fans.. And I'm not talking to the Pennington haters who I've railed on throughout this year. He is the biggest reason your team is at where thay are. I happen to think NE will win (surprise, surprise) but it's based on the fact that NE was without Ty Warren (their best defensive player this year) and Seymour might as well have skipped that game with his elbow injury he sat out 95% of the second half. Vince is back and Brady and BB have 5 or 6 weeks worth of game tape to prepare for Rhodes and the boys and their blitz schemes this time around. Oh, and there's no rain in the forecast and the sandbox has been replaced with a field turf. Sunday's forecast is for a sunny and brisk 50 degree day. Should be a good game. great to have rivalry back at full force. Makes it a lot more fun.
Fair argument. In our defense, I do believe our running game is better than it was then, though it was Barlow who had the bulk of the runs. I'm interested to see how the Jets run the football versus how New England runs.
Warren is still banged up so to expect him to be his normal self might be asking alot. I am very worried about this game, Brady has never lost a home playoff game(neither has belichick as he was 1-0 at home w/ Cle) and it s not easy beating NE twice in one season. I do think we'll have a chance and if we play our best game of the year we can win but I am very fearful of your ground game. if we can't control the run somewhat we'll have no chance. We cannot allow a 150+ yd rushing day from Mauroney/Dillon. If that happens we'll never be able to stop Brady. How many times can you confuse Brady? We did so last game but I wouldn't expect to come at him w/ the same blitzes that worked w/o him figuring it out. Offensively it's on Chad. Teams have run on NE and we did w/ Barlow but w/ a little better health it will be more difficult. if we can run enough, kind of like we did last week then i think we'll be ok. The pats D only gave up 10 passing TDs all season but 3 came against the Jets so I think Coles and Cotch match up well w/ their DBs and that will be the key for our O. I also think we have a big STs edge, mauroney is a good KR but we have excellent coverage teams and our K is more reliable at this point. I would expect a 20-16, 20-13 type win for NE but I HOPE I am wrong.
Well, I think you make some fair points. Believe me, I would have preffered to play Cutler and the Broncos, despite Denvers success against NE. I do think Chad and Coles are the keys to the game. I think NE always focuses on taking away who they perceive to be their opponents best player. In this case Coles. (Coles has really hurt NE over the years). I can see NE just flooding the secondary, particularily the middle of the field and forcing Chad to make longer throws to the sidelines and deep down the field. I see the Pariots trying to establish the run and then taking shots with play action and some screens to Faulk to keep the Jets honest on D.
I don't think you're run game will be as successful as last time. The main reason for that was Warren not being in the game and Seymour out of almost the second half (as previously posted). Also, Wilfork had trouble with footing in the sand. I do agree that you have the edge in Special Teams and at WR. But I do believe that BB will come up with a game plan to take the WR's out of this for the most part. At least in the short passing routes. I think NE wins this game, but I don't think it'll be a cakewalk. No injuries please! And no stupid penalties.
My honest opionion is that I think the Pats will win. I just don't think the Jets are ready to win this kind of game against them yet. A lot of success this year has been due to the fact that we had a better gameplan than our opponent. Against the Pats especially after we beat them last time I think that advantage will be nullfied and the more playoff tested Pats will prevail. However that said. I'm sure the Jets will put up a fight and I wouldn't be suprised if they somehow pulled out a win. I think ou personnel is a lot closer than people think but our weakness against the run and the fact that I think Brady will outplay Chad will probably be enough for them to win.
If I were NE, the ONE team I would NOT want to see in the POs is the NY Jets. The fear of losing to the Jets is overwhelming. A loss to the Jets at home in the playoffs would formaly close the book on NE, and NE knows this. NE will be playing "NOT TO LOSE". They will be playing tight. Every player on the NE team does NOT want to be the reason they lost to the JETS. The Jets, OTOH, will be playing loose and with confidence. If the slightest thing goes right for the Jets early, they will be on an unstopable roll. NE has to be hating this game. Has to.
NE is not hating this game at all. I believe they wanted this match up. If we didn't, we would not have played to win against Tenn. Before last weeks game, if we won and then Colts lost, we would have played the Jets. I don't think anyone thought that Denver was going to lose to SF. If we wanted to increase our odds of not having to play you this weekend, we would have pulled all of our starters after the 1st quarter and given Tenn. the chance to win. NE did not want to see Denver. We don't match up well against them.
I wonder with a rookie QB playing for Denver (though he will certainly be good in the future) and the game being in New England, if things would have been different though. I'm not sure Denver would have been as bad a match as it was last year for the Pats.
I agree with that, although their defense is pretty much the same. That is where we don't match up against them. We usually handled their offense OK, it was OUR offense that had difficulty against their small fast defenders. I just think if given the choice, they'd take this match up over that one.
The more I look at the matchup the more it looks like a blue-plate upset special. The Pats have all the pressure on them and the Jets basically have a free ride. The Pats are nearing the end of a great streak in which they basically had the NFL as their playground and the Jets are beginning to see the possibilities under a focused coach. The Pats are showing bald patches in various areas (receivers) and have at least one really key injury (Harrison) and the Jets are a well-rounded team that improved as the season progressed with their notable bald spot (tailback) not looking so bald as Washington emerged. I've been watching the NFL and the Jets for a long time now and I don't think I've ever seen better prospects for a surprise upset. Pats are still favored but that could turn into something else in about 5 minutes on Sunday. I'm going to enjoy watching this one.
I'm not saying it is going to be any easy win by any means. Any team is capable of beating any other team. It will depend on which team plays better on Sunday. I was just saying that if NE HAD to make a choice between Denver and NY, they'd go with NY.
The Jets do have a better coach now, but we still have a great coach in our own right (he did teach Eric everything he knows also). We too have improved as the year has progressed. Don't be so quick to write off the Pats. The media has been attempting to do that over the past couple of years. As far as our receivers, they are clicking heading into the playoffs.
I think Belichick's change in field surface ironically favors the Jets and is an improvement for us over the muddy, slippery surface on which we won the last game. Justin Miller on KR is always dangerous, but his speed is enhanced on the new surface. Same thing with Leon Washington's juking capability. He'll be hell to tackle when he starts cutting on it. It also optimizes the play of our ST's, who have limited opposing returns to an average of 20 yards, the best average in the NFL, on all surfaces. This surface is even better for them. My best guess is, the game will probably be decided by a turnover. I just hope it's not Chad's. I think our DEF is capable of getting the turnover, especially if they stay aggressive. On Offense, Schottenheimer has shown a willingness to take a calculated gamble and we'll need to continue to do that against this team, including going for it on 4th down if we have to. I think we're out-talented and still out-coached despite Mangini and Schotty, but I think our players reach down real deep and find a way to win one for the penguin. Nugent and Graham both come up big. Jets 23 Pats 17
I respect the Pats. The deck is stacked vs. the Jets in this one for sure. A win will be a formidable task. But one thing I see Pats fans continue to harp on, with little merit in my opinion, was the field condition in the last game. While it was horrendous, it was horrendous for both teams. Dillon ripped a ~50-yd run vs. the Jets in the first half -- the longest run in BB's career at NE. Our d-line had the same issues that the Pats' d-line had. Did BB practice his players on a muddy field during the week? Mangini did, and maybe that helped the Jets get those clutch first downs in the fourth quarter and helped Ellis turn the corner on the final sack.
I only mentioned the field as part of the reason. Brady just plays much better on turf, vs. grass. The Jets showed up that day more than the Pats. The grass favors Dillon, but the turf favors Maroney's running style. Whatever happened in the past is the past. Both records are 0-0. It's a new season. The Team that shows up and plays better will win this game. The Jets have the edge on Special Teams and WR. I think we have the edge elsewhere.
After reading a lot of these posts, one theme seems to be obvious. That is that all of the pressure is on NE. I agree. They obviously have a lot to lose. But when has this team not ever responded to pressure in big time games...How about all of their wins over Pitt and Indi over the last 5 years? If there's one guy in all of sports who can respond to pressure better than anyone....it's Tiger Woods with Brady close behind.
