Patriots/Jets

I have one question for Jets fans. Is this really what you wanted? I am not talking about making the playoffs, the answer to that is obvious. I am talking about their opponent in the playoffs. The talk amongst Jets fans right now is that they wanted the Pats in the first round. There are two obvious reasons for this. First of all the Jets have hated the Patriots for the past five years. During their dominance of the AFC East, the Pats have beaten up on the Jets. In addition, now that the coaches, Eric Mangini and Bill Belicheck (more on this below) have their frosty relationship, the rivalry has heated up even more. The other reason is that the Jets beat the Pats in New England earlier in the season for the first time in years. All I have to say to the Jet fans is, be careful what you wish for.

The Patriots are the most playoff tested team in the entire NFL. They have three Super Bowls in the past five seasons. They have the best head coach and the most clutch QB in the sport. Many of the NFL pundits have predicted their downfall, but they still finished 12-4, ending the season with impressive wins on the road against two very physical teams (Jacksonville and Tennessee). In my mind, they are still the team to beat in the AFC.

When it comes to the game this weekend, even though the Jets beat New England this season, I do not feel that they match up well against them. When the Jets beat the Pats, it had much to do with how the Jets played as it did with the weather (Gillette Stadium has since changed to filed turf to prevent this same thing from happening). Whenever the weather is as bad as it was in that game it always favors the underdog. Not only was the weather bad, but the turf was horrible. In addition, the Pats had numerous players out with injuries. I am not saying that the game was a fluke, I am just saying that when you look at these two teams, things that the Pats do well, are things that the Jets are trouble with, mainly running the ball.

The Pats are going to look to pound the ball down the Jets throats. With Lawrence Maroney and Corey Dillon, the Patriots may have the best RB combo in the league. The Jets meanwhile have struggled in stopping the run all year. In order for the Jets to have any chance to control this run, they are going to have to add an extra man in the box. The Jets do not want to do this because if they do, then the passing game will be opened up for Tom Brady. On the other side of the ball, the Pats are the fourth best team in the league at stopping the run. This is extremely important because the Jets will go into this game with the intention running the ball, controlling the clock and keeping Tom Brady on the sidelines. The biggest key in the game will be how effective the Jets are in running the football.

I do not feel that the Jets will be able to stop the Patriots from moving the football. The Patriot offense has gotten healthier in the end of the season and Brady has become more comfortable with his receiving core. If the Jets struggle to stop the Pats form moving the football, then they are going to have to force turnovers to stay in this game. How they plan to blitz Brady will be a key, especially with Kerry Rhodes from the safety position. He has had a great season, especially in blitzing the QB. If they can create pressure, and play aggressively, then they might get the turnovers that they will need.

When it comes to the Patriots there is not one thing that they have to do. They are a chameleon team. From week to week, year to year they have adapted and done whatever it takes to win. The Jets on the other hand will need to control the ball and the clock in order to win this ballgame.

In past seasons the Jets are appeared to be intimidated by the Patriots. Like most championship clubs, the Patriots have a certain swagger and attitude. The Jets had consistently lost to them and then seen the Pats go on to win multiple championships. I believe that this was true up until the second half of their first meeting with the Pats this season. The Jets were down big early in that game and then came back in the second half to almost win. The next time they met, the Jets beat the Pats. Going into this game the Jet players will definitely feel like they can beat the Pats. If I am a Jet fan, I would be more worried about them reacting to the playoff stage than intimidation by the Patriots.

Much of the reason the Jets are no longer intimidated by the Patriots is because of their coach. Eric Mangini came to the Jets in the offseason after being an assistant in New England under Bill Belichek. He has brought with him much of the discipline and ideals taught to him by Belichek. It had been widely reported that Mangini was encouraged not to take the Jets head coaching position by Belicheck and since he has taken it the two have not spoken. This has caused a media firestorm, and has seemed to pump up the Jet players. Following last years' debacle the Jet roster has rallied behind Mangini and his fresh coaching perspective. When the Jets won the game in New England in November, many of the players said that was for the coach. They feel he has been disrespected, much like they have been by the Patriots in years past.

This match-up is the classic example of a big/little brother scenario. The Patriots have been beating up on the Jets for years. Brady has been the star, while Chad Pennington has looked like a star at times, but been injured and average at others. New England has always had the great coach, and now the Jets feel like they have a great coach of their own. The Jets have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to the Patriots, while the Patriots do not have that same edge. As a result, the first touchdown in this game will be very important. If the Jets get it, their fire will turn into greater confidence. If the Pats get it, they may be able to impose their playoff will on the Jets even more.

When it comes down to it, this is a battle of the playoff veterans and the new kids on the block. While I feel that the Jets will come out with incredible passion and fire, the Patriot poise will be too resilient. In addition, the Brady/Belicheck duo will be too much for the Jets. Brady does not make mistakes in playoff games, and Belichek does not lose to average QBs (exception is the Denver game last year when a lot of weird things/calls happened). Like I said before, the Jets have a chance if they are able to run the ball and control the clock. In the end though, I think that the story will be the Pats running game and this will be a rather easy victory for New England.

I will be rooting for the Jets, but I don't see it happening for them. No matter what though, they had a wonderful season. The franchise is back on the winning track and they have build a new mentality going forward. Look back in history and you will see that most championship teams must first lose in the playoffs to bitter, but better rivals before they can overtake them. The Jets day may come, but I would be very surprised if it was this Sunday.

To my two favorite Jet fans:

Smurph....Right now I am watching ur Irish lose to LSU, your Jets are going to lose on Saturday, and ur Yanks haven't won in six seasons. Have you been given the Kappy curse or something?

Jordan....Hope ur surgery went well. I'm wishing ur Jets well, but I don't see it happenin. At least we will still have OUR Giants after this weekend! (Hopefully)

Friday....Theeeeeeeeee G-MEN

Before I go I just want to address the joke that is Notre Dame football. Can the national media please stop riding the Irish and giving them high preseason rankings. If they started the season #10 instead of #2, then they would have never been high enough to get a BCS bowl game this year. They have not won a bowl game since 1993, and have not beaten a top team in what feels like the same length of time. While I like Weiss, he has not changed the notre Dame culture like everyone tries to say. The program is still not elite. Let them beat a top five team, or win a bowl game before we annoint them back on the college football map. I am so glad I don;t have to hear about them for another eight months...

STKAFI