Filed under: Jets, Patriots, AFC East
The last time these two teams met four weeks ago on the same field, the Jets didn't even belong on the same field as the Patriots rolled to a 45-3 victory.Now Jets head coach Rex Ryan has made things personal between himself and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick -- and cornerback Antonio Cromartie has done the same between himself and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Back in September, New York pulled out a 28-14 win at New Meadowlands Stadium in cornerback Darrelle Revis' first game back after a lengthy contract holdout. Brady was running a different style of offense at the time with Randy Moss as his deep threat, but since Moss was traded, Brady and the offense have become much more productive.
Revis and the New York defense was not as dominant as they were in 2009, but the way he took Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne completely out of last week's 17-16 wild-card win proved that he is back to his Pro Bowl form. Cromartie, who started off strong in relief of Revis early in the season, regressed in the secondary, but his big kickoff return with less than a minute left last week helped set up Nick Folk's game-winning field goal.
Odds are this game won't come down to a last-second field goal as the Patriots are firing on all cylinders, and the experience of Brady will win out in the end.
Five Things to Watch:
1. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady against the New York secondary. Brady hasn't thrown an interception in 335 pass attempts and in the last meeting he threw four touchdown passes, exploiting every facet of the Jets' defense. Even if Revis can successfully shut down one side of the field, which isn't as easy to do in this game because there really isn't a clear No. 1 receiver on New England, Brady can look for Wes Welker in the slot, Julian Edelman and Brandon Tate out wide and his two dangerous rookie tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. That's too many options for a quarterback of Brady's caliber.
2. Jets wide receivers Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery against a young but improved New England secondary. Rookie Devin McCourty led the team with seven interceptions and earned a Pro Bowl berth, so he will likely line up on Holmes because Holmes has become Mark Sanchez's go-to guy. But if Sanchez is given time to throw, as he showed against the Colts, he isn't afraid to go deep for Edwards. His accuracy in the first meeting between the two teams, a 28-14 Jets victory, was impressive, but he was rattled at Gillette Stadium in December.
3. Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork against the interior of New York's offensive line. The Jets' O-line is considered among the best in the NFL, but Wilfork has stepped up his game this season and driven opposing quarterbacks crazy by sometimes lining up at the nose and other times lining up outside. If he can penetrate the backfield and force Sanchez to rush his throws it could be a long day for the second-year quarterback.
4. Jets all-purpose player Brad Smith against New England's special teams and defense. Smith is a game-changer much like Devin Hester is with the Chicago Bears because he can return a kickoff the distance for a touchdown, run and throw out of the Wildcat formation and exploit the middle and the outside of the field as an extra wide receiver. The Patriots cannot let him break loose for any long plays that can swing the momentum, and with Brandon Spikes back in the lineup he just might be a good candidate along with safety Patrick Chung to act as a spy on Smith when he's in the game.
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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2011/01/14/jets-vs-patriots-preview-amp-prediction/
Beaubois, Rodrigue Belinelli, Marco Bell, Charlie Bell, Raja Bibby, Mike
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