Last Updated on September 16, 2010 2:28 am by Anthony Rome
Patriots vs. Jets Preview
East Rutherford, NJ – With all the “Hard Knocks,” holdouts and hype behind them, the New York Jets didn’t look much like a team that is ready to dethrone the New England Patriots in the AFC East.
Especially if Tom Brady and the Patriots’ vaunted offense are indeed back to their old tricks.
The Jets will find out firsthand if they can hang with New England in the rivals’ much-anticipated clash Sunday at the New Meadowlands Stadium, but New York must quickly improve its sputtering offense and replace one of its top defensive players.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Patriots 1-point spread favorites for Sunday’s game against the Jets. Current NFL Public Betting Information shows that 90% of more than the 8,659 bets for this game have been placed on the Patriots -1.
The Jets suffered more than one loss in their opener Monday night, falling 10-9 to Baltimore and losing Kris Jenkins for the season to a torn ACL. The standout defensive tackle also missed 10 games last year with a similar injury.
“We lost a heck of a football player,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “The thing is, we did overcome him last year. Our defense rallied around the guys who were out there.”
Defense still isn’t the primary concern for New York, which managed six first downs against the Ravens – tying a franchise low from 1976.
“Offensively, there was nothing,” Ryan said. “There was no rhythm.”
Second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez was 10 of 21 for 74 yards, while starting running back Shonn Greene didn’t get a carry in the second half after fumbling twice before the break.
New York was also called for 14 penalties during a woeful showing that calmed some of the hype surrounding the Jets, who were mentioned as possible Super Bowl contenders following their surprising run to the AFC title game last season.
“It’s a disappointment for us as a team,” cornerback Darrelle Revis said. “We wanted to win this game to be 1-0 going into the Patriots game feeling good. Right now, we just have to go back to the drawing board.”
Revis held out for a new contract throughout training camp and the preseason, but agreed to a deal Sept. 5 after blossoming into perhaps the league’s top cover corner in 2009.
He’ll be eager to match up with New England wide receiver Randy Moss, who was held to nine catches for 58 yards and a touchdown in two meetings with the Jets last year.
“I look forward to the matchup,” Moss said. “I have a lot of respect for Darrelle Revis. He’s a young player who definitely matured faster than most young players do. I’ll get the best from him. He’ll get the best from me.”
Moss gained attention last Sunday for saying he was “hurt” that there haven’t been talks toward a contract extension as he begins the final year of his deal.
His quarterback was in the same situation, but Brady signed a four-year contract extension last Thursday that will make him the NFL’s highest-paid player.
Brady, who threw 23 of his record 50 touchdowns to Moss during his MVP season in 2007, capped a tumultuous week that also included a highly publicized car accident by throwing for 258 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-24 win over Cincinnati.
Two of his scores went to Wes Welker, who was back on the field after a speedy recovery from major knee surgery, and the high-powered Patriots added touchdowns on an interception return and a kickoff return.
Predictably, coach Bill Belichick was quickly looking ahead.
“It doesn’t really matter how you did last week or who you did it against,” Belichick said. “It’s different people. It’s a different scheme. It’s different the next time you do it. You have to prove it every week in this league.”
Despite their difficulties passing the ball, the Jets may try to attack New England’s young secondary, which features rookie Devin McCourty and Darius Butler – in his second year – starting at cornerback.
Sanchez led New York to a 16-9 win over the Patriots in Week 2 last year, throwing for 163 yards and a go-ahead touchdown to Dustin Keller in the third quarter. But New England gained revenge with a 31-14 home win Nov. 22 and won the division for the sixth time in seven years.
“This team we’re going up against, we’ve got to find a way,” Ryan said. “That team right there is going to score and we have to be able to score, obviously.”
Ryan added fuel to one of the NFL’s most colorful rivalries last year, saying that he didn’t take the Jets job “to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings.”
But a comment by Brady caused the biggest stir this offseason when the quarterback told a Boston radio station he wasn’t watching “Hard Knocks,” the HBO show that followed Jets training camp.
“I hate the Jets, so I refuse to support that show,” Brady told WEEI.
Ryan’s response: “Hell, he knows we hate the Patriots, so what’s the difference?”
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