(Photo courtesy of Charles Krupa/AP)
by Dakota Antelman
The Patriots roll into the Meadowlands for their Sunday game vs. the Jets riding high following their 41-13 win over the Dolphins that wrapped up the division for them. Furthermore, they enter their second to last game of the season aware of the fact that wins in these two games will guarantee them the number one seed in the AFC.
On paper, their next two opponents, the Jets and Bills, are not the most imposing of foes. However against each of them, especially the Jets, the Patriots have a long history of struggles that beg to make these next two contests more intense than they might seem.
Despite the Jets 3-11 record, the team is a threat to New England.
"I know the records are what they are, but we don't look at it like that," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. "We lost going into the Meadowlands last year."
The Jets have a way of keeping themselves in games that they could easily have been blown out in. Four of the last five Patriots/Jets games have been decided by three or fewer points. This season alone, which featured 10 New York losses by Week 13, has also featured four games decided by five or fewer points.
The Patriots attribute the Jets ability to keep pace to their defense.
“They've got a real good defense," Brady said. "We're anticipating their best game."
That Jets defense, made up of guys like Muhammad Wilkerson at the line and Marcas Williams in the secondary, like the rest of the team, has a history of elevating its game whenever the Patriots are on the schedule. In the five games since the beginning of the 2012 season, New England has scored 30 points just once.
At the same time however, New England comes to the Meadowlands with a kind of diverse attack comparable only to Patriots teams of the early 2000’s. They have three receivers (Brandon LaFell, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski) who are within striking distance of 1,000 yard seasons while they also boast a running back core that has them converting on 3rddowns at one of the highest rates in the NFL.
If the roll over the Jets, which they might very well convincingly do, the result, though expected could lead to an immense turnover within the Jets system next offseason. Of the biggest of those potential changes stands at the coaching position.
An eccentric Jets coach, Rex Ryan, appears to be on his last legs coaching a team that has averaged 16 points per game this year.
As has been pointed out all week, this game could in turn be his last as part of the Jets/Patriots rivalry. He insists however that he is focused on just this week’s matchup.
"It's not hard for me to do," Ryan said. "I'm a confident person, and I think I'm a decent football coach and I think people who know the game realize that. So, I don't worry about it."
If Ryan was watching the Patriots news feed this week he might have even been given some news to celebrate when a stream of announcements were made Saturday afternoon that neither Julian Edelman, LeGarette Blount or Kyle Arrington had made the trip with the Patriots to New York.
Each with mild to somewhat severe injuries, those three Patriots core players were the subjects of trending topics and worried analysis this week as they were all limited in team practices. The Jets could have predicted that at least one or two of them would have stayed back but to see Arrington, Blount and Edelman all as no shows ought to be somewhat of a surprise.
In their absence, the rest of the Patriots team will need to pick up the slack. Lucky for them, a stacked depth chart gives them the options and freedom to do that.
Speculations dictate that RB’s who have seen decreased snaps since the signing of Blount could be thrust back into starting roles this week. Guys like Jonas Gray or Shane Vereen have their eyes set on big days.
Danny Ammendola could step in to compensate for the loss of Edelman at wide receiver, while the Patriots could also institute a more varied target distribution over the entire receiving unit including LaFell, Gronkowski and possibly even Aaron Dobson.
In terms of the secondary, where Arrington normally plays, New England will still be able to designate Darelle Revis to a full time coverage of Jets pass catchers Percy Harvin and Eric Decker while CBs, Brandon Browner and Logan Ryan could also see inflated snap counts.
All and all though, New England enters the game aware of their weaknesses but eager to exploit the Jets’. The Jets will try to rain on the Patriot parade but if the past is any indication, a close win could be in the near future for the Patriots as long as they do not get complacent.
"We have to play our best football to win," New England defensive end Chandler Jones said, "and I truly believe that."
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