The Patriots and the Jets will renew their rivalry this weekend in the Meadowlands, with a late afternoon tilt.  You may have heard that New Jersey has added a certain gunslinging geriatric who, nevertheless, can still wing it with the best young guns in the league.  Since everyone already knows about him and what he can do, I'm going to focus on some of the other sub-plots in this drama.

This rivalry used to have more of a family picnic feel to it--at least among the fandom--as the legacy of the old AFL fostered some solidarity.  With Namath, the Jets struck the first blow against big brother, and the intervening years saw the shared misery of mediocrity (and worse).  No more.

As we will be constantly reminded this week, the Tuna made great waves, first by raising the Patriots from Patsies, then shopping himself down I-95 when he should have been preparing for the Favre-led Packers (one of Brett's two wins v. NE).  That lit the fuse and the intervening years have been a pitched battle for AFC East dominance.

Although the Patriots have had the upper hand of late, rarely have we been able to take the Jets for granted.  When we lost the back end of the yearly series in 2006, there were even rumblings that Belichick had been outcoached by his protege.  It was not a pretty sight, as the Patriots were outplayed on both sides of the ball.  The Jets were no match for New England last year, but with our key man down they look to regain the advantage, starting this Sunday.  Here are some guys in green to keep your eyes on:

Continue reading this post »