Ian Rapoport gives us five things to watch for tonight. Here's one:
Can Brady and the offensive line can handle the Jets' creative scheme. If there’s one thing that’s clear with coach Rex Ryan’s defense, it’s that they will blitz. Whether it’s overloading one side, mixing-and-matching rushers, or disguising their looks, they will attempt to confuse Brady. And Brady has struggled against them. He had his lowest passer rating of 2009 vs. the Jets, and he had two interceptions in the first meeting this season. Yet this year, the Jets are just 12th with 24 sacks, a sign they may not torment Brady as much as usual. Can he handle them?
Christopher Price lists his 10 things worth keeping an eye on in Monday's Patriots-Jets game.
Exploiting matchups in the New York secondary. The Jets figure to have some sort of combination of Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie on Deion Branch and Wes Welker. While Revis and Cromartie are two of the better corners in the league, there’s not much past that, which should allow the Patriots to take advantage of some mismatches, particularly when it comes to covering the two rookie tight ends. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez could create problems for the Jets, particularly with New York missing safety Jim Leonhard, who is out for the rest of the season with a broken leg. Hernandez had a career-day against the Jets in their first meeting, finishing with six catches for 101 yards, while Gronkowski remains a red-zone threat. Regardless of who gets the ball, there should be opportunities for New England in the passing game. It all depends on how the Patriots take advantage.
Jim McBride lists his three Patriots' keys to victory.
1. Lieutenant Zip: Tom Brady has to be at his distributing best, firing lasers to the open man quickly and efficiently to keep the Jets’ defense from grounding him.
2. Smack ’em, yak ’em: Getting to Mark Sanchez (and getting in his head) is imperative. Hit him early to prevent him from getting comfortable and gaining confidence.
3. Please clear the runway: Tough offensive linemen Logan Mankins and Dan Koppen have to make lanes for the running back crew.
TEAM TALK
- Erik Scalavino catches us up with the comings and goings and doings at Gillette from Friday.
- Andy Hart offers his Friday Six-Pack to get us in the proper state of mind for tonight's fight for it all in Foxboro.
- Erik Scalavino tells us what happened at Saturday's practice at Gillette.
- Pats-Jets Saturday Injury Report.
- ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning is being broadcast live from Showcase Live at Patriot Place today from 6-10 am.
- Patriots All Access - How the Patriots and Jets have changed since Week 2; We go back to Detroit and re-live the sights and sounds from the Thanksgiving Day win, including the post-game locker room; Interviews and more. (41 min. video)
- Patriots Today - Perillo's points on Jets. (4.46 min. video)
- Patriots Today - Saturday's update from practice. (2.31 min. video)
- Locker Room Uncut - Clayton, Moore on board. (3 min. video)
- Patriots Today - More roster moving and shaking. (1.48 min. video)
LOCAL LINKS
- Shalise Manza Young wraps up the extra-long build-up to 'the game', that will finally come to a head tonight.
- Mark Farinella says finally, after 11 days of hype, it's time to play a football game.
- Karen Guregian feels losing isn't an option for the Patriots if they're serious about a Super Bowl run.
- Robert Lee says it's all but a 'must-win' for the Patriots.
- Karen Guregian delves into the intriguing matchup of Bill Belichick vs. Rex Ryan.
- Jackie MacMullan says Bill and Rex are more alike than you think.
- Tom E. Curran reports Rex Ryan thinks the Patriots were being sarcastic in their praise of the Jets.
- Gary Marbry's fantastic, stat-filled Patriots-Jets Game Preview.
- Jim McBride breaks down Pats-Jets and which team has the edge.
- Robert Lee analyzes all phases of the game and gives the edge to the Patriots.
- Greg A. Bedard takes a look at the Jets with help from New York Times beat writer Greg Bishop.
- Greg A. Bedard discovers Tom Brady and Deion Branch admitted they've been watching a lot of film, and not just on the Jets.
- Boomer Esiason appeared as a guest on WEEI this morning, and thinks 'Tom Brady will have major success down the middle of the field'.
- Mike Petraglia notes Deion Branch was "cool" after ESPN analyst Cris Carter called him "just a guy" who "disappears too much in the game against regular corners."
- Ian Rapoport reports Brandon Tate hopes his extra work with the JUGS machine after practices will translate into earning Brady's trust on the field.
- Steve Buckley spotlights the fierce tackling machine that is Jerod Mayo.
- Tom E. Curran talks about whether the Patriots will put Devin Mccourty on Santonio Holmes.
- Robert Lee notes Rob Gronkowski could prove to be the difference-maker against the Jets tonight.
- Mark Farinella reports that while six MIAA Eastern Mass Super Bowls were being played inside Gillette Stadium Saturday (CONGRATULATIONS MANSFIELD!) the Patriots were practicing inside the field house.
- Amalie Benjamin says Jets' RB LaDainian Tomlinson is still a force to be reckoned with.
- Tedy Bruschi identifies Santonio Holmes as the top target for the Patriots to stop.
- Mike Reiss scouts referee Scott Green's crew, that will be officiating tonight's game.
- Dan Shaughnessy agrees this is not the Super Bowl ... It's bigger.
- Christopher Price details the best three-game stretches of Tom Brady's career.
- Tom E. Curran sees that the Patriots are built to last and wonders if the same can be said for the Jets.
- Ian Rapoport Patriots Notebook: Wes Welker feels for Jets' safety Jim Leonhard who was put on IR with a season-ending injury; Both Jets and Pats are waiting until gametime to decide which ailing players will be active; Devin McCourty is a more experienced CB than he was in Week 2; It has been a decade since the Jets swept the Pats.
- Shalise Manza Young Patriots Notebook: Darius Butler would like to erase the memory of Braylon Edwards doing the "Dougie" in his face; Bill Belichick has noticed improvement in Butler's game since Week 2; Brandon Meriweather and Tully Banta-Cain have seen Mark Sanchez playing a lot better and leading a lot of comebacks for the Jets.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Tim Graham (ESPN) Jets know what invincible feels like.
- Tim Graham (ESPN) Patriots' third-down D historically bad.
- Kerry J. Byrne (SI) Cold Hard Football Facts breaks down the game of the week: Jets-Patriots. Good read.
- Greg Bishop (NY Times) Jets and Patriots are more alike than portrayed.
- Tim Graham (ESPN) Jets lose integral defender Jim Leonhard.
- The Monday Night Football Crew (ESPN) Previews the game. (.46 min. video)
- Mike Tirico (ESPN) Rex Ryan on Pats: 'I think they're concerned, they should be concerned.' (1.11 min. video)
- Sunday NFL Countdown (ESPN) The crew discusses which team needs home-field advantage most. (3.11 min. video)
- Tim Graham (ESPN Countdown Daily) Jets at Patriots predictions. (1.27 min. video)
- NFL This Week (Yahoo! Sports) Tiki Barber and Michael Silver discuss tonight's matchup. (4.41 min. video) Both pick Pats to win.
- Peter King (SI) MMQB: With 4 weeks left, Steelers in great shape in AFC; reeling colts are not.
- Don Banks (SI) Inside the NFL: Surprising Jags, tumbling Titans, improving Vikings and more from Week 13.
- Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) Week 13 winners and losers: Polamalu, Falcons stand out, while Peyton Manning, Randy Moss disappoint.
- Andrew Perloff (SI) First and 10: MJD makes MVP case, Cutler improves and more.
- Clifton Brown (Sporting News) On the outside: Manning, Rivers could miss playoffs.
- Steve Wyche (NFL.com) Once the solution, Manning now part of the Colts' problems.
- Michael David Smith (Wall Street Journal) Why bother drafting a running back?
VIEW FROM NEW YORK
- Steve Serby (NY Post) Why the Jets will beat the Patriots.
- Jenny Vrentas (NJ Star-Ledger) Jets need to rattle, pressure, hurry and hit Patriots QB Tom Brady.
- Manish Mehta (NY Daily News) Mark Sanchez knows he must eliminate mistakes if Jets hope to defeat Patriots in New England.
- Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post) Anticipation boiling over for Jets.
- Mike Lupica (NY Daily News) Titanic matchup with hated Patriots is golden opportunity for big-talking Rex Ryan, Jets.
- Jenny Vrentas (NJ Star-Ledger) Next step for Rex Ryan's Jets would be a win over Tom Brady in Foxboro.
- Gary Myers (NY Daily News) Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan poised to become next Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in QB-coach defined NFL.
- Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post) Trevor Pryce: Brady's still blitz-proof.
- Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post) Gholston closes in on first pro sack.
- Brad Hamilton (NY Post) Jets' Holmes saving team, himself.
- Kevin Kernan (NY Post) Jets' Leonhard out for season, mates ready to pick up the slack.
- Conor Orr (NJ Star-Ledger) Jets Gameday: Duel against the Patriots has reached Red Sox-Yankees proportions.