Patriots/Jets week thread discussion

[Pessimistic Pete]

Haven't seen a specific pre-game talk thread for this game yet, with the Gronk injury being the main topic.

Thoughts?

A loss would basically kill our hopes of getting a bye week. Would anyone actually be worried about the division if the Jets won? That'd put them at 5-6 and 2 games behind us with 5 remaining.

Their most realistic scenario for them would be us finishing 3-2 and them 5-0 against a soft schedule of vs Cardinals, @ Jaguars, @ Titans, vs Chargers, @ Bills. That would tie them with us and then come down to tie-breakers.

Don't see that happening, but I'd really like to just officially bury the rats. Don't want them getting momentum for that 6th wild card spot either. Regardless of how awful Sanchez is, Rex Ryan still always poses a potential challenge for Brady.

[Username]

Should be pretty straightforward, the Jets are not in our league. But we always seem to make it hard for ourselves so I'm going with 27-21 to the good guys

[supafly]

Yeah, as you said it be much nicer to bury them now.

While I see the 3-2 possibility on some outside level, it's hard to imagine them being able to suddenly run through the rest of the schedule at 5-0 too, so those chances are probably pretty slim. That would mean that they'd finish the season on a 7-0 run.

Even if the above scenario happened, we may still very well hold the tiebreaker over them depending upon where the losses occured. A loss to them on Thursday would still only put us at 3-1 in the division, so NE would still likely hold the tiebreaker anyway. You could get into hypotheticals as to which games we'd have to lose etc, but I think ALL of those scenarios happening at once equal a very long shot.

I do worry that Jones won't play on Thursday, just due to the fact that they may be cautious and choose to give him 2 weeks rest in between yesterday and the MIA game.

[Pessimistic Pete]

Originally Posted by supafly

You could get into hypotheticals as to which games we'd have to lose etc, but I think ALL of those scenarios happening at once equal a very long shot.

Now, looking at it the only way the Jets (10-6) would win a tie-breaker for the AFC East with a 10-6 Patriots team would be if the Patriots lose to the Jets then get swept by the Dolphins, which is very unlikely.

Still using the both teams finishing 10-6 scenario, if the Patriots lose 1 game to the Dolphins and then an additional team that would then put the common games tiebreaker into play. Regardless of who the additional loss it to, I'm pretty sure the Jets wouldn't be able to beat us there if we both finished 10-6.

Basically, their only real shot of winning the AFC East...
1. Patriots + Jets finish 10-6 with Patriots getting swept by Dolphins and losing to Jets
2. Patriots finish 2-4 and Jets finish 6-0

..looks like not too much to worry about on that front.

[Gumby]

To try to bring the topic a bit back toward OP and not looking down the road;......

It looks like all the Sanchize criticism, paradoxically, forced Rexy to limit Tebow's appearances this week (2 rushes, 1 pass & one of those was on a punt fake). I can't find snap counts to see how much he was in there as a diversion/decoy and didnt watch the game; but think these #s are an accurate reflection.

So, do they stay to form this week vs Pats or would they think they could SOMEHOW get an advantage with a wildcat/tebow surprise??

I think they are probably better off to stay with one or the other consistently (the little i have seen of jesters in non-Pats games their OC picked the silliest times to switch from one to the other).

And versus Pats stout run D; I would think they perhaps have a bit better odds with Sanchize in there; but either way I think it comes down to their ST and D (and Pats Off). If they can't stymie a wounded pats offense and get any pts on ST; Pats should still walk all over them and win by at least 10.

[Finnishfan]

Originally Posted by Pessimistic Pete

Haven't seen a specific pre-game talk thread for this game yet, with the Gronk injury being the main topic.

Thoughts?

A loss would basically kill our hopes of getting a bye week. Would anyone actually be worried about the division if the Jets won? That'd put them at 5-6 and 2 games behind us with 5 remaining.

Their most realistic scenario for them would be us finishing 3-2 and them 5-0 against a soft schedule of vs Cardinals, @ Jaguars, @ Titans, vs Chargers, @ Bills. That would tie them with us and then come down to tie-breakers.

Don't see that happening, but I'd really like to just officially bury the rats. Don't want them getting momentum for that 6th wild card spot either. Regardless of how awful Sanchez is, Rex Ryan still always poses a potential challenge for Brady.

I appreciate the effort of trying to make it look like the Jets have a theoretical chance to get to the postseason, but the bottom line is this:

The Rats have already buried themselves.

Now don't get me wrong here, they can win this game. There are multiple ways a team can win, most notoriously due to an egg laid by their opponent. But right now Rex Ryans answer regarding their playoff chances should resemble Jim Mora's comment

Their roster and coaching staff is depleted of talent:
- their QB sucks
- their lead RB sucks (should be a goal line back)
- their receiving corps is one of the worst in this league
- despite Wilkerson's few good games, their defensive line still sucks against both the run and the pass
- their biggest defensive asset over the past years (Revis) is out
- their headcoach is a joke
- their offensive line has also sucked all year long, despite they shouldn't suck

I mean, I find it difficult to make a fair analysis on this game, because I just don't see many strengths with the Jets. Even Westhoffs special teams have managed to lay a few eggs this year, most notably against the Dolphins.

But then again, if our defense does what it did against the Bills, then the sky is the limit for Mark Sanchez....

[JMC00]

Hasn't the last 3 seasons gone

1st game close Pats win or Jets win (including this season)
2nd game Pats win by at least two touchdowns

Does that trend continue?

[blackglass3]

Has no one discussed the Spikes v Brady thing that apparently happened today? Last night Spikes tweeted something about playing COD, this morning in an interview Brady make a comment about hoping everyone was getting ready for the game instead of playing video games, then a couple hours later Spikes tweeted not to judge him on how he lives his life.

Most of that is paraphrased, but you can find it on Twitter. SMY tweeted the video game thing, Spikes was the other stuff. Possible locker room issue arising?

(if this is old news I'm sorry, I am pretty cut off from the web at work and right now I am just taking a break from math homework)

[PatsWickedPissah]

Originally Posted by blackglass3

Has no one discussed the Spikes v Brady thing that apparently happened today? Last night Spikes tweeted something about playing COD, this morning in an interview Brady make a comment about hoping everyone was getting ready for the game instead of playing video games, then a couple hours later Spikes tweeted not to judge him on how he lives his life.

Most of that is paraphrased, but you can find it on Twitter. SMY tweeted the video game thing, Spikes was the other stuff. Possible locker room issue arising?

If true, Spikes need to get perspective. Game prep is your job. Living you life is what you do off season and when there's ample down time tween games. 4 days between games leaves little else besides time for intense game prep. You can be sure the coaches have all been working > 12 hour "days". Read Pepper's book for the non-life of a coach. It's brutal and a big reason why affluent ex-players rarely go that route.

[blackglass3]

Originally Posted by PatsWickedPissah

If true, Spikes need to get perspective. Game prep is your job. Living you life is what you do off season and when there's ample down time tween games. 4 days between games leaves little else besides time for intense game prep. You can be sure the coaches have all been working > 12 hour "days". Read Pepper's book for the non-life of a coach. It's brutal and a big reason why affluent ex-players rarely go that route.

To be fair, Spikes could have been talking to or about anyone. And Fonzie Dennard tweeted a couple hours ago about playing COD also.

I can't blame them for taking a break because we all do it. But I'd imagine what Brady says should go no matter what.