That's an interesting thought. If the Jets signed Adalius Thomas and he still had something left in the tank, and then drafted a good CB to play opposite Revis, let's say Joe Haden for example, that defense would be downright scary to face and a matchup nightmare for the Pats. Revis and Haden to shut down Moss and Welker. LB corps of Pace, Scott, Harris, AD with a healthy Jenkins back in the middle would get a ton of pressure on Brady. Smith and Leonhard at safety is good enough (yes, I think Eric Smith is better than and should be starting over Kerry Rhodes, especially after going to the Carolina vs Jets game and seeing Eric Smith play extremely well).
As much as it pains me to say it, Rex Ryan's system is better than Belichick's. I hate the Jets, hate Rotund Rex Ryan, and hate their arrogance and big mouths. But I have to say the way they play defense is the way I wish our team to played defense. Every time we bring in new blood we say okay this guy is gonna solve our pass rushing problem, and he doesn't. Belichick's not a dumb, he knows talent. He just believes in a different style of defense based on bending but not breaking and protecting against the huge play.
Look at the Jets with BB's protege Mangini and look at them with Rex. Mangini played the same type of defense that we play because that is what he was taught. Last year Cassel carved them up for 400 yards in Foxboro! Brady and Co. smoked them in the 07 opener at the Meadowlands for 300 yards and 3 TD's.
The Jets fire Mangini and bring in Rex. The only key personnel addition was Bart Scott. Leonhard is an average safety and Lito Sheppard has been a big disappointment. So the Jets really don't change much personnel, but rather change the type of 3-4 defense they are playing.
First Pats vs Jets game of the Rex era, we lose 16 to 9. Brady was rattled in the pocket and looked scared out there. No Welker definitely hurt, but we couldn't punch the ball in the end zone and the Jets' defense played phenomenal holding us to 216 yards in the air on 47 passing attempts. They forced the issue, brought heat, and hit Brady early and often.
Second game vs Jets of the Rex era, we win 31-14 with Sanchez basically handing us a W. After the game when asked why the Jets didn't blitz/attack much in the first half, Rex says he and the coaching staff were a bit thrown off with the 5 wide empty backfield sets the Pats were using, so they were sitting back more than they usually do. He then goes on to say that at halftime they decided that philosophy wasn't working and decided to shift gears to start getting a lot of heat on Brady. The Pats had a lot of trouble moving the ball in the 2nd half vs the Jets D. They only scored one TD and were having trouble moving the chains.
It's not a coincidence that the Pats have the most trouble moving the ball when Brady is under fire. But we do the exact opposite. We have a pass rush that gives opposing QB's all day to sit back and wait for a guy to get open. You give any NFL QB time and he's going to move the ball on you. Now you give a Peyton or Brees time, he's going to pick you apart. We gave up 35 points to Indy. Next week Baltimore holds them to 17. Our scheme vs Baltimore's scheme. It's obvious to me which type of defense I'd rather have.
