The Jets next sunday 4:30 PM (merged X3)

[Rob0729]

If that's your rationale, then the Jets have been talking all season. Why would the pressure still be as great as it was earlier in the season when the fat man began running his mouth? Why would the pressure be as great after a couple of deflating losses. On one hand, the Jets have been talking all season... so they're used to it. Any pressure that people expect to be there won't be felt as greatly because of that familiarity. The Pats, on the other hand, are still extremely young and most of these guys aren't used to having the #1 seed and the target on their backs in the playoffs.

The pressure is, quite firmly, on the Patriots in this one. However, with our coaching advantage, I expect the team to overcome.

The pressure has been on the Jets all year, but with lose and you are eliminated the pressure is intensified.

The one thing about a Belichick run team, the pressure rarely gets to them. They rarely put unneeded pressure on the themselves.

I think the pressure is on both teams. But where it should solely be on the Pats, Ryan makes sure the pressure is on his team. I mean he has to deal with a peissed off Brady now because Ryan took a shot at him last week. Brady is going to make sure he is extra prepared this week to show Ryan exactly how much he prepares for the game. Right there is more pressure on his defense that they don't need. Ryan wants the bullseye on his and his team back and that puts pressure on them to win.

I wouldn't take this as something that adds pressure to the Jets. I would take this as something that makes the said vets play that much harder against the Patriots, as if they didn't have enough reason to do so already.

By this logic, the fact that the Pats are the number one seed will make them play harder. I don't know how the pressure of certain players seeing it being their last time to get a ring not pressure. It may make them work harder or make them make mistakes because they try to overcompensate if things go bad early. If they start to see their last chance for a ring start to slip away, they could play very stupid because the pressure is on and they get desperate.

I really think the Jets have successfully given themselves the most pressure to win eventhough they came into the playoffs as the last seed. Everyone wants to be the ones to finally shut up Ryan for the season and their expectations are the Super Bowl or bust.

 

[Wax Frog]

Not sure why anyone would be disappointed to see the Colts exit the playoffs! Of all teams in the AFC playoffs they are the ones who have shown a consistent ability to beat the Pats.

The mere idea of the Jets being one win away from a Hunt trophy shot, whatever the odds of that happening, are revolting enough to have made me prefer any other outcome...

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

We have a better defense than the Colts. You don't think we can score more than 17 points in Foxboro weather?

I agree with the principle. The Jets did not play well enough today to beat even the Patriots B game. However, this Sunday is not next Sunday. The Patriots run D needs to show up or the Jets can and very well could win. However, if we stop their run game and it is up to TH to mach Brady's offensive output, I believe the Patriots are a bigger threat to themselves than the Jets are.

 

[robbomango]

The only people the jets should scare are their fans after that performance. Suckchez is dreadful in big games, 3rd string college QB maybe, nfl jets starter perfect match.
The Brady Bunch isn't getting stuffed in Gillette 2 years in a row, won't happen

NFL Videos: Belichick or Ryan?

45-3 the next day, true bozos

 

[naF staP]

 

[patsfan13]

THe current Pats O is a nightmare matchup for the current Jets D. That hasn't changed in the past month. THe D is still getting better week by week.

My only concern is the health of the DL.

If the Pats are focused and play a good game they win.

 

[deroc5050]

It's the Jets next week. Is that what we wanted for NE?

Yeah and I am going on record.. it wont really be that close. 34-13..
Yeah the Health of the D-line will be the thing to watch for the pats.. The secondary is solid.. the pass rush has been decent.. but the running defense has been up and down. Thank god for the weapon of mass obstruction.

 

[Nikolai]

I guess we're doomed. [/panic]

[optimism]

1. Put Week 2 out of your mind. The Pats O has changed drastically and the defense has grown up. The Jest have changed as well, and Sanchez isn't the check-down, INT-free "all-pro" he was in September.

2. Put 45-3 out of your mind. Those games are special, but they are for a reason. Everything has to go right for a night like that, and that's pretty rare. You can't expect it to go perfectly every time.

3. The Pats TEs, WRs, and RBs still match up very well against the Jets, with or without Leonhard (i.e. whether or not the Jets have adjusted to the new situation is irrelevant). Branch and Welker are still too quick and shifty, and all of the Pats O are great for YAC, something that the Jets backfield has struggled with.

4. The weather forecast is looking iffy. There's no telling in New England what the hell will happen in 24 hours, let alone a week, but the forecasts all seem to agree that some instability is afoot for next Sunday. Rain/snow favors the Pats tremendously, especially the snow. I need to update my info on Brady and the offense in cold weather, but the record is consistently superb. The same cannot be said of the Jets.

5. The Jets have had time to study the tale of the tape regarding the Pats offense. The same was true of the Bears as well, and IMO, the Bears have the more intimidating defense because they do tackle better.

6. The Jets still have trouble pressuring the QB without the blitz. Manning had light years back there.

7. The Pats D is rounding into form and I expect the ballhawks to be out after Sanchez.

8. For the Jets to win, these things need to happen.

a. The Jets D must contain the Pats offense, preferably by holding them under 30 points.

b. The Jets O must score TDs and do it often, while controlling the clock. They'll probably need between 27 and 42 points to win.

c. Sanchez cannot throw INTs.

d. Folk has got to make his kicks.

e. If they do all of this, they've got a chance to win. It's up to you to decide whether or not the pieces can fall into place to make this happen. I personally don't see it.

[/optimism]

[panic]

 

[Banjo]

I have zero doubt in this Patriots team. They will beat the Jets by two or more touchdowns.

 

[daveydave]

On any given Sunday...of course we know what can happen.

Let me provide you with enough Xanax and Wine to get you through the week! I put this together for some friends to give them an idea of what is going on inside the numbers. I hope this might help you rest a bit until Sunday.

When it comes to playoff games, I'd rather play an average QB than an MVP like Manning. Upsets happen, but it's important to remember that the Pats are not the Colts. I won't get into offensive statistics because we know New England has the better offense. Given the posts, it sounds as if most fan anxiety is coming from a perceived weakness in the Pats defense.

Jets or Patriots defense?

What team has the best defense? At first guess, you might immediately think the Jets have a better defense. However, that is debatable. The Patriots defense has been a tale of two seasons. One is of the first half Patriots, and the other of the second half. Keep in mind that the Pats were playing a great deal of zone coverage early in the season. Most likely due to the learning curve of many young players starting or having significant roles on defense. Recently, they have been attacking with more man coverage & not allowing soft areas to be exploited by mediocre quarterbacks (read Sanchez etc...)

Let's look at the following defensive statistics of all AFC playoff teams:

SOS - Strength of schedule 1st half vs 2nd half of season
DPTS - Defensive Pts Given up by 1st half vs second half of season
DPPG - Defensive Pts Per Game given up by 1st half vs second half of season
GAPT - Games against playoff teams (AFC or NFC)
WAPT - Wins against playoff teams (AFC or NFC)
LAPT - Losses against playoff teams (AFC or NFC)


-------------------------NE------PIT-----BAL-----KC-----IND-----NYJ
1st-Half-SOS------------.453----.531----.476----.437----.469----.492
2nd-Half-SOS------------.554----.468----.492----.391----.477----.492

1st-Half-DPTS-----------.188-----123-----139-----145-----168-----130
2nd-Half-DPTS-----------.125-----109-----131-----181-----220-----174

1st-Half-DPPG------------23.5----15.4----17.4----18.1----21.0----16.3
2nd-Half-DPPG------------15.6----13.6----16.4----22.6----27.5----21.8

GAPT-Season--------------7-------6-------6-------2-------3-------6
WAPT-Season-------------6-------2-------3--------1-------1-------2
LAPT-Season--------------1-------4-------3--------1-------2-------4

Today was a perfect example of two teams that have regressed from their top defensive form established early in the year, playing sloppy ball just as their second half statistics would suggest. New England's defense is clearly trending upward and in a completely different direction. New England grew as a defense this year. Not at a slow rate, but at an extremely fast rate.

In the first half of the year, they gave up 23.5 pts a game. In the second half of the year, only 15.6. That's better than any AFC team defensive performance outside of the Pittsburg's 15.4 / 13.6 splits. What is even more impressive is that they were able to accomplish this while having the most difficult strength of schedule (in any half season) amongst the AFC playoff teams .554 winning percentage. Winning 8 of 8 games while having ** the most difficult schedule in the second half of the season ** is extremely impressive. Top that off with lowering defensive yards against from (Total 386 - 346), (Passing 268 - 248), (Rushing 117 - 98) and a throw in the +28 give-away take-away margin, and you have to take this Patriots defense just as seriously as the other side of the ball.

They are not the defense they were in September and October. These kids have grown up. The biggest issue confronting the Patriots defense will be whether they can continue to improve and play well with the stakes being higher. Can they match Pittsburg or Baltimore defensively? Maybe not, but with the offensive advantage you have, maybe you just have to continue to play solid defense.

I don't bet on the Patriots. Not because I don't believe in them...but because I don't believe in betting when emotions play a factor, and I'm a Pats fan. Now, would I bet against the New England Patriots at home against the Jets? Absolutely not!

Go Pats!

Dave

 

[patsfan13]

BTW the Pats D have made jumps up in performance when given a bye week for BB to coach them up and self scout and correct mistakes. That has happened twice this season with this young D.

Guess who has had a bye week to work with the D?

 

[Keyser Söze]

Sanchez will NOT beat us with his arm. Spikes back will help the run defense along with a guy named Wilfork.

Unless the Pats offense implodes, we win.

 

[sevengables_2207]

I guess we're doomed. [/panic]

[optimism]

1. Put Week 2 out of your mind. The Pats O has changed drastically and the defense has grown up. The Jest have changed as well, and Sanchez isn't the check-down, INT-free "all-pro" he was in September.

2. Put 45-3 out of your mind. Those games are special, but they are for a reason. Everything has to go right for a night like that, and that's pretty rare. You can't expect it to go perfectly every time.

3. The Pats TEs, WRs, and RBs still match up very well against the Jets, with or without Leonhard (i.e. whether or not the Jets have adjusted to the new situation is irrelevant). Branch and Welker are still too quick and shifty, and all of the Pats O are great for YAC, something that the Jets backfield has struggled with.

4. The weather forecast is looking iffy. There's no telling in New England what the hell will happen in 24 hours, let alone a week, but the forecasts all seem to agree that some instability is afoot for next Sunday. Rain/snow favors the Pats tremendously, especially the snow. I need to update my info on Brady and the offense in cold weather, but the record is consistently superb. The same cannot be said of the Jets.

5. The Jets have had time to study the tale of the tape regarding the Pats offense. The same was true of the Bears as well, and IMO, the Bears have the more intimidating defense because they do tackle better.

6. The Jets still have trouble pressuring the QB without the blitz. Manning had light years back there.

7. The Pats D is rounding into form and I expect the ballhawks to be out after Sanchez.

8. For the Jets to win, these things need to happen.

a. The Jets D must contain the Pats offense, preferably by holding them under 30 points.

b. The Jets O must score TDs and do it often, while controlling the clock. They'll probably need between 27 and 42 points to win.

c. Sanchez cannot throw INTs.

d. Folk has got to make his kicks.

e. If they do all of this, they've got a chance to win. It's up to you to decide whether or not the pieces can fall into place to make this happen. I personally don't see it.

[/optimism]

[panic]

This. I also don't see a confluence of all of these things, coupled with uncharacteristic turnovers/penalties committed by the Patriots happening next Sunday evening.

 

[SVN]

I guess we're doomed. [/panic]

[optimism]

1. Put Week 2 out of your mind. The Pats O has changed drastically and the defense has grown up. The Jest have changed as well, and Sanchez isn't the check-down, INT-free "all-pro" he was in September.

2. Put 45-3 out of your mind. Those games are special, but they are for a reason. Everything has to go right for a night like that, and that's pretty rare. You can't expect it to go perfectly every time.

3. The Pats TEs, WRs, and RBs still match up very well against the Jets, with or without Leonhard (i.e. whether or not the Jets have adjusted to the new situation is irrelevant). Branch and Welker are still too quick and shifty, and all of the Pats O are great for YAC, something that the Jets backfield has struggled with.

4. The weather forecast is looking iffy. There's no telling in New England what the hell will happen in 24 hours, let alone a week, but the forecasts all seem to agree that some instability is afoot for next Sunday. Rain/snow favors the Pats tremendously, especially the snow. I need to update my info on Brady and the offense in cold weather, but the record is consistently superb. The same cannot be said of the Jets.

5. The Jets have had time to study the tale of the tape regarding the Pats offense. The same was true of the Bears as well, and IMO, the Bears have the more intimidating defense because they do tackle better.

6. The Jets still have trouble pressuring the QB without the blitz. Manning had light years back there.

7. The Pats D is rounding into form and I expect the ballhawks to be out after Sanchez.

8. For the Jets to win, these things need to happen.

a. The Jets D must contain the Pats offense, preferably by holding them under 30 points.

b. The Jets O must score TDs and do it often, while controlling the clock. They'll probably need between 27 and 42 points to win.

c. Sanchez cannot throw INTs.

d. Folk has got to make his kicks.

e. If they do all of this, they've got a chance to win. It's up to you to decide whether or not the pieces can fall into place to make this happen. I personally don't see it.

[/optimism]

[panic]

if the jets do run the ball efffectively they wont have to score42 pts. a game like the gb game vs the pats could work for them.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

I guess we're doomed. [/panic]

[optimism]

1. Put Week 2 out of your mind. The Pats O has changed drastically and the defense has grown up. The Jest have changed as well, and Sanchez isn't the check-down, INT-free "all-pro" he was in September.

[/optimism]

[panic]

I'm not saying you shouldn't have said this -- it appears to be needed words for some -- but how can any Patriot fan during the BB era not know the Patriots in Dec/Jan are usually > the Patriots in September? When the BB Patriots play their best ball in December, regardless of what they did in Sept., other teams usually end up getting spanked in the Playoffs.
In 2010, never mind 30+ points in the last 8 games and an avg. margin of victory of 23+, no one need look any further than the meaningless Miami game to see how determined the Patriots are. That said, it always needs to be noted that 'any given Sunday'.

 

[Metaphors]

Next week will be the Jets 4th road game in 5 weeks. In the last 5 years, teams in the playoffs facing their 4th roadie in about a month are 2-6. The 2 winners? The Steelers in 2005 (actually won 5 roadies in 6 weeks) and the team that shan't be named in 2007. The Steelers were rolling into the 2005 playoffs winning 4 in a row to end the season, all of them fairly impressive. As for the other, they defy any explanation so I won't try.

Interestingly enough, of the 6 losers the Colts were on the winning side of those games 3 times, including the Jets and Ravens last year and the Pats in 2006.

BTW, over the same period the Pats have been at home except for Xmas in Buffalo. Combined with the bye week and selective resting in week 17 and the Pats should be the fresher team in the 2nd half.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

if the jets do run the ball efffectively they wont have to score42 pts. a game like the gb game vs the pats could work for them.

Obviously if the OL all of a sudden can't block or all of a sudden the Patriots start shooting themselves in the foot, the Patriots could be in trouble. They, fortunately, haven't shown either of those with any frequency whatsoever (over the last 2 months). But the weak spot the Patriots have shown on more than one occasion during that time is teams can run on the D. That scenario has the worst domino effect possible -- the Patriot O is unable to light up the scoreboard because they don't get as many possessions. Further, it then exposes our decent but unspectacular secondary to their more methodical vs less frantic air attack. Once the Patriots make their opponents 1 dimensional, we win and win big (according to the last two months). This is why your point is not only 100 correct but the key to every Patriot victory from here to Dallas.

 

[20HindSight20]

Time for more Jets beatings.

 

[JGaffney]

Once the Patriots make their opponents 1 dimensional, we win and win big (according to the last two months). This is why your point is not only 100 correct but the key to every Patriot victory from here to Dallas.

Actually, it's not the key to victory - the Pats can still win that kind of game (see: Packers). It's the key to whether I am on the couch having a beer or on the floor having a coronary in the third quarter.

Me, I like beer - score early and often, please, Pats.

 

[ausbacker]

Sanchez will NOT beat us with his arm. Spikes back will help the run defense along with a guy named Wilfork.

Unless the Pats offense implodes, we win.

I'm expecting the Jets to be run-centric in order to minimize the opportunities for our defense to create/force turnovers. There is a great opportunity for the Gilette crowd to go absolutely mental when the Jets Offense is on the field. I implore all of you attending to go beserk.

One thing cannot be understated today. The Colts secondary was missing Kelvin Hayden. Sanchez was throwing absolute mud that the depth players of the Colts couldn't handle (that's how crap they are).

Assuming all things are equal and the status quo remains we have Devin McCourty. Throw at him at your peril Mark.