Patriots at Jets: Sunday Mid Afternoon Notes
Here are some notes to point out after some of the mid-morning reports from earlier today.
- Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com points out that Ed Hochuli's crew is calling today's game between the Pats & Jets. He was the referee for last week's Colts-Texans game, and his group called a total of 12 accepted penalties. That's not good news for a Jets team that was flagged 14-times Monday night against the Ravens and has already promised to be physical against the Patriots today.
- One player to watch this afternoon is Jerricho Cotchery, who has had some solid games against the Patriots. In 13 games against New England Cotchery has 46 catches for 745 yards along with five touchdowns.
- Defensively, a guy who has given Tom Brady problems duing his days with the Dolphins will also be lining up against him today. Linebacker Jason Taylor has 12 sacks, three interceptions and four forced fumbles over his career against the Patriots.
- One thing worth noting is the fact that the tight ends for the Patriots will likely play a significant factor this afternoon against the Jets defense. Ravens tight end Todd Heap had 6-catches for 72-yards against them last week.
- Rob Gronkowski is 6'6", which gives him a height advantage over every player in the Jets defensive secondary, who average just under 6'0". The linebackers are a bit taller, but he's still got a couple inches on each of them (they average 6'2" - 6'3") with the exception being Jason Taylor - who is also 6'6".
- Rachel Nichols of ESPN reports that Rex Ryan told her that he's told Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez "he doesn't have to wait for the absolute perfect look downfield; throw deep more, check down less".
- Nichols also reports Darrelle Revis told her that he doesn't see hamstring being an issue today. Revis says "he's running 'better' after losing nearly 5 pounds on the strict diet the team's had him on since he missed preseason".
We'll have more to come as we get closer to kickoff.
