Great thread. Pats-Jets is the marquee matchup now. The Colts, playoffs-focused, were the obsession for a long time until Dungee left and the overall quality of the Colts declined. Their lack of depth is un-Polian.
Anyway, gotta hand it to Rex and that staff for building a team that is the Patriots equal in lots of ways. Position by position it's hard to think of a team that compares as well to the quality and depth of the Patriots. Maybe the Eagles, but I don't know who their #2s on the depth chart are like we know the teams in the division and the Colts and Pittsburgh who just seem like divisional games every year.
This is a good thing, this rivalry and parity with the Jets. It's clearly got the Pats' attention as they continue to try and strengthen everywhere they need to reverse last season's two losses to the Jets.
Where I think the Pats have the biggest edge is at WR. The Jets wideouts are old and redundant. They have three big-play old receivers and little variation in the passing game. Are those guys really, really interested in slants across the middle for the 4 or 5 yard pick up the way the Pats crew is? This puts lots of stress on Snatch-ez to be accurate downfield and to the sidelines on a much more frequent basis than Brady who has receivers in all sorts of places and depths to move the chains or score.
Deep balls and sideline routes give the DBs longer to adjust and better angles to disrupt or intercept passes. 2nd and 3rd at 5 or more yards will constitute a long yardage situation with the RBs and TEs of the Jets putting much more pressure on Snatch-ez. He may be up to it. He had some terrific moments last year in critical come-from-behind situations, but that is a dangerous way to live week-to-week.