5 Reasons why Jets vs. Pats is the game of the year

by JerseyJetsFan on Nov 29, 2010 6:43 PM EST

Some might agree with me here, some might not. But I 100% view next Monday Night's game as THE marquee game of the year. Here are my 5 reasons why:

The Rivalry- The rivalry between the Jets and Patriots is one of the top rivalries in the NFL for certain. Unfortunately, for much of the past decade, we've been on the losing end of the rivalry, watching the Patriots hold up multiple Lombardi trophies. This coming match-up is definitely a chance for the Jets to finally turn the tide in the rivalry.
Danny Woodhead- It literally pains me every time I see Danny Woodhead scoring a touchdown in a Patriots uniform. I knew he had such potential and I was so glad to see the Jets give him the shot to play pro football like they did. However, you know the announcers are going to beat the Danny Woodhead story over and over until it makes you want to jump off a tall building. My Christmas wish was to see Woodhead in Green and White again one day, guess it won't happen now that Danny signed a contract extension with the Patriots last week.
Both teams are 9-2- The Jets and Patriots are the two best teams in the NFL judging by records. You can feed me the statistical BS that the Chargers are the best because they have the #1 Offense and Defense, but they don't consistently win. The Jets and the Patriots have done that all season long, win games. They have gotten their records in strangely different fashions, yet nonetheless, they are both 9-2 and atop the NFL.
Rex Ryan vs Bill Belicheck- Two completely different coaching styles, yet two proven winners. Granted Rex has not raised a Super Bowl trophy yet, but he has done admirable in his first and second seasons. The game doesn't have the coaching rivalry and cold post game handshakes that Mangini and Belicheat did, but it's still a fierce battle to win and a chess match of great football minds.
Home Field and a Bye- It's not guaranteed, but the winner of the Jets vs Patriots will likely go on to win the AFC East and receive a first round bye and home field advantage. It's possible that the winner of this game might have a late season collapse and lose control of the division, but it is not probable. Monday Night holds absolutely HUGE playoff implications, If the Jets were to win the game and ultimately the AFC East, it would force the Patriots to take the wildcard and test them on the road in the playoffs.

Well, that's it for now. Obviously more storylines will develop as the week plays out and GGN will fill you in on all of them. Hope you enjoyed reading my quick synopsis of why the Jets and Patriots Monday Night matchup is the 2010 regular season game of the year.

On another note, last night I recently added a forum to my blog, the Jersey Jets Fan. Come check it out and sign up to start talking about everything NY Jets!

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Pats are no where near as good as their record...

they are winning because of a great QB, Coach, and possibly some locker room taping. From a talent perspective I’d probably rank them 6th or 7th in the AFC at best, this is not the game of the year, not even close.

by Judgegavel on Nov 29, 2010 8:10 PM EST reply actions

Virtually every team is as good as their record...

Winning is the only stat that matters. It doesn’t matter how many points you put up who what big names you have. It only matters that you win.

The Pats have won games and, might I add, they’ve played a harder schedule than we have and beat the harder teams. They beat the Ravens, the Steelers, the Colts (although that’s looking less impressive every game) and the Chargers. We lost to the Ravens, lost to the Packers and had to eek out a win against… THE BRONCOS! Oh yes, and I can’t say the Texans or Lions made us look like the best of the AFC either.

The only consolation for us is that we did beat them soundly earlier this year and our losses were closer games than the Pats had. Make no mistake though, they’re as good as their record and their schedule.

This game is gonna be the game of the year (pre-playoffs) for us. If we win, we basically prove we’re the real deal. We beat the Patriots at home, we take a huge step in controlling the AFC east and are on the fast track to a first round bye and home field advantage through most or all of the playoffs.

Give me a solid QB and a great coach over a collection of “talent” any day of the week. You want to see an example of why no amount of talent can overcome bad coaching? Look no further than our own offense and offensive coordinator.

by cult hero on Nov 29, 2010 10:19 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Disagree, the talent's just not there...

they are playing well, but they don’t have the talent of a top NFL team.

by Judgegavel on Nov 29, 2010 11:39 PM EST up reply actions

The talent?

The Patriots have a top QB, Welker and, according to Football Outsiders, the top O-Line, #3 RB and #4 and #11 TEs in the game. They have plenty of talent on offense and it’s even better that the talent fits the scheme.

On defense, there’s Wilfork, Mayo, Chung and McCourty. That’s 4 solid players. The Jets definitely have more talent on defense- but that’s why everyone talks about the Jets defense and not the Patriots’ defense. The Patriots are clearly a few pieces away from being the top team in the NFL, but if you stack up the offense, defense and coaching staff, and all of its depth, against all the other NFL teams, they’re easily top 5 in terms of talent.

Talent doesn’t win games. Teams do.

Pats Pulpit | @Follow Me On Twitter

by Richard Hill on Nov 29, 2010 11:52 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

I wouldn't say "harder" teams.

The only two different games we play are the Patriots face the Colts and Chargers, ya’ll get the Texans and Broncos. We won out games by 6 total points, you won your games by 7 total points. We caught the Chargers while they were down and the Colts when they were injured. You got the Texans without a defense and the Broncos as, well, the Broncos.

It’s pretty even, I would say.

And we lost to the Browns. Yeah.

Pats Pulpit | @Follow Me On Twitter

by Richard Hill on Nov 29, 2010 11:49 PM EST up reply actions

I disagree

While record is all that matters when it comes to making the playoffs, it isn’t the only factor in how good a team is. I think the Bills are a great example of this. They are a far better team than their record indicates. They took the Steelers to overtime and should have beaten them. The level of play that a team demonstrates often changes throughout the year. Look at the Chargers for an example of that. I would have rather played them at the beginning of the year than at the end.

by OldJetsFanatic on Nov 30, 2010 9:39 AM EST up reply actions

But its the truly good teams that can win when they don’t play well. That’s what I think seperates the boys from the men in the post-season. Most playoff defenses are good enough to make u one dimmensional. If u can find a way to score other than ur bread and butter, then you’ll have a good shot. But if ur a one-trick pony, you probably won’t last.

We’ve shown that if we can get the running game going, we’re gonna be tough to stop. But we also have the personnel to hit for big plays in the passing game at any time from anywhere. We have defense that can be suffocating and big play potential in specials.

We’re one of probably only two/three teams that can not only survive a stinker by our QB, but could still win convincingly. Most other playoff teams need their QB to play great in order to compete. And its much harder for QBs to consistenly play great against playoff defenses.

by Crackback on Nov 30, 2010 11:33 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

And the Jets have needed to come from behind to win a lot of games?

So what? The record is what the record is and both teams have the same record.

Pats Pulpit | @Follow Me On Twitter

by Richard Hill on Nov 29, 2010 11:48 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

I hope the madbacker gets a heaping helping of Woodhead

Kevin Faulk is a hell of a third down back. Woodhead is a “good” third down back. He’’s succeeded because the Pats run a super spread style offense, even more so with Moss out. If Faulk was here he’d put up the same if not better numbers. Fact is, Woodhead’s only notable for his diminutive size and white skin color. If he was a black guy, the media wouldn’t much care.

Our LB corps and front line will wrap him up, and smash him into the turf.

by AndrewD88 on Nov 29, 2010 8:20 PM EST reply actions

woodhead is notable for a few reasons. he is the leading rusher in college history, given, it was a division II school. he is gutsy, mobile and tough to get a handle on. the media cares because he was an undrafted player and making the most of his opportunities. now he is making the most of his opportunity against the jets.
and…. Our LB corps and front line will wrap him up, and smash him into the turf.

by jaxopguy on Nov 29, 2010 11:00 PM EST up reply actions

All that matters is how they're playing now

Both teams are 9-2- The Jets and Patriots are the two best teams in the NFL judging by records.

You know better than that. Record determines who goes to the playoffs and what the seeding will be. Records say very little about how good a team actually is, as Judgegavel points out:

Pats are no where near as good as their record…

Then there’s this:

You can feed me the statistical BS that the Chargers are the best because they have the #1 Offense and Defense, but they don’t consistently win.

I’m not claiming the Chargers are the best (why would I? Let ‘em prove it on the field) But I offer two items to consider: 1) the Chargers have won four in a row and are playing very well right now. 2) They applied a beat-down to the Colts the likes of which hasn’t been seen in a while. Ask Peyton Manning if the Chargers are any good.

Admittedly, words are just words: my words, your words; it’s all talk. But I have a feeling it will eventually be settled on the field because I see San Diego winning the West and hosting a WC-round game; and I see the loser of the Jets/Pats being that wild card traveling to SD. I don’t think either team should be eager to do that today.

I have no arguments with any of your other four points. But just for the sake of argument; that game Sunday between Atlanta and Green Bay was pretty damned good, if it wasn’t a “marquee matchup.”

Are Marlon McCree and Antonio Cromartie the same person? Just askin'.

by QLFixBoy on Nov 29, 2010 8:59 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

there's no way

i put danny woodhead as # 2 reason this s gm of yr. prob not even in top 5. seriously, woodhead is not that big of a deal no matter how much you like him (and i happen to in fact like him). he’d be 3rd on jets depth chart at rb. c’mon, gms of the yr dont become that b/c a 3rd stringer from one teams practice squad happens to now play well for another team

metsjetsknicksrangers.............can it get any worse?

by dabu7 on Nov 30, 2010 1:41 PM EST reply actions