Week 2: Patriots (1-0) at Jets (1-0)

It’s hard to believe that although the Patriots opened up their season just six days ago, that the Super Bowl is already upon us.  Well, according to nose tackle Kris Jenkins at least, who said earlier this week that the Jets were treating today’s game like their Super Bowl.  That’s not to mention the comments made by Jets’ safety Kerry Rhodes, who said that:

“Not just go out there and try to win, try to embarrass them, try to make them feel bad when they leave here. We don’t want to just beat them. We’re not backing down from you and we expect to win this game. It’s not going to be luck, it’s not going to be a mistake.”

Really?  Embarrass the Patriots?  Kerry, what league have you been watching lately?  Last week, the Jets beat an overrated Houston Texans club with an oft-injured quarterback.  And yes, I was very impressed by the Jets’ win.  They dominated the Texans in all three phases of the game.  However, I think the Jets are getting a little ahead of themselves with all of their trash talk.  Don’t even get me started on Rex Ryan.  While it’s good for a team to have confidence, the New York Jets are setting themselves up for a really big fall if they lose today.

Now, back to the football field.  What to expect from the Jets?  Well, first of all, if you’ve seen Rex Ryan’s defenses before, you know the Jets are going to come after Brady.  Expect a lot of overload blitzes to one side, as the Jets bring three, four, or even five guys coming from one side.  To counter the Jets’ aggressiveness, I think the Patriots need to utilize a lot of screens, with guys like Kevin Faulk chipping Jets defenders on the way out of the backfield.  The Patriots may also have some one on one matchups on the outside.  The Patriots may look to get Moss over the top, but he’ll have difficulty, as the Jets have arguably the best cornerback in the NFL, Darrelle Revis.

On offense, don’t be surprised if the Jets try to air it out.  I think this Patriots defense will be able to stuff Thomas Jones, as they always have, and unless they get good pressure on Mark Sanchez, the pass defense could be susceptible.  Also, I’d expect the Jets to use a lot of screens with the explosive Leon Washington.  The Patriots couldn’t stop the screen passes last week, so until they show they can, teams will keep running them.

For the Patriots, I think the key will be rattling rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez.  Trust me, Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick has got something up his sleeve, and he won’t be letting a rookie quarterback pick the Patriots apart.  I think Tully Banta-Cain and Derrick Burgess will once again be a big key to getting to the quarterback.

With all of that said, I still think the Patriots will win this game.  I think the Jets will play very competitively, but ultimately, Brady and Belichick will win out .  Greg’s Prediction: Patriots 27 Jets 20