Game Preview: New England Patriots

Edition #703

Good morning! ☕

Can you believe it, we’ve arrived at yet another Gameday for the Jets. I will admit I absolutely hate games against the Patriots and Dolphins above all others. Beating them is the sweetest feeling, but losing to them will put me into a foul mood for the rest of the week. It’s rivalry week and we need to get above .500 to keep pace with the Bills, who most expect to beat the Jaguars on Monday Night Football.

Today we’re focusing on the Patriots, a team who are in a period of transition and a team who have played much better than many people expect. Yesterday I suggested the Jets sign defensive end Jamree Kromah from the Chicago Bears practice squad, hours later it was announced that the Patriots had signed Kromah to their active roster. So we’re about to see what he’s all about.

Good to know that Eliot Wolf is a reader and subscriber 😉

🟢 C. J. Mosley may not play tonight, but he knows what to expect from this Patriots team - "They have some really good offensive linemen, some big guys up front, If they get going forward, it's hard to stop them. The running backs are both great. Obviously we know Stevenson really well. The Patriots are going to run the ball whether they're winning or losing. They're not going to get away from their run game. That's part of the Patriots MO. Coach [Jerod] Mayo is cut from the same cloth as Coach [Bill] Belichick. We know it's going to be a dogfight, so finish when the time comes."

⚪ Robert Saleh was asked about having to play 3 games in 11 days and he’s not looking for sympathy from anyone. - "The coaching staff is exhausted, the players are exhausted, but at the same time, it's the same message," HC Robert Saleh said. "Nobody cares how you get to gameday. Nobody cares about contact. They don't care if your dog died. They don't care. The expectation is that you perform and that's the expectation in this building."

🟢 Robert Saleh knows what to expect from the Patriots, especially with a banged up offensive line, lots of runs, lots of quick throws - "They're very sound and very disciplined," Robert Saleh said. "On offense, they're doing a really nice job. They're running the heck out of the football, they're playing a physical brand of football. [QB Jacoby] Brissett is doing a great job getting rid of the ball and they're moving it. They're playing well."

⚪ One thing the Jets will need to clear up is the penalties, especially when it comes to clock management. You can’t waste timeouts based on you not getting the play off in time, Aaron Rodgers took ownership of those mix-ups against Tennessee - "That was embarrassing," QB Aaron Rodgers said of the operation postgame. "I got some excuses for sure. They're not very good. I'll just leave it at that. That was on me. I felt good Week 1. We didn't have any close to that, but this week we had a couple. Robert [Saleh] saved my ass a couple times. Yeah, it's frustrating."

🟢 According to ESPN, only 8% of teams since 2000 have had to play an away MNF game followed by another game on the road. That’s just 56 games total in the last 23 and a bit years. Those teams had a winning rate of .429. I’m not sure if any team has ever had three games in 11 days to start the season.

⚪ It’s quite a long injury report to get through today. The Jets have obviously ruled out Jermaine Johnson who will be done for the rest of the season. C.J Mosley is questionable and my instinct is that he won’t play. The good news is that everyone else is good to go, including D.J Reed and Michael Carter II. For the Patriots, it’s not quite as positive. Starting left tackle Vederian Lowe has been ruled out meaning that rookie Caedan Wallace should be starting at LT. Sidy Sow who was named to the All-Rookie team is also out as is linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley. They also have some key questionable designations heading into the game including David Andrews who would be a huge loss.

I completely forgot to do the power rankings this week, so here they are: