But the National Football League “border wars” that flared up between Belichick and mentor Bill Parcells had cooled before Rex Ryan took over the Jets.
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For both the Patriots offense and Jets defense, Sunday represents the stiffest challenge of the season. San Francisco dropped to 2-5.
Now it’s Bowles’ turn. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.at Gillette Stadium. In a divisional rivalry that is as fierce as they come, you can expect one of the best games of the weekend in Foxborough. “It’s a big “one” game, but it’s only one game”.
First, we have to look at what’s made them so successful thus far.
It’s tempting to try and think about what could’ve been, but for Jets fans, it’s probably a better idea not to. So, from that standpoint, that’s the only way I’m handling the game.
This is how Team NJ Advance Media sees Sunday’s game between the 4-1 Jets and 5-0 Patriots unfolding. The Jets have to limit those drives to three points instead of six.
Even last week when the Patriots admittedly did not play well, they still managed to beat a quality opponent, the Indianapolis Colts, 34-27.
Individual players for the Jets have also been very successful.
“We’ve had a lot of great games against them, a few real meaningful games”, Brady said. It’s tough to get open on him and he usually draws the toughest matchup. Obviously, a team has to want you, but I think that’s, you know, I love playing this sport. They’ve got a phenomenal defense.
“I did anything for him, if he needed anything I’d go get it for him”, Edelman says. This season, his first with New York, the Harvard graduate inherited the starting job when Geno Smith’s jaw was broken in a locker room altercation. Brandon LaFell is expected to be active for the first time this season.
EX-PATS: In addition to Revis, wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins and running back Stevan Ridley could play against their former teammates in New England.
Revis left the Patriots a month after winning Super Bowl XLIX, and he was asked if he has had time to appreciate it, and he said, “Like I said, it’s a memory that I will never forget”.
“His instincts are incredible out there”, Brady said.
Patriots: Brady seems to have been rejuvenated by the tumultuous off-season he endured because of his alleged involvement in Deflategate, and it helps that his receivers are playing at a high level, too.
Was Brady disappointed when Revis bolted for the Jets?
“That’s kind of NFL football and free agency and stuff like that”, Brady said. It also would speak volumes about Bowles, a first-year head coach tasked with changing the culture of a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs since the 2010 season. “If our guys make plays, we’re going to win”. All the things, I don’t have any more adjectives to expand on that nobody else has already said.
Once described by Gregg Rosenthal as “a cornerback trapped in a 250-pound body”, Collins is likely to join Green Bay’s Clay Matthews as the inside linebackers on Around The NFL’s mid-season All Pro team.
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Then after halftime it was like watching a brand new team. He suffered a head injury last Sunday against Washington and is going through the NFL’s concussion protocol. One of the keys to the game will be if the Patriots can take advantage of New York’s knack for throwing picks.
