Gameday Jets V Pats News Articles 12/16

[Kentucky Jet]

Why did the NFL destroy the tapes so quickly? NY TIMES

The N.F.L. reacted swiftly to the spying scandal in September. Commissioner Roger Goodell promised on national television that there would be a full investigation of the New England Patriots’ covert filming of Jets defensive signals. He ordered the Patriots to send any videotapes filmed in violation of N.F.L. rules to the league office.

Bill Belichick, left, and Jets Coach Eric Mangini on Sept. 9. The N.F.L. said its punishment was not based only on that game.

The tapes arrived sometime between Sept. 16, when Goodell said he had yet to receive them, and Sept. 20, when the N.F.L. announced all material from the investigation had been destroyed “to ensure a level playing field.” The league has not addressed the tapes since.

Two crisis-management experts used the same word — fishy — to describe the league’s handling of the situation, saying the destruction of the tapes raised questions about what they contained.

“The strategy is profoundly bad,” said Al Tortorella, the managing director of crisis management for Los Angeles-based Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. “I don’t know why they would destroy the tapes. That’s astounding. There’s no criminality here, but it sure doesn’t pass the smell test.”

The Patriots’ videotaping practices became a league issue during the season opener for the teams at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., when Jets security personnel caught a Patriots employee filming the Jets’ defensive signals from the sideline.

Goodell handed down the most severe penalty in N.F.L. history — the loss of a first-round draft pick; a $250,000 fine for the Patriots, which funnels into the league’s general expenses fund; and a $500,000 fine for Coach Bill Belichick, which goes to N.F.L. Charities for medical research and youth fitness programs.

The N.F.L. later clarified that the penalty was for the Patriots’ “totality of conduct” and not only for their actions against the Jets. The league never explained what totality of conduct meant. Presumably, the evidence was on the tapes.

Questions remain: How many tapes showed evidence of cheating? In what games? In the playoffs? In the Super Bowl? By other teams?

The Jets (3-10) and the Patriots (13-0), who will meet Sunday in Foxborough, Mass., declined to comment last week, referring to the matter as a “league issue.” The N.F.L. spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an e-mail message, “We’ve addressed this matter, and we’re not going to readdress it this week.”

Greg Wilson, a crisis counselor and senior vice president at Levick Strategic Communications in Washington, said: “They’re rolling the dice that the whole thing is just going to go away. And here’s the thing — a lot of this could be avoided.”

Wilson sees a crisis that requires managing, a “clear-cut case of all the parties needing to rip off the Band-Aid as soon as possible.” The goal of managing any crisis, he said, is to acknowledge the black eye and compress the time it lasts.

Wilson says the American public generally wants to hear what he calls the Big Three of crisis management: I am sorry. I take responsibility. And I will fix it.

He recommended that the league respond with more transparency, explaining in detail what the tapes contained and why they were destroyed.

“When you destroy evidence, most people assume guilt,” Wilson said. “The N.F.L. is cashing in on its trust bank. They can weather the storm, but they are stringing it out longer than most companies or people can afford to.”

Tortorella points to the N.B.A. in comparison. When the referee scandal surfaced earlier this year, Commissioner David Stern went on national television and gave a sincere-sounding apology. In these different reactions, Tortorella said the N.B.A. came down on its crisis like a “ton of bricks” — the N.F.L. like a “ton of feathers.”

“Roger Goodell learned what Richard Nixon did not,” Tortorella said. “If the tapes are destroyed, you keep your job.”

The typical N.F.L. video library contains thousands of tapes. Each team catalogs them in different ways, but there are generally sections for professional games and college games, along with their own games and practices, filmed from a multitude of angles.

According to one team, the N.F.L. asks for practice tapes once or twice a season to see if a team is using players on injured reserve. None of the three teams polled had ever been asked for tapes in the way the Patriots were.

“We had massive amounts of tapes,” Jim Fassel, the former Giants coach, said. “We had a huge room full of them, but they were all organized, so you knew right where to go.”

The Patriots have their own library, from which they sent a certain number of tapes to the league offices. The league will not say how many or what the tapes contained.

The N.F.L. said the Patriots signed a statement that the league was in possession of the only copies of the evidence, all of which have been destroyed. Tortorella said they should not be so sure.

“That might come back to haunt them,” he said. “I know this: nobody ever makes one Xerox copy. Nobody ever makes one tape. Nobody ever makes one set of anything. Based on that, I’m not sure this crisis is over yet.”

Tortorella said what surprised him most was how little scrutiny resulted from the destruction of the tapes. (Gregg Easterbrook of espn.com looked into the issue in September.)

Tortorella said between Spygate and the Michael Vick dogfighting case — a crisis that experts said Goodell managed superbly — “the league gets two black eyes, but neither belongs to him.” Wilson dismissed the Vick scandal as an N.F.L. crisis, but added to the list the health problems retired players are experiencing.

“The problem is the Patriots keep winning,” Wilson said. “That is both a blessing and a curse. By winning, they are vindicating themselves, showing this whole Spygate thing did not matter. But they are also shining a spotlight, over and over again, on what happened earlier this season.

“Spygate will be the biggest story if they win the Super Bowl.”

The Patriots’ perfect season so far, and the taping controversy, have made football fans only care more about the team, said David Carter, the executive director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California.

“Love them or hate them, you care,” Carter said. “Some people think they represent everything wrong with sports. The N.F.L. walks a fine line here. A certain amount of controversy is helpful. But if it looks like they are not coming down hard enough, they undermine the very credibility they are hoping to promote.”

The case of the destroyed tapes remains unsolved as the teams meet again. Fassel said the saga had been overblown and overanalyzed. At Stanford, he used baseball players to decipher offensive signals from the opposing sideline. Everybody did it, Fassel said.

“It will eventually die down, all this Spygate stuff,” he said. “But it’s going to be there for a while. Every time they win, it’s going to surface.”

[Kentucky Jet]

Devine Intervention?

Posted by Bob Bullock December 15, 2007 10:51AM

Categories: Games

The "experts" all believe the Jets will need an "act of God" to beat the Patriots on Sunday. Well, that just may be the case, as the weather is supposed to be a major factor during the game.

I would like nothing better than to see that white stuff flying from the sky with the winds blowing 40 to 50 miles per hour. It is the great equalizer, something Gang Green could certainly use entering the contest against the "all world" Patriots.

All the talk about how fired up the Patriots will be for this game is fine, but don't think the Jets will just roll over. Mark Cannizzaro writes about several reasons they will be just as fired up for this contest too.

* Breaking up the Patriots' bid for a perfect 16-0 regular season

* Standing up for their head coach, Eric Mangini, in his Spygate feud with Patriots coach and his mentor, Bill Belichick

* Proving wrong the oddsmakers who have installed them as an historic 24-point underdog

* Avoiding the embarrassment of the shellacking the world expects New England to put on them, and proving to a national television audience that they're not nearly as bad as their 3-10 record

Those are plenty of good reasons the Jets WILL show up and play an inspired game tomorrow. The "act of God" will certainly help too, in the form of a beautifully miserable day in Foxboro.

Pull up a chair for this one folks, it may just be the biggest upset in the history of the NFL, according to the folks in Vegas, anyway.

Schein-ING Interview from Bassett

Here is a shout out to Brian Bassett and the folks from TheJetsBlog.com for the nice interview conducted with quite possibly the most annoying person in broadcasting today. The guys spoke with Adam Schein from Sirius Satellite Radio and SNY. Schein has some interesting comments and also is his usual self-promoting self, but a great job by Bassett and crew at TJB.

Congratulations to Broadway Joe!

The greatest Jet of all time, Joe Namath, deserves a congratulatory note today. Joe picks up his diploma from Alabama 42 years after leaving the school for the AFL. Way to go Joe!

[Kentucky Jet]

Tom Brady, Randy Moss making history

By OHM YOUNGMISUK

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Sunday, December 16th 2007, 4:00 AM

FOXBOROUGH - No one quite knew what to expect from Randy Moss and Tom Brady on that first Sunday of the NFL season three months ago. Certainly, not the start of something historic.

"You heard all the negative things about him," Jets safety Kerry Rhodes says. "That he lost a step, that he wasn't the same Randy Moss."

On Sept. 9, Brady and Moss played their first game together and connected nine times for 183 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown in a 38-14 win over the Jets. The duo hasn't stopped terrorizing secondaries since, inching closer toward the best season any wide receiver and quarterback have ever had together.

Today, the NFL's most prolific combination meets the Jets again with a chance to make history. Brady is five touchdowns shy of surpassing Peyton Manning's 2004 record for most touchdown passes in a season - 49. And Moss is four TD catches away from breaking Jerry Rice's single-season touchdown reception record of 22 set back in 1987.

Brady has passed for five touchdowns in a game twice this season and had a team-record six-touchdown game against Miami in Week 7. He and Moss connected for four touchdowns during a 56-10 rout over Buffalo on Nov. 18.

And considering the grudge the Patriots have against the Jets, anything is possible.

"I think everybody's excited about playing the Jets," Brady said last week.

Nobody has wanted to face Brady this season. While he was already one of the most clutch quarterbacks in history with three Super Bowl rings to his credit, he had never been a prolific passer until now. In his first six seasons as a starter, Brady never threw for more than 28 touchdowns in a season and had eclipsed the 4,000-yard passing mark just once before. With a new receiving corps featuring Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth, Brady already has passed for 45 touchdowns and 4,095 yards and has the Patriots at 13-0.

"I don't see how he does it," Welker says. "You just sit there and shake your head. If you could sit there and mold a quarterback, you would probably come up with Tom Brady but add a little bit more mobility."

And as for the wintry forecast for today's game slowing Brady down, the Patriots quarterback may as well be singing "Let it Snow." He is 5-0 in games played at Foxboro in the snow, including the infamous "tuck rule" snow-filled playoff game against the Raiders in 2002 in which Brady completed 32-of-52 passes for 312 yards.

And that was without Moss.

Asked to describe his reaction when the Patriots traded for the five-time Pro Bowler last April, Jets receiver Laveranues Coles said: "I was like, 'oh

[Kentucky Jet]

Bill: Jets filmed us without consent

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said in an interview with NBCSports.com that the Jets never got permission to use a second, end zone camera for last year's AFC divisional playoff game between the two teams, according to ESPN.com

This was in response to a report Wednesday that the Jets had a cameraman taping during the game at Foxboro. Gillette Stadium officials caught up to the cameraman in the end zone mezzanine level, told him to stop taping and leave the area. The camera was not confiscated.

The Jets acknowledged they did videotape the game from that vantage point, but said they had permission to do so.

"We had asked for permission, it was granted, then that changed and we respect their decision. It's their stadium," Jets coach Eric Mangini said to the New York media.

Mangini said the Jets had used an end-zone camera in their Nov. 12 game against the Patriots at Gillette, without issues. He also denied the Jets were trying to steal defensive signals.

The original "Spygate" came about in September, when Jets security officials caught a Patriots employee taping the game from the field.

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets headed into eye of storm

Sunday, December 16, 2007

By J.P. PELZMAN

STAFF WRITER

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Forecasting today's weather is about as difficult as trying to read the Patriots' defense, because both can change in an instant.

Like snow turning to sleet or sleet becoming rain, New England can show blitz before the snap and just as abruptly pull back into coverage. Or vice versa. Or show blitz and then actually blitz, just to keep the opposing quarterback guessing even more.

That's what Kellen Clemens will face here today as the underdog Jets (3-10) visit New England (13-0). Clemens will be making his seventh NFL start, and his first against the Patriots.

Eighth-year veteran Chad Pennington has told Clemens what to expect.

"You can't get discouraged," said the Jets' former starter. "There are going to be some plays that are pretty ugly. It's going to be a very disjointed game."

In his career, counting the playoff loss in January, Pennington is 2-5 against New England as a starter, with eight touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. Both of his victories came in Foxboro, in 2002 and 2006, and both keyed late-season runs to the playoffs by the Jets.

"You're going to have three or four opportunities to make a big play and you have to take advantage of them," Pennington said, adding that "[the Patriots] do a great job of disguising [things] pre-snap."

So the post-snap read is very important, Pennington indicated.

Pennington, Clemens and coach Eric Mangini all noted that Clemens at least has had a taste of what it's like, going 5-for-10 for 35 yards in relief of an injured Pennington in the Jets' season-opening 38-14 loss to New England.

Coach Bill Belichick's complex defensive schemes have helped the Patriots become first in the NFL in overall passing defense this season, quite an accomplishment for a team that's almost always ahead on the scoreboard. The Pats have 34 sacks and could blitz the inexperienced Clemens often. The Jets have permitted 39 sacks, seventh-worst in the NFL, and Clemens has been dropped 24 times.

"It's a great challenge," Clemens admitted. "Fortunately, I've had the opportunity to watch the last four times that we've played them, three times last year and one time this year, and have been a part of a game."

Clemens was asked the toughest thing about facing New England's defense.

"Well, take your pick, really," said Clemens, who has a passer rating of 61.1, third-lowest among NFL qualifiers. "They're very talented across the board, and that goes not only for their personnel on defense, but their defensive coordinator [Dean Pees] and coach Belichick do a great job of putting together a scheme each week that is difficult on offenses."

Mangini said that Clemens "has played against defenses like that quite a bit through training camp and all the time that he's been here. He's faced some similarities in Cleveland with that defense."

Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel, like Mangini, is a former defensive coordinator under Belichick. Clemens didn't get the Jets into the end zone until 2:59 remained in that game.

Mangini said the Patriots' defensive scheme "is game-plan specific, so there's always going to be something that's different than what you faced the last time, something that's different than what they've shown versus other people. You have to be able to adjust to that."

If he is unable to do that, Clemens will be inundated by much more than the weather.

E-mail: pelzman@northjersey.com

[Kentucky Jet]

SPORTS

How far will Belichick go to embarrass Mangini?

Sunday, December 16, 2007

By IAN O'CONNOR

RECORD COLUMNIST

Not-So-Dear Coach Belichick:

No, there is nothing quite as lame as a columnist's open letter in a newspaper, not even your choice of sideline attire. But I figured your woeful interpersonal skills left me little choice.

I realize Eric Mangini is no more welcome in your home right now than Brian McNamee would be at a Clemens family picnic. And I appreciate the fact that any coach who does cameos on "The Sopranos" should understand that you never rat out another made man.

But today is a major opportunity for you, Big Bill. This Patriots-Jets game in Foxboro is a chance for you to prove that you are capable of compassion and humanity. You know, a little game-day mercy.

Don't blow it, Coach. Don't bury the Jets under a mile-high pile of snow-kissed points simply because you want to get mad and even on this unprecedented march to 19-0.

Feel free to beat these unworthy guests by a good 30 points

[Kentucky Jet]

SPYGATE 1- Cimini

FOXBOROUGH - The Jets have given it the "JAG" treatment, insisting that Sunday's Spy Bowl against the Patriots is just another game. Of course, that approach has produced enough hot air to fog the lenses of every video camera (legal or otherwise) at Gillette Stadium.

Considering the hostility between the two franchises, this could be the most intense, spy-related grudge match in the New England region since the Revolutionary War.

Welcome to the Boston Teed-Off Party.

"Nobody has been saying anything, but it's a big deal," said one Jets player, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid the wrath of Eric Mangini. "There's 'SpyGate,' the two coaches, their record, plus they always kick our (butt). We'd only be 4-10 (with a win), but we'd feel like Super Bowl champs for a week."

The Jets would love to kick Bill Belichick's asterisk. It would be one of the most memorable wins in franchise history, easily the biggest upset since Super Bowl III in 1969. The Jets are a 21-point underdog in what Vegas types are calling a "no-mercy" game.

This isn't just bad team versus good team; this is bad versus all-time great. The Patriots are only three wins shy of becoming the first team since the 1972 Dolphins to have an undefeated regular season, and the last thing they want is to blow their shot at history by falling to the Jets (3-10).

The prevailing theory is that Belichick will try to run up the score, hoping to embarrass Mangini, the perceived snitch in the "SpyGate" scandal that cost Belichick a $500,000 fine and the Patriots their first-round pick in 2008. If the Jets don't bring their 'A' game, it could get ugly.

For the record, the biggest blowout in NFL history was 73-0, Bears over the Redskins in 1940. Since the merger in 1970, the most lopsided game was the Rams' 59-0 rout of the Falcons in 1976.

The Jets have heard the outside chatter, the snarky remarks. Like: It's such a mismatch that it should be staged at the Roman Colosseum. The Patriots can beat the Jets and the winless Dolphins (next week's opponent) in the same afternoon. Belichick will run up the score until he gets $500,000 worth of payback.

Yada, yada, yada.

For the most part, the Jets have refrained from firing back. After all, what could they say? Take away their two wins against the hapless Dolphins, and they could be 1-12. It would be lunacy to tug on Superman's cape, although Steelers safety Anthony Smith apparently didn't get the memo on that.

Right now, we're not where we wanted to be record-wise, but with the adjustments we've made the last few weeks, we have the ability to go out and beat this team," said linebacker David Bowens, the closest anybody came to tough talk.

The league is based on parity, but an upset of this magnitude is rare. The Jets are trying to become only the third team in history to beat an opponent that entered the game with at least 10 more wins. Actually, the Patriots were one of the victims, falling in 2004 to the Dolphins - a 2-11 record over 12-1.

But these Patriots aren't these Patriots, whose average margin of victory is 22 points. Belichick has assembled one of the most prolific offenses in history, a team galvanized by the legacy-tainting fallout from "SpyGate."

"None of it matters," former Giants linebacker Carl Banks said. "I think they're a damn good team. The Patriots don't blink."

Although Belichick downplayed the revenge angle, those who know him say he'd give anything to show up Mangini, who hoodwinked the man in the gray hoodie. Asked about the prospect of blowing out the Jets, Belichick said, "Go ask Pittsburgh how they feel about the Jets."

That was the Jets' signature moment, upsetting the Steelers last month, but this is a step up in class. The Patriots have scored at least 24 points in 16 straight games, one shy of the all-time record, and they've scored in 48 of 52 quarters.

"To beat the Patriots - and no one has shut them down - you have to mix your blitzes and get pressure on (Tom) Brady," said former NFL GM Charley Casserly, a CBS analyst. "You have to be physical with the receivers and disrupt their routes. You have to take (Randy) Moss away on deep passes."

He paused, almost catching his breath.

"And at the end of the day, when they have 24 points, you have to figure out a way to score more," Casserly added.

An opposing scout, who has done extensive work on the Jets and Patriots, said a Jets victory is "not impossible." But the scout cautioned, "The Patriots have a strong history of entering the playoffs in an ascending position. At this point in the season, they're trying to finish strong, so I don't see a let-up."

The Patriots do have some weaknesses, which were exposed in their narrow wins over the Eagles and Ravens. Brady was flustered by the Eagles' blitz packages, and the defense has allowed two straight 100-yard rushers. If the Jets can run with Thomas Jones and limit Brady's big plays and get help from a blizzard . . . maybe it'll be a game.

"We have guys that can match up," Bowens said, adding, "If I were scouting us, I'd say we've been a good team since the bye (Nov. 11), and that would be something to look out for."

Now they get a chance to make history - or ruin it for the Patriots. Some coaches would use that as motivation, but Mangini hasn't felt the need to mention it to his players.

"It's hard for me to imagine anybody in the United States doesn't know where they are," he said.

Or how badly they want to beat the Jets.

[Kentucky Jet]

PLAYBOOK

BY HANK GOLA

Jets at Patriots at Gillette Stadium, 1 p.m..

The Line: Patriots by 21

TV: Ch. 2 (Jim Nantz, Phil Simms)

Radio: WEPN 1050-AM, WABC-770 AM (Bob Wischusen, Marty Lyons). In Spanish on WADO 1280-AM (Clemson Smith-Muniz, Gerardo Quirama). Nationwide on Sports USA Network (Howard David, Doug Plank).

Forecast: Rain/wintry mix with high winds and a high near 35.

Injury Impact

Except for LB Rosevelt Colvin, on IR, the Pats have been remarkably injury-free all year. OG Stephen Neal (shoulder), who missed the Steeler game, TE Benjamin Watson (ankle) and S James Sanders (ankle) were limited in practice. All three Jet WRs - Laveranues Coles (ankle), Jerricho Cotchery (finger) and Justin McCareins (thigh) - will play.

Feature Matchup

WR Randy Moss vs. CB Darrelle Revis and help: Moss had a field day with nine catches for 183 yards in Week 1, but Revis was playing his first game after missing the first part of camp. Revis made his bones against Terrell Owens a few weeks ago and can at least be competitive against the rededicated superstar. RB Thomas Jones vs. LBs Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Junior Seau and Adalius Thomas: The New England linebackers are a tad slow, especially if you can isolate a back outside. The Jets will try but Jones is better between the tackles and that's where Vince Wilfork (who renews his battle with C Nick Mangold) usually stuffs things. The Pats can also bring SS Rodney Harrison up to the line of scrimmage, and that's where he will stay unless Kellen Clemens can hurt the Pats through the air.

Scout Says

"The Patriots will still come out in their spread formations with Tom Brady in the shotgun, but between the weather and the Jets' run defense, Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk will get to carry the football. The Jets have nothing to lose and will probably present a blitz package as they did to beat the Steelers. ... Kellen Clemens' inconsistency is a huge problem this week, especially with all the looks he'll see and especially on third and long. If the Patriots make him start to distrust his reads and force the ball, it's going to be an even longer day. Look for some gadget plays - out of both coaches."

Intangibles

SpyGate the sequel is one of the greatest grudge games of all time as well as the greatest disparity in talent. This may qualify as the Jets' ersatz playoff game, but nothing has bothered the Patriots as they've gone on their merry way to a 13-0 record. If anything, Eric Mangini's tattling unleashed a monster. The Jets should catch one break. The weather isn't going to be conducive to running up the score. Don't look for the Pats to throw it 34 straight times.

Prediction

PATRIOTS, 33-7. Only the bad weather keeps the score down.

[Kentucky Jet]

Spy Bowl just latest NFL grudge match

By GARY MYERS

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Sunday, December 16th 2007, 4:00 AM

Bill Parcells was bigger than the game on a Sunday night 10 years ago in Foxborough for one of the great grudge matches in NFL history. It was the first installment in the Tuna Bowl series as the Jets-Patriots Border War escalated, writing another chapter in the New York-Boston rivalry.

Parcells also sparked a jump in T-shirt sales. In the 10 days leading up to the game, the Patriots' Pro Shop sold 400 "Can The Tuna" T-shirts for $14.95 apiece. Parcells had bullied his way out of New England all the way down I-95 to the Jets after leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl.

It wasn't the Babe returning to play the Red Sox after being sold to the Yankees, but it was close.

"It was wild," Parcells said by phone. "It was fun."

The atmosphere was electric. Patriots fans loved Parcells for resurrecting the franchise in the four years he coach New Enlgand, but hated the way he left and where he wound up. The Jets lost that night in overtime after tying the game on Neil O'Donnell's 31-yard TD pass to Keyshawn Johnson with 31 seconds left. After recovering a fumbled kickoff, they would have won it if John Hall's 29-yard field goal wasn't kicked low and blocked with 16 seconds left in regulation.

Drew Bledsoe, who had been on the receiving end of a few of Parcells' tirades as the Pats quarterback, played a poor game in the Tuna's return. "I got too hyped up for the game. I was too excited," he said one month later. "I wanted to go out and blow them out and win by 40."

Parcells was the focal point for the Sept. 14, 1997 game, just as Eric Mangini is the focal point for this afternoon's Spy Bowl at Gillette Stadium. Mangini was a mostly anonymous assistant for Bill Belichick with the Patriots from 2000-2005, but has since became a hated figure in New England, perceived as a snitch and traitor.

As a result, the Patriots don't want to win today by 40. They want to win by 80.

As a Patriots assistant, Mangini surely knew of Belichick's routine of having a sideline video camera tape the opponent's defensive signals, which is against NFL rules. Mangini's inside information is regarded as the key to the Jets blowing the whistle on Belichick in the season opener. Roger Goodell subsequently fined Belichick $500,000 and the Patriots $250,000 and took away their first-round pick in next-years draft, although they still own San Francisco's pick, which figures to be in the top five.

Even worse, the Patriots' three Super Bowl championships under Belichick have been questioned with suggestions they are tainted by Belichick's cheating.

(Page 2 of 4)

"Whatever the score is going to be, I think it's a matter of pride and principle to the Patriots organization," said former Giants linebacker Carl Banks, who knows Belichick well. "I don't think this damaged Bill's reputation, but it embarrassed the organization."

Who knows what Patriots fans have in store for Mangini. Maybe some SpyGate T-shirts will appear. Or perhaps a derisive chant playing off the Mangenius nickname he earned for taking the Jets to the playoffs last year, but has been dropped now that they are 3-10. The Jets don't plan any extra security.

Parcells was a veteran coach when he returned to Foxborough after a full week of being the talk of the town. Mangini is just 36 years old. How did Parcells deal with it? "You just go coach the game and try to get your team ready," he said. "I'm not trying to make light of it. I never felt a grudge. I just wanted to win. I always liked New England. I coached there twice. I always liked being there."

Blood feuds are part of life in the NFL. Play long enough, coach long enough and there are enemies to be made. A coach may have it in for a player, a city may have it in for a coach, a player may have an issue to settle on the field or bragging rights might be at stake.

***

Buddy Ryan may have been the only coach to hate Tom Landry. Ryan, who coached the Eagles from 1986-90, ran up the score on Landry in 1987. He felt Landry had it coming. When the Cowboys and Eagles met for the first time in '87, it was a strike replacement game. Many Cowboys had crossed the picket line. The Eagles' strike team lost all three of its games, including a 41-22 loss at Texas Stadium.

"He ended up playing the defensive front four, the quarterback and the running back. That's what made me so mad," Ryan said by phone last week. "I said in the press conference after that game that we were going to kick their butts when they came to town. The people in Philadelphia hated Dallas anyway."

What really infuriated Ryan is when the Eagles' scabs had a chance for a meaningless TD late in the game, Landry puts his defensive veterans back on the field to make the stop.

So, in the rematch two weeks later after the strike was over, the Eagles led 30-20 with less than one minute to play. Ryan had Randall Cunningham twice take a knee, then on third down he fired to the end zone, pass interference was called and then Keith Byars scored from the 1 on the last play of the game.

(Page 3 of 4)

"What goes around comes around," Ryan said at the time. "That last touchdown was very satisfying. I had it planned that way. I've been dreaming about it for two weeks."

Dallas linebacker Steve DeOssie said after the game, "That's the pathetic rambling of a pathetic, senile old man. They only did it to pacify Ryan's overinflated ego."

Landry, who had few enemies in the coaching fraternity, simply said, "I don't want to comment. It's not worthy of comment. Everybody has to live with themselves. I don't have to live with it. I was afraid it might be like this."

Proving Ryan is an equal opportunity Dallas agitator, there was the Bounty Bowl game on Thanksgiving in 1989 when the Eagles were going after Dallas kicker Luis Zendejas, who had just been cut by Ryan. "Jimmy (Johnson) did a poor job of preparing his team," Ryan laughed on the phone. "We beat them up."

Zendejas suffered a concussion after getting hit by Jessie Small after a kickoff.

"I heard a story they had a bounty on Troy (Aikman)," Johnson said from his home in the Florida Keys. "I never knew that. They had a bounty on Zendejas. They sent two blockers after him. Normally, you wouldn't send two blockers after the kicker. Buddy probably thought it was cute."

They played again two weeks later at the Vet. The Eagles won again as the Cowboys were on their way to a 1-15 season. Snowballs and batteries came flying toward the Dallas sideline. Johnson was escorted off the field by police.

Although Parcells says he always got along with Ryan, the Redskins didn't. In a 1990 game, the Eagles knocked nine Redskins out of the game, including quarterbacks Jeff Rutledge and Stan Humphries. Rookie running back Brian Mitchell finished the game at quarterback.

Several Eagles were heard screaming, "Do you guys need any more body bags?"

It now goes down in NFL history as The Body Bag Game.

"Needless to say, that game was intense and our guys were dropping like flies," said former Redskins guard Mark Schlereth, who didn't play because of a high ankle sprain but was on the sidelines. "But it's not just that guys were dropping like flies. It makes it double hard when guys are going down and their guys are celebrating it

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets somehow must pressure Patriots' Brady

BY TOM ROCK | tom.rock@newsday.com

December 16, 2007

It was the biggest Jets win in the last few years, so think about the indelible image that came from it. Jets defenders jumping in the air while, after a throwdown on the final play, Tom Brady sat in the mud. The Jets won, 17-14, in Foxborough 13 months ago, and that final Kodak moment tells why. Not only is Brady on the ground, but his uniform is covered in grass and dirt and slop from an afternoon spent taking a pounding from the Jets' defense.

Brady hasn't had to so much as wash his hands this season, never mind bleach his pristine white Patriots jersey. In a year in which he's approaching some of the greatest numbers any quarterback ever has amassed, the one that sets the framework for all of the others is 16. That's how many times Brady has been sacked. It is only one more than Chad Pennington has taken this season. And he's played in only seven games.

If the Jets, who are being billed as one of the biggest underdogs in NFL history, have any chance of curtailing Brady and the Patriots, they'll have to find a way to pressure the quarterback. In that soupy game in Foxborough last season, they had four sacks and forced an interception and a fumble. In the two games since, in which the Patriots have outscored the Jets by a combined 75-30, Brady has been sacked once with no interceptions. When the Jets hosted the Patriots in September, Brady was virtually untouched by the defense and had time to find his dangerous receivers downfield.

"If you give him time, he's just going to stand back there and pick you apart," Jets safety Eric Smith said.

Asked if that's what happened in the Sept. 9 game, Smith gave a chagrined smile.

"A little bit," he said.

The teams that have at least slowed the Patriots - Baltimore, Indianapolis and Philadelphia are the only teams to hold New England to 31 or fewer points this season - have accounted for eight of the 16 sacks and three of the five interceptions. Even Bill Belichick has said that pressuring his quarterback might be the only way to slow him down.

"The less penetration you have, then the fewer opportunities the defense has to have a negative play," Belichick said. "If they can't get on your side of the line of scrimmage, then they're going to have fewer of those. The more they're on your side of the line of scrimmage, then sooner or later they're probably going to get some."

But Belichick added, rather ominously, that those so-called negative plays usually are the result of Patriots mistakes "rather than them making a great physical play." In fact Brady's Bodyguards may be the league's most concrete offensive line.

"A lot of those guys have been together for a while," Jets coach Eric Mangini said of the protectors. "There's some continuity there and a lot of reps built up. They've worked with Tom for a long time."

So figuring out a way to get to Brady - to somehow fluster him, have him make decisions quicker than he would like to - seems to be about the only chance the Jets have. And even that's admittedly a slim one.

"There's probably not too many things he hasn't seen in his day," Jets defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said, "so I don't think we're going to totally confuse him."

Jets at New England,

1 p.m.

TV: Ch. 2

Radio: WABC (770), WEPN (1050)

FLASHBACK: THE 108-YARD HEADACHE

When the teams met in September, Ellis Hobbs set an NFL record with a 108-yard kickoff return. It's the only special-teams touchdown the Jets have allowed in the last three seasons.

MEET THE ENEMY

Wes Welker, WR

Before this season began, Jets safety Kerry Rhodes said he was asked to name the most under-rated player, a real below-the-radar guy. He said Wes Welker. That description no longer fits. After years of harvesting solid numbers as a slot receiver for the Dolphins, Welker was traded to the Patriots this year. Even then he was supposed to be an afterthought in a corps that included Dante Stallworth and Randy Moss. But Welker has blossomed and is, get this, the leading receiver on the Patriots. He has 93 catches for 974 yards and eight touchdowns. Welker, often compared with Wayne Chrebet, used to be the player only other players knew about. Now he's a star among stars. And probably one of the happiest people on the planet that he was traded from the Dolphins to the Patriots.

LOOKING BACK

Patriots 56, Jets 3

Sept. 9, 1979

It was the worst loss in Jets history, but many believe today's final score could approach those lopsided numbers. It's already got enough in common with the same opponent and the same location (although it is a new stadium). That game, played in the second week of the season, was highlighted by Steve Grogan's 315 passing yards for five touchdowns, including three to wide receiver Harold Jackson. The Jets lost three fumbles, threw three interceptions, suffered nine quarterback sacks and had a punt blocked. Richard Todd broke his collarbone in the game and Pat Leahy's 30-yard field goal in the first quarter accounted for the Jets' only points. It was 35-3 at halftime and the Patriots kept piling it on even though they wouldn't be riled up over Spygate for nearly another three decades.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Jets travel to Nashville to face the Titans, who will play at Kansas City today.

[Kentucky Jet]

Grumps in the road

Sunday, December 16, 2007

BY KEVIN MANAHAN

Star-Ledger Staff

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Where Interstate 495 dumps its football traffic onto the local streets, it's about four miles from Gillette Stadium, and there's really only one way in: a four-lane road, lined with mom and pop hotels, not so cleverly named pubs, a Dunkin Donuts, fast-food joints and businesses that sell their wares six days a week and their parking spaces on the seventh.

Around here, Route 1 North is the perp walk.

And Eric Mangini, Public Enemy No. 1 and the most hated man in New England who didn't have anything to do with The Big Dig, will ride that road today, in a Jets' team bus, at around 10 a.m. If Patriots fans could stop the charter, drag him out, put him in shackles and make him walk, they would. Mangenius? Try Mansnitchius.

The turncoat who stabbed his former boss in the back by singing like a canary to the NFL about illegal videotaping will be greeted with signs and snowballs along the gauntlet. Haters will stand on their cars and shout obscenities. Middle fingers will flash so quickly and so often that several fans could end up on injured reserve with carpal tunnel syndrome.

The double-crossing Brutus, that snake-in-the-grass stool pigeon who once was the Patriots' defensive coordinator, will be hung in effigy in the parking lots. His face will be drawn onto the body of a rat.

They will make fun of his waistline (Manfattius!), his stress acne (Manzitius!) and his 3-10 Jets (Manlooosers!), who dare to come to this shrine and try to smudge the 13-0 record of the greatest team pro football has ever seen. They will spit. They will boo. They will pass gas in his general direction. And that's before he even makes it to the game.

"That rat is coming to town, and Route 1 is the only way in. We'll be ready for him," said Tom Carroll, who was buying coffee at the Dunkin Donuts while still trying to get a ticket with a buddy. Carroll isn't sure he wants to spend a thousand bucks to scream obscenities in the Betrayal Bowl, "so, I'll probably just yell at the TV when they show his face."

On Thursday, Bill Belichick -- the wronged ex-boss -- smiled at the thought of what Mangini will face this morning. He made no attempt to calm the blood-thirsty mawb ... uh, mob.

"Oh, they get you on Route 1 ... before you even get to the stadium," the Patriots coach said. "It's kind of like a parade. They know what the visiting buses are. They get you early, and they escort you all the way into the stadium. I've been on that one a few times."

PIGSKIN AND RODENTS

Once Mangini reaches the sideline, the attacks are likely to be relentless. Some fans are buying rubber and plastic rats at novelty stores to smuggle into the stadium. If they have stronger arms than Johnny Damon, some might fall at Mangini's feet.

PIGSKIN AND RODENTS

Once Mangini reaches the sideline, the attacks are likely to be relentless. Some fans are buying rubber and plastic rats at novelty stores to smuggle into the stadium. If they have stronger arms than Johnny Damon, some might fall at Mangini's feet.

Former Patriots coach Bill Parcells, now an ESPN talking head, has made the drive along Route 1, too -- sometimes as the king in the royal carriage, the subjects bowing as he passed. Other times, he was the enemy.

"Leave me out of this border war," Parcells said. "Talk to the participants."

But the participants aren't really talking, Bill, and, when they are, they aren't being truthful on the subject of revenge. "Just another game," Belichick has said. "Nothing has changed," Mangini adds. You see, Belichick is a cheat and a fibber, it seems, and Mangini is a tattler but not a gossip.

"Well, just because the participants are full of (garbage) doesn't mean you have to drag someone credible in," Parcells said. "So, leave me out of it. I'm going to have to pass on this one."

How hated is Mangini? Last Sunday, a plane flew over Gillette Stadium, dragging a banner behind it: "Bonds 756 -- Belichick 3 Super Bowl Wins." Patriots fans wanted to know when Mangini got his pilot's license.

Listen to sports talk radio in Boston. Callers do a better job of needling than Brian McNamee. And in between the calls, WEEI-FM, plays promos for the game coverage -- stringing together movie audio clips of gangsters talking about rats. Jimmy Cagney's "You dirty rat." Tony Soprano talking about Big *****. Al Pacino's "Never rat on your friends" in "Carlito's Way."

In Latin, it's Rattus Among Us.

Jim Fassel, the former Giants coach and Ravens offensive coordinator, knows betrayal. He was fired last season by Baltimore head coach and former friend Brian Billick, who still hasn't fixed the offense. Fassel doesn't believe Mangini and Belichick will be friends again, based on his falling out with Billick.

"Our relationship is over," Fassel said. "Because I saw what he was. He used me as a mentor. He'd call me if he wanted this job or that job, ask for advice on this, that and the other. You see what's happening there now. It's out of control. It's him. No, our relationship is kaput."

SCOREBOARD MESSAGE?

The Jets might be kaput, too. Because if the snowy and windy weather allows -- and even if it resists -- many believe Belichick will want to send a message to Manwhistleblower. The Patriots already have run up the score on innocents. They embarrassed silly Steelers safety Anthony Smith for guaranteeing a victory. What might they have in store for someone who, according to Patriots fans, needs a $500,000 beatdown?

Buddies Dennis DeSiata and Jim Clement were Christmas shopping in the Patriots store at Gillette Stadium on Thursday. They're not sure what to expect. They know the crowd will be calling for the traitor's blood, but ...

"Belichick hates to do what people expect him to do," DeSiata said. "So, I think he might ease up. Is Mangini a rat? Yeah, he is. But when Belichick is in the spotlight and everyone expects him to throw Mangini under the bus, he might do the opposite just to prove people wrong."

Clement believes Belichick, given the chance to run it up, will let up. "But only when it gets to 40-0," he said.

And when it's all over, no matter the result, there will be the obligatory handshake at midfield. The last time they met, when their relationship was merely strained, Belichick, still peeved about questions regarding their relationship, yanked a photographer out of the way to give Mangini a hug. Bob Weir, another shopping Patriots fan, isn't expecting an embrace.

"If I were Mangini, and Belichick reached out to shake my hand, I'd check his palm for a booger," Weir said.

Staff writer Paul Needell contributed to this report. Kevin Manahan can be reached at kmanahan@starledger.com

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets-Patriots Gameday

Sunday, December 16, 2007

BY DAVE HUTCHINSON

Star-Ledger Staff

When the Jets have the ball: QB Kellen Clemens is facing the toughest test of his young career, and a solid performance could go a long way toward helping him secure the starting job for next season. The Jets did little against the Browns' NFL-worst defense last week, converting only two of 12 third-down opportunities. The weather could dictate that the Jets turn to their running game. RB Thomas Jones is tied for ninth in the NFL in rushing with 944 yards and the Patriots have allowed a 100-yard rusher in each of their past two games. The shifty Leon Washington is dangerous. WRs Laveranues Coles (ankle) and Jerricho Cotchery (finger) will gut it out again. The Jets O-line has its hands full with Patriots NT Vince Wilford (6-foot-2, 340 pounds).

When the Patriots have the ball: QB Tom Brady has thrown for 4,095 yards, 45 TDs and just five INTs, all league-best marks. He's four TD passes shy of Peyton Manning's single-season mark. The Patriots rank first in the NFL in total offense (425 yards per game) and points (503). WR Randy Moss (82 catches, 1,264 yards and 19 TDs, is three TDs short of Jerry Rice's single-season mark. WR Wes Welker (team-high 93 catches, 974 yards, eight TDs) is a star. The Patriots offensive line is underrated, having yielded just 16 sacks. RB Laurence Maroney (529 yards, two TDs on only 126 carries) could emerge as a factor if the weather is bad.

Special teams: Patriots KR Ellis Hobbs returned a kickoff an NFL-record 108 yards in the first meeting this season. K Steve Gostkowski (65-of-65 PATs and 16-of-19 FGs) is a weapon and could be huge in inclement weather. The Patriots coverage teams are allowing just 21.3 yards per return. Jets K Mike Nugent has hit 14 straight and 21 of his past 22 attempts. KR Leon Washington (three TDs) has been quiet in recent weeks as opponents are kicking away from him. P Ben Graham (43-yard average) has been so-so.

Four Downs

Can the Jets be the first to defeat the Patriots?

The Jets (3-10) would like nothing better than to ruin the Patriots' bid for perfection. Though no player will say so publicly, a victory would erase a season's worth of frustration. Coach Eric Mangini knows the Patriots well, and if anyone can devise a game-plan to defeat them, it's him. But can the Jets execute it? The 1972 Dolphins (17-0) are getting nervous.

How will the postgame handshake between Eric Mangini and Bill Belichick go?

The postgame handshakes between these two are probably the most scrutinized in NFL history. After heavy criticism, Belichick gave Mangini a bear huge following their playoff game last season, mostly for the cameras. Following their win the Patriots victory this season, Belichick barely acknowledged Mangini at midfield. Their relationship is in shambles, and they'll likely exchange a quick and chilly greeting.

How will Jets QB Kellen Clemens do against a Bill Belichick defense?

Clemens has thrown four TDs and nine INTs this season and hasn't exactly blown anyone away with his performance. He's learning on the job, so he deserves a bit of a pass. Chad Pennington said that what Belichick does best is take away a team's strengths and force them to do the things they don't do well. The weather could be a major factor. Even so, it'll be interesting to see how Clemens fares.

How will the Patriots attack the Jets?

The Patriots have turned into a pass-happy bunch this season, but with snow in the forecast, QB Tom Brady and WR Randy Moss may have trouble hooking up. If not, the Patriots may lean on embattled RB Laurence Maroney, who has been in Bill Belichick's doghouse all season. The book on Maroney is he's not durable and doesn't hit the hole with authority. At one point this season, diapers were left on his locker chair.

History: The Jets lead the all-time series, 48-45-1. This is the fifth meeting between the teams in the past 15 months, with the Patriots having won three of four.

One more thing: Bill Belichick is one of four active coaches with at least 100 wins with the same team: Washington's Joe Gibbs (168), Denver's Mike Shanahan (130), Tennessee's Jeff Fisher (117) and Belichick (100).

Prediction: Patriots 20, Jets 17

[Kentucky Jet]

Pats won't admit it, but today's game against the Jets will have some extra juice

By HOWARD ULMAN

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Original publication: December 16, 2007)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The Jets' journey to Gillette Stadium could be a bumpy one. If the snow doesn't block them, Patriots fans just might.

New England's partisans don't always wait for the game to begin to start taunting their opponents, and today's return of the Spygate snitch, Eric Mangini, should fire them up even more.

"They get you on Route 1 about 4 miles before you even get to the stadium," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "It's kind of like a parade. They know what the visiting buses are. They get you early and they escort you all the way into the stadium."

They'll come equipped with parkas, gloves and perhaps some videocameras to mock the Jets for turning the Patriots into the NFL for taping their sideline in violation of NFL rules in the season opener at the Meadowlands.

That cost Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 and its 2008 first-round draft choice. But in a season in which little has gone wrong - the Patriots are 13-0 with a very good shot at going 16-0 - even that wasn't as harmful as it might have been; they still have San Francisco's first-round pick, which should be a very good one.

Belichick stood firm against questions about the taping just as his defense has been very tough to crack.

He was asked repeatedly about the impact of the Jets' complaint to the league on today's rematch on what might be a windy and snowy day. And, repeatedly, he said it was just another game - even though a win would guarantee home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

"We're focused on the New York Jets," he said in one variation on the theme. "That's all I'm focused on. And I'm happy to talk about that, and that's really about the extent of it."

Others, though, see it as having personal overtones.

One oddsmaker even invited wagers on whether Belichick and Mangini, his former defensive coordinator, would shake hands after the game.

"The handshakes and the high-fives and all that," Belichick said, "right now my attention is on the New York Jets."

And Mangini's focus is on the Patriots. With a 3-10 record, ending the Patriots' run at an undefeated season would be especially satisfying.

But, like his mentor Belichick, he wouldn't put more importance on a single game.

"Winning every week is important to us, and it's no different this week in a sense that this is a division opponent that's won the division quite a few years now," Mangini said. "All the external things are things you can't focus on and can't look at because there's so much other work to do that's going to affect the outcome."

And some factors, like the weather, the coaches can't do much about.

If the wind howls and the snow falls, the Tom Brady-Randy Moss combination could suffer, stalling Moss' run at Jerry Rice's single-season record of 22 touchdown catches (he needs four to break it). And that might force the Patriots to rely more on a mediocre running game.

In their last two games, the Patriots have allowed Baltimore's Willis McGahee and Pittsburgh's Willie Parker to rush for more than 100 yards. Last Sunday, the Jets' Thomas Jones ran for 106 yards in a 24-18 loss to Cleveland.

"If you run the ball for 1,000 yards and we still win, guess what?" Patriots safety Rodney Harrison said. "They go home losers and we go home winners."

The Jets will have to keep up with a Patriots offense averaging 38.7 points per game and needing just 54 in the last three games to set the single-season league scoring record.

"We are obviously aware of it," Jets quarterback Kellen Clemens said. "But we're not going to have what New England has done in the past or what they are doing on Sunday, offensively, in the back of our mind."

The Patriots are favored by 21 points. Considering they've won five games by at least that much, it's not an outlandish margin.

In fact, in the teams' first meeting this season, New England won 38-14.

And, whether they'll admit it or not, the Patriots have the added incentive of trying to beat the team that caught them cheating and complained about it.

Not that Brady will ever admit it.

"I hate it when people say, 'Well, this one is really going to mean something,' " he said. "Like the other 13 (games) didn't mean anything?"

This one can keep the Patriots unbeaten heading into their next-to-last game, against winless Miami. They finish against the Giants on Dec. 29, almost certainly their only game away from home from Dec. 9 until the Super Bowl, if they get there.

The weather was a factor last season when the Jets beat the Patriots 17-14 on a muddy field on a rainy Sunday in Foxborough. But on a calmer day there, the Patriots prevailed 37-16 in a wild-card playoff game.

No matter what the weather, the fans should be just as loud. And, if you're the Jets, abusive.

Belichick doesn't think it's much different for his team when it travels. He couldn't say where he got the harshest reception.

"I haven't ranked them," he said. "I don't think any team is very popular on the road - or coach, for that matter."

Especially Mangini.

Even Belichick gave him the cold shoulder after each of their three meetings last season.

That exchange, certain to draw a cluster of cameras to midfield, might be even chillier this time, considering the videotaping flap.

But, Mangini said, it's just another handshake.

"I don't expect to do anything outside the norm that I do every game with every head coach that I play against," he said.

[Kentucky Jet]

Key names

Bill Belichick: Will the New England coach be out for revenge against his former assistant, Eric Mangini, who turned in the Patriots to the NFL for taping the Jets' sideline in violation of league rules in the season opener at the Meadowlands? That cost New England $750,000 (Belichick paid $500,000) and one of its two 2008 first-round draft choices. It could be the Jets who pay the heavy price if Belichick doesn't wake up in a forgiving mood. Plus, home-field advantage throughout the playoffs is on the line for the Patriots, so don't expect Belichick to take it easy.

Kellen Clemens: The second-year quarterback will be facing the vaunted New England defense for the first time as a starter. Most veterans find that to be an impossible task. Clemens threw for a career-high 286 yards last week, but he has five interceptions in the last four games. His 61.1 passer rating is the worst in the AFC. Clemens saw some time in the Jets' first game against the Patriots, on Sept. 9, completing 5 of 10 passes for 35 yards. Former starter Chad Pennington has a 2-6 record against the Patriots. With bad weather expected, Clemens will have to rely more on Thomas Jones, who rushed for 106 yards on 24 carries against the Browns last week.

Tom Brady: The New England superstar quarterback (4,095 yards, 45 touchdowns) needs five touchdown passes to break the single-season league record set by Peyton Manning in 2004. Brady leads the NFL in completions (334), completion percentage (70.2 percent), yards, TDs and passer rating (123.5). Brady has a career record of 11-2 against the Jets. In the season opener this year, Brady completed 22 of 28 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns. For his career, Brady has thrown 17 touchdowns against five interceptions vs. the Jets. It could be a big day for his favorite target, too. Wide receiver Randy Moss (82 receptions, 1,264 yards) has 19 touchdown catches, second most in league history and is three from the league's single-season record set by Jerry Rice in 1987.

Key injuries

Jets: TE Chris Baker (back), WR Laveranues Coles (ankle), WR Jerricho Cotchery (finger), TE James Dearth (foot), WR Justin McCareins (thigh) and DT Dewayne Robertson (knee) are questionable. QB Kellen Clemens (thigh), TE Joe Kowalewski (shoulder) and WR Brad Smith (back) are probable.

Patriots: G Billy Yates (foot) is out. G Steve Neal (shoulder), S James Sanders (knee), LB Mike Vrabel (thigh) and TE Benjamin Watson (ankle) are questionable. QB Tom Brady (right shoulder) is probable.

From staff reports

[Kentucky Jet]

JETS SEEK THE PERFECT STORM

'DOGS TAKE AIM AT UNBEATEN PATS

By MARK CANNIZZARO

Randy Moss

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December 16, 2007 -- FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - A couple weeks ago, Laveranues Coles, in a casual conversation with a couple of reporters, said he hoped the Patriots would go 16-0 this season because he thought it would be something cool to see. He said it would be good for the league and proof the toughest team in the league resides in the Jets division.

Coles, who in no way meant he wanted the Jets to lose to the Patriots in their meeting today at Gillette Stadium, was chastised for his comments in some circles.

The truth is, however, his sentiments are echoed by a number of the Jets, who want nothing more than to derail New England's perfect season, but respect what the Patriots have done to date nonetheless.

"It has been impressive to see them even though they are in our division and are foes of ours," Jets safety Kerry Rhodes said. "To see a team playing this well, you can only applaud them. The success they are having has been great this year.

"[but] with all the accolades and all the things we know that they can do, we're still going to come out and play hard.

"Nobody likes the situation that we're in right now, so we will come out, fight hard and try to get a win," Rhodes said. "We're not happy where we are right now. We definitely thought we would be in the thick of things right now and we're not. We are 3-10."

Four-and-10 with a victory today won't send the Jets toward a playoff berth and it won't erase the pains from this disappointing season.

But it would draw some positive attention to them and make them a part of history as authors of one of the greatest upsets in NFL history.

Here's an inside look at how the Jets might find a way to dismantle this Patriots juggernaut:

BEST BATTLE

Jets CB Darrelle Revis vs. Patriots WR Randy Moss. The Jets' one chance defensively to not let the game get out of control is to prevent Moss from making big plays. Revis did a solid job covering Dallas' Terrell Owens on Thanksgiving by being physical with him at the line of scrimmage to knock his route-running rhythm off. That's going to have to happen against Moss, who has 82 catches, a 15.4-yard average and an astounding 19 touchdown receptions. If the Jets hold Moss to one touchdown today, they should consider that a victory.

CLOG THE SLOT

Patriots WR Wes Welker, who leads the team with 93 receptions and has eight touchdowns, is a faster, more athletic Wayne Chrebet working out of the slot. Whenever Tom Brady absolutely, positively has to deliver a completion he goes to Welker. That places a huge amount of pressure on the player covering Welker in the slot, likely David Barrett.

A VERY BRADY CHRISTMAS

What more can be said about Tom Brady? He's en route to shattering almost every significant quarterbacking record the NFL has ever seen. He already has 45 touchdown passes and five interceptions and with a 70.2-percent completion rate. The Jets' one chance to slow Brady is by applying the same kind of pressure on him they did last season when they beat the Pats in Foxborough. That's easier said than done, however considering Brady has been sacked 16 times in 476 pass attempts and the Jets have 22 sacks this season. They are going to have to roll the dice with some creative blitzes that include Rhodes and the cornerbacks. That, of course, places a heavy burden on the rest of the secondary trying to cover Moss and Welker. Pick your poison.

RUNNING TIME

As much as the Jets need big plays offensively to keep up with the prolific Patriots, who have scored 503 points in 13 games, they need a consistent, sound running game. They need a strong blocking performance from the offensive line and running from Thomas Jones (944 rushing yards), so they can keep Brady and Co. off the field.

CANNIZZARO'S CALL

PATRIOTS - 31

JETS - 17

The Jets have a chance to keep this one closer than the point spread predicts, but they don't have enough horses on defense or firepower on offense to pull off the upset. Look for the Jets to get some pressure on Brady with some creative blitzes, but that will open them up to some big plays deep. Look for the Jets to control the clock with the running game to some degree, but Kellen Clemens has been too inconsistent to last the entire game without making a big mistake.

[Kentucky Jet]

MAYBE MOTHER NATURE CAN STOP BRADY Tom BradyThere are currently no comments. Be the first to contribute!

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December 16, 2007 -- FOXBOROUGH, Mass - The whole world figures this will be the scene of The Perfect Murder, Bill Belichick sadistically and mercilessly running up the score on his personal Benedict Arnold as payback for Spygate, for Eric Mangini going Sammy (The Bull) Gravano on him and tarnishing his reputation [they called him Belicheat!!!] and the three Lombardi trophies he won with Tom Brady and most of these other Patriots. Maybe it still will be. ... maybe the only drama today at Gillette Stadium won't be the postgame handshake, but rather the postgame eye-gouge or body slam.

But heavens to Broadway Joe - the football gods, who have been so cruel to the Jets for too many years, have decided to give them the perfect storm, at the perfect time, and watch to see what they can do in it, and with it.

So now the spies who come in from the cold can remember this as ... you guessed it ...Watergate!

It is quite possible that neither snow nor rain, nor sleet, nor nor'easter can stay these mighty Patriots from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. Maybe, as the final seconds tick down and the Patriots are 14-0, Belichick will stare across the field and see not his young, bright former assistant, but a drowned rat, and revel in the revenge.

But if you believe that Mother Nature can be the great equalizer, even for a 21-point underdog, then you believe the Jets do indeed have a snowball's chance in hell to shock the world and destroy the best-laid plans of mice and men reaching for history.

A wet-and-wild stage means the Jets might not have to play the perfect game to make Belichick's perfect season go slip-sliding away.

No matter how good he may be in the elements, the difference between Brady throwing a slick ball and Kellen Clemens throwing one might not be as pronounced as Brady throwing a dry ball and Clemens throwing one. The difference between Randy Moss and Wes Welker catching a slick ball and Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery catching one might not be as pronounced as Moss and Welker catching a dry ball and Coles and Cotchery catching one.

Remember, the Patriots haven't bothered trying to run the ball in their dream season. Maybe this becomes the day when Laurence Maroney reminds everyone why Belichick made him a first-round pick. Or maybe this becomes the day when Thomas Jones reminds everyone why he was supposed to be every bit as invaluable as Moss, and keeps Brady and his prolific friends on the sidelines for long stretches.

Long-suffering Jets historians will remind you how a waterlogged Orange Bowl field negated the speed advantage of Wesley Walker and Freeman McNeil in the January, 1983 AFC Championship game, also known as the infamous Mud Bowl, Dolphins 14, Jets 0.

Belichick prepares his team for everything under the sun, but try as he might, he knows the full force even of his diabolical genius can be blown out to sea by the perfect storm.

Let the conspiracy theories abound:

If Namath did indeed sell his soul to the devil to win Super Bowl III, maybe he bought it back for this game.

If Mangini somehow breached security and seeded the clouds, chances are good that even Belichick could not possibly have it on videotape.

But, when all is said and done, he does have the perfect quarterback in Brady [45 touchdown passes].

"He came into college [Michigan] as a spoiled kid," David Bowens said. "We used to tease him all the time - he was the only guy on the floor with a cappuccino machine in his room. I didn't even know what cappuccino was. Me and Charles Woodson used to give him [guff] about it all the time."

Jets linebacker Brad Kassell was asked if he had ever been a 21-point underdog.

"I've been way worse than that; I played at North Texas, so ..." he said.

What was the biggest underdog you ever were?

"I'd say ... 45?"

Against?

"LSU or Oklahoma? But ... I think I did win a game as like a 35-point underdog."

Tell me about that one.

"[Texas] Tech."

Did you sense during the week that something special might happen?

"No," he said, chuckling. "It just happened."

steve.serby@nypost.com

[Kentucky Jet]

NUGENT BRIGHT SPOT FOR GANG GREEN

By MARK CANNIZZARO

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December 16, 2007 -- FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Based on the Patriots' dominance of their opponents en route to 13-0 - they're outscoring the opposition by an average of 21.6 points per game - chances are today's game against the Jets won't come down to a field goal.

If it does, however, and Jets kicker Mike Nugent is involved, the result should be a good one for the Jets.

Nugent has been one of the few bright spots in this miserable Jets season.

Their third-year kicker has turned what began as a shaky start - three misses in his first six field goal attempts - into perhaps his best season as a pro.

Nugent, who had four field goals in the Jets loss to the Browns Sunday, has made 14 consecutive field goals and 21 of his last 22 tries with the miss a 54-yard attempt.

Since missing those three early tries, he's 23 of 25 and is 26 of 31 for the season.

With three games to play, Nugent, who has 99 points, is eight points away from breaking his personal high of 106, set last season.

His 26 field goals are the second most in the NFL.

*

Thomas Jones, for all the criticism the Jets running game has gotten this season, is tied for fifth in the AFC and tied for ninth in the NFL with his 944 rushing yards.

Jones, who rushed for 106 yards on Sunday for his fourth 100-yard game as a Jet, is 56 yards away from his third consecutive 1,000-yard season. Four running backs in the league have more rushing attempts than Jones' 255.

*

Leon Washington, with his 11.3-yard average last Sunday, fell back in the race for top kickoff return average. He remains second to Cleveland's Josh Cribbs, but fell further behind with a 28.5-yard average to Cribbs' 31.0-yard average.

Washington, who has an NFL-high three kickoffs returned for touchdowns, did improve his punt-return average to 10.5 yards after averaging 26.5 yards on Sunday. That, however, is still behind Cribbs' 10.8-yard average.

This likely means Washington will not make the Pro Bowl, which means the Jets will likely be shut out of the Pro Bowl this year.

*

Tom Brady, 11-2 lifetime against the Jets, is 24-2 as a starter in games when the temperature is 40 degrees or colder.

Brady needs five touchdown passes in the next three games to eclipse Peyton Manning's record of 49 in a season.