Kentucky Jet Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Jets look to get a leg up on Pats By MARK CANNIZZARO Randy Moss Last updated: 5:59 am September 14, 2008 Posted: 4:23 am September 14, 2008 PLAY POST PICK 'EM If you have any question about what the atmosphere will be like at Giants Stadium for today's JetsNew York Jets -Patriots showdown, consider these factors: * It's the 1-0 Jets' home opener. * It's Brett Favre's first home start. * It's against the hated Patriots and their vilified coach Bill Belichick. * It's the Patriots without Tom Brady for the rest of the season, a quarterback who owns a 12-2 lifetime record against them, and the Jets and their fans smell blood against backup quarterback Matt Cassel. Put it all together and what you're going to have today is a surge of electricity in and around the Meadowlands that hasn't been felt in these parts since perhaps their 2002 playoff run. "The fans are going to be crazy," Jets veteran linebacker David BowensDavid Bowens said. "Oh there's going to be unbelievable energy out there," Jets right tackle Damien Woody said. "People have been waiting for his game for awhile. They've had this game circled on the calendar for awhile. "Now that it's finally here and I'm sure the crowd at the Meadowlands is going to be pumped up. With everything that has transpired, they're going to be smelling blood." Here's a breakdown of the game: BEST BATTLE Jets CB Darrelle RevisDarrelle Revis vs. Patriots WR Randy Moss. Revis may get some help, but he will be on Moss all game. Moss is coming off a six-catch, 116-yard performance against the Chiefs. Revis is coming off a game in which he stifled Miami's top WR, Ted Ginn Jr., picking off a pass at the end of the game in the end zone to preserve the Jets win. PROTECT THE CASSEL The Patriots know the Jets are going to be coming after their inexperienced backup QB Cassel with a lot of blitzing. That means LB Calvin Pace will be coming. Pace was a terror last week against the Dolphins in his Jets debut, harassing Chad Pennington. The Jets focus today will be to rattle Cassel early and Pace will be a big part of that plan. WHAT'S THE RUSH? The Patriots likely think they have to run the ball to take pressure off of Cassel. They had decent success running the ball last week with Sammy Morris (10-53 yards, TD) and Laurence Maroney (10-51). The Jets are feeling good about their rushing attack with Thomas Jones gaining 101 yards last week. RETURN FAVORS The Jets are wary of Patriots CB Ellis Hobbs on kickoff returns. Hobbs took one back for a touchdown against them last season at Giants Stadium. Hobbs averaged 35 yards, including a 51-yarder, last week. WHERE'S THE SPACE? Brett Favre's strong arm and tendency to throw it deep figures to open some things up for the Jets to get the shifty Leon Washington in space to make some big plays on screens, shovel passes, and so forth. That didn't happen last week for Washington (six carries for nine yards and two catches for 17 yards). The Jets will need more from Washington on offense to win today. HERE'S THE KICKER Patriots may be more comfortable with their incumbent kicker Stephen Gostkowski, but don't count out the Jets' Jay Feely, who was signed this week to kick in place of the injured Mike Nugent. Feely is an 80.8-percent field goal kicker who was 21-of-23 last year for Miami and, having kicked for the Giants, knows Giants Stadium well. NUMBER TO KNOW 17. That's the number of points (or fewer) that the Patriots have allowed the Jets to score against them in nine of the past 10 meetings between the two teams. FOE FACT The Patriots have won their past seven games against the Jets at Giants Stadium. JETS FACT Favre is 3-2 against the Patriots with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com CANNIZZARO'S CALL Always fear the wounded animal, which the Brady-less Patriots are right now. This one won't be easy for the Jets, who will have trouble running the ball on the New England front seven. Belichick will outsmart Favre into a turnover or two. PATRIOTS 23, JETS 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arsis Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 23-20 pats? really? People gotta have more faith in the jets than this. stupid cannizaro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted September 14, 2008 Author Share Posted September 14, 2008 Feely gald to be kicking again By MARK CANNIZZARO Last updated: 6:00 am September 14, 2008 Posted: 4:23 am September 14, 2008 When kicker Mike NugentMike Nugent suffered a strained right thigh muscle on a kickoff in the first quarter of the JetsNew York Jets ' 20-14 victory over the Dolphins Sunday, Jay Feely sat at his home in South Florida, roughly 20 minutes away from Dolphin Stadium, with one thought. PLAY POST PICK 'EM "I could get there by halftime, [but] there are rules against that," Feely said jokingly. Following their survival win over the Dolphins, the Jets quickly signed Feely to replace Nugent for at least this week and likely for a short time beyond. The signing seemed like a no-brainer. Feely, 32, owns an 80.8-percent success rate on field goal attempts, including a near-flawless 21-of-23 last season for the Dolphins. He also knows the nuances of kicking inside Giants Stadium, where he kicked for the GiantsNew York Giants in 2005 and 2006 before signing with the Dolphins. "Being there so much with the Giants where I practiced every day really helped me learn that stadium," Feely said. "You've still got to execute, but it gives you a knowledge base. The part that helps is you know which flags to trust and which ones not to. You understand how to kick the ball there. When you get those winds, you can't let the ball get up in the air; you have to kind of hit a little cut shot like you would in golf." Feely, an avid golfer, said despite being released by the Dolphins and then by the Chiefs after one day, he feels as good as ever. "I think I'm better than ever," he said. "My legs feel fresh, and I'm kicking the ball a lot further than I have in a long time." Feely said he was surprised to be released by the Dolphins after the consistent season he gave them in 2007. "That's the reality," he said. "But you've just got to move forward and not look backward and believe in yourself, and that's what I've done." Feely didn't get specific about the reason why he was released. But a source familiar with the Dolphins said Bill Parcells, who generally views kickers as necessary evil in the game, didn't like that Feely was the team's player rep, a team captain and very visible in the media. Nevertheless, Feely said he is delighted where he's landed. "It was exciting," Feely said of getting the call by the Jets. "Sitting out gives you a different perspective. It's very humbling to sit at home and watch the games. It made me realize how much I love to play and how much I still want to play." Newest first Oldest first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted September 14, 2008 Author Share Posted September 14, 2008 It is time for BRETT & JETS to stand up to the Bully Steve Serby Last updated: 6:00 am September 14, 2008 Posted: 4:23 am September 14, 2008 FOR Brett Favre, this is Brettribution Day. It's the day he gets to send an unmistakable message to the Green Bay decision-makers that forced him out. It's the day he can shut up the naysayers who believe he is too old and too conflicted to make one last Super Bowl run on a championship-parched franchise that has gone 40 years between Super Bowl drinks. PLAY POST PICK 'EM For the rest of the Jets, this is Jetribution Day. It's the day they finally get to stand up to Bill Belichick, the way the Red Sox finally stood up to Joe Torre and the Yankees. Belichick doesn't have his spies with him anymore as he returns to the scene of the crime. He doesn't have Tom Brady with him anymore. So he asks a career backup named Matt Cassel to overcome a bloodthirsty mob and a seething, bulked-up team that is sick and tired of having its glasses stepped on and its lunch money taken from it by the Bully Boys of the AFC East. In other words, Patsies No More. If the game is close in the fourth quarter - and everyone should expect the prideful Patriots defense to keep it close - there won't be anyone in the stadium, in the stands or on the Jets sidelines or in the Jets huddle, who wouldn't take their chances with Favre with the ball in his hands with the game on the line. Who cannot wait for Favre to deliver Crygate to Belichick and the Pats? Favre would have been better served if he had more time before facing a foe this cunning, this menacing. It almost seems as if he has been airlifted into a rivalry that for him will feel like Bears-Packers at Giants Stadium. He had better understand that he will need to be even better than he was in Miami. He will be playing with fire if he still isn't sure of the playbook and has to turn to his teammates in the huddle and again blurt out, "same play." He will need to find his chemistry - and fast - with Laveranues Coles so Jerricho Cotchery and one of the tight ends can do some damage to a suspect secondary diminished by the departure to the Eagles of Asante Samuel. He will need to be more efficient. It is one thing to be resourceful like he is, quite another to depend on a repeat of a Hail Chansi (Stuckey) pass against the Pats, who are on the lookout for anyone resembling David Tyree. He will have to find a way to rein in the emotions he wears on his sleeves when he hears the Monster of the Meadowlands for the first time when it counts. So in that regard, the Patriots are catching the Jets at the right time. The Jets' lineup is filled with other high-priced mercenaries - Alan Faneca and Damien Woody on offense, Kris Jenkins and Calvin Pace on defense - who will be better the more they play together. The thing is, the Patriots catch them with Cassel. If you are a big team, you do not let the backup quarterback beat you at home, no matter who it is, even if that backup quarterback can throw to Randy Moss. The Jets should rough up Moss, who has a balky back, at every opportunity. Under Herman Edwards and Mangini, the Jets have gone 3-12 against the Patriots. There have been those cold, postgame handshakes between Mangini and Belichick and snarling between the front offices. It all started with Bill Parcells freeing himself from Kraft and strutting into Leon Hess' wealthy arms. Then Parcells stole Curtis Martin from the Pats. Then Kraft lured Belichick back, after he served all of one day as HC of the NYJ. And Belichick did for Kraft what Parcells could not do for Hess, and the poor Jets and their poor fans watched Belichick and Brady and Kraft win three championships together. So when Edwards bolted to Kansas City, Woody Johnson looked at Mangini and saw the young Belichick, and Mangini left his mentor's side. He looked at general manager Mike Tannenbaum and saw the young Scott Pioli. Maybe he looked at himself and saw Kraft. Finally, he looked at Favre and saw a Dienasty crumbling at his feet. He saw Jetribution for him and his franchise, Brettribution for the 38-year-old quarterback. steve.serby@nypost.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted September 14, 2008 Author Share Posted September 14, 2008 Bob Ryan It's an opportunity - for the Patriots By Bob Ryan Globe Columnist / September 14, 2008 Email| Print| Single Page| Yahoo! Buzz| ShareThisText size Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted September 14, 2008 Author Share Posted September 14, 2008 Green day By Jim McBride Globe Staff / September 14, 2008 Email| Print| Single Page| Yahoo! Buzz| ShareThisText size Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted September 14, 2008 Author Share Posted September 14, 2008 BY ERIK BOLAND | erik.boland@newsday.com September 14, 2008 The Patriots already carried a Lombardi Trophy-sized chip on their shoulder coming into this season, and the Jets figure it has only gotten bigger after the events of last Sunday. "They've lived on people doubting what they've been able to do for the better part of six, seven years now, however long their run's been going," Jets offensive lineman Alan Faneca said. "They've been living off people telling them they can't do it and they go out there and they do it." Faneca might be overstating things a bit - the Patriots really haven't been underdogs since their Super Bowl XXXVI victory over the Rams - but his larger point about the team circling the wagons in response to quarterback Tom Brady's season-ending knee injury is accurate. Patriots receiver Randy Moss said the suggestion that "the Patriots are done" has been just what the Patriots needed. "I think that is a good way to motivate," Moss said this past week during a conference call. "Guys get motivated differently. When you put it on the team as a whole and say we as a unit aren't going to do anything, that is something that can motivate us." Moss said the thought that the Patriots' season is over in the second week of the season is a shot at the team's collective pride. "When you say, 'The New England Patriots team is not going to be what they were supposed to be or what they thought they would be,' then I think that is something that is going to motivate us to step up and try to make it happen," Moss said. Which is why, from the time of Brady's official prognosis Monday afternoon, the Jets have been treading lightly on the subject of burying the Patriots for 2008. "That's laughable," Jets guard Brandon Moore said Monday. "They are still the Patriots," cornerback Darrelle Revis said. "[Randy] Moss, [Wes] Welker, [Laurence] Maroney, [ben] Watson, I can just go right on down the line," said Jets coach Eric Mangini, reading off a list of Patriots offensive talent not named Brady. "I mean, loaded." Mangini, of course, did not mention Brady's replacement, Matt Cassel, who went 13-for-18 for 152 yards and a touchdown last week in a 17-10 victory over the Chiefs. Cassel, who did not start a game at USC and had exactly 33 pass attempts while there, today will make his first career start - not including high school. But "you don't take any quarterback lightly because any given day they can have a Pro Bowl day," defensive end Shaun Ellis said. "If you haven't seen somebody, you can't take them lightly," nose tackle Kris Jenkins said. "I'm sure a lot of fans, a lot of people, are looking at it like, 'Oh, he's the second-team quarterback, we're safe.' No, not in the slightest bit. You have to make sure that you prepare for everybody just like they're just as good if not better than the starter, because they could go out there and shock the world, and that's at your expense." Which is a motivator for the Jets, along with this: the theory that now, without Brady, the Jets should be brimming with confidence. "We were a confident bunch anyway," Ellis said. "With Brady or without Brady, we're still going to be confident." PATRIOTS AT JETS, 4:15 p.m. TV: Ch. 2 Radio: WEPN (1050) ABOUT THE PATRIOTS Coach: Bill Belichick, 8th season, (106-40) Last week: Beat Kansas City, 17-10 The skinny: Stop if you've heard this one before: The Patriots were historically good in 2007, rolling up 18 straight victories before being derailed in the Super Bowl. Motivation, anyone? The Patriots carried a larger-than-usual chip on their shoulder entering this season, but when Tom Brady went down last week, they were, for the moment, thrown into disarray. "It was like the helium was let out of the balloon," receiver Randy Moss said. "When Tom went down, everything got quiet." But no one circles the wagons like the Patriots. And with players such as Moss and Wes Welker to catch the ball and Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris to run it, and the likes of Rodney Harrison, Tedy Bruschi, Adalius Thomas and Vince Wilfork leading a proud and stout defense, this team's season is far from over. INJURY REPORT JETS - Out: WR David Clowney (shoulder), K Mike Nugent (thigh). Questionable: DB David Barrett (shoulder), WR Laveranues Coles (thigh), DE Shaun Ellis (hand), WR Marcus Henry (calf), CB Justin Miller (foot). PATRIOTS - Out: Tom Brady (ACL). Questionable: WR Sam Aiken (knee), LB Eric Alexander (calf), WR Jabar Gaffney (knee), CB Lewis Sanders (head), TE Ben Watson (knee). MEET THE ENEMY QB Matt Cassel Asked about the difference between him and Tom Brady, Cassel responded, "Tom is who he is and I am who I am." Who exactly is Cassel? He will make his first career start today and, heading into last week, had attempted 39 passes the previous three seasons combined as Brady's backup. That's more than he threw in his college career at USC, however, as he attempted 33 passes backing up Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. Cassel managed the game well last week after replacing Brady, going 13-for-18 for 152 yards and a touchdown. E-mailShare Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Newsvine Reddit Yahoo PrintReprint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted September 14, 2008 Author Share Posted September 14, 2008 For Favre, Jets, time to play it by the book By Jane McManus The Journal News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted September 14, 2008 Author Share Posted September 14, 2008 for Jets and Patriots- Mike Lupica Saturday, September 13th 2008, 9:03 PM Tom Brady The Patriots come into Giants Stadium Sunday for their second regular-season game of this season. The last time they were in Giants Stadium was for their last regular-season game last season. You know what has changed in pro football in general and the AFC East in particular since then? A lot. The Patriots beat the Giants last Dec. 28 in a wonderful game of pro football and went to 16-0 that night and were supposed to be on their way to 19-0 and being called the greatest football team of all time. Tom Brady was finishing up the best regular season any quarterback has ever had, with 50 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions, was supposed to be on his way to winning his fourth Super Bowl, the one that would put him right there in the front row with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana. The Giants were on their way to being a first-round underdog to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and nobody, and that means nobody, was paying any attention to a 4-12 Jets team. Brett Favre? He was the one who was supposed to be leading a Cinderella team out of Lambeau and out of the NFC to play Brady and the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Now here we are, on the second Sunday of a new season. Favre is with the Jets and Brady is gone for a long time and the Giants are still in the afterglow of beating Brady and the Patriots in the Super Bowl Favre was supposed to be in. The Giants are in St. Louis Sunday, looking to go to 2-0, looking to make it six straight wins for them since Brady and the Patriots were the last team to beat them. The Jets, now Brett's Jets? They are the big game at Giants Stadium against the Patriots, as big a game to watch as there is in the NFL Sunday whether Brady is playing it or not. If Favre stays retired or stays with the Packers and Brady doesn't get hurt, the only angle on this game is SpyGate, that's all anybody has. But Favre didn't stay retired and is a Jet, because the Jets took a chance, because they took a shot on him when he became available, took the kind of shot Favre himself has been taking his whole NFL career. And suddenly the Jets are more in play than they have been in a very long time. Not just because they might be a real-live playoff contender again. They made it to the playoffs with Eric Mangini and Chad Pennington and played a real good game against the Patriots the year before last. And they're not in play this way because because they are suddenly being labeled The Team To Beat in their division now that Brady is down and Pennington threw an interception at the end of last Sunday's game in Miami. The Jets, with Favre at quarterback, are in play because you want to watch them again. You want to watch them every Sunday and that doesn't change if they lose to the Patriots Sunday. It wouldn't have changed if the Dolphins had upset them last Sunday because Mangini didn't let Favre throw the ball on third-and-7 when his offense had the chance to turn out all the lights on the Dolphins and slam the door. Are the Jets suddenly a Super Bowl team because they survived against the Dolphins? Of course not. But nobody thought the Giants were anything at all two weeks into this last season, when they went to 0-2 and because this is all connected somehow, did that against Brett Favre and the Packers. But right now, the Jets are a must-see team as much as anybody there is, even coming off that 4-12 season, not having played a game last season that anybody can really remember. Favre does that, even as he is about to turn 39, even if he never plays a down for the Jets in their new stadium across the parking lot. Favre does that by gunning that first long touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery last Sunday and then somehow throwing that crazy prayer of a touchdown pass on fourth down to Chansi Stuckey. Favre does that by continuing to be as compelling a player as there is in his league, more compelling than ever because of the circumstances that brought him here. The Patriots come back to Giants Stadium Sunday, come back as an underdog, come back without Brady, come in to face Brett the Jet. This is how fast things change in sports. The Jets make a call to Green Bay. A guy dives into Brady's knee. That is how fast things change, and how much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted September 14, 2008 Author Share Posted September 14, 2008 For Jets and Family, Future Is in Cotchery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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