When the Jets have the ball against the Patriots on Sunday just about everyone out there who follows football at all thinks they’ll return to the ground and pound. It seems like the players know it, the coaches know it, and even the mediots and bloggers like me know it.
In the last match up, the Jets came out in a no huddle, spread look with three wide receivers and Ladainian Tomlinson in the backfield, leading everyone watching the game to wonder what happened to the Jets bread and butter?
To make it even more questionable we had heard that Rex Ryan had consulted with his brother Rob as to how Cleveland handled the Pats D. The Browns got their running game with Peyton Hillis started early and never looked back.
So why did the Jets put the game in the hands of Mark Sanchez, who clearly doesn’t have the ability to take apart a defense with aerial precision? The game got away from the Jets early, and once the Patriots got the lead they were forced even more out of their comfort zone.
So this time around everyone and their mother expect the Jets to go back to what they do best. Run the ball with Tomlinson and Greene, and hope that Mark Sanchez only has to complete passes on third and short.
Of course, the fact that we’re all expecting this could very well lead to the Jets doing something different, but I doubt that. In the playoffs it’s about doing what you do best and forcing the other team to stop it. Not doing what you don’t do so well just because you think it will attack another teams perceived weakness.
So this brings me to the Patriots. They know it’s coming. A physical battle in the trenches. And I’m sure they’ve been preparing for it all week. Gerard Warren, Vince Wilfork and Kyle Love will be the absolute keys to this game.
If New England can shut down the Jets running attack, and put the game into Mark Sanchez’s hands, it could well be a repeat of what happened last time. Assuming Sanchez doesn’t suddenly play the game of his career.