NY Jets (2-9) at New England (6-5)

 

VIDEO PLAYLIST

• EA Sports Preview: Jets vs. Patriots

SCOUTING REPORT

Pats host struggling JetsAs in the case with any team that faces New England, the Jets have to find a way to contain QB Tom Brady. Look for Brady to light it up after his disappointing performance in Kansas City last week. The Patriots' running game has been struggling throughout the year but should get a boost this week with the possible return of RB Corey Dillon against a Jets run defense that is giving up 136.9 yards per game. Expect Patriots defensive coordinator Eric Mangini to focus on stopping Jets RB Curtis Martin and forcing Brooks Bollinger to attack through the air against a lot pressures and zone blitzes. For the Jets, Martin and the patchwork offensive line will attack the Patriots front seven on first and second down to protect Bollinger against the Patriots pass rush that has only 16 sacks. Offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger must find a way to protect Bollinger and attack the Patriots struggling pass defense, which is allowing 267.5 yards per game. The Jets have been struggling in their secondary, where DC David Barrett could miss his fourth consecutive game and former Patriot Ty Law leads the team in penalties. Defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson needs a strong game from LDE Shaun Ellis and RDE John Abraham in pass rush situations to create pressure and force Brady into making critical mistakes.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
NYJ	4-12	240	355	4-4	0-8	2-4	3-9
NWE	10-6	379	338	5-3	5-3	5-1	7-5
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

NY Jets Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Sanche... 53.3 1655 9 12

New England Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Brady 66.2 2739 19 6 Hoyer 81.8 52 0 0

NY Jets Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Jones 170 781 4.6 8 Washin... 72 331 4.6 0

New England Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Marone... 94 378 4.0 4 Taylor 45 201 4.5 2

NY Jets Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Cotche... 33 498 15.1 2 Keller 29 347 12.0 2

New England Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Moss 58 891 15.4 7 Welker 64 662 10.3 4

Full Player Stats: NY Jets | New England

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	NYJ	248.0
	NWE	352.0
Yards Passing	NYJ	165.1
	NWE	257.5
Yards Rushing	NYJ	83.0
	NWE	94.5
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	NYJ	308.8
	NWE	330.2
Pass Yds Allowed	NYJ	172.2
	NWE	231.4
Rush Yds Allowed	NYJ	136.6
	NWE	98.8

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
New England leads 8-2
Dec 26, 2004	NYJ 7, @NWE 23
Oct 24, 2004	NYJ 7, NWE 13
Dec 20, 2003	NYJ 16, @NWE 21
Sep 21, 2003	NYJ 16, NWE 23
Dec 22, 2002	NYJ 30, NWE 17
Sep 15, 2002	NYJ 7, @NWE 44
Dec 2, 2001	NYJ 16, @NWE 17
Sep 23, 2001	NYJ 10, NWE 3

NY Jets (2-9) at New England (6-5) Sunday 4:15 pm EST

FOXBORO, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- Bill Belichick and Herman Edwards can talk all day about their injury list. The difference is that Belichick's New England Patriots are in first place and Edwards' New York Jets are in last place in the AFC East.

The teams face each other for the first of two December meetings on Sunday.

The Patriots have swept the season series against the Jets each of the last two seasons and won six of the last seven meetings.

Corey Dillon rushed for 204 yards on 51 carries in the Patriots' two wins last year - 13-7 here on October 24 and 23-7 on December 26 at the Meadowlands. But Dillon, who set a franchise record with 1,635 yards last season, is expected to miss his third straight game with a calf injury.

Belichick is used to dealing with injuries. Pro Bowl safety Rodney Harrison suffered a season-ending torn ACL in a September 25 game at Pittsburgh and left tackle Matt Light has missed the last eight games while rehabbing a broken leg suffered in the contest at Pittsburgh.

Pro Bowl defensive end Richard Seymour has missed four games with a knee injury, cornerbacks Tyrone Poole, Duane Starks and Randall Gay are all on injured reserve, and wide receiver David Givens has been sidelined for the last three games with a knee injury.

Tight end Daniel Graham and right tackle Tom Ashworth returned last Sunday after missing two weeks due to injuries.

Yet the Patriots are over .500 and reside in first place, two games ahead of Buffalo and Miami. Having one of the league's best quarterbacks has made it possible for the Patriots. Two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Tom Brady leads the NFL with 3,030 passing yards, but was intercepted four times in the Patriots' 26-16 loss at Kansas City last week.

Edwards is down to his third-string quarterback Brooks Bollinger after losing starter Chad Pennington and backup Jay Fiedler to injuries in Week Three.

The Jets have also lost Pro Bowl center Kevin Mawae, right tackle Jason Fabini, tight end Chris Baker, wide receiver Wayne Chrebet and outside linebacker Eric Barton to season-ending injuries.

As a result, they are tied with two other teams for the second-worst record in the NFL.

"I wouldn't wish these injuries on anybody," Edwards said. "But what can you do? We can just keep fighting with the players we have and try to get a win. These players are fighting hard."

The Jets have lost six in a row. They almost snapped the skid last week, but rookie Mike Nugent was short on a 53-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter of a 21-19 loss to New Orleans. Nugent had made a season-high four field goals in the game.

Making his fourth start, Bollinger completed 19-of-28 passes for 251 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown to Justin McCareins

Former Patriot Curtis Martin rushed for 91 yards on 24 carries and surpassed 14,000 career yards. The NFL's fourth all-time leading rusher with 14,072 yards, Martin is 294 yards shy of becoming the first player in league history to reach 1,000 yards in his first 11 seasons.

New England held Martin to 103 yards on 33 carries in the two meetings last season.

Jets cornerback Ty Law will play against his former team for the first time. The four-time Pro Bowler spent his first 10 years with the Patriots and is the franchise leader with 36 interceptions, six of which he returned for touchdowns. He and Martin were drafted by the Patriots in 1995.

Matchup to watch: Law, who has five interceptions for the Jets, will likely shadow Deion Branch, who has 60 catches for 756 yards and four touchdowns.

Series: The Jets lead, 47-42-1.

Next week: NY Jets host Oakland on December 11 New England visits Buffalo on December 11

Patriots' defense the difference in rout of Jets

Leigh Bodden had three of the four interceptions thrown by Mark Sanchez and the New England Patriots defense allowed just one touchdown and 226 yards in a 31-14 win over the Jets.

Source: Pats' security warned over staffer's fall

The NFL has reprimanded the Patriots' chief of security, Mark Briggs, for his role that led to an NBC camera man losing his feet in the post-game aftermath of last Sunday night's game in Indianapolis, according to a league source.

Jets S Leonhard questionable, LB Gholston out

Jets safety Jim Leonhard is questionable for the team's game at New England after being limited in practice with a broken right thumb.

Mike Reiss: Welker most valuable?

Wes Welker might be the Patriots' most valuable player.

Leon Washington ends boycott, shows up for practice

You step away from your desk for a few hours and stuff happens. Disgruntled RB Leon Washington apparently isn't disgruntled anymore , as he decided to show up today for practice at the Jets' off-season program.

How to Lose Friends and Irritate People, Eric Mangini Edition

It's not going to matter if Eric Mangini goes 11-5 with the Browns and Rex Ryan goes 5-11 with the Jets, but .. In a comparison of the two in the off-season, Ryan seems to be winning, 62-0. Most of it is Mangini's own doing.

Jets' Rhodes Won't Talk About Investigation

Relieved he is not a suspect, Jets safety Kerry Rhodes says he cannot discuss the investigation of a possible rape at his New Jersey home.

Jets' Jones worked out while he sat out

Sporting huge forearms and looking ripped, Thomas Jones was back on the field for a second straight day Thursday during the Jets' next-to-last week of offseason training activities.

Jets Pro Bowl RB Thomas Jones practices at OTA after sitting out in contract dispute

New York Jets running back Thomas Jones rejoined his teammates Wednesday after boycotting voluntary workouts while in a contract dispute.

Rodney Harrison set to tackle NBC gig

Rodney Harrison [ stats ] is ready to begin the next phase of his life. One of the most storied players in Patriots [ team stats ] history, Harrison will be introduced as the newest member of NBC's broadcast team during a conference call tomorrow, according to a source with knowledge of Harrison's plans.

Jim Donaldson: It's okay to to be optimistic about the 2009 Pats' offense, but let's be realistic

They are more than merely workouts, these sessions in which the Patriots are participating on the grass field in the southern shadow of Gillette Stadium.

Vince Wilfork a no-show again

Patriots [ team stats ] nose tackle Vince Wilfork [ stats ] is scheduled to appear at an event in support of his diabetes charity tomorrow.

Patriots.com News Blitz

Maroney talks about being healthy and Crable and Springs reflect on being back in action.

Patriots re-sign punter Tom Malone

The Patriots announced that they have re-signed punter Tom Malone today. Malone joins veteran Chris Hanson on the roster at the punter spot.