New England Patriots DE Andre Carter was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week by the NFL on Wednesday.

Carter earned the award with his 4.5 sack feat in New England’s 37-16 win over the New York Jets on Sunday night at MetLife Stadium.  Carter set a franchise record with 4.5 sacks in one game breaking the old record of 4 held by Julius Adams at Atlanta (12-4-77), Tony McGee at Baltimore (11-16-78) and Mike Hawkins vs. NY Jets (9-9-79).

It was Carter’s third game of the season with at least 2 sacks and he now has a team leading 9 sacks on the season.

He is the second Patriot to be honored with the Weekly AFC awards joining QB Tom Brady who twice won AFC Offensive Player of the Week, once after each of the season’s first two games.

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The New England Patriots announced on Tuesday that they have activated 2011 5^th round draft pick Marcus Cannon and placed him on the 53-man roster.  Cannon, 23, had been on the reserve/non-football injury list due to a recovery from cancer.

The offensive lineman is 6 foot five inches and 358 pounds.  He appeared in 49 games while at TCU and started 36 contests, 24 at right tackle and 12 at left tackle.  In his final two seasons at TCU Cannon did not allow a sack.

This is a great day for Cannon, who at first wasn’t expected to play this season.  He studied the playbook, attended all the offense meetings and did his weight training.  Both head coach Bill Belichick and Director of Player personnel Nick Caserio raved about his work ethic.

Then about the same time the PUP list players started to practice he was finally on the field practicing and wasn’t expected to see any playing time but something along the way changed and here he is.

Cannon is said to be smart and a student of the game and prior to his cancer diagnosis was considered one of the top senior offensive linemen in the country.

In order to make room for Cannon the Patriots released the usual suspect S Ross Ventrone.

In a third roster move the team re-signed 2011 7^th round draft pick Malcolm Williams to the practice squad.  Williams and Cannon were teammates at TCU.

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Photo credit: AP Photo

Yes it’s a wondrous day to be a Patriots fan.  The team totally beat down the New York Jets with a rag-tag defense that was nearly ready to call for support from any local high school willing to help.

I will say this, when you put a Bill Belichick team on notice, tell them they’re no good, they’re falling apart, no one believes they can win and anything else you want to add, is when those teams play best.  I don’t know what he puts in the Kool-Aid during the week or what he pumps into the HVAC system at Gillette but they always seem to pull it together.

I was pretty amazed at the way the defense played.  How they held up in a tight game and even when they were losing more guys during the game they just toughened up.  As the season goes on the defense seems to be getting better.

From a football perspective I don’t car about yardage allowed on the ground, in the air or even by sea.  The big thing for me is points allowed and the defense is making strides at cutting those numbers back.

One of the defensive stars was DE Andre Carter who had 4.5 sacks and was constantly on or near Jets QB Mark Sanchez.  For a team that had no pass rush, Carter and Mark Anderson are turning into quite the sack duo.  Couple that with the play of Kyle Love, Vince Wilfork and Gerard Warren with stopping the run the defensive line is shaping up rather well.

The other defensive star was LB Rob Ninkovich who had a pair of INT’s one of which was a Pick-Six that sealed the game in the fourth quarter.  Between Ninkovich and Carter I think Sanchez most likely had a tough night sleeping.

Offensively after being a bit shaky the last few weeks they were better on Sunday night.  The offensive line made a huge difference.  While Tom Brady was getting hit and hurried he was not sacked, although a poor blocking scheme did lead to the Jets getting a safety on an intentional grounding penalty in the second quarter.

The fact that Brady was upright the entire game is huge.  When you protect him and he has time to find an open receiver he will kill a defense.

Last night his main target was TE Rob Gronkowski who was a one-man wrecking crew.  Besides the catches and the TD’s he is a very good blocker.  On Chad Ochocinco’s 53-yard reception it was Gronk’s block along the right sideline that sprung Chad.  While it’s too early to say he’s one of the best to play the game he certainly is making a name for himself with his all around play.

So after 9 games the Patriots are in first place in the AFC East and already hold a tiebreaker with the Jets.  Now for dessert take a look at the possible next 6 quarterbacks are this team is facing (answer below) and all of sudden a season that looked like it was slipping away is looking very promising.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Head coach Bill Belichick had his weekly Monday media meeting about the week ahead.

According to the New York Post a reporter for the paper overhead something Belichick said to his son that contained a profane comment.  The exact exchange as quoted by the Post from Belichick to his son, Stephen, is “Thirty-seven points on the best defense in the league, s— my d—.”  My feelings exactly coach.

Ryan had his own little comment to a fan as he exited the field on Sunday night.  As you watch the video its at about the 15 second mark he tells an apparently young fan (judging by the voice early teenage male) to “shut the f— up”.

LB Dane Fletcher missed his third game with thumb/hamstring injuries while LB Brandon Spikes (MCL), S Patrick Chung (foot) and WR Taylor Price (hamstring) were also scratched with injuries. RB Shane Vereen, G Donald Thomas and QB Ryan Mallett were healthy scratches.

In the game Sunday night CB Devin McCourty suffered a separated shoulder during a collision with teammate CB Sterling Moore and Jets WR Plaxico Burress in the 2^nd quarter.  McCourty is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with the injury.  Others injured during the game included RG Brian Waters (left knee), RT Sebastian Vollmer (unknown) and S James Ihedigbo (neck) they all returned to the game.

With the win the Patriots swept the season series with the Jets it is their first sweep of New York since 2007.

The Patriots continue to be one of the best teams in the NFL and when you look at their record they are 60-33 on the road since Belichick took over in 2000.

Belichick now has 183 wins including playoffs – he is now tied for 9^th all-time with Bill Parcells.

This is what Tom Brady had to say about the big win on WEEI AM/FM on Monday morning.

On their third try Brady and Belichick finally broke the record they shared with Dan Marino and Don Shula as the winningest quarterback-coach combination in the Super Bowl era with their 117th win.

Brady’s 117^th career win tied him with Joe Montana for 7th all-time.  Johnny Unitas is 6^th with 118 and Fran Tarkenton is 5^th with 124.

Brady surpassed 3,000 passing yards on the season in just the 9^th game.  He is only the second QB to ever do it that quickly, the other is Saints QB Drew Brees.

The much-maligned offensive line finally kept Brady upright all night as he was not sacked.

Brady’s 3 TD passes give him 23 on the year and 284 in his career.

Who are the possible six quarterbacks the Patriots are facing?  Tyler Palko (KC); Vince Young or Mike Vick (Philly); Curtis Painter (Indy); Rex Grossman or John Beck (Was); Tim Tebow (Denver) and Matt Moore (Miami).  Not a killer in the bunch, which is a good sign for the defense.

WR Wes Welker recorded his 500^th reception as a Patriot on the scoring drive prior to half time.  Only Troy Brown (557) and Stanley Morgan (534) have more in team history.

Welker’s 500 catches were done in 70 regular season games no one has ever had 500 catches with one team in that few games.

LB Niko Koutouvides made a huge fumble recovery in his debut of a muffed punt that led to the Patriots getting a field goal.

DE Andre Carter had 4.5 sacks setting a Patriots franchise record.  It was the third time this year he had at least two sacks in a game.

With a pair of INT’s LB Rob Ninkovich doubled his career INT total.  One of them led to a touchdown the other was returned for a touchdown.

Carter and Ninkovich were the Sox & Dawgs defensive players of the game.

TE Rob Gronkowski’s 2 TD catches give him 5 games with 2 or more TD’s in his two-year career.  He was the Sox & Dawgs offensive player of the game.

WR Chad Ochocinco’s 1^st quarter 53-yard bomb from Brady was for more yardage on one play than he had total all season.  Then he was barely used in the second half.

WR Deion Branch mocked Jets super fan Fireman Ed right in front of him after his fourth quarter TD catch.

Branch spoke on Monday with WEEI AM/FM in Boston on Patriots Monday.

WR Julian Edelman saw some late game action on defense as a cornerback he made a hell of a hit on LaDainian Tomlinson sending that old softie from the game.

To show you just how dominant New England has been in the AFC East under Belichick they are 53-16 vs. the division since 2001.  While in the same time span New York has the second best record vs. the AFC East, they are 33-33.

The Patriots defense was very good Sunday they had 2 INT’s and sacked Jets QB Mark Sanchez 5 times in the win.  The special teams also recovered a fumble.

Here’s the breakdown of the defensive snaps and the offensive snaps by Mike Reiss.

Mike Reiss and the Patriots 3 Up, 3 Down in the win over the Jets.

Tedy Bruschi’s “On Tap” takes a look at Sunday nights game.

Pro Bowl voting is open feel free to cast your votes for deserving players.

New England plays the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday at 8:30 p.m. at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.  Look for the Sox & Dawgs “In The Red Zone Game Preview” available on Friday.

Writers Note: Due to next week’s game being on Monday night, “In The Red Zone” will run on Wednesday instead of Tuesday.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

The New England Patriots went into the swamps of New Jersey and came away with a great AFC East win over the New York Jets, 37-16 on Sunday night at MetLife Stadium.

TE Rob Gronkowski and LB Rob Ninkovich literally beat the Jets to a pulp on both sides of the ball.  Gronkowski had 8 catches for 113 yards and a pair of TD catches on nice passes from QB Tom Brady.  He also helped along with the way with several punishing blocks and on offense he looked like a one man wrecking crew.

Then there was Ninkovich, who duplicated the great play of Gronk on the defensive side of the ball.  Ninko had two INT’s one killed a potential scoring drive in the 3^rd quarter and led to a Gronkowski TD.  The other he didn’t wait for the offense to score as he took his second INT of the game to house to finish off the shell shocked Jets.

The unusually silent New Yorkers, were licking their chops at the though of playing the worst defense (yards allowed) in the NFL and a make shift secondary and linebacking corps.

But it was the New Englanders who persevered and put on a show defensively that also featured the sack machine known as DE Andre Carter who registered four and half sacks of Jets QB Mark Sanchez.  Sanchez was taken down five times as Mark Anderson shared a lick in on the beleaguered Jets signal caller with Carter as well.

The win is huge because it gives the Patriots a season sweep of the Jets and the tiebreaker come playoff time.  Most importantly the win snapped a two-game losing streak and keeps the Patriots streak alive with 148 games played without losing three games in a row.  It’s the fourth longest streak in NFL history.  Next week they will tie the Cleveland Browns for third longest.

Just when people doubt the Patriots they pull the unknown players from out of nowhere and beat your brains out.

Well done.  Now like Deion I’m going to mock Fireman Ed.

Patriots at Jets Gamebook. This includes the box score, all the stats, play by play, drive charts and more.

Patriots at Jets Game Recap via Associated Press.

To continue reading, hit the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Turning Point of the Game

LB Rob Ninkovich drive killing INT in the third quarter, it led to Rob Gronkowski’s 2^nd TD catch of the game.

Offensive Player of the Game

TE Rob Gronkowski had 8 catches for 113 yards and 2 TD’s

Defensive Players of the Game

LB Rob Ninkovich had 4 tackles, 1 assist, 2 INT’s and 1 TD and DE Andre Carter had  5 tackles, 1 assist and a team record 4.5 sacks.

Game Notes

Starters for the Patriots were:

On Offense:

LT – Light
LG – Mankins
C – Connolly
RG – Waters
RT – Vollmer
TE – Gronkowski
TE – Hernandez
WR – Welker
WR – Branch
QB – Brady
RB – Green-Ellis

On Defense:

DE – Ellis
DT – Wilfork
DE – Love
LB – Carter
LB – Mayo
LB – Tarpinian
LB – Ninkovich
CB – McCourty
CB – Arrington
S – Moore
S – Ihedigbo

Inactives for the Game:

Patriots

1. LB Brandon Spikes (MCL)

2. LB Dane Fletcher (hamstring)

3. WR Taylor Price (hamstring)

4. S Patrick Chung (foot)

5. T Donald Thomas

6. RB Shane Vereen

7. QB Ryan Mallett

Jets

1. QB Kevin O’Connell

2. WR Eron Riley

3. S Brodney Pool (knee)

4. RB Bilal Powell

5. TE Shawn Nelson (illness)

6. DT Kenrick Ellis (ankle)

7. DT Martin Tevaseu

The spread (Pick ‘Em) was covered as was the over/under (47 1/2).  I am now 6-2-1 vs. the spread and 6 of 9 calling the under/over.

New England won the toss and deferred to the second half.

The Patriots lead overall series vs. Jets 53-52-1 including playoffs.

The Patriots have swept the Jets 14 times in the series before this season the last time was in 2007.

Since 2003 New England is 27-3 following a loss and have lost back-to-back games only three times; once in 2006, once in 2009 and this season.

Since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994 the Patriots are 24-14 vs. the Jets.

The Patriots are 53-16 vs. the AFC East since 2001.

Since 2000 have the Patriots the best road record in the NFL at 60-33.

The Patriots are 18-14 all-time on Sunday Night Football.

Bill Belichick now has 183 wins – he is now tied for 9^th all-time with Bill Parcells.

Tom Brady is now 16-5 vs. the Jets including 1-1 in the playoffs.

Brady has thrown 23 TD’s and 10 INT’s while being sacked 16 times in 8 games.

Brady has 284 TD passes in his career he is now 8th all-time.  Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas is 7^th with 290.

With the win Brady and Belichick broke the record they shared with Dan Marino and Don Shula as the winningest quarterback-coach combination in the Super Bowl era.  They now have 117 wins as a quarterback-coach combination.

Brady’s 117^th career win tied him with Joe Montana for 7th all-time.  Johnny Unitas is 6^th with 118 and Fran Tarkenton is 5^th with 124.

Brady surpasses 3,000 passing yards on season in the 9^th game.  Only second QB do ever do it that quickly the other is Saints QB Drew Brees.

The New England defense has sacked the opponents quarterback 20 times in 9 games.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 91 consecutive games including playoffs, 74 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

Welker recorded his 500^th reception as a Patriot on the scoring drive prior to half time.  Only Troy Brown (557) and Stanley Morgan (534) have more in team history.

Welker’s 500 catches were done in 70 regular season games no one has ever had 500 catches with one team in that few games.

Recently signed Patriots LB Niko Koutouvides is a Plainville CT native.

Koutouvides recovered a big fumble on the muffed punt by the Jets Joe McKnight in the 3^rd quarter putting the Patriots on the Jets 14-yard line leading to a field goal.

K Stephen Gostkowski’s 50 yards field goal in the first quarter was his first attempt of the year from 50-yards or more.  He is 5 of 7 in his career from 50+ yards.

DE Andre Carter had two first quarter sacks of Jets QB Mark Sanchez, shared one in the second quarter and two back-to-back sacks in the fourth quarter to give him 9 on the year.

Carter had two or more sacks in a game for the third time this season.

The 4.5 sacks by Carter are the most ever allowed by the Jets to one opponent in a game and a new Patriots franchise record.

DE Mark Anderson shared a second quarter sack of Sanchez with Carter he now has 5 on the season.

LB Rob Ninkovich had a drive killing INT in the third quarter. It was his 1^st of the season and 3^rd of his career.  It led to Rob Gronkowski’s 2^nd TD catch of the game.

In the fourth quarter Ninkovich sealed it with a second INT a huge pick six of Sanchez to break the game open.

Gronkowski’s 2 TD catches give him 5 games with 2 or more TD’s in his two-year career.

WR Chad Ochocinco’s 1^st quarter 53-yard bomb from Brady was for more yardage on one play than he had total all season.

WR Deion Branch mocked Jets super fan Fireman Ed right in front of him after his fourth quarter TD catch.

WR Julian Edelman saw some late game action on defense as a cornerback he made a hell of a hit on LaDainian Tomlinson sending him from the game.

On Saturday the Patriots released WR Tiquan Underwood and promoted S Ross Ventrone to the 53-man roster.

RG Brian Waters got hurt (left knee) on the second play of the game he returned later in the first quarter.

CB Devin McCourty hurt his shoulder during a collision with teammate CB Sterling Moore and Jets WR Plaxico Burress in the 2^nd quarter.  He did not return.

RT Sebastian Vollmer was injured on the Gronkowski TD in the 3^rd quarter.  He returned.

S James Ihedigbo suffered a neck injury late in the third quarter.  He did return.

The Patriots are now PLUS 3 in turnover differential.

Pro Bowl voting is open feel free to cast your votes for deserving players.

The Jets are 27-25 as the home team in the series.

New York has lost 15 of the last 20 meetings with New England including playoffs.

New York is 33-33 vs. the AFC East since 2001.

The New York defense has sacked the opponents quarterback 18 times in 8 games.

The Jets are now PLUS 1 in turnover differential.

Jets head coach Rex Ryan is now 3-4 vs. New England in his career including playoffs.

Jets QB Mark Sanchez is now 3-4 vs. the Patriots including 1-0 in the playoffs.

He is 2-1 vs. the Patriots in home games.

Sanchez has thrown 14 TD passes and 9 INT’s while being sacked 22 times in 9 games.

Jets DL Jamaal Westerman got a safety when they grabbed Brady in the end zone and he tried to throw the ball away that led to him being called for intentional grounding.

LB David Harris hurt his left leg in the third quarter he did return.

WR Jeremy Kerley got hurt on a punt return (ankle) in the first quarter.  He returned.

Fireman Ed was carted out of the stadium his pride was severely injured in the beat down.  He is probable for the Broncos game on Thursday.

The 37 points allowed by the Jets are a team high at home since Ryan took over as coach in 2009.

Gene Steratore was the game referee.  The temp at kickoff was 42 and it was cloudy with a 10-mph wind.

Steratore suffered a facial cut in the second quarter when he jumped into the fumble pile to see who had the ball.

Game Attendance: 82,566 at MetLife Stadium; Meadowlands NJ – Sell Out

Post Game Interviews

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Patriots QB Tom Brady post game press conferences via patriots.com

This Week in the AFC East

Dallas routed Buffalo, 44-7

Miami beat Washington, 20-9

AFC East Standings

Patriots                   6-3/3-1

Jets                        5-4/2-2

Bills                        5-4/1-1

Dolphins                  2-7/0-2

Next Game

The Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs next Monday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA.  Kick off is at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

Photo credit: Getty Images

This Week

The New England Patriots visit their AFC East Rival New York Jets at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford NJ on Sunday at 8:20 p.m.

The Patriots (5-3) are 2-2 on the road, 2-1 against the AFC East and 4-2 in the conference.  The Jets (5-3) are 4-0 at home, 2-1 vs. the AFC East and 4-3 against the conference.

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from Yahoo! Sports has the game as a PICK ‘EM.  The over under is 47 1/2.

My Prediction is Patriots 27, Jets, 24 in OT.  Take the Patriots and the PICK ‘EM and take the over.  I am 5-2-1 against the spread and 5 of 8 on calling the over/under in 2011.

Tickets

The Jets are reporting the game as a sell out.

Tickets to the game, if available, can be purchased through Ticketmaster.  You can check the availability here.

Getting to the Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in the Meadowland’s make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast from the Weather Channel for the Meadowland’s Stadium.

Click for all the game day information including stadium directions and parking information, parking map and a Meadowland’s Stadium seating chart.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating.com.  There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack.  I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.

And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages.  With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks.  You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or theme.

Whether it’s at the game, a bar or a friend’s house moderation is always the key to a great time.  Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver.  Remember You Drink, You Drive, You Lose.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

NBC in televising the game nationally and Al Michaels will do play by play while Cris Collinsworth will provide the game analysis.  You can look here for your local affiliate.

Here are all the rules on NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the blackout rules, flex scheduling and commercial breaks.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Gil Santos handles the play-by-play, former Patriot Gino Cappelletti does the color and new this year Scott Zolak will man the sidelines. It all starts with Gary Tanguay, Andy Gresh and Zolak with the pregame show at 4 p.m. along the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours along the network.

If you are outside the broadcast are of the stations on the Patriots Radio Network you can purchase NFL Field Pass, which allows you to listen to any game live.  You can also pick which teams broadcasters you want to listen to.

All NFL Games are also available on Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio also carries all the NFL games under a special additional package.  They usually only carry the home team feed.

The Patriots radio network call is available on Sirius Channel 92, XM Channel 225 and on SiriusXM Internet Channel 879.

The Jets Radio network has Bob Wischusen calling play by play and former Jet Marty Lions doing the color via their flagship station WEPN.  Their call is available on Sirius Channel 93, XM Channel 226 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 882.

Westwood One will carry the game to a national audience along its affiliated network with Dave Sims and James Lofton calling the game.  You can also hear their feed on Sirius Channel 94 and SiriusXM Internet Channel 861

Patriots All Access

Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in depth features on the team.  It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.

• Boston MA on TV 38 Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Providence RI on WNAC Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
• Manchester NH on WMUR Saturday at midnight
• Portland ME on WMTW Sunday at 5 a.m.
• Hartford CT on WCTX Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Springfield MA on WFXQ Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Bangor ME on WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.

You can also watch it anytime on the teams website in the media section.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Last Week

The Patriots lost to the Giants at home 24-20; while the Jets beat the Bills, 27-11 in Buffalo.

History

• The all-time series is tied 52-52-1 including playoffs.
• The Jets are 27-24 as the home team in the series.
• The lone tie in the series (24-24) came on October 2, 1966 when both clubs were part of the AFL.
• This is the second meeting between the two teams at the new Meadowland’s Stadium.
• The home team has won the last five regular season meeting between the teams.
• The two teams last met in Week 5 at Foxboro the Patriots won, 30-21

Patriots Team Notes

Here is the Patriots roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2011 Patriots Schedule/Results

The Patriots overall franchise record is 406-366-9.  They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) in six appearances.  They last appeared in the playoffs in 2010 when they lost at home to the New York Jets in the AFC Divisional Playoff, 28-21.  They last appeared in a Super Bowl in 2007 losing to the New York Giants 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII.  They won the AFC Conference championship that season with playoff wins over Jacksonville and San Diego.

The Patriots are the defending two-time AFC East Champions; they have won the division 8 times since 2000.

The Patriots are dedicating the 2011 season to the memory of Myra Hiatt Kraft, the late wife of owner Robert Kraft. Every Patriots player and coach will honor Myra’s memory by wearing a patch with her initials on it in recognition of her lifelong contributions to the local and global community and her influence on the charitable mission of the entire Patriots organization. The patch will be worn on the left chest of every player throughout the season.

Since 2003 New England is 26-3 following a loss and have lost back-to-back games only three times; once in 2006, once in 2009 and this season.

Since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994 the Patriots are 23-14 vs. the Jets.

The Patriots are 52-16 vs. the AFC East since 2001.

Since 2000 have the Patriots the second best road record in the NFL at 59-33 only Philadelphia is better 58-32-1.

The Patriots are 17-14 all-time on Sunday Night Football.

New England three times has had a season high of four turnovers in a game (at Buffalo, Week 3; vs. Dallas, Week 6 and vs. New York Giants, Week 9).

The Patriots have swept the Jets 13 times in the series the last time was in 2007.

The Patriots defense has allowed opponents to convert 43.7% (45 of 103) of the time on 3^rd down, while the offense has a 3^rd down conversion rate of 47.9% (45 of 94).

The New England defense has sacked the opponents quarterback 15 times in 8 games.

The Patriots are tied for 4th in the NFL in points per game with 27.8.  While they allow 23.0 points per game good for a tie for 20th in the NFL.

New England is now EVEN in turnover differential, tied for 15th best in the NFL. The offense has given up 10 INT and 4 fumbles, while the defense has 10 INT and 4 fumble recoveries.

Patriots Staff Notes

This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Jets.

Bill Belichick is 17-10 vs. the Jets in his career.  He is 16-9 against them as the head coach in New England and that includes two playoff games (1-1).

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 167-96 in 16 NFL seasons.  He is 129-53 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland.  He is 15-6 in the playoffs, 14-5 as head coach of the Patriots in the post season.  When you combine his regular season and post season records he is 182-102.

Belichick’s 182 wins are good for 10^th all-time.  Bill Parcells is 9^th with 183 wins.

He was named NFL Coach of the Year for the 3^rd time in 2010.

Patriots Possible Starters

Offense:

• LT: Light
• LG: Mankins
• C: Connolly
• RG: Waters
• RT: Vollmer
• TE: R. Gronkowski
• TE: Hernandez
• WR: Branch
• WR: Welker
• QB: Brady
• RB: Green-Ellis

Defense:

• DE: Ellis
• DT: Wilfork
• DT: Love
• DE: Carter
• OLB: Mayo
• ILB: Guyton
• OLB: Ninkovich
• LCB: McCourty
• RCB: Arrington
• S: Chung
• S: Ihedigbo

Patriots Players Notes

This Tom Brady’s 12^th NFL season he is 15-5 vs. the Jets including 1-1 in the playoffs.

Overall Brady is 116-34 as a starting QB and is 14-5 in the playoffs for an overall record of 130-39.  Brady is a 6 time Pro Bowl QB; two time NFL MVP and has won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP.  He is also listed as the 21^st Greatest Player in the History of the NFL according to the NFL Network.

In 2010 Brady won his second NFL MVP and he was the first unanimous winner in league history.

Brady has thrown 20 TD’s and 10 INT’s while being sacked 16 times in 8 games.

Brady has 281 TD passes in his career he is now 8th all-time.  Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas is 7^th with 290.

With a win on Sunday Brady and Belichick will break the record they share with Dan Marino and Don Shula as the winningest quarterback-coach combination in the Super Bowl era with 116 wins.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 90 consecutive games including playoffs, 73 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

CB Kyle Arrington has a team leading 5 INT’s in 2011, DT Vince Wilfork is 2^nd with 2.

Arrington is tied for the NFL lead in INT’s with Green Bay’s Charles Woodson and Seattle’s Eric Weddle.

CB Devin McCourty leads the team in tackles with 58, S Patrick Chung is 2^nd with 57.

DE Mark Anderson and DE Andre Carter lead the team with 4.5 sacks apiece.  Carter also leads the team with 8 quarterback hits while Anderson has 6.

Anderson, Wilfork, Carter and LB Jerod Mayo have each forced a fumble this season while LB Rob Ninkovich has recovered 2 opponents fumbles.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have claimed former Patriots DT Albert Haynesworth off of waivers.

Rookie RB Stevan Ridley has seen his chances reduced the last few weeks.

Special Teamer Tracy White is ready for the challenge of playing the Jets.

There’s a whole lotta Love for a quiet contributor on the defensive line.

Vince Wilfork believes in his teammates even if no one else does.

S Patrick Chung (foot), LB Brandon Spikes (knee), OL Ryan Wendell (concussion) and LB Dane Fletcher (thumb) did not participate in practice on Wednesday and Thursday.  9 other players were limited due to lingering injuries.  Based on what’s been said during the week Spikes, Wendell and Fletcher should be doubtful, while Chung and WR Taylor Price (hamstring) will be most likely be questionable. DE Shaun Ellis (ribs), CB Kyle Arrington (foot) and Kevin Faulk (knee) will probably be game time decisions, while LB Jerod Mayo (knee), WR Wes Welker (ribs), T Sebastian Vollmer (back), LB Gary Guyton (shoulder) and RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis (toe) should all play.

The Patriots have four New England natives on the roster they are: TE Aaron Hernandez (Bristol CT); OL Donald Thomas (New Haven CT); S James Ihedigbo (Northampton MA) and DE Ron Brace (Worcester MA).  They have 8 players who played for a New England school or a Big East Conference member.  They are: WR Deion Branch (Louisville); S James Ihedigbo (UMass); C Dan Koppen (Boston College – IR); CB Devin McCourty (Rutgers); NT Vince Wilfork (Miami), OL Donald Thomas (UConn); DE Mike Wright (Cincinnati – IR) and DE Ron Brace (Boston College).

The Patriots have 7 retired numbers: 20 – Gino Cappelletti, 40 – Mike Haynes, 73 – John Hannah, 78 – Bruce Armstrong, 79 – Jim Lee Hunt and 89 – Bob Dee.

Pro Bowl voting is open feel free to cast your votes for deserving players.

Jets Team Notes

Here is the Jets roster, depth chart and injury report for the game.

2011 Jets Schedule/Results

The Jets all-time record is 357-417-8 and they are 12-13 in the playoffs with their last playoff appearance coming in 2010. Last season the Jets lost on the road to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game, after having beaten Indianapolis and New England on the road to get there.  The Jets last appeared in a Super Bowl following the 1968 season and defeated the Baltimore Colts 16-7 to win Super Bowl III. At that time was considered the biggest upset in sports history.  They were the first AFL team to win the Super Bowl.

The Jets also won the 1968 AFL Championship when they beat the Oakland Raiders, 27-23 at Shea Stadium.

New York has lost 14 of the last 19 meetings with New England including playoffs.

The Jets have beaten the Patriots in their only meeting at the new Meadowland’s Stadium.

The Jets have won their last two home games against New England.

New York is 33-32 vs. the AFC East since 2001.

The Jets and Giants new stadium, which was called the New Meadowland’s Stadium in 2010, now has a name after the naming rights were sold.  It is now known as Met Life Stadium.

The New York defense has allowed opponents to convert 31.4% (32 of 102) of the time on 3^rd down, while the offense has a 3^rd down conversion rate of 40.0% (42 of 105).

The New York defense has sacked the opponents quarterback 18 times in 8 games.

The Jets are tied for 10th in the NFL in points per game with 24.9.  While they allow 20.4 points per game good for 8th in the NFL.

New York is PLUS 4 in turnover differential, tied for 7th best in the NFL.  The offense has given up 7 INT and 8 fumbles, while the defense has 13 INT and 6 fumble recoveries.

Jets Staff Notes

Read what New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan had to say to the New England media about the match up.

Rex Ryan is 25-15 in his third season as a head coach.  He is 4-2 in the playoffs for an overall record of 29-17.

He is 3-3 vs. New England in his career including playoffs.

Ryan and Company are cooling their Jets when it comes to the Patriots.

Jets Players Notes

Mark Sanchez is 23-15 as a starting QB and is 4-2 in the playoffs for an overall record of 27-17.  Sanchez was the Jets 1^st round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft out of the University of Southern California.

Sanchez is 3-3 vs. the Patriots including 1-0 in the playoffs.

Sanchez has thrown 13 TD passes and 7 INT’s while being sacked 17 times in 8 games.

It’s time for Sanchez to raise his game.

LB Bart Scott is imploring Jets fans this season to stay off their iPads and Twitter while at the game and bring the noise to help make Met Life Stadium a real home field advantage for the team.  So far it’s worked they’re 4-0 at home.

S Jim Leonard says the Patriots are not invincible.

C Nick Mangold is the Jets second quarterback on the field.

CB Antonio Cromartie knows the key to stopping Wes Welker.

WR Plaxico Burress (back), S Brodney Pool ((knee) and RB Joe McKnight (toe) did not practice Wednesday or Thursday.  DL Mike DeVito (knee), TE Dustin Keller (head) and RB Shonn Green (head) all had full practices on Wednesday and Thursday after missing the game Sunday against Buffalo.

New York’s captains for 2011 are Sanchez, WR Santonio Holmes, CB Darrelle Revis, S Eric Smith and DL Sione Pouha.  This is the first time in 3 seasons that Ryan has named permanent captains having done them before on a game by game basis.

The Jets have 7 players who played for a New England school or a Big East Conference member.  They are: OL Vladimir Ducasse (UMass); CB Darrelle Revis (Pittsburgh); RB Bilal Powell (Louisville); TE Matthew Mulligan (Maine); DE Mike DeVito (Maine); Jamaal Westerman (Rutgers) and Muhammad Wilkerson (Temple).

New York has 3 retired numbers they are: 12 – Joe Namath, 13 – Don Maynard and 73 – Joe Klecko.

Next Week

The Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs next Monday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA.  Kick off is at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

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One day after releasing DT Albert Haynesworth and TE Dan Gronkowski and bringing back WR Tiquan Underwood, the New England Patriots have made some additional roster moves.

S Josh Barrett was placed on the seasoning ending IR.  He returned to play against the New York Giants last week only to get hurt again (calf) during the game.

The team also released CB Malcolm Williams from the practice squad.

The team re-signed S Ross Ventrone and CB Josh Victorian to the practice squad and added LB Mike Rivera to the squad as well.

With those moves the team promoted CB Sterling Moore from the practice squad to the 53-man roster and signed free agent LB Niko Koutouvides who as with the team in training camp.

The 53-man roster moves of Underwood, Koutouvides and Moore look like an effort to rebuild and strengthen the special teams play in the middle of season.

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On Tuesday afternoon the New England Patriots released TE Dan Gronkowski, brother of another Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski.

Dan Gronkowski was released by New England earlier this year prior to Week 3 only to be brought back a few weeks later.  He saw limited playing time in New England.

In addition to Denver and New England, Gronkowski spent 2009 with Detroit prior to being traded to the Broncos prior to the start of the 2010 season.

His spot on the 53-man roster has been taken by WR Tiquan Underwood who was with the team in training camp, he was signed August 30^th played the final preseason game and was released in the final cuts.  Underwood played his college ball at Rutgers.

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Photo credit: Getty Images

The New England Patriots announced on Tuesday that the club, apparently as a result of sideline altercation with the coaching staff, has released DT Albert Haynesworth.

On Sunday in the middle of the third quarter of the game against the New York Giants, Haynesworth had a sideline altercation with defensive line coach Pepper Johnson and possibly head coach Bill Belichick as well.

No one is talking about what the altercation was about but it appears that after being called for a penalty Haynesworth then proceeded to dog it for the next three plays before being removed.  It was when he was removed that the situation developed on the sideline.

After he was removed Haynesworth did not see the field again for the remainder of the game and afterward Belichick said his removal was based on the “rotation” of the defensive line players.  Belichick also stated that any conversations between the players and the staff remained that way.  That was on Monday, on Tuesday Haynesworth was gone.

One thing about Belichick and the Patriots, it’s his way or you’re gone.  There’s no pussyfooting, no bargaining, no promises to reform you get shown the door.

In this case it’s too bad because Haynesworth is a talented football player but apparently not so talented when it comes to real life relationships with just about anyone.  He has effectively been run out of town by his last two teams, by two coaches with sterling reputations for getting the most out of their players and for not putting up with anything.

Haynesworth is proving he can’t get along within a team system as well as in everyday life with his actions on and off the field.  Owner Robert Kraft, Belichick and the coaches, the players and a good portion of the fans were willing to give Haynesworth an opportunity to prove his pundits wrong.  In his time in Foxboro the consensus was split until Sunday when he stepped over one line and into the unemployment line.

Haynesworth, 30, was acquired from the Washington Redskins for a 5^th round draft pick in July.  He was a 2002 1^st round pick out of the University of Tennessee (15^th overall) and made his mark in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans where he played for 7 seasons making 2 Pro Bowls and being named a NFL All-Pro twice.  Named the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year, he left Tennessee after the 2008 season when he signed a huge free agent contract with Washington that was reported for $100 million over 7 years.

It was thought that New England was a chance to rebuild his career and his reputation but alas that is not to be and now he’s gone.

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Photo credit: Getty Images

On Tuesday the NFL announced that the December 4 Indianapolis Colts – New England Patriots game has been flexed from primetime on NBC back to a 1 p.m. start.  Once considered a marquee match up, the game has lost its luster due to a season long injury to Colts QB Peyton Manning and the Colts being winless heading into Week 10.

With the game being placed in the 1 p.m. timeslot it will now be aired as part of the CBS regional coverage that Sunday.  At this time the NFL and NBC have not replaced the game for Sunday Night Football.  According to the broadcast contract they have until November 22^nd to select the primetime game.

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