In The Red Zone – Patriots (0-0) at Jets (0-0) Preview – Week 1

This Week

The New York Jets host the New England Patriots at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands of East Rutherford NJ on Sunday afternoon.  It is the season opener for both teams.  Game time is 1 p.m.  It marks the start of the 48th season of Patriots football. 

Here are the rosters for the Patriots and the Jets.

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from Yahoo Sports is Patriots – 6.5 pts.  The over/under is 41. 

My prediction is Patriots 31, Jets, 21.  Give the points, take the over.

Tickets

The game is reported as a sell out.

Tickets to game, if available, may be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.  Many times tickets are released in the last 48 hours prior to the game.

Getting To The Game

If you’re lucky enough to have tickets and you are going to the game make sure you check out the links.

Due to construction on a new Meadowlands Stadium, unless you have a premium parking pass there is no parking available at the Meadowlands facilities.  You must park in the satellite lots and take the shuttles to the game. 

There is NO TAILGATING IN THE SATELLITE LOTS.

Here is all the parking info you will need for the game, this link includes directions to Giants Stadium as well as prohibited items and anything else you need to know about the stadium.  Here is a Giants Stadium seating chart.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

CBS is televising the game and we get the top announce team.  The play-by-play duties will be handled by Jim Nantz, with Phil Simms doing game analysis.   See if you will receive this game on the CBS network.

Radio

The Patriots Rock Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBCN-FM 104.1 in Boston. Gil Santos handles the play-by-play and former Patriot Gino Capelleti does the color.

It all starts with Gary Tanguay, Scott Zolak and Andy Gresch and the pregame show at 10 a.m. along the network.

The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours.

For the low down on the Patriots Rock Radio Network and stations in your area.

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

This game will also be broadcast nationally on the Westwood One Radio Network.  Bill Rosinski and Dan Reeves will call the game.  Click on the link to find a station near you.

Last Week

Both teams were off preparing for the 2007 season opener.

History

These two teams meet twice a year every year and last season they met a third time in the playoffs.  Last season the teams split the two regular season games.  The Patriots won 24-17 in the Meadowlands in Week 2 and the Jets won 17-14 at Gillette Stadium in Week 10.

The Patriots defeated the Jets at Gillette Stadium in an AFC Wildcard Game, 37-16.

The Patriots have won six straight road games against the Jets dating back to New York’s 20-19 win on Monday Night Football on September 11, 2000. 

This is the sixth time the Patriots and Jets have opened the season against each other but the first since 1999.  They also opened against each other in 1961, 1962, 1988 and 1989. The Patriots hold a 4-1 advantage over the Jets in season openers.

This is the 96th meeting since 1960 when the AFL formed between the two teams.  The overall series record is 49-46-1 in favor of the Jets.  94 of those meetings have been in the regular season, only twice have the clubs met in the post season with the Patriots winning both times.  In addition to last seasons playoff win, the Patriots beat the Jets in the first round of the 1985 playoffs 26-14 at the Meadowlands on the way to their first AFC Championship. 

The Patriots have played the Jets more times than any other opponent.  Buffalo is second with 94 meetings between the teams.

Connections

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was the Jets’ assistant head coach/secondary for three seasons (1997-99).

Jets head coach Eric Mangini was a member of the Patriots coaching staff for six seasons from 2000-05, serving as the secondary coach for the first five seasons and as New England’s defensive coordinator in 2005.

Patriots Vice President of Player Personnel Scott Pioli was the director of pro personnel for the Jets from 1997-1999.

Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss paired up with Jets quarterback Chad Pennington to set an NCAA season record for touchdowns (24) at Marshall University in 1997.

Patriots defensive line coach Pepper Johnson played for two seasons with the Jets from 1997-98 before retiring in 1999.

Patriots special teams coach Brad Seely held the same position with the Jets in 1994.

Jets defensive end Bobby Hamilton played for the Patriots for four seasons from 2000-03. In his four seasons in New England, Hamilton did not miss a game, starting 62 of 64 contests. He led the team with seven sacks in 2001.

Jets cornerback Hank Poteat played in parts of three seasons (2004-06) with the Patriots.

Patriots tight end Kyle Brady was a first-round draft pick (ninth overall) of the Jets in 1995. In his four seasons (1995- 98) in New York, Brady totaled 93 receptions for 949 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Kraft Era

144 – The number of regular-season and playoff victories the Patriots have earned since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994. That mark is the highest total in the NFL over that span.

4 – The number of times the Patriots have appeared in the Super Bowl since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994. No other team has made more than two Super Bowl appearances in that span.

15 – The number of playoff games the Patriots have won since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994. That mark leads the NFL over that span (Pittsburgh, 12).

7 – The number of AFC East titles the Patriots have won since 1996. No other NFL team has won more than five division titles over that span.

6 – The number of consecutive seasons in which the Patriots have won nine or more games, a mark that represents the longest current streak in the NFL.

279 – The number of consecutive Patriots games that have been televised locally.

Other News

This is the link to head coach Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Jets.  You can also see what Jets head coach Eric Mangini had to say during his Wednesday conference call with the New England media. 

This is the 21st time the Patriots have opened against a division opponent.  They opened last season at home against Buffalo.  New England is 12-8 all-time in season openers against AFC East foes. 

The Patriots are 29-9 in the regular season against the AFC East since 2001.  It is the best intra-division record of any NFL team in that time span.  The Patriots have also won the AFC 5 times in those six seasons. 

The Patriots will be without safety Rodney Harrison who was suspended for 4 games by the NFL.

The Patriots players selected their captains this week.  Selected were LB Junior Seau, QB Tom Brady, RB Kevin Faulk, DE Ty Warren, LB Tedy Bruschi, LB Mike Vrabel and LB Larry Izzo.  Seau, Faulk and Warrren are first time captains.  Richard Seymour and Troy Brown who are on the PUP list along with Harrison were the captains that were replaced from last season.  The trio can be added as captains when they return to the active roster.

10-2 is Tom Brady’s career record as a starter against the New York Jets.  The only team he has more wins against is Buffalo which he has beaten 11 times. 

Patriots play 10 games this season against teams who were .500 or better in 2006

Eight of the 16 games are against playoff teams from last year.

The 2007 schedule is ranked the 3rd toughest in the league based on the 2006 win percentages of their opponents.  Patriots opponents compiled a 137-119 cumulative record last season.  Only Buffalo and Oakland’s schedules were rated tougher by these standards.

News from this weeks opponent:

New York Jets new running back Thomas Jones should be ready to go against the Patriots on opening day. Jones had been suffering from a calf strain and he missed all four preseason games.

Chad Pennington is 2-5 as a starter vs New England. 

The Jets placed former Patriot LB Matt Chatham on the PUP list. Chatham missed all of camp.

The Jets will be having a “New York Titans Throwback Day” when they host the Eagles on October 14^th. They will be wearing navy blue and gold replica jerseys, the same color worn by the Titans from 1960-62 before they became the Jets. 

The Jets will honor Wayne Chrebet at half time of the game against Miami on September 23^rd at the Meadowlands. For his gift, they plan on giving him a concussion.

Next Week

The Patriots home opener against the San Diego Chargers Sunday night at 8:15 p.m. at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA.

Special hat tip to J.P. Kirby who does the NFL Broadcast map that we link to.  He happens to be a Patriots fan as well.