This Week
The New England Patriots welcome the New York Jets to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA on Thursday night at 8:15 p .m.
Thursday night is Troy Brown Night. The team will honor the former receiver who retired earlier this year at halftime of the game.
The Patriots (6-3) are 4-1 at the Razor, 2-1 in the division and 4-3 against the AFC. The Jets (6-3) are 2-2 on the road, 2-1 in the division and 4-3 against the AFC. The two teams are tied for 1st place in the AFC East one game ahead of Buffalo and Miami.
The Patriots beat the Jets 19-10 in Week 2 in the Meadowlands.
Here are the rosters for the Jets and Patriots.
Here are the projected starting lineups for the game.
The Line/Prediction
As of Wednesday the line on the game from Yahoo! Sports is Patriots -3.5. The over/under is 42.
My prediction is Patriots 20, Jets, 17. Take the points (Jets) and take the under . I am 3-5-1 against the spread and 5 of 9 on calling the over/under in 2008.
Tickets
The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 157th consecutive sellout dating back to the 1994 season opener. The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.
Tickets to the 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 be going to the game at the Razor make sure you check out the links.
Here is the up to date weather forecast for the game from The Weather Channel.
Click for stadium directions, parking information, parking map, specific MBTA train times for this game and a Gillette Stadium seating chart.
Tailgating
Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgaiting America. 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 for good measure here is one of my own.
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 by theme.
Whether it’s at the game, a bar or someone’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
NFLN is televising the game nationally and Bob Papa will do the play-by-play while Cris Collinsworth will handle the game analysis. The game can be seen in the Boston TV market on WCVB Channel 5 and in the New York TV market on WPIX Channel 11. Even if your cable system carries those stations you may fall under the NFL Blackout Rules.
Direct TV NFL Sunday Ticket has the game on Channel 212.
For those of you overseas here is some general information on NFL Broadcasts for the 2008 season.
Patriots All-Access airs Saturday at 7 p.m. on WCVB TV 5 in Boston. It will also be simulcast on the team website at the same time. Make sure you check out the Patriots Football Network for information on when you can see Patriots All-Access in your market.
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 Cappelletti does the color.
It all starts with Gary Tanguay, Scott Zolak and Andy Gresh and the pregame show at 5 p.m. along the network.
The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours.
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.
All NFL games are also available on Sirius Satellite Radio. The Patriots Rock Radio Network call is available on Channel 127, the Jets Radio Network call with Bob Wischusen doing play-by-play and former Jet Marty Lyons with analysis is available on Channel 126.
Since the satellite merger XM Satellite Radio also carries all the NFL games and in most cases has just the radio call of the home team. This game can be heard on XM Channel 107 (Jets) and 108 (Patriots).
The game can be heard nationally on Westwood One with Ian Eagle and Dennis Green . You can also listen to the Westwood One feed on Sirius Channel 124 and XM Channel 105.
Last Week
The Patriots beat the Bills 20-10 at home, while the Jets routed the Rams in the Meadowlands, 47-3.
History
- The Patriots beat the Jets earlier this season in Week 2 19-10 in the Meadowlands as Matt Cassel won his first NFL start.
- This is the 99th meeting between the two teams since the AFL days and the Patriots narrowly lead the series 49-48-1. The 49 wins over the Jets are the second most all-time against one opponent to the 56 wins the team has over Buffalo.
- The Patriots have won 11 of the last 12 meetings including one playoff game.
- New England is 20-10 against New York since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994.
- The two teams first met in 1960 in the inaugural AFL Season. The Patriots beat the then Titans in the second week of the season (September 17) 28-24 at the Polo Grounds in New York.
- The Jets at 99 games are the Patriots most frequent opponent in franchise history.
Connections
- Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was the Jets’ assistant head coach/secondary for three seasons (1997-99). He was also their head coach for 24 hours in 2000 before resigning and going to New England.
- 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. He left after the 2005 season to take the Jets head coaching job a decision that didn’t sit well with Belichick.
- Defensive line coach Pepper Johnson played for two seasons with the Jets from 1997-98 before retiring in 1999.
- Special teams coach Brad Seely held the same position with the Jets in 1994.
- Patriots Vice President of Player Personnel Scott Pioli was the director of pro personnel for the Jets from 1997-1999.
- Jets assistant defensive line coach Bryan Cox was a linebacker on the Patriots’ 2001 world championship team.
- Jets head coach Eric Mangini is from Hartford, CT., and attended Wesleyan University, the same school as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
- Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo and Jets quarterback Erik Ainge are both rookies out of the University of Tennessee.
- Jets OL Damien Woody is a former Patriot. Woody , a Patriots first round pick (17th overall) in 1999 was on the 2001 and 2003 Super Bowl teams. He played his college football at Boston College.
- Patriots RB LaMont Jordan started his career with the Jets. He was drafted in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft (49th overall) by New York and played there from 2001-2004.
- Jets defensive end Mike DeVito is a native of Welfleet, Massachusetts and played at the University of Maine, where he finished his collegiate career with 112 total tackles and 16 sacks.
- In addition to Mangini and Cox, five members of the Jets coaching staff are former Patriots coaches, players or staff members – Brian Daboll (quarterbacks), Andy Dickerson (quality control-defense), Jerome Henderson (asst. secondary), Jimmy Raye (running backs) and Rick Lyle (asst. strength and conditioning).
Other News
This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Jets. You can also see what New York head coach Eric Mangini had to say about the game in a conference call with the New England media.
Here is the injury list for the game.
Bill Belichick coached teams are 14-6 vs the New York Jets including the playoffs. He is 13-5 with New England and 1-1 with Cleveland.
Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 133-84 in 14 NFL seasons. He is 97-40 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland. He is 15-4 in the playoffs, 14-3 as the head coach of the Patriots in the postseason. When you combine the regular season and postseason Belichick is 148-88.
Matt Cassel is 5-3 since he took over for the injured Tom Brady. He earned his first career win against the New York Jets in Week 2 early this season.
The Patriots overall franchise record is 372-252-9. They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXIII, XXXIX) in 6 appearances.
The Patriots are +2 in turnover differential for the season.
Based on points per game the Patriots offense is ranked 24th in the league, while the defense is 6th.
This is the second of three consecutive games against AFC East teams. They wrap up the run next week in Miami.
New England is 37-10 against the rest of the AFC East since 2001.
Since 2001 the Patriots are 65-15 in games played on November 1st or later.
New England is 50-10 since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002 and have allowed 15.4 points per game at home in that span the lowest average in the NFL.
Several media reports are saying that Adalius Thomas had surgery on Wednesday and is done for the season. As of publication the team has not placed him on IR or replaced him on the 53-man roster.
NFL Pro Bowl balloting begins this week and runs from Oct. 13 through Dec. 9. Fans may vote for their favorite NFL players to represent the AFC and NFC in the 2009 Pro Bowl in Honolulu on Sunday, Feb. 8. Fans may vote online at nfl.com/probowl or on Web-enabled mobile phones by going to NFL.com.
Former Patriots QB Vinny Testaverde turns 45 on Thursday. Testaverde played one season in Foxboro (2006). He was the 1st overall pick in the 1987 NFL Draft by Tampa Bay and went on to also play for Cleveland, Baltimore, NY Jets, Dallas and Carolina over 21 NFL seasons.
2008 Patriots schedule/results
News from this weeks opponent:
Head coach Eric Mangini is 1-5 vs. New England in three seasons including the post season. Overall Mangini is 20-21 in his career during the regular season. He is 0-1 in the playoffs.
Since Mangini took over in New York in 2006 the Jets are 8-8 against the AFC East.
Brett Favre is 3-3 in his career against the Patriots (including Super Bowl XXXI) and 165-96 in his career during the regular season, he is 12-10 in the playoffs for an overall record of 177-106.
Based on points per game the Jets offense is ranked 3rd in the NFL, while the defense is ranked 14th.
New York is +1 in turnover differential this season.
The Jets signed CB Ty Law this week to a one-year contract.
The Jets drafted two players in the first round this year DE Vernon Ghoulston (Ohio State – 6th overall) and TE Dustin Keller (Purdue – 30th overall). In all they had 6 picks over seven rounds.
The Jets have 15 players on their roster with 2 years or less of NFL experience, while Favre has 18 years in the NFL and has won 3 MVP Awards (1995, 1996, 1997) and one Super Bowl (XXXI).
New York has more players from Ohio State (3) than from any other college or university.
No players on the Jets 2007 roster made the Pro Bowl.
The Jets have scored 17 points or fewer vs New England in 11 of the last 12 games.
The Jets overall franchise record is 328-397-8. They are 8-11 in the post season and they have won one Super Bowl (III). They last made the playoffs in 2006 but haven’t played in a Conference Championship game since 1998 when they lost to John Elway and the Denver Broncos, 23-10.
Next Week
The New England Patriots travel to Miami to face the Dolphins on Sunday at 1 p.m.
