New York, Pee Wee football team all that's left for Pats
I've kept my gloating around here to an absolute minimum, just because after being a Boston sports for so many years, nothing is ever a guarentee. Just ask Anthony Smith.
So looking at the Pats schedule for the rest of the season, they have the Jets, the Dolphins, and the Giants. The team on paper with the best chance to beat the Patriots is obviously the Giants, but there's a lot more to football than just numbers. The key to beating the Patriots, as was exposed in the Philiadelphia and Baltimore games, is keeping Brady rattled, and get as many bodies on Randy Moss as you can. Basically, shut down the passing game. Nobody has filled Corey Dillon's shoes in that Patriot locker room, and the Pats running game has suffered because of it.
The Miami Dolphins might as well forfeit. My high school football team could put up a a better fight.
However, the Giants defense is ranked 7th in the NFL, allowing on average 96ish rush yards a game, and 209 passing yards. Granted, when faced with some of the NFL's premier offensives (Green Bay, Dallas) the G-men weren't able to shut them down and deliver. Giants haven't been much of a big-game ballclub this year, which leads me to be a bit more nerved about the Jets coming to Foxboro this Sunday.
After Belichick fleeing New York for New England, Mangini leaving New England for New York, the overblown fiasco that was "videogate" earlier this year, there is no shortage of bad blood between these two teams. What will likely happen? Brady, Moss, Walker will blow the Jets into the Charles River. What could happen? The Patriots could get rattled early, Kellen Clemens could have the game of his life. As my colleage at Newsday, Kevin Dennehy, just said to me, "this game is more important to the Jets than any Super Bowl could ever be." Imagine that, Jets fans.
Breaking down the numbers, the Jets and Giants secondary are about even allowing on average around 208 pass yards per game. The Giants defensive line is much better, but the Patriots lack much of a running game, only going for 22 yards Sunday against the Steelers. Keep Brady out of the pocket, double team Randy Moss, and force the Patriots to run the ball. It could be an upset of astronomical proportions.
--Lizzy
Comments (1)
Foxvboro football isn't that good!