A simple division problem
FOXBOROUGH -- The Patriots have raised the bar.
Before the team's run of three Super Bowl championships in the last five years, simply winning the AFC East was considered by many a significant accomplishment. The shift has been reflected at the cash register of the team's pro shop; there was a time when fans would covet ``AFC East championship" gear, but that has changed in recent years. After all, why buy AFC East merchandise when you can wear the Super Bowl stuff?
The Patriots have made winning the AFC East seem routine over the last five years, capturing four division crowns. The lone miss, in 2002, still came in a season in which the team was 9-7.
Despite such success, the Patriots aren't taking their divisional dominance for granted. And today's road game against the Jets could help the team separate itself from the pack after two weeks of action.
``We're playing another game in the division on the road, which makes it a big game, and we're playing for first place," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick, whose team squeaked by the Bills, 19-17, in the season opener.
``I don't think you can get a more important scenario than that, especially this early in the season. I think that adds a little bit of extra importance to it.
``I know it's early in the season and nobody is going to clinch anything here, but you always want to get off to a good start and get out on top."
The Jets, under first-year coach and former Patriots defensive coordinator Eric Mangini, opened the season with a 23-16 win at Tennessee. The Bills (0-1) visit the Dolphins (0-1) today in another division game.
The Patriots, playing for the first time since trading receiver Deion Branch to the Seahawks last Monday, hope to receive a boost from inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who planned to test his right wrist in the hours before kickoff to see if he is fit for action.
The team dressed just three receivers in the season opener, and also would benefit from having rookie Chad Jackson (questionable, hamstring) and recently acquired Doug Gabriel (probable, hamstring) available for duty. Both practiced throughout the week.
Quarterback Tom Brady might recognize some of the Jets' schemes, as they are similar to what the Patriots run. The Jets are expected to play a 3-4 alignment, and third-year linebacker Jonathan Vilma, a 2005 Pro Bowler, is a top playmaker in the middle.
While on the subject of playmakers, Belichick said the Patriots' special teams must rise to the occasion against Justin Miller, who had a key return in the Jets' season-opening win, a 41-yard runback that answered the Titans' tying score at 16 and shifted momentum.
The Patriots will look to keep quarterback Chad Pennington, who has returned from two rotator cuff injuries, out of his rhythm.
Those forgetting how dangerous the 6-foot-3-inch, 225-pound Pennington can be need only to rewind to Dec. 22, 2002, when he skewered New England by going 23 of 33 for 285 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 30-17 win. That marked the last time the Jets beat the Patriots.
New England has the best record among AFC East teams in division games since the beginning of the 2001 season (26-7), and has won 16 of its last 18 divisional games.
Playing division games in the first two weeks of the regular season is a change of pace after last year's schedule, in which the Patriots' first AFC East contest didn't come until the eighth week.
