Old rivals are ready to take it to the field
FOXBOROUGH -- Bring on the game.
After a week of hype leading up to today's wild-card playoff matchup between the Jets and Patriots at Gillette Stadium, the teams will finally tee it up. The urgency isn't lost on either side.
"Any time you're in a single-elimination series, it doesn't get any more important than that," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. "Everything is just heightened. One mistake, one play, and the season could be over."
Added Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, "We understand how fragile the playoff situation is for every professional player. Some professionals go through this league, play 10, 11, 12 years, and never reach the playoffs. When you have a chance to be in a tournament, you want to take advantage of it. You don't want to be one-and-done."
There have been story lines aplenty all week.
There is Belichick facing off against his former defensive coordinator, Eric Mangini. Their friendship has clearly changed since the time Belichick hired Mangini for his first NFL coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1995.
Then there is simply Patriots-Jets, an AFC East rivalry that seems to write new, unpredictable chapters each season, both on and off the field. This will be the Patriots' 95th meeting with the Jets -- tops among New England opponents -- but only their second clash in the playoffs (the first was in 1985).
There is a new field at Gillette Stadium since the teams met Nov. 12, a 17-14 Jets win. Today, the game will be on FieldTurf, and the forecast calls for unseasonably mild temperatures, possibly as high as 52 degrees, with clear skies. In November, Gillette Stadium's natural grass field was a mud bowl as the game was played under a steady rain.
Don't forget the matchup of the quarterbacks -- Tom Brady vs. Pennington -- as Brady is 10-1 in his playoff career, Pennington 2-2.
Then there is the crossover element. Former Patriots playing for the Jets include linebacker Matt Chatham, defensive lineman Bobby Hamilton, and cornerback Hank Poteat. Former Jets playing for the Patriots include quarterback Vinny Testavderde and cornerback Ray Mickens. The Jets' coaching staff is also loaded with former Patriots players, including Corwin Brown (defensive backs), Bryan Cox (defensive line), and Sam Gash (running backs/assistant special teams).
Naturally, each side has a good read on the other.
"We've seen all their plays this year, I'm sure they've seen all ours, so I think these two teams know each other well, have a lot of respect for each other," Belichick said.
Which, of course, creates what could be an intriguing chess match.
"The knowledge works both ways because there are obviously dramatic similarities between the two teams," Mangini said. "The things we understand, they understand. The problems we have, they have. Some of the strengths that we have, they have.
"That's a positive and a negative because it can cut both ways. You can work on things that you may think they're going to exploit, but maybe it turns up somewhere else."
From a Patriots perspective, the atmosphere in the locker room this week was clearly different than it had been all season. It was as if a switch had been turned on, the urgency and intensity spiking as the playoff opener neared.
"We understand that you put a lot into it," linebacker Mike Vrabel said. "You're not going to try to psyche yourself out for a playoff game, but obviously things are a lot more important, because it's a one-game season, and if we don't play our best football, our season will be over."
