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ASK NICK
Trapped?The Jets are 0-2 heading into Foxborough this week and they're calling it a trap game. The Patriots said all the right things as usual this week. Rodney Harrison called talk about Curtis Martin slowing down "media crap."
And so it appears the Patriots have been psychologically and physically prepared in practice this week to take on the Jets, who have won five straight years in Foxborough. The question now is do we really think it's a trap game, or should the Patriots roll over the Jets and kick them back to Hofstra licking their wounds at 0-3? Here's the one thing that really bugs me: Patriots injuries. I know the Patriots are very fortunate to have great depth at linebacker where they can put tried and true players like Willie McGinest and Roman Phifer on the field in place of Rosevelt Colvin and Ted Johnson, but we're talking about now looking at a defense that has lost three star players if you add Lawyer Milloy into the mix. It seems to me that the Jets will establish the run right away with Martin. Having known Martin for several years from his time here in New England, he's that quiet team leader than everyone respects and admires. With all the stories about his demise out there, I know that Jet players went to offensive coordinator Paul Hackett this week and told him they have to get Martin 20-25 carries. I'm 1-1 with the Pats so far. I picked the Bills win which was easy after the Milloy situation, but totally miscalculated the Eagles game where I thought the Eagles would win easily. I'm calling a close Patriots win here, maybe 24-21, but I don't feel very confident about it. I know the spread earlier in the week was 6-1/2 and I thought that was too much in my Thursday picks in the Globe, so I picked the Jets with the points. Dewayne Robertson vs. Ty Warren: Two games into the NFL season, some football experts with a Patriots slant, are already calling Robertson a bust. Two games? Robertson is getting decent playing time, probably more than Warren at this point. I think both guys are going to be pretty good players. Whether Roberston is the next warren Sapp would be something no one could predict based on what's been seen so far. The question in NE is will Warren be the next Richard Seymour, and I think that's the goal or at least a close facsimile... Here's a mailbag tip: send your questions after the Jets game, not before it. We got a ton of outdated E-mails this week. Also, we got hundreds of Lawyer Milloy-related E-mails again this week. I answered some of them, but as one of our E-mailers pointed out, lets move on to the next topic. I tried to do that as well. Obviously the big one is Colvin. He's out there getting second opinions, but it looks like a serious injury that will take some time to heal. The way some of Colvin's handlers described it to me was that the hip popped out of place but then "reduced" and popped back in. The question that hadn't been answered, or at least divulged publicly, is what damage was done to either the bone, the muscles or the tendons. Continued... |
