NEPD Staff
Jets vs Patriots, Belichick vs Ryan, Brady vs Cromartie, Wilfork vs Greene, Sanchez vs McCourty… this game never gets stale.
Grab yourself a &*^% snack and read whats happening before today’s AFC East tiebreaker.
11:00am – It’s a beautiful fall afternoon in New England and a perfect day for football. A couple of early morning notes. Brandon Bolden, Steve Gregory and Tracy White have alll been declared out. With Brandon Bolden out I expect a big big game from Stevan Ridley. Gregory’s absence has hurt the Patriots defense more than originally expected, Tavon Wilson will likely see time back there again and I’m anxious to see any personnel changes in the secondary after last week. Finally, with Tracy White out today, Jeff Tarpinian has been recalled from the practice squad. Tarpinian made the roster out of camp last year and provided valuable special teams depth.
On the other side of the field the Jets are really banged up. They have already declared DT Sione Pouha, DT Kenrick Ellis, RB Bilal Powell and S Eric Smith out for today’s game. That’s in addition to Darrelle Revis and Santonio Holmes being out for the season. On top of that C Nick Mangold, WR Clyde Gates and RB Joe McKnight are all questionable.
The Patriots have a clear advantage on paper today and I expect their most complete performance of the seson.
11:45am – There have been multiple reports of the Jets complaining to the league office about how the Patriots no huddle offense is illegal and that they don’t follow the league substition penalty. It’s obvious the Jets are very concerned about the matchups on offense and are looking for any help leveling the playing field. Here’s an idea Rex man up and stop them, instead of running the mouth and complaining all week. I am fully expecting a circa 2007 spygate performance today by the Patriots offense.
1:30pm: The Patriots have a bunch of players listed as Questionable. Among the ones to keep an eye on are Dont’a Hightower and Julian Edelman. Both have missed multiple games, but have practiced in some capacity the past two weeks.
3:00pm: The official inactives list is out for the Patriots. The two biggest names are Patrick Chung and Logan Mankins who are both OUT. Mankins has already missed one game this season, look for Donald Thomas to take his spot. Patrick Chung who was injured late in the Seahawks game is out for the first time this year. Brandon Bolden, Steve Gregory, Tracy White, Jake Bequette and Ron Brace are the final inactives.
Dont’a Hightower and Julian Edelman make their return this week, meaning Tom Brady will have his full complement of offensive weapons.
