Results tagged “thepatriots”

The game is still a week away, but the verbal sparring has begun. Plaxico Burress fired the first shot this week when he said about the Giants’ wide receivers that, "We have guys that can go out and do things just as well or maybe better than some of those guys.” The Patriots have refused to take the bait with Rodney Harrison simply talking about seeing what happens on the field while Ellis Hobbs noted that Plaxico has “really long arms.”

Tom Brady sure loves New York, huh? Not only does he walk around town wearing a Yankees hat, but he comes here to spend time with his ubermodel girlfriend Gisele Bundchen in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. Brady was spotted walking to Bundchen's West Village apartment Monday carrying flowers (how sweet) and wearing a protective boot on his right foot.

The Patriots and Jets didn't have the worst weather in the league Sunday, but they still had plenty to complain about. Rain and wind didn't stay the Patriots from improving to 14-0 with a 20-10 win over the Jets in Foxborough, Mass.. It did help the Jets keep the game close and easily cover the record 27-point spread, for those who care about those things.

The spread opened at 27 points. It's recently settled at 24 1/2 points, which, if held, would be the largest ever for an NFL game. More went into that spread than a terrible team playing an unbeaten one on the road. The Patriots have been running up the score on opponents all year, and everyone thinks they're doing it to teach the league a lesson after it was exposed -- on the word of jets Coach Eric Mangini -- that New England was recording the Jets' defensive signals during a Week 1 win in the Meadowlands.

Johnny Damon had a great game, going 3-for-5 and making an outstanding catch. Jason Giambi woke his slumbering bat with a grand slam and Jorge Posada added two hits and a home run. Phil Hughes did just enough and was helped by some great defensive plays as he allowed six baserunners, but only one run over six innings.

Life's easier the lower you keep everyone's expectations. Bill Waterson once had Calvin impart that wisdom in the comic strip, and the Jets are about to find that out as well. Last year, Coach Eric Mangini worked wonders to get the team into the playoffs and created a situation where media and fans will be looking for more. Don't be surprised if the team doesn't improve upon last year's results.

Few teams can shrug off a playoff loss to a bitter rival and immediately accept their season as a success. The Jets may not be able to do that in the wake of their 37-16 loss to the Patriots in an AFC wild-card playoff Sunday, but they have no reason to hang their heads. New York entered this game knowing as an overmatched squad, but it still made New England sweat before being buried in the fourth quarter.

Beneath the tired storyline of the alleged feud between coaches Eric Mangini and Bill Belichick will be a strategic matchup that will decide the Patriots-Jets wild-card playoff on Sunday. The media cannot get enough of the abbreviated handshake -- some would call it a blow by -- shared by the two men when the Jets downed the Patriots, 17-14, on Nov. 12. The Patriots won the season's first meeting when they held off the Jets in a 24-17 win at the Meadowlands on Sept. 17.

When they lost in Cleveland two weeks ago, the Jets all but removed their margin of error for the rest of the season. They looked as impressive in this week's 17-14 win over the Patriots as they looked listless in that defeat in Cleveland. Chad Pennington played aggressively, made huge plays on third downs, and the Jets defense shut down the Patriots to hold on in the fourth quarter. Kevan Barlow capped a clinical second-quarter drive that included a conversion on a fourth-and-one gave the Jets a 7-3 lead, and allowed them to play more sensibly on offense.

Two weeks ago, the Jets daydreamed their way through a loss to the lowly Browns in Cleveland. After having an open date to think about it, the Jets have to travel to Foxborough, Mass., to take on the Patriots. The Patriots handled the Jets in the teams' first meeting this year, and few should expect the Jets to reverse that, especially with this contest on the road.

It's the dawn of a new era as the Jets are expected to announce the hiring of New England defensive coordinator Eric Mangini as the 15th head coach in franchise history, ESPN.com first reported last night. The first three things that standout about Mangini are: his age, (now the youngest coach in the NFL, turning 35 on Thursday), his prior tenure with the Jets (1997-99 as a defensive assistant under Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells) and his being a protege of Belichick, the Pats coach who actually helmed the Jets for a single day in 1999 and is thought to be among the game's all-time greatest defensive minds.

For the betting man, the Patriots are favored by seven points. Gothamist hasn't had much luck gambling this year, so we won't be wagering any money this year. That said, it's hard not to think the Patriots will win it again. The most dangerous player on the Eagles, Terrell Owens, is hobbled by a bad ankle, while the Patriots seem to be unstoppable in the playoffs.