Jets Defense Comes Through

All of New England Cries, Searches For Proof That Belichick is Still Genius


Yes, it's only Week Two of the NFL season.

Yes, the Patriots were not at full strength.

And yes, Tom Brady is still rusty.

But all of those things don't really matter right now, because yesterday at the Meadowlands, the Jets stepped up and backed up their trash talk and out-played the Patriots.  They were prepared and fired up, and they brought the fight to Brady and the Pats.

New York Times Image, Game Story

We won't go into a full-scale on analysis of this game, because everyone else is talking it to death.

But what we will do, just for humor's sake, is to show you how Dan Shaughnessy's tone changed from pre-game to post-game.

"This is not the first time Rex Ryan has done Belichick a favor. Late in the almost perfect season of 2007, the (then-11-0) Patriots were poised to lose to the Ravens, but were saved when Baltimore assistant coach Rex Ryan signaled for a timeout just as Brady was stopped on a fourth-down quarterback sneak. The Patriots got a do-over and won the game. Thanks, Rex.

The old Patriots would have stomped on these New York trash-talkers. Today we find out if these Patriots are anything like the championship Patriots.

For the record, Belichick said nobody’s ever kissed his rings. He said they are stored in a box somewhere at home (best kept away from Vladimir Putin).

Wouldn’t it be great if Coach Bill stashed his rings in his hoodie this afternoon and the Patriots won? When the clock ticked down to zero, Belichick could put all three paperweight-sized baubles on his right hand, walk to midfield, and extend his gaudy mitt toward Rex Ryan.

Kiss that, Rex."

And then when the golden boy failed to come through....

"It marked the first time a Brady-led Patriot team lost a regular-season game since December of 2006. That’s almost three years. It’s also the first time Brady ever lost to the Jets in the Meadowlands. The last time the Patriots dropped a game here was in Belichick’s maiden season (2000) when Drew Bledsoe was the franchise quarterback.

Clearly, these are not the same old Patriots. They are one Leodis McKelvin brain cramp from being 0-2. And the undefeated Falcons are coming to Foxborough Sunday. Bob Kraft’s army of suckups will shift into overdrive if the Patriots lose that one.

There are red flags all over the place. Yellow flags, too. The Patriots were smacked for 11 penalties yesterday. Reminded me of one of those Pete Carroll teams when we all said the Patriots lacked discipline."

Somebody put Boston on suicide watch.

Boston Globe -- Jets' bombast bordering on the ridiculous
Boston Globe -- Somehow, this game became a three-ring circus