Things to Watch at the Patriots-Jets Game

The New England Patriots are set to take on their bitter rivals, the New York Jets, this afternoon at 4:15pm.

These games are usually tightly contested, so here's a list of things to watch for today.

How will the Jets D attack the Pats? Rex Ryan typically attacked the Patriots offense (i.e., Tom Brady) through exotic blitzes. Ryan's strategy was to knock Brady into submission.

That changed, though, after the Pats' regular season victory last season. Brady was able to eviscerate the Jets defense, posting 45 points. So, in the playoff rematch, Ryan was able to stymie Brady and company by going into extreme coverage.

So which Jets defense will we see? Will coach Bill Belichick be able to adjust to that defense? There's a good chance that adjustment will determine the game.

Will the Patriots running backs step up? If the Jets are able to confuse Brady (or knock him out of rhythm), the onus will be put on BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Stevan Ridley to move the team.

In the Oakland game, a solid running game was able to take the pressure off of Brady (who was not his typical all-world self). The Jets, of course, have a better defense than the Raiders (though, surprisingly, the Jets are ranked 27th in rush defense), but the Pats will need to run the ball if Brady starts to flounder.

Will Albert Haynesworth please show up? Haynesworth, the team's biggest free agent pickup, has been missing for the past two games. Consequently, the team's pass rush has been anemic at best.

Haynesworth was signed for just this kind of situation. Mark Sanchez looks good when he has time, but makes horrible (absolutely horrible) decisions when under pressure (witness last week's Ravens game). If there was ever a time for the Pats pass rush to show up, it'd be this week.

Who will cornerback Darelle Revis take away? Revis is arguably the best corner in the NFL, and the Jets put him on whatever receiver they want removed from the game.

This will be a problem for them, as the Patriots have no clear number-one wide receiver. Wes Welker has been the workhorse for this offense, so it's likely Revis will end up on him. Look for the Pats to move Welker around and put him in exotic formations so he gets a free release off the line.

This will be a tough game, and we should have a better idea about this team's ceiling afterwards.

The Patriots-Jets game will be televised at 4:15pm on CBS.