Patriots Aim For Revenge Against Big Mouth Rex & Jets

Never has an NFL head coach who has accomplished so little run his mouth so much like Rex Ryan of the New York Jets has in the past year or so. And all you can do is just chuckle.

From proclaiming he wouldn't kiss AFC East rival Bill Belichick's rings, to saying his team should be favorites to win last season's Super Bowl (which the Jets didn't appear in), and that all the "experts" say the Patriots are the NFL's best team, "except me," Ryan is full of the type of tough talk and bravado that is more fun than disrespectful of the opposition.

He could brag that he owns a career 2-1 record against Belichick (including a 28-14 win at the New Meadowlands in Week 2 this year that the Pats are looking to avenge come Monday) and that the Jets, going back to the Eric Mangini era have beaten the Pats three of the last four times. Ryan, however, still has the utmost respect for them and therefore won't provide too much bulletin board material for the Pats to use against him.

New England hosts the Jets on the December 6, 2010, edition of Monday Night Football for what is going to be the biggest regular season matchup of the season with a lot riding on it. The winner not only claims first place in the AFC East outright (as both teams sit atop at 9-2), but could be in good position for a first round bye in the playoffs and possibly host two home games.

The loser of this game could fall one game behind with four games left, and depending on how it does the rest of the way, end up on the road for three playoff games in its march to the Super Bowl. The Jets have Chicago and Pittsburgh as tough opponents on the road in the last quarter of the season, while the Pats have Chicago and Green Bay to battle in that stretch. So they are obviously battling for more than just to to establish who the best team in football is (with the 9-2 Atlanta Falcons begging for consideration as well).

This article was first published and can be read in full at Blogcritics Magazine

Tom Brady and Patriots Beat Up Steelers, 39-26

You are lying to yourself if you call yourself a Patriots fan and seriously saw this one coming. Yes, Tom Brady is now 6-1 in his last seven games against the Steelers (playoffs included). But after the previous week's pathetic performance against Eric Mangini's Cleveland Browns, a 39-26 New England blowout win against one of the best AFC teams is hardly what anyone expected.

In fact, I expected the Steelers to win a close, low-scoring game. Had I been made aware beforehand that the Pats under Bill Belichick were 22-2 in games following a loss since 2003, I might have thought differently.

In the end, I'm glad I was (and am sure plenty of other New England fans were) wrong.
The score and final stats were hardly indicative of how the Pats dominated most of this game Sunday night, especially up front on both sides of the ball. Guard Stephen Neal was out but with Logan Mankins back for his second game (after sitting out the first seven), Tom Brady had all the protection he needed as he threw for 350 yards (spread out to eight different players), three TDs and emphatically ran one into the end zone himself for one more.

It was the first 300-yard game of the season for Brady but more noticeably, his most emotional game in years. Maybe he didn't like the way Steelers players were hitting him under the pile, or maybe their cheap shots over the years (Lee Flowers) were still sealed in his mind. Or perhaps he just wanted perfection, meaning no dropping easy throws (Wes Welker) or poor blocking on unsuccessful third-and-short situations. Whatever it was, he extra furious at his teammates when things went wrong, and all smiles when success went his team's way.

Photo credit: thirtysecondsurvey.com

This article was first published in full earlier today at Blogcritics Magazine.