Jets vs. Patriots: Finally, it's time to play
Antonio Cromartie of the Jets tackles Patriots' Julian Edelman at The New Meadowlands Stadium. (Sept. 19, 2010) Credit: David Pokress
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Dustin Keller is just as antsy as everyone else to finally get this thing under way.
"We definitely want to play the game right now," the Jets tight end said, "especially with a Thursday game last week all the way to a Monday game. You couldn't have much bigger of a break without having a bye week. Both teams are ready to play. But this game just can't come soon enough."
The countdown has dwindled to mere hours. Just after 8:30 Monday night, following an 11-day buildup that at times felt as if it were about to reach Super Bowl proportions, the Jets (9-2) and Patriots (9-2) will meet at Gillette Stadium for supremacy in the AFC East.
"You live to play in these type of situations," Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards said, "and along with that comes responsibility of staying focused about what goes on in between those hashes as opposed to everything that surrounds them."
With a win, the Jets essentially would take a two-game lead because they would have swept the season series. It also would make them 4-0 in the division.
"We all know what this game means. It's huge," linebacker Bart Scott said. "New England has been on top of this division for a long time. They are not going to go away quietly."
Particularly at home, where the Patriots are a league-best 29-5 since 2002, though the Jets beat them here in 2008. New England also has won 16 of 17 December home games, the only loss to the Jets on Dec. 22, 2002.
Perhaps that's why Edwards isn't buying into hype about Tom Brady's streak of 25 regular-season wins at home.
"Twenty-five straight on the road or at home is hard,'' Edwards said. "That's a pretty tremendous thing that he has going on there. But we can't play into that and we have to go in there with the mind-set that we can beat this team. We've beat them once [this season] and we feel confident we can do it again."
So what better stage to prove that and make a statement than on "Monday Night Football"?
"I feel like the two of us are playing the best ball right now," Keller said. "In the NFC, you have some pretty good teams there, but it's hard to compare because you don't play them very often. I feel like we are ahead of everybody else, but I feel like our best game against their best game, I feel like we can win that."
After days of chatter, it's time to see if that's the case.
"We know who New England is,'' Rex Ryan said. "I know they say we are a great team and I see the sarcasm. Well, they are going to find out if we are a great team or not, I can tell you that much.
"We're coming. We'll show up and we'll see what happens."
