By: Dan Podheiser, YawkeyTalkies Assistant Editor
After a dominant Week 1 drubbing of Cincinnati, the Patriots didn’t look so hot against their division rival, the New York Jets in a 28-14 loss.
The offense was sharp at times, but was unable to get into a consistent rhythm at any point during the game. And the defense? Well, giving up 28 points to a Mark Sanchez-led attack is never good.
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of how the Patriots performed in their loss on Sunday.
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady didn’t have the best game of his career against the Jets. In fact, at one point Brady threw six straight incomplete passes, tying the longest stretch of his NFL career. Brady completed just 56 percent of his passes, going 20-for-36 for 248 yards, two TDs and two INTs. His second touchdown pass at the end of the first half was beautiful; a soft, aired-out completion to Randy Moss, who made a one-handed grab. And to be fair, Brady’s second pick, which bounded of Moss’ hands twice, wasn’t really the QB’s fault. Nevertheless, a 72.5 QB rating won’t cut it in a game of this magnitude.
Grade: C+
Runningbacks
The Laurence Maroney trade was assuredly meant to give the Patriots’ other backs more [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The New England Patriots came out on fire in their opening week victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Now they have a chance to send a statement to the rest of the AFC East, that statement being that the division runs through them and to be the champions you have to beat the champions.
There was a lot of hype surrounding the New York Jets this offseason, with all their roster additions, their appearance on HBO’s Hard Knocks, and their bold claims of winning the Super Bowl.
Some anointed them champions, but after their offense’s futile performance in Week 1 against the Ravens, the panic button may have already be hit.
They Patriots need to jump on the Jets while they are down, asserting their dominance. There are some key things that the team needs to do in order to make sure that happens.
The Patriots need to prove they can win on the road
Last year in the regular season the Patriots were unbeatable at home going 8-0, however they were a pathetic 2-6 on the road.
The Jets did a poor job of defending their new turf last weekend, and they have to be up for the Patriot game or else [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Possibly the biggest news in the NFL recently has been that the 2014 Super Bowl will be played at New Meadowlands Stadium, the brand-new, $1.6 billion home of the New York Giants and Jets.
Not only did it make headlines because it will be played in the New York media market for the first time (the stadium is actually in East Rutherford, NJ), it also marks the first time the Super Bowl will be played outdoors in a cold weather city.
With New York having such a strong sports rivalry with Boston, Patriots fans were left saying, “Why not Gillette?”
While many—even Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft himself—agree that a Super Bowl in New York would be a special event, the Bostonians believe that if it’s successful they should be able to host it as well.
Quite frankly, though, it just is not a realistic expectation.
The first problem is the sheer size of the stadiums. Gillette has a large capacity of 68,756. However, the New Meadowlands seats nearly 14,000 more people. That results in a higher sold out crowd which means more money for the league.
As new stadiums are being built, more seats are being put in. Cowboys Stadium, which [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Last season the two top teams in the AFC East were the division champion New England Patriots and the New York Jets.
In the playoffs the Patriots burned out fast, getting blown apart at home by the Baltimore Ravens. Meanwhile the wild card Jets surprised everyone by making it to the AFC Championship game before bowing out to the Indianapolis Colts.
The two teams seem to continue to be going about their business differently in the offseason.
The Jets, feeling they are on the brink of the Super Bowl have made a splash and added a few talented players to the mix in an effort to push them over the edge.
Meanwhile the Patriots, as per usual, have not gone out and paid big bucks for any free agents and have sat mostly quiet just bringing back their own players that were out of contract.
Two distinctly different styles, but which is the right way to go about business?
The Jets, who also made a big in-season trade acquiring wide receiver Braylon Edwards, brought in two very sexy names in the NFL: cornerback Antonio Cromartie and running back LaDanian Tomlinson.
Cromartie came to the Jets by trade for a conditional third round [...]

By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
With the Pat’s out and four teams left, who would Pats fans pick to win the Superbowl?
Jets: Absolutely not. No way can Pats fans root for a conference rival. And I even would go as far to say no way should a Pats fan root for any New York team. We should be in the AFC Championship, not them. They were just a wildcard team, we won the division. Not to speak for anyone but myself, but I HATE the Jets. Besides they have a rookie quarterback who’s bound to choke eventually.
Vikings: Some people love Brett Farve. I do not. I hated him last year (see above) when he played for the Jets and helped knock us out of playoffs. And now, I just wish he would retire already. I was pretty annoyed this summer when he was, wasn’t, was, wasn’t retiring. Then, the stunt he pulled about a month ago when Coach Childress wanted to take Brett out of the game to prevent injury (he is an old man, after-all) when the Vikings had already clinched their division, and Farve flat out refused, made me like him even less. I don’t care how old you [...]

By: Scott Jackson, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The Patriots made the Jets look like turkeys Sunday with a 31-14 win at home.  And afterwords I heard Rex Ryan will be crying on Oprah’s show sometime soon.
Quarterbacks:
Tom Brady tied a franchise record with his fifth straight 300 yard game.  Looked comfortable in the pocket all game, even against heavy blitzes in the second half.  Drove the dagger into the Jets early with three straight scores after New England jumped to a 7-0 lead courtesy of Leigh Bodden.  My Grade: A
Runningbacks:
Did you know Laurence Maroney has scored six touchdowns in the last five games?  He also coughed up the ball for the second game in the row.  Kevin Faulk was reliable as usual in passing situations.  My Grade: C+
Receivers/Tight Ends:
If ever a wide-out were considered an MVP candidate, it would have to be Wes Welker, wouldn’t it?  The Pats struggled earlier this year against without #83.  But Sunday he caught 15 passes for 192 yards.  Randy Moss was again nearly shutdown by Daryle Revis, but this time he came up with key touchdown grab.  Converted QBs Isaiah Stanback and Julian Edelman continue to show development at the receiver spot.  The tight ends weren’t targets [...]

By: Scott Jackson, YawkeyTalkies Correspondent
The Patriots hadn’t lost In New Jersey since Bill Clinton was President back in September of 2000.  But on Sunday the Jets proved they can talk the talk and walk the walk, winning 16-9.  Now get out your pens and paper because it’s time for the  weekly Patriots report card.
Quarterback:
In one of his worst games, Tom Brady threw for 216 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.  But you can’t give him all the blame.  The line was porous, and Brady was missing his go-to receiver in Wes Welker.  Still, you’d expect more from a two-time Super Bowl MVP. 
My grade: D+
Runningbacks:
The team carried the ball 19 times for 81 yards.  Fred Taylor averaged over 5.8 yards per carry, but only got the ball 8 times.  Laurence Maroney did a good job of blitz pickup.  More rushes might have stopped the Jets pressure, or at least given Brady a chance to recover from all the hits.  
My Grade: B+
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:
Wes Welker didn’t play, but fans may have mistaken rookie Julian Edelman for him.  Playing in the slot for Welker, the converted college QB grabbed 8 catches for 98 yards.  But he was the one bright spot [...]