Battle for AFC EAST Crown

When the New England Patriots and New York Jets get together you know it is going to be a rock fight. Simply put, the two teams would like nothing better than to beat the pants off their opposition. This time around the rivalry has a little more at stake as both teams stand at 6-3, tied atop a tight AFC East. In a league when every game is tough, being able to get a game in hand on a division opponent is crucial. That is what each team will strive for tonight as they kick off at 8:15 in Foxboro.

The last time these two met was week two in New York. Both were vastly different teams, both with serious question marks at several positions. The most notable question mark was at the quarterback position. It was the first game of the Matt Cassel era for New England. He was efficient in his first game as starter, but certainly far from impressive. Now some eight weeks later Cassel has grown comfterble with the offense and the pressure that goes a long with being a starting quarterback in the NFL. Cassel was not the only quarterback under question in that week two meeting. It was just the second game of the Bret Favre era for New York. Like Cassel, he too was still getting acclimated with a new offense. Unlike Cassel, however, Favre brought with him his track record and winning reputation greater than any other quarterback in the NFL. Favre, however, was less than impressive in that week two match-up, but once again, like Cassel has grown much more comfortable under center in the weeks since and now leads one of the more explosive offenses in the AFC. The Jets are averaging 32.1 points per game since that week two loss, and their 255 points lead the AFC.

While the quarterback position certainly will be an important one in tonight's match-up, perhaps the biggest difference maker for each team could be the running game. For the Jets it will be Thomas Jones and his AFC leading 750 rushing yards. Jones has been unstoppable as of late. He racked up 149 rushing yards including three touchdowns in last week's showdown with the St.Louis Rams. His counterpart this week will be BenJarvus Green-Ellis who has gone from the practice squad (6th) on the New England depth chart all the way to #1 thanks to injuries to pretty much every player to line up in the Patriots backfield this season. Once again the Pats have found a diamond in the ruff in Green-Ellis who last week rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown in New England's victory over the Buffalo Bills.

By the way, did I mention that these two teams hate eachother? Countless numbers of personnel have jumped ship from one side to the other over the years. Whether it be stealing a coach from the other side (Pats with Belichick, Jets with Mangini) or simply other players (the Jets signed former Patriots CB Ty Law this week), no two teams in the NFL want to beat eachother more. And don't forget the SpyGate saga that was created last year, which all began when Jets coach Eric Mangini accused the Patriots of stealing signal calls. It resulted in months of controversy and has to have left a sour taste in the mouths of Patriots coaches and players alike.

Tonight will certainly be a game to watch. After this game one team will have sole possession of first place in the AFC East for the first time in weeks. Who will it be? In just a few hours we will find out...