NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS @ NEW YORK JETS 
Vegas Line: Patriots + 2.5
Rob’s Line: Patriots + 0.5
This is what the NFL is all about. It’s Sunday night, it’s primetime, it’s the second best rivalry in the league and you can bet on Tom Brady with points on his side! Only the second best rivalry? You got it. Nothing right now beats the Ravens/Steelers and after their classic last Sunday night, well, I hope it never ends.
This is a fascinating contest and if you’re happy to wait around for it, you have ice in your veins. This is magical stuff that I want right here, right now. OK, sadly, that can’t happen, but you just know the wait will be worthwhile. So, why are we able to bet on Tom Brady and Bill Belichick plus some points? What I will say here is that I believe Vegas has overreacted to the so called Patriots demise. With the aforementioned two geniuses guiding this team, they can beat anybody. This is not about the ‘Any Given Sunday’ mantra, this is about two first ballot Hall of Famers who happen to have lost two in a row. That said, if you look at New England’s recent schedule, they could also have lost at home to the Cowboys four weeks ago; that’s why Vegas are giving them almost a field goal start.
So, to the Jets…they practically put the fear of Lombardi into Buffalo last Sunday and gained a fabulous road win, particularly against a division rival and that victory helped create a three-way tie atop the AFC East. They’re on a three game winning streak, one that I didn’t see coming at all and last week was a bolt out of the blue. Looking to avenge the 30-21 reversal in New England in Week 5 will have the rabid home crowd baying for blood, but that’s the least of Brady’s fears as he’s played in this atmosphere a ton of times.
The Jets, aided by cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie (7 INTs between them through eight games) have the league’s sixth ranked pass defense and you have to assume that Revis will be assigned the task of covering anywhere Wes Welker cares to line up, but the Patriots show a lot of two tight end sets, utilising both Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez to maximum effect and the red zone threat both players present is frightening. However, like I say, the Jets defend well through the air so a key battle will be played out once Brady puts his team within scoring range.
The curious fact about the Jets and considering that they’re actually giving up points to the Patriots is that offensively they rank 25th in rushing and 22nd in passing. If we had to not bother reading the above, would that stat alone give you confidence against Brady and Belichick? New England stack up well against the run, but are last in the league against the pass and Jets QB Mark Sanchez does have some nice weapons at his disposal. However, that aforementioned Jets offensive ranking leaves me uneasy and I’m even more uneasy about asking the Jets to give up points this week.
I take the Patriots plus 2.5. Yes…please.
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