The Patriots got outplayed by the trash talking Jets yesterday, plain and simple.  Tom Brady’s numbers look pretty good as he completed 29 of 45 passes for 299 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  He piled up a lot of numbers late in the game as he looked a tad off for the first three quarters in this game.  Danny Woodhead led the way on the ground for the Patriots in this game with 46 yards rushing on 14 carries (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 52 yards (8.7 avg).  BenJarvus Green-Ellis pitched in with 43 yards rushing on 9 carries (4.8 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 11 yards (5.5 avg).  WRs Wes Welker (7 rec, 57 yards) and Deion Branch (5 rec, 59 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Patriots yesterday but they each dropped passes that hit both of their hands in this game.  TEs Rob Gronkowski (4 rec, 65 yards) and Alge Crumpler (3 rec, 39 yards, TD) also helped out big time in this game.  Crumpler also made  a huge play saving a TD in the first quarter when he ran down LB David Harris after a pickoff.  The Patriots finished up with 113 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 45 passes for 259 yards as they held onto the ball for 34:56.

LB Jared Mayo (6 tackles) and NT Vince Wilfork (5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Patriots’ D in this game.  The Jets finished up with 120 yards rushing on 29 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 25 passes for 194 yards.  The Patriots season ends with a bitter thud as the Jets talked trash all week and they then backed it up.

The New England Patriots are chomping at the bit for Sunday afternoon in Foxboro.  The Jets keep running their mouths trying to build up their confidence while the Patriots are just fuming inside.  The Patriots punished the Jets 45-3 on December 6th in Foxboro which is where the game will be played this weekend.  The Jets won the first meeting between these two teams 28-14 in New Jersey on September 19th which is why they likely have confidence coming into this game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Patriots have the ball:  Tom Brady is going to come out throwing the ball against the Jets this weekend.  Brady threw for 326 yards with 4 TD passes against the Jets the last time these teams met.  Brady will spread the ball around in this game throwing it to Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Brandon Tate, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Danny Woodhead.  That will make it downright impossible for the Jets to key on anyone.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead gave the Jets’ D all kinds of issues in the last meeting so look for the Patriots to get the ball in their hands both running the ball and catching passes.

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets are going to come out running in this game so Jerod Mayo & Company are going to have to take the fight to LaDainian Tomlinson & Shonn Greene.  If the Patriots can stop the Jets’ running game and force Mark Sanchez to throw the ball with his ailing right shoulder, the Patriots are going to win this game.  WRs Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes, Jerricho Cotchery and TE Dustin Keller are going to make some plays but so are the CBs and safeties of the Patriots.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 30, JETS 23

The Patriots have placed 28-year old DE Mike Wright on I.R., ending his season due to a concussion.  This is not good news for the Patriots as Wright was the team’s leader in sacks this year.  Wright played in 10 games for the Patriots this year and he had 14 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  Wright has now played in 80 games in his first six years with the Patriots and he has 133 tackles, 14.5 sacks, 3 passes defensed and 4 forced fumbles.  This will hurt the Patriots a bit as Wright was pretty much the best pass rusher on the team.

The Patriots have signed 29-year old DT Atiyyah Ellison.  Ellison played in 15 games last season for the Jaguars and he had 16 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 sack.  Eillison gives the Patriots another big body depth wise for the playoffs but don’t expect any miracles out of him because he’s not much of a player.

33-year old QB Tom Brady is showing no signs of slowing down as he has been incredible this year.  Brady played in all 16 games for the Patriots and he completed 342 of 492 (65.9%) for 3,900 yards with 36 TD passes and 4 INTs (111.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 31 times for 30 yards (1.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Brady has now played in 145 games in his first 11 years with the Patriots and he completed 2,996 of 4,710 passes (63.6%) for 34,744 yards with 261 TD passes and 103 INTs (95.2 QB Rating).  Brady has also carried the ball 336 times for 607 yards (1.8 ypc) with 7 TD runs in his career.  He is on the way to the Hall of Fame five years after he retires.  The goal for Brady now is winning the Super Bowl.

25-year old Brian Hoyer was decent in limited playing time.  Hoyer played in 5 games for the Patriots this season and he completed 7 of 15 passes (46.7%) for 122 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (69.3 QB Rating).  Hoyer also carried the ball 10 times for -8 yards (-0.8 ypc) this season.  Hoyer has now played in 10 games in his first two years with the Patriots and he has completed 26 of 42 passes (61.9%) for 264 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (77.9 QB Rating).  Hoyer has also carried the ball 20 times for 17 yards (0.9 ypc) with 1 TD run so far in his career. 

VERDICT:  Tom Brady is still awesome.  The Patriots might draft a QB late in the draft next April to compete with Hoyer for the backup job in 2011 or maybe they won’t if they are comfortable with him.

The Patriots have suspended 23-year old rookie DE/DT Brandon Deaderick for a violation of team policy.  No word yet on how long the suspension is for.  Deaderick played in 10 games (4 starts) for the Patriots this year and he had 10 tackles and 2 sacks.  He was a 7th round pick out of Alabama last April.  The Patriots are looking for a replacement for Deaderick in free agency.

UPDATE:  (1/8/2011) – The Patriots have lifted Deadrick’s suspension after placing Mike Wright on I.R.

The Patriots have placed 24-year old DT Ron Brace on the  Injured Reserve List with an elbow injury.  Brace played in 9 games (2 starts) for the Patriots this year and he had 8 tackles.  Brace has now played in 22 games (7 starts) in his first two years with the Patriots and he has 31 tackles.  The Patriots just couldn’t wait for Brace to get healthy any longer with the playoffs starting.

The Patriots took it to the Dolphins yesterday in every facet of the game.  They did it without using many starters for the whole game, which was very, very impressive.  Tom Brady got his work in completing 10 of 16 passes for 199 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs before taking a seat on the sidelines in the third quarter.  Brian Hoyer finished strong by completing 7 of 13 passes for 122 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis led the way on the ground for the Patriots in this game with 20 carries for 80 yards (4.0 ypc) with a TD run.  Fred Taylor was taken out of mothballs for this game and he rushed for 35 yards on 10 carries (3.5  ypc).  Danny Woodhead only carried the ball 2 times for 19 yards (9.5 ypc) in this game before leaving it with a concussion.  TE Rob Gronkowski led the way in the passing game for the Patriots yesterday with 6 grabs for 102 yards (17.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WR Brandon Tate (2 rec, 82 yards, TD) and TE Alge Crumpler (1 rec, 10 yards, TD) also had solid games for the Patriots.  WR Julian Edelman was on fire yesterday for the Patriots as he caught 3 passes for 72 yards (24.0 avg) and he also carried the ball 1 time for 13 yards.  Edelman also returned a punt 94 yards for a TD yesterday.  The Patriots finished up with 181 yards rushing on 45 carries (4.0 ypc) and they have also completed 17 of 29 passes for 321 yards as they had the ball for 36:19.

The defense was swarming the Dolphins all day long.  LBs Rob Ninkovich (6 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 3 QB hits and 1 fumble recovery) and Jared Mayo (6 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 2 QB hits) led the way for the Patriots in this game.  NT Vince Wilfork (3 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits) and CB Devin McCourty (interception) also had good games for the Patriots yesterday.  The Dolphins could only muster 44 yards rushing on 16 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 37 passes for 206 yards.  The Patriots finish with a 14-2 record on the season which earns they the AFC Title and home field advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs.