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Coming soon

Over the next few hours, we'll be adding the following material to the projo.com/patriots page:

-- Game story by Shalise Manza Young
-- Game analysis by Joe McDonald
-- Feature story by Shalise Manza Young
-- Key play of the game by Joe McDonald
-- Talking points by Shalise Manza Young
-- Squib kicks by Art Martone

Posted by Art  at 7:51 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

End of game stats

-- The Patriots wound up with 147 yards rushing, on the heels of a 183-yard performance against the Bills in the opener.

-- Seven different players caught passes from Tom Brady, six of them wide receivers and tight ends. Troy Brown led the way with 4 receptions for 51 yards.

-- The Patriots converted three third-down plays on their final, game-clinching drives.

-- In his first game action of the year (counting the exhibition games), Tedy Bruschi made six tackles, tying for third on the Patriots. Ty Warren led the way with 11 tackles, followed by Eugene Wilson with 7 and Bruschi, Jarvis Green and Mike Vrabel with 6. Bruschi also was given credit for the game-ending interception.

Posted by Art  at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Third-quarter stats

-- The Patriot defense has not held the Jets to a three-and-out series all afternoon. New York has recorded at least one first down in every offensive series.

-- The Jets more than doubled their number of total yards in the third quarter, going from 129 yards at halftime to 276 at the end of the third.

-- Tom Brady completed only 5 of 17 pass attempts in the second and third quarters, including an interception that the Jets -- with an 81-yard drive -- turned into a touchdown.

Posted by Art  at 6:22 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Run it? Yeah right

When the Pats got the ball for that final drive of the first half with just over a minute left on the clock, a colleague sitting next to me wondered aloud if New England would just run out the clock and go into halftime.

Not a chance, I said.

After it became clear that there is bad blood between Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini -- one New York Post story this week said that Mangini was locked out of Gillette when he returned from his interview with the Jets -- it also became clear that Belichick would want to win this game by as many points possible.

Other first-half thoughts/observations:

*New England has given a 4-3 look defensively on a number of plays

*Tedy Bruschi did not play in the first quarter, but was on the field for New York's first offensive series, calling the plays in the huddle as he always does. He is wearing a black cast on his right wrist

*After Chad Jackson caught his first career touchdown pass, Ben Watson ran over to the officials and grab the ball to give to his teammate as a momento

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Halftime stats

AP photo
Eugene Wilson and Ellis Hobbs break up a pass intended for the Jets' Laveranues Coles. Because of coverage like this, the New York offense went nowhere in the first two quarters of play.

-- The Patriots had a nearly 2-to-1 edge in total yards (256-129) in the first half.

-- The Pats rushed for 82 yards in the first half (Corey Dillon 11-45, Laurence Moroney 8-34, Kevin Faulk 1-3).

-- Josh Miller averaged 52.7 yards on three punts.

-- The Jets were able to pin the Patriots deep in their own territory for most of the day; four of the Pats' six drives started inside the New England 20 (the 18, 11, 12 and 9). Unfortunately for New York, the Patriots put together scoring drives of 87 (touchdown) and 82 (field goal) yards, and the one time the Jets gave the Pats good field position -- on the poor punt that put the ball on the 50 with 1:01 left -- New England scored in only five plays.

-- Chad Jackson scored his first NFL touchdown when he caught a 13-yard scoring pass from Tom Brady with 20 seconds left in the second quarter.

Posted by Art  at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

First-quarter stats

-- The Patriots had eight first downs in the first quarter to the Jets' two, and controlled the ball for 9:45 of the 15 minutes.

-- Corey Dillon and Laurence Moroney rushed for 39 yards, putting the Pats on pace for a 156-yard afternoon on the ground.

-- Tom Brady completed 5 of 6 passes for 116 yards.

Posted by Art  at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Just before the game

American Idol fans, rejoice. Everyone's favorite Chicken Little look-alike, Kevin Covais, is singing the National Anthem. Dozens of servicemen and women are holding a giant American flag and two large Army helicopters just flew over the stadium. The press box here is so high over the field that I could see the faces of the men inside one of the helicopters.

The Pats are about to run onto the field; Stephen Gostkowski is still practicing field goals. The offensive starters ran out separately, though I don't think they were announced by name. The team was booed by the fans.

We'll have more later, likely at halftime.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Jets inactives

For New York:

QB Kellen Clemens (3QB), WR Tim Dwight, RB Cedric Houston, LB Anthony Schlegel, G Pete Kendall, C Trey Teague, DT CJ Mosley, DE/LB Trevor Johnson.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Good news for Tedy fans

Hey again --

The game inactives were just announced, and Tedy Bruschi is not among them, nor is Chad Jackson or Doug Gabriel.

Those who are inactive: safety Artrell Hawkins, tight end Garrett Mills, linebacker Pierre Woods, guard Gene Mruczkowski, tackle Nick Kaczur, wide receiver Jonathan Smith, defensive lineman LeKevin Smith and defensive lineman Johnathan Sullivan.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Yippee.

They have the wireless up and running. The New Jersey Sports & Entertainment Authority has now come into the 21st century.

Congrats.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Victory!

I have commandeered a phone line of my own (insert sinister but feminine laugh here) and will be blogging to my little heart's content.

A couple of Jets players have come onto the field, and Bill Belichick is just now walking onto the turf with his two sons. Stephen, the older son, has his right arm in a sling.

We'll be back after some lunch.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Warming up

Hey all --

Okay, my second trip to Giants Stadium/The Meadowlands and I've already discovered that things are slightly better than when I was here two weeks ago, but they still haven't gotten things down quite yet. There's wireless internet access now, but here's the problem: no one can access the internet with it. I can use the FTP server to send my stories, which will make my (favorite) boss Art happy, but I still had to use dial-up to get onto the blog.

This is the media capital of the world? I get wireless at PC's Schneider Arena...

But anyway, Lonie Paxton was the first player on the field, practicing long snaps to assistant strength coach Harold Nash. Rosevelt Colvin followed, and soon Doug Gabriel and Chad Jackson were on the field, testing their tender hammies. Tom Brady came out in shorts and a t-shirt and started throwing the ball to Laurence Maroney and Jackson.

None of the Jets players have taken the field yet, though their flag guys have -- the quartet of men that sprint all over the field with giant Jets flags.

We'll try to post more as game time gets closer.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments 0