FOXBOROUGH – In many ways, as today’s AFC wild-card row filled with juicy intrigue between the Jets and Patriots unfolds at Gillette Stadium, the two teams will feel as if they’re looking at each other in the mirror.
Because Patriots coach Bill Belichick mentored Jets coach Eric Mangini for some 10 years before Mangini bolted for New York last winter, the two teams are eerily similar in so many ways except for one – playoff experience and postseason accomplishments.
The Patriots enter this game having won three of the last five Super Bowls and have an astonishing 10-1 playoff record under Belichick since 2001.
By comparison, the Jets are postseason neophytes. Mangini, of course, is in his first season as an NFL head coach, though he was a big part of those three Super Bowls the Patriots won under Belichick and, subsequently has built this Jets team in the same mold as the selfless, team-first Patriots.
“We’re playing a team that’s lived in the playoffs for quite a few years,” Mangini said.
He should know; he lived there with them the five of the last six years.
“New England is a totally different team in the playoffs,” Laveranues Coles said. “That’s the last team you ever want to see in the playoffs because of the way they prepare and the experience they have.”
Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour said this of Mangini, his defensive coordinator in 2005: “He has brought a mentality there, where they play together and they play smart.” What does that sound like?
The foundation for the Patriots’ success this decade, that’s what.
One of the most delicious subplots to the game is how Belichick and Mangini, two fabulous tacticians, will act and counteract each other as the game unfurls.
“It’s a chess match; this week is almost more mental than physical,” Shaun Ellis said.
“You expect the unexpected,” Chad Pennington said, referring to Belichick’s legendary game plans and adjustments on the fly. “You expect something a little different. You expect a twist here and there. One thing you expect them to do is be very physical and be very tough. They finish. Another characteristic of their team and their defense is they capitalize on their opponent’s mistakes.”
That means Pennington, who threw a career-high 16 INTs this season and has lost some fumbles, too, is the linchpin to the Jets’ success today. An efficient, mistake-free game from Pennington will go a long way toward propelling the Jets into the next round.
The Patriots, though, are dangerous not only because of their playoff experience, but they’re surely ticked off about the Jets knocking them off 17-14 at home on Nov. 12. You can bet that result has not been forgotten in the New England locker room.
“Having won there [in November] is good for our confidence, but it’s not going to put any points on the board for us [today],” Chris Baker said.
Despite being 81/2-point underdogs, the Jets do, indeed, bring a certain level of confidence, a certain swagger to Foxborough today, and even though they’re essentially playing with house money in this postseason, Pennington and the veterans on the team have tried to implore the younger players not to take anything for granted.
“With our core veterans, we understand how fragile the playoff situation is for every professional player,” Pennington said. “Some professionals go through this league, play 10, 11, 12 years, and never reach the playoffs. When you have a chance to be in the playoffs, you want to take advantage of it. You don’t want to be one-and-done.”
