Bill Belichick vs. Rex Ryan. Tom Brady vs. Mark Sanchez. Boston vs. New York. The New York Jets and New England Patriots always provide a number of storylines and this year is no different. The Patriots (3-1) will look to avenge their playoff loss from January while the Jets (2-2) may be facing an early crossroad in their season.

The Patriots have been throwing the ball all over the field this season and last week they showed their best running game to date. The defense has had mixed results as teams have moved the ball easily, but the Patriots defenders continue to make big plays at key times.

The Jets come into the game with a two game losing streak and they need a win to stay in the race in the AFC East. The offense looked helpless last week, but head coach Rex Ryan has a way of motivating the team just as they are about to be written off. They will bring their best effort into this division battle.

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1) Ground and Pound or Air it Out?

Which Jets team will show up on Sunday? They have seemingly abandoned the philosophy that brought them to two straight AFC Championship games. Through four weeks, the Jets have dropped back to pass 164 times while running it only 92 times. When they have run the ball, they are averaging only 3.0 yards/carry. RB Shonn Greene (-4.2) has not been able to find any running room behind a weak offensive line. This is a far cry from the “ground and pound” attack that Rex Ryan brought to New York in 2009. They have put all their faith in the “Sanchize,” QB Mark Sanchez.

The 2011 season has followed the general flow of Sanchez’ career path. He mixes in just enough good throws that you expect him to take the next step to become an above average QB. Then he makes a throw like the one he threw to right into the hands of CB Ladarius Webb last week. Sanchez was terrible against the Ravens (-5.9). While he was miserable when pressured (0 for 8, 1 INT), perhaps more alarming is how he fared with time in the pocket (11 for 27, 119 yards, 54.4 NFL QB Rating).

In the last year’s Week 13 matchup with the Patriots, the Jets came out running the spread no huddle with Sanchez. He looked out of his element as the focal point of the offense, much like he has struggled as the main man this year. If Rex Ryan is true to his word, the Jets will be getting back to their roots as a run first football team.

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2) Patriots Passing Attack vs. Rex Ryan

Always a fun chess match, Ryan had the last laugh this past January in the playoff game. Ryan is generally heralded for his creative blitzes, but it was exceptional disguise in coverage that held QB Tom Brady in check during that game. In their first two meetings last year, the Jets blitzed 58% of the time, while in the playoff game they blitzed 30% of the time. Brady was pressured on only nine of his 50 dropbacks, but he was still unable to find open receivers as the Jets crowded the middle of the field with extra zone defenders.

The playoff strategy worked, but Brady and the Patriots are as good as any team at making adjustments. So far this year, Brady has had success whether blitzed (128.2 NFL QB Rating) or not blitzed (105.8 NFL QB Rating), so Ryan will have to mix it up to be successful.

In this matchup, the Jets will have to find a way to slow down our top rated WR Wes Welker (+13.7). The obvious answer is to assign CB Darrelle Revis (+6.1) to Welker, but he has only lined up over the slot on 20 snaps all season. Still, it may be worth moving Revis Island to the slot in order to take away Brady’s favorite target.

3) Jets Offensive Line vs. Patriots Defensive Line

The Jets offensive line has been downright awful. While they have been average in pass protection (16^th in Pass Blocking Efficiency at 87.2), their run blocking has been particularly poor. Not one of their linemen has graded positively while run blocking, except of course OC Nick Mangold who has been injured since Week 2. Mangold’s replacement, Colin Baxter (-9.4), has had well publicized struggles and he was benched in last week’s game. It’s not all Baxter, though, as OGs Matt Slauson (-4.2) and Brandon Moore (-3.7) and RT Wayne Hunter (-11.3) all deserve blame for the non-existent running game. The Jets are hoping Mangold is healthy enough to play this week.

The Patriots defensive line needs to find a way to put more pressure on the QB. They came out firing in Week 1 by getting 27 pressures against the Dolphins (our lowest rated pass blocking offensive line). They have followed that up by getting only 24 pressures in the next three games. The line has been strong against the run, but the pass rush needs to get better to take the pressure off the secondary. Look for defensive ends Andre Carter (+3.1 Pass Rush) and Mark Anderson (+2.8 pass Rush) to try and take advantage of RT Hunter’s inability to stop the speed rush.

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