NEW YORK JETS VISIT NEW ENGLAND IN AFC EAST CLASH
For the third consecutive season, the Foxboro meeting of the AFC Eastern Division-rival New York Jets and New England Patriots takes place in prime time – tonight on ABC’s NFL Monday Night Football. The last two such games were decided by a total of 13 points, with each club winning once.
These division rivals are quite familiar with each other. Among the participants with ties to both clubs are Jets head coach BILL PARCELLS, who coached the Patriots to two playoff berths and to Super Bowl XXXI in four seasons with New England (1993-96). In addition, New York running back CURTIS MARTIN rushed for 3,799 yards and 32 touchdowns in three seasons with New England (1995-97). Jets starting quarterback RAY LUCAS played for the Patriots in 1996.
New England head coach PETE CARROLL served as the Jets’ defensive coordinator from 1990-93 and was the club’s head coach in 1994. Also, Patriots defensive line coach RAY HAMILTON coached with the Jets in 1995-96.
Thus, an interesting divisional clash will have an abundance of story lines on a national stage.
"Monday night is a special night and always has been," says Carroll. "It’s a tradition that we’ve grown up with and you are the only teams playing. It’s a tremendous opportunity to play in front of your peers and to coach in front of your peers. So it’s always been a fun event."
Tonight's game features the AFC’s top-rated passer (New England’s DREW BLEDSOE) and rusher (New York’s Martin, tied), and two standouts from the wide receiver class of ’96 (TERRY GLENN of New England and KEYSHAWN JOHNSON of New York).
Despite the disparity in team records – the Patriots are 6-2 while the Jets are 2-6 – Carroll expects a challenging game.
"The Jets look tough," he said. "They’ve had a chance to win every game. They’ve been right there at the end of it and they’re physical. The defense causes problems and the running game has been emphasized.
"I’m sure that with this game and with the second half starting, they’re setting their sights on turning things around. There are too many veteran leaders on that team not to be in that mode. That all adds up to more than a formidable opponent for us. We’ll have our hands full with these guys."
Following are interesting notes on the Jets-Patriots Monday-night matchup: