NFL

Jets need to think fast facing Brady

Preparing to handle the Patriots’ offensive tempo is not easy, according to Jets coach Rex Ryan. Tom Brady & Co. simply play too fast. So, if you want to try to duplicate that in practice, good luck.

“There’s really no simulating New England’s speed. You can do it on scout team, you can try, you can do this, you can do that,” Ryan said Tuesday. “It’s just… it’s different. It really is.”

Thursday night, Ryan’s Jets head to Foxborough to battle Brady, Bill Belichick and the vaunted Patriots, a team that indeed plays fast and furiously. No team in the NFL ran more plays than the Patriots last season. No team in the NFL ran more plays than the Patriots in Week 1.

That includes Chip Kelly’s Eagles. Philadelphia ran 77 plays Monday night in Washington. That’s nice. The Patriots — who struggled to beat the Bills — ran 89.

“I know they talk about the Eagles being fast or whatever,” Ryan said. “Well, if anybody’s faster than New England, I certainly haven’t seen it, and I’ve been around football a long time.”

The number of plays a team runs can be slightly deceptive in terms of pure tempo because how many plays you run is dependent on how good your offense is. A good offense will keep drives going and have more plays. The Patriots scored 34.8 points per game last season, the most in the NFL.

Jets defensive tackle Mo Wilkerson said New England is “one of” the NFL’s fastest teams to play against. Tight end Kellen Winslow, who played one game for the Patriots last year, said New England’s tempo isn’t reckless, either. Rather, it’s both brisk and measured.

“I would say it’s fast-paced but it’s patient,” Winslow said. “It’s not rushed. [Brady’s] not rushing. It’s very efficient and he’s patient with it.”

Ryan did point out the Jets “are familiar with” the tempo, and there are only two rookie starters on defense in cornerback Dee Milliner and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson. Some Jet defenders — Wilkerson, Antonio Cromartie, David Harris, Calvin Pace — have extensive experience facing New England.

“We played against them last year. We got three-and-outs,” Wilkerson said. “So long as we do that, we’re going to have no problem with the up-tempo.”

It will also help if the Jets can pressure Brady defensively.

“As long as we get to Brady, we’ll be fine,” Wilkerson said. “That’s the key to their offense. As long as we take care of him, we’ll be good.”

“[Getting to Brady is] our job — especially mine,” said linebacker Antwan Barnes, who was part of the Ravens defense that beat up the Patriots, 33-14, in the 2009 playoffs. “My job is to get after him and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Richardson said he “most definitely” sees things in the Patriots’ protections the Jets can exploit, but added, “Not too much. They don’t make mistakes.”

They do score plenty of points, however. And they do run plenty of plays. Said Richardson, “We can’t let [Brady] control the game like he usually does.”

Additional reporting by Mark Cannizzaro