The Jets aren’t playing for second anymore.
The acquisition of Brett Favre was expected to make the Jets playoff contenders, but still second fiddle to Tom Brady and the Patriots in the AFC East. On Sunday that changed when Brady went down with a season-ending left knee injury and little-used Matt Cassel stepped into his awfully large cleats, leading the Patriots to a 17-10 win over the Chiefs.
Cassel’s first start since high school, he was third string at USC behind Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, will come this Sunday at the Meadowlands when Gang Green will have a chance to prove they are finally the ones to beat in the AFC East.
“They do have a phenomenal staff and have been through adversity before,” former Raiders quarterback and CBS analyst Rich Gannon said of the Patriots. “They should be able to rally the troops and they still have a solid team, but it really makes that race interesting. Now with the addition of Brett Favre this is not only an interesting game, but that is one of the great stories in the NFL.”
If you think the Jets will be throwing a pity party the three-time Super Bowl champs and the reigning MVP, think again.
“Your human side you never want to see anyone get hurt, but let’s be honest if you are Eric Mangini or the Jets defense you have to be excited,” Gannon said. “They lost not only their best player, but a very pivotal player in the whole scheme of things.
“They just lost the rudder off their ship, whether or not they can steer back on course we will have to see. The waters are going to be a lot choppier without that guy. I can promise you that.”
Gannon was scratching his head over the Jets trading for Favre, but his performance in the 20-14 win in Miami combined with Brady’s injury has him convinced it was the right move.
“When you don’t have the history in a system or a background with the players, it slows you down,” Gannon said.
“And you can fall three or steps behind, I thought that would be a problem particularly in the first month of the season. But they probably pared down the playbook, and he was impressive. Now each week he is going to get more comfortable. Everything is going to start coming around more.”
But Gannon warns that even with Cassel behind center, the Patriots still possess plenty of weapons on both sides of the ball.
“The Patriots will be solid on defense, and they will be smart with Cassel,” he said. “But you don’t have Randy Moss and Wes Welker out there and not use them. They will have plenty of opportunities to make big plays.”
Patriots at Jets
Sunday – 4:15 P.M. CBS