Black- and Whitelist » OReilly both had assists to extend p

(SportsNetwork.com) - If you focus on the math, its nearly a why bother? proposition. The New England Patriots have been held to fewer than 21 points exactly twice in 14 games this season. Meanwhile, the New York Jets average just 16.4 points, and have been held to 20 or fewer to 10 times. So when an 11-win New England team - fresh off clinching its 12th AFC East title in 14 seasons - heads to MetLife Stadium to meet a three-win New York team, its understandable that nearly everyone but Jets coach Rex Ryan considers a Patriots victory a done deal. Its not hard for me to do, Ryan said. Im a confident person, and I think Im a decent football coach and I think people who know the game realize that. So, I dont worry about it. Ryan, by most accounts, is playing out the string of a six-year tenure thats likely to end shortly after the Week 17 finale in Miami. But he has managed to keep his team relevant in some areas, particularly the run game, where New York trails only Seattle with a 166.6-yard weekly ground average. The Jets gashed New England for 218 rush yards in a two-point loss in Foxborough in Week 7, and their per-carry average of 4.74 yards is third in the league behind the Seahawks and Green Bay. And, then, well ... theres Geno Smith. The second-year quarterback could also be in the final days of an underwhelming run as starter. New York is second-to-last in the league with a weekly passing average of 168.9 yards, and Smith has thrown two touchdown passes and two interceptions in three games since regaining the starting role from Michael Vick, though his passer rating in those games is a pedestrian 78.2. It wont help Sunday that his new favorite target - in-season trade acquisition Percy Harvin - is still questionable with the sprained left ankle he suffered two weeks ago at Minnesota. He played in last weeks 16-11 win at Tennessee, but had no catches and managed a single run for 10 yards. If he plays, hes like to get a dose of New England cornerback Darrelle Revis, who returns to New York for the second time - and first with the Patriots - since he was traded prior to the 2013 season. Ill probably just approach it like I did when I played with Tampa last year, Revis said. Just treat it like another game. Revis and the Patriots defense have been on their best behavior, regardless of opponent, for the better part of 10 weeks since a 41-14 loss to Kansas City in late September. In fact, New England has held foes to an average of 19 points since that loss, going 9-1 while defeating high-end opposition like Indianapolis (42-20 win) and Denver (43-21 win), and losing close to Green Bay (26-21). The Colts, Broncos and Packers are three of the top five scoring offenses in the NFL. We have to play our best football to win, defensive end Chandler Jones said. I truly believe that. Two more victories - against the Jets, then at home with Buffalo in Week 17 - would give the Patriots home-field advantage for the length of their stay in the AFC playoffs. And if New England wins and Denver loses at Cincinnati on Monday night, the top seed will be clinched prior to next week. Four of the last five games between the Patriots and Jets have been decided by three points or fewer, and New York won in overtime, 30-27, when New England traveled to New Jersey last season. I know the records are what they are, but we dont look at it like that, quarterback Tom Brady said. We lost going into the Meadowlands last year. Brady was held without a TD pass in that game - the only time thats happened to him in his last 25 regular-season starts. And in the last three games with the Jets, the Patriots have been limited to averages of 283.3 yards and 22.3 points. Theyve got a real good defense, Brady said. Were anticipating their best game. Of course, New England faced the seventh-ranked defense in the league last week against Miami and scored 41 points. That rout continued a stretch of seven games - since the initial meeting with the Jets this season - in which the Patriots have been at or near the top of the league with 36.4 points (first) and 419.9 yards (third) per game. The usual game-week angst between the teams was toned down Monday when Ryan suggested New Englands Bill Belichick was a first-ballot Hall of Fame coach when he retires, though Belichick ultimately responded in his typical low-key persona. Its a very flattering comment, but it sounds like Rex is just buttering me up, he said. I know theyre working hard, like they always do, to play us very competitively. Weve really had a hard time with them, including the last time we played them. Were going to have to do a good job getting ready to go here, stopping a team that runs the ball well, that stops the run well, thats got a lot of explosive guys in the kicking game, thats well-coached, thats though (and) that beat us down there last year. We have our work cut out for us. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Grounded and Pounded The fundamental task of establishing the edges and containing them will be front and center for the Patriots defense against the bruising Jets run game. The interior is manned by Vince Wilfork, Sealver Silga, Alan Branch and Donta Hightower, and if the outside holds up as well, it could force the game into the oft-scattershot hands of Smith at quarterback. Move Those Chains If they want to stay close with New England throughout 60 minutes, the Jets have to be successful in not only extending their own drives, but in getting the Patriots off the field on third downs. Shane Vereen was able to burn them too many times in the first game, while the defense was turning its attention to Rob Gronkowski. Jonas Gray and LeGarrette Blount also provide diverse options for Brady. OVERALL ANALYSIS Its the same old story for the Jets these days. If they come in prepared and revved-up, then play their best game with few or no mistakes, theyll have a chance to hang with the Patriots and maybe win at the end. But with any deviation from that script - read: mistakes by Smith, misfires by the defense - its got the chance to get ugly in a big way. Thats more likely the script here, in Rexs final Jersey appearance. Sports Network predicted outcome: Patriots 31, Jets 14 Buy Shoes Ireland .J. -- Rampage Jackson scowled, howled, then bellowed to the crowd: "Im back! Im back!" With rebuilt knees and a new promotion, Jackson might have one more act left in MMA. Shoes Ireland On Sale . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. https://www.shoesirelandsale.com/. The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Shoes Ireland Free Shipping . The San Antonio Spurs handled the conditions, and the team, and it sure helped when a suffering LeBron James couldnt make it to the finish. Cheap Shoes Ireland Online . On Friday night, after a long rain delay, he was scratched from his scheduled start.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Winnipeg Jets have hit their first bump in the road under head coach Paul Maurice. The playoff hopefuls look to snap their longest losing streak under Maurice as they visit the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night. Watch the Jets vs. Avalanche live on TSN Jets at 7:30pm ct/8:30pm et or listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1290 Winnipeg. The Jets hit the road for a game following a winless homestand (0-2-1) that has dropped them five points back of the Dallas Stars for the second wild card berth in the Western Conference. Winnipegs three-game slide is its longest since an 0-5 stretch from Jan. 2-11, a rut that led to the firing of coach Claude Noel the following day. The Jets won their first four games under Maurice and went 9-2-0 in his first 11 contests on the bench before this current 2-3-2 stretch. Winnipeg ended its residency with a 5-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators, getting goals from Bryan Little, Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom. However, Ondrej Pavelec did not make it past the second period in net, lifted after allowing five goals on 20 shots faced. Al Montoya halted all 12 shots he faced in relief. "Weve been doing everything we can to keep ourselves in games," said Byfuglien. "Theres going to be nights it goes the way it does and thats what happened tonight. We have to find a way, stick to our game plan and just move on." Pavelec should get a chance to rebound tonight and is 3-1-11 in his career versus the Avs with a 1.dddddddddddd96 goals against average. Colorado had a four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday with a 2-1 setback to the St. Louis Blues in a key Central Division showdown. The Avalanche are third in the division, three points back of the second-place Chicago Blackhawks but 11 up on the Minnesota Wild, who sit in fourth. Semyon Varlamov had 23 saves and P.A. Parenteau got the Avs on the board with a goal at the 8:57 mark of the third period. "We certainly had our chances to not only tie the game, but win it," said Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog. Matt Duchene and Ryan OReilly both had assists to extend point streaks. Duchene has three goals and eight assists over a career-high seven-game run, while OReilly has notched three goals and seven helpers over his past six games. Nathan MacKinnon, though, had the longest point streak by an 18-year-old in NHL history snapped at 13 consecutive games. Colorado also saw forward Paul Stastny exit the loss after just one shift due to a back injury. He is day-to-day. The Avalanche are likely to start Varlamov in the second contest of a four- game homestand tonight and he has gone 6-3-1 with a 2.56 GAA in 11 previous encounters with the Jets franchise. The Avs won their first two meetings with the Jets this season before a 2-1 setback in overtime at home on Dec. 29. Winnipeg has won six of its last eight trips to Colorado. ' ' '