JET NOTES
One of the matchups everyone was watching closely in last night’s game against the Patriots was between Kevin Mawae and Ted Washington.
Washington, the Patriots’ massive nose tackle, through his agent, accused Mawae, the Jets’ center, of twisting his leg back and breaking it during a scrum in the teams’ first meeting this season.
Mawae denies having any intentional role in breaking Washington’s leg.
Washington has since returned from the injury and has been a linchpin in New England’s stifling defense. In the five games Washington has played since returning to the lineup, the Patriots’ defense has not allowed a rushing touchdown or an opposing team to rush for 100 or more yards.
“He’s doing his job, holding the middle and letting the linebackers make plays,” Mawae said of Washington. “He’s not an easy guy to block. He’s definitely a formidable force in the middle for those guys. He’s probably the toughest guy I have to block on a year-to-year basis.”
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Here’s a sobering look at the stark difference between the Jets and Patriots on defense. Entering last night’s game, New England had 22 INTs to the Jets’ nine. The Patriots’ defense ranked fourth in the NFL against the run (88.8 yards per game), fifth in third-down conversion rate (31.7 percent) and has scored five defensive touchdowns.
Ever since a seven-game stretch in which Santana Moss had 35 receptions for 570 yards and nine TDs, including at least one TD in a team-record seven consecutive straight games, he has gone scoreless the past three games, with 13 passes for 181 yards.
“You notice it, but you can’t worry about it,” Moss said. “It’s going to be like that. There are going to be weeks when you kill a team and there are going to be weeks when they take you out.”