Law and order
I’m not saying it was once again all about the money with Ty Law, but don’t you get the sense he’d start telling people he went to Ohio State if Jim Tressel forked over a big enough pile of cash?
No, we shouldn’t be surprised ol’ No. 24 is a Jet. While Law hasn’t come out and admitted it, you don’t need to be an expert at reading between the lines to realize he’ll be with Them instead of Us for tomorrow night’s immensely important AFC East showdown for one reason and one reason only: They filled his pockets with more loot. Law always has been a money player, in every sense. (So far, there is no confirmation that the deal was sealed when Law was given access to Eric Mangini’s endless stash of 100 Grand bars.)
Not that we expect Law to be much of a factor tomorrow — 34-year-old cornerbacks, even ones with his extended list of accomplishments, just don’t stroll in off the street and blanket Wes Welker. And give me a break about his alleged “insider’s knowledge” regarding the Patriots — he’s been gone for four years. Freeman McNeil or Wesley Walker could probably provide Belichick the same amount of insight about the current Jets.
Still, Law’s return adds another layer of intrigue to a rivalry that probably would be better described, without a hint of hyperbole, as mutual hatred. In fact, while I’m sure the Jets believe Law will help them at some point this season — just as we believe he would have eventually been an asset to the Patriots had they met his sticker price — we fully agree with the sentiment here: the timing of the signing is one more transparent attempt at oneupmanship in a rivalry that has become increasingly petty.
I’m not just pinning this on Mangini, either, though he clearly is an accomplished and gifted weasel. While I generally like Bill Belichick’s personality — he has far better people skills than the common perception suggests, and there’s something to be said for dry humor — his perspective on the Jets falls somewhere between immature and irrational. It’s understandable why he considers Mangini, his ungrateful former understudy, a turncoat for joining the franchise whose team president once publicly questioned his sanity. But his refusal to even say the word “Jets”? The man’s 56 years old. He should be above that sort of thing.
Belichick will be in an especially vengeful frame of mind tomorrow night, and that should result in the coach coming up with one of his patented deviously effective game plans. And he’d better. The Jets, coming off a 47-3 demolition of the Rams Sunday, appear to be a far superior team to the one the Patriots defeated in the Meadowlands in Week 2, particularly on defense, where nose tackle Kris Jenkins has again become an immovable object and cornerback Darrelle Revis has emerged as . . . well, perhaps a young Ty Law. It is a tremendous credit to Matt Cassel that he seems to make noticeable improvements each week, but tomorrow might bring his the most difficult challenge yet.
It’s impossible to exaggerate how much this game means to the Jets, not only in terms of the standings — a loss would effectively put them two games back in the division with six to play — but in terms of perception. They bolstered their roster in the offseason with several expensive and high-profile moves, signing Jenkins, Alan Faneca, and Damien Woody and trading for Calvin Pace and Mr. Wranglers. They’ve hungered to take down the Patriots for years, believed they had finally constructed the team capable of doing so . . . and then their chances became even more realistic when Tom Brady crumbled in Week 1.
Yet there they were in Week 2, losing sluggishly to Cassel and a Patriots team that had somehow overcome the shock and tumult of losing their MVP quarterback; you almost got the sense the Jets came into that game among the oblivious masses who believed the Patriots were down for the count. They should have known better, and they must consider it a blessing and a golden opportunity to have a second chance to prove that they are, at last, the elite team in the AFC East.
But that old familiar obstacle stands in their way: Belichick has done some of the finest work of his brilliant tenure this season, guiding his remarkably determined and disciplined team to a 6-3 record despite the devastating loss of the greatest player in the league, significant injuries to the top three running backs, and season-ending afflictions to two of his most dependable and intelligent defensive players. (It’s disappointing to think Adalius Thomas won’t get the chance to tackle the entire Jets backfield again this week.)
There is no doubt that in terms of pure talent, the Jets will hold the advantage tomorrow night. That would have been the case even if they had not made the transparent midweek transaction with Law. But the hunch — no, make that the belief — here is that the Patriots will hold the advantage on the scoreboard when the final seconds tick off the clock and Belichick and Mangini plod toward midfield for their awkward nanosecond of a handshake.
For the second time this season, the lesson will be a hard one for Mangini and the Jets: Money can buy you an aging cornerback, countless other famous names and fancy baubles, and even a good-sized helping of hope. But what the Patriots have . . . once again, that will prove priceless.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com