By hitting the NFL trail, of course, and compiling our own team of NFL coordinators to dissect the three facets of play. Our panel consists of Bills offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild; Texans assistant head coach/offense Mike Sherman; Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Smith; Packers defensive coordinator Bob Sanders; and Texans special teams coordinator Joe Marciano. Each coach game-planned against both the Jets and Patriots this season and can provide an insider's perspective.
DEFENSES IN FOCUS
While much could be made of the similarities between the Patriots and Jets because they both play a 3-4 alignment, Fairchild sees differences.
"Their schemes are similar, which you'd expect because they come from the same background with Coach Mangini having New England ties, but probably one of the big differences is that the Jets are a little more on the move, not quite as big, whereas New England is a stout, physical group," Fairchild said. "Schematically they start out the same, but no matter who you are, like the West Coast offense, you're going to get a hold of it and put your own stamp on it."
When Fairchild assesses the Patriots' defense, he believes the key is at the line of scrimmage.
"Across the board, they're impressive when their down three are healthy," he said of Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, and Vince Wilfork. "In game-planning for the opener, we studied all summer and had great respect for them in that regard, and they were every bit as good as we thought. Very stout.
"The challenge for an offense is that you're trying to get two hats on the down guys to get movement, and it's hard to get to the linebackers, because those guys tie you up and free their linebackers up. We did some real studies about the best approach to run the ball on the 3-4, and we found that New England is impressive, real hard to knock out of there."
Because of that strength up front, and the difficulty of running against the Patriots, Fairchild said the unit is effective at "getting you into a passing game and then rushing the passer well."
How do the Jets compare?
