ShareThisFOXBORO, Mass. - Ground and pound.
It's a phrase that New York Jets coach Rex Ryan often uses to describe his offensive approach.
He is an old-school coach who believes that the way to win games in the NFL is to have a ferocious defense and a dominating rushing attack.
Ask any Patriot defender and they'll tell you that the key to the Jets' offense is their rushing game.
The numbers say so, too. The Jets averaged 148.4 rushing yards per outing during the regular season (ranked fourth), and they lead the league in the postseason in rushing after piling up 169 yards on the ground against Indianapolis.
So the New England Patriots' defensive game plan will be to stop the run first and try to make second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez beat them.
Young quarterbacks typically don't have a lot of success against a Bill Belichick-coached defense, so if the Patriots can contain Jets running backs LaDanian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene, they'll have a better shot at winning on Sunday.
"Everything starts with the running game, and they've got some good runners over there, so if you don't stop that then it's going to be a long day for you," said Patriots safety Jarrad Page. "That's got to be your first concern -- to shut down the run game."
"I think they have an excellent running game," said Belichick. "They have a good offensive line. They've got two backs that complement each other well that are both good backs, but have different running styles. They do a real good job."
Tomlinson led the Jets rushing attack during the season with 219 carries for 914 yards (4.2 yards per carry) and six touchdowns. He and Greene (185 carries, 766 yards, 2 touchdowns) provide the Jets with a terrific 1-2 punch.
"He's always been a good running back," Page said of Tomlinson, a five-time Pro Bowler. "He wasn't as healthy for the last couple of years, but to me he looks like the LaDanian Tomlinson when I first came into the league. This is what he was doing out there in San Diego. It's nothing that surprises me."
Tomlinson racked up 82 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries and caught four passes for 17 yards in the Jets' 17-16 victory over Indianapolis last weekend. Greene added 70 yards on 19 carries as the Jets used their running game to move the chains and control the clock, leaving Peyton Manning with less than 27 minutes to operate his offense.
"You're talking about two powerful runners," Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork said. "LT can do it all, can catch it out of the backfield, at times he blocks, a great screen guy. He's put together very, very well as a running back. With Greene coming in, he's a powerful runner. A young guy, very explosive. He's hard to bring down, because he's so tough and low gravity and he runs with power."
"Shonn Greene is a very physical runner," said Page. "He gets that ball, he gets his shoulder pads down and his head out in front and he'll lower the boom on guys. We know they have two completely different styles. Both of them are very good."
As talented as Tomlinson and Greene are, the Jets' rushing attack begins with their physical and imposing offensive line -- center Nick Mangold (6-4, 307 pounds), right guard Brandon Moore (6-3, 305), left guard Matt Slauson (6-5, 315), right tackle Damien Woody (6-3, 327) and left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson (6-6, 310).
"The offensive line is just big and physical," Wilfork said. "Up front, we're going to have to do a real good job because if they get a running game going and we can't slow them down, it will be a long day for us."
"It all starts with Mangold on the line," Belichick said of New York's rushing attack. "He's as good a center as we've faced and he's outstanding. Wherever the play's designed to go -- off tackle or draw plays or things like that -- it seems like there's always a second point of attack, second entry point, wherever his block is. So, he does a great job."
New York's offensive line would give the Patriots problems if they were at full strength. But the Patriots defensive line is thin, with defensive linemen Mike Wright and Ron Brace having been placed on injured reserve in the last 10 days. Also, defensive linemen Myron Pryor (back) and Jermaine Cunningham (calf) did not practice on Tuesday. Due to their depleted defensive line, the Patriots, who ranked 11th in the league in rushing defense during the regular season, allowing 108 rushing yards per game, could be even more vulnerable on Sunday.
And if the Jets are successful running the ball, they could dominate the time of possession and limit Tom Brady's time on the field.
After limiting the Jets to just 33 rushing yards in the first half of their Week Two loss in New Meadowlands Stadium, the Jets racked up 103 rushing yards in the second half and outscored the Patriots, 18-0. But success running the ball against the Patriots doesn't always lead to wins.
The Jets racked up 152 rushing yards in Week 13 against the Patriots and lost 45-3.
(Contact Robert Lee at roblee(at)projo.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit The Providence Journal
