The New York Jets are already plotting their excuses for a Sunday loss in Foxboro before the game even starts.
New England's warp-speed no-huddle offense has led to a league-leading 445 yards of total offense per game and has had opposing defensive players running around the field like chickens with their heads cut off.
Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine told the Daily News that the the reason the Patriots have had so much success with their no-huddle is because NFL officials are not letting defenses substitute effectively.
"When they change, that should trigger the ability for us to change," Pettine said. "I'm all for the no-huddle and one grouping. Whoever you put out there, you better be prepared to go through a whole series and be out there for a while. And that's fine. When they change, we need to be given the right to change … and we're going to make sure that right is given to us."
The NFL rulebook does state that when an offense makes a substitution, the ball cannot be snapped until the defense gets a chance to counter with its own substitutions, but it is not New England's fault that teams have not been able to substitute fast enough.
Maybe the Jets should work on their own defensive substitution strategies instead of making sure the referees are doing their jobs.
The Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans defenses all got torched by Tom Brady and Co. this season, but they took those losses in stride and moved on.
