Bill Belichick, Patriots Already ‘Full Speed Ahead’ in Preparation for Jets

And so it begins.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had his first media session of the week with a conference call Sunday afternoon, roughly 15 and a half hours after the Jets beat the Colts, and he said the Pats were well into their preparations for a third meeting with their division rivals this season.

“We’re full speed ahead now in our preparations for the Jets,” Belichick said. “That was really a pretty exciting game [Saturday] night. Both teams were right there at the end, looked like it could go either way. The Jets made the plays they had to make at the end of the game and won it, what we all think of playoff football as being, two good teams playing right down to the wire. So we can get ready for them. We split with them this year, and now it will be the best two out of three. That’s probably the way it should be. We’ll find out which team can advance next week.”

The Jets beat the Patriots, 28-14, in Week 2 at the New Meadowlands, scoring the last 21 points of the game and exploiting a New England offense that relied too heavily upon a blanketed Randy Moss.

In their Week 14 rematch, the reworked Patriots dropped a 45-3 beating on the Jets, and that win set up the Patriots to host this weekend’s third matchup.

“It’s a big challenge for us,” Belichick said. “I don’t think the last game or even the first game, either one of those games, are going to mean a whole lot. Both teams know each other well, and we’re ready for a whole new week of preparation. Even though we’re familiar with them and they’re familiar with us, every time you play a team, games go a lot differently, so we’re not expecting anything other than starting this game off and doing a better job than the Jets do on Sunday afternoon.”

And while it’s still fresh in many minds, that Week 14 demolition obviously hasn’t hindered Belichick’s respect for the Jets, who finished the regular season with an 11-5 record and entered the playoffs as the sixth seed.

“Obviously, they didn’t have a good night that night,” Belichick said. “They’re a solid team. Their record reflects that, and I don’t think they’re a whole lot different than really what they’ve been all year. They do a lot of things well.”