Yeah, those are good concerns. Gronk should help assuming he’s back, but Connolly/Cannon and Wendell need to have good games, because the inside of the Jets line is tough. Most likely I’d expect the Pats to spread them out a little more and not allow the Jets to crowd the box and disguise rushers.
I do expect the Jets’ offense to test the inside of our line and I think you’ll see plenty of Brandon Spikes who was not himself in the first matchup, likely due to sickness.
The strange thing is that while the injuries to the defensive line might tempt teams to run on them, the injury to Mayo means the Pats will likely have better run-stopping linebackers in.
So expect the Jets to test both out and see what they have success with. Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich need to have big games, not letting Geno Smith out of the pocket, but also finishing with sacks when they get the chance.
