The New York Jets have gone off book this week, keeping relatively quiet before Sunday's meeting with the New England Patriots. But Bill Belichick and the boys have been downright invisible.
"You ain't going to hear nothing from us, that's for damn sure," one veteran Patriots player told the New York Post on Wednesday. "Boss' orders."
Case in point: Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch, who labeled the Jets' rowdy behavior after the playoff game as "classless," wouldn't entice New York with any fighting words this week.
"I spoke to those guys, I'm a refreshed man, everything is good," Branch told the Boston Herald. "Just all of them, spoke to a number of the (Jets players). It's all about playing football."
Tom Brady walked out of a news conference Wednesday after reporters peppered him with too many questions about Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who begged the quarterback to specifically target him Sunday.
Brady, who was visibly torn apart after January's divisional playoff loss to the Jets, this week dispatched robotic sweet nothings in reviewing that defeat.
"That was a long time ago, so that game doesn't have much bearing on this week," he told The Post. "We're a different team."
Even if the buzz around this one's lowered a notch with questions about the relevancy of the Jets after a catastrophic road trip, it's still the same-old grudge match. This time around, however, the talking will be done on the field.
