"Of course, the Patriots have had this date circled on the calendar ever since their Week 2 loss to the Jets at the Meadowlands. There really isn't a need for added incentive. Everyone knows they have no love for Gang Green, so avenging a loss is motivation enough.

But there's more of a backdrop to today's grudge match with the trash-talking Jets. There's more to it than merely seeing who gets bragging right this time, Randy Moss or Darrelle Revis.

It will be interesting to watch the Pats defense as it takes the field against Rex Ryan's boys, and see how it performs. How will what played out in the final minutes of the 35-34 loss to Indianapolis last Sunday night impact Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo, Brandon Meriweather & Co. going forward?

Even though they said all the right things during the week, will the perceived slight of their defensive abilities by coach Bill Belichick serve as a rallying point? Will they aim to prove him wrong? Or did his decision to entrust the offense with the game via the now infamous fourth-and-2 call anger them to the point where the repercussions and fallout create a problem?

Former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, a master at using the smallest insult to crank the team up, thinks he knows which way it will go today.

"I would hate to be the team facing these guys," said Harrison, an NBC analyst. "There's no question, we've always used disappointments and things like this as motivation and fuel. Like I said, I would hate to be going against them, after a disappointing defeat like that."

It's hard to compare this scenario with anything else. It's not often a coach boldly goes where no one has dared go before: Gambling on a fourth down deep in his own territory, up six points, with everything riding on that one play."