New England Patriots 4 Downs Preview: Week 7 vs New York Jets

4th Down: Is a lot of rest actually too much rest?

The New England Patriots played two games in five days against the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants in Weeks 5-6. On Monday night, they will play for the first time in 11 days. As beat up as the Patriots are, these 11 days in-between games would seemingly be a good thing, as the team has had more time to get healthy. Particularly for a banged-up offense that looked sluggish the past couple starts, 11 days of rest and recovery could have helped that side of the ball refresh themselves, as it was sort of a mini bye week for the Pats.

However, this much rest could also be a bad thing, because up until now New England has been preparing, practicing, and playing games at a fast and consistent pace… and this little time off could throw off the rhythm the team had previously established. It’s like a pros and cons type of situation that the Patriots could find themselves in on Monday night in a hostile road environment.

It’ll be difficult to see if the time off has hurt the team, because the offense has been getting off to slow starts but finishing the game strong. The defense, on the other hand, has had no problems with starting and finishing games. Perhaps if both units play at a fierce and effective pace from wire-to-wire, we’ll know that New England got just the right amount of rest they needed without coming out flat or rusty after so much time off.