Yes, with Tom Brady out with a season-ending knee injury, the Jets now are the team in this matchup with the future Hall of Famer at quarterback, in the person of Brett Favre. Still, coach Eric Mangini doesn't want his team giving the Patriots any bulletin-board material as they prepare to start untested Matt Cassel at quarterback against the Jets on Sunday.

"You can't bury the Patriots just because Tom went down," right guard Brandon Moore said. "I honestly feel like they're loaded on offense. ... On defense, they've always been good and solid. I don't think that one piece missing is going to make a huge difference. Bill Belichick does a good job of preparing them. I think if they can be more prepared, then they'll be even more prepared for this game."

"He's their best player," cornerback Darrelle Revis said of Brady. "It's sad to see somebody go down that early in the season. (But) they're still the Patriots."

"We have to go about business as we (normally) would," linebacker Eric Barton said. "I don't think it makes much of a difference. He's a great player but the Patriots are the Patriots. They're going to adjust and are going to be a good football team, as they always are. ... I would consider them still the favorite" to win it all.

To be fair, the Jets are quite correct in saying that the Patriots have plenty of talented players other than Brady. Still, New England is 12-2 over its last 14 games against the Jets, including playoffs. Brady started all of those games.

Cassel, a seventh-round draft pick of the Patriots in 2005, is 35-for-57 for 405 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in his NFL career. He threw only 33 passes in his college career and hasn't started a game since high school, other than NFL preseason contests.

Barton said of Cassel, "I've seen him a little bit in the preseason and a little bit (Sunday). It looks like he's a strong-armed kid. He looks like he's smart with the football and he doesn't make very many mistakes. Most Patriots players don't."

And the Jets also cautioned that Brady's injury could serve as motivation for the Patriots, especially in their first full game without him.

"The guys will rally around this whole incident with Brady," Moore said. "They'll be trying to prove people wrong."