09/20 — The Meadowlands is starting to heat up. It's Jets-Patriots day.

It would be hot no matter what, of course, because it's the Jets' home opener, but New England's visit coupled with Rex Ryan's first home regular-season game as the Jets' head coach, Ryan's challenge to the fans to make it loud and uncomfortable for Tom Brady and the Pats offense, Mark Sanchez's first home start as the Jets' QB of the future/present, LB Bart Scott's pronouncement to ESPN before the game that, cleanly, of course, "We're going after Tom Brady today, period" ...

Well, all that bodes for a wild atmosphere today. With a win, the Jets will be 2-0 for the first time since 2004, in sole possession of first place in the AFC East, and triumphant for the first time in the last nine home games against the Patriots.

With a loss ... well, suffice it to say a loss today is not in the Green & White plans.

The big name on either team's inactive lists today: Patriots WR Wes Welker. The slot man who caught 12 passes in the season-opening win over Buffalo on Monday night was listed as limited at practice all week with a knee injury and questionable for the game. The Patriots called in three injury downgrades from questionable to out on Saturday night, but Welker was not mentioned. Obviously, head coach Bill Belichick made the gameday determination that Welker has to be held out today.

Speedy rookie Julian Edelman has been lining up in the slot as the Patriots' offense runs through its plays in the pregame.

The Jets' IA list provides some interesting angles. With Shaun Ellis back in action after sitting out last week's opener at Houston due to his one-game NFL suspension, Ryan has decided to deactivate Mike DeVito (listed as probable with his sore hamstring) and Ropati Pitoitua.

That leaves Ellis and Marques Douglas in theory as the only DEs active for this game. But with the Ryan/Mike Pettine defense, that's deceptive, since Kris Jenkins and Sione Pouha have been lining up at 3-technique as well as 1-technique and nose, and OLBs Vernon Gholston and Jamaal Westerman have also been putting their hands on the turf in the base and the nickel.

The Jets are in their white jerseys and white pants with green trim. The double-whites are a color scheme that Ryan favors, dating to his days working as a ballboy for the Jets when his dad, Buddy, was the defensive line coach in the late Sixties and early Seventies. The Jets also wore white/white for the Giants preseason game this year but the only time they wore them in the 2008 regular season was in the Monday night loss at San Diego in Week 3.

Perhaps the reason for last year's infrequent use of the scheme was then-coach Eric Mangini's mixed results in white/white in his first two seasons. In 2006 the Jets were 4-0 in all white, all on the road. In 2007 they went 0-5, the last four on the road.

The referee today is John Parry, a relatively new ref who will be working his third Jets game. His previous two games were 2007 Game 4 at Buffalo, a 17-14 loss, and last year's Game 2 home-opening 19-10 loss to the Patriots.

Speaking of Big Jenks, Jenkins has been out stretching and running early today and is ready to roll. So is Pouha, which means that Howard Green has been deactivated.

Also, in a flip of last week's QB assignments, Kevin O'Connell, the former Patriot, is the third QB while Erik Ainge has been deactivated. O'Connell also may come to midfield as a Jets game captain for the opening coin flip. Stay tuned.

Here is the Jets' full inactive list: Ainge, LB Ryan Fowler, G Matt Slauson, DeVito, Pitoitua, TE Matt Mulligan and DT Howard Green, with O'Connell at third QB.

The Patriots' full inactive list: WRs Welker and Matthew Slater, CB Terrence Wheatley, LB Jerod Mayo, O-lnemen Rich Ohrnberger and Dan Connolly, G Kendall Simmons and TE Michael Matthews. The Pats have designated no third QB for this game, primarily because they don't have a third behind Brady and rookie backup Brian Hoyer.