Change machine: the Patriots keep winning , thanks to their ability to reinvent themselves like no other team can

When the weather and the season got serious, though, it was back to Smith. With Smith carrying the load, the Patriots rushed for more than 100 yards in four of their last five games, and their average per rush improved.

A funny thing happened after the Super Bowl. The Patriots gave Smith a ring and a handshake and wished him well. Their new back, Corey Dillon, would reshape and stabilize their running game because he could do everything Smith could do better, and he could do some of the things Faulk could do.

"Dillon is a powerful runner, a big, strong runner," Jets coach Herm Edwards says. "He can break the long run for them. He can make the hard yards when they have to take time off the clock and pound you. They can play a lot of different ways with him."

Against the Jets, Dillon had a 44-yard run, which was longer than any run by a Patriot last season. Just as important, he was able to run three straight times late in the fourth quarter for a first down, which enabled the Patriots to keep the ball with less than 2 minutes to go. "When you can run out the clock like that and make a few first downs when you've got to run it and everybody in the stadium knows you're going to run the ball, that's really critical," Belichick says.

After only six games, Dillon already has rushed for 5 yards fewer than Smith rushed for all last season.

The Patriots also tweaked their running game for the Jets by using all-purpose man Dan Klecko extensively at fullback. And after Klecko was injured, the team called on Seymour to play the position on the run that put the game away. Seymour led Dillon to the hole on third-and-2 with 2 minutes remaining, and his block of two Jets helped Dillon gain 4 yards. Seymour had not practiced at fullback since last January before getting three reps at the position the Friday before the game.

Even though the Patriots hadn't shown much of the big fullback look this year, the Jets knew to expect anything. "Whatever you think they're not going to do is pretty much what they're going to do," Hobson says. "Nothing they do is surprising."

That would include continuing to manufacture victories like the machine they have become.

Jets' solid showing bodes well for their future

So the Jets lost a tough game at New England, 13-7. That's no reason to believe they won't be a factor in the AFC East race--and perhaps beyond.

Like the Patriots, the Jets don't make many mistakes. That starts with quarterback Chad Pennington, who has completed 69 percent of his passes this season. "Chad is a high-percentage thrower," Jets coach Herin Edwards says. "He's going to take what you give him. He's not going to force a lot of balls. He understands sometimes a 3-yard throw is another way to move the chains. He's very, very good at play-action and very, very smart."

Pennington isn't shy about checking down to his running backs. In fact, the Jets' leading receiver is fullback Jerald Sowell. Their second-leading receiver is running back Curtis Martin.