New York Jets: Chances Shonn Greene, Ground-and-Pound Return Against New England

In what is becoming a crucial game for the New York Jets this Sunday against the New England Patriots, their famous "ground-and-pound" game could return just in the nick of time.

Shonn Greene and the once unstoppable Jets run game has been shutdown all season, only managing to average 71 yards per game and ranking 30th in the NFL. Greene has been even worse, only totaling 157 yards in four games with just one touchdown.

But this may be the week that Gang Green gets back to their strong points. In Monday's team meeting, head coach Rex Ryan ripped into the offense for it's lackadaisical performance against the Baltimore Ravens and made it clear that the run game would return this week against the Patriots.

"We've put such an emphasis on our passing game because of Mark's maturity and all of our outside threats, and our running game kind of got put on the back burner a little bit," said starting left guard Matt Slauson. "So now we're going to start emphasizing the run a lot because in the past, everything we could do was because we could run the ball so great."

Ryan has been, for the most part, full of himself in 2011, and many fans are beginning to lose faith in his constant guarantees and promises. The third-year head coach promised to bring the run game back following their Week 1 win against the Dallas Cowboys, but the Jets only managed 101 yards and a 3.2 YPC against Jacksonville in Week 2.

So will this be the week the run game actually returns? ESPN New York reported that the Jets had "the best practice of the year," according to Ryan, and they will be facing a banged up Patriots defense who may be without some key defensive linemen.

According to the Patriots injury report for Thursday, defensive linemen Shaun Ellis (knee) and Albert Haynesworth(back) were limited in practice, and star linebacker Jerod Mayo is already out six weeks with a knee injury. New England was also without backup defensive linemen Kyle Love and Mike Wright, who were both limited in practice with separate injuries.

The Jets offensive line also got a boost this week, as center Nick Mangold returned to practice. Mangold has missed the past two games with a high ankle sprain, and the Jets offense has failed to have any kind of success without him in the lineup. Mangold will likely face off against Patriots Pro Bowl defensive linemen Vince Wilfork, which is certainly an upgrade for the Jets from Slauson and rookie Colin Baxter.

The Patriots defense has been mediocre at best, giving up 108.8 yards per game on the ground and allowing running backs to average 4.8 yards per carry—sixth worst in the NFL. However, they have gone up against running backs such as Reggie Bush, Ryan Matthews, Fred Jackson and Darren McFadden.

What's also concerning is Greene's lack of success against New England in his career. In three games against the Patriots, Greene has only recorded 115 yards and zero touchdowns, which is roughly 38 yards per game. LaDainian Tomlinson, the Jets backup and third-down back, has had success against the Patriots in his career (95 YPG, 5 TD), but his totals have gone down since joining the Jets (61.5 YPG)

So, can the Jets run game return to glory this week? The current injury report and statistics prove that it's possible, but it will be up to New York to prove the doubters wrong. They desperately need a win following losses to the Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens, and they will have to rely on the run game to open up a struggling offense.

@jkuchie