By KIT STIER
The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - From the purely selfish point of view of a bitter rival, the last thing the New England Patriots needed was another lethal offensive weapon.

Running the football hasn't been a strong point with the Patriots in recent seasons, so the acquisition of Corey Dillon in a trade with Cincinnati last April was an important addition to the team's ability to attack an opponent with balance.

"They've got a running back," said New York Jets defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson. "They can run the ball; they can line up two tight and knock us off the ball. He has the agility to step over. He gets better as the game gets going. This is a big time back."

The Jets will get a sampling of the Pats' running game when they visit New England in a meeting of two 5-0 AFC East teams at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

New England hasn't had a runner with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons since current Jets running star Curtis Martin did it three times from 1995-97. The Patriots have had only two backs gain 1,000 yards since 1997: Robert Edwards with 1,115 in 1998; and Antowain Smith, with 1157 yards in 2001.

"Now they've got a power runner," said Jets coach Herman Edwards. "They can power run you. They can come at you a lot of different ways. They can throw it, or they can use him and run you over with him. That's another way to attack you. Yeah, he's a difference maker. No doubt about it."

Defending against New England with Dillon in the backfield will be a bigger challenge than the Jets had in San Diego when they had to defend against the talented running back LaDainian Tomlinson, or against Buffalo with Travis Henry.

New England is so balanced that the Jets will have to turn as much attention to quarterback Tom Brady and the passing game as they will to Dillon.

"Tomlinson, you knew they were going to give him the ball 70 percent of the time," said rookie Jets safety Erik Coleman. "The Patriots are such a balanced offense. Tomlinson, you had to be a lot more aware of where he was."

The Jets, who haven't given up 100 yards to an opposing running back this season, swarmed Tomlinson and held him to 18 yards on 19 carries. They did the same to Henry, often banging him before he reached the line of scrimmage, and limited the Bills runner 33 yards on 12 carries.

Veteran Jets defensive back Terrell Buckley, a former Patriot, argued that the Patriots aren't necessarily any better now than when Smith was doing most of the running the past three seasons.

"I don't know what numbers you guys are looking at, but the running game was efficient," Buckley said. "They play everybody. You guys ask about the definition of great and numbers and all that, but the bottom line is winning and being productive. The guys they have had back there have been very productive."

True, the Patriots won two Super Bowls with Smith as their main man.

New England ran the ball 473 times last year while passing 527 times. They've rushed 156 times this season and passed 143, perhaps because two of their best receivers have been injured and had limited playing time.

The Patriots are averaging 4.0 yards per carry and have four rushing touchdowns in five games this season. They average 3.4 yards per carry and had nine rushing scores in 2003.

"Corey has done a good job in all the areas of the game he has been involved in," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

The Patriots were able to acquire Dillon, who had six-straight 1,000-yard seasons until he trailed off to 541 yards last year because the Bengals chose to make Rudi Johnson their No. 1 back.

Now, Dillon is in a division where he can give the Jets headaches twice each season.

"He definitely brings a banger mentality to it, too," said Jets tackle Jason Ferguson. "Because if they get the ball to him and he is having a good game, you are in trouble."

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