FOXBORO -- If the Patriots’ pass rush is going to turn things around, this week is as good a time as any.

New England comes into Sunday’s game against the Jets as one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to getting after the quarterback. According to official NFL gamebooks, opposing quarterbacks have 168 dropbacks against the Patriots through four games this season, and have been hit by New England defenders a total of 18 times, to go along with six sacks (23rd in the league).

In fact, the Patriots have gone sackless for two-plus games, having failed to record a sack since the waning moments of their Sept. 18 win over the Chargers when defensive end Mark Anderson brought down Philip Rivers with just over a minute remaining in the ballgame. Overall, New England has now gone 121:09 of game action without registering a sack. (In that same span, Philadelphia defensive end Jason Babin has four sacks by himself.)

While the numbers aren’t where they need to be, Anderson -- who was brought in primarily to rush the passer -- believes that those will come as the season continues.

“I think we’re looking good on defense. There’s some minor stuff we need to tighten up, but I feel like we’re on a good path,” Anderson, who leads the team with two sacks this season, told WEEI.com on Wednesday. “We’re collapsing the pocket. We’re just trying to cause a little disruption.

“Everybody wants to see sacks and numbers, but all that stuff is going to come later on in the season. Right now, we’re doing what we need to do to make an impact.”

When it comes to Anderson, the 6-foot-4, 255-pound defensive end has clearly been pegged as a pass-rushing specialist. He’s been on the field for 83 of the Patriots’ 285 defensive snaps this season (according to Pro Football Focus), almost all of which came on passing downs. PFF has him grading out at a +3.5 overall through four games.

Anderson, who has 32 career sacks, said Wednesday that he understands the desire of fans who want more sacks, and said that the stat -- which some believe isn’t a fair assessment of true defensive pressure -- is a good measuring stick when it comes to see how successful a defense is in getting after the quarterback.

“No, it’s not overblown -- sacks, they’re hard to come by,” said Anderson, who had five last season in Houston in part-time duty and a career-best eight in 2008 with Chicago. “When you get them, you have to make them count, make the best of every opportunity.

“But as long as you’re getting in the quarterback’s face, collapsing the pocket and disrupting his timing, that’s as good as a sack. Sacks are just a number. As long as you’re causing some type of disruption, it all plays in for the team.”

It certainly appears that if the Patriots won’t be able to sack Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, there’s the very real likelihood they will at least be able to get in his face. The New York offensive has yielded 11 sacks through four games, tied for ninth-worst in the league. Sanchez has been hit 25 times in 147 dropbacks (17 percent), including 10 times last Sunday against the Ravens. And the running game has struggled as a result -- the ground and pound Jets average 3.1 yards per carry and 71 yards a game this year, both 30th in the league.

Much of it can be traced to personnel. New York lost reliable veteran right tackle Damien Woody in the offseason and had to deal with their share of injuries. Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold went down with a high-ankle sprain (he’s practicing with an eye toward playing this weekend) and guard Rob Turner broke his leg in the team’s first preseason game in Houston. Meanwhile, youngsters Vlad Ducasse and Colin Baxter (the latter of whom has stepped in for Mangold) were clearly not ready for prime time -- frankly, they were used as turnstiles in the loss to the Ravens.

When asked if those problems on the offensive line were fixable without adding a new player, Jets coach Rex Ryan gave a simple answer.

“I’d just like to add one player. I’d like to get [Nick] Mangold back,” Ryan said. “I think that would be a big help for us. I’m definitely hopeful that Nick will play. [When] you take out the best center in football – no offense to Colin Baxter – but there’s only one Nick Mangold in this league, and when he went out, that was really a big loss to us.”

If Mangold is unable to go on Sunday -- or even if he’s less than 100 percent -- this game could certainly set up as a game where the Patriots’ pass rush could get a spark. And then, those numbers could start that climb to where they need to be.

“They’ll be where we want them to be as the season goes on,” Anderson said assuredly on Wednesday. “You’ll see a big change. Right now, we’re just doing what we need to do.”