Jets v. Patriots Pregame

We have reached the point in the season where at 4-5 the Jets playoff chances are pretty much non existent.  However, I always keep some sort of faith as long as it is a possibility.  If the Jets can pull of a highly improbable win today in New England they can pull  within a game of 1st place and hold the tie breaker over the Patriots.  This game is going to come down to whether the Jets defense can rebound from a terrible game next week and contain a very very good Patriots offense.  Again, the one player I am concerned with the Jets containing is Kevin Faulk.  This guy always seems to find ways to beat us and is prolific on third down.  The Jets can't allow Maroney or Faulk to get going because if the Patriots have both the running game and the passing game going they will be impossible to stop.  Mike Devito has been great filling in for Kris Jenkins and he will have to continue that today.

What to watch for....

• The fire alarm at the Jets hotel was pulled last night at 1 A.M last night.  I am no conspiracy theorist but here is what  few of the Jets players had to say:

• The Jets will have to come out strong early and take the crowd out of the game.  The fans will be pumped for this one after the Jets beat them earlier in the season.  If the Jets can open the game with either a long touchdown drive or a quick defensive stop it could do wonders for their confidence and take the crowd out of the game early.

•  Rex Ryan has shown that he is a rookie coach so far this year but he will have to be on top of his game if he hopes to outsmart Bill Belichick.  

Who to watch for...

•  Darelle Revis will once again be given the task of containing Randy Moss.  Moss had a huge game last week and will be looking to get back at Revis who shut him down in Week 2.  Revis has shut down pretty much every big time receiver he has faced this season and there is no reason to think he can do it again today.

• Mark Sanchez is going to have to deal with figuring out an improved Patriots defense from Week 2.  Belichick will have schemes designed to confuse the rookie quarterback and try to expose his weaknesses.  Sanchez will have to be on top of his game at 4 PM today.

• Kerry Rhodes has faced a ton of criticism from Jets fans in recent weeks about his lack of big plays.  He always seems to get to plays a second too late and is never in a position to make a big interception.  If Rhodes can break out of his slump and make a big play in this game it could be a turning point in the game.

Game Thoughts:

I think the Patriots will come out and show that they are the best team in the AFC East.  They should handle a Jets team that is struggling in all aspects of the game.  If the Jets can keep this close by halftime they may have a chance to gain some momentum and win this game.  However, look for the Patriots offense to come out on fire and this could get ugly early.

Game Prediction:

Patriots- 28
Jets- 13

Jets v. Jaguars Postgame

Jags- 24
Jets- 22

Record:  4-5

I never knew how many ways there were to lose a football game until watching this Jets season.  This team does not play with discipline and is clearly not a good football team.  As each week unfolds more and more question marks appear.  Every part of this team came out flat this week.  Sanchez and the offense never looked like they got on track and turned the ball over 3 times.  It started from the first play of the game with the interception down the field.  The defense flat out blew this game by giving up a huge game to Jones-Drew and not being able to come up with a stop when the Jets took the lead at the end of the game.  This season has completely turned around and is now about watching how Sanchez develops.

Thumbs up:

• Dustin Keller made 6 catches for 58 yards and played a very good game.  He seemed to be the only receiver who could get open with any consistency.  After a very slow start Keller has come on strong in recent weeks with some great performances.

Thumbs Down:

• Brian Schottenheimer called a terrible game today.  He has been very up and down with his play calling this year and I have not been very critical because I hate second guessing play calling.  However, the long play action pass (which resulted in an interception) to start the game was not necessary.  We have a good running game which we should have used right from the beginning to wear them down.  The reverse pass to Braylon Edwards was stupid and also not necessary.  We were moving the ball well and that play almost resulted in an interception.  

• The defense was horrendous.  They needed one stop to win the game and allowed the Jags to not only get into field goal range but to get down to the 1 yard line.  With all the talk that comes from Bart Scott, Kerry Rhodes and other members of the Jets defense they are showing that they are not as good as they think they are.  Teams have figured out how to beat Rex Ryan's blitz schemes and this defense is not effective when there is no pressure on the quarterback. 

• Mark Sanchez needs to make better decisions and better throws.  The interception on the screen pass was a terrible throw and the interception on the first play of the game was underthrown to a potential open receiver.  The rest of the season is about watching Sanchez's development since this is no longer a team that can even think about the playoffs.

Game Thoughts:

The fact that I could only think of one person for the "Thumbs Up" portion of this entry defines how this game went.  There wasn't anybody other than Keller and maybe Jay Feely that I felt played a good enough game to deserve any praise.  The Jets were outcoached and outplayed in every single aspect of the game.  They couldn't stop the run which allowed Garrard to have a great game passing the ball.  The offense never got in sync and looked absolutely terrible.  This season is over as far as any hopes of the playoffs go.  However, the rest of the season is about addressing the question marks that continue to pop up with the passing of every week.

Jets v. Jaguars Pregame

The Jets will return home on Sunday after a week hiatus to play the 4-4 Jaxonville Jaguars.  The Jets come into this game in a must win situation if they want any hopes of the playoffs.  The first half of the season was riddled with some great play and some problems that are going to have to disappear if this team wants any chance at the division or a wild card spot.  With 8 games still to play there is plenty of time for the Jets to get back into the playoff race.  However, with a loss to the Jaguars those hopes will be essentially eliminated and criticism will start to fall on Rex Ryan and the rest of this team.  If the Jets can pull off a win at 1:00 PM tomorrow and the Colts can beat the Patriots at home on Sunday night the Jets and Pats will be set up to play a game for the division next weekend in Foxboro. 

What to watch for....

• Can the Jets defense contain Maurice Jones-Drew?  He has been amazing this year and is racking up a ton of yards and touchdowns.  The Jets defense has been stout all year and should be able to contain Drew.  Without Jenkins in the middle the Jets will have to rely on Pouja and Howard Green in the middle to cut down on any potential running lanes. 

• How will the Jets perform off the bye week?  A mark of any great coach is his record when his team is coming off the bye.  The Jets have had two weeks to prepare for the Jaguars and I expect this to be a big advantage to the Jets.  Rex Ryan is one of the best defensive minds in the game and giving him two weeks to plan against an offense is a huge advantage for the Jets.  Brian Schottenheimer should have the offense ready with some new wrinkles and I can guarantee that we will not see another special teams performance like we did last week from Mike Westhoff's unit.

• The crowd is going to be huge in this game.  The Jets have faltered lately and they are going to need the crowd and the fans to stay behind them as they attempt to recover.  This season is far from over and the 1-4 run we are on can be easily reversed in the next few weeks.  The Jets defense thrives off the crowd noise disrupting the opposing quarterback. 

Who to watch for..

• Thomas Jones should be able to have a field day against the league's 22nd ranked rushing defense.  Jones is going to see a ton of carries in this one as the Jets will continuously give him the ball and hope he can wear down the Jags defenders.  Shonn Greene should see caries in this one but I think his role will be slightly reduced after the fumble last weekend. 

•  Bart Scott and David Harris are going to have to do a good job plugging up the holes in the middle to stop Jones-Drew.  The Jags have the league's #8 rushing offense and if the Jets hope to win this one they will have to shut down the run.

• Mark Sanchez needs to step it up as the Jags also struggle to stop the pass.  Thankfully, the weather is going to be in the high 50's and low 60's which should help Sanchez out a lot.  He likes throwing in the warm weather (going back to his days at USC) and that should be a huge plus for the Jets.

Game Thoughts:

I think the Jets have a clear advantage in most aspects of this game.  However, I have also said this about the games against Buffalo and Miami this year and those have resulted in 3 of the 4 losses.  The key to this game is avoiding a complete breakdown by one of the units.  It seems to be a different unit every weekend with the Jets as the one always blows the game.  Every game is getting more important as we enter the second half of the season.  If the Jets can find a way to beat the Jaguars and the Patriots lose it would set up a game for the division the following week.  This would energize the Jets fan base and players and should provide a spark for the rest of the second half. 

Game Prediction:

Jets- 21
Jags- 10

Around the NFL

Few things about the games today for Jets fans to think about:

• The Patriots-Dolphins game was tough to watch with how much I hate both teams.  I posted a few days ago that we should root for the Dolphins to win this game.  This would have knocked the Patriots down closer to the Jets.  However, a Patriots win today does provide its advantages.  This essentially knocks the Dolphins out of any playoff chase with a 3-5 record.  If the Jets can take care of their business against the Jaguars next week and the Colts can beat the Patriots at home it will set up a Jets-Patriots showdown in Foxboro for the division lead.  

• The Chargers late comeback against the Giants this week is disappointing because of wild card implications.  The Giants had this game won before Phillip Rivers went on a tear in the final minutes and led them back.  

• The Bengals beating the Ravens was a good thing.  We want to knock the Ravens out of the playoff chase because we have a head to head matchup with the Bengals later in the season.

•  The Jets aren't the only New York team which is in the midst of a tumble down the standings. The Giants have gone from being an elite team in the NFL to losing 4 straight and falling behind the Cowboys and Eagles in the division.  They do not look good right now and their defense is going to have to improve if they want to start winning games

Who To Root for this Weekend?

So, your a Jets fan and its the bye week.. what do you do? 

The Dolphins/Patriots matchup provides an excellent AFC East battle to watch on Sunday afternoon.  However, how do you evaluate who to root for as a Jets fan?  Here is my analysis.  ROOT FOR THE DOLPHINS.  After halfway through the season there is no reason to give up on the division just yet.  With a loss this weekend to the Dolphins the Patriots will have a 5-3 record and will be playing the Colts in a very tough game.  This could put the Patriots at 5-4 going into the Jets game.

Now, the Jets have the bye this week and play the Jaguars next week in a game where the Jets should be favored.  If the Jets can beat the Jaguars they have the potential of going into the New England game for the division lead.

So, as you sit down and watch football this weekend and are puzzled on who to root for in this AFC East matchup.  Put your hatred aside and root for the Dolphins.  The main goal for the season is winning the division.  You can't give up on that goal after 8 games and focus on the wild card; I don't care how good the Patriots are playing.

I will have more commentary in an "Around the NFL" section on Sunday.  Enjoy the games and the week off Jets fans.

Jets-Dolphins Postgame

Dolphins- 30
Jets- 25

Jets- 4-4

Things have gone bad for the Jets as they drop to .500 with a 4-4 record.  After a 3-0 start many fans, including myself, raised their expectations from expecting an 8-8 or 9-7 season to expecting 11-12 wins.  This week proved yet again why Jets fans need to lower their expectations and attempt to enjoy the development of the quarterback of the future, Mark Sanchez.  The Jets last three losses have come by a combined 12 points against division opponents.  This game was equally, if not more, painful as the other Dolphins loss because of the way the Jets dominated the Dolphins in every phase of the game other than special teams.  As a Jets fan, the one unti we always know we can rely on are our special teams.  Mike Westhoff is a genius on ST and we never expect that unit to lose us any games.  However, yesterday the special teams was the sole reason that the Jets lost the game.  Tedd Ginn is extremely fast and is a very crafty return man.  However, you cannot lose contain on him twice in one game.  There are a few specifics about this that I will get into a little more later in the post.  As a Jets fan, you expect this kind of disappointment.  We have had opportunities to win the game in every loss we have had this year, especially the past three weeks but one unit of the team always lets us down.  This team is better than its 4-4 record but at this point that doesn't really matter because playoff hopes are slowly deteriorating.  The AFC has some very good teams and the Patriots are playing some of their best football right now. 

Game Ball:

• Mark Sanchez showed tremendous poise in the second half to keep the Jets in the game.  He had to come out with little rest in the third and fourth quarters and lead a Jets team down the field that kept surrendering kick return and fumble return touchdowns.  The throw down the sideline to Edwards for the touchdown was a great throw in a perfect spot which gave Edwards a chance to make a play.  I really liked the way he spread the ball around between Keller, Edwards, and Cotchery and he really got everyone involved.  I couldn't have asked for any more out of Sanchez in this game.

Thumbs Up:

• Dustin Keller has had an extremely disappointing season so far but he finally broke out with a huge game.  He finished with 8 receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown.  However, he made two catches which were absolutely incredible.  First, the touchdown catch was incredible and looked better every time I saw it on replay.  Second, the catch on 4th and 10 in the final minutes showed that Keller has the hands and awareness.  He went up in a group of Dolphins and came down with the ball even as he was being interfered with.  Great game by Keller and I think we saw a little bit of what we are going to see for years to come.

• Thomas Jones was called upon to carry the ball 27 times in the game and finished with 103 yards.  Although this isn't a good YPC average, the Dolphins are a physical, good run stopping team and the fact that Jones carried the ball 27 times and ran hard every time makes me feel like he deserves praise for his efforts.  In my opinion, he should have been given the ball on the 2nd and 6 inside the 10 in the final minutes.  When a running game is working as well as it was on that final drive I think you need to pound it inside and hope that he can find a crease.

• The pass rush in this game was great and was major reason why the Jets were able to contain the wildcat.  The Dolphins were sacked 6 times and the Jets bottled up the wildcat with no problem.  The one thing I noticed this week about the wildcat is how the linebackers were able to key in on their gaps and were not blown off the ball like in the first Miami game.

Thumbs Down:

• Special teams.. special teams.. special teams.  What else is there to say?  Tedd Ginn returned back to back kickoffs for touchdowns right as the Jets were starting to gain momentum in the game.  I noticed a few things about this.  First, Jay Feely needs to do a better job hanging back as the "safety" in the special teams unit.  He can't be flying up and breaking contain because he wants to make a tackle.  He did this on the first two returns and actually made the tackle and I think this caused him to get a little overexcited on the two returns.  He needs to be back there to at least slow Ginn down to give somebody a chance to make a tackle.  Second, the tackling on the second kickoff return was horredous.  Ginn sidestepped two defenders at the 20 and had practically stopped moving before breaking the contain to the outside and outrunning everybody down the sideline.  When a guy is forced to stop and change direction on a kick return there is no excuse for not bringing him down.  Somebody has to get in there and at least trip him up.  Third, Danny Woodhead is not ready to be a special teams contributer.  He didn't look good on either return and this showed why we need Brad Smith and Ahmad Carroll activated to play kickoff return defensive roles.  Special teams is the reason that the Jets lost this game.

• Shonn Greene goes from hero to goat in just one game.  The second the ball he fumbled ended up in Jason Taylors hands it was a sure touchdown and really put a dagger through any hopes the Jets had of coming back.  Although the Jets ended up coming alive offensively it is inexcusable to give a team that kind of easy touchdown.  Greene needs to secure the ball and not give up costly fumbles if he hopes to keep getting more carries.

• Rex Ryan probably should not have gone for the two point conversion late in the game.  I hate to second guess like this because you can say that if Ryan kicks the XP than Sparano wouldn't have gone for 2 on their TD drive and the score would have still been a 5 point difference.

Game Thoughts:

I said before the game that this was the biggest game of the season so far and I think the Jets played well enough in 2 of the 3 phases of the game to win.  The offense came alive in the second half and the defense was able to get consistent pressure on Henne and stop the wildcat offense.  95% of the time when a team wins both the offensive and defensive battles they win the game.  However, special teams cannot be ignored and the Dolphins special teams played great while the Jets special teams was horrendous.  This game was disappointing and I believe at 4-4 every game becomes a must win.  The Jets have a bye next week and the team will have 6 days off before preparing for the Jaguars.  I will probably have more to say later in the week about any developments that come out of Ryan's press conferences.

Jets v. Dolphins Pregame

The Jets come back home today to play their biggest game of the season so far against the Miami Dolphins and the wildcat offense.  A few weeks ago Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams ran wild and defeated the Jets in a shocking loss on Monday Night Football.  Can the Jets keep up what the accomplished last week or will they revert back to the way there were playing against the Dolphins and Bills?

What to watch for...

• The Jets will have to stop the wildcat offense in order to win this game.  Ronnie Brown made a great point this week when he said that the, "toughest 11 guys are going to win this game."  The Jets will have to be very tough up front in order to contain this gimmick offense.  The problem with the wildcat is it allows the Dolphins to get in 3rd-and-short situations which makes it easy for Chad  Henne.  If Rex Ryan can draw up a scheme to stop the wildcat it will go a long way in assuring a Jets win.

• Can the Jets running attack keep up their stellar effort of the last two weeks?  Without Leon Washington, Shonn Greene and Thomas Jones will have to keep up what they did against the Raiders last week if they want any chance to win this game.  The Jets ran for 300 yards each of the last two weeks and they will have to do more of the same in an hour or so.

•  The crowd could play at huge factor in this game as it is Chad Henne's first ever road NFL start.  This seems to be less of a factor for Henne than it would for other quarterbacks as he played at Michigan and has dealt with many hostile crowds.  However, the pressure of the NFL spotlight as well as 70,000 screaming people could disrupt his rhythm and flow that he has developed through three home starts.

Players to Watch:

• Shonn Greene will have to do a good job of filling in for Leon Washington.  Greene had a breakout game last week with over 150 yards and 2 touchdowns and will need to do more of the same so the Jets can control the clock and keep the ball out of the Dolphin's hands.  Greene should get 10-15 touches (with Jones getting 20 or so) and he will have to make the most of them.

• The Jets receivers will play a huge factor in this game as the Dolphins are starting two rookie CB's.  Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery are finally seeing the field together while completely healthy and I expect big things against a depleted Dolphins secondary.

• Mark Sanchez will appear on this list until he proves he is back throwing the ball well against a good team.  Sanchez managed the game well against a bad Raiders team last week but I need to see what he can do against the Dolphins.  He CANNOT make mistakes.

Game Thoughts:

I am skeptical that the Jets can stop the Dolphins and the wildcat offense.  The loss of Kris Jenkins is huge and I cannot see the Jets escaping the 3rd-and-short situations that will take the crowd out of the game.  Sanchez will have to manage the game well and the offensive line will have to open up big holes for Jones and Greene to run through.  One exciting aspect of this game which I didn't comment on is the return of Justin Miller as a kick returner.  I am excited to see what he can do. 

Prediction:

Jets: 17
Dolphins: 21