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