Jets v. Bucs Pregame

The Jets playoff hopes continue to stay alive as teams around them continue to lose.  The Steelers have now lost 5 in a row to drop to a 6-7 record and fall out of the playoff race.  Here is the current playoff picture:

Division Leaders

Indy 12-0
Cincy 9-3
SD 9-3
NE 7-5

Wild Card Leaders

Den 8-4
Jax 7-5

In the Hunt

Bal 6-6
Mia 6-6
NYJ 6-6

Need a miracle
Pit 6-7
Ten 5-7
Hou 5-7

Important Games:

Lions at Ravens:  I don't really have much hope of the Lions winning this game but with the performances that Oakland and Cleveland put up against the Steelers in the past two weeks I know that anything is possible.  A Ravens loss would give them their 7th and would make it difficult for them to make the playoffs.

Broncos at Colts: If the Colts can win this game it serves two central purposes.  1.) It pulls the Broncos back to the rest of the teams in the wild card hunt and opens up the potential for a fight for the other spot.  2.) It allows the Colts to clinch home field advantage and will hopefully make it so they rest their starters when we play them in Week 16.

Miami at Jaxonville:  The Dolphins winning this game would create a tie for the last wild card spot (assuming the Jets win). Miami and Jax both still have tough schedules to play.


Carolina v. New England: This one is pretty obvious.  If the Jets want any chance to win the division New England is going to have to continue to lose games.

The most important game of all:

Jets v. Bucs

The Jets enter this game with a 6-6 record and are contenders for the 6th and final wild card spot.  They are coming off strong games against the Panthers and the Bills.  This week will showcase Kellen Clemens in his first action as the starting quarterback for the Jets this year with Sanchez being declared out with his sprained knee.  I don't expect that Clemens will be throwing the ball much in this game and the Jets should use a running attack spearheaded by Thomas Jones to beat the Bucs.

What to watch for....

• How will Brian Schottenheimer call this game with Kellen Clemens behind center?  Clemens has not seen any action this year other than limited time in Buffalo last week when he did not look very good.  Schotty has been under heavy scrutiny all year for not fully utilizing his running attack which is ranked #1 in the league.  Clemens has been in this system for a long time but I still don't expect to see more than 15-20 pass plays called in this game.  If there are any more than that it means that, 1.) The Jets fall behind big early or 2.) Schottenheimer wants to lose his job.

•  Kerry Rhodes has yet again made the news with two incidents since the last game.  First, he got into a verbal argument with the Jets defensive back coach because he was unhappy about his role in practice.  Second, he posted on his twitter that he would not mind getting out of New York so he could show all the "haters" what he could do in another city.  Rhodes entered this season as a favorite among Jets fans and will leave it as one of the most hated of the last decade.  Rhodes needs a big performance to make all the fans stop talking about his antics off the field.

• LIMITING TURNOVERS will be the key to this game for the Jets.  If the Jets can limit turnovers on offense and get pressure on Josh Freeman they should be able to force turnovers and jump on the Bucs early.

Players to Watch:

• Thomas Jones should get the ball 25-30 times in this game with Kellen Clemens behind center.  Jones has had another stellar season and he should be able to carve up the 1-11 Tampa Bay Bucs if he is able to get going.  Also, look for Shonn Greene to get his fair share of carries as the Jets try to keep the Bucs off balance early with a run heavy attack.

• Eric Smith has been extremely impressive this season and even played well enough to earn the starting job for a few games.  With the Kerry Rhodes situation hitting new lows every week Smith could very well be playing for a starting job next year.  If he is able to keep up his stellar play I have no doubt that he will have a role on this team for years to come. (Refer back to my opening season preview post on our safeties for my prediction that Smith would be starting at some point this year)

• Kellen Clemens is subbing for the injured Mark Sanchez and will have to limit mistakes.  He has been in this system a long time but he must be a game manager in this one and not attempt to make any crazy plays.  Hand the ball off to Thomas Jones and let him do his work.

Game Thoughts:

The Jets should win this game easily as they are playing well and the Bucs are not a very good team.  I expect to see a heavy dose of Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene early on offense and a ton of pressure on rookie Josh Freeman on defense.

Game Prediction:
Jets- 27
Bucs- 13