Tomorrow is the game. It is probably the biggest game the New York Jets have played since I have been alive, even though it is a divisional round game. But it is in New England and against the team I hate the most in football, the Patriots.
Every preview I hear basically says that the Jets have next to no shot at winning this game because they remember 45-3, because of the great Patriot offense and that the anointed one hasn't thrown an interception in 300 attempts. People don't seem to remember he threw five passes in the Packers game where a ball hit a Green Bay defender right in the hands and fell harmlessly to the turf. So that little streak is bogus. And more people seem to be interested in talks trash better as opposed to breaking down the individual matchups. Last I checked we don't get points for throwing the best verbal barbs.
Obviously for the Jets to win, a few things have to go right. The first is Mark Sanchez playing cool and calm throughout. I have no doubt that the offensive line will protect him against the Patriots defensive line. But Bill Belichick is excellent at scheming and will do everything possible to keep the second-year QB uncomfortable. So what I want to see from Sanchez is completing those quick slant passes. Know when to run with the ball like he did on that drive in Indy last week. But with 1 TD and 7 INT's in his two previous visits to Gillette Stadium, he'd better figure it out quickly.
The second thing is defensive coverage on the Pat tight ends, Gronkowski and Hernandez, as well as Woodhead/Woodcock, or whatever Joe Theismann called him. The Jets linebackers are excellent at tackling but not at pass coverage and this is where many teams have exploited them for most of the season. Now last time, the Jets had only been without captain Jim Leonhard for three days. Now there are no excuses. This is on safeties Brodney Pool, James Ihedigbo, Eric Smith, and Dwight Lowery. And this especially goes on third down.
Third, as simplistic as it sounds, it matters that much more: turnovers. As much as I despise them, New England turned the ball over ten times this season and that is impressive. When the Jets beat New England in Week 2, they forced three Patriot turnovers. I think plus-one is absolutely necessary.
Fourth, a good start. The Jets are notoriously slow starters and if they fall behind by more than ten points, I don't think they can come back. They need to keep running the ball against this inexperienced defense and not force Sanchez to throw deep.
I never envisioned the Jets holding Indianapolis to just 1 TD last week, but they did. They played a "bend, don't break" defense and they Jets were able to score just enough points to win the game. And Adam Vinatieri made three field goals indeed. This week, it's Shayne Graham and it's outdoors. I'll take my chances with field goal attempts all night long. I think if the Jets limit New England to two TD's and three FG attempts, I would take it. So the question is, can the Jets offense play well enough to win this one. I know they have the talent. But will they execute?
Five Jets who need to play huge (Besides the obvious)
1) Jason Taylor/Calvin Pace
2) Brodney Pool
3) Santonio Holmes
4) Shonn Greene
5) The entire defensive line
Pick: Jets 27, Patriots 20
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