It's been a long time since we have gotten to this tier of the playoffs. The last time was at Heinz Field against the Steelers and a bad night for O'Brien, and Herm playing not to lose. Yuk, horrid memories. We are a much better team now, than we were then. I really think we give SD a solid fight. I think our guys are going to love the warmer conditions, but the playing field will be equal weather-wise. I think Sanchez we'll be very pumped to have a great game because he will be close to his roots. We will find out if the great play of Saturaday was an abberation or if he really is totally getting it. Nevertheless, I see this one as a fantanstic game. Obviously, I am going to root for the Jets, but I am not jinxing anything by making some lame prediction. I know our guys are coming to play and play hard.
Streaks are made to be broken, That's as true for their offensive streak as it is for our defensive one.
If you look really closely, you can the Chargers sneaking into the 5th spot of one of those categories, it may take a while to find but keep looking! (The 4 passing teams above the Chargers in that passing category are four teams we happened to play a combined 5 times, and if you look to the right of that, you will see we still retain our #1 in Pass Defense statistic)
That extra inch goes a long way (that's what she said). We'll see, we'll see. So what are we saying here just so we're clear when the game is over? No catches by VJax over Revis at all? No catches over 20 yards by VJax over Revis? Just want to be clear for post game debate...should be interesting. I might have to make a bet with some local Jets buddies on that one
I don't doubt that Revis will limit what VJ does in this game, but don't be shocked if Vincent still ends up with a big play or two. He's made catches this year when he was blanketed and just did something amazing, like one-handed grabs, and he's very good at using his body box out and get to PR's intentionally underthrown rainbows. Gates will be the biggest thorn in your side at the beginning of the game, IMO. You can't cover him with a LB. Every team tries that and by the end of the game they're using safeties and Corners. He was limited by a major foot injury in '07, and was recovering from surgery from said foot injury in '08. He looks as quick and fast as he did in '06, and he is putting up WR numbers. He makes a lot of catches down the field in the 10-25 yard range, and will exploit any weakness in the middle of your defense. Rivers has become very good at reading defenses. The Chargers are also patient on offense. They don't run and gun like the Cardinals or Colts, or some other passing teams you see. They're perfectly happy to dink-and-dunk and keep defenses honest with the run. You won't see Rivers come out and try to throw into the teeth of your defense. The Chargers play to the situation, and are good at manipulating defenses into favorable coverages. The key for the Jets will be to get consistent pass pressure. I say "consistent" because, like any QB in the league, PR can be worn down if he is having to hurry his throws every other play and is getting hit repeatedly. If you had the Ravens' o-line, I would be very concerned about that, since our center Hardwick tends to struggle with mammoth nose tackles. Your d-line is not that big, though, and I think our o-line is capable of controlling the LoS. I say "capable" of course because you never know how things will go until the whistle blows. If you guys do manage to start getting steady pressure, you'll see Rivers go to a three-step drop, throw the ball quickly mode. At that point it will be up to your defense to tackle well and limit the YAC. The screen is also dangerous, especially when Sproles is on the field. He may be the best screen-runner in the NFL. Your best chance at generating pass pressure will come from the right side of our o-line, where we have a rookie tackle and a rookie guard. Vasquez is a stud, though. He's a guy who will be a future pro-bowler at guard, IMO. Dombrowski could be the weak-link at RT, but he has also been solid this year, and he has had help from tight ends and running backs chipping. If, for some reason, Dombrowski struggles, we can bring Runyon in off the bench. You likely will not generate steady pressure from the left side of the line. McNeill and Dielman are both pro-bowlers, and they both will be completely healthy for the first time all year. Our running game has struggled to generate big plays this year, but that's likely due in large part to the fact that Hardwick, our pro-bowl center, was injured in the first game and didn't return until Week 16. He's had two games (well, about 5 quarters) back to shake of the rust. In his first game back against the Titans we looked as good as we've looked all year running the football. Will that translate to the post-season? It remains to be seen. Personally, I think you'll see a lot of 1-3 yard carries from LT, and Sproles will be the guy who pops off a big run or two. Our running game has still been effective simply because the Chargers very, very rarely commit penalties, and almost never have negative plays, so even a 3 yard run is useful. I do think the Jets will be able to control our running game, and it will come down to how well Rivers reads the blitz. So far this year he's been excellent. Our defense has been excellent in the red-zone this year. I don't doubt you guys will have success moving between the twenties on at least 4 or 5 drives unless you turn the ball over. The problem will be that the Chargers' defense has been stiff in the red-zone, and has limited opposing teams to a lot of field goals.
You really shouldn't be counting on anyone to have a big day or even a decent day against Revis. Look elsewhere for your offensive production.
I'll say this again. WE WILL NOT BE COVERING GATES W/A LB'er!!!!!!!! Gates will have a DB on him. Smith, Strickland, Lowery, Leonhard even Rhodes EOS... Every week we've been Hearing .."Oh, But our receiver is X" Every week Muther Fukers get LOST ON REVIS ISLAND. Is VJax Better than all those receivers? Steve Smith, Moss, TO, OchoNada??? Fuk that yall better Recognize bitches..... :lol:
I think it's going to come down to some playcalling. Schotty did a nice job in the opening of this week's game. But in the 4Q when we had an obvious advantage in running left, or faking left with the bootleg, there were far too many runs right leading to 3 and outs.
How do you stop a High Power Offense? KEEP THEM OFF THE FIELD! How do you keep them off the field? RUN the BALL! Best Corner, Best Defense, Best Run attack! We Can Do Dis!
Jackson is just as good as all of those receivers. Where the advantage lies is the QB/WR relationship. Let's face it, Brady has lost a step and Moss is a quitter. Palmer can't hit a barn. T.O. - Come on...that guy hasn't done jack squat for a long time. Don't be surprised when VJax pulls one out of the air for a big gain over Revis. We'll just agree to disagree until the game on Sunday then we'll talk.
The Chargers have some good receivers but they're no better than the guys Revis and Sheppard shut down this year and arguably aren't as good as a few of them. Andre Johnson is the best receiver in the NFL right now and Randy Moss is still way up there also. The QB's who did well against this Jets defense did not do so because their wideouts were elite. They did so because they either had Wes Welker in the slot or they had a dominant running attack on the day. Chad Henne had a very good day in Miami's first win and the big story of that day was not Henne, it was the Jets unable to stop the Wildcat. He had an ok game in the rematch also. Tom Brady got a career day out of Welker in the slot and beat the Jet's pressure as result. David Garrard had a good day when the Jets could not shut down the Jaguars rushing attack at all. So for the Chargers to have a good day in the air against the Jets they are either going to need to establish the run early or they're going to need to find a gifted slot receiver to take advantage of the blitzes. Just a good one won't work, because the Jets shut down Brady and the Pats while Julian Edelman was catching 8 balls for 98 yards out of the slot in the game Welker missed due to injury. As to TE's, well the Jets faced a few good TE's this season and had mixed results. They faced Dallas Clark, but for only a half and he caught 4 passes for 57 yards. The half he did that in was a 9 point affair for the Colts offense. They faced Tony Gonzalez and completely shut him down until a defensive breakdown late let him catch a key TD against the goal-line defense. If Gates runs wild then the Jets may have a real problem on their hands. He's been quiet to end the season though and he may just keep slumbering on next weekend. Even if he has a big game it may not be decisive given the Jets ability to break the string on sequence offenses this year. The Chargers need to come out and establish the run early on Sunday. If I see them in pass-first mode early on and they don't break the Jets defense I think we have an excellent chance to win the game.
3 Words: Time Of Possession If the Jets can run the ball like they can and keep the Chargers Offense off the field then they have a great chance to win the game. Rhodes is going to be the X Factor. If he can help control Gates and keep the Chargers from playing jump ball when Rivers gets pressured, the Jets can limit the damage. Harris also better be ready to help stop the Chargers running game.
