Welker 11 rec, 167 yards, 2 TDs 40 yards given to patriots on holds/illegal contacts/ pass interference.
Should be an interesting match. Lots of mutual dislike between the teams. Jets will be pissed about losing two games, NE will be pissed about the playoff game. Losing Mayo will hurt, but they may be getting back several people such as Boddick, Dowling, Hernandez, Vollmer and Haynesworth. I think NE will run more than most people expect. They had 180 yards against Oakland on the ground and Oakland's DL is not bad.
I'm gonna think positive and say the Jets play well. The Patriots pass rush is much less disruptive than Baltimore and even Oakland/Dallas. Hopefully the Jets establish some semblance of a running game and Sanchez actually gets time to stand in the pocket and deliver. The defense should be okay, I have faith in the DBs against Brady. After a game like last night there's nowhere to go but up.
Defense is so much in shambles, Mayo's presence doesn't make a diff in my opinion .. Yeah, he played well during the Charger's game.. haven't seen him standout other than that ..
I really think the jets should play mcknight more- The running game has been shit, partly because of our O-line, but I have not liked what Ive seen from greene so far- and yes the holes for him to run through are small and seem not existent at times, he's still had opportunities and has been hitting the wrong holes that stuff him instead of getting a gain. I liked McKnights vision coming out of college and he has the burst to potential break a long run. Yes people have criticized his fumbling in the past, but look at greene- he fumbled in the oakland game that was negated by a penalty and yesterday that he luckily recovered. The running game is desperate and this kid should get a shot. Theres no reason not to
Two teams struggling on opposite sides of the ball. Still can't get any worse or weirder then last night.
Lose this one badly and its panic time. If it's a 21-17 loss and there were no turnovers, then this team should be ready to go 4-3 against the Bolts and Fins. And then, after the bye, rape everyone. This team is a december team. That's their identity. But we are used to 3-1 with Rex as the coach as well. This team at worst is 8-8. Which gets them a good draft spot to make the push for some really great impact players in rounds 1 and 2. Or, shit, they could trade back and have a 9 pick draft.
Well Sanchez ISN'T an elite QB, never was, never will be. I know this will rile all the Shotty haters, but he has done a masterful job the past 2 years protecting Sanchez and correctly playing to the strengths of the Jets, which was their running game, defense, and OL. Now that the defense and OL regressed, the running game has dropped off, which of course makes the play action pass game less effective, and Sanchez has been exposed for what he is. That being said, Sanchez isn't a bad QB either, just not one who can "carry" a team like a Brady, Manning, or Rogers. The sooner Jet fans realize that Sanchez is more of a complementary QB than an elite one, the lower their expectations and blood pressure will become. Again I'm not saying Sanchez sucks, or that the Jets can't beat the Pats Sunday. I'm just saying that he "is what he is" and what "he is" should be apparent to most Jet fans by now. Now in a lot of games the match ups are couched as the "irresistible force" meeting the "immovable object". This Jets game is almost the opposite it. Its the offense that can't move against the defense that can't stop anybody. Its almost laughable. Now in defense of the defenseless defense I would point out that the Pats were missing a lot of people in Oakland. To put it on Jet terms. The Pats played the Raiders, on the road without Cromartie, Wilson, Divito, and Harris. Try and contemplate how the Jets D would be without those key players. Yet, despite the adversity still managed to hold the league's top rusher to 75 rushing yds. More compelling is if you take away McFadden's ONE 40yd scamper. he averaged LESS than 3ypc on the rest of his carries. That it also managed to keep the same team that put up 34 points on the Jets to just 13 before garbage time. AND that ends anything good I can say about our defense. It would be nice if Dowling, Boddin, and Haynesworth return, but who knows, one can only assume that they won't until they show up and practice. Mayo, Woodhead, and Hernandez will certainly be out So the bottom line here is if the Jets offense is going to make a comeback, this would seem to be the week to do it....and if they can't, then all I can say is.......OUCH!:wink: Its going to be interesting to see how Rex approaches defending Welker. I've always believed that in the NFL, any defense can shut down one aspect of a team's arsenal. so I have no reason to believe the Jets can.t effectively, slow down Welker's production. Their 2nd job will be to shut down the Gronk, which Oakland did well, so I guess it can be done. The question is can you do BOTH. Well the last time the teams met the Jets were able to hold the Pats to just 21 points, but the key to THAT game was the Pats inability (or lack of commitment) to run the ball effectively. Well so far, at least, the Pats effectiveness to run the ball has been a nice little secret. The best passing offense in the league is running the ball at a 4.8 ypc clip, and is 9th in the league to total rushing yds. Now Woodhead won't play this week, but Steven Ridley has been a big surprise averaging over 8 ypc in limited action. So this will be a MUCH tougher test than what the Raven posed. On the defensive side, I will be surprised if the Pats can't do at least a decent job against the Jets running attack, even with Mangold back. The key to the Pats success on D will be their ability to control Keller and LT in the passing game. Holmes, Mason, and Burress are certainly threats, but Keller and LT are Sanchez's go to guys. Like Welker and Gronk for the Jets, these are the guys the Pats have to shut down. Because the game is at home I expect the Pats to hold serve, but regardless of the result its still very early in a marathon. For the Pats the key to any long term success will be to get healthy on D and see if it will improve as the year goes on. If it doesn't improve, it doesn't bode well for a long playoff run. I will be more interested to see if in a couple of weeks the Pats have the mental toughness to win in NJ. THAT will show me more about where the Pats are as a team, than a win at home in week 5 BTW- I can't leave without pointing that the best example of the difference in how our 2 organizations are run is in the OL. The Jets lost Woody to Retirement and Mangold to injury and the Jets OL has become a mess. The Pats lost Neal to retirement and BOTH Koppen and Volmer to injury and the Pats OL hasn't missed a beat. Just a thought
Damn Mick. You are always one of my favorite posters here because you are positive and realistic. To hear that 8-8 entered your mind, even as a worst case scenario bums me out. I hear you though. Shit....after beating NE last year in the playoffs, I really thought this was the year to win the division, get home playoff games, and dare I say it....get to the SB. Doesn't feel that way now. 10-6 and an early playoff exit would be tough to take. 9-7 or 8-8 would be devastating with the expectations we had. Hopefully we get this figured out....and soon. :grin:
Its predicated on Mangold missing one more game and the general mentality of this team. 8-8 happens due to injuries, and one phase of this team never showing up on sunday. The jets have embarrassed teams when all 3 phases show up, but its seldom on this team. Rex has to start boasting again to get this team focused. His subdued nature is due to someone sitting him down and telling him he can't be boastful anymore (IMO) and I'm pissed at that. He's not being himself. If he wants the KILL mentality back, he needs to start making declarations at press conferences once more. Let's start being villains again. It works. I thought a run at the division was possible too, and it is still possible, as odd as that is, but we've seen that Nick Mangold is to the Jets what Troy Polamalu is to the Steelers (before this year). He's the heart and soul of the offensive mentality on the field. I still hold that things can turn around in 2 weeks, and then they make a run after the bye for a 10-6 wild card. Shit, if they get healthy and mean once more - 11-5 isn't out of the question. They've gone 9-3, its was last year. Its a matter of getting mean and kicking ass. And getting healthy.
The Patriots should run the ball a lot against the Jets. Ridley had a good day yesterday, so that's another option at RB with BJGE and Woodhead. If Bryan Thomas is hurt still, they could run to the outside more often than they did last year. This is the game where Ochocinco has to step up to the plate and be the outside threat. The Jets will take away the middle of the field, so the receivers on the outside have to have a good game. Welker has transformed into more of an outside threat this season so you can't just label him a slot guy anymore. It's going to be a close game that could go either way.
In 2009, Welker went off against the Jets for over 100 yards. Last season in all three games Welker did not surpass 100 yards. Rexy has the corners to lock down Welker, and unlike other teams the Jets will play straight man and just have Revis/Cro follow him to the slot and maybe get help too. Defending the tight end is usually problematic for the Jets.
You do realize there is a huge void between "Brady, Manning, or Rogers" and a "complementary QB". There is no reason given his maturation so far to think that Sanchez couldn't be as good as say...Eli Manning given enough time. If you actually take a look at Sanchez's career stats they compare favorably with where Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco were a year ago career wise. Sanchez of course had a poor game last night, but there wasn't much most NFL QB's could have done in that situation.
Should be interesting to watch the Jets offense vs the worst defense in the NFL. Is it possible the space/time continuum collapses due to too much suckage?
Why? If the Jets lose they're 2-3 with 1 loss being in division. This three game stretch is the hardest one on their schedule this whole season. If the Jets can manage to split with the Pats and Bills, and sweep the Dolphins the road to a 9-7/10-6 finish isn't that hard to layout. 2-3 L pats 3-3 W fins 3-4 L chargers bye 3-5 L Bills 4-5 W Pats 5-5 W Broncos 6-5 W Bills 6-6 L Redskins 7-6 W Chiefs 8-6 W Eagles 8-7 L Giants 9-7 W Dolphins. This is assuming the Jets lose to the Giants and Redskins and beat the Eagles. If they sneak a win in against the Giants, Skins or Chargers, can split with the Bills/Pats and win the games they should win (Dolphins, Chields, Broncos) the Jets get to 10-6. The losses to the Raiders and Ravens might be tough for the wildcard race, but there is no reason to write the season off if the Jets lose to the pats on Sunday.
lets get real here, the JETS can win this game. The Patriots D is terrible and as hinted yesterday, they want to be more balance. Meaning, run and pass instead of just Brady being their bread and butter. If they want to run, fine, we can stop that. Pass, we can stop that too but it wont be as easy as the run because of two players. Gronkowski and Welker. More so Welker because he is always the main target if the Patriots are on a 3rd down. Contain him on 3rd down or sack Brady (Maybin can really help right here in this situation) , the Patriots will punt the ball. Now, this is yet another game were the Jets will need to attack the secondary but every time its obvious that we should, WE DONT DO IT. So heres hoping the play calling is improved for the next game. And most importantly, heres hoping the Jets OLINE can hold up... Also, it would really help if we go on a no huddle, assuming we are up if Haynesworth and Wilfork are on the field. It would be interesting to see if they can catch up :rofl:.
