Division Round: Jets at Pats, 1/16/2011
 

With the countdown at almost exactly five days to go before the Pats play the Jets, I figured it was time to start a pre-game discussion thread. Whether it be yours or something you found by the media, throw all your opinions, analysis, keys to the game and other random thoughts that don't warrant their own threads in this thread.

#6 New York Jets (12-5) at #1 New England Patriots (14-2)
Sunday January 16 at 4:30 p.m. EST on CBS
Jim Nantz and Phil Simms are the announcers
Kevin Harlan, Randy Cross and Kevin Kiley will do the radio broadcast
New England is currently favored by 8½ to 9 points
Over under is currently 45 points
The Money Line ranges from +300 to +350 for the Jets; -380 to -500 for the Pats

Re: Division Round: Jets at Pats, 1/16/2011
 

nantz and simms again. get ready to hear more jets jets jets during the broadcast.

Re: Division Round: Jets at Pats, 1/16/2011
 

NOT SIMMS UGHHHH

christ, he's done almost every Pats game. I cant stand that idiot, he adds absolutely nothing. Phil-osophy Har har har FU.

Re: Division Round: Jets at Pats, 1/16/2011
 

The NFL Today: Jets vs. Patriots Breakdown - CBSSports.com NFL Video

In this rather superficial 3-minute video which starts with the premise of "is there any way the Jets can beat the Pats?", Boomer Esiason says that if the Jets can run the ball the way they did against the Colts then they have a 'puncher's chance' and notes that revenge is a big motivating factor for all athletes - though he stops short and says he doesn't think the Jets will win.

Shannon Sharpe thinks the Jets should put Darrelle Revis on Wes Welker, stay away from blitzes, and force the Pats to go on long drives to score.

Bill Cowher says the Jets do not have the passing game to keep up with the Pats in a high scoring game; he suggests they go with a bend-don't-break style of defense to limit the possessions.

Dan Marino likes BeJarvus Green-Ellis and feels that if the Pats don't beat themselves by turning the ball over, they're not going to lose.

Re: Division Round: Jets at Pats, 1/16/2011
 

Finally, a drama-free thread that's strictly X and O's. Hope it stays that way.

Re: Division Round: Jets at Pats, 1/16/2011
 

getting very anstsy about the game. Need to relax. Can't. The foot Rexy keeps singing driving my BP up and up.

Re: Division Round: Jets at Pats, 1/16/2011
 

I am also antsy as well. I am a teacher and had a snow day today; it was a very productive one, I spent from 10 am to 4 p.m. browsing the internet for pats-jets articles. I dont think I am even going to be able to sleep friday or saturday night.

Re: Division Round: Jets at Pats, 1/16/2011
 

I figured I'd start a humorous thread about some pre-game analysis as a temporary diversion from the REAL story this week, "What Did Rex Say Now!"

Unfortunately this topic may quickly drop to page two or three, I don't know.



From behind enemy lines: BACK PAGE: Jets must play like underdog Packers to beat Patriots | New York Post

So, apparently we have another one of those "they showed us the blueprint on how to beat them" columns. Hey, it's better than 'I can't believe what they're saying on the Jets forum'.

Their first bullet point is the element of surprise, such as an early trick play or scheme to gain momentum; analogy to the GB game is the onside kick. Next is a big play (the 66-yard TD pass to James Jones); the writer feels that "WRs Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards are capable of burning a mostly inexperienced Patriots secondary", and should be able to pull it off because Sanchez is better/more experienced than Matt Flynn.

Next he points to the time of possession in the Packer game where Green Bay held the ball for over 40 minutes; he feels since the Jets have a better running game based on yards per carry that they too should be able to do the same thing, which will result in them being able to keep Brady on the sidelines.

Last thing he points to is avoiding the big mistake, pointing out Connolly's 71-yard kick return and Arrington's pick six. Of course he neglects to make a connection between those plays and the previously mentioned TOP, or why he feels Sanchez will play error-free ball in Foxboro Sunday.

Re: Division Round: Jets at Pats, 1/16/2011
 

Key will be for Sanchez to have a completion rate of less than 60% which he has done up in Foxboro, a place he has yet to win in.

Sanchez has had a few 60% plus game, particularly against Pittsburgh but that was out of a pared playbook which is giftwrapping it for the Patriots D.

As tired as it sounds, the key is still stopping their run game, and with that in mind, I think we are going to open in our run-stopping nickel and I have a feeling it will be a 24 package with plenty of reduced lines, because linebackers are what we have, not defensive linemen. This would put Wilfork just off Mangold, instead of playing BOB and that has given Mangold fits in the past, because he must snap and then bucket step. I think we will see more of that shifting line that we saw in game 2 at Foxboro because it gave their OL the fits, as well as messing up Sanchez's timing.

On offense, the key for us is just to play smart and of course avoid the turnover. With our multiple formations and alignments, the Jets can only mix and match so much, and I think Ryan realizes it was dumb to try and outguess that by shifting Revis all over. This time I think he will just have Revis stick on Welker and take him out to try and slow down the game and reduce the checkdowns. I would look for plenty of stacks on the line and pick plays, the high-lo drags. If the cover 2 is deep, throw the smash at them, and if they stack the box, plenty of play-action with the run. I would not be surprised to see us run trips and counterthrow on those.

Re: Division Round: Jets at Pats, 1/16/2011
 

Some interesting tidbits here:

Sports - Pro Football - The Fifth Down Blog - NYTimes.com