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ESPN 2013 2nd Half predictions

i predict that the jets finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs
 
i predict that the jets finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs

I kinda agree with this, they have a tough remaining schedule. BUT, I think they are going to be tough to face, held N.O. to 20 points and we averaged 20 points a game against them. They have a very tough defense, Wilkerson and the rookie Sheldon Richardson look like they are gonna be studs, as does Coples. Jets are tied for 4th in sacks with 27 (we are tied for 3rd with 29 !!!). 9-7 or 8-8 are real possibilities.
 
Jets have the best run defense by far. In fact NE has given up twice as many yards on the ground.
 
Two paragraphs on the Broncos; one saying they'll miss Fox's Hall of Fame presence, and the other showing the significant cracks that have appeared the last few weeks under his leadership.

2. The Broncos will struggle without John Fox
The people who think the Broncos can get along just fine without Fox -- who could miss the rest of the regular season after heart surgery -- are underestimating his value to that team.
Quarterback Peyton Manning might be dominating the headlines with his MVP-worthy play so far (2,919 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, 6 interceptions), but Fox has done a few things to help their cause, as well. Given the state of Denver's team in recent weeks, Fox's absence should cause more concern.

Then...

The defense ranks tied for 25th in points allowed (27.3 per game). The offense struggled with protection issues in an upset loss to Indianapolis. This isn't the same team that was running wild in the first few weeks of this season. Tougher games lie ahead (including divisional matchups with Kansas City and San Diego), and Fox's absence will be felt, even with experienced Jack Del Rio filling in as interim head coach.

True, Del Rio sucks more than Fox. And maybe he'll make some really dumb decisions that hurt the team. But as that second graph shows, the Broncs were showing some cracks already. I guess I just see where this is going: If they keep winning, it will be "Manning guides Denver through devastating loss of coach." And if they sink, it'll be "Even Manning couldn't overcome loss of Hall of Fame coach."
 
The Jets continue their trend of "win one, lose one" they had in the first half, they are not going to be better than 8-8. They have been fortunate in the first half of the season. They won two games on bonehead penalties by the other team and the Saints being without several key members on both sides of the ball like Colston, Sproles, and all of their safeties.

I think the Jets will have to have these type of lucky breaks in the second half to go 9-7 or 10-6 which will be needed to win the final Wild Card spot. With a longest winning streak of one game thus far this season, they have little margin for error.
 
Two paragraphs on the Broncos; one saying they'll miss Fox's Hall of Fame presence, and the other showing the significant cracks that have appeared the last few weeks under his leadership.



Then...



True, Del Rio sucks more than Fox. And maybe he'll make some really dumb decisions that hurt the team. But as that second graph shows, the Broncs were showing some cracks already. I guess I just see where this is going: If they keep winning, it will be "Manning guides Denver through devastating loss of coach." And if they sink, it'll be "Even Manning couldn't overcome loss of Hall of Fame coach."

Fox isn't a great coach, but he is far better than Del Rio. And with Del Rio taking on more responsibility, it will only hurt an already mediocre defense.
 
The Jets have

@Buffalo - I'd favor them to win this game but division games you never know. Go with a win.

@Baltimore - Ravens are still tough at home so a loss.

Miami - is a mess so a win.

Oakland - crap team coming east is a win.

@ Carolina - We'll know more about the Panthers after the next two weeks against SF and NE but seemingly tough road game we'll say loss for now.

Cleveland - Won't move the ball so win.

@Miami - Dolphins will be packed in so a win.

I can see them coming out of this 5-2. Even if it's 4-3 they might get a WC slot in the playoffs. That's a really easy schedule.

Say what you will and I hate the Jets too I want nothing to do with that defense in the playoffs. They've played the Pats to a draw twice this season already and beat them in the playoffs in Foxboro in 2010.
 
They've played the Pats to a draw twice this season already and beat them in the playoffs in Foxboro in 2010.

just an FYI that was 3 years ago, and means absolutely nothing.
 
The Jets have

@Buffalo - I'd favor them to win this game but division games you never know. Go with a win.

@Baltimore - Ravens are still tough at home so a loss.

Miami - is a mess so a win.

Oakland - crap team coming east is a win.

@ Carolina - We'll know more about the Panthers after the next two weeks against SF and NE but seemingly tough road game we'll say loss for now.

Cleveland - Won't move the ball so win.

@Miami - Dolphins will be packed in so a win.

I can see them coming out of this 5-2. Even if it's 4-3 they might get a WC slot in the playoffs. That's a really easy schedule.

Say what you will and I hate the Jets too I want nothing to do with that defense in the playoffs. They've played the Pats to a draw twice this season already and beat them in the playoffs in Foxboro in 2010.

I am still not all that impressed with the Jets' defense. Their d-line is awesome. Their LB corp is decent. Their secondary makes the 2009-2011 Patriots secondary look like a bunch of All Pros. You can pass on the Jets. You can't run on them.

If last week was any indication of the Patriots' offense going forward, I think the Pats COULD kill the Jets in the playoffs. They have no answer for a healthy Gronk. Heck, they didn't have an answer for an unhealthy Gronk his first game back.

Also, the Raider did beat San Diego and played Indy tough. The Raiders were beating Indy with a little over 5 minutes left in the game. They are no easy win. They may not be a good team, but they are a dangerous team because they do play most games close and can sneak up on a team here or there.

Also, don't count Cleveland out. Their defense is pretty good and Jason Campbell is decent. He threw for 3 TDs on the Ravens this past week. He also had 293 yards and 2 TDs vs. the best defense in football in the Chiefs. He might be able to pick apart the Jets' swiss cheese secondary.
 
Tennessee has a good chance of finishing ahead of the Jets, or perhaps winning a tiebreaker. Right now the Titans are 3-2 in the AFC and the Jets 2-4 (if I recall correctly conference record would be the tiebreaker between the two). Tennessee is 4-4, ½ game behind the Jets for the last playoff spot.

The Titans defense is just as good if not better than the Jets.
Points per game: TN 20.9 (9th), NYJ 25.7 (21st)
Yards per game: TN 340 (11th), NYJ 325 (7th)
Takeaways: TN 15 (in one less game), NYJ 7


Remaining Schedule:

Wk 10 Sun, Nov 10
vs Jacksonville

Wk 11 Thu, Nov 14
vs Indianapolis

Wk 12 Sun, Nov 24
@ Oakland

Wk 13 Sun, Dec 1
@ Indianapolis

Wk 14 Sun, Dec 8
@ Denver

Wk 15 Sun, Dec 15
vs Arizona

Wk 16 Sun, Dec 22
@ Jacksonville

Wk 17 Sun, Dec 29
vs Houston


If they can split with the Colts then the Titans could end up going 10-6 and claim the #6 seed outright; even at 9-7 they could be in position to win a tiebreaker.
 
Brady was 19/39, 185 yards and 1 TD in the first game.

Game two 22/46, 228 yards 0 TD and a pick 6.

Those are hardly lighting it up.

The Jets have faced the 4th most passing attempts in the league. That's because teams know they can't run against them. They're 11th in yards per attempt and 21st in yards per game. So the total yards don't tell the entire story.
 
Brady was 19/39, 185 yards and 1 TD in the first game.

Game two 22/46, 228 yards 0 TD and a pick 6.

Those are hardly lighting it up.

The Jets have faced the 4th most passing attempts in the league. That's because teams know they can't run against them. They're 11th in yards per attempt and 21st in yards per game. So the total yards don't tell the entire story.

In the first game, the Pats were without Gronk and Amendola. And if Thompkins and Dobson held onto the balls where they were wide open in that game, Brady easily would have had over 300 yards and 3 TDs or more. The Jets would have covered better if they took out their entire secondary and added four more d-linemen in that game. Their secondary was god-awful in that game. So bad that Miliner was benched. The Pats were just unlucky to have two rookie WRs as primary WRs each in either their first or second game and had a case of the dropsies. If Dobson was as experienced as he was now, he would have feasted on that defense.

In the second game, Brady had wide open receivers and his passes were off. That was because the first play of the second half, Coples ripped his fingers on his throwing hand trying to break up a pass. In the first half, Brady feasted on theJets' defense. In the second half, his hand was an issue.

This is the problem with looking at stats in the game and using it to draw a conclusion, In the first game, the Jets' secondary was atrocious, but the Pats receivers couldn't hold onto balls where they were wide open. In the second game, Brady feasted on the defense until he hurt his throwing hand.

And I never look at yards for defense. I look at more important stats. The Jets are tied for 27th with four other teams in passing TDs allowed. They are 25th in INTs. They are 22nd in opposing QB rating. They are 21st in points allowed.
 
I want to see the Patriots crush the Ravens' last hope to make the Playoffs.
 
I want to see the Patriots crush the Ravens' last hope to make the Playoffs.

Don't overlook the ravens. According to Suggs they'd be 8-0 right now without the league wide conspiracy against them.
 
Don't overlook the ravens. According to Suggs they'd be 8-0 right now without the league wide conspiracy against them.
Don't forget, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick peer pressured Ozzie Newsome into giving Joe Flacco that team friendly contract.
 
If we can go 5-2 after the bye, we should have a shot at getting that #2 seed.

If we'd hold the bye and the #2 seed, the NYJ would likely have to win 2 playoff games to face the Pats, so I'm hardly going to sweat it.

I think the bye is obviously important enough in most years, but I really think it's important for this particular team in 2013. Being able to win ONE playoff game at home (after a 2 week break) to get to the AFCCG would go quite a long, long way in improving our odds.
 
If Dobson was as experienced as he was now, he would have feasted on that defense.

That's a lot of excuses. I'm sure if we look at the 2010 playoff game we could come up with a lot of them as well. Fact is the Jets played them to a standstill no matter who was missing and who knows who will be missing for both teams were they to meet again. They match up well with the Pats and I'd much rather face the Titans, Chargers, Dolphins or somebody of that ilk. I do think the Patriots would win a rematch but to say it's a slam dunk is homerism run amuck.

So in two weeks Dobson has become super experienced? Because he has a great day against a piss poor Steelers defense? The game in between he looked ok against the Fins. I hope he's turned the corner and the proverbial switch has been turned on too but to say he's all of sudden experienced is ridiculous. To steal the Tuna line lets not put him in Canton yet.
 
That's a lot of excuses. I'm sure if we look at the 2010 playoff game we could come up with a lot of them as well. Fact is the Jets played them to a standstill no matter who was missing and who knows who will be missing for both teams were they to meet again. They match up well with the Pats and I'd much rather face the Titans, Chargers, Dolphins or somebody of that ilk. I do think the Patriots would win a rematch but to say it's a slam dunk is homerism run amuck.

So in two weeks Dobson has become super experienced? Because he has a great day against a piss poor Steelers defense? The game in between he looked ok against the Fins. I hope he's turned the corner and the proverbial switch has been turned on too but to say he's all of sudden experienced is ridiculous. To steal the Tuna line lets not put him in Canton yet.

Several things:
  • I am not making excuses at all. The Pats executed poorly on offense in the first game. The Jets secondary executed even worse. Unfortunately even when you get beaten like a rented mule in the secondary, you don't get penalized by it if the wide open receiver can't hold onto the ball.
  • Go back and look at the comments from this board after the first Jets game. People were killing Thompkins and Dobson for dropping so many balls, but were encouraged by the fact that they both were so wide open they were all game especially how Thompkins actually owned Cromartie who was supposed to be near elite at the time.
  • It isn't two weeks with Dobson. It is eight weeks. I didn't say anything about Dobson in game two. He actually played pretty well in that game. I compared Dobson week 2 (his first game as a pro) to this week (week 10). Anyone who can't see that Dobson is starting to come into his own over the last 3 or 4 games isn't watching the games. Dobson today is worlds better than he was week 2. I don't have the numbers, but Dobson probably had as more drops in the first game vs. the Jets than he has had over the last month or month and a half.
  • I never said it was a slam dunk that the Pats would win, but the Jets secondary absolutely sucks and can be exploited. As I said in the last Jets game, if the o-line can keep the Jets' defensive line from Brady he will eat that secondary alive. The key is to stop their d-line. When teams do (like Cincy two weeks ago), it is like playing Madden on that secondary. The Jets defenders made Marvin Jones look like Calvin Johnson. That is how bad their secondary is.
 
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Mark Morse
2 weeks ago
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