Joe Caporoso - 12 Pack
Chris Gross- Jets 24, New England 21: Tomorrow, the Jets will display the same mentality that they had last week in St. Louis, the mindset that their backs are against the wall and they need to swing from the hip to survive throughout the rest of the season. While New York is historically bad under Rex Ryan when facing the Patriots in the clubs’ second regular season matchups, they have yet to play under these circumstances.
In the past, New York has been poised to top New England for the divisional lead in match up number 2, but now they host the Patriots as a team of desperation. How much will this team be willing to do to survive? One thing about the Jets in the Ryan era is that they have fought through a lot of adversity. Expect another aggressive gameplan from both coordinators. Sparano needs to pull out all the stops, including a further commitment to his 3 headed RB approach. Defensively, look for Rex to disguise his pressure schemes, creating the illusion that he is sending more pass rushers than he actually is. Tom Brady is lights out against the blitz (86 attempts, 10 TDs, 0 INTs, 90.0 QBR, 127.2 passer rating), so Ryan must let Brady think he has the Jets right where he wants them, only to drop 7 and rush 4. Blitzes will be neccesary, but it is essential the Jets get to Brady, otherwise it will be lights out. Expect a hard fought, chippy game, one that once again comes down to the wire, only with New York coming out on top this time around.
Rob Celletti - It’s amazing what one win can do. Last week, I truly believed that this team was dead in the water. Granted, they played a weak Rams team that came into a clear letdown situation, and had an extremely poor gameplan to boot (thanks Schotty!). But that win certainly helped lift the gloom off of the Jets season and gives the team and its fans at least half a hope of saving the 2012 season.
Mike Donnelly - Everything is set up for the Jets to take this game and make us as fans even more confused as to what kind of team they are. Rob Gronkowski is out and the Patriots only had a short week to prepare for the game without him. The Jets are home, they’re desperate, and home teams always have an advantage on these Thursday games. I laid out my 3 keys to the game in yesterday’s Stock Watch column, and I think the Jets are going to end up putting check marks next to all 3 of them when all is said and done. They’ll protect the football, they’ll harass Tom Brady, and with Gronk out, they’ll find a way to slow down Wes Welker. Let’s be real: The Jets should have won the last time these two teams met in Foxboro a few weeks ago. This time they will get over the hump and pull it out down the stretch, 24-20
Chris Celletti - If I were the Jets, I would throw 40 times on Thursday, right around the same amount they did in Week 7, because that’s how you beat the Patriots. Something tells me the Jets are going to scale Sanchez back a bit and look for a very balanced attack. As for the Jets’ defense, I think people are putting a little bit too much credence into Rob Gronkowski’s injury. He’s a big loss, but this doesn’t mean the Patriots aren’t going to be able to move the ball or score points. It will be up to the Jets’ defense to make a few big plays in the red zone and make New England kick field goals. To me, this game comes down to Mark Sanchez and whether he can hold on to the ball and make plays down the field. The chances will be there, and Sanchez very well could throw for over 300 yards and a few touchdowns. If he does, the Jets win. Give us a nice kickoff to the holiday season boys. Go out and beat the Pats, 27-24
THANKSGIVING PICKS
- Joe - DET (+3), DAL (-3), NYJ (+7)
- Chris G - HOU (-3), WAS (+3), NYJ (+7)
- Mike - DET (+3), DAL (-3), NYJ (+7)
- Rob - DET (+3), DAL (-3), NYJ (+7)
- Chris C - HOU (-3), DAL (-3), NYJ (+7)
I don’t know what to make of this game. The Jets have laid too many eggs against the Pats to have much confidence in them. They had a chance to beat them in Foxboro last month, but they didn’t make the plays in crunch time necessary to win.
Coach Sparano had a good game plan against them last time. They threw early, softened up the defense, then had wider lanes to run through. They should do same thing. If Mark can avoid turning the ball over, they’ll be in a position to win.