Okay, so the New York Jets might have a good game and pull of a win. I doubt it. Here are three reasons the New England Patriots might beat the Jets.
3. Patriots Offensive Weapons -
QB: Tom Brady
WR: Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Brandon Tate, maybe Julian Edelman
TE: Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Alge Crumpler
RB: Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk
At any point, these are 10 weapons that could score for the Patriots. There's no way the Jets will be able to account for all of these players. Sure, Darrelle Revis might be able to slow Randy Moss, but he stayed away from training camp and has a slight hamstring injury from being run ragged by the Baltimore Ravens- and Moss loves to run. If Revis has an injury that develops, this is going to be a blowout.
If Revis is fine, that still leaves Wes Welker against Antonio Cromartie, who won't be able to stop him, and Kyle Wilson against Brandon Tate. I'll take those match-ups any day. That also leaves Gronk and Herno against, who? That's a huge match-up problem. Todd Heap of the Baltimore Ravens had 6 catches for 72 yards. Look for a bigger combined day from the rookies.
On to the running game. If the Jets want to stop the pass, they won't be able to stack the box. They'll need 6 players in coverage, just to stop Moss, Welker, Tate and Gronk/Hern. No question. That leaves 5 to rush Tom Brady, who will always have an outlet pass to a running back. If the Jets don't blitz, the Patriots should be able to run the ball as well as the Patriots run the ball- not great, but it will get the job done. The fact that the Patriots have many more receiving weapons than the Ravens, and are playing a potentially injured Revis, means that they'll have to devote a lot more attention to the secondary and the running game should be able to develop.
Just looking at the offensive opportunities for the Patriots makes me excited for the game.
Read the other two reasons after the jump!
2. Mark Sanchez - He's awful. Do I have to explain further? I do? Fine. He threw 3 completions to his wide receivers last game against a pitiful Ravens secondary. He's checking down so much, Trent Edwards called and asked for tips. Sanchez won't be throwing the ball deep, which means that play Darius Butler had, where he smacked the receiver at full speed at the line of scrimmage, is going to happen very frequently. Sanchez absolutely won't be winning games and he'll be more likely to cost the Jets the victory. If the Patriots can stop/slow the running game long enough to force the Jets to play catch-up, the Patriots are going to capitalize on Sanchez having to throw the ball. What else is there to say?Sanchez is just terrible. 29th worst QB rating, which is right on par with his 28th worst QB rating in 2009. He's picking up where he left off. At the bottom.
1. Bill Belichick + The Coaches - Who else? He's been working with the defense all summer and it definitely showed in week 1. Bill O'Brien called plays like a legitimate offensive coordinator. As much as he was preparing for the Bengals last week, he started planning for the Jets at halftime. He has some plays that will use Wes Welker with the Tight Ends. He's crafted plays to get Moss the ball where Revis can't stop him. He's going to use the tight ends all over the field. He's going to get the running backs involved. He's going to confuse Sanchez like he confused Carson Palmer. He's going to force mistakes and put the Patriots in the best position to succeed. All the bravado of Rex Ryan has just fueled Bill Belichick to win this week. No way he loses. Normally I wouldn't encourage running up the score, but this week has the stench of "56-3" all over it. And I love it.