I will not really write about this game. The Jets are +9 and I think they'll cover. Their keys to victory are to run the hell out of the ball and for Sanchez to not turn it over. Oh wait, everyone is saying that? Yeah, because everyone picks out the obvious stuff. The most important thing that needs to happen for the Jets to win: disrupt Brady's flow and timing. Don't allow him to take a three-step drop and release. Make him second guess himself.
The Jets can run and score all they want, but if the Pats aren't stopped it won't matter. Limit Brady's possessions like they did with Manning last week.
The Pats will look to force Sanchez into turnovers, stop the run and look for favorable matchups in the passing game. Rob Gronkowski figures to be a huge X-Factor for the Pats given his size and receiving ability. On the defensive side of the ball, Kyle Arrington is going to have to be a difference maker against the Jets passing offense. The Jets will look to expose him.
I would say the offensive factor for the Jets is Shonn Greene. He is a tough, physical runner that the Jets will need to rely on to pound the ball and wear down the New England defensive front. On defense the two things I'll be looking for are the non-existent pass rush and Antonio Cromartie's play. Cro is talking a lot and was exposed on a deep route against the Colts. The Jets will need to generate a pass rush without blitzing to more effectively throw Brady off of his game.
Besides my birthday, Fantasy Football could be the best time of the year (March Madness is up there also). As the season is only a few days away, most people have their teams drafted, and look to see who has the best match-ups in the first week.
I figured I would post on here my team, well the most important one that I drafted, and you all could either get jealous or tell me how stupid I am. I will put them down as follows, but a few things to remember: this is a PPR league, three player keeper, and I had the seventh of eight picks in the draft.
QB: Matt Schaub - Keeper from last season. He lit it up with Andre the Giant, leading the league in passing yards in 2009.
QB: Jay Cutler - Mid-round pick, has a lot of potential. Mike Martz is his O-Coordinator, so I expect decent stats.
RB: Rashard Mendenhall - First round pick (seventh overall) of draft (remember, kept three guys). Got him more for value than because I really wanted him.
RB: Shonn Greene - Second round pick, has a lot of upside considering the Jets run the ball more than anyone in the NFL (607 times last year).
WR: Andre Johnson - Keeper from last season. Best rated receiver in the league, combo with Schaub, need I say more?
WR: Larry Fitzgerald - Keeper from last season. No one was more pissed off about Kurt Warner retiring than me. Fitz loses some value, but great receivers find the way to get the ball. Hopefully, he'll prove how great he is with Derek Anderson at the helm.
WR: Devin Hester - This is where it gets fishy for me. Hester has the combo with Cutler, and a great matchup against Detroit in week one. My third receiver spot will be a week-to-week thing.
TE: Jason Witten - PPR makes Witten valuable. He is a great redzone target and should definitely have better stats than he did last year.
TE: Greg Olsen - Another combo with Cutler. I'm worried because Martz doesn't typically utilize the tightend in his system, but Olsen is one of the better pass-catchers on the Bears. Second tightend will also be looked at on a week-to-week basis.
K: Mason Crosby - The Packers score a lot. Mason Crosby will get an XP when they score a TD and he's got a hell of a leg to knock down the long FGs.
DEF: NYJ - The best defense in the NFL last year looks much improved (if Revis plays). Plus, it lets me root for my Jets.
DEF: San Fran - This is my "sleeper" defense. While big names were going off the board, I snagged them fairly late and I look for them to have a good year behind defensive-minded Mike Singletary.
BENCH:
QB: Josh Freeman - One of the "Draft Day Hail Mary's" in my fantasy magazine. QB: Jason Campbell - Some say Oakland was the change he needed...haha. RB: Arian Foster - Starting back in the Texans high-powered offense. RB: C.J. Spiller - Electric rookie, worth a chance. RB: Reggie Bush - See Spiller, take out rookie. WR: Hakeem Nicks - Great size and strength, could emerge as Eli's #1 target. TE: Chris Cooley - Still a top TE, McNabb loves to throw to his TE DEF: Washington - My sleeper defense...
I just want to apologize to the Dallas Cowboys and their fans for the lack of faith I had in them. I do want to say I was thoroughly convinced that they can win in the playoffs now with that blow out win over division rival Philly. Not only did the Cowboys win, but they did so over a division foe for the third time this season. Beating a team three times in one season is extremely difficult to thing to accomplish.
AFC Wild-Card:
New York Jets (+2.5) 24 Cincinnati Bengals 14
My prediction: Jets 26 Bengals 17
I would say that I was fairly accurate in my prediction with this game. I said that Mark Sanchez was the difference and I was right. He completed 12 of 15 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, he did not turn the ball over, and he wasn't even close. Sanchez played smart football and handed the ball off like a pro. Thomas Jones had limited action due to injury, but they Jets didn't miss a beat because rookie Shonn Greene ran for 135 yards including a 39-yard touchdown. I also said the defense would have to control Benson, which they absolutely did not. I have to give Benson credit because he is the only one that showed up. He had a phenomenal game breaking the Bengals franchise post-season record for rushing yards in a single game. Carson Palmer was the lesser of the USC quarterbacks as he only completed 18 of 36 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown to ex-Jet Laverneous Coles and an interception to Darrelle Revis.
Simply, the Jets outplayed the Bengals (again) in every aspect of the game. Look for an interesting matchup next week against either the Colts or Chargers.
NFC Wild-Card
Philadelphia Eagles (+4) 14 Dallas Cowboys 34
My prediction: Eagles 30 Cowboys 23
Basically, I expected the Eagles to show up. Plain and simple, they didn't. The Cowboys dominated the entire game on both sides of the ball. Tony Romo looked as good as he's ever looked and even Roy Williams contributed. The Cowboys won their first playoff game since 1996 and have been on fire of recent. They really proved that tonight with their domination over a division rival for the second time in as many weeks. I was correct with a 40-plus yard touchdown but it was to Jeremy Maclin and not DeSean Jackson. Jackson did catch a meaningless three yard touchdown. On a note for next week's games, I love the Cowboys to upset the reeling Vikings. Minnesota has been inconsistent of recent, especially the play of Brett Favre, who thankfully didn't win MVP this year.
