http://web.sny.tv/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091202&content_id=7740822&oid=36122&vkey=12&print=true
12/02/2009 11:00 AM ET
Jets head north of the border to face Bills
A win could revive team's playoff hopes
By Michael Salfino / SNY.tv
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</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Mark Sanchez has 17 interceptions, which have helped cancel out the Jets' impressive defensive play. (AP)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
The Jets visit the Bills in Toronto on Thursday night with a chance to extend the meaningful part of this very up-and-down 2009 season.
New York is a three-point favorite, as the Bills will not have a home-field advantage in Canada, where few care about them. Buffalo is playing this second of eight games in Toronto as part of a $78 million gambit by Rogers Communication to prove that Toronto is a viable NFL city and a top candidate for future expansion. Rogers Communication organized a lottery for tickets, and the Argonauts of the Canadian Football League positioned their season-ticket holders to get first dibs. But supply is far outpacing demand, with tickets available in secondary markets at far below face value.
So, the Jets catch a break getting a ho-hum Bills team on a neutral field. Of course, getting them on their home field was no bargain a few weeks ago. And if Mark Sanchez throws five picks again, the Jets are dead again.
But Rex Ryan has issued the code red. "Code red" means "don't make a costly mistake in this situation." Code green I guess means, "Feel free to make a costly mistake." Maybe we should just call that Jets Green.
If the Jets can emerge from Canada with win, they can still dream. Then it's a visit to one-win Tampa Bay, which also has a rookie quarterback. The Falcons aren't good and are banged up, plus the Jets get them at home. At Indianapolis sounds impossible, but if the Colts lose a game before then, they will start to rest regulars and treat the final couple of games as exhibitions. The next week, the Jets play the Bengals, who also may be locked in and looking forward to the playoffs with nothing to play for in the Meadowlands. If the Jets win, root really hard for Tennessee on Sunday at Indy.
Buffalo did look very good last week against a Dolphins team that the Jets can't beat. They are rallying around new head coach Perry Fewell, their former defensive coordinator. New quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is also winning converts with his more aggressive playing style.
Last week, he called an audible for a bomb to Terrell Owens, which resulted in a touchdown. Owens has 293 receiving yards the past two games and had a 98-yard touchdown catch the prior game against the Jaguars.
But Owens will be handled by Darrelle Revis. Owens, who said he never heard of Revis two years ago when the Jets visited the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, is now giving Revis his props, sort of. Owens had three catches for 13 yards the first meeting. Revis is the best cornerback in the NFL and the most dominant player right now across all the sports in the city. But he's a Jet and a defender, so he's not getting his due.
I guess I have to say something about the story of the day, Joe Girardi's being called in to teach Sanchez how to slide. I thought it was tongue-in-cheek at first, but it's dead serious. I think it's more evidence of how the Jets are really overthinking things right now with Sanchez. It's best to step back and let him relax and play through this learning curve.
Prediction time: Can the Bills' retooled offensive line hold up against the Jets' blitzing? This is the key to the game. The Bills have had seven different line combinations and will be tested far more by the Jets than they were by Miami, a weak defensive team.
The Jets' defense is very good, even without a single impact pass rusher. They'll get that in the offseason, I predict. Look at the key stats: the Jets are sixth right now overall, and No. 1 in the game's most important defensive stats: yards allowed per pass attempt and touchdowns passes allowed per game.
Note my net-YPA rankings have the Jets right now as a team that should win 9 to 10 games (they are plus 0.9 yards per pass, adjusting for sack yards). But they're not on that pace because Sanchez has thrown 17 interceptions. Picks are worth about minus-6 points on the scoreboard, says regression analysis over about four decades. So, will Sanchez play clean? This is another game where he doesn't need to make plays, just avoid mistakes.
Unless Lee Evans blows up against Lito Sheppard and the rest of the New York secondary, the Jets will slug their way to another defensive-charged win. Jets 17, Bills 9.
Michael Salfino is a nationally syndicated columnist and a regular contributor to SNY.tv.
12/02/2009 11:00 AM ET
Jets head north of the border to face Bills
A win could revive team's playoff hopes
By Michael Salfino / SNY.tv
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> digg_url = 'http://web.sny.tv/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091202&content_id=7740822&oid=36122&vkey=12'; digg_skin = 'compact'; digg_window = 'new'; </SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT>
<TABLE id=newsImage cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=302 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
The Jets visit the Bills in Toronto on Thursday night with a chance to extend the meaningful part of this very up-and-down 2009 season.
New York is a three-point favorite, as the Bills will not have a home-field advantage in Canada, where few care about them. Buffalo is playing this second of eight games in Toronto as part of a $78 million gambit by Rogers Communication to prove that Toronto is a viable NFL city and a top candidate for future expansion. Rogers Communication organized a lottery for tickets, and the Argonauts of the Canadian Football League positioned their season-ticket holders to get first dibs. But supply is far outpacing demand, with tickets available in secondary markets at far below face value.
So, the Jets catch a break getting a ho-hum Bills team on a neutral field. Of course, getting them on their home field was no bargain a few weeks ago. And if Mark Sanchez throws five picks again, the Jets are dead again.
But Rex Ryan has issued the code red. "Code red" means "don't make a costly mistake in this situation." Code green I guess means, "Feel free to make a costly mistake." Maybe we should just call that Jets Green.
If the Jets can emerge from Canada with win, they can still dream. Then it's a visit to one-win Tampa Bay, which also has a rookie quarterback. The Falcons aren't good and are banged up, plus the Jets get them at home. At Indianapolis sounds impossible, but if the Colts lose a game before then, they will start to rest regulars and treat the final couple of games as exhibitions. The next week, the Jets play the Bengals, who also may be locked in and looking forward to the playoffs with nothing to play for in the Meadowlands. If the Jets win, root really hard for Tennessee on Sunday at Indy.
Buffalo did look very good last week against a Dolphins team that the Jets can't beat. They are rallying around new head coach Perry Fewell, their former defensive coordinator. New quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is also winning converts with his more aggressive playing style.
Last week, he called an audible for a bomb to Terrell Owens, which resulted in a touchdown. Owens has 293 receiving yards the past two games and had a 98-yard touchdown catch the prior game against the Jaguars.
But Owens will be handled by Darrelle Revis. Owens, who said he never heard of Revis two years ago when the Jets visited the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, is now giving Revis his props, sort of. Owens had three catches for 13 yards the first meeting. Revis is the best cornerback in the NFL and the most dominant player right now across all the sports in the city. But he's a Jet and a defender, so he's not getting his due.
I guess I have to say something about the story of the day, Joe Girardi's being called in to teach Sanchez how to slide. I thought it was tongue-in-cheek at first, but it's dead serious. I think it's more evidence of how the Jets are really overthinking things right now with Sanchez. It's best to step back and let him relax and play through this learning curve.
Prediction time: Can the Bills' retooled offensive line hold up against the Jets' blitzing? This is the key to the game. The Bills have had seven different line combinations and will be tested far more by the Jets than they were by Miami, a weak defensive team.
The Jets' defense is very good, even without a single impact pass rusher. They'll get that in the offseason, I predict. Look at the key stats: the Jets are sixth right now overall, and No. 1 in the game's most important defensive stats: yards allowed per pass attempt and touchdowns passes allowed per game.
Note my net-YPA rankings have the Jets right now as a team that should win 9 to 10 games (they are plus 0.9 yards per pass, adjusting for sack yards). But they're not on that pace because Sanchez has thrown 17 interceptions. Picks are worth about minus-6 points on the scoreboard, says regression analysis over about four decades. So, will Sanchez play clean? This is another game where he doesn't need to make plays, just avoid mistakes.
Unless Lee Evans blows up against Lito Sheppard and the rest of the New York secondary, the Jets will slug their way to another defensive-charged win. Jets 17, Bills 9.
Michael Salfino is a nationally syndicated columnist and a regular contributor to SNY.tv.
