Do or Die Time for the Jets
This isn't the way it was supposed to go down in New York. The Buffalo Bills weren't supposed to be the ones taking advantage of a suddenly old and quarterback-less New England Patriots team.
It was supposed to be the New York Jets.
They were like Charles Barkley in a casino this offseason; they just couldn't stop throwing down large chunks of money. All that money was supposed to make them a better team.
They were supposed to be able to compete with Tom Brady's New England Patriots.
Then they pulled off what everyone in New York assumed was a coup and landed a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Brett Favre. Now, some thought they were even better than Tom Brady's Patriots.
So what the heck's been going on so far this season?
If the Jets drop to 1-3 they're done. Finished. It'll be J-E-T-S—Just End The Season—all over again.
The New York Jets must defeat the suddenly respectable Arizona Cardinals this weekend.
Otherwise, they risk falling three games behind the division leading Buffalo Bills (who are playing the hapless St. Louis Rams this week), and can effectively kiss any shot they had at the playoffs goodbye.
The Bills, Titans, and Broncos Will All Remain Undefeated
I don't like to make predictions in this column. I like to leave the predicting to the picks column that gets posted Friday night. But I'm more than comfortable sharing this prediction a little early.
1) The Bills will defeat the Rams. Easily. By a lot.
2) The Broncos will defeat the Chiefs. Easily. By many, many, many points.
3) The Titans will defeat the Vikings.
The third game won't be a blowout, but it won't be close either.
The Titans' defense is playing other-worldly right now. It's the reason why, if a gun were held to my head right now, I'd have the Vince Young-less Titans representing the AFC in the Super Bowl.
Sure, they don't have the offense Denver does. They're not as balanced as the Bills. But their defense is stout.
If the playoffs started today, I'd like the Titans to come out of the AFC.
Unfortunately for them, the playoffs don't start today. Talk to me in December, when the Colts are healthy and Vince Young thinks he should be starting again.
Either the Browns or the Bengals Will Win This Week
That's right, I'm going out on another limb.
One of the two disappointments from the AFC North will actually win a game this week. Of course, they're playing against each other.
The Browns are, by far, the most disappointing team in the NFL.
They were supposed to be challenging the Steelers for the division.
They were supposed to have a high-powered offense, and a complementary defense.
They were supposed to be well-coached and primed for a playoff run.
Instead, they have no shot at catching the Steelers already, and it's only week four.
Their offense is terrible, led by the horrifyingly-bad Derek Anderson. Their head coach has regressed to the point where I'm not sure he should be coaching a high school football game.
18 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
Angel Navedo 9 months ago
Do or Die is a bit extreme, Sean. The bye week comes up right after Arizona. While it'll be nice to go in to the bye at .500, it won't be the end of the world. The Jets' schedule after that is a combination of Cincinnati, St. Louis, Oakland, and Kansas City. While it's never safe to cross off teams as potential wins, the season is far from over at Week Four.
The Jets don't have to worry about the Bills until the first weekend of November. They can hit a stride and some comfort by then after beating up on Kansas City.
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Sean Crowe 9 months ago
The Bills also have an easy schedule, especially easy down the stretch. And you think it would be OK to spot them a three game lead? Not so sure....
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Angel Navedo 9 months ago
Definitely not. I'm only saying the season's not done yet when the Jets are looking at something fairly easy up until they face them. There's a chance Buffalo's just on a hot-streak. It happens every season.
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Anthony Evgenidis 9 months ago
Sean this is my first time reading an article of yours but I certainly find your points valid and well thought out. I agree with your games of the week but I want to stress one thing about your premise and that is the Jets are where they should be. They beat Miami and lost to NE and San Diego, does anyone really think their record is not an accurate indicator of a team with a new QB and coming off a 12 loss season? I knwo the Favre factor is key but we will find out after this week where the Jets have their bye week. Their next 4 games are more than winnable and realistically they can win 9 games (at the most) which is certainly an noteworthy improvement over last year. Lets see how consistent the Bills are after week 8 and how the Pats respond before we say that it's do or die time. I agree with you that if the Jets are not on alert that they will be in dire straits.
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kevin roberts 9 months ago
I don't think Derek Anderson is as bad as he's looked. I think he's short two receviers (Jurevicious and Stallworth) and his star receiver keeps dropping his passes.
Sure, he's not playing well, but it's far from his fault, making his performance more of a result of his supporting cast.
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Sean Crowe 9 months ago
I didn't like Anderson last year...to many bad decisions. Too many picks. I called him out in the Browns preview I wrote back in August...
They need to start Brady Quinn...see what they have. They're not going anywhere this season anyway.
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kevin roberts 9 months ago
However, I'm nearing complete agreement on the Jets. It's a must win for them. I have a good feeling that they'll get to 2-2 and progress from there.
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Chris Radez 9 months ago
Nice Job Sean. I just have one thing to comment on.
The Arizona Cardinals are not respectable yet. They've beaten Miami and SF... two teams that might not be absolutely horrible, but certainly aren't worth taking notice about.
I think that if the Jets beat the Cardinals, it will say more about Arizona than it does New York.
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daniel cox 9 months ago
sean, good job.
to disagree with angel, i agree with do or die. seems too early to say that, but it's certainly looking that way. 1-3 vs 4-0 bills does not look pretty for jets, after sunday.
i think the vikings do something against the titans. they can't sustain that defensive play forever.
browns or bengals win--that's some prognostication if i've ever seen it.
i think steelers win big over ravens. ravens aren't as good as advertised.
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Shaun Ahmad 9 months ago
The Vikings are in big trouble. If they...when they lose to Tennessee this weekend and drop to 1-3, they'll face New Orleans and Chicago on the road two out of the next three weeks.
Their season could very easily be over by their bye week.
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Raider Card Addict 9 months ago
Hey Sean, what's the odds on the Browns and Bengals finishing in a tie?
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Sean Crowe 9 months ago
50-50
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Jarrod Seybolt 9 months ago
Good analysis Sean. The Jets have definitely taken the Redskin approach to the superbowl. Money, money, and more money... one day it will work, one day. Worked for the Marlins in baseball why not right?
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Raider Card Addict 9 months ago
Only question would be, do they do the fire sale after winning it all like the Marlins, or do they come back and try for another ring the next season?
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Tom Giannini 9 months ago
They run the ball on third down with 10 yards to go. Stupidest play calling I've ever seen.
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Jarrod Seybolt 9 months ago
Raidercard,
They probably wouldnt firesale but you know for sure Favre wouldnt be back so them not having a quarterback would probably be about the same thing lol.
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Chaz Mattson 9 months ago
Sean, really solid, so solid in fact. I thought about submitting my picks for the week, then I saw your outline and it blew me away. I do think the Titans are overrated and the Vikings are underrated. So make mine purple. Denver and KC usually have defensive battles, so that could be the case this weekend, but I am expecting the Broncos to pull away late and probably win by 10-14 points at least.
I will take notice of Baltimore if they can beat the Steelers, until then, they are just an NFL JV squad.
Great job overall.
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Isaac Barrow 9 months ago
They didn't really die.
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