The Green Bay Packers Should Not Take the New York Jets Lightly

The 0-1 Green Bay Packers will try to get to .500, as they will host the 1-0 New York Jets at Lambeau Field this Sunday.

The Packers are near the bottom statistically in both offense and defense in the NFL now, as the team was throttled in Seattle 36-16 on September 4.

Meanwhile it's the exact opposite for the Jets, as they lead the NFL in four team categories after topping the Oakland Raiders 19-14 at home last Sunday.

The Jets lead the NFL in all three key defensive categories, which includes total defense, passing defense and rushing defense. 

One of the reasons for that is because the Jets faced a rookie quarterback in Derek Carr. Still, the defenses over the years in New York under head coach Rex Ryan have normally been very good.

In fact, in the five seasons prior to this season under Ryan, the Jets have been in the top five in defense three times (2009, 2010 and 2011). In 2012, the Jets were ranked eighth in total defense, while they ranked 11th last year.

The Jets also lead the NFL in rushing offense after Week 1 of the 2014 season, as they rushed 212 yards against the Raiders.

That's probably not very good news for the Packers, as they allowed the Seahawks to rush for 207 yards in the opener.

The Packers are only ranked 29th in total offense now, as the Seahawks lived up to the No. 1 ranking in total defense in the NFL in 2013.

Green Bay has normally been very efficient on offense under head coach Mike McCarthy, as the team has been in the top 10 offensively for seven of the eight years McCarthy has been a head coach.

The only year the Packers were not in the top 10 was 2012, when they were ranked 13th.

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The Packers should be able to do some damage in the passing game on Sunday, as quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be facing a young secondary, which has had to plug in some players because of injuries.

Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes about that possibility in this game preview article.

One thing that would help Rodgers on Sunday is the return of right tackle Bryan Bulaga, who suffered a knee sprain versus the Seahawks. If Bulaga can't go against the Jets, it will be up to Derek Sherrod to hold down the fort there.

Sherrod allowed two sacks in the second half of the Seattle game, including one leading to a safety. The Jets had two sacks in their game against the Raiders.

The Packers should be able to move the ball better against the Jets this Sunday, even with New York's statistical prowess after Week 1. The Jets are almost a walk in the park compared to the very fast and physical Seattle defense.

The biggest question for me is if the Packers can stop the running game of the Jets. If the Jets can run the ball as well as they did last Sunday versus the Raiders, that will keep the potent offense of the Packers off the field for lengthy amounts of time.

The tandem of Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson combined for 170 yards just by themselves.

The Packers looked like they could handle the running game efficiently in the preseason in their 3-4 base defense and, in an effort to stop the run, showed the Seahawks a new 4-3 front at times, as well.

But when it was all said and done, the Packers allowed 207 yards rushing and are now the 31st-ranked run defense in the NFL.

Why? Well, it doesn't help that the Packers had a whopping 17 missed tackles, as Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote earlier this week.

The Packers also played very soft, especially at inside linebacker, as Brad Jones had one of the more regrettable performances that he has ever had in Green Bay.

Jones dropped an interception, missed three tackles and committed two very costly penalties that changed the course of the game in a big way.

If I'm Dom Capers, I would have Jones on a short leash this week. It might be time for the Packers to give someone like Sam Barrington a shot at inside linebacker.

I recently wrote about a conversation I had with scout Chris Landry about Barrington and the nice training camp he had this summer.

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The Packers need to stop the running attack of the Jets and force second-year quarterback Geno Smith into some mistakes.

Because of the strong running attack of the Jets versus the Raiders, Smith was able to complete 23 of 28 passes for 221 yards, with one touchdown pass and one interception.

Bottom line, I expect the Packers to beat the Jets on Sunday in the home opener, but I don't believe it will be by a large margin. Especially if the team continues to make countless mistakes defensively.

Mistakes like missed tackles, dropped interceptions and untimely penalties. Something that Brad Jones knows all about.