Week 1 Ravens at Jets: Preview, Breakdown, and Matchups

The 2010 NFL season started last night with a bang and now it's time for the Jets to start their push for a championship.

The Jets have been doing a lot of talking since they made the playoffs last season and won two games on the road. After they bowed out to the Colts, head coach Rex Ryan made declaration after declaration about this upcoming season.

The Jets probably had the most interesting offseason in the league. They were featured on HBO's Hard Knocks and they had the circus that was Darrelle Revis' holdout. Now Hard Knocks is over, Revis is back, and the Jets are ready to back up their talk.

They'll face the Baltimore Ravens—who aren't a bad team either—and come to town looking to smack Mark Sanchez and the Jets around. Ray Lewis had some harsh words for Gang Green concerning their trash-talking, so let's see who will win this tough opening battle.

The game will be played at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Monday night. Here's a complete preview with breakdowns and matchups for the game.

Quarterbacks: Mark Sanchez Vs. Joe Flacco

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - AUGUST 27: Mark Sanchez #6 of the New York Jets in action against the Washington Redskins during their preseason game on August 27, 2010 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Imag

Considering both teams use their ground and pound offense a little more, the quarterbacks won't play a major role in this game. It's not as if it's Brees vs. Favre, but the quarterback is always important nonetheless.

Taking a look at these two, Joe Flacco has the edge so far in a battle of younger QBs. This is Flacco's third season in the league and he improved in every statistical category last season. Flacco is clearly the more accurate, as he threw for 12 interceptions in each of his first two seasons, but threw seven more touchdowns last season.

On the other hand, Mark Sanchez has a lot of work to do. He must show that he can throw the ball not just more accurately, but smarter. Some of the decisions he made last season were head-scratching, although he was a rookie.

He threw a lot of balls up for grabs when he knew he was going to be sacked and didn't make smart plays when he could have thrown balls out of bounds instead. He also had a hard time protecting the ball and just didn't seem like a passer. He did show great mobility, so that's always a positive.

The one thing that should help Sanchez's passing ability in this game is that Ravens safety Ed Reed will not play. That should give Sanchez more confidence to throw the ball to Jerricho Cotchery or Dustin Keller.

Joe Flacco will have to test Darrelle Revis in this game, otherwise he'll be throwing to only one side of the field. The edge still goes to Flacco, but in this game Sanchez might have a better shot.

If It Came to Running Game, Who Would Win?

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BALTIMORE - AUGUST 28: Ray Rice #27 of the Baltimore Ravens runs the ball against the New York Giants at M&T Bank Stadium on August 28, 2010 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens lead the Giants 17-3. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)

You'd expect both teams to resort to their running game a little more, so if that were the case, who's got the edge?

The Ravens have the best back on the field, as Ray Rice blossomed into a star in his first full season. He ran for over 1,300 yards last season and tore defensive lines apart. The Ravens also have Wills McGahee and LeRon McClain to carry the ball.

On the Jets side, they have Shonn Greene—who emerged in the playoffs—in his second season and they signed Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson.

Greene and Tomlinson could very well split the carries this season, especially if Tomlinson looks as fresh as he did in preseason.

The Jets could also use Tomlinson on lateral passes in the backfield and on third down plays. Yet we don't know just how mobile Tomlinson will be, although you'd think he'll be ready to go for this game. It's how he'll do as the season gets deeper.

With the way Rice broke out last season and with the Jets going with a second year back and an older veteran, the Ravens would probably gain more yards in the running game.

But the Jets did use some of the Wildcat play last season with Brad Smith, so they could gain some extra yardage out of that to help their cause.

The Best One-On-One Matchup in This Game Is...

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SAN DIEGO - JANUARY 17: Wide receiver Vincent Jackson #83 of the San Diego Chargers goes up for a catch against Darrelle Revis #24 of the New York Jets during AFC Divisional Playoff Game at Qualcomm Stadium on January 17, 2010 in San Diego, California.

The best defensive back-on-receiver matchup in this game could be Darrelle Revis on Anquan Boldin or even Derrick Mason. That's if Joe Flacco and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron decide to throw in Revis' direction.

There has been some debate on whether or not the Ravens will go at Revis or Antonio Cromartie for the majority of the game. If the Ravens think that Revis is rusty that's why they'll try his hand. If they think he's as fit as can be, they'll probably shy away.

That though, wouldn't be fun to see. Watching the Jets play, it's always exciting to see Revis defend each opponent's best receiver. Last season he shut down basically everyone he faced.

If the Ravens do go after him, and it's Boldin he covers, he'd probably win that battle as well. Although Boldin is a good receiver, and runs routes effectively, he isn't the explosive type that can get away from a back of Revis' caliber.

Revis had to face a ton of great receivers last season; from Randy Moss to Chad Ochocinco to Terrell Owens, and many more, and he stopped them all. He even stopped Vincent Jackson in last season's playoffs (pictured above).

It's not known yet whether or not we'll have a chance to see Revis do his thing, but it would be nice, and brave on the Ravens part.

Who Has the Better Run Defense?

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TORONTO - DECEMBER 3: Bart Scott #57 of the New York Jets tackles Fred Jackson #22 of the Buffalo Bills during their NFL game on December 3, 2009 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Jets defeated the Bills 19-13. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Gett

The team with the better run defense in this game may very well win it. Why, you ask? Well, with the way teams shy away from throwing against Darrelle Revis, they may try to run the ball instead. It happened a lot last season other than in the Colts game in the AFC Championship.

On the other hand, the Jets are all about the run and their "ground and pound." So, let's break it down to see which team's big guys can stop the other team's backs.

The problem for the Jets is they'll be without Calvin Pace in this game, as he broke his foot in preseason. They'll have to rely a little more on the newly acquired Jason Taylor. Not only did Pace record eight sacks last season, he recorded 46 tackles. Taylor wasn't awful last season for the Dolphins, but he's older and not as aggressive as Pace.

The Jets though, still have a decent run defense with nose tackle Kris Jenkins returning this season. They also have Bart Scott who was a big time force last season for the Jets rushing the quarterback and stopping the run.

The Ravens have a pretty good run defense as well, lead by inside linebacker Ray Lewis. Last season, Lewis recorded three sacks and 95 tackles and is always feared when it comes to getting through a defense.

Another thing that works in the Jets favor is having Revis in the backfield. That allows the Jets to line more guys up on the line of scrimmage to rush the quarterback on the blitz. The run defenses are probably on an even level.

Keys to The Game

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - AUGUST 27: Dustin Keller #81 of the New York Jets in action against the Washington Redskins during their preseason game on August 27, 2010 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Im

The keys to the game are what each teams have to specifically do to win the game. Below is a key and reason for each team:

Jets

The key for the Jets will be to try to pass the ball a little more early on to see where Mark Sanchez is at. Last season Sanchez improved in the playoffs and was more successful in the air.

Although the Jets will still run the ball more this season, this is the game to see if Sanchez can take advantage of a depleted Ravens secondary.

They need to test him in the first quarter, specifically on the first drive, and let him pass the ball. If it doesn't work, immediately switch to the run like the Saints did in their win last night.

It won't hurt. The running game is good enough to succeed, so why not try to pass on one drive in the first game of the season?

Ravens

The key for the Ravens will be to run the ball down the Jets throats with Ray Rice. He needs to run for over 100 yards in this game, and allow the Ravens to stay away from Revis.

If Rice has a bad game, the Ravens are in trouble. They would have to throw the ball and that wouldn't be a recipe for scoring a lot of points. Teams score against the Jets on the run.

Rice, along with the Ravens run defense, are the keys to the game for Baltimore in beating the Jets on the road.

Prediction

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - AUGUST 27: Head Coach Rex Ryan of the New York Jets walks during warm ups before the game against the Washington Redskins on August 27, 2010 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Im

After you've just read a complete game breakdown, it's time for some opinion. Here's my prediction of this week one battle after a little explanation:

At the end, this game will come down to the final minutes. It's not going to be a blowout, and neither team is going to score more than 17 points.

The Jets defense is too good and Mark Sanchez had trouble scoring in the preseason. It'll come down to clock management and ball management.

When the clock ticks down to triple zero, the Jets will come out victorious.

Final score: Jets 17, Ravens 14