4 Reasons Week 3 Will Determine the New York Jets 2011 Season

Two weeks into the young 2011 NFL season, and it seems that everyone already has chosen their surprise story of the year. Whether it is Buffalo’s now inevitable path to the Lombardi trophy or Detroit’s anointing as a championship dynasty-in-the-making, never let it be said that the NFL fandom is hesitant to leap for irrationally premature conclusions in the name of parity.

One of the genuinely surprising observations made after Week 2 of the NFL season is the, seemingly inconspicuous, New York Jets starting their season 2-0. Stranger yet is the manner in which they have won these first two meetings. A team that has never been shy about declaring their identity, the Jets have performed like a solid contender whose game is developing in an incredibly unfamiliar way.

The upcoming road expedition will undoubtedly serve as a strong litmus test for Gang Green as they set out for Oakland, a team that narrowly evaded victory this past weekend against Buffalo, the phoenix apparent of the AFC East.

Should New York dominate Raider Nation to the length they did the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars, a victory could provide a strong reference point for the rest of the incredibly difficult road trip as well as upcoming eastern divisional matchups. Here are four reasons why the unusual route the New York Jets are flying to Oakland in Week 3 may foretell the destiny of the 2011 Jets season.

Bizzaro Dennis Green Says, "They Aren't Who We Thought They Were(n't)"

Rex Ryan, a head coach who more than likely has his memorable Hard Knocks excerpt “can we not run the ball down their throats every snap?“ tattooed on some bulbous nether region, has seen his third-year franchise quarterback Mark Sanchez sling the football 68 times in his first two 2011 games—44 of them flying in the season opener.

This stands in stark contrast to the 43 touches Jets tailbacks have seen in the first two weeks. While this may be standard fare for the other thirty-one NFL squads, this developing trend rates on the abnormal scale around the Martian probe level.

Can a Jets team built on grinding out yards on the ground find success in flight?

Cracks in the Foundation

Here are the glaring, unadulterated facts of the matter so far this season for the Jets. In and of themselves, they tell a very precarious story.

Plaxico Burress, a notoriously impatient (and outspoken) fallen star of a wide receiver, has only four catches through two weeks, all of which came in the season opener. Shonn Greene has rushed for only 75 yards over the first two weeks of play (Sanchez has scrambled for nearly half of that on his own). Offensive tackle Wayne Hunter has committed a number of penalties in the first two games. That rivals only the number of sacks he has allowed. Derrick Mason has 11 less yards receiving than he has years lived on earth.

The cross-country trip to Oakland will prove to be a strong test of whether these areas of need will be rectified by Rex and the Jets coaching staff or if they will be the cracks that lead to their ultimate undoing.

The AFC East Will Rise Again

A division, largely controlled by the Patriots and Jets over the last several seasons, has regained its reputation as the most competitive quartet in football.

The Buffalo Bills are riding a wave of overachievement, second only to that of the silver screen Mighty Ducks. Complete with their own Gordon Bombay via Chan Gailey, Buffalo will do battle with the NFL’s version of the villainous Hawks, the New England Patriots. Modern American football history dictates that the Patriots will remain a perennial powerhouse that will have to be dealt with by any team aspiring to win an AFC East divisional crown.

Lastly, the Miami Dolphins showed grit and promise in their season opener against Brady and company and will undoubtedly remain a thorn in the side of any team looking past them. With the Patriots and Bills squaring off in Week 3 and Miami facing a very manageable Cleveland Browns squad, the Jets defeating Oakland quickly becomes a must-win situation.

Can the Pieces Fall into Place?

First-round draft pick Muhammad Wilkerson had a breakout performance against tackling dummy Jacksonville on Sunday, recording his first sack as a Jet that resulted in a safety that set the pace for the rest of the game.

The Sanchez to Dustin Keller connection appears to have regained its 2010 prominence through two exciting outings. Having that fail-safe weapon is an absolute necessity in the NFL; just ask Tony Romo and Jason Witten.

The three faces of fear in the Jets secondary shows glimpses of midseason form as Antonio Cromartie, Jim Leonard and Darrelle Revis have been dominant.

The willingness of offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to open up the passing playbook broadens the Jets quick strike capability, perhaps thanks to the wildly overlooked addition of former architect of Indianapolis offenses, Tom Moore.

The moral of this story remains that the proverbial table is set for the 2011 New York Jets. The pieces are available for placement, but it is up to them to put them together. Sunday in Oakland is the first step in doing so.