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First off, what a way to kick off Monday Night Football! Going into this game I’m sure everyone had the Patriots winning by a score of something like 45-3. The Bills hung in there though, and could’ve won it if not for a costly fumble at the end of the game. Let’s breakdown the game and what it means for the Jets next week (I know we play the Bills twice, but I like to focus on next week’s team in this segment.)

Patriots Offense vs. Bills Defense

Tom Brady didn’t want to talk to Suzy Kolber after the game, presumably because he was a little disappointed about their offensive production, but give the Bills credit, as they pretty much held the Patriots in check the entire game. Truthfully, I though the Bills would breakdown after the half, but they gave it 110% against a statistically and actually better offense. What is there to say? Randy Moss has hands made of glue, Wes Welker is as tough as nails, and Ben Watson was the hero of the night with 2 TD catches, the second of which gave New England the go-ahead score. Let’s not forget about Tom Brady who threw 39 for 53 for 378 yards and a crucial two touchdowns (he completed more passes than Mark Sanchez threw in his opener!). Brady looked a tad sluggish in the first half, but in clutch time when it counts, the veteran showed why he’s one of the best in the league, and why a 53 week absence ain’t nothin’ but a thang and chicken wang.

The Bills defense actually played very well. The Bills defensive player of the game is easily DE Aaron Schobel who was tenacious off the line, hurrying Brady his fair share of times and picked him off once, almost twice in the match. Terence McGee kept Moss at bay for the first half, but his play started to break down in the middle of the second half. The Bills managed to stuff the run and despite giving up 441 yards, managed to force the Patriots into a 3-and-out situation almost every time. Obviously this isn’t the result they wanted, but the Bills defense has a lot to be proud of. If the Bills defense can hold their own against an offense of this caliber, they always have a chance to win games. The Bills were forced to change strategies after Brady easily picked apart the blitz packages. We saw a little more man and zone which seemed to work until the last 2 minutes of the game. There is little a team could do when a QB can thread the needle like that.

Patriots Defense vs. Bills Offense

If there is something to be encouraged about as a Jets fan, the New England defense was not impressive at all. However, it’s likely the defense won’t play so badly next week, so let’s not get too happy just yet. Still, you can tell the loss of 5 defensive players slowed the team down considerably. The Bills offense on the other hand was sluggish but able to make a couple of good drives to put them in position to win the game. The question every analyst, reporter, blogger, and TV personality will ask is “where the hack was T.O.? It’s not like he was covered so well passing to him was impossible. The big lesson to be learned in this game is you have to get the ball to the playmakers. Owens had yards after the catch the two or so times he had the ball. That’s an important weapon that went completely unused. Who did see lot of time however, was Fred Jackson. He played a great game and showed a lot of tenacity, fighting for extra yards with every carry. Trent Edwards played a smart game and didn’t make many mistakes (except not passing the ball to Owens!). It may be too early to say, but I wasn’t a fan of the no-huddle. Sometime you need to collect yourself, slow the game down, plan, and give each other pep talks. Surprisingly, the 3/5ths rookie defensive line did a great job protecting Edwards and keeping up their energy despite the no-huddle (though their abysmal time of possession – or lack thereof may also have contributed). Last, second year player Leodis McKelvin made the crucial mistake that cost the Bills the game by fumbling what could have been the final kickoff of the game which gave the Patriots great field position and subsequently, the win. The ball was kicked deep which cased him to backup into the endzone where he should’ve stayed. Instead, he immaturely takes the ball of the game and worse, fails to protect the ball as he was hit. He’ll wish he could have that one back for a long time.

What we learned

The Patriots aren’t the invincible team they once were. I don’t mean this to say Buffalo is so bad that if they can play a close game anyone can. Although offensive production isn’t going to be much of a problem for them, the New England defense looked much weaker. Thus if a team can shut down the New England offense, they stand a pretty good chance to win. That’s a pretty big if however…

WOW! What more can you ask for? 272 passing yards, 100 yard rushing game for Thomas Jones, Leon Washington making big plays, BRUTAL defense, and (who called it??) a GREAT performance by Mark Sanchez!

Now let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here, it’s only Week 1, but there are so many positives here I can’t help but be excited! The defense!! What an opener! They did not let up a single inch. The Texans didn’t really get many good looks, and were completely shut out by the Jets D. Big Kris Jenkins as at LB? That has to be a scary sight. The forced fumbles and got a pick. If this is a sigh of things to come, there is very good reason for excitement in Jets Nation.

You couldn’t ask any more of the rookie. 18/31, 272 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. Great poise. Great speed. Good decisions. Tight spiral. Incredible maturity. He’s the real deal. The next test against the Patriots will be a steep one, but he has the support of the home field advantage. And how about them WRs? Great hands and good route running is the icing on the cake.

We’re #1… for now!

Jets vs. Texans Predictions:

Jets Offense vs. Texans Defense

I like our chances here. We have 2 of the best running backs in the AFC with Thomas Jones and Leon Washington. If the Jets are playing well into the second half, expect Shonn Greene to get a few touches. He’ll bowl over a bunch of guys which may get him a few more touches next week. Expect a more conservative passing game from Sanchez. Most plays will be short dump offs to Leon Washington who played extremely well in preseason. If the Jets are looking good, we’ll see David Clowney open the throttle for some deep balls. Dustin Keller will be Sanchez’s security blanket on short pass plays. Cotchery will be stuck to like white on rice, so save a few endzone slant patterns he may not have a lot of open looks. The Texans have beefed up their defense, but not enough in my opinion to cause too many troubles. DE Mario Williams poses a serious threat to the Jet’s rushing game, but if D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Brandon Moore have big games (expect a lot of pulling from Moore) then they may be able to at least slow down Williams. The Jets passing game shouldn’t have much trouble against the Texans secondary if Sanchez is as cool as he was in preseason (and I think he will be).

Texans Offense vs. Jets Defense

I may be going out on a limb here, but I think the Jets will have one of the top defenses in the NFL . Rex Ryan is calling most of the defensive plays which isn’t a bad thing. Kerry Rhodes also has stepped up as the face of the defense, so expect him to be all over the place, especially on the blitz. Darrelle Revis will have his hands full keeping top WR Andre Johnson in check, so expect him to lose a step to Johnson at least once. However, the attack style of defense will take away precious time in the pocket for QB Matt Schaub. The O-line of the Texans has improved, but the Jets Defensive line is better. Lest we forget, RB Steve Slaton is no slouch either. He will break for big gains a couple of times this game. His play will open up the Texan pass game, so expect to see a fair amount of play action to counter the blitzing schemes.

Intangibles

Opening home game at the beautiful reliant stadium, chip on their shoulder from two straight seasons with the cup half full at 8-8 means the Titans will be pumped up and the crowd will be loud. Rookie QB Mark Sanchez will have a hill to climb, but he’s cool and has a great supporting cast. This game comes down to Sanchez. If he plays as well as I think he can, chalk this in the W column for the Jets

Jets 24, Titans 17

As we head into Week 1, I have high hopes and expectations for the Jets. For the first time in quite a few seasons, I feel we have just about all the pieces of the puzzle in place. Sure, our QB is untested, and we’re missing the big #1 WR, but we have tools that make up for it. I really like our rushing situation and our defense. A strong ground game takes a lot of pressure off Sanchez, and defensive, as they say, wins championships. But I also have a good feeling about our season because I like our coach.

I was a big time Herm Edwards fan because he was quite the orator. I disliked Mangini because I felt he was bringing dirty New England tactics with him to the Jets. However, on the field, both coaches didn’t cut it because of conservative play calling, failure to maximize the potential of their personnel, and failure to adapt. Rex Ryan seems a bit different from our previous generals, and here’s a few reasons why.

#1 Great with the New York Media

New York is a tough place to play because the fans are fickle, the media is harsh, and we’re fast to blame and slow to forgive. It takes a certain kind of mentality to survive here, and Rex has it in spades. Let’s see he handles his first loss when times aren’t so happy, but right now, he definitely communicates openly and honestly with the press which will buy him so forgiveness points if the season goes sour.

#2 Our Defense Already Looks Better

In the Giants and Eagles games, the defense played well. What impressed me was the drives when the opponent made a huge gain to get them into the redzone, and the Jets were able to hold them to field Goals. Only a season ago, such drives usually wound up becoming touchdowns.

#3 The Players Like Him

It has been said that “player’s coaches” tend to have losing records. From all the interviews I’ve heard, the players feel like they can approach Rex with new ideas. Still he still is able to command respect as the head coach – he gets the final word. I never got the impression that playing for Mangini was any fun, and if the players are not enjoying the game, they lack motivation (see the Oakland Raiders).

Still, because I’m a New Yorker, I get to exercise my right to be fickle – if after the first game the Jets look like a bunch of unprepared bums, then I’ll be the first one to call them out!

Every year, fans and analysts make bold predictions about how well teams will perform. The great thing about the NFL is the sure fire predictions usually don’t pan out. Of course, the Patriots, Steelers, and Giants are easy picks to go to the playoffs. But who would’ve guessed the Arizona Cardinals would be in a Super Bowl? It’s occurrences like that that say to me, my team has a shot! That said, I tried to tone down my fanaticism a bit and make realistic predictions based off what I saw in preseason and strength of schedule. I went down the schedule of all 32 teams and predicted the winner and loser. However some games were too close to call, so in a few instances, say Cardinals vs. the Seahawks, when I went down Arizona’s schedule I may have picked them to win, but when I got to Seattle’s schedule, I reconsidered it and said they could win too. Therefore, my predictions may not equal .500, but hey, there’s nothing wrong with having some wiggle room! I hope you enjoy, and I’m curious to see what others think!

Without further ado...

NFL 2009 Predictions

AFC East should be a fun division to watch. Division games will be very exciting to watch with Tom Brady back, local hero Mark Sanchez, T.O., and the Wildcat Offense

Buffalo Bills: 6 – 10. Tough break with the schedule. This is a bit generous because I personally don’t think the Falcons and Texans will be as golden as many expect. I think they’ll take only one division game vs. the Dolphins.

Miami Dolphins: 8-8. Let’s face it, a healthy Tom Brady would’ve knocked the Dolphins out of the division crown last year. The Wildcat matures, but is not enough to win the games that matter down the stretch.

New England Patriots: 12-4. With a healthy Tom Brady, this team is tough team to beat. They’ll have trouble with Indy, Baltimore, Carolina, and Jacksonville

New York Jets: 10-6. I have a lot of faith in Mark Sanchez. He’ll win week 1, and learn 3 harsh lessons the following weeks. The Jets have a top notch O-Line, three excellent RBs and the second coming of Todd Heap in Dustin Keller. One thing everyone forgets: Gang Green will have one of the league’s top defenses this year.

AFC North will be a runaway division with the Ravens and Steelers stealing the show. The Fierce Steelers/Ravens rivalry will be the one of the more entertaining storylines this year.

Baltimore Ravens: 12-4. Punishing D, arguably the best RB core in the NFL, solid QB plus a favorable schedule equals success this year.

Cincinnati Bengals: 6-10. Chad Ochocinco thinks they are going 12-4 this year, I beg to differ. I think most of the games will be close and they’ll put up decent numbers, but not enough for the W.

Cleveland Browns: 3-13. Mangini is going to learn once and for all that Belichick tactics only work when teams are afraid of you. His team will not be prepared for most games because of silly gimmicks, conservative play calling, and a not-so-talented core group of players.

Pittsburg Steelers: 14-2. They will be the best team in the NFL this year. Considering their caliber, they have an easy schedule with no threats save one loss to Baltimore and one loss to San Diego in a close matchup decided by a FG.

AFC South will easily be second most competitive this year. The Texans will start slow and build momentum as the season progresses. The other three will be in for the battle of a lifetime

Houston Texans: 8-8. For a third year in a row, their chance of winning is 50/50. They’ll lose the first three, win the next 5, and lose a bunch to their division and finish strong.

Indianapolis Colts: 10-6. Indy will lose one win a few, lose one, win a few. They’re a solid team who will win the games they’re supposed to win, and lose the tough ones in close matches.

Jacksonville Jaguars: 11-5. One of the toughest teams in the league this year. I have a feeling they will lose a heartbreaker or too however.

Tennessee Titans: 12-4. They emerge as the champs of the South. They are also my pick to get deep into the playoffs. The Titans should be able to steamroll their way through the season with only a handful of speed bumps.

AFC West is gonna suck. Yet another “rebuilding year” from KC, bad chemistry with the Broncos, and the most dysfunctional team in sports history with the Raiders, means San Diego has no excuse to not blow this division out of the water.

Denver Broncos: 4-12. Bad luck with the schedule. Disgruntled players and a new coach equals many a missed opportunity, lot games that should’ve been won, and lots of finger pointing.

Oakland Raiders: 4-12. Jamarcus Russell’s gunslinger arm is going to cause more interceptions than touchdowns. Bad management, political infighting, and depressed players will do the rest.

Kansas City Chiefs: 2-14. The Chiefs are a bad team with a hard schedule. There is little hope for success.

San Diego Chargers: 10-6. They’ll be strong on D, fast on O, and unfortunately, they play the 6 best teams in the NFL with the Ravens, Steelers, Giants, Eagles, Titans, and Redskins. They may be a wildcard spoiler for the Eagles however, taking them from division champs to #1 wildcard.

AFC Division Leaders
New England Patriots #2, Pittsburg Steelers #1, Tennessee Titans #3, San Diego Chargers #4

AFC Wild Cards
Baltimore Ravens #5, Jacksonville Jaguars #6

On the Bubble - if fate twists in their direction, they have a shot
New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts

Wildcard Weekend
Chargers vs. Ravens – Ravens
Titans vs. Jaguars – Titans

Divisional Playoffs
Ravens vs. Patriots – Patriots
Steelers vs. Titans – Steelers

Conference Championships
Patriots vs. Steelers

AFC Super Bowl Representative
Steelers


NFC East is by far the toughest division. No team here is a slouch. I think they’re tougher than AFC South mainly because Dallas is a better team than Houston.

Dallas Cowboys: 7-9. Dallas will have their first losing season in quite some time, suck in December again, and Wade Phillips will be blacklisted from the NFL coach directory at the end of the year. One of the most talented teams with a crappy coach means America’s team will not win, but it seems fans have come to terms with it. But if the pieces come together, they could make a wildcard spot.

New York Giants: 13-3. It is my humble opinion that Plaxico cost the G-Men the Super Bowl. With the first or second best defense in the league, great RBs, Consistent QB, the only thing that can beat the Giants is the Giants. And maybe the Eagles…

Philadelphia Eagles: 14-2. It pains me to say it because I’m a Jets and Giants fan, but the Eagles have a ton of Super Bowl potential. They have a schedule that, if they play 100%, could go 16-0. Still, Vick is VERY rusty and New York and Carolina may give them some troubles. They’ll split a division game with the Giants, and there may be an upset against San Diego.

Washington Redskins: 10-6. I like Jason Campbell and my man, the former Jet, Santana Moss. I also like their D. They will win a fair share of games this year, but probably not enough for the wildcard.

NFC North is unquestionably the drama division. Will Favre stay or will he go? Can Aaron Rodgers continue he Packer’s legacy? Is Jay Cuttler a crybaby home wrecker? Will the Lions actually win a game with an untested QB? Find out the answer to this and more on the next episode of NFL Survivor!

Chicago Bears: 8-8. Good D. Good WRs. Questionable QB performance. The Bears QB curse will continue when Cutler is facing full strength defenses because he has an awful attitude.

Detroit Lions: 5-11. Matthew Stafford is in for a rude awakening. The Lions will lose every game going into their bye week. They will keep him in though, and Stafford will win 5 of the next 10.

Green Bay Packers: 11-5. Aaron Rodgers is going to validate the front office’s decision to let Favre go this year. They’ll win the first four, with the last game of that series against the Vikings in Monday Night Football. Never will a team be so motivated to win.

Minnesota Vikings: 9-7. If the coach is smart, he’ll let Peterson run his way into the playoffs, if they get that far. Favre will crap out at the end of the year, but Peterson provides Favre an easy exit from poor performace.

NFC South should be an interesting division. A lot of people think the Falcons will have a repeat performance. I think they’ll do well, but they won’t make the playoffs. The Saints and Panthers steal the show.

Atlanta Falcons: 7-9. I think they lose the first three of the season. An early bye week means stamina will wear down the stretch. Could go as high as 9-7 if the winds blow their way, but I doubt it.

Carolina Panthers: 11-5. These guys will be fun to watch. With a lot of speed, they will be flying all over the field. I think the close games break their way this season.

New Orleans Saints: 10-6. Great team with one of the best QBs in the NFL. Not crazy about their secondary, and Reggie Bush will help, but not make the difference when it counts. Wildcard contender.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2-14. I’m being generous, as it’s (now) near impossible to go 0-16. They have a chance against the Bills and perhaps may take the last game against the Falcons, but again I’m being generous. I’m a Byron Leftwich fan, mostly because he’s the unluckiest player in the NFL, but I have my doubts they’ll go anywhere with his injury prone body.

NFC West can you say snore? As much as I love Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald, they are not a playoff caliber team. They simply rose to the occasion last year when their HORRIBLE division tanked. There will be a battle for mediocrity as Seattle and Arizona will tie the division, tie the division wins (4-2), and come down to a point spread to decide the winner.

Arizona Cardinals: 8-8. They will have one less win than last year. They have a lot of fight, but their defense is going to lose the critical matchups this year. They’ll go 4-2 in their division though and make the playoffs again only because the rest of the division is lackluster.

Seattle Seahawks: 8-8. I have never been impressed with this team, even when they went to the Super Bowl. They’ll win most of the games they should win and lose all the games they should lose.

San Francisco 49ners: 7-9. Mike Singletary is going to be the only excitement in this division. I bet in anger over a missed field goal he’ll strip to his boxers and explain how that’s the way the season will look if they play like this, hairy and bad. Some kind of crazy shenanigans is in store.

St. Louis Rams: 3-13. I think that this team is just about as bad as the Bucs. However, with tad bit more talent, I’m a bit more confident about this prediction.

NFC Division Leaders
Philadelphia Eagles #1, Green Bay Packers #3, Carolina Panthers #2, Arizona Cardinals #4

NFC Wild Card: – The Giants will cruise into the wild card spot, and the Saints get in only because the Redskins play in a harder division
New York Giants #5, New Orleans Saints #6

On the Bubble: If the winds shift in their direction, they could make the #6 spot, but it’ll have to be a pretty strong wind.
Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings

Wild Card Weekend
Cardinals vs. Giants – Giants
Packers vs. Saints – Packers

Divisional Playoffs
Giants vs. Panthers – Giants (in a nail biter)
Eagles vs. Packers – Eagles

Conference Championship
Eagles vs. Giants – Giants (Giants will lose to them twice in regular season, and comeback to win the game that counts in the most exciting game of the year)

NFC Super Bowl Representative
Giants

2010 Super Bowl
Giants vs. Steelers – Giants

And what a game will that be! The 2008 champs vs. the 2009 champs will battle in what will be an instant classic. Giants win 34-31.

Honors
MVP – Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles
Offensive Player of the Year – Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Defensive Player of the Year – Justin Tuck, New York Giants
Rookie of the Year – Mark Sanchez - New York Jets
Comeback Player of the Year – Tom Brady - New England Patriots
Coach of the Year – Andy Reid – Philadelphia Eagles

Follies
Terrell Owens will not be a Bill next year because his high output will not match the team’s record. Trent Edwards will want him gone too.

Chad Ochocinco will actually have good numbers this year. Carson Palmer and Chad Ochocinco will get along.

Wade Phillips will be blacklisted from the NFL Coach’s directory, and Tony Romo’s stock will plummet.

Mangini will go back to being a coordinator at the end of the season, but no team will want him.

Mark Sanchez won’t let being a local hero go to his head.

Brett Favre will get injured in Week 6 that will cause his game play to rapidly deteriorate. Tavaris Jackson will step in as QB in Week 13. Brett Favre, having been dissed by the Packers, hated in the media capital of the world, and dissed by the Vikings will finally retire for good with his reputation in shreds.

Mike Vick is gonna suck when he returns in Week 6. He will be a non-factor and wind up seeing very little playing time. Andy Reid will test the waters and immediately reverse course to preserve the undefeated streak

McNabb will have a tremendous year that will shut up all the reporters, even the brutal Philadelphia media. He’ll make my alma mater Syracuse proud!

I had the 49ners as 7-9. However, if Crabtree finally signs in a reasonable amount of time, Shaun Hill will have a field day with him and Isaac Bruce, while Frank Gore will have a 1000 yard+ season. If this happens, they’ll go 9-7 and beat out the Cardinals. The Giants will not repeat the 2003 playoff upset.
And last, though I had the Cowboys at 7-9, they could very well turn it around if they don’t suck in December. They are my pick, for if there was a surprise entrant in the playoffs, they would be it. Still, they’ll lose in the Wild Card Weekend.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! I got my beer chilling in the fridge, my taco dip ingredients, two bags of tortilla chips, my laptop for fantasy football, and of course, Vicks sore throat relief for my excessively loud cheering! The beginning of each season is so exciting. Every team makes numerous upgrades and each fan thinks that upgrade is the one to take them to the Promised Land. I can’t help but think the Jets will have a good year because one of the trouble spots in our game has finally been addressed: DEFENSE! Now, we’ve had a great defensive core for a few seasons. With Rex Ryan at the helm however, the Defense will be flying around making big plays when it counts. They are bigger and stronger and faster than ever before. Looking at the 1st team defense vs. the Giants is week 3 of the preseason, I couldn’t help but be impressed that despite a few broken tackles, they were by and large able to hold the Giants only to field goals in the red zone. The Giants offense ain’t no slouch either…

Mark Sanchez is ready to go. A lot of people don’t have faith in him, but Mark has a great supporting cast. He has in my opinion, one of the top offensive lines in the AFC protecting him. He has Thomas Jones, Leon Washington, and Shonn Greene in the backfield to get the tough yards on the ground and help open up the playbook for Sanchez. Plus, he has a quarterback’s poise. Very cool, calm, and collected. A young quarterback I watched a few years ago by the name of Trent Edwards possessed similar qualities. When I saw him in preseason, I told my buddy who is a diehard Bills fan “that’s your guy… he’s calm in the pocket, smart, and makes great decisions.” A half season later JP Lossman lost his job. I think I have a good eye for the rookie QBs. I feel confident about our guy. Then you have the intangibles. New coach who is very well liked, new face of New York in Mark Sanchez, last season in an historic venue, super excited fan base – you have all the makings of positive chi!

While every fan thinks this year is their year, myself included, I think we do indeed have the tools to do well. We’ll soon see with our first test against the Texans. I’m ready to start the season undefeated! So as we take to the field vicariously from our living rooms and bars across America, let us, in full Gang Green spirit chant our battle cry, J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!!