Dont' jump ship on the Jets, Power Rankings + Week 5 Picks

I feel like I've heard this story with the Jets before. Yet, for whatever reason, whenever this team has their back against the wall they always seem to respond. That's as true in a game (Browns, Lions and Texans games last year and Cowboys game this year) as it is over the season.

Remember the Ravens-Jets game in Week 1 last year? The Jets offense couldn't do anything, and they were immediately written off. Analysts and fans are saying the same thing this year after that same game, and the Patriots are suddenly 9 point favorites over a Jets team that is 3-2 against them under Rex Ryan.

Its shaping up a bit too similar to how everything sounded leading up to the Jets upset of the Pats in the playoffs last year. No one is picking them and the Pats are expected to win in a blowout. I called it last year before the playoff game in this article, and I feel it could shape up the same way.


The Jets have had their problems but so have the Patriots. The Jets are having trouble running the ball, protecting the quarterback and Mark Sanchezs has struggled. Luckily for them, the Patriots defense isn't particularly stout against the run, has looked like a high school team at times defending the pass, and can't get pressure on the quarterback.

The Jets know how to beat Tom Brady. They use the same formula as the New York Giants in the Super Bowl, as well as the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers from last year. The key is to disguise your defensive looks, get pressure with your front four, reroute the Patriots small receivers and disrupt the timing of the offense.

The New England offense is extremely precise, it's predicated on receivers being in the right spot at exactly the right time. The Jets know what they have to do against the Pats, and New York cornerback Antonio Cromartie said as much earlier this week.

"To beat the hell out of their receivers, that's our game plan on the outside," Cromartie said. "It's to try to mess up their timing routes as much as we can."

It's something hard to do, but there's a couple teams that can do it. The Jets are one of them. The Patriots made a lot of offseason changes after that disappointing loss to New York in the playoffs. Sunday's game is as big a test for them as it is for the struggling Jets.

Power Rankings
1. New Orleans Saints
2. Green Bay Packers
3. Baltimore Ravens
4. New York Giants
5. Detroit Lions
6. New York Jets
7. New England Patriots
8. Houston Texans
9. Dallas Cowboys
10. Tennessee Titans
11. San Diego Chargers
12. Oakland Raiders
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
15. Philadelphia Eagles
16. Washington Redskins
17. Atlanta Falcons
18. Buffalo Bills
19. Chicago Bears
20. Carolina Panthers
21. San Francisco 49ers
22. Cincinnati Bengals
23. Arizona Cardinals
24. Denver Broncos
25. St. Louis Rams
26. Miami Dolphins
27. Cleveland Browns
28. Indianapolis Colts
29. Seattle Seahawks
30. Minnesota Vikings
31. Kansas City Chiefs
32. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 5 Picks (last week 10-6)
Carolina over New Orleans
Indianapolis over Kansas City
Philadelphia over Buffalo
New York Giants over Seattle
Cinncinnati over Jacksonville
Tennessee over Pittsburgh
Oakland over Houston
Minnesota over Arizona
Tampa Bay over San Francisco
New York Jets over New England
San Diego over Denver
Green Bay over Atlanta
Detroit over Chicago