NFL Week 2 – New England Patriots vs. New York Jets
In New England, no one really knows what to make of Rex Ryan.
Since Vince Lombardi was carving up the league in the 1960s, the No. 1 rule was to never say anything that could give an opponent even an extra ounce of motivation on game day.
Ryan has basically blown up that business model, at least when it comes to the New England Patriots. The new Jets coach says he refuses to pay homage to Pats coach Bill Belichick, and furthermore he says he has a decent team in East Rutherford and plans to give NE a run for its money in the AFC East.
Time: 1:00 ET
Venue: Giants Stadium
MoneyLine: Pats -190 / Jets +160
Spread: Patriots -4
Over/Under: 45.5
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It’s doubtful that Patriot players will try to win Sunday for their beloved coach, who is not all that beloved in the locker room. Besides, several of the Belichick-backing good soldiers (Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison) are no longer on the roster, replaced by, well … no one in Foxboro is really sure who is replacing them.
All the pieces seem to be in place for Ryan and the Jets to do some damage on Sunday. Fresh from its dismantling of Houston on opening day, New York gets 4 from the Pats, who were actually outplayed for 56 minutes on Monday night before Tom Brady said enough is enough and sent the Bills back to Buffalo, or Toronto, or wherever it is they call home these days.
The Jets fired on all cylinders against the Texans, and were so dominant that some of the players now seem to be believing Ryan’s bravado. Matt Schaub was flushed out of the pocket all day by New York’s attacking defense, and NY QB Mark Sanchez gave everyone a small sample of what might be if he can stay healthy.
Against a rookie quarterback Belichick would ordinarily be sitting down at the dinner table and tucking the napkin under his chin. The Pats have tossed more than a few new QBs into the gutter this decade. But NE’s defense, suspect to begin with and almost completely devoid of playmakers, suffered a blow this week when it was learned that middle LB Jerod Mayo would be out for half the season.
New England’s defense is predicated on limited pressure on the quarterback, giving up underneath passes and stiffening inside the 30 before turning the ball over the Brady, Randy Moss and Wes Welker. But last season the defense showed signs of leakage, and at times against the Bills, NE defenders looked like a bunch of guys just running around.
The Jets have a decent-enough ground game with Leon Washington and Thomas Jones, and the receivers are OK. Jerricho Cotchery always seems to burn the Patriots. On the other side of the ball, is there anyone in the northern hemisphere who doesn’t believe that the Jets will bring the house against Brady? It worked for the Giants in the Super Bowl, it worked in preseason this year and the Bills also haf success with it on opening night.
Former Jets coach Eric Mangini won only twice in seven games against the Patriots over three years, but was declared Man-genius after winning the first game. If Ryan duplicates that, he might erect a statue of himself outside the new Giants Stadium.
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Lawrence Paul is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog, and is a free-lance gambling and travel writer from Massachusetts.
One reply on “Week 2 NFL Spreads: Patriots vs. Jets”
What the hell are your credentials? Bringing the house against Brady worked in the preseason and worked for the Bills Monday night? Really? Really? Seems like your another moron who bought the Rex Ryan cool-aid.