Venue/Stadium: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Time/Date: 1:00 PM ET – Saturday December 24, 2011
NFL Odds from Bovada
Money Line: Jets -150
Spread (ATS): Jets -3
Over/Under: 45.5
When it comes to deflecting the media attention off of his players and on to himself, nobody does a better job than New York Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan.
While the media continues to blow up the comments he has made about believing that the Jets’ are the best team in New York, and have been the best team in New York since his arrival, he is not only putting himself out there for ridicule, but taking some of the pressure off of his team as well. As Jets’ owner Woody Johnson commented, Ryan could very well be a genius for his ability to be a players’ coach, and now it will be interested to see how his team responds against the New York Giants in a game that will have major playoff implications.
While the Giants are technically still alive in the NFC playoff picture, the Jets’ will bump in to them at the perfect time with head coach Tom Coughlin’s side registering just one win in their last six tries. While quarterback Eli Manning has helped New York become the third-best passing offense in the NFL, he is also turning the ball over at crucial points, and doesn’t have much protection in terms of a running game. The Jets meanwhile have their own problems with Mark Sanchez under center, although the coaching staff continues to put their faith in him.
Unlike the other New York team, Ryan’s Jets are in a position where they control their own destiny in the AFC Wild Card race, and if they win out they will go through. Gang Green allowed 45 points in their latest loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and while that opponent is a much better team now than it was earlier in the season, there is something to be said about the way that the Jets’ defense has not risen to the occasion time and again. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
With so many blown assignments and missed opportunities it appears as though Ryan’s players may be performing more for their own accomplishments than to help the team, and that could really cause a divide in the long run.
Regardless of what people say about Giants’ head coach Tom Coughlin, he has a Super Bowl ring, and has found a way to keep his players in line. The Giants are still considered New York’s No. 1 team, and that won’t change this week as they clinch another win in this series.
NFL Betting Lines: Giants
