New England Patriots @ New York Jets: Spread
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This weekend the matchup to watch will be New England Patriots vs New York Jets. I feel bad for the Pats. After having a perfect 16-0 season in 2007, they will be struggling to make the playoffs after losing QB Tom Brady for the entire season to injury. This loss completely changes perceptions of the team, the division, the conference and even the league. The Pats, whom many considered to be a favourite to win the Super Bowl, are no longer a powerhouse. Now the question is which team will step up in their place? |
| By losing Tom Brady, the Pats have lost their most important element on offense. Last year they averaged 411.2 total yards, 295.7 passing yards, and 36.8 points per game. Now that Tom Brady is out of the picture, these numbers change drastically this season. In week 1 they managed a total of 338 yards, 212 yards through the air and to score 17 points to barely secure the win against Kansas City, one of the worst teams in the league, in front of their home crowd. Let’s just say that last year’s Pats would have beaten them by at least 3 touchdowns. Matt Cassel was actually quite impressive in Tom Brady’s absence, completing 13/18 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown. However, he was sacked twice and lost 16 yards.
The Pats are going to have limited offensive production with the loss of Tom Brady. If they only managed 17 points against K.C., then one cannot expect them to do much better against the Jets. Brett Favre is getting more and more comfortable with his new team. He completed 15/22 (68.2%) passes for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns. Expect him to make some big plays through the air against an aging Pats defense that is missing DBs Asante Samuel and Randall Gay, some key players from its 2007 roster. New England has proven to be vulnerable for medium to long balls thrown down the middle since late last season. You can expect Favre to capitalize on this weakness. Don’t expect this game to be a blowout by any means. Belichick is going to focus on running the ball more than the Pats’ fans are used to seeing as time of possession will be a critical component for the Pats’ success from here on. This is an extremely important game for both teams as it is a divisional game with significant playoff implications. The Jets will benefit from home field advantage. Defensively these teams are evenly matched. Offensively the Jets have the advantage as veteran QB Brett Favre is much more of a play maker than Matt Cassel. Prediction: New York 20 New England 17 |
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