Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets: What You Need to Know About Jets
With the Buffalo Bills set to take on the New York Jets in Week 2, we asked our staff writer, Jake Middleton, who is a New Jersey native and die-hard Jets’ fan, what we need to know about Gang Green for Thursday night.
Here’s a transcription of the conversation Jake and I had when discussing the Buffalo Bills‘ home opener against the New York Jets on Thursday night.
Chris Okrainetz (CO): There were a lot of takeaways from Week 1, what’s one thing Bills’ fans should know about the Jets after one week of football?
Jake Middleton (JM): The Jets are legit in the trenches. They’re one of the deepest and most talented defensive lines in all of football, and they also have one of the better offensive lines too.
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Week 1 versus the Cincinnati Bengals was a clinic. The Bengals are well known around the league for having one of the top offensive lines, and Week 1 they were completely dominated.
On the other side of the ball, the Jets’ offensive line gave quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick time in the pocket and opened up gaping holes for running backs Matt Forte and Bilal Powell all day long. If the Bills don’t want to go 0-2, they better get ready for an absolute war in the trenches or it could be a long night.
CO: I like how you didn’t mention the demise of Darrelle Revis. Apparentely “Revis Island” is the new hotspot vacation for wide receivers after A.J. Green scorched him in Week 1. Thoughts on that?
JM: Watching Darrelle Revis Week 1 was shocking. I think he was the single reason as to why the Jets actually lost to the Bengals. Since 2006 Revis has been a Hall of Fame caliber corner in the NFL. The reasons as to why he was so good are his physicality at the line of scrimmage, tackling ability, ball skills, and his flawless technique. On Sunday, Revis lacked all of those attributes and more.
I have heard rumblings that he could be out of shape due to his offseason wrist surgery, and that looked accurate on Sunday. I also thought that the Jets misused Revis a lot. The Darrelle Revis who could essentially eliminate any wide receiver on the planet is gone. His speed has diminished significantly and it leaves him susceptible to elite speed receivers.
I think the Jets need to use Revis like the Patriots used him, completely locking down the No. 2 receiver, and relying on their defensive coordinator to gameplan a way to shut down the elite No. 1 wide receivers by either doubling them, or having help underneath or over the top.
If the Jets don’t make that adjustment, it could be a long season for their secondary. One final thing, though, I do not expect Revis to be that bad again. He is way too good of a football player to have another performance like that one.
CO: That’s an interesting take on moving Revis to the No. 2 receiver. Todd Bowles is a creative coach, so I’m curious to see what adjustments he makes.
Todd Bowles is generally a very good coach at making adjustments, and it will be interesting to see what he does on Thursday.
JM:
CO: As for the offence, are you concerned about Fitzpatrick? His arm strength looked to be considerably weaker on Sunday.
JM: For the offence, obviously we know that there are significant limitations for Fitzpatrick. He doesn’t have the elite arm strength that franchise quarterbacks generally have, and the deep pass has never really been a big part of the Jets game.
Although Sunday was a very weird performance from Fitzpatrick, it never looked like him and his top two receivers (Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall) were on the same page. Is that because of his contract stalemate? I think so. I think that Fitzpatrick also is a slow starter and will get better over time like he did last year.
I think the biggest issue that I want to see improved from the Jets is their red zone efficiency. Last year they were the best red zone offence in the NFL, while on Sunday they missed plenty of opportunities to bury the Bengals by going 2-for-5 in the red zone. If the Jets have any shot of making a playoff run, their offence is going to have to be much better in the red zone.
CO: Aside from Ryan Fitzpatrick, who else on the Jets offence needs to play better in Week 2?
JM: Without a doubt Marshall. In the offseason all the talk out of Marshall was how much weight he lost, how much faster he was going to be, and his bet with Antonio Brown over who will have more yards this season.
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On Sunday, Marshall was horrible. Outside of having two drops, including a massive one that would have gotten the Jets to midfield with 35 seconds to go, and basically crippled the Jets hopes of a game-winning drive, he had a bad offensive pass interference penalty and never really found space against the Bengals. He, and to a lesser extent Decker, will have to be much better if the Jets have hopes of beating their old coach, Rex Ryan, on Thursday night.
CO: Speaking of Rex Ryan, I hope this isn’t too emotional of a question, but how deeply does Gang Green Nation miss Ryan?
JM: [Laughs] I don’t think they miss him at all!
For all the hate Rex gets, I think all Jets’ fans acknowledge the two special seasons he gave to the fans and we will never forget that. Those were two of the most memorable seasons in Jets’ history, but the act wore thin when the team started to lose, and Rex never adjusted, nor put together anything resembling an NFL offence.
So while Jets’ fans miss the 2009 and 2010 Jets teams for their success and bravado, they don’t miss the following four seasons of frustration and disappointment. Jets’ fans are extremely thankful to have coach Bowles leading our team now.
CO: Alright, well, I know we both like to bet on a game or two each week. The Bills opened as (-2.5) point favourites with the total set at 42.5. Since then the line has moved to a PK and the total has slid down to 40.5.
What’s your prediction on the game and is there anything you will be playing?
JM: [Laughs] I generally do like looking at Jets lines and seeing if there is anything I would play. But whenever the Jets play a divisional game, I tend to stay away because they can go either way that it’s basically a coin flip.
As for a prediction, based on what I saw from the Bills and what I saw from the Jets in Week 1, it looks like it could be a LONG night for the Bills with the possible absence of Sammy Watkins, as well as Cordy Glenn and Marcell Dareus definitely out.
Considering the struggles the Bills had against the Ravens front-seven, a considerably weaker front than the Jets, it is conceivable to think that they could have an even tougher time against the Jets, who will be adding their All-Pro defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson back in the fold.
If I had to pick a score, I would say 24-10 Jets, but like I said earlier, this game could go either way considering the idea of going 0-2 is staring both teams in the face.
CO: So, does that mean you’re taking the Jets?
JM: It certainly does. They have too many weapons on the defensive side of the ball for the Bills to handle. If the Bills can’t run the ball, giving the Jets defensive front the opportunity to pin their ears back and rush the passer will prove too much for the undermanned Bills offense.
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CO: That’s a more than fair assessment, but we’ll have to wait see how things turn out on Thursday night!