SUNDAY 1:00 MetLife Stadium East Rutherford, NJ
BEWARE the New York Jets! They’re 2-0, and allow just 8.5 points a game. They’re the best thing since sliced bread! With us being 0-2 that spells disaster, right? Not so fast. Our Eagles may not be as overmatched as you think.
EAGLES
Defense
This unit looked bad against Atlanta, but held its own against the toothless Cowboys team. This despite being stranded on the field and left playing ‘chase the chicken’, for most of the day. The pass rush hasn’t provided big numbers but it was good enough to shred the vaunted offensive line of the Dallas Cowboys, and end their 2015 bid for the division. So we have a pass rush going for us.
If we could cover consistently we’d be dangerous. Instead we’re stuck with a weak ass coverage scheme that leaves the flats open and gives up crossing routes. Whether that’s a problem or not comes down to whether or not the Jets are smart enough to exploit that hole in our game.
Offense
Our run game isn’t broken, it’s just stuck. If we open with some power running, we can filter in some of our zone read stuff. Our Offensive Line isn’t geared to being good at power running, but they don’t have to be. We just need to show opponents that they have to play a real team, with real pro players on it. Then we can mix and match.
Right now we rely almost exclusively on cute gimmicks to get rushing yards, and no longer have RB LeSean McCoy to perform magic and hide the flaws in our scheme. So we have to move away from that as our bread and butter. We can make that adjustment; we just need our coach to decide to do it.
If we can settle things down with the run, QB Sam Bradford will be able to survey the field and use his weapons. While we lack a true deep threat, that’s not the same as saying we can’t throw the ball down the field. WR Jordan Matthews has a couple of big drops this year, but he also seems to be the only wideout who can gain routine separation for Bradford.
Jets
Defense
8.5 points allowed per game. Man that sounds tough. Until you realize that both of the Jets victims (Cleveland and Indianapolis) have been struggling since the preseason with their offenses. The Eagles are the first team they’ll face that has explosive potential as far as scoring.
Against bad offenses the Jets allow almost 350 yards per game. So moving the ball shouldn’t be a problem. The Jets also allow teams to convert 46% of their 3rd downs. Again, this against two bad offenses. They make their money on their +8 turnover ratio and that’s the entire magic trick.
Offense
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is savvy and opportunistic, but he’s not the kind of QB who can put a team on his back, which is why he’s being paired with a meat and potatoes running game. Making this unit look better than they really are is the addition of WR Brandon Marshall. He’s the mismatch that opens up the box so that RB Chris Ivory can do his bull in a china shop impression. It’s a really simple offense and that’s why it works.
BOTTOM LINE
Stopping the Jets should be as easy as taking away the run and forcing Fitzpatrick to beat you with his arm, but that idea is terrifying. I have no idea who’s supposed to cover Brandon Marshall in that case. Bryon Maxwell SHOULD be the guy, but I’m sick of his impersonation of Michael Jackson in a Pepsi commercial. The Jets don’t have the artillery to hang with us in a shootout. If we can get our run game unstuck, this game could become a blowout in our favor.
PREDICTION
EAGLES 27 – Jets 14
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