We are finally in the home stretch before opening night. I for one, can not be happier. We have come a long way since the disappointing end to last season. Nevertheless, we have made it, and are ready to get this show on the road. We have 4 more days until we square off against the Cowboys. I think this is an appropriate time to go over some match-ups, and let you guys decide who will have the better game for us come Sunday night. I will be looking strictly at our offense against their defense in this segment.
Jets Running Game Vs. Cowboys Front 7:
The Cowboys have a decent front 7 that will make our O-line work for their pay, this game. With Marcus Spears and Igor Olshansky Kenyon Coleman at the ends, and Jay Ratliff at NT, the Cowboys have a very stout line. The LBing core is equally is impressive. Everyone knows DeMarcus Ware is one of, if not the best pass rusher in the NFL. Few people know that he is also one of the best OLBers in the league against the run also. Ware will probably be spending most of the day on the left side of his field, to go up against Wayne Hunter. From what I saw, we weren't getting much from runs to the right side anyway. We will be better suited running to the blind side. There we will have D'Brick up against Anthony Spencer, which is a much better matchup.
Rob Ryan is an aggressive coach that is cut from the same cloth as our very own coach. Right out of the gate, our defense was clicking for Rex. This might not be the case for the Cowboys. I know it was just pre-season, but it seemed that the Cowboys were still a little shaky with their new system. If the defensive front 7 aren't working together as a well oiled machine, then they might have a hard time with our well oiled O-line. Hunter might be new to starting full time, but he is not new to this offense. If this holds true, Greene could be in line to have a big game.
We should also look at injury problems for the Cowboys. It was reported earlier that Terence Newman g will be missing the game on Sunday. I know the Cowboys secondary wasn't anything special before, but now it is really depleted. Even with Newman, their secondary would probably have a hard time with our receivers. What Rob might do, could be similar to what Rex did against the Colts and the Pats. He dropped guys back into coverage, and made it very hard for Brady or Manning to find any room to hit someone. This could be affective at stopping our passing attack, but it leaves them vulnerable to runs. This also bodes well for Greene.
Jets Passing Attack Vs. Cowboys Secondary:
If you look at just matchups between our receivers, and their secondary, They made a big play for Nnamdi for a reason. There is obviously an advantage for us. I touched on this with our running game. The Cowboys will probably be dropping bodies back to make up for the lack of talent in the secondary. This might make it tough at times for Sanchez to find an open receiver.
If our running game seems to be having its way with the Cowboys front 7, Rob might change up his plans, and take a more normal approach defensively. They might want to make Sanchez beat them. I think Sanchez will. Our receivers should have no problem getting open against these CBs. Holmes and Plaxico could have a monster game if the Cowboys don't get the pressure they want on Mark. If he has time, Mark should beat them. When Mike Jenkins is your best option in the secondary, there are problems.
It's very possible that both our receivers and RBs have big games on Sunday. Who do you guys think will have the better game?