New York Jets at Miami (+1)
Whether Revis plays or not, the Jets have 2 other strong DBs that can certainly match up well with what the Phins are rolling out on offense. Cromartie and Kyle Wilson are not on the same level at all with Revis but they would form a pretty strong tandem for almost any NFL team. The Jets really have 3 quality Corners which is a luxury in the NFL. I do not believe Brian Hartline will sniff anything close to what we saw a week ago. Davone Bess will have the PPR OK day with something like 5/60 on underneath routes but Miami does not have the weapons to scare the Jets.
This game is going to come down to the trenches so that's my focus. Miami has been getting great returns from Jake Long and also Mike Pouncey has gotten a lot better than last season and is opening a lot of holes for Reggie Bush to fly through. His match up with Kendrick Ellis who is no slouch for the Jets, that match up is going to be vital for Miami as they must establish the run in order to win any game they play this season. The Jets gave up 195 week 1 but they were blowing the Bills out by 4 touchdowns before a lot of those yards started to accumulate. Last week they held the Steelers to under 100 yds rushing but again is Reggie Bush a better back than anything the Steelers have right now?
The Miami rush defense has been lights out for most of the way. They shut down DMC to almost nothing last week, that's a good sign for them, bad for opposing RBs, especially ones that are going to feel the heat and humidity plus a lot of showers expected on Sunday so the passing games on both sides will have trouble. Footing could be a major problem as well. Miami's Randy Starks is playing at a Pro Bowl level right now and that is saying something with Paul Soliai who has been a Pro Bowl player lined up next to him. Certainly Nick Mangold is going to get his fair shares of wins this week but the rest of the Jets OL has struggled and I expect Miami to force Sanchez to beat him, can he do it? Shonn Greene is going to have a rough day IMO and only fuel the Powell talk even more. Do you think Miami is overrated coming off the Texans and Raiders? Let's hear it.
Sanchez will be working against Sean Smith(85 QbR) and Richard Marshall at the Corners. Both are solid but they can be beat. Another standout for Miami who might to be tested is Reshard Jones who has really come on and is providing a lot of help in the passing game. Santonio Holmes and Stephen Hill will try to test Miami deep, the key is if guys like Cameron Wake can get to Sanchez or not. This game is really a coin flip and while Miami is being discounted by many, the team has responded well despite a 5 minute blip to Houston at the end of the 1st half week 1, outside of that they have been playing well.
Hard for me to pick this game as I root for the Phins. I hope they win and my brain says the Jets will be gassed in the 2nd half and Miami can run to win the game but that's easier said then done. It's also possible Miami looked good against a bad team last week and perhaps if they played Houston in week 4 or 5 it would not just be a 5 minute glitch but perhaps a total beat down. Somewhere in the middle is the truth and we are going to find out a lot more about these teams after week 3.
Final Score: New York 20...Miami 17 (OT)
I see more of a defensive game due to the jet lag coming off a short week and a very impressive MNF performance.
