NFL Week 5 Preview: New York Jets vs. New England Patriots

Sports Betting Overview

The New York Jets have never been as good as head coach Rex Ryan has said it is. The reason that can be said is because the Jets have not won a Super Bowl under Ryan yet. The week four loss to the Baltimore Ravens exploited some glaring reasons why the 2011-2012 Jets will not win the Super Bowl either. Ryan is not being rewarded for his patience with quarterback Mark Sanchez, and the recent disintegration of the Jets’ offensive line should be a huge concern in New York. The New York defense has been up to the challenge all season long, but the Jets’ offense has not kept up its end of the bargain and it may force Ryan to make moves he said he would never consider.

The New England Patriots are doing pretty good considering that it still has the worst defense in football.

The price per head sports fans in New England have a lot of faith in head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. But the Patriots’ defense allowed 344 passing yards in a week four win over the Raiders. New England is still having problems getting pressure on the opposing quarterback and it is having major issues with coverage in the defensive secondary. Tom Brady and the offense have proven that they can put up points. But if the defense gives up points, then Brady starts forcing plays and gets results like the four interceptions he threw in Buffalo.

New York Jets
The Jets have some major problems on the offensive line. The price per head Jets fans would like to think that the return of injured center Nick Mangold will solve all of its offensive line issues. But the Baltimore Ravens were able to penetrate the Jets’ offensive line from all sides. Putting Mangold in at center would have just brought more pressure from the outside, and there was almost nothing that the Jets could do about that pressure in Baltimore. Running back LaDainian Tomlinson was doing much more blocking than running in week four, and that contributed to the Jets’ loss. Tomlinson is a good blocker, but he is a better runner. The offensive line was so weak that Tomlinson had to stay in to block. If the Jets spend the entire game against the Patriots trying to figure out blocking assignments rather than scoring points, then it will be another loss for New York.

New England Patriots
It did not take the Patriots long to figure out how to compensate for a bad defense. A week after having one of the worst weeks for NFL betting picks in his career, quarterback Tom Brady decided to play possession football. The Patriots relied on short yardage plays to score points, move the ball and keep the ball away from the Oakland offense. Any NFL offense is a threat to the Patriots at this point. For New England, the safest place to keep the football is in the hands of Tom Brady.

The Bottom Line
New York sports fans are following MLB scores during the divisional playoffs, but this game will get their attention as well. A loss here and the Jets drop to 2-3. That would make the Jets under .500 for the first time in the Rex Ryan era. That will not make for a happy Jets’ locker room.

NFL Betting Pick: New England Patriots