Kalaf said both teams are pretty one-dimensional, as this matchup pits the Jets' hard-hitting defence and punishing ground game up against the Colts' athletic pass-oriented attack. He said the key for a Jets' victory will be getting Manning off his game and finding success with the run offensively.
"The Colts have nothing good with their rushing game this season and Mark Sanchez has been the equivalent of JaMarcus Russell, with sadly more effort," he said. "It's going to come down to beating and bruising the guy in the No. 18 Colts jersey. If the Jets defence can do that, the Indianapolis offence will be a non-factor, and the Jets can do what they do best by pounding the Colts front line with Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene while letting Mark Sanchez have minimal chances for turnovers."
Kalaf said he doesn't want to root for the Jets thanks to their divisional rivalry with his Patriots, but he thinks they've got a significant chance to win this weekend.
"It's punishable by death to root for a divisional rival (Pats fan here) but I think the Jets will pull the huge upset over the Colts," he said. "It would be poetic justice to the team that thought a perfect record will curse them."
Joe Caporoso edits Turn on the Jets for the Fanball Sports Network. He said the Jets' success so far isn't quite as surprising as many have thought.
"At the start of the season, I picked the Jets to go 10-6 and make the playoffs as a wild-card team," he said. "I figured they might steal a game in the playoffs, but back in August, it was hard to picture a team with a rookie head coach and rookie quarterback going to the AFC Championship Game. At the start of the playoffs, I felt confident because of how well they were running the ball and how their defence was playing. Also, I loved the match-up with the Bengals in the first round. I wouldn't have gone so far as to say they were favourites for the Super Bowl like Rex Ryan did, but I did believe they could do some damage."
Caporoso said he likes the Jets' matchup this week, as their physical run game might wear down the Colts' defence.
"I think as long as the Jets run the ball right up the middle, they will be fine. The Colts are too fast to attempt outside runs or tosses. Eventually the Colts' undersized front seven will wear down. On defence, it is always hard to stop Peyton Manning, but I think the Jets could keep their offence to around 20 points, which will give them a great chance to win the game."
Oddly enough in a quarterback-oriented league, much of the Jets' success has come in spite of rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, not because of him. He finished with only 2,444 yards passing, 23¬rd in the league. He only completed 53.8 per cent of his passing attempts and threw 20 interceptions and just 12 touchdowns. His quarterback rating of 63.0 was 28¬¬th in the league. Caporoso said the criticism of Sanchez has been fair, but his play has improved in recent weeks.
"Sanchez was simply turning the ball over way too much in the middle of the season," he said. "Fortunately, he has become more careful over the previous few weeks and realized he just needs to be a game manager and allow the running game and defence to carry the Jets."
Caporoso said the Jets are good enough in other areas that Sanchez doesn't need to be outstanding for them to win.
"I believe they could win if he plays solid-but-not spectacular," he said. "They beat the Chargers with him only throwing for 100 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. If he can improve on that slightly and play closer to the way he did against the Bengals, the Jets will be in great shape."
Caporoso said there are many similarities between this Jets team and the 2005-2006 Pittsburgh Steelers, who became the first wild-card team to win the Super Bowl. The Steelers also focused on running the ball and playing strong defence; in fact, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger only completed nine of his 21 passing attempts in the Super Bowl, throwing for 123 yards and no touchdowns while being picked off twice. This bodes well for the Jets.
"I think it is a fair comparison; both teams were constructed in a very similar way," he said. "Keep in mind that the Steelers shocked the Colts in the playoffs that season by beating them in Indy. Hopefully the Jets can duplicate that on Sunday."
Caporoso said he thinks the Jets can pull off the upset.
"For some reason, I am confident in the Jets winning this game," he said. "I believe running the football and defence are the two keys to winning a championship, and the Jets do both those things better than the Colts. The Jets are going to come into this game loose and confident. I think they will weather the early storm, head into halftime in a close game and escape with a 23-20 victory."
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1 comments so far (post your own)Who Dat?
It's the Saints
Posted by Pope on Sunday, January 24, 2010 @ 11:12pm